Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiao tested spells, reflected on the Golden Light Spell, and practiced talismans before joining Malfoy at Quidditch tryouts. On their return, they found Filch and Mrs. Norris petrified in a bizarre pose beside a message on the wall.

• Zhang Xiao found that shouting spells in Chinese made them more powerful and decided to ask Professor Flitwick about Nonverbal Spells.
• Zhang Xiao reflected on his Golden Light Spell’s sudden growth and resolved to pursue Talisman Investiture through further talisman practice.
• Malfoy asked Zhang Xiao to accompany him to the house Quidditch tryouts, where Malfoy earned a place on the team through his skill.
• Zhang Xiao and Malfoy returned to a crowd of frightened young wizards blocking the passage to the Dining Hall.
• Zhang Xiao pushed to the front and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione beside the petrified Filch and Mrs. Norris, with a message on the wall.

After Filch and Mrs. Norris were found petrified beneath a mysterious message, Zhang Xiao questioned Harry, Ron, and Hermione about how they had arrived there. Dumbledore took them and Lockhart to Lockhart’s office to investigate, where he identified the petrification as advanced dark magic and confronted Lockhart about the message written in his handwriting.

• Lockhart arrived at the corridor, reacted with surprise to Filch and Mrs. Norris, and Zhang Xiao noticed that both victims were facing a bare wall.
• Ron, Hermione, and Harry told Zhang Xiao that they had come after Harry heard a strange voice, which he repeated as, “master... don't?”
• Dumbledore summoned Lockhart, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Zhang Xiao, then carried the petrified Filch and Mrs. Norris to Lockhart’s office.
• Dumbledore confirmed that Filch and Mrs. Norris were petrified rather than dead and said the dark magic was advanced.
• Dumbledore pointed out that the writing on the wall was in Lockhart’s handwriting, and Lockhart nervously denied causing the attack.

After Filch and Mrs. Norris were found petrified, Lockhart revealed that he had planned a Halloween publicity stunt, and the professors agreed to keep students calm while they investigated. Dumbledore warned Zhang Xiao not to act alone, but Zhang Xiao raised his proposal from the previous year, and Dumbledore agreed it was a good time to try it.

• Lockhart explained that he had planned to build suspense before Halloween and stage a ghost attack so he could appear to save the students and promote his new book.
• Dumbledore summarized Lockhart's plan, and Professor McGonagall scolded Lockhart for neglecting his teaching duties.
• Snape questioned Harry, Ron, and Hermione about their repeated presence at suspicious incidents, while the three explained they had been helping Lockhart with his fan mail.
• Dumbledore advised the professors to keep students calm and moving in groups, and said mandrakes could eventually restore Filch and Mrs. Norris.
• Dumbledore asked Zhang Xiao what he had noticed, and Zhang Xiao deduced that Filch had found the writing on the wall while carrying cleaning supplies.
• Dumbledore warned Zhang Xiao not to take risks, and Zhang Xiao brought up his proposal from the previous year; Dumbledore agreed to try it.

After the students learned Hogwarts would open a shared Common Room, Zhang Xiao worried that the Chamber of Secrets might already be active, despite finding no evidence of entry. He later barbecued with Hagrid and Norbert, then rode the enlarged dragon into the night.

• Students cheered at Dumbledore’s notice that students from second year onward could use a grand Common Room until 10 p.m., and Harry and Ron discussed starting a spell club.
• Zhang Xiao suspected Filch’s petrification might be connected to a basilisk, though his trap showed no sign that anyone had entered the third-floor bathroom.
• Students spread a rumor that Filch had petrified himself while trying to learn magic, while Fred and George lamented losing their usual nighttime excitement.
• Zhang Xiao and Hagrid grilled pork belly over Norbert’s dragonfire, shared beer, and grew tipsy together.
• Zhang Xiao used the Spirit Beast Ring to enlarge Norbert, climbed onto his back, and flew into the night with him.

Zhang Xiao rode Norbert out of Hogwarts and challenged a passing pilot to a race. After using spells and talismans to boost Norbert to incredible speed, Zhang Xiao fell asleep, and Norbert turned back toward Hogwarts.

• Zhang Xiao rode Norbert away from Hogwarts while Hagrid realized they had left the school and hurried after them.
• Zhang Xiao spotted Smith's propeller plane and directed Norbert toward it.
• Smith saw Zhang Xiao riding a dragon, mistook his gestures for a racing challenge, and accelerated his plane.
• Zhang Xiao raced Smith and cast spells and talismans that made Norbert faster and faster.
• Zhang Xiao used Wind-Evading Art to send Norbert surging past the plane, then fell asleep on his back.
• Norbert slowed down and flew back toward Hogwarts beneath the stars.

