Chapter Summaries

Before the Gryffindor–Slytherin Quidditch match, Albert confidently predicted Harry Potter would catch the Golden Snitch, prompting students to place bets through competing pools. The chapter ended with Harry betting a Galleon on his own victory while Ron regretted not joining in.

• Albert reassured Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that Harry would catch the Golden Snitch and win the match.
• Kenneth Towler agreed to run a betting pool with Albert’s help and collected bets, including Shanna’s wager on Gryffindor.
• Truman ran a betting pool on the Slytherin side, and Albert backed Harry with five Galleons.
• Fred, George, and Aylia placed bets through Marcus Flint’s pool, while Ron declined because he had little money.
• Harry bet a Galleon on his own victory, and Ron felt he had missed an opportunity.

Albert watched Gryffindor face Slytherin in Harry Potter’s first Quidditch Match, while boosting Gryffindor’s confidence and betting on Harry to win. Harry pursued the Golden Snitch, but Marcus Flint fouled him before he could catch it, and Albert remained confident Harry would still win.

• Albert enchanted a banner above the Gryffindor stands to make its painted lion roar, startling Ron, Harry, and their dormmates.
• Angelina scored first for Gryffindor, but Slytherin soon took the lead through underhanded play.
• Albert left the stands and joined Isobel, discussing his bet that Harry would catch the Golden Snitch and win.
• Harry spotted the Snitch and raced Terence Higgins toward it, but Marcus Flint rammed Harry and forced Madam Hooch to stop the match.
• Gryffindor supporters threw rubbish and cast curses at Flint, while Albert told Isobel he still expected Harry to win.

Gryffindor overcame Slytherin’s dirty play and Harry Potter’s bewitched broom to win the Quidditch match. The match ended with Harry catching the Golden Snitch and Flint facing students demanding repayment of his gambling debts.

• Lee Jordan condemned Flint’s foul tactics as the spectators’ anger suspended the match, while Slytherin held a 40–20 lead.
• Fred and George used their bats against Slytherin’s Chaser Bell, but Slytherin scored again and extended its lead.
• Albert recognized that Harry’s broom was bewitched and warned Isobel that Professor Quirrell might be connected to Voldemort and the forbidden object.
• Harry’s broom returned to normal after Hermione intervened, and Snape was left looking suspicious as he put out flames on his robes.
• Harry caught the Golden Snitch after Higgins gave up the chase, giving Gryffindor a 170–60 victory.
• Flint complained that Harry had nearly swallowed the Snitch, then faced students demanding repayment of their Galleons.

Albert, the Weasley twins, and Lee Jordan recovered some of their winnings from Flint, who owed Hogwarts students a much larger gambling debt. They organized a plan to keep pressuring Flint until he repaid everyone, while Kenneth Towler joked about taking Flint’s trousers as payment.

• Fred, George, and Lee told Albert that they had cornered Flint and recovered the five Galleons he had wagered, after Flint tried to avoid paying.
• Kenneth Towler paid Albert fourteen Galleons as his share of their winnings and showed him the settled accounts.
• George revealed that Flint owed bettors 235 Galleons and ten Sickles, and the group suspected Snape had interfered with Harry’s broom during the match.
• Lee explained that the students were joining forces to collect their winnings, and Albert predicted they would keep confronting Flint until he paid.
• Kenneth joked that he would pay one Galleon for Flint’s trousers if the others stripped them off him to settle the debt.

Albert and his friends discussed how they were pressuring Flint and his companions to repay their gambling debts, while rumors spread through Hogwarts about Flint being stripped to his underwear. In Charms Class, Professor Flitwick taught the Happiness Charm, and Albert considered using it to make enchanted sweets.

• Albert learned that Truman and other students had ambushed Flint, searched him, and found only one Galleon after Flint refused to repay his debt.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hoped the pressure would make Flint's group pay, while Albert said he had recorded the debt and expected to recover it eventually.
• Albert found the story about Flint's trousers being pulled down had spread through the school, and Lee Jordan asked why he had missed the news.
• Professor Flitwick cast the Happiness Charm on the class and explained its effects, how it worked, and the risk of making someone laugh hysterically.
• Albert considered turning the Happiness Charm into a magical item or sweets, and Fred and George suggested making Laughing Toffee.

