Chapter Summaries

Professor Sinistra substituted for Sirius in Defence Against the Dark Arts, while Madam Pomfrey took over Snape’s Potions lesson. Harry found no answers about Sirius, but he and Ron enjoyed brewing successfully under Madam Pomfrey’s guidance.

• Professor Sinistra told the class that Sirius was temporarily unable to teach and led a theory-focused Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.
• Harry rushed to Professor McGonagall after class, but she threw him out without telling him where Sirius had gone.
• Madam Pomfrey substituted for Snape in Potions, brightened the dungeon classroom, and taught without favoring either house.
• Harry brewed a correctly colored Pepperup Potion, and Ron brewed one close to the standard, leaving both eager for Madam Pomfrey to teach them again.

Hagrid and Sirius returned to Hogwarts on the day of the first Quidditch match in a year, and Sirius told Harry that his brief absence had involved Remus. As the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams emerged onto the pitch, the match was about to begin.

• Silvan noticed that Hagrid and Sirius had returned to Hogwarts and were chatting together over drinks.
• Sirius told Harry that he had not been punished for the Duelling Club injuries and hinted that his recent absence had something to do with Remus.
• Sirius hurried off to see Professor McGonagall, while Harry wondered why Snape had also been away.
• Angelina gathered the Quidditch team to review tactics, and Silvan secured a front-row seat as students filled the stands.
• Sirius cheered for Harry with a Gryffindor banner, and Professor McGonagall told him that Hogwarts would not hold separate classes for different houses.
• Madam Hooch signalled for the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams to enter the pitch, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Gryffindor won its Quidditch match against Slytherin after Harry caught the Golden Snitch, while Ron’s poor goalkeeping left him deeply upset. Harry went to find Ron after Hagrid said Ron had visited him, and Silvan followed Harry and Sirius as they headed toward the Whomping Willow.

• Ron struggled under the Slytherins’ jeers and let goal after goal past him as Gryffindor fell behind.
• Harry caught the Golden Snitch with his Firebolt when the score was 50–180, securing Gryffindor’s victory.
• Ron disappeared from the pitch, and Silvan told Harry and Hermione that Ron had headed toward the greenhouses.
• Sirius praised Harry’s flying and invited him to hear stories about James, while Silvan followed them and watched their movements on the Marauder's Map.
• Hagrid found Harry and Sirius and told them that an upset Ron had visited his hut, so Harry set off to find Ron.

After the Gryffindor match, Harry went to comfort Ron while Silvan informed Dumbledore that Sirius wanted to take Harry to the Shrieking Shack. Back in the common room, Angelina discussed the team's defensive weaknesses and gave Ron one more chance to prove himself as Keeper.

• Harry chose to check on Ron, and Sirius accompanied him to Hagrid's cabin while Silvan returned to the castle.
• Silvan told Dumbledore that Sirius wanted to take Harry to the Shrieking Shack, and Dumbledore reacted calmly.
• Angelina and the Gryffindor Quidditch players discussed their weak defense and Ron's poor performance under pressure.
• Harry and Ron joined the team meeting, where Angelina decided to give Ron another chance as Keeper.
• Ron promised he would not be rattled in Gryffindor's next match against Ravenclaw.

Silvan visited Hagrid and learned that a special wand he had made helped Hagrid remember to use magic, but Hagrid’s bruises suggested he had encountered something dangerous. Hagrid refused to explain his secret task, and Silvan left as Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived to question him.

• Silvan visited Hagrid and noticed bruises on his face, but Hagrid insisted he was fine and would not reveal the confidential task Dumbledore had assigned him.
• Hagrid thanked Silvan for the Troll-spine wand, explaining that holding it helped him use magic when he needed it.
• Silvan suspected Hagrid’s injuries might have come from Death Eaters or Dark magic, but Hagrid denied encountering anything and sent him away.
• Silvan saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione approaching Hagrid’s hut, told them Hagrid was inside, and went back to the castle.

Hagrid took Silvan, Harry, Hermione, and their classmates into the Forbidden Forest to study a Runespoor for the O.W.L.s, alarming the students when the three-headed snake appeared. After it bit Hagrid and broke a fang, he explained how to defend against it and calmed it with moles.

