Chapter Summaries

Cassandra worried about Darren Potter after he was badly injured and sent to St. Mungo’s, then learned he had accepted every charge at his trial. She received a Remembrall from her father but had not yet watched it.

• Cassandra waited in the Slytherin common room while Professor McGonagall and Pansy comforted her over Darren’s disappearance and injuries.
• Cassandra heard that Darren was in critical condition at St. Mungo’s, then learned from her father that he would likely survive the political dispute between Dumbledore and Fudge.
• After Darren stayed at St. Mungo’s for two days, Cassandra read in the Daily Prophet that he had refused to cooperate at trial and taken every charge upon himself.
• Cassandra’s father sent her a Remembrall and told her not to force herself to watch it if she could not bear to.

Cassandra watched the Remembrall’s recordings and learned how Harry Potter’s younger brother had suffered while protecting others and been framed by Slytherins. After he sent Fudge to prison, she warned him about possible retaliation, then watched him remain oblivious during Lockhart’s Dueling Club match with the Head of House.

• Cassandra watched the Remembrall show Harry Potter’s younger brother kneeling before Death Eaters to protect others, and she understood his exhaustion at the trial.
• Harry Potter, Miss Know-it-all, and Weasley arrived, and the Head of House brought the younger brother out of his dormitory after he had hidden there.
• Cassandra watched another Remembrall recording reveal Slytherins plotting to kill the younger brother and saw him confess to charges at his trial; later, he sent Fudge to prison.
• Cassandra relayed her father’s warning that Fudge might return as Minister and retaliate, but the younger brother dismissed her concern.
• At Lockhart’s Dueling Club, the Head of House sent Lockhart flying, while the younger brother worried about the Head of House and mistakenly believed Lockhart had simply performed poorly.

Cassandra watched Lockhart challenge Darren to a duel, then stepped in when Lockhart insulted Slytherin. Darren reassured her by taking her hand, and later Cassandra grew suspicious of a strange person who seemed like Darren and let them into the dormitory.

• Lockhart attacked Darren by surprise, but Darren sent him flying and the Headmaster stopped Darren from taking him to the Hospital Wing.
• Lockhart challenged the students to duel, and Cassandra cursed him until he was covered in moss after he insulted Slytherin.
• Darren said he thought Slytherin was friendly and took Cassandra's hand, leaving her flustered.
• At Christmas, Cassandra watched Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle express concern for Darren while he cried.
• Cassandra noticed someone acting like Darren and let that person into the dormitory.

Cassandra discovered that Harry Potter and Weasley had used Polyjuice Potion to enter Slytherin disguised as Crabbe and Goyle, and grew furious that someone had borrowed Darren Potter’s identity. Darren stayed in his dormitory while planning how to sneak into Gryffindor Tower, with the Invisibility Cloak back in his wardrobe.

• Cassandra realized the apparent Crabbe and Goyle were Harry Potter and Weasley in disguise, and Malfoy explained that he had recognized them through their talismans.
• Malfoy denied having extraordinary feelings for Harry Potter or Darren, then teased Weasley about his father’s fine.
• Cassandra found that Darren’s dormitory door opened for her and learned that Miss Know-it-all had sent Darren to the Hospital Wing after he drank alcohol.
• Darren stayed in his dormitory to maintain the impression that he was developing a potion for Muggle-borns while researching ways to enter Gryffindor Common Room.
• Darren decided to sneak out at night, and Rookwood secretly returned the Invisibility Cloak to his wardrobe.

Darren prepared a convincing appearance of obsessive potion research before sneaking into Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. There, he discovered that it had become a Time-Space Corridor, though he did not understand how.

• Darren gathered unfinished potions and staged his dormitory to look like an exhausted researcher's workspace.
• Darren used Ghost Transformation and the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the Gryffindor Common Room.
• Darren found a hidden node, tapped it with his wand, and opened a dark green door into Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
• Darren entered a corridor lined with locked doors and received the system's explanation of the Time-Space Corridor.
• Darren was baffled when the system identified the corridor as the Time-Space Corridor instead of the Chamber of Secrets.

