Chapter Summaries

Professor Babbling brought Will to the Rune Association, where its members welcomed him and praised his work on the Slumbering Rune. The chapter ended as Mrs. Prewett introduced Will to the Association’s scholars.

• Professor Babbling took Will to London to visit the Rune Association before the Christmas holiday ended.
• Will met the Weasley family in Diagon Alley, and Fred and George told him Arthur had punished them for sneaking Harry into Hogsmeade.
• Fred and George asked Will what he thought about Ginny joining the High Tower, and Will said he would consider expanding it.
• Will and Professor Babbling arrived at the Rune Association, where Mrs. Prewett welcomed them and described the group’s focus on Ancient Runes scholarship.
• Mrs. Prewett praised Will’s Slumbering Rune paper and introduced him to Archibald Foster, Cordelia, Barnaby Lee, and other Association members.

Will welcomed his friends back to Hogwarts and changed the High Tower’s recruitment rules as the new term began. During the first week, George and Fred explored the Secret Passage to the Shrieking Shack, where they heard someone speaking upstairs.

• Will reunited with his friends at Hogsmeade Station, and Michael explained that Luna’s hiccups came from eating too many of Will’s sugar biscuits.
• At a meal in the Kitchens, the High Tower members agreed that each member could nominate one person per term and that nominees would be admitted by vote, with Will holding a veto or approval vote.
• The High Tower unanimously approved Ginny as a new member.
• Harry began the term with his Firebolt after the professors cleared it, while keeping the Nimbus 2001 that Will had given him.
• George and Fred subdued the Whomping Willow, crawled through the Secret Passage, and emerged inside the Shrieking Shack.
• George and Fred heard someone speaking upstairs and froze, wondering who was in the Shack.

George and Fred overheard Sirius Black and Professor Lupin discussing Harry and a traitor in the Shrieking Shack, then fled through the secret passage with the two men in pursuit. Black caught the twins beneath the Whomping Willow, where Hagrid appeared and confronted Black and Lupin.

• George and Fred overheard Sirius Black and Professor Lupin arguing about telling Harry the truth and making a traitor pay.
• The twins accidentally made a noise, alerting Black and Lupin, and escaped into the passage beneath the trapdoor.
• Black and Lupin chased George and Fred through the cramped passage while calling for them to stop and listen.
• The twins emerged beneath the Whomping Willow, but Black followed as a black dog, transformed into a man, pinned them down, and disarmed them.
• Lupin tried to calm Black, then froze when Hagrid arrived carrying a bag of bloody raw meat.

Hagrid attacked Sirius Black after mistaking him for a threat, and Lupin intervened when the fight grew dangerous. Will arrived with George and aimed his wand at Black to stop the battle.

• Hagrid recognized Black and hurled a sack of meat at him, then attacked with Fred's wand while Black shielded George.
• George ran to the Castle for help as Hagrid's spells drove Black back and Lupin tried unsuccessfully to calm Hagrid.
• Black nearly disarmed Hagrid, but Fred's prank gadget disrupted Black's spell and Hagrid blocked him with an Impedimenta.
• Lupin disarmed Hagrid, whose wand was smashed by the Whomping Willow, and prepared to explain himself.
• George returned with Will, who dismissed Lupin's attempt to explain and aimed his wand at Black to end the fight.

Will defeated Sirius Black in a duel and took him, Lupin, Hagrid, George, and Fred toward Professor Dumbledore, determined to keep Sirius's presence secret. The group cleaned themselves up before approaching the Castle.

• Sirius attacked Will, but Will blocked his spells and countered with a powerful display of magic.
• Sirius called for Lupin's help, but Hagrid stopped Lupin from attacking Will.
• Will cast an unfamiliar sleep spell that overwhelmed Sirius and left him unconscious.
• Will said he trusted Lupin, then had Hagrid take Lupin's wand while the group prepared to bring Sirius to Dumbledore in secret.
• Will wrapped Sirius in black cloth and led the group toward the school, explaining that he had stopped George from raising an alarm.
• Will noticed the group was covered in blood and bone fragments, cleaned everyone with Scourgify, and continued toward the Castle.