• Hagrid led the class into the woods and said Professor Kettleburn had recommended field lessons on magical creatures for the O.W.L.s.
• Hagrid imitated snake language, and a three-headed Runespoor emerged from a tree.
• Hagrid assured the students the young Runespoor was safe, but one head bit his arm and snapped a fang.
• Hagrid explained that a Runespoor's teeth were fragile and suggested attacking them or using a Confundus Charm.
• Malfoy questioned the need to study such a terrifying creature, but stayed with the class rather than return alone through the Forbidden Forest.
• Hagrid fed the Runespoor three moles, calming it down.

Harry endured Snape’s renewed hostility in Potions and worried that Sirius might be harmed or dismissed if he confronted Snape again. Harry wanted Sirius to leave Hogwarts safely, but he had not found a way to make that happen.

• Hagrid’s frightening Care of Magical Creatures lesson focused on Runespoor facts that students wrote down for their O.W.L. examinations.
• Snape mocked Harry’s Pepperup Potion, deducted twenty points from Gryffindor, and threatened him with detention during the next Quidditch match.
• Silvan explained that Snape still had authority to deduct points, while Ron suggested Harry seek help from Sirius.
• Harry refused to involve Sirius because another clash with Snape could get Sirius hurt or fired, and he privately considered how Sirius might leave Hogwarts with dignity.
• Harry abandoned his musings when he saw the food in the Great Hall, while Silvan suspected Harry did not truly want Sirius to leave.

Silvan joined Fred and George for a Hogwarts snowball fight as their magical snowmen grew increasingly elaborate. Their Snape-like snowman hurled its head at the Slytherins, knocking Malfoy into the snow.

• Harry complained to Silvan, Ron, and Hermione about the dangers of decorating the castle while serving as a prefect.
• Hermione teased Harry about looking at Cho Chang, and Silvan reminded him that Cho was dating Cedric Diggory.
• Hermione and Harry went to supervise Peeves while Fred and George took Silvan outside for a snowball fight.
• Fred and George turned a snowman shaped like an Acromantula into a figure resembling Snape and denied it was based on any professor.
• The snowman hurled its head at the Slytherins, covering Malfoy in snow and knocking him onto his backside.

Fred and George lost Gryffindor points after Snape caught them throwing snowballs, then plotted their Christmas plans with Silvan. Harry agreed to spend Christmas at The Burrow with his friends after learning that Mrs. Weasley had invited Sirius and Lupin too.

• Snape deducted fifty points from Fred and George, who retaliated against nearby Slytherins with stone-filled snowballs after he left.
• Fred and George invited Silvan to help with their Christmas shop plans in Diagon Alley, but he declined because he had other things to do.
• Harry and Hermione spent the evening dealing with Peeves's ink-filled balloon chaos in the Entrance Hall and Great Hall.
• Harry told his friends that he had agreed to spend Christmas with Sirius, while McGonagall brought around forms for students staying at Hogwarts.
• Ron read Mrs. Weasley's invitation for Harry, Silvan, and Hermione to celebrate Percy being well again at The Burrow, with Bill and Charlie returning for Christmas.
• Silvan and Hermione accepted the invitation, and Harry agreed after Ron revealed that Mrs. Weasley had also invited Sirius and Remus Lupin.

Sirius deliberately provoked Montague by treating him as Snape treated Harry, then fought Snape when the professor intervened. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Silvan visited Sirius afterward, where Hermione criticized his public confrontations, but he dodged her concerns.

• Fred and George told Harry and Hermione that Sirius had used Snape’s treatment of Harry on Montague, then fought Snape after Montague reported him.
• McGonagall arrived after Sirius and Snape had left the classroom, and Montague was not expelled.
• Fred invited Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Silvan to visit Sirius in the Defence Against the Dark Arts office, and they agreed.
• Sirius mistook the visitors at his door for McGonagall and explained that he and Snape had been fooling around.
• Hermione hinted that Sirius should avoid fighting Snape in front of students, but Sirius pretended not to understand and changed the subject.

Harry accepted Mrs. Weasley's invitation to spend Christmas at the Burrow with Sirius, while Hogwarts celebrated its Christmas feast and the fifth-years enjoyed a rare evening of leisure. Silvan ended the night monitoring Sirius's and Dumbledore's offices on the Marauder's Map, though neither showed anything unusual.

