Chapter Summaries

Fred and George escaped Filch and Snape by hiding in a broom cupboard that was actually the Room of Requirement, then returned safely to Gryffindor Tower. Albert recognized the place from George’s account, while the Twins skipped Herbology and slept through the afternoon.

• Filch and Snape cornered Fred and George on the Eighth Floor as they tried to evade capture.
• Fred and George found a mysterious door and hid in a broom cupboard, which vanished before Filch and Snape reached them.
• After Snape and Filch left, Fred and George returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and went to bed near dawn.
• Albert warned the exhausted Twins not to be late for their morning Herbology classes, but they skipped class and slept until afternoon.
• George told Lee Jordan about the vanished cupboard, and Albert recognized it as the Room of Requirement.

After Snape punished Fred and George for their nighttime excursion, Albert lent them his Potions report and asked to join their next trip out of the Common Room. He planned to use the outing to look for the original Book of Spells in the Restricted Section.

• Snape deducted five points from Fred and George, gave their Potion for Curing Scabies a zero, and assigned them an extra report.
• Albert warned Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that Filch was patrolling at night, and the twins decided to stay in for the time being.
• Fred showed Lee and Albert a secret passage the twins had found during their nighttime excursion, and Albert memorized its location.
• Fred asked to borrow Albert’s Potion for Curing Scabies report, and Albert lent it to him after warning him not to copy it directly.
• Albert asked to join the twins’ next nighttime outing so he could look for the original Book of Spells in the Restricted Section.

Albert led Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to consider whether the vanished broom cupboard was actually a room that appeared when someone needed it, while hiding that he knew its secret. When Percy confronted Fred and George about nighttime wandering, Albert convincingly redirected his suspicion toward older students.

• Fred and George asked Albert to help find the vanished broom cupboard near the tapestry of Troll Bashing Barnabus.
• Albert had the twins try to summon somewhere to hide, then suggested the door might lead to a room that changed according to its user's needs.
• Albert joked that the twins should test whether the room produced a toilet when one of them urgently needed one.
• Percy arrived and questioned Fred and George about Gryffindor students who had wandered the castle at night.
• Albert argued that first-years could not evade Filch and pointed suspicion toward older students, leaving Percy persuaded and Lee Jordan puzzled.

Albert celebrated his birthday at Hogwarts after gaining an initial grasp of the Summoning Charm. He shared a cake from his family with his friends and received economics books from his grandfather and Herb.

• Albert successfully used the Summoning Charm to make a chrysanthemum and several orchids appear.
• An owl delivered birthday gifts from Grandfather Luke and Herb, including two books about economics and a cake from Albert's family.
• Albert read Nia's birthday card, learned she had helped make the cake, and shared it with his friends.
• Angelina tried to read Principles of Economics but could not make sense of it.
• Shanna worried that she was the only Gryffindor freshman who could not ride a broom, and Albert tried to reassure her.

Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years attended their first Flying Class, where most of the Gryffindors quickly took to their brooms and Shanna struggled. Fred and George raced Slytherin’s Warrington and won, leaving the Slytherins furious.

• Before class, Albert reassured the nervous Shanna that learning to ride a Flying Broom would be like learning to ride a bicycle.
• Madam Hooch taught the first-years to summon, mount, and control their brooms, and awarded Gryffindor five points for their strong performance.
• Shanna struggled to fly while most of the Gryffindors took to the air, and Madam Hooch let the more skilled students practice freely.
• Fred and George showed off their flying and raced Warrington after the Slytherins urged him to beat them.
• Fred and George defeated Warrington, and Madam Hooch scolded all three while Albert’s remark that the win was normal further angered the Slytherins.

Albert denied rumors that he had beaten a Slytherin student, explaining how a confrontation in the corridor had left the student injured. He then returned to practicing the Cutting Curse on Guardian Tree wood, unsure whether his work could protect against Dark Creatures.

