Recaps

Voldemort watched Zhang Xiao defeat the dragon and asked about the plans involving Barty and Umbridge, while Zhang recovered in the Hospital Wing and celebrated his first-task victory with Hogwarts. After Zhang showed Glove Lady the competition footage, she warned him that someone had visited the Room of Requirement's hidden storage room on the day of the task.

• Voldemort recognized Zhang Xiao as the wizard who had thwarted Bellatrix and questioned his followers about Barty's and Umbridge's progress.
• Zhang woke after two days in the Hospital Wing, learned that Harry and other champions were recovering nearby, and received Madam Pomfrey's congratulations for placing first.
• Hogwarts students cheered Zhang, and the Slytherins held a celebration honoring his victory.
• Malfoy told Zhang that the Second Task would take place in three months and that the golden eggs could not yet be opened.
• Zhang obtained a reel of the first task and visited Glove Lady, who warned him that someone had entered the Room of Requirement's hidden storage room on the day of the competition.

Zhang Xiao learned that an unknown visitor had entered the Room of Requirement during the competition and asked Glove Lady to alert Yunbo if the visitor returned. While watching the competition recording with Glove Lady, he discovered she could speak through the projection machine and learned that she had helped Harry and the others focus during training; the chapter ended with Malfoy, Hermione, and their friends urgently bringing Zhang Xiao to hear an announcement from Professor McGonagall.

• Zhang Xiao learned that a visitor carrying a powerful magical item had entered the Room of Requirement during the competition and spent time in the room for hiding things, so he asked Glove Lady to notify Yunbo if the person returned.
• Zhang Xiao brought Glove Lady a recording of the competition, and she congratulated him on taking first place and said she had been the strongest person of her era.
• Glove Lady spoke aloud for the first time through the projection machine and explained that she had used a spell to help the students concentrate during training.
• Zhang Xiao and Glove Lady watched Harry and Krum's flying contest, then discussed Harry's unconsciousness and the temporary focus-enhancing spell Glove Lady had cast on the students.
• Glove Lady reacted gravely to the power of Zhang Xiao's spell on Sky Island, then watched the recording alone as a slender figure appeared on the wall.
• Malfoy, Hermione, and the others found Zhang Xiao in the Entrance Hall and told him that Professor McGonagall had an announcement.

Professor McGonagall announced the Yule Ball and its rules, prompting the champions and their friends to seek partners. As invitations and refusals reshaped their relationships, Hermione revealed she had agreed to take Ginny to the ball.

• Professor McGonagall told the students that the Yule Ball would be held on Christmas evening and that the champions would open it with partners according to the first-task rankings.
• Harry and his friends discussed finding partners, and Cedric predicted that the champions would be swamped with invitations.
• A Hufflepuff third-year asked Harry to the ball, Lavender Brown stopped Ron, and Neville invited Luna Lovegood.
• Zhang Xiao encouraged Neville to ignore others' judgments about his choice of partner.
• Malfoy invited Hermione to the ball, but she said she had already agreed to go with Ginny.
• Hermione explained that Professor McGonagall had allowed her to bring Ginny, who had wanted to attend but worried nobody would ask her.

Zhang Xiao realized that Malfoy might have fallen for Hermione, then gathered the young wizards in the Room of Requirement to practice for the ball. Meanwhile, Dudley learned that his year of training was over and that Edward would take him to meet other monster hunters that night.

• Zhang Xiao recalled Malfoy remembering Hermione’s birthday and watching for her laughter, and wondered whether Malfoy loved her.
• Ron asked Zhang Xiao whether he planned to invite Pheobe, but Zhang Xiao said he had not decided who to invite.
• Edward told Dudley that his training was nearly complete, gave him a black leather case, and ordered him to return at eleven to meet the other hunters.
• Zhang Xiao brought the young wizards to the transformed Room of Requirement to practice dancing for the ball.
• Malfoy offered to teach the group the waltz and began explaining ballroom dancing.

Zhang Xiao offered Glove Lady a way to attend the Yule Ball by placing a wisp of her soul in a Daoist Paper Figure. After the figure gave her a physical form, he asked her to the ball, and she accepted.

• Zhang Xiao slipped away from the others and spoke with Glove Lady in the screening room while Malfoy taught Hermione and the others to waltz.
• Glove Lady remembered dancing at a past Yule Ball and was overcome by loneliness; Zhang Xiao invited her to this year's ball.
• Glove Lady said she could not leave her place or take a physical body, so Zhang Xiao explained the Spirit Entrustment Technique and showed her a high-grade Paper Figure.
• With Zhang Xiao's guidance, Glove Lady entrusted a wisp of her soul to the Paper Figure and emerged in a physical form.
• Zhang Xiao bowed and asked Glove Lady to attend the Yule Ball with him, and she accepted.

