Chapter Summaries

Su Er’s magic continued to drain as a silver cocoon formed around him in a mysterious white space. Dumbledore used a red crystal to restore his magic, while the cocoon changed and eventually revealed a long-haired girl who was about to awaken.

• Madam Pomfrey found Su Er healthy but warned that his rapidly disappearing magic could kill him, so Snape brought magic-replenishing potions.
• Lisi watched the stars from the Centaur camp and said that Pluto’s trajectory had changed.
• Dumbledore summoned Amelia Bones and went to Gringotts, then returned with a red crystal while Hermione waited anxiously outside the Hospital Wing.
• Dumbledore shattered the crystal and forced its red magic into Su Er, whose magic drain slowed as the cocoon began drawing in the energy.
• The red cocoon stopped breathing and dissolved, revealing a glowing long-haired girl whose eyelashes trembled as if she were about to wake.

After recovering, Su Er learned that the Philosopher’s Stone had left him with far more magical power than he could control. Dumbledore urged him to relearn spellwork with Filius and Severus as he began adjusting to his new strength.

• Su Er was discharged from the Hospital Wing and thanked Dumbledore for saving his life with the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Su Er told Dumbledore about the white space he had encountered and its possible connection to Dementors and the Patronus Charm.
• Su Er cast a corporeal badger Patronus, which Dumbledore examined and found apparently ordinary.
• Su Er said his magic felt much stronger, and Dumbledore explained that the Philosopher’s Stone and Severus’s potions had given him power he could not yet control.
• Su Er’s Floating Charm launched a cup into the ceiling and crushed it, demonstrating how his uncontrolled magic distorted spells.
• Dumbledore told Su Er to start learning again under Filius and Severus so he could master his power.

Su Er summoned Ariana as an evolved Patronus and agreed to keep her existence from Albus while telling Aberforth. The next day, he took Hermione toward the Whomping Willow to reach the Shrieking Shack on Dumbledore’s instructions.

• Su Er cast Expecto Patronum in the white space and manifested Ariana as a human Patronus.
• Ariana asked Su Er not to tell Albus about her, but said he could tell Aberforth.
• Ariana explored Su Er’s memories and asked him questions about Hogwarts Castle.
• Su Er reassured Harry that he was well and asked Ron how Scabbers was doing.
• Su Er led Hermione toward the Whomping Willow and asked her to use magic to stop it.

Su Er and Hermione entered the Whomping Willow’s secret passage to find Sirius Black, but Su Er’s unusually powerful Flipendo blasted Black unconscious when he attacked them. Black woke after Hermione and Su Er revived him, shocked by the force of the spell.

• Hermione used a conjured mouse to press the Whomping Willow’s knot, and she followed Su Er into the passage.
• Su Er told Hermione they were going to see Sirius Black and led her into the boarded-up room.
• Black lunged at them in the form of a large black dog, and Su Er’s Flipendo hurled him into the wreckage.
• Su Er confirmed Black was breathing, and Hermione revived him with a bucket of ice-cold water.
• Black woke in pain and wondered how Flipendo had become so powerful.

Su Er introduced Sirius Black to Hermione and told him that Dumbledore wanted to see him that night. Back in the Room of Requirement, Su Er began explaining to Hermione how Sirius was connected to Harry’s parents, leaving off as he described the Fidelius Charm.

• Sirius Black recognized Su Er’s build as resembling the wizard who had beaten him, then changed from his Animagus form and introduced himself.
• Su Er told Black that Dumbledore wanted to see him that night and gave him the Headmaster’s password, “Bursting Caterpillar.”
• Su Er handed Black a box of recovered wands before taking Hermione back to the Castle.
• Hermione added ingredients to the Animagus potion and told Su Er it would be ready in a week, when they would need a thunderstorm to complete the transformation.
• Su Er told Hermione not to tell Harry about Sirius that day, then explained the friendship between Harry’s parents, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
• Su Er began explaining the Fidelius Charm to Hermione, describing how a Secret Keeper could conceal a secret within their soul.

Su Er revealed to Hermione that Peter Pettigrew had survived the incident blamed on Sirius Black and enlisted Professor Lupin to help expose the truth. As Sirius arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione went to fetch Lupin while Su Er sent Crookshanks to catch Scabbers.

