Chapter Summaries

Harry and Cho Chang questioned Dumbledore about the Mirror of Erised, and Dumbledore promised Harry he could have it if he no longer needed it. After leaving the classroom, Harry and Cho nearly kissed before discussing what Dumbledore might truly have seen in the mirror.

• Dumbledore awarded Cho Chang twenty House points and gave Harry thirty points for finding the Mirror of Erised, putting Gryffindor in first place.
• Harry asked to borrow the mirror, and Dumbledore promised to give it to him as a birthday present if it ever became unnecessary.
• Cho Chang asked Dumbledore what he saw in the mirror, and he claimed he saw wool socks.
• Harry and Cho Chang teased each other about Harry's wandering hand and joked about his embarrassing childhood memory.
• Harry told Cho Chang he had loved, and they nearly kissed before a cold gust interrupted them.
• Harry argued that Dumbledore would not desire political power or honors, and he and Cho considered what else Dumbledore might have seen.

Harry and Cho Chang discussed Dumbledore’s motives, while Dumbledore privately grieved before the Mirror of Erised. Harry then used his Light Element to warm and illuminate Hogwarts, drawing students and professors to the Great Hall and earning himself a nightly greenhouse duty.

• Harry and Cho Chang considered whether Dumbledore’s pursuit of power could explain his actions, then agreed that human nature might be the one thing the Mirror of Erised could reveal to him.
• Dumbledore stood before the Mirror of Erised and tearfully called out to Ariana, while a cat stared at the fish reflected in the mirror.
• Harry used his Light Element to stay warm and read in the Great Hall, then gave students a made-up spell and incantation when they asked how he did it.
• Harry raised a huge mass of Light Energy above the Great Hall, warming and brightening it so students across the school gathered there.
• Snape took ten points from Gryffindor for Harry’s supposed magic, then stayed in the Great Hall to enjoy its warmth; McGonagall and Dumbledore also came by.
• Sprout asked Harry to warm the greenhouse every night, and Dumbledore joked that he might move his office to the Great Hall.

On the last day of term, Snape punished Gryffindor heavily in Potions before Harry and Hermione joined Hagrid in admiring the Great Hall’s Christmas decorations. The chapter ended with the students preparing to leave for winter break.

• Harry silenced Dean, Ron, Neville, and Seamus when their late-night winter-break conversation kept him awake.
• Snape deducted seventy-three points from Gryffindor in Potions and ordered Harry to tie back his long hair, though Harry had brewed a perfect potion.
• Malfoy regained hope that he could win his bet with Harry after Snape’s point deductions narrowed the gap.
• Harry and Hermione met Hagrid carrying a fir tree to the Great Hall, and he invited them to see the Christmas decorations.
• Harry and Hermione admired the Great Hall’s twelve decorated trees, holly, mistletoe, and glowing golden bubbles.

Harry and the other students left Hogwarts for winter break, while Harry stayed behind long enough to see Hermione off. At the station, Hermione finally brought up their bet, and Harry invited her to follow through before they boarded the train.

• The students packed for winter break, and Ron explained that Charlie had returned home for Christmas.
• Harry saw his dormmates off and went to meet Hermione in the courtyard.
• Hagrid led the students by boat out from Hogwarts to the platform, where they waited for the Hogwarts Express.
• Hermione hesitated to speak to Harry, then stumbled into his arms as the crowd boarded the train.
• Hermione quietly mentioned their bet, and Harry told her to go ahead.

Harry and Hermione shared their first kiss at the station before Hermione hurried onto the departing train. Left alone at Hogwarts, Harry struggled with the quiet holiday and spent the night at Hagrid’s hut with Little Cutie.

• Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek, but Harry turned and kissed her on the lips before the train whistle startled them apart.
• Hermione fled onto the train, while Harry watched it leave and then walked back to Hogwarts with Hagrid.
• Harry ate dinner in the nearly empty Great Hall and found the unoccupied Gryffindor common room unsettling.
• Harry left the common room and went to Hagrid’s hut, where he made himself a bed and asked Hagrid to keep the lights on.
• Little Cutie arrived at Hagrid’s door, ate some fried fish, and settled under Harry’s blankets.

Harry spent the winter break at Hogwarts and met Cho Chang, who had also stayed at school. They discussed their plans for the holiday and decided to play chess that morning.

• Harry woke early at Hagrid's hut, drank tea, and sent his bedding back to Gryffindor with Little Cutie wrapped inside.
• Harry flew his Nimbus 2000 through the falling snow and spotted Cho Chang on her way to breakfast.
• Harry and Cho Chang ate together in the Great Hall, where she explained that her parents were away and Harry said he did not feel at home in the Muggle world.
• Harry urged Cho Chang to spend winter break having fun instead of staying in the library, and they agreed to play chess that morning.

