Chapter Summaries

Hogwarts students celebrated the announcement of a new Dueling Training Class, while Professor McGonagall offered advice on preparing for magical combat. The class was due to begin that Saturday, and students left with three spells to practice: the Stunning Spell, the Disarming Charm, and the Shield Charm.

• A notice announced that Professor Osgilia would hold a trial Dueling Training Class open to all students on Saturday evening.
• Ron and Draco argued outside Transfiguration, each boasting that he would defeat the other in the upcoming training.
• Professor McGonagall reminded the class that mastering basic spells mattered more in combat than attempting powerful magic they could not control.
• Professor McGonagall recommended the Stunning Spell first and the Disarming Charm second, explaining their advantages and limitations.
• Professor McGonagall named the Shield Charm as her third recommendation and urged students to master it before graduation.

Tris attended Hogwarts’ first duelling training class, where Lockhart took charge alongside Snape and Professor Osgilia despite Osgilia having organized it. The class began with Lockhart promising a demonstration, but Fred Weasley asked him to show how he would react to an unexpected spell, leaving Lockhart frozen.

• Tris learned that Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall had both won titles in the International Wizarding Duelling Championship, with Flitwick winning three years in a row.
• Ron urged Tris and the others to return from Hogsmeade in time for the trial duelling class, and Tris went along for the entertainment.
• Tris, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Theodore joined dozens of students in the magically expanded Defense Against Dark Magic classroom.
• Lockhart and Snape arrived, and Lockhart took over the class from Professor Osgilia, recasting Osgilia as an assistant.
• Lockhart announced that two assistants would demonstrate wizard combat, and Fred Weasley asked him to demonstrate how he handled a sudden spell, leaving Lockhart speechless.

During Lockhart’s Defense Against the Dark Arts demonstration, Harry noticed Cho Chang, and Tris realized his friend had developed a crush on her. The chapter left Lockhart facing an unexpected-magic demonstration with Snape and Osgilia as Harry watched.

• Ron laughed at Fred and George’s suggestion that Lockhart demonstrate his reactions to unexpected magic, while Tris pretended to sleep.
• Harry spotted Cho Chang across the classroom, met her gaze, and blushed when she smiled at him.
• Tris recognized Harry’s interest in Cho, switched seats with Ron, and told Harry her name and that she was a talented student and Quidditch player.
• Hermione teased Harry about improving his marks to impress a Ravenclaw girl and reflected on how Harry’s and Ron’s spells outperformed hers.
• Snape and Osgilia positioned themselves on either side of Lockhart to make him demonstrate his response to unexpected magic.

Lockhart unexpectedly blocked Snape and Osgilia’s opening attacks with a Shield Charm, turning his apparent luck into a boastful display. Osgilia then taught the students practical dueling advice, including conserving magical power and dodging spells, while Tris explained why powerful professors rarely discussed those concerns.

• Ron and the other boys hoped Lockhart would be humiliated, while Hermione still hoped he would do well.
• Snape and Osgilia attacked Lockhart at once, but Lockhart cast a Shield Charm and blocked both spells.
• Lockhart claimed his defense had been a deliberate demonstration, though Snape realized he had simply gotten lucky.
• Osgilia took over the lesson and explained how wizards could conserve magical power and evade spells in a duel.
• Tris told Harry that McGonagall and Flitwick rarely worried about magical power because they were unusually strong.

After Ron defeated Draco in the Dueling Training Class, Draco asked Tris how to get stronger and beat him. Tris assigned Draco to join his rigorous morning training, leaving Draco dismayed.

• Ron challenged Draco during a Dueling Training Class and disarmed him before Draco could use dark magic.
• Ron teased Draco about the loss for several days, and Draco became angry enough to ask Tris how to surpass him.
• Tris reflected on Professor Babbling’s Ancient Runes lessons and realized that perfect memorization could not replace understanding or talent.
• Tris told Draco that fitness, quick reflexes, and repeated spell practice would help him improve, but Draco hesitated at the thought of working hard.
• Tris ordered Draco to join his morning training starting the next day, and Draco stood there in despair.

Tris pushed Draco through nearly two weeks of grueling training and decided to ask Draco’s father for Invigoration Draughts to help him keep going. Harry then asked Tris to find out about Cho Chang, leaving Tris surprised by Harry’s apparent crush.

• Tris forced Draco through exhausting daily workouts, using a whip and his Ice River Reversal spell whenever Draco tried to quit or hide.
• After Draco struggled to manage even a few more push-ups, Tris told him to ask his father to buy and send Invigoration Draughts.
• Draco agreed to write to his father, and Tris told him to rest before practicing wand movements and spell pronunciation.
• Harry asked Tris whether he was really comfortable pushing Draco so hard, and Tris said he expected noticeable results before Christmas.
• Harry quietly asked Tris to inquire about Cho Chang through Padma, Amanda, and the other girls, then blushed as Tris realized Harry might have a crush on her.

Tris helped Harry understand his feelings for Cho Chang and coached him on how to ask her on a date. Harry left eager to try Tris's plan, then wondered how Tris knew so much about romance.

