Chapter Summaries

Harry, Draco, and Ron discovered that Hagrid was raising a new Acromantula named Arasped to become leader of the spider colony. Hagrid explained why he had started the project, then showed them the web-filled hut and the costly food he was feeding the young spider.

• Hagrid tried to keep Ron outside his hut, but Ron glimpsed the Acromantula inside and recoiled in fear.
• Draco and Harry realized Hagrid was raising another Acromantula, and Hagrid named the young spider Arasped.
• Hagrid explained that the other spiders had refused to let him near their webs when Aragog was away, convincing him that the colony needed a new leader.
• Hagrid revealed that Aragog had a wife named Mosag and blamed her for teaching the colony bad habits.
• Hagrid showed them Arasped in his web-covered hut and explained that he fed it Unicorn Tail Hair and dragon meat so it could become king of the Acromantulas.

Harry, Draco, and Ron visited Hagrid and learned that Arthur and Sirius were preparing defenses against Voldemort. Harry believed Dumbledore was setting a trap for Voldemort, but Draco doubted it and suggested Dumbledore might have allowed Voldemort to regain a body so he could be killed.

• Hagrid fed dragon meat to Arasped while Ron recoiled from the Acromantula.
• Harry and Draco learned that Hagrid had missed Draco’s Quidditch match, where Draco caught the Golden Snitch but Slytherin lost.
• Hagrid revealed that Arthur was watching Azkaban and working on a new prison, while Lupin was contacting werewolves after Fenrir Greyback’s death.
• Hagrid let slip that Sirius had said they needed to lay more defenses in Yorkshire, prompting Harry and Draco to suspect they had uncovered Voldemort’s location.
• Harry concluded that Dumbledore was preparing to capture Voldemort, but Draco argued that Dumbledore might have wanted Voldemort to return to life so he could be killed.

Harry and Draco guessed that Dumbledore had allowed Voldemort to escape so he could return in a weakened state, while Ryan realized Luna’s Christmas present was actually a dangerous Erumpent horn. Ryan tried to warn her, but Luna remained convinced it was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn.

• Harry concluded that Dumbledore had used his magic to make Voldemort think he had escaped and told Draco and the others his theory.
• Ryan recognized that Dumbledore had changed his plan after learning about Voldemort’s Horcruxes and had destroyed the Philosopher’s Stone to ensure Voldemort returned in a vulnerable state.
• Ryan explained Erumpents to Luna and showed her a lifelike magical model of one.
• Luna told Ryan that her father had bought a horn as her Christmas present, believing it belonged to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
• Ryan realized the horn was likely an Erumpent horn and tried to make Luna understand its danger, but she did not recognize the risk.

Ryan visited Luna's house as a ghost, recalled her childhood in its garden, and searched for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn she had mentioned. He found the horn mounted in her father's upstairs workshop and identified it as his target.

• Ryan warned Luna to check that her father had not bought an Erumpent horn instead of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn.
• Ryan turned into a ghost and traveled to Luna's home in Ottery St Catchpole.
• Ryan explored the garden and remembered Luna playing and hiding there as a child.
• Ryan entered the house and realized Luna meant her father's upstairs workshop when she said living room.
• Ryan found a large gray horn mounted on the workshop wall.

Ryan weakened the explosive power of Luna’s Erumpent horn and placed a modified magical anchor in Xenophilius to protect him and stimulate his inspiration. Meanwhile, Dumbledore considered Igor Karkaroff’s proposal to hold the Triwizard Tournament and wondered whether Voldemort planned to use Harry to resurrect himself.

• Ryan used invisible magic to drain most of the explosive force from the Erumpent horn in Luna’s living room.
• Ryan placed a modified anchor in Xenophilius Lovegood, protecting him from dangerous magical objects and encouraging his writing for The Quibbler.
• Ryan complained that Luna would not spend his money and vanished.
• Dumbledore reviewed the changes spreading through the British wizarding world, including the new cinema in Diagon Alley.
• Dumbledore read Igor Karkaroff’s proposal for a Triwizard Tournament with Beauxbatons and approved it while suspecting Voldemort might target Harry’s body parts to resurrect himself.

