Chapter Summaries

Lockhart attempted to restore his reputation by demonstrating his duelling skills, but Snape quickly sent him flying. Professor Flitwick took over the lesson and chose Zhang Xiao to demonstrate a real duel.

• Lockhart introduced the Duelling Club and brought Snape and Professor Flitwick onstage as assistants.
• Lockhart challenged Snape to demonstrate high-level duelling, but Snape's spell sent him flying and tore his robes.
• Lockhart tried to claim he had let the spell hit him deliberately, then handed the lesson over to Flitwick.
• Flitwick explained that duelling was a refined art that tested a wizard's abilities.
• Flitwick invited Zhang Xiao onto the stage to demonstrate a duel.

Zhang Xiao duelled Professor Flitwick at the Dueling Club, and Flitwick exposed the gap between Zhang’s textbook-perfect casting and his own masterful technique. After Flitwick urged him to show his real ability, Zhang released the power of cognition and prepared to continue the duel.

• Flitwick explained the difference between a formal duel and real combat, then faced Zhang Xiao onstage.
• Zhang fired a barrage of spells, and Flitwick effortlessly redirected them away from the students.
• Malfoy, Neville, Harry, Ron, Cedric, and Hermione noticed that Zhang was using incantations and broader gestures than before.
• Flitwick caught Zhang with a precisely timed spell, and Zhang narrowly escaped by flashing with golden light.
• Flitwick urged Zhang to show his real ability, and Zhang released the power of cognition before declaring, “Cognition-release!”

Zhang Xiao and Professor Flitwick held an intense duelling demonstration, with Flitwick teaching the students through their exchange and helping Zhang improve his defensive timing. After testing himself against Flitwick, Zhang activated his Golden Light Cognition Release and revealed his strongest form, Full Release.

• Zhang Xiao used a sweeping Red Charm and Levitation Charm combination to restrict Flitwick’s movement, while Flitwick explained their tactics to the students.
• Flitwick counterattacked with unpredictable spells, and Zhang learned to parry at precise moments instead of maintaining a Shield Charm.
• Snape and Professor McGonagall protected the students as Zhang and Flitwick continued duelling, and the audience watched their exchange with growing excitement.
• After Zhang grew tired, Flitwick stopped attacking; Zhang rested, bowed to him, and asked to test an untried technique.
• Zhang entered Golden Light Cognition Release, then transformed into his strongest form, Full Release, as Harry, Ron, and Malfoy watched.

Zhang Xiao collapsed from exhaustion after using the Golden Light Spell and Void-Clarity Mirror, and Madam Pomfrey confirmed he was not seriously hurt. Meanwhile, Lockhart began confiding in Tom Riddle's Diary, which encouraged his ambitions.

• Zhang Xiao's power surged as he prepared to act, but he collapsed when the combined strain of his spells overwhelmed him.
• Flitwick caught Zhang Xiao, and Madam Pomfrey later diagnosed him as exhausted in the Hospital Wing.
• McGonagall told Lockhart to keep quiet, while Snape gave Zhang Xiao another diluted Draught of Living Death.
• Lockhart returned to his office in a fury and took out the Diary he had used to practice his signature.
• Lockhart wrote to Tom Riddle that he wanted to think more about the offer, and Tom praised his choice while privately recoiling from Lockhart's flattery.

Tom Riddle recalled how Lockhart had taken possession of the Diary and repeatedly humiliated him by filling it with signatures and love notes. Though Tom devised plans to use Lockhart and the basilisk to regain his body and drive Dumbledore away, Lockhart’s vanity kept derailing them; the chapter ended with Lockhart reconsidering Tom’s proposal.

• Tom remembered how Lockhart’s endless signatures and romantic lines had altered the Diary and forced Tom to speak in a saccharine tone.
• Tom planned to use Lockhart’s hunger for fame by having the basilisk attack students so Lockhart could resolve the crisis and trust the Diary.
• Lockhart refused to enter the girls’ bathroom, so Tom found another underground route to the Chamber of Secrets.
• Lockhart put purple sunglasses on the basilisk to prevent its gaze from killing anyone, and Tom decided to use the attacks to drive Dumbledore out.
• Lockhart criticized Tom’s warning message for lacking suspense, but later reconsidered Tom’s proposal, prompting Tom to praise him despite his disgust.

Zhang Xiao woke in the Hospital Wing after sleeping for ten days and reflected on his recent battle and the need to strengthen his foundations. Rainwater visited him, explained why he wanted to serve Zhang Xiao, and was sent to stay with the other House-elves in the kitchen.

