Chapter Summaries

Snape tried to make Harry test a new potion, but Colin Creevey arrived to take Harry and Darren to a Ministry photo session. The brothers joined Fleur, Krum, and Rita Skeeter, while Darren remembered Rita’s earlier encounter with Rookwood.

• Snape planned to test his newly invented potions on Harry, but Colin Creevey interrupted the lesson to summon Harry and Darren for photographs.
• Snape took ten points from Gryffindor after failing to find another reason to punish Harry.
• Harry told Darren he believed Snape resented them because they were James Potter’s children, and Darren tried to reassure him.
• Colin congratulated Harry and Darren on their Triwizard Tournament places before leading them to the photo room.
• Fleur greeted Darren warmly inside, where Krum and Rita Skeeter were waiting.

Rita Skeeter tried to interview Harry, but Darren rescued him before she could twist his answers into a story. At the Triwizard Tournament wand inspection, Ollivander recalled Darren’s unusually expensive wand and its drawbacks.

• Rita Skeeter avoided Darren and led Harry into a broom room for an interview, accusing him of entering the Triwizard Tournament by cheating.
• Harry denied the accusation and said Darren would testify for him, but Rita turned his words into a claim that Darren had helped him cheat.
• Darren entered the room and led Harry away, and Rita let them go despite wanting to write an article about Darren.
• Ludo Bagman announced the wand inspection, and Ollivander examined Krum’s and Fleur’s wands before turning to Darren.
• Ollivander recalled Darren buying his wand alone at age eleven and identified it as cypress, ten and one-third inches long, with an Azure Dragon’s Reverse Scale core.

Darren revealed that his wand could make a Patronus appear as an Azure Dragon, while Ollivander reassured the onlookers that it had no other special power. Harry received Sirius Black’s invitation to meet in the Gryffindor Common Room, and over the following weeks he endured ridicule after Rita Skeeter’s newspaper made him a laughingstock.

• Darren told Ollivander he had solved his wand’s riddle, and Ollivander demonstrated its Azure Dragon Patronus before describing its power as ordinary.
• Ollivander inspected Harry’s dirty wand, then the group finished their photographs and Hermione brought Harry and Darren a letter from Sirius Black.
• Harry and Darren agreed that Harry would use the Invisibility Cloak and meet Darren outside the Slytherin Common Room before they waited for Sirius together.
• Over the next two weeks, Harry anxiously awaited the meeting while Rita Skeeter’s newspaper drew mockery from Hogwarts students and Ron grew more distant.
• Darren realized Harry’s interview with Rita Skeeter had likely led to the article, but he had been distracted by Fleur when Harry was called away.

Rita Skeeter’s fabricated interview left Harry humiliated, though Darren continued to support him. That night, Harry and Darren followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest and discovered he had brought Madame Maxime there under the pretext of discussing the first task.

• Rita Skeeter’s article portrayed Harry as depressed and jealous of Darren, and claimed Hermione was playing the twins against each other.
• Hermione enjoyed Rita’s flattering description of her, while Harry was mocked by students and Snape over the article.
• Harry followed Darren and Hermione through Hogsmeade under the Invisibility Cloak, then felt better after Darren bought him an ice cream and Butterbeer.
• Moody and Hagrid invited Harry and Darren to Hagrid’s hut at eleven-thirty, telling them to wear the Invisibility Cloak.
• Harry and Darren went with Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest and watched him meet Madame Maxime, whom he had lured there by mentioning the first task.

Harry and Darren visited the fire dragons with Hagrid and learned that the Triwizard Tournament would involve a dangerous task involving them. They headed back to Gryffindor after reassuring each other, and Darren bumped into Karkaroff on the way.

• Charlie and several wizards stunned a Hungarian Horntail, allowing Hagrid, Harry, Darren, and Madame Maxime to approach the dragons.
• Hagrid wondered whether the Triwizard Champions would have to fight the dragons, and Charlie explained they might need to take something from them or survive nearby.
• Darren tried to take Harry away from the dragons, but Harry insisted they would face the tournament together, earning Darren Paternal Points.
• Charlie told the brothers that their parents were devastated and that Harry had secretly cried and felt jealous of Darren, prompting Harry to deny the claims as Rita Skeeter's lies.
• Harry and Darren left Hagrid with Madame Maxime and hurried toward the Gryffindor Common Room; Darren collided with Karkaroff on the way.