• Tris asked Harry whether he liked Cho Chang, and Harry admitted he did.
• Harry explained that he had seen Cho talking and laughing with Cedric, which made him worry that they were close.
• Tris reassured Harry that Cho might be talking to Cedric because their Quidditch teams were competing, and reminded him that he was popular with girls.
• Tris advised Harry to start a conversation with Cho by asking for help with Transfiguration, then invite her to Hogsmeade and gradually suggest Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
• Harry understood that Tris's advice could lead to another date and asked how he knew so much; Tris credited books.

Tris began studying the Black Family’s Mirror Magic but struggled to understand its foundations, so he asked Professor Flitwick for help. Flitwick explained that magic did not need to be reduced to physical rules, leaving Tris on the verge of understanding the principle behind Mirror Magic.

• Tris began studying the Mirror Magic booklet Sirius had given him but failed to grasp the Dream Mirror Realm or produce a basic mirror image.
• Tris used the Marauder's Map to find Draco and continued training him through Sunday.
• Tris visited Professor Flitwick’s office and asked about Mirror Magic’s independent space and its foundations.
• Professor Flitwick recalled Tris’s old question about the Levitation Charm and explained that magic’s effect did not need to correspond to a conversion of physical forces.
• Tris froze as Flitwick’s explanation began to clarify his confusion.

Harry told Tris about his date with Cho and asked what to do next, while Tris recalled Professor Flitwick’s explanation of magic as a transaction shaped by a wizard’s knowledge and will. After running around the Black Lake, Tris returned to Hogwarts and found Ginny waiting angrily at the entrance.

• Harry excitedly told Tris that Cho had helped him with Transfiguration, gone to Hogsmeade with him, and let him hold her hand.
• Tris brushed off Harry’s request for further dating advice and told him to ask Percy instead.
• Tris recalled Professor Flitwick explaining that magic worked more like a transaction than a direct conversion of magical power into effects.
• Flitwick told Tris that a wizard’s mastery, magical power, mind, and will helped secure magical effects.
• Tris completed a lap around the Black Lake and returned to Hogwarts, where he found Ginny glaring at him.

Tris evaded Ginny’s anger after she learned he had advised Harry on dating, then watched Harry follow Percy’s advice and begin a relationship with Cho Chang. While Tris focused on magic and trained Draco too hard, he grasped the basics of mirror magic.

• Ginny confronted Tris for helping Harry date Cho, but Tris tricked her and escaped.
• Tris avoided Ginny for a week until she shifted her attention to Harry and Percy, receiving compensation from both brothers.
• Harry followed Percy’s dating advice, spent Hogsmeade day with Cho Chang, and kissed her before returning her to her Common Room.
• Tris felt jealous of Harry’s success, distracted himself with magical research, and overdid Draco’s training.
• By November, Tris had learned the basics of mirror magic, while Draco was the only one left hurt.

Cho Chang rode Harry Potter’s Firebolt to beat Cedric and win Ravenclaw the Quidditch match, prompting Zacharias Smith to complain about the borrowed broomstick. As Christmas approached, Tris joked about making Ron and Harry train with him, and both fled at the prospect of the holiday break.

• Cho Chang used Harry Potter’s Firebolt to catch the Golden Snitch less than fifteen minutes into the match and secure Ravenclaw’s victory over Hufflepuff.
• Zacharias Smith complained that Cho had borrowed a broomstick, and Harry argued that the Quidditch rules did not forbid it.
• Tris told Zacharias to stop interrupting his reading, frightening him into leaving.
• Ron praised Tris’s intimidating reputation, then fled when Tris offered to train him alongside Draco.
• Harry also ran off when Tris turned his attention toward him, while Tris wondered what the pair would do over Christmas.

Tris took his Astral Teleportation array disk to France to learn whether its Postman Crystal could be reproduced, but the alchemist could not make one that large. As Tris prepared to return to Britain, he encountered Fleur Delacour.

• Tris visited the French master alchemist Thesley Delacour to ask about the crystal in his array disk.
• Thesley identified it as Postman Crystal, an alchemical product once used to make spacious containers, and explained that its manufacture was nearly lost.
• Thesley said he could not reproduce a crystal as large as Tris's and suggested that only Nicolas Flamel might be capable of doing so.
• Tris paid Thesley for the information and left the workshop to find a place to teleport back to Britain.
• A cloaked woman blocked Tris's path, lowered her hood, and revealed herself as Fleur Delacour.

Tris ran into Pheobe Delacour on Christmas Eve, where their old rivalry gave way to an unexpectedly flirtatious exchange. He noticed her blush and wondered if she had developed Stockholm syndrome.

• Pheobe confronted Tris and prepared to challenge him, hoping to defeat him after their previous fight.
• Tris stopped Pheobe from throwing down her glove and teased her with a shameless remark.
• Tris told Pheobe that being pretty did not mean everyone had to cater to her.
• Pheobe blushed when Tris called her pretty, and Tris wondered why she was reacting that way.

Tris used Mirror Seal to trap Pheobe after she challenged him to a duel, then photographed her and teleported home. The Necromancer and four masked wizards arrived minutes later, noticed how faint Tris’s Star Magic traces were, and agreed to follow the next stage of their plan.