• Tom suppressed his hatred of Lockhart, flattered him, and offered to share an interesting plan.
• Zhang Xiao woke in the Hospital Wing and learned from Rainwater that he had been asleep for ten days.
• Zhang Xiao reviewed lessons from his fight and resolved to shore up his magical foundations.
• Rainwater explained that he had refused Dumbledore’s offer to stay at Hogwarts because he wanted to look after Zhang Xiao and learn House-elf skills.
• Zhang Xiao sent Rainwater to the kitchen to stay with the other House-elves, then prepared to attend to something more important.

After recovering from his duel with Professor Flitwick, Zhang Xiao learned that students regarded him as Hogwarts’ strongest student and felt proud of the changes he had inspired. He brushed off their praise, copied Hermione’s notes, and settled down to study in the Grand Common Room.

• Zhang Xiao examined the increasingly stable book in his mind cottage and found new material about how casting gestures could strengthen subconscious suggestions.
• Zhang Xiao hurried through a checkup with Madam Pomfrey and headed to the Dining Hall.
• Malfoy, Harry, Ron, Cedric, Hermione, and Parkinson told Zhang Xiao that students admired his duel with Flitwick and considered him the strongest student at Hogwarts.
• Zhang Xiao downplayed his skill, copied Hermione’s notes with Geminio, and left the group’s questions behind.
• Zhang Xiao watched Slytherin students study harder, then flew to the Grand Common Room’s beach and began reading his copied notes.

As Christmas approached, Zhang Xiao learned about the limits of Transfiguration, watched students worry over the weakened Azure Luan, and faced another dreaded lesson with Lockhart. Lockhart unveiled a new lesson featuring pictures of jiangshi, leaving Zhang Xiao stunned.

• Professor McGonagall explained at the Transfiguration Club that dark magic could boost power but usually corrupted wizards and impaired their ability to perform advanced Transfiguration.
• Zhang Xiao learned from his father that Azure Luan was exhausted from using her innate ability and needed time to recover, while Hogwarts students showed concern for her.
• Malfoy gave Crabbe and Goyle Puking Pastilles to help them avoid Lockhart's class, but they swallowed the sweets before learning what the lesson involved.
• Lockhart announced that the class would study creatures beyond those in his books, then revealed pictures of jiangshi on the blackboard.
• Zhang Xiao recognized the jiangshi as resembling those from Jiangshi Sir and stared at Lockhart's unexpected choice.

Lockhart used a moving picture of a hopping jiangshi to teach an unexpectedly popular Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, presenting invented folklore as practical advice. The young wizards left eager for his next class, while Zhang Xiao worried about what Lockhart might teach them next.

• Malfoy recognized the jiangshi’s clothes as Qing official robes, and Zhang Xiao struggled to explain the picture’s origins.
• Lockhart followed Tom’s advice to change the students’ opinion of him and chose to teach about Eastern monsters instead.
• Lockhart described jiangshi as blood-drinking creatures like vampires, then taught the students to hold their breath and use garlic and the Bubble-Head Charm to avoid them.
• Hermione asked whether jiangshi were vampires with another name, and Lockhart awarded Gryffindor five points before claiming they were different creatures.
• The students eagerly took notes and applauded Lockhart after class, while Zhang Xiao recognized that much of the lesson was nonsense and worried about what Lockhart would show next.

Lockhart used Tom’s advice to win over his students, then Tom drew him toward a plan involving a powerful spell. As Christmas approached, Dumbledore discussed a way for students to contact their professors and arranged for a complicated gift to be sent to Zhang Xiao.

• Lockhart celebrated his successful lesson with Tom, who became furious when Lockhart took credit for the plan.
• Tom suggested that Lockhart teach defensive spells and offered to show him a rare spell that could improve his magical abilities.
• The young wizards spread stories about Zombie, and Zhang Xiao hid in the Room of Requirement to paint and study moving portraits.
• Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel discussed the difficulty of making a device that would let students contact their professors.
• Nicolas agreed to send Dumbledore a complicated item for Zhang Xiao, whom Dumbledore called the finest Slytherin he had ever met.

Zhang Xiao and Draco Malfoy celebrated Christmas at Hogwarts, opening gifts from their friends and teachers, while Lucius prepared to meet anxious former followers at Malfoy Manor. The chapter ended with Lucius warning Narcissa that no one could risk betraying Voldemort if he returned.

• Zhang Xiao and Draco woke on Christmas morning to hundreds of presents and shared Mrs. Weasley's homemade fudge.
• Zhang Xiao opened gifts from Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and the professors, while Draco received a mocking figurine from Harry.
• Zhang Xiao picked up a small parcel bearing Albus Dumbledore's name.
• Lucius and Narcissa discussed the gathering of cloaked visitors at Malfoy Manor and the danger of Voldemort's return.
• Lucius told Narcissa that no one could bear the consequences if Voldemort discovered they had betrayed him.