Dumbledore suspected Voldemort had taken over Igor Karkaroff and asked Snape and Riddle to investigate. Hagrid then told Harry and Ron that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament next school year, replacing Quidditch matches.

• At midnight, Dumbledore asked Snape and Riddle what they thought of Karkaroff and revealed his suspicion that Voldemort had occupied Karkaroff's body.
• Dumbledore asked Snape to test Karkaroff with a letter, Riddle to sense whether Voldemort had been resurrected, and both men to watch Harry.
• Harry led Quidditch training and gave the players advice before Hagrid stopped him and Ron to ask about magical creatures.
• Hagrid told Harry and Ron that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament next school year and that there would be no Quidditch matches.

Harry, Ron, Hagrid, and Draco discussed dangerous creatures for the revived Triwizard Tournament, and Hagrid settled on using dragons. Draco proposed a creature-filled maze and revealed that Flint had ordered him to research Hogwarts students who might threaten their team, including Cedric Diggory.

• Harry explained the history of the Triwizard Tournament and cited past contests in which dangerous creatures caused deaths and injuries.
• Harry warned Hagrid about the Nundu's dangers and suggested consulting Newt Scamander, persuading Hagrid to abandon the idea.
• Hagrid proposed using dragons, and Draco agreed that dragon keepers could manage them safely.
• Draco suggested making the final event a maze filled with dragons and other dangerous magical creatures.
• Draco explained that Flint had assigned him to gather information on potential threats to their team, including Cedric Diggory, and Harry asked why Cedric mattered.

Harry, Ron, and Draco discussed Cedric Diggory and learned that Flint planned to sabotage him by targeting his father, Amos Diggory. Later, Dumbledore and Riddle investigated the fleeing spiders and went to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets, which Riddle revealed was in the girls' bathroom.

• Ron explained that the Diggorys were neighbors of his family and that Amos Diggory worked at the Ministry of Magic.
• Draco said Flint planned to exploit magical-creature smuggling to cause trouble for Amos Diggory and unsettle Cedric before a match.
• Draco revealed that the Slytherins were studying magical creatures because Flint had told them to focus on their strengths.
• Riddle and Dumbledore noticed spiders fleeing Hogwarts and considered whether the Basilisk or a force connected to time was involved.
• Riddle told Dumbledore he had withheld the Chamber's location because he feared Dumbledore would harm the Basilisk, then led him to the girls' bathroom on the third floor.

Dumbledore and Riddle waited outside the girls' bathroom, discussing the wizard who had inherited the name Cronus and the limits of wizarding power. Dumbledore thanked Riddle for his letter and condemned Fudge's advice on avoiding responsibility, leaving their relationship and plans moving in a better direction.

• Riddle hesitated to enter the girls' bathroom, and Dumbledore explained that a wizard inside had inherited the name Cronus and the power of the God of Time.
• Riddle described wizard names as a form of spellification and wondered whether the gods had cursed later generations of wizards.
• Dumbledore dispelled Riddle's silencing spell and speculated that the wizard might be busy with the Basilisk or simply uninterested in them.
• Dumbledore thanked Riddle for his letter, admitting that he had been wrong to dismiss the value of power.
• Dumbledore recounted Fudge's four-stage advice for Ministry officials to deny problems, delay action, and express regret once it was too late.

Riddle and Dumbledore discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets beneath a faucet in the girls' bathroom and descended into its tunnels to investigate. They found no trace of a third person, but Dumbledore noticed something that caught his attention.

• Fudge's carefully cultivated image came under discussion, and Dumbledore suggested Riddle might become Minister for Magic someday.
• Myrtle interrupted Dumbledore and Riddle, then left the bathroom after Dumbledore said they needed to investigate a possible intruder.
• Riddle used Parseltongue to open the snake-marked faucet, revealing a passage beneath the sink.
• Riddle and Dumbledore slid through the slimy pipe into the Chamber of Secrets and found a damp stone tunnel scattered with small animal bones.
• Dumbledore searched for signs of a third person, found none, and then noticed something unexpected.

Dumbledore and Riddle explored Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets, finding signs that the Basilisk and a Highland Cattle had come from a hidden underground world. They reached Slytherin’s statue, whose plain appearance prompted Riddle to joke about his ancestry, while the Basilisk’s whereabouts remained uncertain.