Harry and Darren spoke with Sirius Black about the Triwizard Tournament and the suspicion that Karkaroff had manipulated events. Harry’s anger boiled over when Ron interrupted them, and he struck Ron with a Potter Stinks badge.

• Harry and Darren hurried to the Common Room, where Sirius checked on Darren and asked Harry about his recent troubles.
• Sirius warned Harry that Karkaroff was a Death Eater who might have put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire and might have used Cedric to involve Darren.
• Harry realized Darren and the professors had already suspected Cedric was manipulated and were waiting for the person behind it to reveal a clue.
• Sirius began to advise Darren about the first task, but Harry heard someone approaching and Sirius left before Ron arrived.
• Ron mocked Harry about his interviews, and Harry angrily hit him in the face with a Potter Stinks badge.

Darren and Harry prepared for the first Triwizard Tournament task after learning it would involve dragons, while Ron’s attempt to make peace with Harry failed. As Darren and Harry were led toward the task, Professor McGonagall urged them to call for help and hugged them goodbye.

• Harry dragged Darren away from Ron and spent the night planning how to face the dragon, with Darren advising him to summon his Firebolt using Accio.
• Harry practiced Accio, and Moody praised Darren’s plan to fight the dragon head-on after Harry told him about it.
• Harry attended Divination, where Trelawney predicted disaster for boys born at the end of July, and Ron passed Darren a note revealing that the first task involved dragons.
• Darren and Harry saw supporters wearing badges that declared Darren would win and insulted Harry; Harry stopped Darren from confronting them, and the supporters removed the insult.
• Professor McGonagall led Darren and Harry toward the first task, told them to call for help if they could not manage, and hugged them as she wished them to return alive.

Snape gave Darren potions and Dumbledore’s Elder Wand for protection before the Triwizard champions faced their dragons. Darren drew the Hungarian Horntail, and the champions prepared to enter the task.

• Snape gave Darren two suspicious potions and the Elder Wand, urging him to use them if he could not defeat his dragon.
• Darren reassured Snape before entering the tent, and Snape deducted ten points from Slytherin for his disrespect.
• Inside the tent, Darren found Krum panicked, Fleur praying, and Harry gripping his wand.
• Ludo Bagman explained that each champion had to get past a dragon and take its egg, then made them draw lots.
• Darren drew the Hungarian Horntail, and Bagman refused Fleur’s offer to trade dragons.

Darren and Harry prepared for the Triwizard Tournament’s dragon task, and Darren sent Harry out with a potion and reassurance. When Darren’s own turn came, he tried to communicate with the Hungarian Horntail, then used magic to lift the dragon into the air.

• Fleur hugged Darren before her turn, gave him a talisman, and went out to face the dragon.
• Darren reassured Harry and gave him a potion to use if things went wrong; Harry then went out for his task.
• Darren waited in the tent until Ludo Bagman announced his turn, then entered the field and saw the Hungarian Horntail.
• Darren tried to speak to the Horntail, which agreed to cooperate if he brought it food.
• Darren raised his wand and lifted the Horntail into the air.

Darren staged a fake fight with the Hungarian Horntail to retrieve its egg and make the dragon appear defeated. After the dragon took a staged punch and crashed to the ground, Charlie rushed to protect Darren, believing he had nearly been killed.

• Darren repeatedly struck the Hungarian Horntail with a giant club until it begged for mercy and agreed to help stage a fight.
• Darren instructed the Hungarian Horntail to pretend to attack him, and it agreed after he promised not to kill it.
• Darren took the dragon egg and turned away, prompting the Hungarian Horntail to charge at him as planned.
• Darren punched the Hungarian Horntail, which flew away and crashed to the ground while the onlookers screamed.
• Darren hurried toward the dragon, but Charlie grabbed him and said he was relieved Darren had survived.

After Darren returned from facing the Hungarian Horntail, he pretended to faint to escape a scolding, but Snape’s potion knocked him unconscious and Dumbledore later told him he had been poisoned. Darren then learned that a Remembrall had recorded his grateful hug to Snape, leaving him embarrassed that the moment had been seen.

