Chapter Summaries

Dumbledore, Sirius, and Zhang Xiao went to Voldemort’s cave to recover Regulus’s remains and investigate the defenses, while Kreacher returned to the Black house to wait. After Dumbledore and Zhang Xiao uncovered the hidden entrance, Zhang Xiao accidentally destroyed its barrier with Sirius’s dog blood, revealing the cavern beyond.

• Dumbledore invited Zhang Xiao to join him and Sirius in finding Regulus, and Kreacher agreed to guide them to the cave.
• At the shore, Dumbledore identified clues about Voldemort’s hiding places and led the group to a concealed sea passage, while Kreacher returned to the Black house.
• Dumbledore, Sirius, and Zhang Xiao swam through the passage and reached the cavern, where Dumbledore confirmed they had found the right place.
• Zhang Xiao used his Dharma Eye to spot a hidden archway, and Dumbledore studied the rock wall without casting a spell.
• Sirius transformed into a black dog, and Zhang Xiao accidentally splashed his blood onto the wall, breaking the magical barrier and revealing the enormous cavern.

Zhang Xiao, Sirius, and Dumbledore crossed the black lake in Voldemort’s little boat and reached the basin holding the potion Regulus had drunk. After Dumbledore explained that the potion could only be removed by drinking it, Sirius decided to drink it himself.

• Zhang Xiao used Sirius’s blood to break the enchanted door, and the group entered a vast cavern with a black lake.
• Dumbledore found an invisible chain mechanism and raised Voldemort’s little boat from the lake.
• The group tested the boat’s response to their strength, then crossed the lake with Zhang Xiao as a peregrine falcon and Sirius as a dog.
• Zhang Xiao spotted thousands of Inferi beneath the water, and the boat carried them safely to the island.
• Dumbledore found that the green potion in the stone basin could only be removed by drinking it, and Sirius chose to drink it.

Dumbledore explained how Voldemort’s defenses were designed to weaken anyone seeking the Horcrux, while Sirius and Kreacher drank the Regret Potion and relived painful memories. After Zhang Xiao supplied water from his bag, the Inferi rose from the lake, leaving the group facing Voldemort’s final defense.

• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort’s cavern defenses included a blood-binding archway, a cramped boat, the deadly lake, and a potion that could only be drunk.
• Sirius drank cup after cup of the potion, and Kreacher’s memories revealed Regulus’s sacrifice and the Black family’s grief.
• Dumbledore identified the potion as the Regret Potion, and Kreacher drank several cups for Regulus and the Black family.
• Dumbledore discovered that conjured water vanished, but Zhang Xiao produced bottled water from his bag for Sirius and Kreacher.
• Inferi emerged in vast numbers from the lake and began moving toward the rock.

Zhang Xiao held off Voldemort’s Inferi while Dumbledore revived Sirius and Kreacher, then used a powerful talisman technique to freeze the horde and help them find Regulus. Sirius, Kreacher, Dumbledore, and Zhang Xiao buried Regulus, leaving the story with his funeral and a memorial on his headstone.

• Zhang Xiao flooded the cavern with light and surrounded the island with a ring of fire to keep the Inferi back.
• Zhang Xiao used Corpse-Sealing Talismans to immobilize some Inferi, but the talismans became useless when they got wet.
• Dumbledore restored Sirius and Kreacher while Zhang Xiao unleashed a storm of translucent talismans that froze at least a thousand Inferi, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Sirius and Kreacher recognized Regulus among the immobilized Inferi, and Sirius cleaned him before saying they would go home.
• Sirius and Kreacher buried Regulus as Dumbledore inscribed a memorial on his headstone.

After mourning at a grave, Sirius returned to the renovated Black family home and considered Dumbledore’s advice to shape the family’s future. Dumbledore then explained that Time-Turners did not reverse time but created a simultaneous version of the user, leaving Zhang Xiao stunned.

• Sirius, Dumbledore, and Zhang Xiao left the cemetery and went to the Black family home, where Sirius read Regulus's note and sank into grief.
• Dumbledore urged Sirius to build a life of his own and decide what kind of family the Blacks would become, and Sirius agreed to think it over.
• Dumbledore identified Super Glue beneath the Permanent Sticking Charm on Mrs. Black's portrait and explained that the fantastic beast’s saliva could dissolve it.
• Dumbledore told Zhang Xiao that his grandfather could remove Voldemort's soul fragments without damaging their containers, so they planned to preserve the objects they found.
• Dumbledore explained that time could not be reversed and that a Time-Turner created a simultaneous version of its user whose memories later merged with the original.