• Lee Jordan, Fred, and George told Albert that people were saying he had beaten up Slytherin students, and Albert denied it.
• Albert recounted meeting Slytherins in a corridor, where one bumped into him, fell, and hurt himself when Albert helped him up.
• Albert explained that the injured student had gone to the School Hospital, while he claimed he had been a victim too.
• Lee Jordan asked about Albert's woodworking, and George recognized the wood as Guardian Tree wood.
• Albert said he was practicing the Cutting Curse on the wood and wondered whether something made from it could protect people from Dark Creatures.

Albert asked Professor Broad about Guardian Trees and learned that properly crafted Rowan wood talismans could keep some Dark Creatures away. He decided to study alchemy so he could make a talisman for his sister’s birthday.

• Albert asked Professor Broad whether Guardian Trees could protect people from Grindylows.
• Professor Broad described a Rowan wood talisman that had once helped keep Dark Creatures away, and explained that garlic irritated vampires while crosses had little effect.
• Professor Broad said genuine talismans needed alchemical processing and warned Albert that market talismans were likely scams.
• Albert showed Professor Broad the Guardian Tree wood cross he had made and explained that he wanted a talisman for his sister’s birthday.
• Professor Broad recommended Simple Alchemy and invited Albert to visit his office that weekend to discuss Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Albert read Zonko’s Simple Alchemy after Professor Broad recommended it, and found its joke-like charms and contraptions far removed from what he had expected of alchemy. He left for Astronomy Class with the book packed away, while George and the others remained curious about its contents.

• Fred asked Albert questions while finishing his Astronomy homework, and Albert corrected the positions of Saturn and Jupiter on his star chart.
• Fred and George bickered about doing homework, while Lee Jordan joined them after finishing his assignment with Albert’s help.
• Albert showed Lee Jordan and Angelina the book Simple Alchemy and explained its descriptions of enchanted cloaks, amulets, and prank props.
• Albert laughed at the book’s garlic-scented Garlic Cross, which it claimed could repel vampires.
• George recognized Zonko as the book’s author, but Albert put the book away and led the group toward Astronomy Class.

Albert discussed Simple Alchemy with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, then showed them a garlic-scented protective cross and joked about how it was made. The Twins took the idea seriously and planned to grow garlic, leaving Albert baffled by their enthusiasm.

• Albert explained that Simple Alchemy was too difficult for first-years and warned Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that reading about alchemy was not the same as mastering it.
• Albert gave George a rough cross and claimed it was made from Guardian Tree wood and could protect against Dark Creatures.
• Albert explained that the cross could be soaked in garlic repeatedly until it reeked, prompting Fred and George to consider making more.
• George suggested asking the House-elves for garlic and borrowing Hagrid's vegetable patch to grow it.
• Fred and George agreed to grow garlic despite knowing nothing about gardening, and Albert wondered at their plan.

Albert studied a book about alchemy and potions while helping Fred, George, and Lee Jordan find garlic for their plan to test whether it warded off Dark Creatures. Hagrid offered them garlic, and the boys planned to grow more near the Forbidden Forest.

• Albert and George returned a library book and borrowed Extraction, Separation, and Potions, where Albert read about alchemical methods and magical photographs.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan failed to get garlic from the kitchen, and Albert suggested they ask Hagrid or order some.
• Albert discovered a quest to create three magical photographs, with the Alchemy skill as its reward.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan decided to seek garlic in Hogsmeade, but Hagrid offered to give them some after Albert mentioned their research.
• The three boys planned to grow garlic near the Forbidden Forest, while Albert chose not to point out that they could use a flowerpot.

Albert met with Professor Broad to discuss defensive magic, learn about the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, and receive advice on further study. He left with a book recommendation and a better understanding of why the subject remained poorly taught.