• Harry told Sirius he was happy to spend Christmas at the Weasleys' and suggested they travel back together.
• Professor Flitwick reviewed O.W.L. spells, and the students hurried to the Christmas feast after class.
• Silvan, Harry, and their friends admired the enchanted snow and decorations in the Great Hall, where the professors held the feast without Dumbledore.
• The Bloody Baron went to deal with Peeves, who had caused a scene in the kitchens after being barred from the feast.
• Silvan checked a list of recent wand buyers and watched Sirius's office and Dumbledore's office on the Marauder's Map, but saw nothing unusual.
• Ron played Wizard's Chess, Harry played Exploding Snap with Neville, and Fred and George discussed their joke shop plans before the students finally went to bed.

Harry woke from a dream in which he saw Sirius being tortured by Harry’s Cruciatus Curse and urgently sought help. McGonagall believed Harry and took him and Silvan to see Dumbledore, while Ron stayed to watch Sirius’s office.

• Harry woke Silvan before dawn and asked him to check the Marauder’s Map for Sirius.
• Silvan found Sirius’s office empty, and Harry described his dream before running to find McGonagall.
• Harry rushed past Filch and kicked Mrs Norris while hurrying through the castle.
• Harry told McGonagall that he had seen Sirius being tortured, and she agreed to take him to Dumbledore.
• McGonagall asked Ron to watch Sirius’s office and brought Harry and Silvan with her.

Harry woke from a nightmare in which Sirius was being tortured and went with McGonagall to alert Dumbledore, but learned Sirius was safe and returned to Hogwarts. Sirius explained that he had been helping Dumbledore find a location for the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, and Harry learned about the Order’s history.

• Harry told Dumbledore that he had dreamed Sirius was being tortured, but Dumbledore confirmed that Sirius was safe and had left Hogwarts on an errand.
• Ron arrived and reported that Sirius had returned to the entrance hall, and Dumbledore advised Harry not to tell Sirius about the nightmare.
• Harry found Sirius and said he had been worried when he could not find him, while Sirius apologized for leaving and mentioned Harry had kicked Filch’s cat.
• Sirius told Harry that Dumbledore had asked him to find a hidden location for the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.
• Sirius explained that the Order had opposed the Dark Lord and had been disbanded by Dumbledore after the Dark Lord fell.

Silvan waited for the Hogwarts Express after spending the early morning with Harry and Sirius, while Hermione worried about Harry’s nightmare. On the train, Harry excitedly told Silvan and Hermione about the Order of the Phoenix and his parents’ involvement in it.

• Silvan returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, where House-elf Gulu brought him an enormous breakfast.
• Hermione arrived, and Silvan told her Harry had had a nightmare but was safe and talking with Sirius.
• Silvan, Hermione, Harry, and Ron gathered to leave for the Hogwarts Express; Harry and Ron returned from Sirius’s office still wearing pajamas.
• Harry told Silvan and Hermione that Dumbledore had formed the Order of the Phoenix and that Harry’s parents had belonged to it.
• Hermione questioned Harry about the Order’s existence, legality, headquarters, and whether she could join.

Harry and Hermione discussed the Order of the Phoenix during the train ride, while Silvan shared food with his friends. After arriving at King’s Cross, the group met the Weasleys and learned that the Ministry had changed the rules on enchanted Muggle artefacts, forcing Mr. Weasley to stop driving his car.

• Harry wrote down questions about the Order of the Phoenix to ask Sirius and discussed his nightmare with Hermione.
• Silvan shared his leftover breakfast with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George on the train.
• At Platform 9¾, Mrs. Weasley welcomed the students, and Bill explained that he had taken an extended holiday from Egypt.
• Mr. Weasley drove the group away in Sirius’s enchanted car and said the Ministry’s revised rules had made his own car illegal to use.
• Silvan connected the Ministry’s rule change to Umbridge’s actions and suspected Mr. Weasley had been targeted as revenge against Dumbledore.

Silvan and the others visited Percy at The Burrow and saw how imprisonment had changed him, though he still cared about prefects and school honors. As the family gathered for dinner, Mrs. Weasley announced that Dumbledore’s last-minute task had delayed Sirius, Remus Lupin, and the others until Christmas Day.

