Chapter Summaries

Aberforth confronted Dumbledore about Ariana’s death and objected to Gellert teaching at Hogwarts, but agreed to come supervise him until the term ended. The group also arranged for Aberforth to hire Remus Lupin at the Hog’s Head Inn and discussed replacing Vida Rosier, while Gellert began plotting to separate Veratia from Harry.

• Snape and Aberforth exchanged glares outside the Headmaster’s Office before Aberforth entered and angrily confronted Dumbledore about hiring Gellert.
• Veratia, Harry, and Newt arrived, and Aberforth recounted how Ariana’s condition, their mother’s death, and Dumbledore and Gellert’s plans culminated in Ariana’s death during their duel.
• Gellert and Aberforth argued and exchanged spells until Veratia silenced Gellert, after which Aberforth accused Dumbledore of putting the greater good ahead of his family.
• Veratia revealed that Gellert had stolen money and belongings from her vault, and Newt proposed that Aberforth supervise Gellert until he returned to Nurmengard at the end of term.
• Aberforth agreed to come to Hogwarts and hire Remus Lupin at the Hog’s Head Inn, while Dumbledore considered hiring Lupin as the next Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
• Gellert decided he needed to separate Veratia from Harry before leaving Hogwarts and began devising a plan.

Gellert tried to recruit Abufosi and Newt to help his aunt reunite with Harry, but Abufosi mocked him and distrusted his claims. When Gellert warned that Verathea would become Newt’s future enemy and carried a dangerous diadem, the others dismissed him, leaving him to plan a warning for Dumbledore.

• Gellert taunted Abufosi at breakfast, but Abufosi retaliated by mocking Gellert’s lack of heirs and calling him a mule.
• Gellert tried to persuade Abufosi to join his plan with Newt, while Newt explained that he had agreed to help for his aunt Pabbie’s sake.
• Newt clarified that Pabbie had used magic to survive until Harry returned and now existed in a form between a ghost and a unicorn, though she still looked seventeen.
• Abufosi condemned Gellert for opposing his sister Veratia’s love, and Gellert insisted that she was a dangerous Dark Wizard who would become Newt’s greatest enemy.
• Gellert warned that Veratia’s diadem was an evil Dark Arts item, but Abufosi and the Scamanders laughed and dismissed him.
• Gellert left, cast a soundproofing charm on his ears, and decided to talk to Dumbledore about his sister’s diadem.

Veratia returned to Hogwarts and gave Hermione a concert figurine, while Harry dealt with schoolwork, spent time with Pabbie, and continued searching Merlin’s ruins. Harry won Gryffindor’s Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, and he ended the chapter still needing more Moonpetal leaves to continue his search.

• Veratia showed Harry a figurine from Yuki Morikawa’s concert, then gave it to Hermione when she recognized the singer.
• Snape caught Ron and Seamus discussing ways to shorten their essays, awarded Hermione a point, and assigned Ron two extra essays while deducting five points from Gryffindor.
• Pabbie hid Harry’s essay to persuade him to play, and Harry spent the day with her before she tried writing the essay with a pen in her mouth.
• Pabbie told Newt that Harry treated her like a normal person, then broke the pen nib while attempting to write Harry’s essay.
• Harry caught the Golden Snitch in the fourteenth minute against Hufflepuff, giving Gryffindor a 190:40 victory as Veratia and several Slytherins cheered him on.
• Harry searched nearly all of Scotland’s Merlin ruins but ran short of Moonpetal leaves, while Colin turned his camera toward photographing other students.

As Hogwarts' end-of-term exams concluded, Veratia challenged her T in Muggle Studies and persuaded Professor Burbage to raise it to an E. Dumbledore then asked about her summer plans, hinting at whether she would take Harry away.