Zhang Xiao helped Glove Lady use a paper figure to experience moving around, then invited her to attend the Yule Ball with him. As the ball approached, Hagrid shared that Madame Maxime had accepted his invitation, and Hogwarts students grew increasingly distracted by the coming festivities.

• Glove Lady happily tested the paper figure, admired her reflection, and put it away after Zhang Xiao explained that it could move for a long time if it avoided fighting and magic.
• Zhang Xiao thanked Glove Lady for her help and asked whether she could dance; she confidently said she knew the waltz and had been the best dancer in her village.
• Hagrid told the students that Madame Maxime had accepted his invitation after he used lines Zhang Xiao had written for him, and he showed them his enormous dress robes.
• As the final week of term approached, rumors and excitement about the Yule Ball spread through Hogwarts, distracting students from their lessons.

Dudley worried that hunting wizards might put his life at risk and leave Petunia alone, but he prepared his equipment for a nighttime meeting with Edward. Armed and disguised as a Demon Hunter, he set off for the Church rendezvous.

• Dudley urged Petunia to rest, then washed the dishes while worrying about leaving her if he died.
• Dudley looked at a photograph of Vernon and wrestled with his hesitation about risking his life to hunt wizards.
• After Petunia went to bed, Dudley retrieved his suitcase and put on padded armor, dragon-hide gear, and protective clothing.
• Dudley loaded the Judgment revolver with Holy Water Bullets, packed crossbow bolts, and took a dagger.
• Dudley admired his disguised appearance and hurried to the Church to meet Edward.

Zhang Xiao told Dumbledore that someone had entered the Room of Requirement and warned that Voldemort might act during the second task. He then revealed that he planned to take the Glove Lady to the Yule Ball, leaving Dumbledore stunned.

• Dudley left Number Four, Privet Drive at night and was confronted by a group of drunken men.
• Hermione agreed to dance the opening dance with Malfoy, and Zhang Xiao went to Dumbledore's office.
• Zhang Xiao told Dumbledore that someone had visited the hidden room containing Tom's Horcrux and Slytherin's documents during the First Round.
• Dumbledore said Voldemort and his followers had become harder to find, and Zhang Xiao suspected Voldemort would act during the second task.
• Zhang Xiao said he had asked the house-elves to watch the Seventh Floor corridor and revealed that the Glove Lady would be his Yule Ball partner.
• Dumbledore was shocked and asked Zhang Xiao to repeat who his partner was.

Zhang Xiao learned that Glove Lady’s appearance at the Yule Ball had shocked Dumbledore, who agreed to let her attend and asked Zhang to try to make her happier. He then learned that Draco had been taken away after a violent fight in the Slytherin Common Room, and hurried to find out what had happened.

• The former headmasters reacted with shock when Zhang Xiao explained that he had invited Glove Lady to the Yule Ball, and he wondered whether her emotions had influenced his decision.
• Dumbledore told Zhang Xiao that Glove Lady could attend the ball and asked him to make her happier, then reassured Neauve that the Room of Requirement remained stable.
• Davis found Zhang Xiao and reported that Draco had fought with several students and had been taken away by Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.
• Davis explained that pure-blood extremists had mocked Draco for choosing Hermione Granger as his dance partner and goaded him into attacking them.
• Both factions called in supporters, and the brawl injured more than twenty students, damaged the Common Room, and left the Hospital Wing full.
• Zhang Xiao heard what had happened and fell silent as his anger grew.

McGonagall confronted Draco Malfoy and the other students after a fight injured dozens, but Zhang Xiao exposed the pure-bloods’ insults and Snape intervened on Draco’s behalf. Snape took charge of punishing the Slytherins and left Draco with words of encouragement.

• McGonagall rebuked the students for attacking one another and announced that Draco would be suspended from the competition and replaced by Hermione.
• Zhang Xiao entered, stunned the Extreme Pure-bloods with a restraint spell, and argued that their remarks about people made from mud and water had insulted him.
• Snape questioned the Extreme Pure-bloods about insulting Hermione and Draco, then argued that Draco had bravely defended another champion and deserved commendation.
• Zhang Xiao threatened an international protest, prompting the Extreme Pure-bloods to admit they had insulted Draco and Hermione.
• McGonagall let Snape handle the matter, and Snape dragged the offenders away after telling Draco that he had done well and should not give up.