• Charlie pushed Darren out of the tent, and Professor McGonagall rushed to help him after noticing a tiny cut on his hand.
• Darren pretended to faint, so Professor McGonagall took him to the Hospital Wing while Harry, Snape, and Dumbledore followed.
• Darren woke briefly, drank Snape’s potion, and lost consciousness again after realizing it was unusually potent.
• Dumbledore told Darren that he had been unconscious for more than half a day and that Snape had treated him for poison from the Hungarian Horntail.
• Darren thanked Snape for saving him, and Dumbledore revealed that a Remembrall had recorded Darren hugging Snape.

After Darren worried that Snape would be punished over the Remembrall, Dumbledore reassured him and gave him Molly Weasley’s gentle Howler. Harry and Ron reconciled with Darren’s help, though Darren’s talk of dying alarmed Harry and his friends.

• Darren asked whether Snape would be punished, and Snape explained that the Remembrall had been meant for Dumbledore’s observation.
• Dumbledore revealed that he had asked Molly to send Darren a Howler, but her letter only urged him to stay cautious and told him she was proud of him.
• Dumbledore praised Darren and left him with Harry and the others so they could attend the celebration together.
• Ron explained that he had wanted to make up with Harry and Darren, and Harry confronted him about their earlier argument.
• Darren joined Harry and Ron’s hands and urged them to preserve their friendship even if he died, prompting Harry to insist that Darren would not die.

Darren woke after the dragon task and heard how his actions had shocked Hogwarts, while he defended the Hungarian Horntail and learned more about Karkaroff's suspected role in the tournament. He returned to a jubilant Hogwarts feast, where students and professors celebrated Harry and Darren, and Slytherin hailed Darren as the strongest at Hogwarts.

• Hermione told Darren that Dumbledore and the others had considered killing the Hungarian Horntail after it injured him, but Darren insisted the dragon had only been protecting its egg.
• Harry and the others told Darren that Karkaroff was a Death Eater who may have entered Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire and possibly helped Cedric enter Darren's.
• Ron recounted how Karkaroff gave Harry seven points and Darren ten before storming away, while Darren hid his knowledge of Voldemort's plan.
• Hermione urged Darren to return to Hogwarts, where students and professors welcomed him and Harry with loud cheers at the celebration feast.
• Slytherin students celebrated Darren's strength after seeing the Daily Prophet image of him punching the Hungarian Horntail into the air.

After the Triwizard Tournament’s first task, Darren helped Hagrid care for the unruly Blast-Ended Skrewts as winter set in. Rita Skeeter tried to interview Hagrid, but Harry and Darren drove her away.

• Darren noticed Durmstrang students still living aboard their ship despite the freezing weather, while Beauxbatons students stayed inside Hogwarts or in their carriage.
• Hagrid had students place the Blast-Ended Skrewts in insulated boxes, but the creatures escaped and injured several students as they rampaged through his pumpkin patch.
• Hagrid stopped Darren from attacking the Blast-Ended Skrewts and tied up their back spikes to keep them from hurting one another.
• Rita Skeeter arrived at Care of Magical Creatures class and asked Hagrid for an interview, but Harry refused on Hagrid’s behalf.
• Darren confronted Rita Skeeter, who left after noticing him, and Ron joked that she had feared being punched.

Darren acted concerned after Hagrid agreed to be interviewed by Rita Skeeter, while Harry and the others hoped the interview would teach Hagrid a lesson. Later, Professor Trelawney predicted that Darren and Harry were in danger, but most students dismissed her warnings.

• Hermione hugged Darren after remembering how deeply he had suffered over killing someone, and Hagrid wondered whether Rita Skeeter might write favorably about his magical creatures.
• Harry and Hermione warned Hagrid against meeting Rita Skeeter, but Hagrid remained eager to accept her interview.
• Harry and the others learned that Hagrid had met Rita Skeeter and hoped her article would lead to the loss of his dangerous creatures, while Darren pretended to worry.
• Professor Trelawney told her Divination class that death was approaching Darren and Harry, frightening Lavender and a few other girls.
• Ron reminded the girls that Trelawney had predicted Harry might die too, and they responded with disdain.