• Harry had to wait until September to continue searching for Merlin's ruins because the Moonpetal leaves were gone.
• Ron joked that Neville might still fear Snape as a fellow professor, and Neville later woke from a nightmare about losing Gryffindor points.
• Ron earned an O in Potions despite claiming he had done badly, while Veratia received a T in Muggle Studies and Os in her other subjects.
• Veratia confronted Professor Burbage over the T, arguing that her views had unfairly affected the grade, and Dumbledore supported her right to speak.
• Professor Burbage changed Veratia's Muggle Studies grade from a T to an E, and Dumbledore asked what she planned to do over the summer.

Harry completed Merlin’s trial on the Craigmore Coast, defeated its Sphinx with Alfonso, and found a letter revealing that Anne had been frozen in time because of a Dark Magic curse. He rushed back to Hogwarts and asked Dumbledore to take him to the Gaunt Old House, where Dumbledore suggested Tom might be able to help remove the curse.

• Harry activated the Merlin ruins and solved the puzzle that summoned a Sphinx in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Harry used Alfonso to kill the Sphinx, then opened Merlin’s treasure chest and found a letter from Ominis Gaunt.
• The letter explained that Anne was sealed in a cave west of the Forbidden Forest and urged Harry to seek help from Dumbledore and visit the Gaunt Old House.
• Harry returned to Hogwarts, asked Dumbledore to take him to the Gaunt Old House, and explained what he had discovered.
• Dumbledore said he could not remove Anne’s Dark Magic curse, but hinted that Tom might be able to help.

Harry and Dumbledore searched the Gaunt Old House for Ominis’s portrait and learned that Tom had taken it away. Marvolo revealed that Tom had treated Harry as his role model, and Harry and Dumbledore planned to question Morfin Gaunt in Azkaban.

• Harry and Dumbledore walked to the Gaunt Old House, where Dumbledore explained that its Anti-Apparition Charm prevented them from arriving by Apparition.
• Inside the abandoned house, Dumbledore told Harry that Morfin Gaunt had been imprisoned for the Riddle family murders, and Harry questioned whether Morfin had truly committed them.
• Harry and Dumbledore found Marvolo Gaunt’s portrait, and Marvolo said Tom had taken Ominis’s portrait away.
• Marvolo revealed that Tom had pursued Harry’s achievements and always treated him as a role model, leaving Harry and Dumbledore stunned.
• Harry suggested visiting Morfin in Azkaban for clues, and Dumbledore asked whether Harry knew the Patronus Charm.

Dumbledore took Harry to Azkaban to question Morfin Gaunt about the Gaunt family portrait of Aurelius, but Morfin could not recall what Tom Riddle had done and instead offered to reveal where Sebastian Sallow was imprisoned. The chapter left Harry and Dumbledore with a possible lead on Sebastian's cell.

• Harry showed Dumbledore that Gubraithian Fire and Fiendfyre could harm Dementors after Dumbledore advised him to learn the Patronus Charm.
• Dumbledore explained Azkaban's history to Harry as they approached the prison and discussed the danger of leaving Dementors in charge.
• Dumbledore and Harry entered Azkaban, where the Dementors allowed them through but assigned one to watch Harry.
• Dumbledore questioned Morfin Gaunt about Tom Riddle and the missing portrait of Aurelius Gaunt, and Morfin provided a memory of the day Tom visited him.
• Morfin asked Dumbledore to free him and told Harry that he knew which cell held Sebastian Sallow.

Harry rescued Sebastian’s ghost from Azkaban and learned that Ominis had sacrificed his life to seal Anne in time. After reviewing Morfin Gaunt’s memories, Harry and Dumbledore concluded that Voldemort had made Horcruxes and began considering where he had hidden them.

• Harry found Sebastian in Azkaban, learned how Sebastian and Anne’s friends had vanished or been imprisoned, and discovered that Ominis’s spell to seal Anne in time had cost him his life.
• Sebastian revealed that he had died decades earlier and used a Dark Arts item to hide as a ghost, then entered Harry’s wallet to escape Azkaban.
• Harry brought the Sphinx to Hogwarts, where Newt proposed that she guard Gryffindor’s entrance, and Harry took Sebastian to the Hospital Wing after the Basilisk petrified him.
• Harry and Dumbledore watched Morfin Gaunt’s memories and learned that Tom Riddle had visited Morfin, stolen Marvolo’s ring, and framed Morfin for the Riddles’ murders.
• Harry and Dumbledore deduced that Voldemort had made Horcruxes, suspected the ring was one, and discussed the possibility that he had hidden it and Aurelius’s portrait in a Gringotts vault.
• Harry planned to investigate Merlin’s ruins during the holiday to rescue Cassandra and search for Aurelius.