• Su Er told Hermione that Sirius had hunted Peter Pettigrew after Harry's parents died, but Pettigrew had faked his death and been awarded the Order of Merlin posthumously.
• Hermione gave Harry and Ron her parchment for their astronomy work, then watched them with Crookshanks as she prepared to help Su Er's plan.
• Su Er showed Professor Lupin the Marauder's Map and persuaded him to join the search for Peter Pettigrew that night.
• At the Room of Requirement, Su Er and Hermione saw Sirius Black's name appear on the Marauder's Map as he approached Hogwarts.
• Su Er sent Hermione to bring Lupin to Gryffindor Tower and asked Crookshanks to catch Scabbers without alerting anyone.

Su Er, Hermione, and the professors caught Scabbers and brought him to Dumbledore’s office, where Sirius and Lupin confronted the rat as Peter Pettigrew. After Lupin tried to revive him, Su Er noticed Pettigrew was faking unconsciousness.

• Su Er asked McGonagall and Lupin to help retrieve Scabbers from the Gryffindor dormitory while Crookshanks caught him.
• Hermione returned with the sleeping rat, and Lupin confirmed that Pettigrew was an Animagus missing a thumb.
• Su Er and the others brought the rat to Dumbledore’s office, where Lupin reunited with Sirius Black.
• Lupin cast a Reviving Spell on Pettigrew, but Su Er saw his eyes move and realized he was pretending to be unconscious.

Professor McGonagall transformed Scabbers into Peter Pettigrew, who pretended to be a terrified victim and accused Sirius Black of betraying James and Lily to Voldemort. Dumbledore restrained Black and listened as Pettigrew began telling his version of events.

• Professor McGonagall used the spell to restore Pettigrew to human form, but he continued playing dead.
• Pettigrew appealed to Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin for protection while accusing Black of trying to kill him.
• Dumbledore calmed Black and used Legilimency as Pettigrew began explaining their past.
• Pettigrew claimed Black had been the Secret Keeper, betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort, and later killed twelve Muggles before Pettigrew escaped as a rat.

In Dumbledore’s office, Sirius confronted Pettigrew over betraying James and Lily, and Pettigrew confessed that he had revealed their hiding place to Voldemort. Dumbledore stopped Sirius from attacking Pettigrew and kept him unconscious until the Ministry could deal with him.

• Sirius transformed into a dog and attacked Pettigrew, but Dumbledore restrained him with vines.
• Dumbledore questioned Pettigrew about hiding for twelve years, and Pettigrew claimed he had feared Sirius would escape Azkaban.
• Sirius confronted Pettigrew and demanded to know why he had betrayed James and Lily.
• Pettigrew admitted that he had told Voldemort where James and Lily lived, saying he had feared dying if he resisted.
• Sirius fired a spell at Pettigrew, but Dumbledore deflected it and then rendered Pettigrew unconscious until the Aurors arrived.

Su Er carried out the staged raid to bring Minister Fudge to Gryffindor and arrange for Black to be caught with Peter Pettigrew. Black surrendered, but the secret about Pettigrew had not yet been revealed.

• Su Er waited in the Room of Requirement as Black, Hermione, the professors, and the Ministry party took their positions for the planned reveal.
• Su Er interrupted Dumbledore and Fudge in the Headmaster's Office to report that Black had arrived, while Hermione led them toward Gryffindor's Common Room.
• After an explosion, Dumbledore, Fudge, and the others found Black cornered by Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall, holding a rat.
• Black surrendered to Fudge's party, and Fudge credited Dumbledore and the professors with the capture and promised them Ministry recognition.

Dumbledore had Sirius Black identify the rat as Peter Pettigrew, and Amelia Bones’s spell revealed Pettigrew’s human form before he confessed to betraying the Potters. The Ministry released Black and arrested Pettigrew, while Fudge realized Dumbledore had exposed the Ministry’s twelve-year mistake; he then asked how Dumbledore had discovered Pettigrew was alive.