Hermione led Darren, Harry, and Ron from the library to Hogwarts's kitchen, intending to involve the house-elves in her Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Ron objected that her campaign could disrupt Hogwarts, while Darren told him to apologize for speaking rudely to her.

• Harry reassured Darren after Trelawney's prediction and suggested they go to the library with Ron to do homework.
• Ron spotted Krum reading and planned to ask for his autograph, but a Hufflepuff girl reached Krum first.
• Hermione arrived, took Darren away to show him a place she had found, and Harry and Ron followed.
• Hermione revealed the broad corridor decorated with paintings of food, and Darren guessed it led to the kitchen.
• Ron feared Hermione would lecture the house-elves about protecting them and cause them to strike, and Darren told him to apologize.

Hermione brought Darren to the Hogwarts kitchens, where the House-elves praised him for defending their rights and worried that accepting wages would make them bad elves. Darren reassured them that wages could let them buy gifts for their masters, and learned that Winky had been dismissed by the Crouches again.

• Hermione opened the entrance to the kitchens and led Darren inside, leaving Harry and the others outside the closed door.
• The House-elves crowded around Darren, and he pretended to remember Susan, who had washed his clothes.
• Hermione told the elves that Darren had fought for their treatment, and they explained that they had punished themselves when he went without food.
• Darren told the elves they could accept wages without becoming bad elves and could use the money to buy gifts for their masters.
• Darren recognized Winky and realized that Barty Crouch Jr. had arranged for her dismissal so she would come to Hogwarts and cook for him.

Hermione introduced Darren to Dobby, who thanked him for helping free him and supporting Hogwarts House-elves. Harry and Ron joined them, and Dobby indirectly confirmed that Lucius Malfoy had been his former master; the group later left with food and Darren’s promise of praise for Susan’s Chinese meat buns.

• Hermione introduced Darren to Dobby, who thanked him for killing You-Know-Who, saving Harry, and helping him find work at Hogwarts.
• Darren thanked Dobby for his work, earning Paternal Points from the House-elves’ gratitude.
• Harry and Ron arrived, and Dobby apologized to Harry for trying to drive him from Hogwarts in second year.
• Dobby implied that Lucius Malfoy had been his former master, and Ron and Harry reaffirmed their suspicions about Lucius and the Diary.
• Winky mourned being dismissed by Mr. Crouch, while Hermione objected to her and Dobby’s unquestioning loyalty to their former masters.
• Susan gave Darren Chinese meat buns, and his praise delighted her and prompted the House-elves to promise him more Chinese food.

Darren brought food back from the kitchens and secretly shared a bun with Hermione before Professor McGonagall announced the Yule Ball. Darren chose Hermione as his partner, then claimed he was unpopular and avoided dating because he and Harry might die, leaving McGonagall concerned about his lack of confidence.

• Darren refused to share Susan’s beef buns with Ron, but secretly gave one to Hermione.
• Professor McGonagall scolded Harry and Ron for ruining their Transfiguration work, then announced the Yule Ball and asked Darren whom he would invite.
• Darren said he would invite Hermione, astonishing the class and Professor McGonagall.
• Darren insisted he would not date at school because he and Harry might die, and claimed that no girl would like him.
• The class stayed silent about Darren’s popularity, while McGonagall dismissed the class and kept Darren and Harry behind to speak with them.

Professor McGonagall urged Harry to find a girl as his Yule Ball partner after praising Darren and learning he had chosen Hermione. Harry struggled with the idea, while Darren praised Hermione’s beauty and moved her to tears.

• Professor McGonagall pitied Darren’s low self-esteem and blamed the Sorting Hat for placing him in Slytherin.
• Professor McGonagall told Harry to find a girl to dance with, but Harry protested that he had no partner and suggested dancing with Ron instead.
• Professor McGonagall ordered Harry to find a partner and left after lamenting that Darren was not her student.
• Harry complained to Darren that he should have invited Hermione first because she was easier to coax.
• Darren praised Hermione’s beauty, earning Paternal Points and bringing Hermione close to tears, while Harry and Ron reacted in shock.