Albert gave Fred and George ideas for developing magical sweets and warned Harry, Ron, and Hermione not to investigate what the big dog guarded. The chapter ended with Fred casting the Happiness Charm on Flint, prompting Professor McGonagall to identify the spell.

• Albert told Fred and George how Puffskeins, Laughing Potion, Alioto's Leaves, and Flobberworm Syrup could help them make laughing and melancholy sweets.
• Albert suggested developing magical foods that caused pleasurable effects, and Fred and George wrote down his ideas about Honeydukes' Fizzing Whizbees.
• Hermione asked Albert about Nicolas Flamel, but Albert refused to explain and warned Harry, Ron, and Hermione to stay out of trouble.
• Flint stormed out of the bathroom, and Fred secretly cast the Happiness Charm on him while George and Lee Jordan provided cover.
• Professor McGonagall arrived, recognized the Happiness Charm, and asked who had cast it on Flint.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained curious about Nicolas Flamel and the treasure guarded by Fluffy, so they visited Hagrid to ask what he knew. Hagrid warned them to stop investigating and wrote to invite Albert for tea, fearing Albert might target the Philosopher's Stone.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed Albert's knowledge of Nicolas Flamel and decided to ask Hagrid about it.
• Ron defended Fred and George for confronting the Slytherins who had refused to pay Harry's bet.
• The next afternoon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid and told him Albert had warned them that investigating would bring serious trouble.
• Hagrid accidentally revealed his concern about Albert, then wrote him a letter inviting him to tea on Saturday.
• Hagrid warned Harry, Ron, and Hermione to stop digging and worried that Albert might overcome the professors' protections and reach the Philosopher's Stone.

Albert discussed plans for a future magical shop with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan while preparing to meet Hagrid for tea. He warned them that someone might be targeting the object on the fourth floor and suggested Professor Quirrell could be suspicious.

• Lee Jordan gave Albert a note from Hagrid inviting him to tea the next day.
• Fred and George showed Lee Jordan their plan for making Laughing Toffee and discussed Albert's proposed magical shop, its products, and its finances.
• Albert said he would provide the money and know-how while Lee Jordan would likely help run the store.
• Fred asked when they could investigate the fourth floor, but Albert warned them not to go because someone had their eye on the object there.
• Albert suggested the Gringotts thief could be at Hogwarts and might use Polyjuice Potion, prompting Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to suspect Professor Quirrell.

Albert visited Hagrid and reassured him that he was not after the Philosopher’s Stone, while suggesting Dumbledore might be using it to lure Voldemort or an accomplice into the open. Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived, but Hagrid refused to discuss Nicolas Flamel or the Stone with them.

• Albert inferred that Harry had visited Hagrid and explained that he knew Nicolas Flamel and had met him during the summer.
• Albert suggested that Dumbledore might be using the Philosopher’s Stone as bait, and Hagrid wondered whether the Stone at Hogwarts was real.
• Albert heard Harry, Ron, and Hermione approaching, then left Hagrid’s cabin after they arrived.
• Hagrid warned Harry, Ron, and Hermione to stop investigating Nicolas Flamel and not to doubt Dumbledore’s judgment.

Albert watched the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff Quidditch match with Isobel, keeping them warm while discussing Wizard Cards and whether the future could change. After Ravenclaw won, Isobel teased Albert about another girl, and he reassured her that he was committed to her alone.

• Kenneth Towler asked Albert to help set up a betting pool for the match, but Albert refused.
• Albert and Isobel watched the cold, sleet-filled match together under a conjured umbrella and beside magical blue flames.
• Isobel suggested adding magical effects to Wizard Cards, and Albert described cards that could speak their names or special phrases.
• Ravenclaw won, with Cho Chang defeating Hufflepuff Seeker Diggory.
• Albert and Isobel discussed whether the future could change, and Isobel teased him about having another romantic interest.
• Albert told Isobel that there was only her boat.