Dumbledore gave Sirius Black Veritaserum in the Headmaster’s Office, and Black revealed that Peter Pettigrew had betrayed James and Lily and framed him for murder. His account left Fred and George realizing that their family’s pet rat, Scabbers, was Peter.

• Will reassured Fred and George that the school or Ministry might replace Fred’s broken wand, though Black’s possible innocence could complicate the matter.
• Will, Lupin, Hagrid, Fred, and George brought the bound Sirius Black to Dumbledore’s office.
• Dumbledore had Lupin give Black Veritaserum and asked who had been James and Lily’s Secret Keeper.
• Black confessed that Peter Pettigrew had been the Secret Keeper, staged his own death, killed twelve Muggles in an explosion, and escaped as a rat.
• Black explained that he escaped from Azkaban after recognizing Scabbers in a newspaper and came to Hogwarts to protect Harry.
• Fred and George remembered Scabbers and realized that the rat they had known was likely Peter Pettigrew.

Dumbledore organized a plan to protect Sirius and catch Peter without alerting him. He then confronted Will about secretly experimenting on Peter and warned him to be careful, while Will defended his choices and principles before leaving.

• Dumbledore explained that Peter would avoid harming Ron and arranged to catch him without tipping him off.
• Dumbledore asked Hagrid to shelter Sirius, told Lupin to act normally, and warned Sirius not to cause trouble until Peter was caught and his name cleared.
• Dumbledore questioned Will about letting Peter go and taking him out of Hogwarts, and Will said he had hoped to gain trust from Voldemort's side.
• Dumbledore warned Will that his experiments could lead him toward dangerous extremes, while Will said Peter's work was a form of atonement and that true justice belonged to those Peter had harmed.
• Will insisted he would follow his own principles and had no interest in Voldemort's Pure-blood Theory, then left the Office.
• The Sorting Hat told Dumbledore that it had come to like Will, and Dumbledore wondered whether giving him so much freedom was wise.

Will searched Hogwarts books for Santa Claus’s joy magic while learning that Ron’s rat had disappeared, and he fed the Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest. He reassured Sirius that Peter might soon be found, while Peter waited anxiously outside the Room of Requirement that night.

• Will searched books about Christmas legends for information about Santa Claus’s magic.
• Fred and George told Will that Ron’s rat had gone missing and that they suspected it had fled rather than been eaten by Crookshanks.
• Will learned the twins were busy preparing for Gryffindor’s Quidditch match against Slytherin.
• Will fed the Thestrals and told Sirius that Peter had gone into hiding while people searched for him.
• Will urged Sirius to stay calm and wait for Harry’s Quidditch match, saying Peter might soon be found.
• Peter paced outside the Room of Requirement, waiting for its master to return.

Will read Peter’s rare Dark Magic texts and studied a book about creatures that devoured joy, finding several mistlike beings that resembled the gray-black mist of his Patronus. He suspected his Patronus Charm had changed because of his psychological troubles and decided to test it on a rat.

• Will confirmed that Voldemort had sent Peter back to assist him, then told Peter to return for the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch match and watch Lupin.
• Will dismissed Peter and stored the Killing Curse materials in his Book Trunk.
• Will read accounts of Krampus and other creatures that stole laughter, devoured joyful dreams, or drained happiness.
• Will noticed that many joy-devouring creatures took mistlike forms and grew concerned that his gray-black Patronus reflected a problem with his magic.
• Will decided to test his Patronus Charm on a rat.

Will tested how his Patronus affected Peter and discovered that it could drain emotions and draw on another person’s feelings to last longer. He then flew to a remote Scottish village and began casting the spell over it.