• Fred and George returned from planting garlic at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and told Albert about their plans.
• Albert visited Professor Broad at ten and discussed alchemy and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection over tea and Pumpkin Pie.
• Professor Broad recommended Practical Defensive Magic and Its Countermeasures against Dark Magic, while Albert revealed that he already owned the series and had learned several defensive spells.
• Albert asked why Dumbledore did not hire Aurors and whether renaming the subject could break its curse, and Professor Broad explained that people feared the position and the curse might follow a new course.
• Professor Broad advised Albert to study defensive spells and borrow Defensive and Deterrent Charms from the library, then Albert left for lunch.

After days of rain and illness at Hogwarts, Fred and George’s garlic crop rotted, prompting Hagrid to offer them more cloves. Albert suggested growing the replacement garlic in flowerpots in the dormitory, while the students looked ahead to Halloween and Hogsmeade.

• Albert and several Gryffindors recovered from colds with Madam Pomfrey’s Invigorating Potion, which made their ears smoke.
• Fred and George worried that the prolonged rain would ruin their newly sprouted garlic, while students discussed the Hogsmeade notice and Halloween.
• When the rain eased, Fred and George checked their garlic with Albert and found that the shoots had rotted.
• Hagrid rushed over, mistaking the students’ activity for an attempt to enter the forest, then offered to provide more garlic.
• Albert told Hagrid they would plant the replacement garlic in flowerpots and bring the pots back to the dormitory.

Albert entered the Room of Requirement’s storage area to search for Ravenclaw’s Diadem, one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, while planning to help bring Voldemort down only if it benefited him. He began his search among the mountains of discarded objects.

• Fred tended the dormitory’s sprouted garlic while Albert reminded him to give the plants sunlight.
• Filch questioned the four boys about their garlic, and Albert defended it as harmless.
• Albert’s roommates stayed behind to work on homework while he took his camera to explore the nearly empty castle.
• Albert opened the Room of Requirement by pacing before the blank wall on the Eighth Floor.
• Albert entered the room’s vast storage area, intending to find Ravenclaw’s Diadem.

Albert searched the Room of Requirement for Ravenclaw's Diadem, planning to tell Dumbledore he had discovered it by chance if the search proved worthwhile. While exploring the room's piles of discarded objects, he triggered a quest to defeat a troll and decided he could attempt it after Harry Potter enrolled.

• Albert planned a plausible story for how he might find Ravenclaw's Diadem and bring Dumbledore to the Room of Requirement.
• Albert photographed the clutter and found an old copy of Magical Drafts and Potions marked with Professor SS's initials.
• A small bluish-green creature emerged from a suit of armor, and Albert knocked it back with a spell.
• Albert explored the rubbish heaps and inspected a preserved troll specimen.
• Albert received the Fearless Challenger quest to defeat a troll for 3000 experience and planned to borrow one when Harry Potter enrolled.

Albert explored the Room of Requirement, found Ravenclaw’s Diadem, and recognized it as one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. He left without touching it, gained several Task Panel quests, and returned to the Common Room in high spirits without telling Fred, George, and Lee Jordan what he had discovered.

• Albert found the Mirror of Erised and saw his reflection holding Ravenclaw’s Diadem, which he realized represented his desire for Task Panel experience and Skill Points.
• Albert collected an enchanted tracking slingshot and discovered a damaged Golden Snitch while searching through the Room of Requirement’s stored objects.
• Albert followed whispers to a wizard bust wearing Ravenclaw’s Diadem and resisted the Horcrux’s temptation to put it on.
• Albert photographed the bust and diadem, identified the object as Voldemort’s Horcrux, and received quests to return, purify, and destroy it.
• Albert considered letting Harry Potter confront Voldemort while he completed the related quests, then left the Room of Requirement in a cheerful mood.
• George, Lee Jordan, and Fred followed Albert to find out what had made him so happy, but Albert did not tell them what he had found.

Albert and the Weasley Twins pranked Filch, then attended Hogwarts’s Halloween feast, where Celestina Warbeck performed with a banshee. The party ended with Mark and Charlie urging Albert to become Gryffindor’s next Seeker, while Albert went to bed as the Twins celebrated the concert.