Flint blamed Kenneth Towler for his betting losses while Albert and his friends planned to collect the debts from the Slytherins during the Hogsmeade trip. Hermione asked Albert to translate a French parchment that secretly contained the Philosopher's Stone formula, and he decided to delay telling her what it was until after Christmas.

• Flint blamed Kenneth Towler for his humiliations and prepared to take revenge, overlooking Albert's role in the betting scheme.
• Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan planned to recover the Slytherins' unpaid debts during the December trip to Hogsmeade by catching them with money.
• Hermione showed Albert an old French parchment and asked him to translate it; he copied it and agreed to help later.
• Albert recognized the parchment as the French version of the Philosopher's Stone formula and planned to give copies to Harry and Quirrell after Christmas.
• Hermione told Harry and Ron that Albert would translate the parchment after the holiday, while Ron worried it might be another trap.

Albert and his friends discussed their Christmas plans and spotted Professor Quirrell in the Fourth Floor Forbidden Area Corridor. Albert suspected Dumbledore was watching for a thief, leaving the twins wondering whether they could still explore the corridor.

• Albert read letters from his family and learned that he would return home for the Christmas Holiday while George would stay at Hogwarts because his family was visiting Charlie in Romania.
• Fred and George considered sneaking into Filch's room to set off their Noise Bombs, but Albert warned them against it.
• George spotted Professor Quirrell in the Fourth Floor Forbidden Area Corridor and wondered whether he planned to steal the treasure Dumbledore had hidden at Hogwarts.
• Fred and George questioned why Quirrell wore a Large Scarf and smelled of garlic, and Albert considered that Quirrell might be hiding Voldemort's possession from the professors.
• Albert told the twins that Dumbledore had likely noticed the danger and was waiting for the thief to take the bait, prompting Fred to worry that their planned adventures in the corridor were over.

Albert dismissed tea-leaf reading as unreliable, then joined Fred, George, and Lee Jordan in a snowball fight and enchanted a giant snowman to dance. The courtyard crowd watched in delight until Snape appeared.

• Albert told Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that he guessed the acorn in the teacup and criticized tea-leaf reading as unreliable.
• Fred and George carried Albert to the courtyard, where Truman started a snowball fight by throwing snow at them.
• Albert used magic to fend off enchanted snowballs and made a huge snowman, then added legs and enchanted it to tap dance.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and other students gathered to watch the dancing snowman as Snape appeared.

A giant snowman collapsed on Snape after Albert warned him to move, knocking him unconscious. Albert helped take Snape to the School Hospital, where Snape woke just as Professor McGonagall arrived to question Albert.

• Snape confronted Albert in the courtyard and took points from Gryffindor, but the giant snowman toppled onto him before he could finish.
• Albert called for help, and Fred and the others dug Snape out before Albert revived him and arranged for him to be carried to the School Hospital.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other students celebrated Snape’s misfortune and backed Albert’s account of events.
• Madam Pomfrey treated Snape, who soon regained consciousness as Professor McGonagall arrived and demanded to know what had happened.

After Snape was pinned beneath Albert's collapsing snowman, Professor McGonagall punished Albert with a loss of points and detention, while most students blamed Snape. Albert privately recognized that he had caused the apparent accident, and the chapter ended with Katrina reading Harry's congratulatory card to him.

• Albert told Professor McGonagall that Snape had ignored his warning before the snowman collapsed, and Truman and Fred supported his account.
• Professor McGonagall deducted ten points from Gryffindor and assigned Albert detention to finish his Human Transfiguration essay.
• Gryffindor students defended Albert and criticized Snape, whose reputation worsened after the incident.
• Snape left the School Hospital, caught a cold, and returned for another night of treatment.
• Albert realized that his invisible self and the Time-Turner had caused the snowman accident, and he enjoyed seeing Snape suffer the consequences.
• In the Room of Requirement, Katrina found Harry's card among Albert's sympathy gifts and read its message: “Well done.”

Albert finished his detention by studying Human Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall and writing an essay she approved. After Fred and George’s snowball prank knocked Professor Quirrell down, Albert helped secure their punishment and obtained a signed note for the Restricted Section.

