Chapter Summaries

Harry decided to join the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, met captain Wood, and prepared to begin training the next day. Back in the dormitory, he showed Ron and the others his Nimbus 2000.

• Harry used snowballs to wake his sleeping dormmates, and a prank sparked exaggerated rumors about what had happened in the first-year boys' dormitory.
• Harry told Professor McGonagall that he had decided to join the Quidditch Team.
• Professor McGonagall introduced Harry to Gryffindor captain Wood, who arranged for training to begin the next day.
• Hermione wondered why Harry had changed his mind about joining the team.
• Harry unwrapped his Nimbus 2000, and Ron, Neville, and Seamus gathered to admire it.

Harry put his plan to build Neville’s confidence into action by arranging for professors to praise him and award Gryffindor points for small improvements. After a week of unexpected recognition, Neville began to show signs of growing more confident.

• Harry explained his plan for Neville to Hermione and said he would start that day.
• Harry asked Professor Flitwick to help, and Flitwick awarded Gryffindor ten points after Neville gave a nervous, imperfect answer in Charms.
• Neville blushed at his classmates’ praise and began to hold his head a little higher.
• Professors Sinistra, Sprout, Binns, and McGonagall also praised Neville for ordinary efforts and awarded Gryffindor points.
• The professors continued their praise for an entire week, leaving students to conclude that Neville was having a lucky spell.

Harry asked Snape to award Gryffindor points for Neville’s Potions performance, but Snape stayed silent, leaving Harry convinced he would agree. Harry and Hermione then began a bet about whether Snape would grant the points.

• Harry asked Snape to award Gryffindor points because of Neville’s performance in Potions, and Snape mocked him before falling silent.
• Harry left Snape’s office without receiving an answer, and Hermione questioned why he had asked Snape for help.
• Hermione recalled giving Harry a Quidditch book she had spent over an hour finding, and Snape later seized it and deducted five points from Gryffindor.
• Harry insisted Snape would agree to his request and challenged Hermione to bet on it.

Harry and Hermione wagered Little Cutie on whether Snape would award Gryffindor points, and Hermione lost when Snape gave Neville a point in Potions. Harry claimed victory, but Hermione delayed handing over the kitten as she hurried away.

• Harry whispered his wager to Hermione, who agreed that Little Cutie would go to her if she won; Hermione countered that Harry would give her Little Cutie if he lost.
• Little Cutie returned to Harry's bed on cold nights, and Harry enjoyed cuddling her as he slept.
• Hermione watched Snape closely throughout Potions class, expecting him to refuse to award Harry anything.
• Snape praised Neville for not blowing up his cauldron and awarded Gryffindor one point, leaving the class astonished.
• Harry told Hermione she had lost the bet, but she insisted she could choose when to hand over Little Cutie and hurried away.

Harry advanced quickly in Quidditch training as Gryffindor prepared to face Slytherin, and Wood tested his Seeker skills with increasingly difficult exercises. After catching eight flying golf balls, Harry was left mentally exhausted as Halloween Eve approached.

• Wood taught Harry the rules of Quidditch and watched him quickly master flying maneuvers during training.
• Harry impressed the Gryffindor team, who praised his potential as a Seeker ahead of the match against Slytherin.
• With Halloween Eve two days away, Wood trained Harry to catch golf balls fired through the air.
• Wood increased the challenge to eight balls of different colors, and Harry caught them just before they hit the ground.
• Harry relaxed after training and suffered a headache from mental fatigue.

Harry and Hermione excelled at the Levitation Charm lesson, while Harry secretly spent his strength setting more than a hundred spells in a fourth-floor corridor, hoping they would affect Quirrell. After recovering in the library with Hermione, Harry joined the students at Hogwarts’s Halloween feast.