Lucius gathered pure-blood families to sign a petition to remove Dumbledore, while Zhang Xiao spent Christmas at Hogwarts and discovered that Dumbledore’s silver cube enhanced Transfiguration. After the holidays, lessons resumed and the students anticipated Lockhart’s announced Duelling Club meeting.

• Lucius told the assembled families to sign a petition removing Dumbledore, and they agreed out of fear of Voldemort’s return.
• Zhang Xiao opened Dumbledore’s gift and found a silver cube with a note saying it might help him advance in Transfiguration.
• Zhang Xiao and the other Hogwarts students celebrated Christmas together, and Malfoy enjoyed spending the holiday with friends.
• Zhang Xiao discovered that the cube could supply the inner workings of objects he transfigured, such as an alarm clock, and suspected Nicolas Flamel had made it.
• After the holidays, Zhang Xiao resumed his studies and continued experimenting with the cube as Lockhart’s lessons improved.
• Lockhart announced another Duelling Club meeting, and the students debated whether he would redeem himself or embarrass himself again.

Lockhart transformed his image and staged a new Duelling Club demonstration with Percy, using Tom’s advice to make himself seem mysterious. After Lockhart effortlessly deflected Percy’s spells and won the crowd’s admiration, Tom’s diary began restoring his power.

• Lockhart made a theatrical entrance, apologized for his previous duelling performance, and told the students he had regained his former skill.
• Lockhart announced that Snape and Flitwick would not assist him and asked for a student volunteer, while Zhang Xiao decided to stay and watch.
• Percy volunteered to duel Lockhart, despite Penelope urging him to come down.
• Lockhart dodged Percy’s nonverbal Disarming Charm and effortlessly knocked aside Percy’s next spell, drawing the attention of Zhang Xiao, Snape, and Professor McGonagall.
• As the students admired Lockhart, Tom’s diary moved and absorbed black vapour, restoring some of Tom’s power.

Zhang Xiao hit a bottleneck in his Golden Light Spell training, made plans to exercise, and tried to learn more about the basilisk from Lady's Glove. As the mandrakes neared maturity, another attack petrified an entire class and Professor Binns, while a threatening message announced that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.

• Zhang Xiao concluded that physical conditioning might help him break through the Golden Light Spell bottleneck and asked the Room of Requirement for a gym, which led him to Lady's Glove instead.
• Zhang Xiao gave Lady's Glove a Walkman and promised to bring gym and film projection equipment, then asked whether she knew where the attacker came from.
• Lady's Glove warned Zhang Xiao that the basilisk might be only one of Hogwarts' many buried secrets, prompting him to question how much he could trust her.
• During Herbology, Malfoy said the mandrakes were nearly mature, and Zhang Xiao realized Tom would grow stronger rather than flee when the petrified students were revived.
• Zhang Xiao sent Draco to get him an excusal note, but Professor McGonagall rushed into the greenhouse and ordered Professor Sprout to take the students to the Great Hall.
• Professor McGonagall revealed that an entire class and Professor Binns had been petrified, and students learned that the blackboard bore a bloody threat from the Heir of Slytherin.

As panic spread through the Great Hall after the attacks, Zhang Xiao considered the Chamber of Secrets’ history and summoned House-elves to gather information. He left the students behind under the Invisibility Cloak, determined to end the chaos, while Lockhart and Tom waited for their plan to unfold.

• Draco told Harry, Ron, and the others that the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a student had died.
• Hermione described the legend that Slytherin had built the Chamber to release a monster against Muggle-born and half-blood students, while Zhang Xiao privately questioned the legend’s accuracy.
• Professor Flitwick sealed the Great Hall doors with protective spells, and Zhang Xiao summoned Yunbo and Rainwater to retrieve Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and ask the ghosts to watch over students outside.
• Zhang Xiao refused to let Harry and the others accompany him, told them to stay safe, and set out alone to end the chaos.
• Lockhart waited in a corridor with Tom’s Diary in his pocket, and both he and Tom anticipated that their plan would soon succeed.

Zhang Xiao borrowed the Marauder's Map from Fred and George and asked about secret passages from the Great Hall. At Hagrid's hut, Fudge and Lucius moved to remove Hagrid and dismiss Dumbledore, but Dumbledore's anger overwhelmed those present, leaving Fudge terrified and asking whether he meant to destroy the Ministry's authority.