At Hogwarts’s end-of-year feast, Gryffindor won the House Cup, Harry received a Special Contribution to the School Award, and Sebastian awoke from Petrification. Before the students left for the holidays, Sebastian told Draco to act as Cassandra Malfoy’s translator when she returned, while Harry’s search for Ominis and Voldemort’s Horcruxes remained ahead.

• Dumbledore announced Gryffindor’s victory and awarded Harry the Special Contribution to the School Award for defeating the Chamber of Secrets monster.
• Harry, Hermione, Ron, and their friends discussed their holiday plans, including the Weasley family’s trip to Egypt.
• Sebastian awoke in the Hospital Wing, and Harry told him that Ominis’s portrait might be hidden with a Voldemort Horcrux.
• Sebastian discussed his past with Dumbledore and Veratia, then said he would remain at Hogwarts during the holiday.
• Sebastian found Draco in the Slytherin Common Room and told him Cassandra would need him to translate her true feelings about Harry.
• Draco eagerly asked Sebastian about his spell skills and considered asking him to be his godfather.

Sebastian went with the Malfoys to search their books for a way to remove Anne’s Dark Magic Curse, while Harry returned to the Dursleys for the holidays and began planning his search for Cassandra. Veratia visited Harry, and they discussed their plans before she reassured him that they would find Cassandra and a way to save Anne.

• Sebastian agreed to teach Draco and traveled to the Malfoy home to examine the family’s books for a cure for Anne’s curse.
• Harry said goodbye to his friends, returned to Number Four, Privet Drive with the Dursleys, and learned that Uncle Vernon had set aside money for him.
• Uncle Vernon signed Harry’s Hogsmeade permission form without hesitation, and Harry finished his homework while preparing to search for Cassandra.
• Veratia visited the Dursleys, told Petunia that she had been Lily’s friend, and went upstairs to see Harry.
• Veratia teased Harry, then learned that he had searched more than thirty Merlin’s ruins and had only three left to explore in the Forbidden Forest.
• Harry and Veratia discussed Gellert, Professor Scamander, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before Veratia embraced Harry and promised that everything would work out.

Harry celebrated his birthday with friends and allies, then spent the rest of the summer at the Leaky Cauldron, practising magic and preparing for school. Dumbledore began planning a way to investigate the Lestrange vault, and the chapter ended as Harry noticed a wanted poster at the inn.

• Harry received birthday letters and gifts, including Ron’s news about the Weasley family’s newfound money and Pabbie’s account of the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.
• Veratia took Harry to Professor Scamander’s tent, where friends gathered to celebrate his birthday and Dumbledore discussed Voldemort’s activities in America and the possibility of a Horcrux in the Lestrange vault.
• Harry proposed using the Imperius Curse to obtain access to the Lestrange vault, and Veratia offered to disguise herself as Bellatrix Lestrange; Dumbledore said he would retrieve something connected to Bellatrix instead.
• Harry moved into the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the holiday, practised spells, bought school supplies, and admired the new Firebolt broomstick without purchasing it.
• Hermione and Ron arrived at the Leaky Cauldron near the end of summer, and Harry noticed a wanted poster on the tavern wall after going downstairs to meet them.

Harry learned that Sirius Black was believed to be hunting him, received the Marauder’s Map from Fred and George, and began the school year aboard the Hogwarts Express. When Dementors boarded the train, Harry drove them off with Azure Gubraithian Fire, and the chapter ended with Dementors watching his carriage as he approached Hogwarts.