Darren entered the Time-Space Corridor without spending Paternal Points and emerged as an older version of himself in a scene where Sirius had died. After accepting a mission to claim Sirius’s source of hatred, he told Cassandra that he believed Sirius’s death was his fault.

• Darren chose the random, free entry option for the Time-Space Corridor and stepped through a door.
• Darren saw that he had become a taller, more handsome version of himself, then met Cassandra outside his dormitory.
• Cassandra asked why Darren blamed himself for Sirius’s death when Harry had said it was not his fault.
• The system offered Darren a mission to tell Cassandra that Sirius died because of him, with Sirius’s source of hatred as the reward.
• Darren accepted the mission and told Cassandra that he believed Sirius had died because of him.

Darren learned that Sirius had hated him because he sensed Voldemort’s aura in him, and he suspected he had failed to catch Sirius when he fell. After Harry tried to comfort him, Darren pretended to blame himself, while Harry struggled with Sirius’s death.

• The system revealed that Sirius had sensed Voldemort’s aura in Lily and had resented the child she carried, though he could not bring himself to kill Darren.
• Darren considered whether he had caused Sirius’s death but concluded he had probably only failed to catch him.
• Hermione hugged Darren and tried to comfort him, while Darren acted distressed and gained Paternal Points.
• Harry said Sirius had been his godfather, not Darren’s, and told Darren not to grieve for him.
• Darren acted as though Harry blamed him for Sirius’s death, and Harry could not find the strength to comfort him.

Darren returned from the Time-Space Corridor to find that two days had passed and everyone believed he had vanished. As he slipped out of the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry mourned him, unaware that Aurors had blamed a Slytherin student for taking him with a Portkey.

• Darren received Paternal Points before the Time-Space Corridor session ended and the system told him he could enter once per semester or pay ten thousand points.
• Darren emerged into a crowded Gryffindor Common Room and heard students speculate that Slytherins had abducted him over his potion for Muggle-borns.
• Darren realized two days had passed in the real world and decided to leave under the Invisibility Cloak.
• Harry returned without Hermione or Ron, and the Weasley twins told him that their parents were frantic about Darren's disappearance.
• Darren jumped out of the window while Harry searched for him, and Harry remembered the effort Darren had put into making the potion.
• Aurors concluded that Darren had been taken from his dormitory by a Portkey and had caught a Slytherin student they believed was responsible.

Darren returned to Hogwarts after disappearing for two days, having arranged for the system to give him injuries and signs of a Memory Charm so he could explain his absence. Snape and Becky found him, but Darren pretended not to remember anything.

• The Aurors believed someone under the Imperius Curse had planted a Portkey in Darren's dormitory, while Harry worried about Darren's fate.
• Darren realized the Portkey had been placed beside books he rarely read and decided to stage his return with fabricated injuries and memory-loss signs.
• Darren used the system to create several wounds, removed his Invisibility Cloak, and walked across the castle lawn as though nothing had happened.
• Snape hurried to Darren and questioned him about his disappearance, but Darren acted confused and claimed not to know what had happened.
• Snape asked whether Darren remembered anything or felt pain, and Darren pretended to notice his wounds for the first time before Becky called out to him.

Darren pretended not to remember being taken and tortured by Death Eaters, while Dumbledore and Snape questioned him in the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore urged Darren to rest and grew more certain that he was kind rather than ambitious, despite his Grindelwald bloodline.

• Becky rushed to Darren, who acted confused about how he had ended up injured before collapsing into her arms.
• Snape gave Becky potions for Madam Pomfrey and went to find Dumbledore.
• In the Hospital Wing, Darren claimed he could not remember being captured and listed the curses and spells that had hurt him.
• Dumbledore defended Darren when Snape criticized him, then warned him to rest instead of working constantly on the potion.
• Darren insisted that people were counting on the potion, and Dumbledore reflected on his past suspicions before deciding Darren had no desire to harm others.