• Professor Flitwick paired Harry and Hermione for Levitation Charm practice, and they both successfully levitated their feathers.
• Professor Flitwick awarded Gryffindor ten points, while Seamus accidentally made his feather explode and blackened himself and Ron with smoke.
• Harry left lunch early, and Hermione later found him pale and exhausted in the library after he had cast dozens of spells.
• Harry told Hermione that he had weakened himself by casting too many spells and stayed in the library with her for the afternoon.
• Harry reflected that he had placed more than a hundred curse, attack, and prank spells in a fourth-floor corridor, hoping they would affect Quirrell.
• Harry and Hermione joined the students at the lavishly decorated Halloween feast.

Harry helped calm the Great Hall after Quirrell announced that a troll had entered the dungeons, while Quirrell escaped and was injured by Harry’s magical traps on the fourth floor. The next morning, Harry found that his traps had been triggered and the knight armor’s axe was bloodstained.

• Quirrell burst into the Great Hall, announced that a troll was in the dungeons, and collapsed.
• Harry used Dean’s amplified scream to quiet the students, then urged them to return to their dormitories with food.
• Dumbledore ordered the prefects to lead the students back, and Hermione clung to Harry as the Gryffindor group returned to its dormitory.
• Snape investigated the fourth floor, found blood and scorch marks by the wooden door, and later saw Quirrell injured beside the troll in the dungeons.
• Harry checked the fourth-floor corridor the next morning and found his spells triggered and blood on the knight armor’s axe.

After Quirrell was injured, Harry and the Gryffindors visited him at St Mungo’s, where Harry mocked him and tested Voldemort’s hidden presence in his body. That night, Quirrell revealed that he had failed to steal the Philosopher’s Stone and lost several toes to a trap while trying to conceal his injuries.

• The students cheered when they heard Quirrell had been injured, and Professor McGonagall said Dumbledore was arranging a temporary Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Harry overheard Snape volunteer for the position, but McGonagall suggested Flitwick as another possibility.
• The students visited Quirrell at St Mungo’s, where George gave him a necklace made of garlic and Harry taunted him about being defeated by a Troll and about Voldemort.
• Harry sensed a faint trace of soul energy inside Quirrell and wondered how furious Voldemort was.
• That night, Quirrell burned George’s garlic gift and recalled that he had failed to reach the Philosopher’s Stone after a stone statue chopped off several of his toes.

Quirrell failed to steal the Philosopher's Stone, so Voldemort ordered him to obtain Unicorn blood instead. As Harry and Gryffindor prepared for their first Quidditch match against Slytherin, the game began with both teams taking to the air.

• Voldemort rebuked Quirrell for failing to steal the Philosopher's Stone and ordered him to get Unicorn blood.
• Professor McGonagall let Harry ride a Flying Broomstick around Hogwarts during non-class hours, then punished Wood and the other players for demanding the same privilege.
• Harry ate breakfast with Hermione and said he was not nervous about playing Seeker in his first Quidditch match.
• Wood rallied the Gryffindor team before they entered the pitch to loud cheers and Harry saw a banner reading, "Harry Potter Must Win!"
• Marcus taunted Harry and the Gryffindor players before Madam Hooch blew her whistle and started the match.

Harry played Seeker for Gryffindor as the team took an early lead against Slytherin, then chased the Golden Snitch until Flint deliberately rammed him. Harry recovered and watched Flint celebrate, while Hermione resolved to write to the Ministry of Magic about improving Quidditch rules.

• Wood reached the Quaffle first, and Jenson led Gryffindor's attack while the George twins disrupted Slytherin with the Bludgers.
• Jordan announced Gryffindor's first goal as Harry and Higgins searched the pitch for the Golden Snitch.
• Harry spotted the Golden Snitch before Higgins and reached for it, but Flint slammed into him from the side and sent him spinning.
• Harry regained control of his broom as Flint flew back to his team and celebrated, while spectators shouted that Slytherin had fouled.
• Hermione saw Madam Hooch reprimand Flint and decided to write to the Ministry of Magic to suggest changes to the Quidditch rules.

