Chapter Summaries

Harley and Hermione rejected Krum’s awkward attempts to find a Yule Ball partner, then spent the final Hogsmeade visit before Christmas with Pheobe and the Delacour sisters. The outing ended at Honeydukes, where Hermione noticed something that embarrassed and irritated her.

• Krum invited Harley to the Yule Ball, then immediately asked Hermione after Harley rejected him, and Hermione rejected him too.
• Harley teased Hermione and Pheobe by keeping the identity of her intended dance partner secret.
• At the Gryffindor common room, students gossiped about Krum’s rejections and the Weasley Twins’ invitations to Angelina and Alicia.
• Harley, Hermione, Pheobe, and the Delacour sisters went to Hogsmeade, where they shopped, drank Butterbeer, and visited Honeydukes.
• Pheobe explained that Half-Veela bodies developed more slowly, and Hermione froze when she noticed something that made her feel embarrassed and irritated.

Harley publicly invited Hermione to the Yule Ball, and Hermione happily accepted. Later, Pheobe asked Harley to be her partner, but Harley declined and offered to introduce her to someone instead.

• Harley rejected Tsuchimikado Seimei’s invitation and asked Hermione to be her dance partner in the Great Hall, where Hermione accepted.
• The students and professors applauded Harley and Hermione, and word of their partnership spread through the castle.
• Pheobe told Harley she wanted a partner who matched her in magic and asked Harley to go to the Yule Ball with her; Harley explained she had already asked Hermione.
• Ron Weasley asked Pheobe to be his dance partner, but she ignored him, and the crowd laughed as he fled.
• Harley told Pheobe about Ron’s history with Hermione and offered to introduce her to a different partner; Pheobe became interested in Fred and George’s joke business.

Hogwarts prepared for Christmas and the Yule Ball while Rita exposed the mysterious parchment entries bearing Harley’s name in the Daily Prophet, turning the incident into a popular scandal. On Christmas morning, Harley opened gifts from professors and friends, including the damaged Horcrux ring, and learned that Professor Dumbledore had another unusual present to give her in person.

• The professors decorated Hogwarts and the visiting schools’ lodgings for Christmas, while Durmstrang’s ship and the accommodations of Mahoutokoro and Castelobruxo remained unchanged.
• Rita published an article claiming someone had used the Goblet of Fire to curse Harley and endanger her in the Six-Wizard Tournament, prompting Ministry objections and eager demands from readers for more.
• Hogwarts students largely treated Rita’s story as a joke and focused on Christmas presents and the Yule Ball.
• Harley opened gifts on Christmas morning, setting aside suspicious sweets for potion experiments and receiving valuable presents from Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Sirius, Professor Lupin, and Pheobe.
• Harley found that Professor Dumbledore had returned the damaged ring she had sealed and left a note asking her to visit his office during the holidays for another unusual present.

Hogwarts students celebrated Christmas with a huge snowball fight before preparing for the Yule Ball. Harley and Hermione arrived together in striking formal outfits, and the chapter ended when Pheobe brought a dance partner who looked remarkably like a seventeen-year-old Harley.

• Fred and George organized a snowball fight between six school teams, but the contest became a free-for-all with no winner.
• Harley helped Hermione get ready in the Room of Requirement, then used her Spider Silk to dress herself for the ball.
• Harley and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall together, stunning the waiting students as they descended the staircase.
• Malfoy and Ron argued outside the Great Hall, but the crowd fell silent when Harley and Hermione appeared.
• Professor McGonagall told Harley and Hermione to wait while the other students and Champions entered the Great Hall.
• Pheobe arrived with a tall girl in a white gown who looked remarkably like a seventeen-year-old Harley.

At the Yule Ball, Harley used a private magical ability to appear as two identical selves, astonishing the guests and confusing Hermione and Pheobe. After dinner, the Weird Sisters began playing, and Harley and Hermione took the dance floor to lead the ball.

• Professor McGonagall questioned Pheobe about her identical-looking dance partner, and Harley privately revealed that the appearance was a secret magical trick.
• The Champions entered the Great Hall to applause, and Madame Maxime defended Pheobe's partner against Karkaroff's questions.
• Hermione and Pheobe pressed Harley about whether one version of her was the original, but Harley said they were both her and neither was a duplicate.
• The guests ordered unusual dishes from their menus, and Professor Dumbledore cleared the tables to make room for the dance floor.
• The Weird Sisters took the stage, and Harley invited Hermione to dance as the Champions began the ball.