• Snape ignored Albert after Professor McGonagall had already punished him for the snowman incident.
• Albert discussed Human Transfiguration and Animagus with Professor McGonagall, disguised himself as a black armchair, and completed an essay that ended his detention early.
• Fred and George enchanted snowballs to chase Professor Quirrell and hit his wrapped turban, prompting Professor McGonagall to take points from Gryffindor and assign detention.
• Albert suggested Fred and George apologize and polish items in the Trophy Room, then questioned Professor Quirrell until he signed a note allowing Albert into the Restricted Section.
• Fred and George argued over who would scrub the chamber pots, while Lee Jordan explained that they had wanted to test their enchanted snowballs on Professor Quirrell.
• The twins blamed Albert and asked to copy his homework, while Lee Jordan volunteered to supervise them.

Albert and the other students ambushed Slytherins who owed money from a betting pool, taking nearly forty Galleons and warning them not to retaliate. Albert left the group ready to use the Memory Charm if the Slytherins fought back, and they then headed to Hogsmeade.

• Albert, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Truman, and the others waited along the route to Hogsmeade and used the Marauder's Map to locate Flint and his companions.
• Lee Jordan secretly cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on Flint and the others, while Fred and Truman took money from them and the group carried them to a Snow House.
• The students ambushed three more groups of Slytherins involved in the betting pool, collecting nearly forty Galleons and dividing the money according to each person's debt.
• Truman warned the robbed students that the debt-collection team would keep pursuing them, and Fred held onto their wands until the group reached Hogsmeade.
• Albert persuaded the hesitant students to stand together against retaliation and said they could alter the Slytherins' memories if they fought back.
• Albert told the group to clear away the Snow Houses, and they set off for Hogsmeade.

Flint planned to ambush Truman and the others after they took his wand, while Perkin Derrick urged the Slytherins to negotiate instead. Flint’s group built a conspicuous Snow House to lie in wait, but Truman and his allies surrounded them and left after warning them, prompting the debt collectors to stay united.

• Flint rejected Perkin Derrick’s proposal to negotiate and told those who supported it to stay out of his plan.
• When Flint’s wand was not returned, he and his companions borrowed wands from younger students and built a Snow House to ambush Truman’s group.
• Flint and his companions shivered inside the conspicuous Snow House while waiting for their targets to return.
• Truman and his allies surrounded the Snow House, mocked Flint’s failed ambush, and warned him not to try again.
• Fred urged Flint to become a good person, and the students collecting debts decided to stick together to avoid being targeted alone.

Albert agreed to let the Slytherin debtors repay their debts without the fourfold winnings, despite suspecting they planned to retaliate once the debt-collecting team broke up. As the students left for Christmas, Albert mocked Malfoy for taunting Harry and advised Kenneth Towler on his feud with Flint.

• Albert told Fred and George to let the debtors choose whether to accept half their winnings, warning the group to watch themselves because the Slytherins might seek revenge.
• Fred brought Albert the remaining Galleons after the Slytherins repaid the debt-collecting team, and the team members got their money back without the promised extra winnings.
• Albert teased Malfoy by calling him Harry Potter's admirer after Malfoy mocked Harry for staying at Hogwarts over Christmas.
• Kenneth Towler told Albert and Lee Jordan that Flint planned to pull down his underwear, and Albert suggested making peace or using a Memory Charm on Flint.
• Albert beat Lee Jordan at Wizard Card and promised that the game would eventually gain more effects.

Albert woke on Christmas to give Nia a scarf and then opened a mountain of gifts from family, friends, and Hogwarts acquaintances. He left suspicious packages from Snape and an unknown sender unopened, planning to take them back to school.

• Nia woke Albert demanding her Christmas gift, and he gave her a wool scarf while warning her to dress warmly.
• Albert opened gifts from his family and friends, including a Two-Way Mirror from Nicolas Flamel and a book from the Weasley Twins.
• Nia gave Albert matching wool gloves and confiscated Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches after Herb began reading it.
• Albert told Herb and Daisy he planned to wait a couple of years before looking for a girlfriend, while keeping his existing relationship secret.
• Albert found packages from Snape and an unknown sender, decided not to open them, and planned to take them to school.