• Arthur told Harry that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban and was believed to be coming after him, and Harry promised not to seek Black out.
• Fred and George gave Harry the Marauder’s Map, whose creators’ names made Harry wonder whether Prongs was his father’s nickname.
• Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Hermione, met the exhausted new professor R.J. Lupin, and heard that he would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.
• Dementors boarded the train to search for Sirius Black, and Harry’s Azure Gubraithian Fire destroyed two of them and drove the others away.
• Lupin gave Harry, Ron, and Hermione chocolate to recover from the Dementors’ effects, then went ahead to speak with Dumbledore at Hogwarts.
• As Harry’s carriage approached Hogwarts, Dementors circled overhead and turned their attention toward him.

Harry completed the final Merlin trial in the Forbidden Forest and uncovered a hidden chamber beyond an Ancient Magic archway. There he found Cassandra Malfoy asleep on a stone platform beside a shattered goblet.

• Harry learned that Dementors guarded Hogwarts, attended the Sorting feast, and saw Professor Lupin introduced as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• The Gryffindor students met their new Sphinx guardian, and Hermione invited Luna to eat breakfast with them after hearing others mock her.
• Harry collected Moonpetal leaves, got Dumbledore’s permission to enter the Forbidden Forest, and went there to search for Cassandra.
• Harry completed the final trial by lighting three braziers, causing a hidden Ancient Magic archway to rise from the pond.
• Harry entered the chamber beyond the archway and found Cassandra Malfoy asleep on a stone platform beside a shattered goblet.

Harry entered Cassandra’s sleeping mind and found her resisting the god of death, who wanted to take her to hell. Cassandra explained that they had to pass through each other’s happiest memories to find a way out, but Harry’s memory ended just as his younger self met her.

• Harry used Legilimency on sleeping Cassandra and found himself in a memory of their encounter with a poacher in the Forbidden Forest.
• Cassandra recognized that the scene was not an ordinary memory, rejected the god of death’s claim on her soul, and shattered the space around them.
• Harry found himself reliving his first-year Hogwarts Express journey with Gareth Weasley and realized he could taste the remembered sweets.
• Older Cassandra appeared in the compartment, confirmed Harry’s identity, and told him the god of death was pursuing her for trying to break the boundary between life and death.
• Cassandra explained that they needed to search their happiest memories for a way out, and Harry’s memory cut off as his younger self appeared in the compartment.

Harry and Cassandra traveled through Cassandra’s memories and a possible future in which she returned to Malfoy Manor, while the god of death pursued them. Harry pulled Cassandra through a door in Merlin’s Chamber, where he woke to find her alive and looking at him.

• Harry and Cassandra relived Cassandra’s happiest memory of setting off Christmas fireworks with young Harry beside the Black Lake.
• They passed through scenes from Harry’s past, including his cupboard at the Dursleys’, his arrival at Hogwarts, and his first Christmas at Nurmengard with Veratia and Gellert.
• At Malfoy Manor, they encountered a possible future in which Cassandra returned home, reunited with Septimus, and learned that he still supported her choices before he vanished with the god of death.
• As dawn came, the god of death warned that Cassandra and Harry could not escape, so Harry pulled Cassandra through a door at the end of the Forbidden Forest path.
• Harry woke inside Merlin’s Chamber and found Cassandra opening her eyes, though she criticized him for being barely smarter than a troll.

Cassandra returned from Merlin's Chamber, reunited with the Malfoy family, and enrolled at Hogwarts as a Slytherin. After Harry took her to Mr. LeMay for an examination, Veratia returned to Hogwarts after learning Cassandra was back and headed for the Alchemy Room to find them.

• Harry and Cassandra left Merlin's Chamber, traveled to Malfoy Manor, and reunited with Dobby, Lucius, Narcissa, and the portraits of Mr. Septimus and Ignatius.
• Cassandra told Mr. Septimus she planned to return to Hogwarts and complete her unfinished sixth year, and Lucius arranged her enrollment.
• Dumbledore held a Sorting ceremony for Cassandra, and the Sorting Hat placed her in Slytherin.
• Harry brought Cassandra to Mr. LeMay's Alchemy Room for a health examination, where Cassandra learned that Veratia had also returned from Slytherin's Study.
• Veratia arrived at Hogwarts, learned that Harry and Cassandra were with Mr. LeMay, and went to the Alchemy Room.