Harley and Hermione enjoyed the Yule Ball together before overhearing Snape and Karkaroff discussing a returning threat. Harley suspected Voldemort was regaining his strength, and she and Hermione left the professors’ conversation with that danger in mind.

• Harley led Hermione through several dances, and Hermione grew more confident as the evening went on.
• After resting, drinking lemonade and Mead, and watching the other guests, Harley and Hermione left the crowded Great Hall to explore the enchanted grounds.
• Harley and Hermione overheard Snape and Karkaroff arguing about a dangerous figure who was returning to power, and Snape caught them listening.
• Harley told Hermione she believed Voldemort was regaining his strength and that Snape and Karkaroff’s Dark Marks were likely reacting.

After the Yule Ball, Harley and Hermione witnessed Hagrid offend Madame Maxime by assuming she was part Giant, then visited him and heard how he had made the same mistake during their date. Hagrid remained heartbroken and confused, while Pheobe and Hermione struggled to respond.

• Harley and Hermione saw Hagrid and Madame Maxime argue at the moonlit fountain after Hagrid called himself a Half-blood Giant and implied Madame Maxime was one too.
• Harley and Hermione sailed across the Black Lake, then used Spider Silk to climb into Gryffindor Tower and saw Pheobe leave in the Beauxbatons carriage.
• The next morning, Hermione, Pheobe, and Harley worked on a plan for the Second Task before Pheobe asked why Madame Maxime had been angry with Hagrid.
• Harley, Hermione, and Pheobe visited Hagrid, found him drunk and neglecting Fang, and listened as he described his disastrous conversation with Madame Maxime.
• Hagrid insisted Madame Maxime's size proved she had Giant blood, leaving Hermione covering her mouth and Pheobe struggling not to roll her eyes.

Harley explained why Hagrid had endangered Madame Maxime by revealing their shared giant heritage and reassured him that Rita Skeeter would not publish what she had heard. After the holidays, Rita exposed Karkaroff’s past as a Death Eater, provoking public outrage and a storm of Howlers at Hogwarts.

• Harley sobered Hagrid and explained that revealing Madame Maxime was a Half-Giant could ruin her career because of prejudice against giants.
• Hermione admitted she and Harley had overheard Hagrid’s conversation, and Harley told Hagrid Rita Skeeter had likely heard it too but would not publish it.
• Harley revealed to Hermione that Rita was an illegal Animagus and had agreed not to write harmful articles about Harley and her friends.
• Harley learned that Dumbledore had left for Austria, and the Christmas holidays ended without her speaking to him about her present’s note.
• Rita published an article accusing Karkaroff of being a former Death Eater who had betrayed his associates and targeted Harley in the tournament.
• Karkaroff faced Howlers and threats at Hogwarts, while Dumbledore’s office filled with letters demanding that he be expelled or driven from Britain.

After Rita published claims about Karkaroff’s Death Eater past and tournament sabotage, he fled Hogwarts, stole Durmstrang’s tournament funds, and became a wanted fugitive. Dumbledore later gave Harley cryptic clues about death-related locations tied to the Second Task and two objects she possessed, before Harley left to train at the Black Lake.

• Karkaroff realized Rita’s article was largely true, saw Moody’s threatening reaction, and fled Hogwarts after breakfast.
• Rita reported Karkaroff’s escape, and Durmstrang students discovered he had taken their tournament funds and searched their cabins.
• Durmstrang dismissed Karkaroff, while several Northern European Ministries issued warrants accusing him of tournament sabotage and theft.
• Harley read reports of Karkaroff’s downfall and discussed Rita’s manipulation of public prejudice with Hedwig, who continued practicing her Psychiatrist abilities.
• Dumbledore returned and told Harley that locations connected to death overlapped with the Second Task’s three important sites, and that the Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak could serve as keys.
• Harley examined the two objects but found no clues, then joined Hermione to continue training at the Black Lake.

As the Second Task began, the Champions prepared to recover their abducted treasures from the Black Lake and Forbidden Forest. Harley learned Hermione was among the captives and entered the water in a golden-scaled mermaid form, while Pheobe prepared to rescue Gabrielle.

• Harley used her enchanted necklace to track Hermione and realized she was likely one of the Champions’ treasures.
• Pheobe discovered Gabrielle was missing, and Harley reassured her before they reviewed their rescue plan.
• Ludo announced the task and revealed six captives bound in the Forbidden Forest, including Hermione.
• The Champions showed their preparations and entered the Black Lake using different magical methods.
• Harley crushed a talisman, stepped into the lake, and transformed her legs into a golden-scaled mermaid tail.