Zhang Xiao returned to Hogwarts after riding Norbert and racing a Muggle pilot, then faced a reprimand from Professor McGonagall and a private conversation with Dumbledore. After displaying unusually effortless magic in the Headmaster's Office, Zhang wondered whether drinking too much had strengthened his abilities.

• Smith returned to the airport shaken by his encounter with Zhang Xiao riding Norbert, but his friend assumed he was distressed about his wife and took him for a drink.
• Professors found Zhang asleep on Norbert and escorted the dragon back to Hogwarts, while McGonagall noticed Norbert barely moved his wings around him.
• McGonagall scolded Zhang and Hagrid for keeping Norbert at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore explained that the Ministry had treated the Muggle pilot's sighting as a minor breach and would issue only a warning.
• Dumbledore dismissed McGonagall, Snape, and Hagrid, then spoke privately with Zhang as the portraits celebrated his dragon ride and Phineas Nigellus praised him.
• Zhang effortlessly summoned an armchair and lemonade, prompting Dumbledore to admire his magic and Zhang to wonder whether drinking had improved his abilities.

Dumbledore lectured Zhang Xiao about responsibility and self-restraint, then revealed that Zhang Chengdao had secured a legal permit for Norbert. Zhang received a punishment to clean a corridor alongside other students, and afterward realized he had blacked out during his drunken dragon ride.

• Dumbledore told Zhang Xiao that power required restraint and that he had to take responsibility for his actions.
• Zhang Xiao argued that the strong should set their own principles rather than submit to arbitrary rules, calling this the Dao.
• Dumbledore told Zhang Xiao that Zhang Chengdao had used his influence to obtain a permit for Norbert, who had to remain at his previous size.
• Dumbledore sentenced Zhang Xiao to clean the corridor outside the Slytherin Common Room three times a week without magic, alongside Harry, Ron, the Weasley Twins, and other students.
• After leaving Dumbledore's office, Zhang Xiao recalled that he had blacked out during his drunken dragon ride.

Zhang Xiao dealt with the aftermath of riding Norbert and kept watch for signs of the basilisk while trying to draw out Harry’s unusual childhood magic. Harry eventually revealed that he had spoken to a boa constrictor, leaving Hermione alarmed and Zhang Xiao convinced he had uncovered Harry’s Parseltongue.

• Snape gave Zhang Xiao a sick note, and Zhang Xiao later went to mop the corridor as Dumbledore had ordered.
• Malfoy revealed that Zhang Xiao had ridden Norbert, and Slytherin students attacked the hard-line pure-bloods with Minor Jinxes after they deliberately dirtied the floor.
• Zhang Xiao visited Hagrid to deliver Norbert’s dragon-keeping permit and measure the young dragon for a custom saddle.
• Zhang Xiao remained anxious about the basilisk and gathered Malfoy, Hermione, Ron, and Harry beside the Black Lake to discuss childhood magical abilities.
• Harry described his hair regrowing overnight and his sudden appearance atop a school chimney, then revealed that he had spoken to a boa constrictor at the zoo.
• Hermione turned pale at Harry’s story, while Zhang Xiao realized he had finally learned that Harry could speak Parseltongue.

Hermione revealed that Harry’s ability to speak to snakes was Parseltongue, and Zhang Xiao reassured him that he might have inherited it from Voldemort instead of being Slytherin’s heir. Zhang Xiao recorded Harry saying “open” and tried to use the recording to open the Chamber of Secrets, but nothing happened.

• Hermione told Harry that Parseltongue was an ability associated with Salazar Slytherin, alarming him that others might believe he was Slytherin’s descendant.
• Zhang Xiao suggested Harry had gained Parseltongue from Voldemort, cheering Harry and reassuring Hermione.
• Harry tried speaking Parseltongue to a snake, then agreed to teach Zhang Xiao and Hermione simple words.
• Zhang Xiao used a Whirling Jade Disc to record Harry saying “open.”
• Zhang Xiao played the recording at the entrance in the abandoned bathroom, but the Marble Pillar did not move.

In October, Zhang Xiao read about a dream-entering art and learned that the Daoist Order had a technique for revisiting his own past. He activated the Dream-Returning Technique to investigate the events he could not remember, but the chapter ended before he saw what happened.