• Silvan and the others arrived at The Burrow, where Percy sat alone and seemed subdued after nearly a year in Ministry of Magic custody.
• Harry greeted Percy, who congratulated him on becoming a prefect and offered advice about becoming Head Boy.
• Fred and George teased Percy about his prefect badge, while Percy calmly replied that they had altered it before.
• Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and the others discussed how Percy seemed changed after his time in confinement.
• Harry waited for Sirius and Remus Lupin at dinner, but Mrs. Weasley said Dumbledore’s new task had delayed them until Christmas Day.

Silvan, Harry, and Hermione stayed at The Burrow, where the Weasleys explored the lavish magical tent Sirius had sent. The tent was set up beside the fireplace, and Mrs. Weasley allowed Ron and Ginny to sleep inside while the older children returned to their rooms.

• Mrs. Weasley showed the family the tent Sirius had sent, and Fred, George, and Silvan discovered its spacious, luxurious interior.
• Bill admired the tent’s medieval tapestry and discussed its value, while Silvan explained that the Ollivander Family’s main asset was its wand shop.
• The family toured the tent’s two floors and seven rooms, and Harry persuaded Mrs. Weasley to let Ron and Ginny stay there overnight.
• Fred and George returned to their room to discuss Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, while the other older children went back to their own rooms.
• The Weasleys moved the tent beside the fireplace, and Mrs. Weasley’s conversation with Fred and George ended when the tent flap was lowered.

Silvan and his friends exchanged Christmas presents at the Weasley home, where Remus Lupin sent Silvan a werewolf’s leg bone as an unusual gift. The group planned to ask Lupin about it when he visited that evening, then go to Diagon Alley.

• Silvan found a smaller pile of Christmas presents than the previous year and explained that many earlier gifts had come from Triwizard Tournament spectators.
• Harry gave Silvan a Thunderbird-feather bookmark, and Silvan gave Harry a book about Quidditch teams.
• Silvan and the others opened gifts from their friends and family, including a werewolf’s leg bone from Remus Lupin.
• The group read Lupin’s note explaining that he had obtained permission from a werewolf to send Silvan the bone.
• Mrs. Weasley suggested they ask Lupin about the gift when he arrived that evening and invited everyone to breakfast before a planned trip to Diagon Alley.

Silvan spent Christmas with the Weasleys and their guests, then asked Lupin about the werewolf leg bone he had received as a gift. Lupin explained that it came from a werewolf named Ska, but grew nervous when he revealed that he had told the werewolves about Silvan’s wandmaking and the Triwizard Tournament.

• Silvan visited Garrick’s wand shop before returning to the Leaky Cauldron, where the Weasleys prepared to go home.
• Mrs. Weasley brought the group back to The Burrow, where Ginny learned that Fred and George were visiting Lee Jordan.
• Nymphadora Tonks and Sirius arrived at The Burrow, followed later by Charlie, Alastor Moody, and three other wizards.
• Lupin arrived after dark, and Silvan asked him about the werewolf leg bone he had sent as a gift.
• Lupin said Fenrir Greyback’s followers had attacked his group of werewolves, biting off Ska’s leg after they refused to join them.
• Lupin said he had told the werewolves about Silvan’s wandmaking method and the Triwizard Tournament, then hurried away when Mrs. Weasley called for help.

The Weasleys and their guests celebrated Christmas at The Burrow while Percy remained at home instead of being sent to Azkaban. After dinner, Dumbledore arrived to discuss Death Eaters spotted in France, and the chapter ended with the children piecing together hints about Madame Maxime and Dumbledore’s plans.

• Mrs. Weasley remembered Percy’s arrest and charges, then joined the Christmas meal as Mr. Weasley comforted her.
• Silvan told Harry that Lupin had given him a werewolf leg bone to investigate as a possible wand core.
• Dumbledore arrived at The Burrow and told the adults that people dressed like Death Eaters had appeared in France again.
• Fred and George tried to spy on the adults’ meeting, but Moody discovered their listening device before they heard much.
• George told Ron that Dumbledore had mentioned Madame Maxime, and the children guessed she might want to work with Dumbledore against the Death Eaters.