• Will bound Peter in the Room of Requirement and cast the Patronus Charm while under the effects of Euphoria Draught.
• Will’s silvery Patronus mist turned dark and caused Peter to suffer deep despair, then left him emotionally numb as Will adjusted the spell.
• Will gave Peter chocolate and learned that physical pleasure did not immediately restore happiness while his emotions were suppressed.
• After two more tests, Will concluded that the spell caused no lasting harm and could use other people’s emotions to extend its duration.
• Will transformed into a silver-and-black phoenix, flew to a remote Scottish village, and cast the Patronus Charm from above it.

Will tested the advanced stages of his Patronus Charm on a village, discovering that its dark mist drained and distorted the villagers’ joy before he compensated them with gold. After considering how to control the spell, he attended classes and heard Lupin introduce vampires as the day’s topic.

• Will’s Patronus Charm drained the villagers’ joy, shifting from silver-gray mist to gray-black mist that distorted their emotions.
• Will stopped the experiment when the village’s joy could no longer sustain the spell and distributed gold among the Muggles.
• Will identified three stages of his Patronus Charm and decided he needed a way to collect and control joy, such as Santa Claus’s Joy Magic.
• Will arrived late to potions class, and Snape took a point from Slytherin.
• Will and Sylvia attended Lupin’s Defence Against the Dark Arts class, where Lupin handed out sweets and announced they would study vampires.

Lupin taught the students about vampires, correcting popular myths and explaining their legal status, habits, and transformation ritual. The lesson ended with homework, while the chapter’s appended lore note clarified which details came from Rowling and which were added here.

• Lupin asked the class what they knew about vampires, and Alvin Bryan, Miles Parker, and Finley McGregor offered answers.
• Lupin explained that vampires were living dead with equal legal standing to humans, could eat ordinary food, and were not harmed by silver or crosses.
• Lupin showed the Blood-Replenishing Potion and explained that vampires could drink it to stave off hunger.
• Lupin told the students that a vampire bite did not transform someone, while a consent-based ritual could do so at great cost to the vampire.
• Hermione asked about wizard-vampire marriages, and Lupin said they had been banned in the past but were now legal and still socially disfavored by traditional families.
• Lupin assigned an essay on vampire facts, and the appended note distinguished Rowling’s published lore from the chapter’s added transformation rules.

Gryffindor and Slytherin finally began their Quidditch match in freezing, fierce winds, with Slytherin’s rough play giving them the lead. Harry spotted the Golden Snitch and dived after it, but Dementors appeared over the pitch as the sky darkened.

• Wood urged Gryffindor to win, while Flint told Draco to wear Harry down and warned Slytherin to hide their fouls.
• The match began in strong winds, and Madam Hooch awarded Gryffindor a penalty after Slytherin players knocked Alicia Spinnet off balance.
• Flint elbowed Katie Bell as Slytherin scored, and Fred and George retaliated by targeting Slytherin players with Bludgers.
• Harry spotted the Golden Snitch by the Ravenclaw stands and raced after it, with Draco following close behind.
• Harry felt a familiar cold and saw a flock of Dementors blotting out the sky above the pitch.

Dementors attacked the Quidditch Pitch, but Harry and Dumbledore drove them away with powerful Patronuses. The match resumed, and Harry spotted the Golden Snitch after the Black Dog pointed it out to him.

• Dementors swept over the Quidditch Pitch, frightening the students and forcing the players to land.
• Harry cast a Patronus, and Dumbledore and Will used their magic to protect those on the pitch.
• Dumbledore returned from the Forbidden Forest and declared the danger had passed, then allowed the Quidditch Match to continue.
• Harry and Draco Malfoy resumed the match, but both struggled in the cold as the teams battled for another fifty minutes.
• The Black Dog repeatedly pointed Harry toward the sky, and Harry spotted a glint of gold.

Harry caught the Golden Snitch and won the Quidditch match for Gryffindor, while Will worried that his Patronus had caused a strange mist that made the Dementors vanish. That night, Will used his modified Time-Turner to travel back to September 1992, shortly after Lockhart began teaching at Hogwarts.