• Dumbledore asked Sirius Black why he had broken into Hogwarts, and Black claimed the rat was Peter Pettigrew, an Animagus.
• Remus Lupin confirmed Pettigrew’s Animagus ability, and Amelia Bones used Restore Human Form to turn the rat back into a man.
• Pettigrew awoke confused in the Headmaster’s Office, denied the accusations, then confessed after Dumbledore produced a bottle of Veritaserum to frighten him.
• Fudge realized Pettigrew’s confession exposed the Ministry’s wrongful conviction of Black and the Ministry’s deception for twelve years.
• Fudge released Black and had his subordinates take Pettigrew into custody, then asked Dumbledore how he had discovered Pettigrew was alive.

Fudge accepted that Sirius Black had been wrongly imprisoned and sought to protect his position by offering an apology and promising compensation. Dumbledore revealed that Su Er had discovered Peter Pettigrew, whose furious reaction left him subdued by an Auror.

• Dumbledore told Fudge that he had suspected problems with Sirius Black’s case and noted that Black had been imprisoned without a trial.
• Amelia reminded Fudge that Barty Crouch Sr. had been responsible for sending Black to Azkaban, and Fudge apologized to Black and promised justice and compensation.
• Dumbledore identified Su Er as the first person to discover Pettigrew, and Su Er explained how Scabbers’s age and his observations with Ron led him to suspect the rat was an Animagus.
• Pettigrew recognized Su Er’s role and shrieked that it had been him, but two men restrained him and an Auror subdued him with a spell.

Su Er explained how he traced Peter Pettigrew through the Marauder’s Map and helped uncover the truth about Sirius Black’s arrest. With Pettigrew taken into Ministry custody and Sirius cleared, Dumbledore approved Sirius as Lupin’s assistant Defence Against Dark Magic professor, but refused to let Harry stay with him over the summer.

• Su Er told Fudge that the Marauder’s Map showed Peter Pettigrew’s name and that he had traced Pettigrew to Ron’s rat, Scabbers, with Dumbledore’s help.
• Fudge said the Ministry would gather further evidence and might reopen the trial, then took Pettigrew away under guard.
• Amelia Bones praised Su Er, and McGonagall left to visit the Gryffindor Common Room.
• Lupin suggested that Sirius teach Defence Against Dark Magic alongside him, and Dumbledore approved the arrangement.
• Sirius asked to visit Harry and have him stay at Grimmauld Place during the summer, but Dumbledore refused and insisted Harry remain with his relatives.

Dumbledore explained why Harry had to remain with his blood relatives, then discussed the Hogwarts founders' legacies with Su Er. Su Er learned that the Hogwarts Kitchens might hold clues to Lady Hufflepuff's trials and that her research focused on souls and bloodlines.

• Dumbledore explained to Sirius that Lily's blood magic protected Harry while he stayed with blood relatives, and Sirius stopped insisting that Harry live with him.
• Black returned to his Animagus form to await Ministry of Magic action in the Shrieking Shack, and Professor Lupin accompanied him.
• Su Er asked Dumbledore about Lady Hufflepuff's trials and the legacies left by the four great figures.
• Dumbledore produced Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat, and Su Er unsuccessfully tried to use it as a wand.
• Dumbledore told Su Er that the house-elves in the Hogwarts Kitchens would only reveal Lady Hufflepuff's secrets to someone bearing a token, which he suspected was a Hufflepuff emblem.
• Dumbledore suggested that Su Er investigate the Hogwarts Kitchens and revealed that Lady Hufflepuff had studied souls and bloodlines extensively.

Su Er told Hermione that Sirius Black would become a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Harry’s godfather, while keeping the news from Harry. The morning’s surprise arrived when Harry received a Firebolt, and Su Er and Hermione made plans for the day.

• Su Er told Hermione how the previous night had ended and revealed that Black was Harry’s godfather, asking her to keep it secret from Harry.
• Ron proudly described Scabbers as a heroic rat who had saved him from Black, while Su Er and Hermione discussed how he might react when he learned the truth.
• Owls delivered a Firebolt to Harry, and Su Er guessed that Black had sent it.
• Oliver Wood carried Harry away to try the broom, while Ron and a crowd of students followed them.
• Hermione asked Su Er about his plans, and he said he was meeting Professor Flitwick before Hermione went to the Library.