Harley used Cursed Transformation to take the form of a Golden Merperson and swam to the Merpeople Village for the tournament task. The Merpeople welcomed her with fear and admiration because she had defeated their strongest warriors during training.

• Harley transformed herself into a Golden Merperson and dived into the Black Lake, while Ludo explained that she was using Human Transfiguration rather than an Animagus form.
• Harley swam toward the Merpeople Village, avoiding most aquatic creatures and beating a few Grindylows lightly while the tournament audience watched.
• Harley reached the village and was recognized by the Merpeople, who first mistook her tail for that of a legendary Golden Merperson.
• The Merpeople treated Harley with reverence because she had previously defeated their strongest warriors alongside Hermione and Pheobe.
• Harley recalled that the Merpeople respected strength, as the Four Founders and a young Professor Dumbledore had also forced them to submit.

Harley reached the Merpeople Village and agreed to fight a randomly chosen warrior before claiming the competition map. Meanwhile, Tsuchimikado Seimei’s forbidden Shikigami caused mutated Cuttlefish to attack him, and his uncontrolled plague infection began transforming him as Dumbledore rescued him from the lake.

• Harley arrived at the Merpeople Village, where Aloyev Selo welcomed her and offered the map; Harley asked for the required fight to proceed as planned.
• Harley searched the plaza for the wondrous location Professor Dumbledore had mentioned while the other Champions struggled through the lake.
• Tsuchimikado Seimei used his Plague Corpse Fish to infect giant Cuttlefish, mutating them without controlling them.
• The mutated Cuttlefish overwhelmed Tsuchimikado Seimei’s Shikigami and attacked him, and Dumbledore used golden flames to rescue him and contain the creatures.
• Tsuchimikado Seimei’s uncontrolled plague infection transformed his wounds and body as he writhed in agony.

Tsuchimikado Seimei died after Dark Magic transformed and fatally damaged him, while Harley and Pheobe completed their tasks beneath the Black Lake and headed back together. The tournament continued with Mahoutokoro’s Champion eliminated, and Harley left Pheobe wondering how she had obtained her golden tail.

• Tsuchimikado Seimei’s Dark Magic transformation horrified the spectators, and Dumbledore and Kamo no Yasunori examined him.
• McGonagall rejected Kamo no Yasunori’s demand for free Phoenix Tears, but Dumbledore provided two after Kamo agreed to a trade.
• Kamo no Yasunori used one Phoenix Tear on a Cuttlefish and the other on Tsuchimikado Seimei, whose injuries healed as he died from the deep damage caused by Dark Magic.
• Dumbledore explained that Seimei’s exposure to multiple forms of Dark Magic had created a curse the Phoenix Tears could not remove, and Kamo no Yasunori declared Mahoutokoro had no objections to his student’s death.
• Harley studied the Merpeople’s map while Pheobe defeated a Merman and obtained another map; the two then set off together.
• Pheobe asked how Harley had gained her golden tail, and Harley teasingly told her to guess.

Harley and Pheobe raced through the Forbidden Forest toward the Unicorn Herd, using a bargain with Thestrals to travel faster. After tricking a Unicorn foal into leading them to its home, they met Lari, the herd’s leader, who greeted them as champions.

• Harley and Pheobe left the lake and entered the Forbidden Forest to begin the second stage of the Second Task.
• Harley struck a deal with a herd of Thestrals, offering them three days of lamb in exchange for a ride toward the Unicorns and Centaurs.
• Harley and Pheobe reached the Unicorns’ territory after the Thestrals refused to go farther, then narrowly avoided a charging Unicorn foal.
• Harley and Pheobe befriended the foal and coaxed it into leading them back to the heart of the Unicorn settlement.
• Lari, a powerful silver Unicorn and leader of the herd, appeared and introduced herself to Harley and Pheobe.

Harley and Fleur received a key from the Unicorn Leader and crossed the Forbidden Forest toward the Centaurs, stopping to hunt and eat along the way. At the Centaur settlement, Ronan and Firenze explained that the Champions still had to use the key to free their treasures and hostages.

• The Unicorn Leader praised Harley for showing kindness to its child and gave Harley and Fleur golden keys for the Centaurs' territory.
• Lari explained that the Champions had to complete the remaining challenges, while warning that the Unicorns might fight if Harley tried to take the young Unicorn away.
• Harley and Fleur rode their Thestrals through Acromantula territory, defeated four Acromantulas, and harvested their venom and silk glands.
• Harley hunted rabbits and Fleur prepared them, and the girls delayed their journey while sharing food with the hungry Thestrals.
• Harley and Fleur reached the Centaur settlement, where Firenze and Ronan told them they had to use the key to free their treasures and hostages without help from the Centaurs.