• Dumbledore recognized the Highland Cattle skeleton as evidence that an unknown wizard and the Basilisk might have come from a hidden underground world.
• Riddle shrank the Basilisk’s snakeskin and took it as a Christmas gift for Severus, despite Dumbledore’s objection.
• Riddle opened the serpent-carved wall, and he and Dumbledore entered the chamber and found Slytherin’s enormous statue.
• Riddle joked that Slytherin and his descendants were plain-looking, then questioned his own connection to the family.
• Dumbledore suggested the Basilisk lived behind the statue, and Riddle said it could also be summoned in the chamber.

Dumbledore and Riddle investigated the Chamber of Secrets and concluded that a powerful wizard had taken the Basilisk without leaving any magical traces. The chapter revealed Ryan with the Basilisk in an ancient castle in Nottingham Forest.

• Riddle opened Slytherin’s statue and found that the Basilisk had vanished.
• Riddle told Dumbledore that Slytherin had spoken to him from the future and taught him the password and a spell that hid life and objects within a name.
• Dumbledore declined Riddle’s offer to teach him the spell, and Riddle warned that Potter could not replace him.
• Dumbledore and Riddle searched the Chamber’s passage but found no trace of the wizard who had taken the Basilisk.
• Riddle concluded that the wizard might be closer to godhood, perhaps a First Generation wizard.
• Ryan examined the Basilisk in an ancient castle in Nottingham Forest and demonstrated his Stunning Gaze on a spider.

Ryan performed a ritual beneath Sirius to lift Nagini’s blood curse, transforming her into a woman with a powerful Basilisk body. Nagini awoke with two bodies and asked Ryan whether she was still herself.

• Ryan explained the Basilisk’s origins, powers, weaknesses, and why he needed to find one in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Ryan began the ritual beneath Sirius, enclosing Nagini in a magical cage and directing it toward the Basilisk.
• Darkness and silence surrounded the ritual as Ryan recited an ancient incantation.
• Nagini transformed into a woman atop a levitating Basilisk whose scales and eyes glowed blue with starlight.
• Ryan covered Nagini with a gown, and she awoke, clung to him, and wondered at having two bodies.

Ryan’s classmates discussed the significance of Sirius, while Harry explained why he had to remain at Hogwarts over Christmas: Sirius was occupied with protecting Draco and his family from Voldemort. Harry grew increasingly frustrated with Sirius’s absence and the injustices of the wizarding legal system.

• Ryan rubbed his lower back as Harry and the other Ravenclaws discussed the strange sighting of Sirius and its significance in different cultures.
• Harry explained that the Black family tree included three people named Sirius, and Ron suggested writing to Sirius for more information.
• In December, Professor Filius Flitwick collected the names of students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, and Harry was the only one in the dormitory who signed up.
• Ron said he did not understand why Sirius was too busy to spend Christmas with Harry, and Harry said Sirius was making sure Voldemort saw a report without becoming suspicious, to protect Draco and his family.
• Harry argued that Azkaban imprisoned innocent people, including Michael’s father, and complained that Sirius was not there to raise Regulus.
• Ron suggested Dumbledore might be helping Sirius handle the matters keeping him away, and Harry responded by clenching his fists and glaring at him.

Harry and Ron ended their silent treatment in the Ravenclaw common room while Fred and George told Ginny about their childhood pranks on Ron. The chapter left the Weasley siblings still arguing over the twins’ stories.

• Harry and Ron resumed talking after Ron praised Dudley’s steady flying, and they agreed that Slytherin’s broom-crushing spell was unfair.
• Fred and George explained to Ginny that Ron’s childhood Puffskein had run away after Fred used it as a Quaffle.
• Ginny confronted Fred and George about their past pranks on Ron, including an Unbreakable Vow, Acid Pops, and turning his teddy bear into a spider.
• Fred and George recalled that their Unbreakable Vow only required Fred not to hold his breath for more than fourteen minutes.

Harry dreamed that a Voldemort possessing Walton Macnair tortured Alecto, and the vision made Harry’s scar burn until he collapsed in the Ravenclaw Common Room. After waking, he embraced Ginny, and Ron appeared to accept their relationship as Harry led her outside.