• Fred and George used Albert’s winged slingshot to pelt the floor near Filch with mud balls, sending the caretaker racing after an unseen culprit.
• Professor Broad entertained the students with a story about a failed duel and a Shield Charm, while Lee Jordan’s comment drew attention to Albert’s spell knowledge.
• Dumbledore welcomed Celestina Warbeck to the Halloween feast, where she performed with a banshee whose shriek blended into the music.
• Mark and Charlie asked Albert to take over as Gryffindor’s Seeker after Charlie graduated, and Albert reluctantly said they could discuss it if no one more suitable appeared.
• Albert returned to the dormitory and went to bed while Fred and George danced and sang about the concert.

Albert watched Gryffindor and Slytherin begin a fiercely hostile Quidditch match, with both teams repeatedly fouling and retaliating. The game continued amid growing chaos, and Albert wondered whether this was what hot-blooded Quidditch was supposed to be.

• As winter arrived, Charlie prepared Gryffindor for its match against Slytherin, which students hoped would improve Gryffindor's House Cup standing.
• Fred and George dragged Albert out of bed to attend the match, and Albert used the Drying Charm to warm them and Lee Jordan.
• Albert, his friends, and Hagrid watched as the teams entered the pitch and Madam Hooch warned them to play fairly.
• Gryffindor scored first, then both teams began committing fouls and retaliating, while Madam Hooch repeatedly awarded penalties.
• After Montague crashed into Charlie and cost him a chance to catch the Snitch, Wood struck Montague, and Albert watched the match descend further into chaos.

A violent Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin left both teams’ players injured and forced off the pitch. With the teams ordered to choose replacements, Charlie put Albert in as Gryffindor’s Seeker for the match’s restart.

• Slytherin’s Montague hit Wood with a Bludger, but the judges disallowed Slytherin’s goal after Madam Pomfrey treated Wood.
• Erin hit Montague with a Bludger, injuring him badly enough that he left the pitch, and the remaining players escalated the match into an aerial brawl.
• Madam Hooch expelled all four Beaters, then stopped the match and ordered both teams to select replacement players.
• Charlie selected Kyle as Keeper, Fred and George as Beaters, and Albert as Seeker, telling Albert that Gryffindor’s victory depended on catching the Golden Snitch.

Albert joined Gryffindor’s Quidditch team as Seeker and caught the Golden Snitch, winning the match against Slytherin. Gryffindor celebrated as Albert was hoisted into the air.

• Charlie gave Albert instructions, and Mark lent him his Cleansweep Six for the match.
• Albert took off after the whistle, searching through the rain while George protected him from a Bludger.
• Albert spotted a flash of gold and dived toward the Slytherin goal hoops as the Slytherin Seeker chased him.
• Albert evaded the Keeper’s attack, struck him with an elbow, and dodged a bat before catching the Golden Snitch.
• Albert’s pursuers crashed into the stands as the commentator announced Gryffindor’s victory, and the team lifted Albert in celebration.

After Gryffindor won the Quidditch match, Albert and his teammates visited the School Hospital for treatment and celebrated their victory in the Common Room. The chapter ended with Albert discussing his Summoning Charm practice with Field.

• Albert used the Drying Charm on himself and his teammates before they went to the School Hospital for anti-cold potion and Jack's injuries.
• Madam Pomfrey healed Jack, while the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams faced off in the crowded ward; Mark announced that a Slytherin player had earned detention after a bat hit someone and two players crashed into the stands.
• Danny and the others teased Wiki about his missing teeth, and Albert claimed Wiki had knocked them out himself by hitting Albert's elbow.
• Lee Jordan told the Gryffindors that Professor McGonagall had prepared food for them, and the team returned to cheers and a victory feast in the Common Room.
• Field teased Albert about his flying and asked about his Summoning Charm practice, and Albert said he was working toward summoning an umbrella.