Dumbledore explained the Time-Turner’s limits and urged Zhang Xiao to study its mysteries, then reversed and cut a film recording. Zhang Xiao and Sirius escorted the students to King’s Cross, where Ministry guards checked them before they reached the Hogwarts Express.

• Dumbledore explained that Time-Turners accelerated accumulation, had strict limits, and created a duplicate that powerful wizards could not use; he encouraged Zhang Xiao to make the most of his opportunity.
• Sirius read that the Ministry planned to deploy Dementors near Hogwarts and angrily condemned the decision, then told Zhang Xiao that Lupin had accepted Dumbledore’s invitation to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts.
• Sirius and Zhang Xiao walked to King’s Cross, where Aurors and Muggle police guarded the station and an Auror named Pores checked Zhang Xiao’s identity.
• Arthur Weasley and the students arrived in a green vintage car, and Pores let Zhang Xiao pass after Arthur tested him with a question about making a telephone call.
• The group passed through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where Zhang Xiao saw the Hogwarts Express waiting.

Zhang Xiao and his friends traveled to Hogwarts with Professor Lupin, but the train stopped in darkness when a group of Dementors appeared despite the Ministry’s ban. Zhang confronted one and discovered a white handprint on its hood.

• Zhang Xiao and his friends boarded the early-departing Hogwarts Express and found Professor Lupin asleep in the last compartment.
• Harry recognized Lupin as one of his father’s school friends, and Zhang said Lupin would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.
• The friends discussed Zhang’s discovery at Black Manor and their plans for visiting Hogsmeade while Lupin slept.
• Harry bought food for Lupin, and the train slowed, stopped, and lost its lights as Zhang sensed many Dementors nearby.
• Zhang cast a protective spell around his friends and ordered a Dementor out of the compartment.
• Zhang and the Dementor froze when they saw a clear white handprint on the Dementor’s hood.

Dementors attacked the Hogwarts Express, but Harry, Cedric, and Zhang Xiao drove them back with powerful Patronuses, allowing the train to reach Hogwarts. Zhang Xiao arrived at the castle with the other students as a new school year began.

• The Dementor with a handprint on its cloak recognized Zhang Xiao, and Harry drove it away with his stag Patronus while Cedric's Silver Badger protected the front of the train.
• Zhang Xiao warned Lupin that more Dementors were approaching, and Lupin sent Harry and Cedric to protect the train while he went to find the driver.
• Zhang Xiao climbed onto the roof and summoned a giant silver Carp Patronus that fought off the surrounding Dementors, while Zhang Xiao slapped one that got past it.
• Lupin restarted the train and wondered whether Zhang Xiao could help him find an Eastern remedy for werewolves.
• The students arrived at Hogwarts in heavy rain, and Zhang Xiao entered the Dining Hall as the new school year began.

Professor McGonagall gave Zhang Xiao and Hermione Time-Turners, while Dumbledore confronted Fudge over the Dementors’ attack on the Hogwarts Express and moved to impeach him. Umbridge reported to Voldemort that the conflict between Dumbledore and Fudge was the first success of their plan.

• Professor McGonagall gave Zhang Xiao and Hermione a Time-Turner each and made them promise to use the devices only for studying.
• Draco Malfoy warned Zhang Xiao to watch the new student Astoria Greengrass, and Zhang noticed that Dumbledore was absent from the start-of-term feast.
• Fudge silenced a Ministry official who reported that three students had driven off the Dementors with corporeal Patronuses, then burned the official’s memory strand.
• Dumbledore confronted Fudge about sending Dementors to the Hogwarts Express and announced that he would bring an impeachment motion against him.
• Fudge began considering retaliation, while Umbridge told Voldemort that Dumbledore’s clash with Fudge was an initial success for their plan.

Voldemort praised Umbridge for stirring conflict with Dumbledore, and she reported that the exhumed remains belonged to a woman, suggesting Barty Crouch Jr. had not escaped him. At Hogwarts, Zhang Xiao and Draco attended their first Divination lesson, where Trelawney dismissed Draco's prediction and turned her attention to Zhang.

• Voldemort approved Umbridge's plan to undermine Dumbledore, and she told him the graveyard remains belonged to a woman.
• Umbridge suggested Barty Crouch Jr. was still at large, and Voldemort ordered her to find him.
• Zhang Xiao used a paper airplane to answer Draco's questions about the Azure Luan Society, then examined Dumbledore's warnings about the Time-Turner.
• Draco and Zhang Xiao reached the Divination Classroom with help from Sir Cadogan, and Zhang Xiao dragged an exhausted Draco up the final stairs.
• Trelawney introduced Divination to the class, warned Harry about black dogs, and told Draco he had no talent for the subject.
• Trelawney looked at Zhang Xiao and sorrowfully called him a poor thing.