• Harry outmaneuvered Malfoy and caught the Golden Snitch, winning the match for Gryffindor.
• Will realized his Patronus had likely caused the gray-black mist and learned from Dumbledore that the Dementors had vanished.
• Dumbledore said he would inform Fudge and use the cases of Sirius and Peter to redirect the Ministry's attention.
• Will reviewed his notes on Lockhart and considered the risks of time travel and the need to finish altering Peter's memories.
• Will set his Time-Turner to September 1992 and began traveling back to Hogwarts shortly after Lockhart started teaching.

Will abducted Gilderoy Lockhart to force him to teach the Memory Charm, then began learning Lockhart’s techniques for precisely modifying memories. Lockhart remained captive in a cave as he explained how to alter memories without leaving obvious gaps.

• Will traveled back to the first week of the school year, transformed into a sparrow, and waited in Lockhart’s office.
• Will confronted Lockhart at wandpoint and stunned him when Lockhart mistook the encounter for a joke.
• Will transformed Lockhart into a beetle, carried him out of Hogwarts, and bound him to a chair in a cave.
• Will demanded that Lockhart teach him the Memory Charm and threatened to expose the truth behind his stolen adventures.
• Lockhart agreed to teach Will and explained how to gently alter selected memories while preserving their continuity.

Will learned the theory of Memory Charms from Lockhart in the cave, then turned Lockhart into a test subject for practical memory alteration. The chapter ended as Will cast Obliviate at the terrified professor.

• Lockhart taught Will how Memory Charms could overwrite, blur, or graft memories while minimizing damage to the mind.
• Lockhart explained that experts could detect altered memories but could not recover the erased memories.
• Will went to Hogsmeade to get Lockhart orange juice and bought Butterbeers and food for himself.
• Lockhart offered to teach Will Legilimency and demonstrate practical spellwork.
• Will declared Lockhart his ideal test subject and cast Obliviate at him.

Will erased Lockhart’s memories of the afternoon, then returned to 1994 and learned that the Ministry was investigating the disappearance of every Dementor at Hogwarts. Fudge arrived at the castle with senior officials and Aurors to confront Dumbledore.

• Will used Obliviate on Lockhart, checked that he had not damaged his mind, and left him with no memory of the abduction.
• Lockhart woke in his office, assumed he had fallen asleep while marking assignments, and left after checking his appearance.
• Will used the Time-Turner to return to 1994 and began checking Hogwarts for changes to the timeline.
• The Ministry learned that more than two hundred Dementors had disappeared near Hogwarts, and investigators suspected a powerful force resembling the Patronus Charm.
• Fudge panicked at the loss of the Dementors, called an emergency meeting, and ordered senior officials to attend.
• Fudge, Rufus Scrimgeour, Barty Crouch, and Aurors arrived at Hogwarts, where McGonagall led them to Dumbledore's office.

Cornelius Fudge confronted Albus Dumbledore over the disappearance of more than two hundred Dementors, then sought Dumbledore’s help with the Ministry’s growing troubles. Dumbledore proposed re-examining Sirius Black’s conviction, and a young voice interrupted the ensuing argument.

• Fudge demanded that Dumbledore explain how more than two hundred Dementors had vanished from Hogwarts.
• Fudge described the public’s growing distrust of the Ministry and asked Dumbledore for help.
• Dumbledore suggested that Sirius Black’s case be re-examined because Black might be innocent.
• Fudge and Barty Crouch objected, warning that revisiting Black’s conviction would cause chaos.
• An unidentified young speaker offered to look at the issue from another angle.

Will Behrens challenged the evidence used to convict Sirius Black, arguing that Peter Pettigrew may have faked his death. He persuaded Fudge to see reopening the case as a chance to improve the Ministry’s reputation.

• Will Behrens arrived during the meeting and presented his findings about Peter Pettigrew’s supposed death.
• Will pointed out that an explosion should have left more remains than a single finger and suggested Peter had cut it off himself.
• Fudge dismissed Will’s theory and defended Peter as a hero who had died fighting Sirius Black.
• Will reframed Sirius’s possible innocence as a political opportunity for Fudge to correct an old injustice and earn public trust.
• Fudge praised Will and asked whether he would join the Ministry after graduating.