After Draco Malfoy defied the Extreme Pure-bloods and stood by his feelings for Hermione, Hogwarts felt the shockwaves of the Slytherin conflict and celebrated Christmas together. The chapter ended with Snape staring at the Batman-style cape Zhang Xiao had given him.

• Zhang Xiao reassured Draco that he would stand beside him as Draco faced the consequences of opposing the Extreme Pure-bloods.
• Harry and Ron told Hermione that Malfoy had led a fight against the Extreme Pure-bloods, while Snape had punished them and spared Malfoy.
• Viktor Krum invited Hermione to the Yule Ball, but she said she already had a partner.
• Draco's actions shook the Wizarding World, while Hogwarts students spent Christmas together and Ron accepted an invitation from a Beauxbatons girl after Pheobe declined him.
• Zhang Xiao and Malfoy opened their Christmas gifts, including figurines recreating the Triwizard Tournament's First Task, and Malfoy happily received presents from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
• Snape examined the Batman-style cape Zhang Xiao had given him.

Zhang Xiao received Dumbledore’s cover story for Glove Lady and Nicolas Flamel’s enchanted carriage, then joined the Hogwarts students’ Christmas celebrations. After Harry accidentally buried Snape in snow, Snape’s new cloak launched him into the sky, creating a legend.

• Snape tested his new black cloak in the Underground Classroom but could not discover any special ability.
• Zhang Xiao sorted his presents, read Dumbledore’s explanation of Glove Lady’s identity, and learned Nicolas Flamel had given him the family’s Enchanted Carriage.
• The students exchanged Christmas gifts and played in the snow, where they built and enchanted snowmen to fight.
• Harry fired a giant snowball from his snow cannon and accidentally buried Snape, who had just arrived beside the Black Lake.
• Snape flung off the snow and spread his cloak, which carried him into the clouds as the students watched.

After Snape accidentally flew uncontrollably in Zhang Xiao’s new cloak, Zhang helped him land and endured the rumors about the incident. As the Yule Ball approached, Zhang and Malfoy dressed for the evening, and Zhang’s elaborate Chinese robes left Malfoy stunned.

• Zhang Xiao chased the airborne Snape on his Small Sword, used a spell to stop him, and explained how to steer the flying cloak.
• Students spread exaggerated stories about Snape’s flight while Harry nervously worried that Snape would retaliate or poison the food.
• Hermione and Cho left to prepare for the Yule Ball, while Zhang and the others discussed how to avoid Snape’s anger.
• Malfoy put on his dress robes and pinned on a rose brooch Hermione had given him.
• Zhang Xiao changed into ornate ice-jade robes and accessories, and Malfoy warned that the outfit would make the girls go wild.

Zhang Xiao wore Daoist robes to the Yule Ball and left the students awestruck before collecting Glove Lady as his partner. The oak doors opened with the two of them ready to perform the opening dance.

• Zhang Xiao's robes captivated Malfoy and silenced the Slytherin Common Room with their beauty.
• Harry, Ron, Neville, and Cedric saw Zhang Xiao in the Entrance Hall, but he left to collect his partner without revealing who she was.
• Zhang Xiao met Glove Lady at the Room of Requirement, where she appeared in a vintage evening gown, and they walked together through the decorated castle.
• Professor McGonagall told Zhang Xiao that he and his partner had to perform the opening dance, and he introduced Glove Lady as Mona, a friend of Dumbledore's.
• As the oak doors opened, Zhang Xiao invited Glove Lady to dance, and she accepted.

Zhang Xiao and Glove Lady opened the Hogwarts Christmas ball with a dazzling dance before the students joined their partners. Meanwhile, Dudley took part in a Demon Hunter raid that ended with a family dead and a child taken, and he recognized his cousin on a projection of the ball.

• Zhang Xiao and Glove Lady danced together at the opening of the Hogwarts ball, captivating the students and viewers.
• Malfoy, Hermione, Cedric, Cho Chang, Neville, Luna, Harry, Astoria, Ron, and their partners entered, and Dumbledore began the ball.
• Dudley joined Edward and the Demon Hunters in raiding a house they believed sheltered evil wizards.
• A Demon Hunter killed a little boy and called him a demon's child while Ossis took a baby from the crib.
• Dudley saw a woman grieving over her dead husband and realized the supposed demons had lived like an ordinary family.
• Dudley watched the projection of the Christmas ball and recognized his cousin among the dancers.