Dumbledore realized he had misjudged Darren and apologized for failing to protect him sooner. Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Darren in the Hospital Wing, where he comforted Hermione and received Paternal Points; the chapter ended with an unnamed visitor asking to borrow Harry.

• Dumbledore inspected Darren's room and concluded that its signs of hard work proved Darren was kind, then apologized for his suffering.
• Dumbledore warned Darren to take better care of his health and told him Aurors might visit, while Snape noticed Harry and Ron hiding nearby.
• Harry and Ron removed the Invisibility Cloak and checked on Darren, who defended Snape as considerate and worried about his students.
• Hermione apologized for her role in the events, and Darren comforted her while accepting Paternal Points.
• Harry and the others assured Darren that he was not useless, and an unnamed person asked them to let Harry leave for a while.

Amelia Susan Bones questioned Darren Potter about his disappearance and injuries after the Minister suspected him of staging a prank. Darren’s apparent innocence and politeness left Amelia ashamed, and she vowed to find who had harmed him.

• Amelia Susan Bones arrived to question Darren on the Minister’s orders, while Harry and Hermione reacted angrily to the accusation.
• Darren politely told Amelia that he could not remember how he had disappeared, earning Paternal Points.
• Amelia asked whether Darren had inflicted his wounds on himself, and he denied it before identifying marks left by curses.
• Amelia grew ashamed as Darren showed her his injuries and expressed concern about upsetting her.
• Amelia ended the questioning and promised to find those who had harmed Darren.

After Amelia left, Darren was forced by Madam Pomfrey to take potions that would heal him over two days, while Harry, Hermione, and Ron left the Hospital Wing. Outside, Malfoy grabbed Harry’s diary and threatened to throw it from a window, prompting Harry to draw his wand.

• Amelia left after deciding not to question Darren further, and Darren told Harry he thought she was a good person.
• Madam Pomfrey brought Darren a pile of potions, and the system told him they would heal his injuries in two days.
• Darren drank the potions and grew drowsy while Hermione joked that he should sleep until the end of term.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron left the Hospital Wing, and Malfoy confronted them and grabbed Harry’s diary.
• Malfoy found nothing written in the diary and prepared to throw it out a window, while Harry drew his wand and warned him to stop.

Harry recovered Tom Riddle’s Diary from Malfoy and discovered that it could communicate with him, then learned from it that Hagrid had supposedly opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years earlier. Harry, Hermione, and Ron suspected Hagrid but decided not to tell Darren, leaving the accusation uncertain.

• Harry disarmed Malfoy and recovered the Diary while Filch confronted Malfoy and asked Harry about Darren’s condition.
• Filch revealed his worry that Darren was exhausting himself by researching potions, and Harry returned to the Gryffindor dormitory upset about Darren’s suffering.
• Harry wrote in the Diary, which absorbed his ink and answered him as Tom Riddle.
• Harry told Hermione and Ron that Riddle had shown him Hagrid opening the Chamber of Secrets fifty years earlier.
• Hermione recalled that Hagrid had sought a potion for Flesh-Eating Slugs, and the three friends considered whether one of his creatures had caused the attacks.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron agreed not to tell Darren about their suspicions and to wait, since the petrified victims would soon recover and there had been no new attacks.

Darren woke in the Hospital Wing, recovered, and chose every available second-year class while reassuring Harry, Ron, and Hermione with his usual kindness. As the school settled after the petrifications, Tom Riddle’s Diary was stolen, raising the prospect of the Chamber of Secrets crisis beginning again.

• Darren woke after two days in the Hospital Wing, thanked Madam Pomfrey, and reunited with Harry and the others.
• Darren avoided causing more trouble, and the castle experienced no further petrifications or Basilisk sightings.
• During the Easter holidays, Darren checked every course on his class-selection form, hoping to earn a Time-Turner.
• Darren told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that he felt envy and sadness, earning their affection and concern.
• Darren wondered whether Tom Riddle would still target Ginny and whether Harry would kill the Basilisk, which Darren considered his own.
• Tom Riddle’s Diary was stolen on a bright morning.