• Zhang Xiao turned the third-floor bathroom entrance into a trap-filled minefield while the castle endured days of rain and illness.
• Malfoy recovered from a cold with Snape’s Invigoration Draught and admitted that Harry was his rival in flying.
• Hermione told Harry and Ron that she could not make them enchanted shoulder bags until at least seventh year, while Malfoy treasured his own extension-charmed bag.
• Zhang Xiao read a tale about an official who entered dreams and asked Zhang Chengdao whether the Daoist Order had a spell that could reveal his missing memories.
• Zhang Chengdao sent Zhang Xiao a talisman containing the Dream-Returning Technique, and Zhang Xiao activated it in the Room of Requirement.

Zhang Xiao’s Returning Dream Immortal Journey ended when he heard a mysterious bell, and Zhang Chengdao found a Dragon-Tiger Mountain record describing the same phenomenon. Zhang Xiao was warned not to investigate the memory further, while Zhang Chengdao planned to consult his father.

• Zhang Xiao followed the dream path back to the memory of riding Norbert and watched himself use Wind-Summoning while drunk.
• A solemn bell rang as Zhang Xiao watched his past self wave his wand, shattering the dream world and ending the spell.
• Zhang Xiao contacted Zhang Chengdao, who searched the Dragon-Tiger Mountain Sect Records after hearing about the bell.
• Zhang Chengdao read that a Returning Dream Immortal Journey had once been broken by a bell and that a disciple who secretly pursued the hidden truth had burst apart and died.
• Zhang Chengdao told Zhang Xiao not to investigate the memory again and said he would ask his father about the danger.

Zhang Xiao learned that his missing memory had been sealed by his spirituality to protect him, and he told his parents that he had used a wand to perform Wind-Summoning while riding Norbert. The chapter left him waiting for his talisman investiture as golden light extended 2.8 inches beyond his body.

• Zhang Chengdao told Zhang Xiao that his memory had been sealed during a spiritual awakening because remembering it could harm him.
• Zhang Chengdao explained that the bell Zhang Xiao heard was his spirituality manifesting to warn and awaken him.
• Zhang Chengdao joked about Zhang Xiao’s drunken behavior, and Li Qingshu scolded him over the Far-Seeing Mirror.
• Zhang Xiao told his parents that he had ridden Norbert and used his wand to summon fierce winds, astonishing them because he had never learned Wind-Summoning.
• Zhang Xiao ended the call, studied his trembling wand, and waited for his talisman investiture to answer his questions.
• Golden light appeared around Zhang Xiao’s hand and extended 2.8 inches beyond his body.

On Halloween, Zhang Xiao dressed as Lam Ching-ying and learned the Hogwarts ghosts were attending Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party. Curious about the gathering and the secrets the ghosts might know, he set off to visit it with Malfoy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, insisting he would not cause trouble.

• Hermione explained that Muggle-born students had gradually influenced Hogwarts’ Halloween celebrations, while Zhang Xiao showed off his Daoist costume at the feast.
• Zhang Xiao learned the Hogwarts ghosts had gone to Nearly Headless Nick’s five-hundredth deathday party and decided to visit it.
• Malfoy eagerly joined Zhang Xiao, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed after noticing them leave the feast.
• Zhang Xiao packed away his genuine Daoist magical artifacts and led the four young wizards toward the ghosts’ party.

Zhang Xiao used an Eastern memorial offering at Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party, and the incense stirred Moaning Myrtle’s memories of her mother and childhood. Myrtle fled the banquet, wanting to go home after fifty years as a ghost.

• Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Zhang Xiao attended Nearly Headless Nick’s ghostly deathday party and toured the crowded Underground Classroom.
• Moaning Myrtle approached Zhang Xiao, and he set out incense, food, and other offerings for her while the surrounding ghosts watched.
• Zhang Xiao’s offering filled Myrtle with memories of her mother, her Hogwarts years, and the bullying that preceded her death.
• Myrtle realized she had forgotten that someone missed her and rushed away, wanting to see her mother again.

Zhang Xiao tried to help Hogwarts’s ghosts taste food and, with instructions from Zhang Chengdao, performed a sacrificial ritual for them. The ritual triggered a vast, ancient presence, leaving Zhang Xiao beneath a star-filled sky.

• Moaning Myrtle shed rare Ghost Tears after tasting Zhang Xiao’s offering, and Nearly Headless Nick explained that the tears marked a recovered memory.
• The Fat Friar and the other Hogwarts ghosts begged Zhang Xiao to help them taste food, so he called Zhang Chengdao for advice.
• Zhang Chengdao recommended a sacrificial prayer and explained that he and Zhang Xiao’s mother were occupied by a disturbance involving something restless beneath the Forbidden City.
• Zhang Xiao conjured a stone basin, lit a fire with a Fire Talisman, and recited Zhang Chengdao’s prayer while the ghosts waited in line.
• A thunderous presence descended as Zhang Xiao finished the prayer, and he opened his eyes to find himself beneath a star-filled sky.