• Zhang Xiao borrowed the Marauder's Map from Fred and George and asked them whether secret passages led out of the Great Hall.
• Fudge told Dumbledore that the Ministry intended to take Hagrid away because of his record and the attacks at Hogwarts.
• Dumbledore refused to let Fudge remove Hagrid, but Lucius arrived with a dismissal order signed by all twelve governors.
• Hagrid challenged Lucius over how he had secured the governors' signatures, while Lucius blamed Dumbledore for failing to protect the students.
• Fudge ordered the Aurors to take Hagrid, and Kingsley pointed his wand at Dumbledore when he blocked them.
• Dumbledore's anger caused everyone but Hagrid to feel crushing fear, and Fudge asked whether Dumbledore was trying to destroy the Ministry's authority.

Dumbledore used his power to stop Fudge and Lucius from mistreating Hagrid, then agreed to leave Hogwarts if the board demanded it while warning Fudge to respect Hagrid’s rights. Zhang Xiao later confronted Lucius Malfoy about the Chamber of Secrets and asked what the Dark Lord had given him to open it.

• Dumbledore overwhelmed Fudge, Lucius, Kingsley, and the Aurors, then knocked an Auror aside when he tried to use an Unforgivable Curse.
• Lucius argued that the Ministry of Magic was necessary to preserve order, and Dumbledore accepted the constraints of his roles while keeping the power to act if needed.
• Dumbledore allowed Fudge to take Hagrid in for questioning but insisted Hagrid receive fair treatment and not be sent to Azkaban.
• Zhang Xiao searched the Marauder's Map for Dumbledore, spotted Lucius approaching Hogwarts, and decided to ask him directly about the Diary.
• Lucius worried about the attacks on Slytherin students and recalled Draco urging him to choose a genuine path for the family.
• Zhang Xiao stopped Lucius and asked what the Dark Lord had given him to open the Chamber of Secrets, making Lucius's expression change.

Zhang Xiao confronted Lucius Malfoy about the diary and learned he had given it to Gilderoy Lockhart. After discovering that Lockhart had become acting headmaster and wanted to see him, Zhang Xiao prepared to confront him before Voldemort could complete his return.

• Zhang Xiao threatened Lucius until Lucius admitted he had given Voldemort’s diary to Gilderoy Lockhart.
• Lucius explained that Draco had asked him to secretly give the Weasley girl money for a new wand, and Zhang Xiao realized the Malfoys’ good intentions had disrupted his plans.
• Lucius told Zhang Xiao that Dumbledore had been removed and Lockhart appointed acting headmaster, with the governors pressured by a letter bearing a concealed Dark Mark.
• Zhang Xiao returned to Hogwarts and learned that Lockhart had announced he knew who was behind the attacks and had summoned Zhang to his office.
• Zhang Xiao decided to meet Lockhart and prepared to use a talisman, confident he could protect himself and handle the Chamber of Secrets.

After Lockhart abducted Zhang with a Portkey, Hermione and the students investigated the Chamber of Secrets and persuaded the professors to help search for its entrance. The chapter ended with hundreds of students and house-elves using duplicated Red Howlers to broadcast Parseltongue throughout Hogwarts.

• Zhang told Draco that he suspected Lockhart, then was pulled away by a Portkey when he tried to enter Lockhart's office.
• Harry, Ron, Malfoy, and the others agreed to help Zhang, and Hermione organized them to question Myrtle and investigate the Chamber of Secrets.
• Myrtle recalled that a boy speaking Parseltongue had entered the bathroom before she saw enormous yellow eyes, and she warned the students that Zhang had trapped the taps.
• Hermione concluded that the Chamber's entrance must be elsewhere, then learned that Lockhart's office was empty and Zhang had disappeared.
• Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Malfoy convinced McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape to help search the castle, while the students and house-elves took up positions.
• At the appointed time, 743 students and house-elves opened duplicated Red Howlers and broadcast the Parseltongue command, "Open, Chamber of Secrets!"

Zhang Xiao faced Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets, where Tom revealed his plan to frame him and demanded the secret of his Golden Light Spell. As a basilisk emerged and Zhang Xiao’s Great Shift Talisman failed, an elderly voice arrived and reassured him.

• Zhang Xiao landed in the Chamber of Secrets and was bound with hemp ropes as Tom Riddle revealed himself through Lockhart.
• Tom explained that he planned to kill Zhang Xiao, take his body, and blame him for the attacks on the students.
• Tom offered Zhang Xiao immortality and power in exchange for the secret behind his Golden Light Spell, but Zhang Xiao refused.
• Tom summoned Slytherin and began bringing the basilisk out of the statue, while Zhang Xiao escaped his ropes.
• Zhang Xiao tried to flee with a Great Shift Talisman, but it failed to move him, and an elderly voice told him not to be afraid because Grandpa was there.