Harry and Cho spent the morning playing chess before Harry led her to a basement cabinet to search for a set of potion notes. They found a battered copy of Advanced Potion-Making marked as belonging to the Half-Blood Prince.

• Cho challenged Harry to chess, and the two played through the morning as Harry gained the advantage.
• Cho asked to keep playing, while Harry teased her about taking back five moves and the pair joked over lunch.
• Harry remembered the book he wanted and led Cho to the basement, where he said they were looking for the Half-Blood Prince's potion notes.
• Harry and Cho searched the cabinet together and found a filthy copy of Advanced Potion-Making filled with handwritten notes.
• Harry spotted the inscription, “This book belongs to the Half-Blood Prince,” at the bottom of a page.

Harry and Cho Chang found the Half-Blood Prince’s annotated Potions book and copied its notes, then Harry tested Sectumsempra and destroyed a table. After they parted for the night, Cho Chang returned to her empty dormitory, where the silence and darkness frightened her too.

• Harry and Cho Chang discovered the Half-Blood Prince’s improved potion recipes and spells in a dirty book, and decided to copy the notes and try the potions over winter break.
• Harry made three copies of the notes with a copying charm, including one for Hermione, and studied the Prince’s potion improvements with Cho Chang.
• Harry cast Sectumsempra, sending golden blades through a table and cutting it into pieces; Cho Chang left to avoid trouble over the damaged school property.
• Harry and Cho Chang waited in the Great Hall, then walked together to Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower, where they said good night.
• Cho Chang entered her empty dormitory, gripped her wand, and climbed into bed without changing, troubled by the silence and darkness.

Harry spent the day with Cho Chang building a snowman, studying the Half-Blood Prince's notes, and exploring Hogwarts. Exhausted after their walk, they reached the festive dining hall, where Harry decided to go to Diagon Alley the next day to buy supplies for Christmas.

• Harry checked the greenhouse and found that the plants were growing normally under his lighting spell.
• Harry and Cho Chang built a snowman, decorated it with kitchen ingredients and Flying Broomsticks, and chased each other after Cho took Harry's scarf for it.
• Harry and Cho Chang spent the morning studying the Half-Blood Prince's notes in the library.
• Harry suggested that they explore Hogwarts during winter break, and they spent the afternoon walking through its towers, classrooms, staircases, and corridors.
• Harry and Cho Chang arrived exhausted at the decorated dining hall, where Harry decided he needed to visit Diagon Alley the next day to buy supplies.

Harry returned to London in disguise, entered Diagon Alley, and visited his Gringotts vault. Seeing his wealth prompted him to consider putting the money to use, and he asked a Goblin to calculate the vault’s contents.

• Harry took the Hogwarts Express to London and disguised himself to avoid attention and possible Death Eaters.
• Harry arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, entered its courtyard, and opened the passage to Diagon Alley.
• Harry rode a Gringotts mine cart to his vault and saw his piles of coins and silver again.
• Harry considered the idea that money should circulate rather than sit unused in a vault.
• Harry filled a cloth bag with coins and asked a Goblin to calculate the exact amount in his vault.

Harry had Gringotts count the vast fortune in his vault and learned that he owned more than 691,000 Galleons, along with large amounts of Sickles and Knuts. After returning the money to his vault, he left to shop for Christmas gifts for his classmates.

• Harry followed a Goblin to Gringotts' counting room, where Goblins used elaborate balances to weigh his coins.
• A Goblin calculated Harry's holdings as 691,283 Galleons, 138,240 Sickles, and 135,997 Knuts.
• Harry asked the Goblin to return the coins to his vault and left Gringotts thinking about how much money he had.
• Harry planned to buy Muggle goods for his wizarding classmates and unusual magical items for his Muggle-born classmates.

Harry shopped for unusual gifts in Diagon Alley, exchanged Galleons for pounds at Gringotts, and went to a London department store to buy Christmas presents for his classmates. He left with sports equipment for the classmates whose names he remembered.

• Harry entered Curiouser and Curiouser, punched its greeting skull in surprise, and bought several unusual items for his Muggle classmates.
• Harry went to Gringotts and exchanged two thousand Galleons for ten thousand pounds, where Griphook handled the transaction.
• Harry entered London through the Leaky Cauldron and walked through the snowy streets to a department store.
• Harry bought football, basketball, badminton, and tennis equipment as Christmas presents for classmates whose names he remembered.

Harry bought bracelets for Hermione and Cho Chang, then returned to Hogwarts on a Nimbus 2000. He sent their gifts with Optimus Prime, leaving the packages on their way to the girls.

• Harry chose a diamond bracelet at a department store and bought three of them, giving one to the surprised saleswoman.
• Harry ate lunch in London, bought a Nimbus 2000, and took the train back to Hogwarts.
• Harry flew his broom to the Gryffindor Common Room, passing the snowman he and Cho Chang had made.
• Harry opened a frozen window, summoned Optimus Prime with a whistle, and tied the gifts to the owl's legs.
• Optimus Prime flew away carrying the gifts for Hermione and Cho Chang.