Su Er went to Professor Flitwick for help controlling his excess magic, and experiments showed that even basic spells released more power than they could direct. Flitwick advised him to tame the magic by repeatedly casting basic spells, leaving Su Er with a practical way to manage his growing power.

• Su Er told Professor Flitwick that he was struggling with excess magic and had been sent by Dumbledore.
• Professor Flitwick explained the dangers of uncontrolled magic, then tested Su Er by having him repeatedly mend a shattered teacup.
• Su Er's excess magic distorted the cup during the Mending Charm, and further experiments with spells left Flitwick's office in disarray.
• Professor Flitwick explained that magic was chaotic energy and that spells organized and tamed it, while Su Er's spells released excess power through their casting.
• Professor Flitwick advised Su Er to practice basic spells rather than pursue powerful or ancient spells, and invited him to lunch.

Su Er joined Professor Flitwick’s discussion club, where he learned advanced dueling techniques and studied the Patronus Charm. After demonstrating his own Patronus, he spent the afternoon answering questions and learning from the older students.

• Su Er shared tea with Professor Flitwick, who taught him tricks for casting spells and recounted his dueling experiences.
• Cedric Diggory, Percy Weasley, Miss Clearwater, and other students arrived for Professor Flitwick’s club session about the Patronus Charm.
• Professor Flitwick explained the Patronus Charm’s three stages and demonstrated how a corporeal Patronus could act as a wizard’s second body.
• Su Er demonstrated a recognizable Patronus, concealing that he had already reached the third stage or possibly the fourth.
• The older students questioned Su Er about his Patronus and shared knowledge from their own studies with him.

Su Er discussed Patronus Charm advancement with Cedric, then visited Snape to ask for help controlling his excess magic. After Su Er accidentally destroyed Snape’s chair and then made it worse with Reparo, Snape ordered him out.

• Cedric asked Su Er how his Patronus had advanced, decided he needed to face his fears, and stayed in the common room that night.
• Su Er considered where Hufflepuff’s third ornament and the required token might be, deciding to wait until he had absorbed his excess magic.
• Su Er woke to sunshine and saw that the Dementors had withdrawn from the mountains west of Hogwarts.
• Su Er visited Snape to thank him for saving his life and ask for help with his excess magic.
• Su Er demonstrated the problem by destroying Snape’s chair with a Floating Charm, then shattered it further with Reparo.
• Snape told Su Er to get out.

Su Er and Hermione visited Hagrid after the Dementors left and learned that Buckbeak and the other Hippogriffs would be taken in by Mr. Scamander after Buckbeak's final hearing. The chapter ended with their departure planned for just after Christmas.

• Su Er told Hermione that he had fainted during his punishment in Snape's office before receiving the full beating.
• Su Er and Hermione watched Harry fly his Firebolt, and Hermione spotted a large black dog beneath the stands.
• Su Er and Hermione visited Hagrid, sampled his tough, overly sweet biscuits, and heard about the Ministry's decision on the Hippogriffs.
• Hagrid told Su Er and Hermione that Buckbeak's life was safe, but the herd would leave the Forbidden Forest with Mr. Scamander after the final hearing, just after Christmas.

Su Er received a summons from Snape and read the Daily Prophet’s report clearing Sirius Black while blaming Barty Crouch. The chapter left Ron reeling over the revelation about Scabbers, while Harry gained the prospect of a family bond with Sirius.

• Stan delivered Snape’s note summoning Su Er to his office on Wednesday after dinner and warned him that Snape was in a bad mood.
• Su Er and Hermione read the note, and Su Er decided the coming Wednesday would probably be unpleasant.
• Justin and the students in the Great Hall reacted to a Daily Prophet report clearing Sirius Black and exposing Barty Crouch’s blunder.
• The report said Barty Crouch would resign, Dolores Umbridge would take charge of Quidditch World Cup matters, and Peter Pettigrew’s Order of Merlin would be revoked.
• Ron heard the news about Pettigrew and realized Scabbers might be the illegal Animagus, while Harry tried to comfort him.