Harry learned that Cassandra had only a year to live because of the potion she took, but Mr. LeMay revealed that Harry could restore her life force through contact. Cassandra and Veratia both clung to Harry, leaving the three of them locked in a tense standoff.

• Harry asked Mr. LeMay whether Cassandra had suffered a cost from traveling through time, and Veratia arrived at the Alchemy Room.
• Veratia and Cassandra traded jealous barbs about Harry, the Notebook, and their past rivalry.
• Mr. LeMay revealed that Cassandra had only one year left to live because of the potion she drank.
• Mr. LeMay explained that Harry could replenish Cassandra's life force through contact because he had fused with the Philosopher's Stone.
• Cassandra took Harry's left arm while Veratia held his right, and the two women glared at each other.

Cassandra and Veratia joined Harry’s Dueling Club and faced each other in a fierce duel after their rivalry flared over Harry. The chapter ended with dark clouds gathering around Cassandra and purple flames surrounding Veratia as Harry worried their match was becoming serious.

• Veratia persuaded Mr. LeMay to explore turning Crystal Balls into magical display screens, then left Hogwarts with Harry and Pabbie.
• Draco urged Harry to invite Cassandra to the Dueling Club, and Harry sent Veratia an invitation as well.
• Professor Trelawney warned Harry that he had an omen of doom after reading his tea leaves, but Professor McGonagall dismissed the prediction.
• Veratia returned to Hogwarts and accepted Harry’s invitation, while Cassandra secretly followed them to the Black Lake and watched them together.
• Harry invited Cassandra to the Dueling Club, and Veratia provoked her into joining on the condition that they duel.
• Cassandra and Veratia traded spells and transformations in the Room of Requirement until dark clouds and purple flames gathered around them.

Harry’s Dueling Club gathering ended with Ron defeating Draco, and a Boggart lesson revealed Veratia’s fear of losing Harry while Harry’s Boggart took the form of the god of death. Dumbledore and Mr. LeMay warned that Voldemort might be trying to summon the god of death, and Harry went to ask Pabbie for advice.

• Harry stopped Veratia and Cassandra’s duel, then watched Ron beat Draco in the Dueling Club.
• Harry and the others found Sebastian beating Peeves, visited the Kitchen, and heard Ron question Harry about Cassandra and Veratia’s feelings for him.
• Sirius, surviving in the Forbidden Forest as a dog, met Pabbie, who offered him berries and shelter.
• In Lupin’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Neville, Ron, and the other students defeated the Boggart; Veratia’s fear appeared as Harry, while Harry’s fear appeared as the hooded god of death.
• Harry, Veratia, Cassandra, and Dumbledore met with Mr. LeMay, who said the god of death could not reach Earth unaided; Dumbledore shared Newt’s report suggesting Voldemort was conducting a summoning ritual.
• Veratia decided to research the god of death, while Harry went with Pabbie to the Black Lake to ask her an important question.

Harry accepted Pabbie's advice to pursue both Veratia and Cassandra, while Snape's hostility toward Lupin surfaced during a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. During a stormy Quidditch match, Harry caught the Golden Snitch but was surrounded by Dementors, and Azure flames erupted across the sky to destroy them.

• Harry admitted to Pabbie that he was torn between Veratia and Cassandra, and she urged him not to choose between them and to strengthen his magic.
• Snape covered Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, taught the students about werewolves, and repeatedly docked Gryffindor points while criticizing Lupin.
• Harry invited Veratia and Cassandra to sit with him by the Black Lake, where their rivalry flared until a Black Dog interrupted them.
• During Gryffindor's stormy Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, Harry pursued and caught the Golden Snitch as Dementors appeared around him.
• Dementors surrounded Harry and descended on the pitch, but Azure flames burst into the sky, burned the Dementors to ash, and spread across the storm clouds as the incantation "Partiporus!" rang out.