Zhang Xiao let Hogwarts’ ghosts taste food, fulfilling the lingering attachments of many who then faded away. The next day, news that he had supposedly “killed off” a third of the school’s ghosts caused an uproar.

• Zhang Xiao served the ghosts food, and they wept with joy at tasting it again.
• Zhang Chengdao and the Old Celestial Master noticed the strange disturbance in the sky and credited Zhang Xiao with it.
• Peeves and the Hogwarts ghosts drove off visitors who demanded daily feasts, then the remaining ghosts bowed to Zhang Xiao in gratitude.
• Malfoy recorded the ghosts’ tribute and declared that Slytherin should lead other races and creatures.
• Many ghosts faded away after their attachments were fulfilled, and Zhang Xiao realized that about a third of Hogwarts’ ghosts had disappeared.
• Zhang Xiao left the banquet hall with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy, and the next day the school erupted over his supposed ghost-slaying feat.

After Hogwarts students mourned the ghosts who had found release, Dumbledore helped them honor the ghosts and redirect their attention. He then announced that the grand Common Room was officially open.

• Ghosts spread stories about their departure and Zhang Xiao’s role, prompting Hufflepuff students to grieve the Fat Friar’s loss.
• Dumbledore considered how to address the students’ sadness and decided to give them another topic to discuss.
• At lunch, Dumbledore explained that the ghosts had longed for release and asked the students to stand and pay their respects.
• The students bowed their heads and offered silent farewells to the ghosts.
• Dumbledore announced that the grand Common Room was officially open.

Hogwarts students eagerly anticipated the new Grand Common Room, which the professors had created to encourage interaction between the four Houses. Zhang Xiao reached its entrance and discovered a sleeping Stone Dragon that knocked back anyone who rushed past it, leaving students to figure out how to enter.

• After Dumbledore announced the Grand Common Room, Hogwarts students excitedly discussed how it would change their school life, and Zhang Xiao saw Percy agree to make his relationship with Penelope public.
• During Charms, Professor Flitwick described the professors' efforts to create the room, then dismissed class early so the students could see it for themselves.
• Professor Flitwick told Zhang Xiao that the Charms Club would meet on Thursday and praised him for proposing the Grand Common Room.
• Zhang Xiao found marble staircases leading to the second floor, where a Stone Dragon guarded the entrance to the Grand Common Room.
• A student rushed toward the door, and the Stone Dragon flicked its tail to tumble him back as Zhang Xiao wondered how to pass without waking it.

Zhang Xiao fought the Stone Dragon guarding Hogwarts’ grand Common Room and entered a magical world created by Dumbledore and the professors. After the students explored its forests, caverns, sea, and grassland, they were ushered back to the Dining Hall, and Zhang Xiao prepared to start his small Duelling Club.

• A sixth-year Ravenclaw used the Disillusionment Charm to pass the Stone Dragon, then Zhang Xiao challenged it directly and parried its claw with a timed Shield Charm.
• Zhang Xiao cracked the dragon’s tail with a shock wave and distracted it with a horned serpent made from a curtain, then entered the Common Room through a vine-covered passage.
• Zhang Xiao discovered a vast magical landscape with elves, dwarves, merpeople, lions, and house statues, as students poured in and explored.
• Malfoy claimed he had led the students past the dragon, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione revealed that they had lured it away while Malfoy supported them.
• At closing time, professors and alchemical creatures made the students leave the Common Room, and Zhang Xiao got ready to begin his small Duelling Club.

Students turned the Stone Dragon challenge into a test of skill until Luna Lovegood passed it with a riddle and walked away without entering the grand Common Room. Zhang Xiao then joined Professor Flitwick’s Charms Club meeting, where Penelope praised his spellwork and Flitwick called on him to share his experience.

• Students practiced Disillusionment Charms and devised ways to pass the Stone Dragon, while Fred and George sold a guide to the challenge.
• Luna Lovegood stopped outside the Stone Dragon’s attack range, stumped it with a brainteaser, and left without entering the Common Room.
• Malfoy asked to join Zhang Xiao’s Dueling Club, and Zhang Xiao welcomed him.
• Zhang Xiao and Hermione arrived at Professor Flitwick’s Charms Club meeting with several top students and club members.
• Penelope demonstrated her refined nonverbal Diffindo and praised Zhang Xiao’s skill, prompting Flitwick to ask Zhang Xiao to share his experience.