Harry brought the Half-Blood Prince’s Advanced Potion-Making book to Snape and asked for potion ingredients, leaving with herbs after Snape unexpectedly agreed. Snape burned the book after realizing Harry had found and returned his old notes.

• Harry saw a boy awkwardly approach Cho Chang, then sat beside her and talked with her in the Great Hall.
• Harry persuaded Cho Chang to accompany him to Snape’s office so he could ask for ingredients to test potion methods from a book he had found.
• Harry revealed that the book belonged to the Half-Blood Prince and mentioned that he had tested the Sectumsempra spell, while Snape listened without showing his reaction.
• Snape allowed Harry to collect ingredients from his office, and Harry took what he needed before leaving with a bewildered Cho Chang.
• Snape recognized the book as his old notes, then used Fire-Make to burn it to ashes.

Harry explained to Cho that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, and the pair headed to Potions class. Harry considered where he could brew potions and settled on an unused classroom, while realizing he did not know where the Room of Requirement was.

• Harry explained that Snape had accepted the Half-Blood Prince's book because Snape was the Prince himself.
• Cho realized Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry confirmed it without explaining how he had figured it out.
• Harry and Cho discussed Snape's talent and why he had never made his potions and spells public.
• On the way to the Potions classroom, Harry decided an unused classroom could serve as a place for his experiments.
• Harry considered using the Room of Requirement but realized he did not know where to find it.

Harry reasoned that the Room of Requirement could not fulfill wishes involving powerful magic and decided to search for it. After preparing a classroom with Cho Chang, he woke on Christmas morning to Hagrid’s work and hurried into the school to arrange a surprise for Cho.

• Harry concluded that the Room of Requirement could not locate the Mirror of Erised unless he already knew where it was, and decided to search for the room.
• Harry and Cho Chang cleaned an abandoned classroom and set up cauldrons for brewing potions the next day.
• Harry left Cho Chang without giving her the Christmas gift he had prepared, saving it as a surprise.
• Hagrid woke Harry on Christmas morning while chopping up two Grumblehorns for the feast.
• Harry came up with a way to make sure Cho Chang saw her present when she woke and ran into the school.

Harry used the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into Ravenclaw's girls' dormitory, hoping to find Cho Chang and deliver a gift, but he did not know which room was hers. Cho heard someone moving through the dormitory and watched her door open by itself.

• Harry returned to Gryffindor tower and found the Invisibility Cloak among a pile of Christmas gifts.
• Harry read the note explaining that his father had left the cloak with Dumbledore, then used it to enter Ravenclaw's dormitory.
• Harry searched the empty girls' rooms but could not figure out which dormitory belonged to Cho Chang.
• Cho Chang heard doors opening and closing, hid beneath her covers, and saw her door open with no one standing there.

Harry secretly entered Cho Chang’s room to leave her a Christmas present, but she woke and attacked him before recognizing him. After Harry’s careless remark about her clothing, Cho Chang screamed and made him leave.

• Cho Chang sensed someone approaching and prepared to strike with her wand.
• Harry entered Cho Chang’s room and crept toward the presents beside her bed.
• Cho Chang threw off her blanket and cast Petrificus Totalus, but Harry’s Armor Charm reflected the spell into a vase.
• Harry revealed himself and told the shocked Cho Chang who he was.
• Harry pointed out that Cho Chang’s clothing had fallen on the floor, making her scream and order him out.
• Harry fled the room, and Cho Chang buried her face in the blankets and sobbed.

Harry explained to Cho Chang why he had entered the girls' dormitory to leave her Christmas present, then shocked her by pretending to confess to having improper intentions. The two made peace over breakfast and parted with Christmas greetings.

• Harry told Cho Chang he had entered the girls' dormitory before dawn to leave her Christmas present beside her bed.
• Cho accused Harry of having improper intentions, but eventually said she believed his explanation.
• Harry escalated his defense by describing a series of sexual acts he claimed he had intended to do, leaving Cho stunned and embarrassed.
• Harry and Cho finished breakfast at the same time, laughed awkwardly, and agreed to make potions together later.
• Harry and Cho walked down the corridor in silence, then wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Harry unpacked his Christmas gifts, read a manipulative letter from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and wrote Hermione a letter mentioning Cho Chang. After sending it with Little Black, he considered the differences between magical and Muggle technology before going to bed.

• Harry sorted through his Christmas gifts, including a flute from Hagrid, a Wizard Chess set from Dean, and a sweater from Ron's mother.
• Harry found casual clothes and a letter from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who urged him to trust only family and hand over anything his parents had left him.
• Harry wrote Hermione a Christmas letter, cautiously mentioned Cho Chang, and sent it with Little Black.
• Harry pondered how magic and technology might be combined, then dismissed the idea and went to sleep.