After Flint’s attack on Harry, the match continued amid outrage, and Gryffindor received a penalty shot. Harry reflected on the loophole that let dangerous collisions go unpunished, while Snape, Malfoy, and Cho Chang reacted to his fall in different ways.

• Hagrid condemned the Slytherins, while Jordan denounced their behavior and called Flint “Murderer!”
• Wood and the Gryffindor players checked on Harry, who said he was fine after the Golden Snitch disappeared.
• Snape restrained himself from saving Harry to protect his cover, then glared at Flint; Malfoy found he could not bring himself to mock Harry.
• Cho Chang worried about Harry in the Ravenclaw stands and denied liking him when her classmate teased her.
• Madam Hooch awarded Gryffindor a penalty shot, and the match continued with both teams playing more fiercely.
• Harry considered how Quidditch rules left dangerous collisions unpunished, despite players and spectators knowing they were wrong.

Harry ignored the Golden Snitch and retaliated against Slytherin’s dirty play by crashing into its players during the match. After Flint and Wells were taken out of the game, Gryffindor gained the advantage.

• Harry watched Flint use a dirty trick to knock Wood away and steal the Quaffle.
• Harry dived into Flint and drove him into the ground, then dived into him again and knocked him unconscious.
• Madam Pomfrey examined Flint and sent him away, while Harry refused treatment.
• Madam Hooch criticized Harry and awarded Slytherin a free throw, but the team accepted her ruling.
• Harry crashed into Wells, who was taken out of the match, leaving Slytherin further weakened.

Harry dominated the Quidditch match, leaving Slytherin with only its Keeper and Seeker as Gryffindor scored repeatedly. He ended the match by striking the Golden Snitch with a bat and catching it after it hit Higgins, securing a Gryffindor victory.

• Harry dodged a Slytherin player’s charge and knocked him off his broom, and Madam Pomfrey took the injured player away.
• The two remaining Slytherin players chased Harry while Gryffindor scored repeatedly against the Keeper.
• Higgins spotted the Golden Snitch and pursued it, while Harry knocked two Slytherin players out of the match.
• Harry took George’s bat and struck the Golden Snitch, which rebounded into Higgins’s face and broke his nose.
• Harry caught the stunned Golden Snitch, and George announced Gryffindor’s victory.

After Gryffindor won the Quidditch match, Harry resisted the curse controlling his broom and later told Hermione that Snape had been trying to save him. Hermione accepted the explanation, though she remained surprised by Snape’s actions.

• Harry used his strong mental power to drive the attacker’s soul away and regain control of his broom.
• Snape stopped casting his spell when Harry’s broom returned to normal, while Hagrid and the crowd failed to notice what had happened.
• Cho Chang was carried away by the crowd before she could reach Harry.
• Harry smoothed Hermione’s hair, and she congratulated him on becoming Hogwarts’ youngest Seeker.
• Hermione told Harry she had seen Snape cast a spell on his broom, and Harry explained that Snape had been trying to save him.

After Gryffindor’s victory, Harry reassured Hermione that he knew Professor Quirrell wanted to hurt him and warned her to stay away from Quirrell. At the celebratory feast, Harry embarrassed Higgins and Flint’s group when they came to threaten him.

• Hermione urged Harry to tell Dumbledore about the threat, but Harry calmed her and eventually identified Professor Quirrell as the danger.
• Harry told Hermione not to act strangely around Quirrell or investigate him, and she agreed.
• Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw celebrated their victory in the Great Hall while the Slytherins sat gloomily apart.
• Flint and his companions approached Harry’s table, where Wood and the other Gryffindors blocked their way.
• Higgins threatened Harry, but Harry joked that Higgins was romantically interested in him and told the group to leave, so they departed in embarrassment.

