Chapter Summaries

Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur drained the basin and discovered that its locket was a decoy, left by someone who had stolen Voldemort’s real Horcrux. They ended the chapter knowing they had to identify R.A.B. and confirm whether the real locket had been destroyed.

• Ye Ting fed the basin’s emerald potion to the chained Inferius until it collapsed, then Hermione examined it and found it was still alive.
• Ye Ting explained that Voldemort had intended the potion to weaken intruders, not kill them immediately, so he could interrogate them.
• Ye Ting determined that the locket in the basin was not a Horcrux, and the group found that it lacked the Slytherin emblem.
• Ye Ting opened the locket, and Hermione read a note signed R.A.B. saying its writer had stolen the real Horcrux and intended to destroy it.
• Ye Ting insisted they must find the real locket and verify its fate, while Fleur wondered who R.A.B. was.

Hermione deduced that R.A.B. had been close to Voldemort and used Ministry records to identify him as Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur traveled with Remus Lupin to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters at Grimmauld Place to investigate the locket.

• Hermione reasoned that R.A.B. was likely a wizard who had known Voldemort and died or disappeared before him.
• Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur searched Ministry records, first checking Voldemort’s enemies and then Death Eater records.
• Fleur found Regulus Arcturus Black’s file, which showed he was a Death Eater who died in 1980 and was Sirius Black’s younger brother.
• Fleur suggested asking Sirius about the locket, and Ye Ting said Sirius owed him a favor and would help.
• Remus Lupin led Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur to the hidden Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, where the door opened after Lupin tapped it with his wand.

Ye Ting arrived at Grimmauld Place with Hermione and Fleur, where Sirius introduced him to the gathered members of the Order of the Phoenix. The group defended Ye Ting against Moody’s suspicions, while Tonks’s fear of him reminded Ye Ting of the experiments he had once conducted on her.

• Lupin led Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur into Grimmauld Place, where Sirius welcomed them and brought them to the sitting room.
• Tonks saw Ye Ting, recoiled, and moved away after Lupin asked what was wrong.
• Ye Ting remembered that he had experimented on Tonks and taken several vials of her blood during his third year.
• Moody objected to Sirius bringing Ye Ting into the house, but Kingsley, Molly, and Snape vouched for Ye Ting’s identity and power.
• Hermione asked why the adults feared Ye Ting, and Fleur explained that he treated her gently but could be ruthless toward people who provoked him.

Ye Ting, Hermione, and their companion asked Sirius Black about Regulus Black’s death, and Sirius directed them to question Kreacher. Ye Ting frightened Kreacher into silence, leaving the three to begin their questioning alone.

• Sirius Black led the three into a private room, where Kreacher insulted him and the others.
• Sirius refused Hermione’s suggestion to free Kreacher, explaining that the elf knew too much about the Order of the Phoenix.
• Ye Ting asked Sirius about Regulus Black, and Sirius described his family’s pure-blood beliefs and Regulus’s decision to join the Death Eaters.
• Sirius said Regulus had grown frightened and tried to leave Voldemort’s service, but he did not know how Regulus died.
• Sirius summoned Kreacher and ordered him to answer every question truthfully, while Ye Ting threatened to make his nose grow if he insulted anyone.
• Sirius returned to the sitting room, leaving Ye Ting, Hermione, and their companion with Kreacher.

Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur learned from Kreacher how Regulus Black discovered Voldemort’s locket and sacrificed himself to replace it with a fake. Kreacher had brought the original locket home but failed to destroy it, and Hermione mourned Regulus’s death.

• Ye Ting questioned Kreacher about Regulus’s locket, and Kreacher admitted that Regulus had brought one home.
• Kreacher recounted how Voldemort took him to the seaside cave, forced him to drink the potion guarding the locket, and left him among the Inferi.
• Kreacher explained that Regulus ordered him to return home, then later took him back to the cave and switched Voldemort’s locket for a fake before drowning.
• Kreacher said he could not destroy the locket and had been forbidden to tell the Black family what happened.
• Hermione tried to comfort Kreacher but recoiled when he insulted her, and Ye Ting held Hermione as she cried.

Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur found Slytherin’s locket among the Black family’s dangerous collectibles and gave Kreacher a fake locket containing Regulus Black’s note. Back home, they failed to destroy the Horcrux, and Hermione suggested Parseltongue might open it.

• Sirius Black led Ye Ting, Hermione, and Fleur to the Black family’s collection, where they searched through enchanted objects and Kreacher repeatedly tried to steal items.
• Fleur found the locket, and Ye Ting sensed a strange pulsing inside it, but none of them could open it.
• Hermione gave Kreacher the fake locket containing Regulus Black’s note, and he was overwhelmed before hiding it carefully.
• Ye Ting tried to destroy the real locket with Infinity Blade, but the sword only cut its chain.
• Hermione proposed using Parseltongue to open the locket, which resisted every method they had tried.

Ye Ting destroyed Slytherin’s locket Horcrux after opening it with Parseltongue. Meanwhile, Cho Chang and Penelope traced Hufflepuff’s Cup to the family of collector Hepzibah Smith and arrived at Manasseh Smith’s manor to investigate.

• Ye Ting spoke Parseltongue to open the locket, then destroyed the Horcrux with the Infinity Blade as Hermione and Fleur watched.
• Ye Ting’s group confirmed that the locket was their third destroyed Horcrux, with three more still to find.
• Cho Chang and Penelope found Ministry records identifying Hepzibah Smith as a wealthy collector who claimed descent from Helga Hufflepuff.
• Cho Chang and Penelope learned that Hepzibah had died in 1946 and that her younger sister, Manasseh Smith, had inherited her manor and wealth.
• With Bones’s introduction, Cho Chang and Penelope visited Manasseh’s manor and entered with its house-elf.

Penelope and Cho Chang visited Manasseh Smith to ask about Hufflepuff's Cup, using Voldemort's return to persuade her that their inquiry was important. Manasseh recognized Tom Riddle as the culprit in an event from forty-nine years earlier and began telling them where the Cup had gone.

• Penelope and Cho Chang toured Manasseh Smith's manor and met her in her study.
• Manasseh complained that she disliked her sister's collection of antiques and doubted the girls were Ministry investigators.
• Penelope convinced Manasseh that the Ministry was short-staffed and had assigned them a safe investigation.
• Cho asked whether the Smith family descended from Helga Hufflepuff, and Penelope then asked about Hufflepuff's Cup.
• After Cho named Tom Riddle, Manasseh recognized him as the real culprit and agreed to explain what happened to the Cup forty-nine years earlier.

Cho Chang and Penelope traced Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket to Hepzibah Smith, whose death they concluded Voldemort had caused so he could steal both artifacts. The Cup's whereabouts remained unknown, but Ye Ting guessed Voldemort had hidden it in Gringotts, possibly in someone else's vault.

• Manasseh told Cho Chang and Penelope that Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket had vanished after Hepzibah Smith died in 1946.
• Manasseh recalled meeting the young Tom Riddle and suspected he had killed her sister and taken the Cup.
• After Ye Ting's group returned with the Resurrection Stone, Cho Chang and Penelope resurrected Hepzibah and learned that Riddle had visited her shortly before her death.
• The resurrected house-elf Hokey confirmed that Riddle had disappeared after Hepzibah died, leading Cho Chang and Penelope to conclude that Voldemort had poisoned her and altered Hokey's memories.
• Ye Ting suggested that Voldemort might have hidden Hufflepuff's Cup in Gringotts, perhaps in a vault other than his own.

Ye Ting decided to investigate whether Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux in a Gringotts vault, with the Lestrange vault as the likeliest target. He prepared an infiltration plan for himself, Cho Chang, and Penelope, ending with a way to bypass the Thief’s Downfall using an Ender Pearl.