Harley followed the golden stone to a hidden cottage, solved Dumbledore’s logic puzzle, and rescued Hermione from inside. After the Champions’ other challenges were shown, Harley and Hermione met Pheobe, whose own riddle sparked a dispute among the audience.

• Harley learned from Firenze that the Centaurs’ sacred clearing held a mysterious black tree that appeared beneath the brightest starlight and caused everyone nearby to fall asleep.
• The golden stone revealed a cottage, and Harley chose to solve Dumbledore’s riddle rather than break through its protections; she selected the black key and opened the door.
• Hermione rushed out of the cottage and embraced Harley after Harley rescued her.
• Miguel got lost after a Diricawl tangled in his hair, Krum fled Billywigs and encountered a Nundu, and Catherine faced an Erumpent while holding an alchemical pistol.
• Harley and Hermione left the Centaur village and met Pheobe, who complained that Dumbledore’s riddle was too easy; Hermione answered that the wizard had not owed his Potion-shop friend any money.
• The audience argued over Pheobe’s riddle, and Kamo no Yasunori questioned Dumbledore’s answer.

Harley and Pheobe completed the Second Task quickly, earning the highest scores while the other Champions struggled to survive the Forbidden Forest. After the remaining Champions finished and the scores were announced, Harley quietly left Hogwarts with books and materials to prepare for what came next.

• Harley, Pheobe, Hermione, and Gabrielle returned from the Forbidden Forest, and Harley and Pheobe received scores of 781 and 744, respectively.
• Ludo announced that the Third Task would take place on June twenty-fourth and that its details would be revealed one month beforehand.
• Miguel, Catherine, and Krum spent the night struggling to find food and shelter before eventually completing the Second Task.
• Miguel, Krum, and Catherine received scores of 497, 533, and 621, while the headmasters learned that the Third Task would not use a point system.
• Harley left a wand-transformed version of herself behind and secretly departed with books and materials.

Harley secretly visited the Merpeople Village and discovered a river beneath the Black Lake that had been touched by the River of Eternal Darkness. Her Deathly Hallows drew on the river’s power, and the chapter ended with a golden figure emerging from the Merpeople Statue and calling Harley “The Fourth.”

• Harley entered the Merpeople Village unseen and opened a hidden staircase beneath the Merpeople Statue.
• Harley found a mysterious river beneath the lake and identified it as slightly corroded by the River of Eternal Darkness.
• Harley awakened the Invisibility Cloak and Resurrection Stone Ring, recognizing them as Sequence 2 Mystical Items tied to the Night and Death Pathways.
• Harley drew the river’s mist into the two items, leaving the Warrior Pathway’s traces behind, and concluded she needed to visit the Unicorns’ settlement and Centaurs’ village.
• After Harley left, a golden figure separated from the Merpeople Statue, took her place, and chuckled, “The Fourth.”

Harley sealed the Deathly Hallows, investigated the Unicorns’ death-touched spring, and later entered a dream after a mysterious black tree appeared near the Centaurs’ settlement. The dream led her to a strange street and a foreboding building called the Banshee Tavern.

• Harley used a ritual to temporarily seal the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak, keeping their powers from leaking out.
• Harley visited the Unicorns’ settlement, where Lari showed her the holy spring and allowed her to search for its source; Harley found an underground river blocked from the one beneath Merpeople Square.
• Harley went to the Centaurs’ settlement and watched a massive black tree appear as their stargazing began.
• When darkness fell, Harley followed her Spirituality’s warning, wrapped herself in a Spider Silk cocoon, and forced herself to sleep.
• Harley awoke in a dream on a stone road between walls of gray mist and black liquid, then followed it to a building named Banshee Tavern.

Harley entered a mysterious dream and found a tavern full of uncanny patrons, where she met beings claiming to be God and the Lord of the Mysteries. After explaining how they survived their deaths, they revealed that they wanted to place a wager on her.

• Harley found that her wand had unnaturally transformed into an uncontrollable clone and burned it to ashes, keeping the remains suspended in Spider Silk.
• Unable to leave the dream, Harley changed into purplish-red robes and entered the tavern called Bansy.
• Harley sat beside a black-robed man and accepted water from the tavern owner while secretly preventing herself from drinking it.
• The owner introduced himself as God and identified the black-robed man as the Lord of the Mysteries.
• God explained that they had preserved mechanical thoughts before the Oldest One took their power, and the Lord of the Mysteries said they wanted to place a wager on Harley.