Zhang Xiao exposed Trelawney’s Grim prediction as a reading of her own teacup, then experimented with the Time-Turner and concluded that its apparent glimpses of future events were illusions. He put the Time-Turner around his neck and turned it, beginning his next test.

• Trelawney warned Zhang Xiao that he had the Grim, but Zhang Xiao pointed out that the teacup belonged to her and Malfoy confirmed it.
• Trelawney dismissed the class, and McGonagall explained that Trelawney predicted a student’s death every year before assigning the third-years more Transfiguration homework.
• Malfoy told Zhang Xiao that his father believed Trelawney had once made an important prophecy, and Zhang Xiao reassured Malfoy about his divination talent.
• Zhang Xiao went to a treehouse and used the Time-Turner while rolling dice, finding that its written results appeared to match the dice before he checked them.
• Zhang Xiao changed the dice and rolled them again, realizing the Time-Turner’s apparent predictions were an illusion and that the past could not be changed or the future predicted.
• Zhang Xiao put the Time-Turner around his neck and turned it once.

Zhang Xiao tested how the Time-Turner affected his memories and concluded that its glimpse of the future was only one possible script that changed when he altered events. Later, Hagrid taught the third-years about Augureys, but Seamus’s spell caused an explosion that frightened the bird and ended the lesson early.

• Zhang Xiao returned an hour into the past, watched his earlier self repeat the dice experiment, and realized that changing the die made his memory of the future unreliable.
• Zhang Xiao decided to use the Time-Turner’s extra hours to improve himself while his original self focused on studying magic.
• Zhang Xiao, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and their classmates followed Hagrid to a paddock, where Hagrid introduced an Augurey instead of the expected Hippogriff.
• Hermione explained the Augurey’s properties, and Hagrid taught the class about the bird’s legends and magical classification.
• Hagrid lifted the Augurey’s Silencing Charm, and Seamus’s spell caused an explosion that frightened the bird and prompted Hagrid to dismiss the class early.

Zhang Xiao used the Time-Turner to visit Lady's Glove and built her a private cinema, then invited her to watch Roman Holiday. The film left Lady's Glove wanting a happy ending, and Zhang Xiao gave her more films before moving on to his next task.

• Zhang Xiao traveled seven hours back in time, and Professor McGonagall warned him about the dangers of using the Time-Turner for so long.
• Zhang Xiao visited the Room of Requirement and showed Lady's Glove his silver carp Patronus.
• Zhang Xiao transformed a room into a private cinema and invited Lady's Glove to watch Roman Holiday.
• Lady's Glove became upset that Princess Ann and Joe did not end up together, then asked Zhang Xiao to make them continue filming.
• Zhang Xiao explained that the actors had died and gave Lady's Glove many more film reels to watch.
• Zhang Xiao taught Lady's Glove to change reels and start the projector, then turned to his next task.

Zhang Xiao finished building and testing a gym and bathing pool in the Room of Requirement, while Dumbledore tried and failed to impeach Cornelius Fudge. Fudge secretly contacted his supporters, and the chapter ended with the Daily Prophet announcing Dumbledore’s impeachment move at Hogwarts.

• Zhang Xiao learned that the Room of Requirement stored rooms it had created and built a gym with a luxurious bathing pool.
• Zhang Xiao completed a workout, practiced the Dragon-Tiger Mountain Beginner Fist underwater, and decided he needed to get stronger.
• Dumbledore introduced an impeachment motion against Cornelius Fudge, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required.
• Dumbledore warned Fudge to turn back, and Fudge angrily left after Dumbledore mocked the Ministry’s record.
• Fudge resolved to defend his power and contacted a supporter using an Alchemy Device.
• Owls delivered the Daily Prophet to Hogwarts, where Zhang Xiao and the students saw its headline announcing Dumbledore’s move to impeach Fudge.

Zhang Xiao realized Dumbledore may have welcomed losing his political positions, while Hogwarts began its new term with Snape’s Potions class and Lupin’s first practical Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Lupin called Zhang Xiao forward to assess the students, leaving the class waiting to see what the test involved.