• Ye Ting reasoned that Voldemort might have entrusted Horcruxes to loyal Death Eaters and identified the Lestrange vault as the likeliest place to search.
• Ye Ting chose to take Cho Chang and Penelope to Gringotts but rejected breaking in by force because it would bring severe consequences.
• Ye Ting spent two days creating a jammer to overwhelm Gringotts’s detectors and prepared Presence-Reducing Potion and the Invisibility Cloak.
• Ye Ting devised a way to bypass the Thief’s Downfall by using an Ender Pearl to teleport past it.

Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho Chang infiltrated Gringotts and forced a goblin to reveal routes to several Death Eater families’ vaults. After erasing the goblin’s and an elderly witch’s memories, they left them to continue into the tunnels, equipped with the directions they needed.

• Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho Chang used Presence-Reducing Potions, Invisibility Cloaks, and a magical disruptor to slip past Gringotts’ entrance guard.
• The three waited in the marble hall until an elderly witch asked to visit her vault, then followed her and a goblin into the underground tunnels.
• Ye Ting and Penelope petrified the witch and goblin, and Ye Ting stunned the witch before forcing Veritaserum on the goblin.
• Penelope questioned the goblin while Cho Chang recorded directions to the Strange, Crabbe, and Goyle family vaults.
• Ye Ting erased the witch’s and goblin’s memories, and the three watched them resume their journey into the tunnels.

Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho Chang rode a cart through Gringotts’ tunnels toward the Lestrange vault. They reached the chained dragon guarding the deepest vaults, and Ye Ting suggested using his dragon Animagus form to handle it.

• Ye Ting enlarged a Muggle mining cart, adjusted it to the tracks, and enchanted its handle so they could travel without using a goblin cart.
• Ye Ting read the route notes while Cho Chang steered through the tunnel forks, and they reached their destination with Penelope badly dizzy.
• The three sensed a dragon ahead and found a blind, chained dragon guarding several deep vaults.
• Ye Ting explained that goblins controlled the dragon by making it associate a particular sound with pain, then proposed using his dragon Animagus form to deal with it.

Ye Ting, Cho Chang, and Penelope drove off the fire dragon and broke into the Lestrange vault to search for Hufflepuff's Cup. They found the cup high among the treasures, but the vault's enchanted hoard was multiplying and burning around them.

• Cho Chang and Penelope used dragon's might to frighten the fire dragon into retreating.
• Ye Ting warned Cho Chang and Penelope about the vault's defenses, then shattered its door with Diffindo.
• The three entered the vault and searched its vast hoard for Hufflepuff's Cup.
• Penelope triggered the Gemino Curse and Incendio on a goblet, burning her fingers before Ye Ting healed them.
• Cho Chang accidentally scattered fake Galleons, and Ye Ting spotted Hufflepuff's Cup high among the treasures.

Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho Chang stole the cup from the treasure vault and escaped by freeing the fire dragon. They flew away as the copied, burning armor overwhelmed the pursuing goblins.

• Cho Chang used ribbons to pull the cup from the treasure pile, and Penelope wrapped it so it could be handled safely.
• Ye Ting took a suit of armor under a fireproof spell, causing the Gemino Curse to fill the vault and the passage with copies.
• Cho Chang transformed into a blue dragon and subdued the fire dragon, while Penelope broke its shackles and Ye Ting helped her climb aboard.
• Ye Ting cast a protective spell on the two girls, and the trio hid beneath the Invisibility Cloak as the fire dragon took flight.
• The fire dragon knocked the armor mountain into the pursuing goblins, burying many of them beneath the scorching copies.

Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho escaped Gringotts on the nearly blind dragon and flew far from London before transforming into dragons themselves and Apparating home. With Hufflepuff's Cup secured, they prepared to destroy the Horcrux.

• Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho used digging spells to help the dragon break through Gringotts and escape into Diagon Alley without being discovered.
• The dragon carried them north over the countryside, and they waited until it was far from people before jumping off.
• Ye Ting, Penelope, and Cho transformed into dragons and landed safely, frightening their former mount into fleeing.
• The three returned home by Apparition with Hufflepuff's Cup and prepared to destroy the Horcrux.

After destroying three Horcruxes over the summer, Ye Ting and the girls returned to Hogwarts to search for Ravenclaw's Diadem. On the train, they shared a compartment with Luna Lovegood as Harry and his escorts hurried aboard.