Harry settled into his busy Hogwarts routine through the cold winter, playing a prank on his dormmates and receiving daily food for Little Cutie from the house-elves. A month after the Quidditch match, he and Hermione noticed the first snow falling over Hogwarts.

• Harry returned to the dormitory early, where he warmed himself with Little Cutie and fell asleep before his roommates came back.
• Harry flew around Hogwarts the next morning, then played a loud recorded song through the dormitory window to wake Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus.
• A house-elf brought Little Cutie a plate of fish and explained that the elves fought each other for the chance to serve Harry's pet.
• Harry continued attending classes and studying as a month passed, while Flint and Higgins avoided him after the rumor about their friendship became accepted as fact.
• Harry and Hermione saw snowflakes falling as they walked back to Gryffindor's dormitory, and Hermione excitedly shared the news with the crowd.

As Hogwarts prepared for Christmas, Harry chose to stay at school and found comfort in the friends who offered to welcome him into their homes. Cho Chang also planned to stay, and she wondered why Harry had made such a strong impression on her.

• George and his twin enchanted snowballs to hit Quirrell, enraging the Voldemort who shared his head.
• Harry reflected with Hermione on how quickly the school year had passed and joked that he had spent one-twentieth of his life with her.
• Malfoy mocked Harry for staying at Hogwarts, but Harry said he had no home and was not sad about it.
• Ron, Seamus, and other students offered to host Harry for Christmas, and Harry hinted that he might visit Malfoy as a gift.
• Cho Chang told her dormmates she was staying at school and wondered why she felt jealous of Hermione's closeness to Harry.

Harry searched for a way to make a young dragon recognize him as its master, but found only a dangerous method and realized that raising a dragon over time was the only reliable approach. After returning his books with Little Cutie in his arms, he unexpectedly saw Cho Chang in the library and hesitated over how to greet her.

• Harry searched dragon books for a way to make a young dragon acknowledge him as its master because Hagrid was about to acquire a Dragon Egg.
• Harry found a dangerous, poorly explained method in From Hatching Eggs to Nirvana that could kill the dragon, and Hermione questioned why he was seeking it.
• Harry explained that he wanted to learn whether a Three-Headed Dog fell asleep when it heard music, then frightened Hermione with a story about a monster at Hogwarts.
• Harry concluded that only raising a dragon through long-term interaction could make it trust a human, but he did not have enough time.
• Harry found Little Cutie playing in the snowy courtyard, picked it up, and carried it to the library while returning his books.
• Harry saw Cho Chang searching a bookshelf and struggled to think of how to greet her, since they had barely spoken despite their earlier encounter.

Harry grew closer to Cho Chang while helping her find a book, then discovered the Mirror of Erised in an abandoned classroom. The mirror showed him something that enraged him, and he hurt his foot kicking its frame.

• Harry joked with Cho Chang until she laughed, then offered to help her find a History of Magic book.
• Harry and Cho spoke Chinese together, and Harry found the book she had been looking for.
• Cho held Harry’s cat, Little Cutie, while Harry went to explore the tower.
• Harry searched an abandoned classroom and found the Mirror of Erised.
• Harry looked into the mirror, became furious at what it showed him, and kicked its frame, hurting his foot.

Harry tested the Mirror of Erised with Cho and discovered it showed her parents, while it reflected only Harry himself. Dumbledore arrived, explained the mirror’s significance, and awarded Gryffindor fifty points for Harry’s knowledge and performance.

• Harry decided to test whether the mirror was the Mirror of Erised and pulled Cho from the library to the abandoned classroom.
• Cho saw her parents in the mirror, and Harry explained that it showed a person’s deepest desire and could become dangerously addictive.
• Dumbledore entered the classroom while eating pudding and revealed that an alarm spell had alerted him to their presence.
• Dumbledore asked Harry whether he had truly seen only his own reflection, and Harry confirmed it.
• Dumbledore said that seeing oneself in the mirror meant being happy and awarded Gryffindor fifty points.