At the Hogwarts Christmas dance, Zhang Xiao introduced Glove Lady as Lady Mona, and he and his friends shared their hopes for the future beneath the fireworks. Meanwhile, Dudley returned home after a violent operation and found Petunia waiting to wish him Merry Christmas.

• Dudley watched a Magical Projection of a murder, learned that Ossis and a cleanup squad would erase the evidence, and left for home.
• Zhang Xiao ate with Glove Lady at the Hogwarts dance, then introduced her to Harry, Hermione, Ron, Malfoy, Cedric, and Cho as Lady Mona, their special training instructor.
• The young wizards watched fireworks from the castle battlements and shouted their ambitions, including Harry's dream of becoming an Auror and Zhang Xiao's vow to protect everyone.
• The friends exchanged Christmas greetings beneath the fireworks.
• Dudley returned to Number Four, Privet Drive, where Petunia welcomed him home, and he wished her Merry Christmas.

During the Christmas ball, Percy told Zhang Xiao that Barty Crouch admired him and had asked Percy to build a relationship with him, leaving Zhang Xiao to wonder what Crouch wanted. Dumbledore announced that the Triwizard Tournament’s second task would take place at the end of January at a separate location, and the champions left feeling newly determined to prepare.

• Zhang Xiao and Glove Lady watched the ball while Pheobe criticized Hogwarts to Roger Davies and Glove Lady defended Beauxbatons’ rival school.
• Percy approached Zhang Xiao, announced his promotion to trainee assistant to the Minister for Magic, and asked to speak with him privately.
• Percy told Zhang Xiao that Crouch praised him repeatedly and had instructed Percy to build a good relationship with him.
• Zhang Xiao considered why Crouch might want to befriend him, while Percy left disappointed that Zhang showed little interest in becoming his friend.
• Dumbledore announced that the second task would take place at the end of January and that the champions would be taken to a separate location, prompting complaints from students and renewed resolve from the champions.

Zhang Xiao and the other Champions struggled to open the Golden Egg while the young wizards gathered at Hagrid’s cabin to hear about his relationship with Madame Maxime. The chapter ended when Norbert’s Dragon Flame cracked the Golden Egg, suggesting it had revealed a way to open it.

• The elders recognized Glove Lady as a Spirit-Binding Paper Figure and the Old Celestial Master sent them away after they watched Zhang Xiao’s Yule Ball dance.
• Zhang Xiao and Malfoy tried spells and other methods on the Golden Egg, but it remained smooth and undamaged.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and the other Champions admitted they had made no progress, and Ron returned from Beauxbatons without a clue.
• Hagrid invited the Champions to his cabin, where Zhang Xiao advised him about taking his relationship with Madame Maxime further.
• Norbert breathed Dragon Flame on the Golden Egg, and cracks began spreading across its surface.

Zhang Xiao and the others discovered that the golden eggs opened when heated according to the hatching conditions of the dragons they represented. Their cubes projected matching fragments of a ruins map, leading Zhang Xiao to suspect the Second Task tested whether schools would solve the puzzle alone or form alliances.

• Zhang Xiao's golden egg cracked open after Norbert's dragon fire, revealing a hot metal cube that projected a three-dimensional model of ruins.
• Hagrid explained that dragon eggs required particular hatching conditions, and Hermione concluded the golden eggs would open under the same conditions.
• Hagrid identified Harry's dragon as a Hebridean Black Dragon and said its eggs were buried in volcanic sand and incubated with geothermal heat.
• Harry, Hermione, Malfoy, and Zhang Xiao buried Harry's and Malfoy's eggs in sand surrounded by hot charcoal, and the eggs cracked open.
• Ron brought Cedric and Neville to join the group, and the cubes' projections connected with Zhang Xiao's to form a larger but still incomplete ruins map.
• Zhang Xiao considered that the Second Task might test whether the schools would work independently or join forces.

Zhang Xiao and the others debated how to handle alliances and map clues for the second round while Zhang Xiao wondered how to advance his magical abilities. Yachigusa Tsuki then approached him, offering the Golden Egg solution and her service, but Zhang Xiao suspected she possessed forbidden Onmyoji texts and demanded her map.

• Ron questioned whether knowing the event would take place in ruins gave the team any useful advantage, and Neville suggested gathering more maps would reveal more clues.
• Zhang Xiao warned that sharing maps could let every school assemble the full set of clues, while the group debated which school to approach as an ally.
• Zhang Xiao recalled that Dumbledore had promised to give him practical advice about his future magical development before summer.
• Yachigusa Tsuki invited Zhang Xiao to meet privately and offered to share her divination-based solution to the Golden Egg in exchange for serving under his command.
• Zhang Xiao asked whether Yachigusa Tsuki was an Onmyoji, inferred that she had obtained old Onmyoji Texts, and demanded that she give him her map, saying he would not kill her.