• Ye Ting and the four girls destroyed the Gaunt family ring, Slytherin's locket, and Hufflepuff's Cup, leaving Nagini and Ravenclaw's Diadem as the likely remaining Horcruxes.
• Fleur Delacour stayed with Ye Ting and worked at his alchemy shop, while Hermione arranged for her parents to move to Canada.
• Ye Ting, Hermione, and Cho Chang returned to King's Cross Station, planning to find clues about the Diadem through the Grey Lady at Hogwarts.
• At the station, Ye Ting saw Harry Potter surrounded by friends and Order members who had come to escort him to school.
• Unable to find an empty compartment, Ye Ting, Hermione, and Cho joined Luna Lovegood in the last carriage, and the train departed as Harry and his group rushed aboard.

Ye Ting, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Luna shared a train compartment on the way to Hogwarts, where Luna’s unusual remarks and Hermione’s jealousy made the journey awkward. As they arrived, Himari unexpectedly relaxed in Luna’s arms and fell asleep.

• Ye Ting helped Hermione and Cho Chang stow their trunks, and Luna recognized Hermione and Ye Ting while watching Himari.
• Hermione grew resentful after Luna praised Ye Ting, and the compartment fell quiet.
• Ye Ting examined Luna’s copy of The Quibbler, and Hermione embarrassed herself by calling the magazine rubbish before learning Luna’s father edited it.
• When the train reached Hogwarts, Luna asked to hold Himari, who calmly settled in her arms and fell asleep.
• Hermione and Ye Ting were astonished that Himari trusted Luna so quickly.

Ye Ting and the students returned to Hogwarts, where Hermione and Cho discovered they could see Thestrals, unlike Marietta. Hogwarts began the term without Umbridge, who remained in Azkaban, and the story left Ye Ting reflecting on how his actions had spared the school from her.

• Professor Grubbly-Plank directed the first-years at Hogsmeade Station while Ye Ting and the other students gathered outside.
• Hermione and Cho Chang were startled by the Thestrals pulling the carriages, but Marietta could not see them.
• Luna Lovegood and Ye Ting confirmed that the creatures were Thestrals, visible only to those who had witnessed death firsthand.
• Ye Ting, Hermione, Cho, and the students rode the carriages to Hogwarts and entered the Great Hall.
• Ye Ting noted that Umbridge remained in Azkaban and that Fudge's conflict with Amelia Bones had kept him from interfering with Hogwarts.

At Hogwarts's feast, the Sorting Hat warned that the school faced danger and urged everyone to unite. Hermione and Cho Chang identified Voldemort as the threat, while Marietta doubted his return and grew upset when her friends disagreed.

• Ye Ting reflected on the founders' relics, the Horcruxes he and Hermione and Cho Chang had destroyed, and Luna Lovegood's gaze.
• The Sorting Hat sang a new verse warning that Hogwarts was in peril from enemies outside and could collapse without unity within.
• The Grey Lady told Hermione that the Sorting Hat had issued similar warnings when the school was in great danger.
• Hermione and Cho Chang said they believed Voldemort had returned, and Hermione defended Madam Bones and others who were preparing for trouble.
• Hermione told Marietta that she had seen Voldemort return, and Cho Chang said she believed Hermione, leaving Marietta hurt and angry.

At the feast, Dumbledore announced that Slughorn had returned as Potions master and Snape had become the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, then warned everyone that Voldemort had returned. After the feast, Ye Ting asked Luna why she had watched him all evening.

• Dumbledore welcomed Professor Grubbly-Plank back and introduced Slughorn as the new Potions master.
• Dumbledore announced that Snape would teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, upsetting Harry and prompting students to discuss the job's curse.
• Dumbledore warned the students that Voldemort had returned and urged them to follow safety rules and report suspicious activity.
• After the feast, Ye Ting approached Luna, and Himari jumped from her arms onto Ye Ting's head.
• Ye Ting asked Luna why she had watched him throughout the feast.