• Zhang Xiao explained to Malfoy that Dumbledore did not need political offices, and Malfoy agreed that Fudge’s authority could not match the Dark Lord’s power.
• Snape mocked Hermione and deducted points from Harry and Ron before Seamus’s potion exploded and revived his interest in the lesson.
• Gu Ying gave Neville a sword and sent him off Wudang Mountain, where Neville reunited with Alice and Frank.
• Lupin told the students to put away their books and learned they had not studied practical topics such as boggarts, hinkypunks, grindylows, or kappas.
• Lupin decided to assess the class, and the students looked to Zhang Xiao before Lupin called him forward.

Zhang Xiao explained to Lupin that Defence Against the Dark Arts required broad knowledge and the willingness to attack dark wizards, helping the class see the subject’s importance. The students then eagerly anticipated Hogsmeade, while Professor Sprout warned that unfinished Herbology homework would keep them from going.

• Lupin asked Zhang Xiao what Defence Against the Dark Arts meant to him, and Zhang Xiao described it as a discipline drawing on all their subjects and including both defence and attack.
• Lupin awarded Slytherin twenty points and told the class about dangers he had faced, dark magic objects, and the value of using every means to defeat dark wizards.
• The students discussed Lupin’s experiences and Zhang Xiao’s ideas, then turned their attention to their upcoming Hogsmeade visit as Draco Malfoy described its attractions.
• Professor Sprout taught the class about dittany and warned that students who failed to complete their homework properly would have to revise with her over the weekend instead of visiting Hogsmeade.

Zhang Xiao and his friends visited Hogsmeade, sharing a joyful moment on the way that he captured with his magical camera. After they arrived, the group split up to explore, and Zhang Xiao set off on his own before someone familiar called his name.

• Malfoy dressed as Xu Wenqiang for the outing, and Filch let Harry leave after confirming Sirius was his godfather.
• As they walked to Hogsmeade, Hermione happily led the group over a hill, and Zhang Xiao photographed the four friends smiling together.
• Zhang Xiao suggested they meet at the Three Broomsticks at noon, and Hermione went to the magic scroll shop.
• Malfoy took Ron and Harry to Honeydukes to fulfill his promise to treat Ron.
• Zhang Xiao headed off to explore the village, but a familiar voice called out to him.

Neville reunited Zhang Xiao with his recovered parents and grandmother, and the family thanked him for helping them. Augusta bound the Longbottom family to Zhang Xiao with an ancient oath, promising to defend him with their lives.

• Neville joyfully introduced Zhang Xiao to Alice, Frank, and Augusta in Hogsmeade.
• Alice and Frank thanked Zhang Xiao for freeing Neville and restoring their family, then Augusta invited them to the Three Broomsticks.
• Neville told Zhang Xiao that he felt clear-minded again and shared what he had learned at Wudang.
• Augusta swore the Longbottom Oath with Zhang Xiao, pledging that the family would defend him when his life was in danger.

Zhang Xiao learned that the Longbottom family had bound itself to protect him through an inherited oath, while Frank and Alice chose to support Dumbledore’s fight against the Dark Lord. After the family left, Zhang Xiao met Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco at the Three Broomsticks for a lively gathering.

• Augusta explained that the Longbottom Oath would activate automatically if Zhang Xiao faced death, and the Longbottoms vowed that their family always repaid kindness.
• Augusta warned that Dumbledore would struggle to impeach Fudge because Fudge had grown closely tied to powerful interests.
• Frank and Alice said they would take Ministry posts to gather information for Dumbledore, but insisted the Longbottoms would not flee from the coming fight.
• Neville left with his family to resume his studies, while Zhang Xiao stayed at the Three Broomsticks and read manga as he waited for his friends.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco arrived, and Draco proudly told Zhang Xiao that a woman had recognized him and invited him to the terrace.
• The group drank Butterbeer and shared food, while Zhang Xiao asked Hermione to help Neville consolidate his studies after his recovery.

Neville returned to Hogwarts and caught up on missed lessons, while Zhang Xiao enjoyed a peaceful school year and watched Neville’s Potions skills improve. Just before Halloween, Professor Lupin called Zhang Xiao over, leaving the reason unrevealed.

• Neville returned to Hogwarts, and Professor McGonagall required him to attend second-year classes alongside his third-year courses.
• Hermione reorganized and bound her notes from the previous two years for Neville.
• Malfoy publicly mocked pure-blood students who criticized Professor Lupin’s worn robes, silencing much of their ridicule.
• Neville brewed an almost perfect potion, then told curious students that cooking Chinese food had helped him.
• Professor Trelawney resumed Divination classes after speaking with Professor McGonagall and claimed she had found a way to avoid a dreadful fate.
• Shortly before Halloween, Professor Lupin approached Zhang Xiao and called him over.