Zhang Xiao obtained Yachigusa Tsuki’s map and joined it with Harry and the others’ maps, revealing a song that pointed to an underwater task. The group planned ways to breathe and move underwater, then went to the frozen Black Lake to test their preparations.

• Zhang Xiao questioned Yachigusa Tsuki about divination, accepted her ancient book of Onmyoji legends, and took her portion of the map.
• Zhang Xiao reunited with Harry and the others, and the three map cubes combined to reveal a song mentioning an ancient underwater city and three objectives.
• Harry, Hermione, Cedric, Neville, Ron, and Malfoy discussed underwater dangers, breathing charms, Gillyweed, and the song’s objectives.
• Zhang Xiao suggested testing their underwater preparations in the Black Lake, and the group secretly cut a hole in its ice.
• Zhang Xiao cast Bubble-Head Charms on the young wizards and jumped into the lake first.

Zhang Xiao and the other young wizards tested how to prepare for the underwater Second Round, discovering that gillyweed helped Malfoy adapt to the Black Lake’s cold. They explored the lakebed, tested spells underwater, and visited the Merpeople’s village before surfacing to return.

• After Malfoy suffered cold shock in the lake, Zhang Xiao asked Snape for gillyweed, which gave Malfoy gills, webbed hands and feet, and better tolerance for the cold.
• Zhang Xiao led the young wizards deeper into the Black Lake, used his Dharma Eye to examine the lakebed, and tested how spells worked underwater.
• The group found that underwater spells had reduced range and power, while Zhang Xiao’s Water-Repelling Talisman created a small dry space around him.
• Malfoy towed the group to the Merpeople’s village, where the Merpeople welcomed them and gave them a bundle of fish in exchange for shiny objects.
• Zhang Xiao signaled for everyone to surface when it was time to go back.

Zhang Xiao sought ways to handle the underwater conditions of the second task and learned that the Yi Family’s Water Wight methods could help him. His father secured a copy of their techniques, which Zhang Xiao began to transcribe.

• Hermione asked McGonagall and Flitwick for advice, and McGonagall offered Human Transfiguration lessons while Flitwick recommended potions.
• Cedric volunteered to master Human Transfiguration and transform the group, while Zhang Xiao planned to obtain diving equipment.
• Zhang Xiao contacted his father and learned about Water Wights, families who specialized in underwater work and used inherited methods to stay submerged.
• Zhang Chengdao contacted the Yi Family, who willingly provided their methods in exchange for a favor from Zhang Xiao.
• Zhang Xiao received the projected text titled “Six Water Wight Methods” and prepared to copy it.

Zhang Xiao studied the Water Imp Six Arts and tested them underwater, discovering he could learn Water Immortal Walk quickly with the Golden Light Spell. After finding Flying Fish Thrust too exhausting, he realized he could summon a Patronus that might serve as an underwater companion.

• Zhang Xiao received the Water Imp Six Arts from Zhang Chengdao and read their methods and annotations in the Slytherin Common Room.
• Zhang Xiao broke the Common Room window, entered the lake, repaired the glass, and practiced Water Immortal Walk on a submerged stone.
• Zhang Xiao mastered the basics of Water Immortal Walk, but found River-Turning Palm less useful than spells and Flying Fish Thrust too tiring for regular travel.
• Zhang Xiao considered finding a creature to help him move underwater, then realized he could summon a companion that shared his thoughts and cast Expecto Patronum.

Zhang Xiao tested his intelligent Dragon Carp Patronus in the Black Lake and decided his speed made him confident about the Second Task. After Snape humiliated Harry and Ron in Potions, Malfoy returned with a Water-Walking Potion Snape had developed.

• Zhang Xiao rode the Dragon Carp through the Black Lake and found it fast enough to give him confidence about the Second Task.
• Ron showed Harry, Zhang Xiao, and the others Rita Skeeter’s article praising the Hogwarts Champions and discussing the East.
• Snape caught Ron reading Witch Weekly in Potions, took points from Harry and Ron, and mocked them by reading Rita’s praise aloud.
• Harry and Ron wondered why Snape had ignored Hermione, while Zhang Xiao suspected Snape’s feelings about Lily explained his behavior.
• Malfoy stayed behind to ask Snape about potions, then showed Harry, Ron, and Zhang Xiao a blue Water-Walking Potion Snape had developed.