• Pheobe challenged Tris to settle the score from their previous encounter, and Tris accepted her glove and prepared to duel.
• Tris cast Mirror Seal, trapping Pheobe inside a mirror where she could not move or make herself heard.
• Tris photographed Pheobe, left her trapped, and used the Star Chart Disk to teleport away.
• The Necromancer and four masked wizards appeared at Tris’s departure point and found the traces of his Star Magic unusually faint.
• The Necromancer warned the others not to treat Tris like an ordinary child, and they agreed to proceed with the next stage of their plan.

At the Burrow, Harry proudly wore Cho Chang’s handmade Christmas scarf while Sirius reminisced about James’s troublesome school days. Sirius then told Tris that Dumbledore could help with Mirror Magic, leaving Tris to wonder why Dumbledore had failed to mention it.

• Harry wore Cho Chang’s knitted scarf everywhere and explained that he cherished it because she had made it for him.
• Sirius and Remus recalled that James had treasured Lily’s Christmas gloves and cried after they were damaged.
• Sirius described James as a reckless, troublesome student, shocking Harry with stories about his father’s past.
• Sirius asked Tris about his Mirror Magic studies, and Tris admitted he had mastered only the basics.
• Sirius revealed that Dumbledore had recommended the Mirror Magic scroll and could teach Tris more, though Tris had already visited Dumbledore without hearing about it.

Harry told Tris that Dumbledore wanted him to learn about Horcruxes by getting information from Professor Slughorn, and asked for help approaching him. Tris suggested using Acromantula venom to win Slughorn’s favor, leaving Harry ready to seek spiders in the Forbidden Forest while Tris considered collecting some himself.

• Harry told Tris that Dumbledore had asked him to get information about Horcruxes from Professor Slughorn.
• Tris explained how Slughorn’s teaching differed from Snape’s and noted that Harry had spent half a year in the Slug Club.
• Harry admitted he did not know how to draw information out of Slughorn.
• Tris suggested that Harry offer Slughorn something difficult to obtain, such as Acromantula venom from the Forbidden Forest.
• Harry agreed to try catching spiders, and Tris considered collecting some himself.

Tris joined Harry and Ron on a trip into the Forbidden Forest to hunt spiders, and offered to teach them Shadow Magic. As they ventured deeper, Tris sensed three hostile magical wolves watching them, and Ron revealed them with a Daybreak Charm.

• Harry and Ron told Tris they had kept their plan to hunt spiders secret because Harry feared the spiders might be connected to Hagrid.
• Tris agreed to teach Ron and Harry Shadow Magic, then entered the Forbidden Forest with them under cover of the Invisibility Cloak and his own shadow magic.
• As the three traveled deeper into the forest, Tris sensed malice nearby and discovered three large magical wolves in the undergrowth.
• Tris warned Harry and Ron about the wolves, and Ron cast a Daybreak Charm that illuminated the three silver-gray creatures.

Ron, Harry, and Tris confronted three giant wolves in the Forbidden Forest, and Ron’s quick reactions and magic helped the boys subdue them. Tris trapped the remaining wolves in his shadow mirror world, leaving Harry and Ron eager to learn his Shadow Magic.

• Ron cast a Stunning Spell at a giant wolf, blocked its bite with a Shield Charm, and bound it with transformed vines.
• Tris recognized that Ron’s Quidditch Keeper training had helped him stay calm and react quickly during the attack.
• Harry used Transfiguration to catch another wolf, but it evaded his vines and threatened the boys.
• Tris unfolded the shadow mirror world, trapping the two remaining wolves behind a mist wall.
• Ron and Harry asked Tris to teach them Shadow Magic when they returned.

Tris, Harry, and Ron hunted dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest, where Harry demonstrated the combat skills he had gained from Tris's training. After Harry killed two Acromantulas, the group continued facing a larger spider threat.

• Tris explained why he had killed three Giant Dire Wolves that had hunted humans, and the group continued deeper into the forest.
• Tris sensed a group of giant spiders approaching after the wolves' howls and led Harry and Ron toward them.
• Harry burned away two spiders' webs with the Fire-Making Spell, then killed the spiders with a Sword Beam Spell.
• Ron pointed out that Harry had chopped the spider carcasses into pieces, and Harry promised to be more careful next time.
• Tris was pleased with the results of Harry's training.

Harry, Ron, and Tris followed the Acromantulas deeper into the Forbidden Forest, killing spiders as they searched for venom to take to Professor Slughorn. They found a nest crowded with giant spiders, which called out to Aragog when they spotted the humans.

• Harry claimed the spiders on the forest’s outskirts were too small to provide useful venom, and Ron and Tris followed him deeper into the forest.
• Harry and Ron killed dozens of increasingly large spiders with the Sword Beam Spell while Tris occasionally dealt with those they missed.
• The three entered a hollow covered in webs and found themselves surrounded by hundreds of calf-sized spiders.
• The spiders clicked together words about humans and Aragog, astonishing Harry and Ron.