• Harry noticed Fred and George leaving the Ravenclaw Common Room while Ginny looked upset, then fell asleep on the sofa.
• Harry dreamed that Voldemort questioned Amycus and Alecto about their loyalty and tortured Alecto with the Cruciatus Curse.
• Harry’s scar burned, and he cried out and collapsed as Voldemort’s vision ended.
• Ron and the other Ravenclaw students gathered around Harry, while Ginny rushed to him and embraced him.
• Ron pulled Harry and Ginny apart, then nodded to Harry, who took Ginny’s hand and led her toward the exit.

Harry and Ginny’s relationship became the focus of Hogwarts, while Ginny explained that Fred and George had told her about the Triwizard Tournament before Harry learned of it. The chapter left Harry in Charms class, distracted by jealousy over Michael and beginning to learn the General Counter-Spell.

• Harry and Ginny faced enthusiastic congratulations from students and teachers in the Great Hall, while Ron glared at those who congratulated them.
• Ginny told Harry that Fred and George had informed her about the Triwizard Tournament on November twenty-seventh and explained its Champions and prize money.
• Harry realized Fred and George had kept the tournament news from Ron, and Ginny suggested Ron’s anger might distract him from their relationship.
• Before Charms class, Harry told Ron that Ginny had known about the tournament earlier, and Ron shifted his attention to complaining about Fred and George.
• Professor Flitwick began teaching the General Counter-Spell and questioned Michael about the Freezing Charm.

After a lesson on counter-spells, Ginny confronted Ron about her relationship with Harry, and a heated exchange turned into a joking agreement to marry after graduation. Draco then told them Harry had fainted, prompting Harry to explain his dream about Voldemort and a Hogwarts informant.

• Professor Flitwick taught the General Counter-Spell, and Harry identified the Cloud-Dispelling Charm as the counter-spell for Weather Charms.
• Ginny hugged Harry in front of other students, and Ron pulled her aside to object to their public affection.
• Ginny challenged Ron about his double standards and declared that she and Harry would marry after graduation, while Myrtle and Draco overheard the conversation.
• Draco explained that he had come because Harry had fainted, and Ginny anxiously checked that Harry was all right.
• Harry told Ron, Ginny, and Draco about his dream, and they concluded that Voldemort had an informant and a student accomplice at Hogwarts.
• Ron and Draco discussed Walton Macnair, a former Death Eater who worked at the Ministry of Magic, and Ron recalled that Macnair had nearly killed his uncle's Kneazle.

Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny discussed Ministry jobs and the mysterious figures in Harry’s dream, trying to identify the Death Eaters and the person who wrote to Voldemort. Ginny reminded them to tell Dumbledore, and the boys agreed to figure out how to approach him.

• Ron described several supposedly idle posts in the Ministry of Magic, while Draco and Ginny noted that Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley were reforming the departments.
• Ginny said Charlie might return from Romania to take part in the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau’s new work.
• Ron redirected the discussion to the two Death Eaters in Harry’s dream, and Draco guessed they were the Carroll siblings.
• Harry, Ron, and Draco considered whether the person writing to Voldemort was a disguised or adopted Death Eater descendant.
• Ginny suggested they tell Dumbledore, and the boys admitted they had been thinking about how to do so.

Harry and his friends tried to keep their relationship and engagement news quiet, but a letter from Molly Weasley revealed that the families supported Harry and Ginny’s relationship and proposed an engagement ceremony. When the letter slipped away, Lisa Turpin found it and mistook Harry’s gestures for a public engagement announcement.

• Harry, Ginny, Ron, Draco, and Ryan discussed how news of Harry and Ginny’s relationship had spread around Hogwarts.
• Juwqiong delivered Molly Weasley’s letter to Ginny, revealing that Molly and Arthur supported her relationship with Harry and wanted to arrange an engagement ceremony.
• Ron read the letter aloud, prompting Harry to notice that Draco had already been engaged to Pansy.
• The letter was carried away by a breeze and landed in Lisa Turpin’s hands.
• Lisa and the Ravenclaw girls saw Harry holding Ginny and gesturing toward them, and Lisa assumed he was about to announce their engagement.