As the Quidditch match approached, Harry, Ron, and Darren heard the murderous voice again, and Darren suggested it belonged to a snake. Hermione rushed to the library, while Harry and Ron suspected Hagrid; Darren left them questioning that conclusion.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione worried that someone had stolen Tom Riddle's Diary because they knew about Tom Riddle.
• Wood taunted Malfoy before the Quidditch match, and Malfoy led the Slytherin team away after insisting they would win.
• Harry, Ron, and Darren heard the voice threatening to kill someone as they headed to the pitch.
• Hermione ran to the library to investigate, while Darren suggested the voice might be a snake speaking Parseltongue.
• Harry and Ron shouted Hagrid's name, and Darren argued that Hagrid would not be responsible for the snake.

Darren told Harry and the others that the snake’s deadly eyes made him suspect Hagrid had been framed, and Harry confessed that they had hidden Riddle’s diary from him. Darren sent Harry and Ron to the Quidditch match while he went to find Hermione, then accepted a task to follow the Basilisk’s voice and protect her.

• Darren explained that the snake’s brass-colored eyes made him fear for Hagrid, and Harry concluded that Hagrid had been framed.
• Harry apologized for hiding Riddle’s diary from Darren, who said he understood why they had kept it secret.
• Darren insisted that Harry and Ron go to the Quidditch match while he went to find Hermione.
• The Paternal System gave Darren a temporary task to follow the Basilisk’s voice, shield Hermione from its gaze, and fail to cast a spell after she was petrified.
• Darren accepted the task, heard the Basilisk threatening to kill, and ran toward its voice.

Darren watched the Basilisk petrify Hermione, then pretended to attack it while staging his own petrification to mislead Professor McGonagall. He ended the chapter lamenting that he could not protect Hermione, while Ernie accused him of trying to kill her.

• Darren leapt in front of Hermione and used a curtain of water, but the Basilisk petrified her.
• The Basilisk spoke to Darren, then left after telling him to kill Darren, and Darren pretended to cast attacking spells at it.
• Ernie saw Darren and accused him of killing Hermione and trying to silence him.
• Professor McGonagall checked on Darren, who accepted a mission and used Paternal Points to petrify part of his leg.
• Darren asked Professor McGonagall why he could not cast offensive magic and said he felt useless for failing to protect Hermione.

Darren pretended to blame himself after Hermione was petrified, while Professor McGonagall discovered that his legs had also turned to stone. In the Hospital Wing, he recounted his encounters with the snake to Dumbledore, who remained unable to determine what had happened to him.

• Darren claimed he had failed to protect Hermione and could not cast the Killing Curse, so Professor McGonagall checked his wand and found no trace of it.
• Professor McGonagall discovered Darren’s legs were petrified and took him to the Hospital Wing, where he gained the Petrification skill.
• Dumbledore asked Darren about his earlier encounters with the snake, and Darren described growing fatigue and difficulty looking into its eyes.
• Darren told Dumbledore that he had used a curtain of water to shield Hermione, then opened his eyes when the snake lunged at him and blamed himself for Hermione’s petrification.

After Darren’s emotional account, Snape gave him an improved antidote mixed with a sleeping draught, and Dumbledore ordered Hogwarts activities halted while the school searched for the snake. McGonagall canceled the Quidditch match as Harry and the teams took to the pitch.

• Snape gave the dazed Darren his improved antidote, which put him to sleep, and Darren’s praise earned Snape Paternal Points.
• Dumbledore ordered McGonagall to cancel Quidditch and suspend activities while students stayed in their common rooms and the staff searched for the snake.
• An owl delivered a letter that prompted Dumbledore to leave for the Ministry of Magic through a magical vortex.
• McGonagall left to secure the students, while Snape asked Flitwick and Sprout to help guard the school and explained Darren’s potion to Madam Pomfrey.
• Harry arrived at the Quidditch pitch for the match against Slytherin, but McGonagall announced its cancellation and Madam Hooch brought the players back down.