Recaps

Brian joined Dumbledore, Snape, and Hagrid as they prepared to take Peter Pettigrew and evidence to the Ministry, while learning that Lupin was a werewolf and that his Patronus message had not yet reached him. Rita Skeeter, spying as a beetle, flew toward the Gryffindor Common Room to investigate Harry but was intercepted by a white owl.

• Brian entered Dumbledore's office, where Snape guarded Peter Pettigrew, and Hagrid thanked Brian for helping prove Sirius Black's innocence.
• Dumbledore explained that Harry had returned to his dormitory and gave Brian the Marauder's Map; Brian realized his Patronus message to Lupin had stalled.
• Snape revealed that Lupin was a werewolf, and Brian concluded the full moon had delayed the message until daybreak.
• Dumbledore produced Peter's Hogwarts record as evidence, and he, Snape, and Hagrid prepared to take Peter to the Ministry.
• Rita Skeeter celebrated the scoop she had obtained while spying as a beetle and flew toward the Gryffindor Common Room to investigate Harry.
• A white owl swooped down on Rita Skeeter, and her world went dark.

Brian sent Peter Pettigrew to the Ministry of Magic with Dumbledore and Hagrid, then agreed to take Harry there the next day and showed him the Marauder’s Map. The map revealed Rita Skeeter had secretly entered Brian’s room and was hiding beneath his covers, where Brian found a human-head-shaped bulge.

• Brian restored Peter’s magic and watched Dumbledore and Hagrid leave with Peter in the Thestral carriage for the Ministry of Magic.
• Brian uncovered Harry beneath his Invisibility Cloak and agreed to take him to the Ministry the next day.
• Brian showed Harry the Marauder’s Map and told him it had been made by his father and his friends, but kept it to investigate something.
• Brian saw Rita Skeeter’s name moving across the map toward his room and hurried back to check it.
• Brian found the room peaceful, then saw a human-head-shaped bulge beneath his covers where the map showed Rita Skeeter.

Brian discovered that the Compass Owl had stored beetles in a magical skull jar, and realized Rita Skeeter was hiding among them as an unregistered Animagus. He forced Rita to return to human form, but she boasted that he had no evidence to prove her secret and threatened revenge.

• Brian found a skull filled with beetles beneath his covers and learned the Compass Owl had been using it as a beetle container.
• Brian used the Marauder's Map to confirm Rita Skeeter was among the beetles and tried to persuade her to reveal herself.
• Brian transformed beetles into other small creatures until he identified Rita as a blue beetle, then trapped her in a jar.
• Rita pretended to be dead until Brian threatened to take her to the Ministry of Magic, then tried to escape when he released her.
• Brian caught Rita in a ball of water, and she returned to human form before boasting that he had no proof she was an Animagus.
• Rita threatened Brian and tried to summon something from her Crocodile-Skin Handbag, but nothing answered her clap.

Brian held Rita Skeeter captive and secured her agreement to an Unbreakable Vow restricting fabricated claims in her articles. He then prepared to travel to the Ministry with Professor McGonagall, Rita, and Harry, where Lupin and Tonks joined them to address Sirius Black’s case.

• Brian refused Rita’s offers and demanded that she make a five-year Unbreakable Vow limiting fabricated content in her articles to twenty percent, then silenced her when she refused.
• Brian kept Rita restrained overnight and planned to take her to the Ministry the next morning for investigation.
• Professor McGonagall returned to Hogwarts after learning from Dumbledore’s letter that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew and insisted on joining Brian’s party.
• Rita accepted Brian’s terms, and Professor McGonagall offered to witness the Unbreakable Vow.
• Lupin and Tonks arrived at Hogwarts, where Tonks explained that Sirius Black was her uncle and Lupin thanked Brian for summoning him with a Patronus.

Brian and Rita Skeeter attempted an Unbreakable Vow, but Brian’s unusual constitution prevented the magic from binding him, so Tonks made the vow with Rita instead. At the Ministry of Magic, Brian saw Aurors mobilizing after news broke that Sirius Black had escaped from prison.

• Tonks rode at the front of the carriage while Harry awkwardly greeted Remus Lupin, who reassured him that trusting friends was not wrong despite Peter’s betrayal.
• Brian and Rita tried to make an Unbreakable Vow limiting Rita’s fabrications, but the ritual failed because Brian’s magic blocked it.
• Brian demonstrated that he could catch and roll a spell into a ball, and Tonks volunteered to make the vow with Rita.
• Professor McGonagall witnessed Tonks and Rita successfully swear the vow, requiring Rita to keep fabricated content to no more than twenty percent of her articles for five years.
• Rita left the carriage through the Floo network, and Brian and the others followed her to the Ministry of Magic.
• Brian arrived at the Ministry Atrium and saw Aurors mobilizing as a public notice announced that Sirius Black had escaped from prison that morning.

After Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, Dumbledore and Fudge argued over the Ministry’s response while Brian found a newspaper article that may have prompted Black to flee. As Scrimgeour’s Aurors prepared to face a Dementor attack on the island, the Dementors suddenly turned toward other prey at sea.

• Dumbledore told Fudge that Sirius Black had been cleared and should be brought to the Ministry for a fair discussion, while Fudge worried about the public fallout from his escape.
• Brian gave Dumbledore a Daily Prophet article about a rat at Hogwarts that matched Peter Pettigrew’s Animagus form, suggesting Black had escaped because he had learned Pettigrew was alive.
• Fudge confronted Daily Prophet editor Barnabas Cuffe about publishing the article, then denied having influence over the paper when Brian questioned him.
• Brian left to join McGonagall, Lupin, and Harry in the search for Black, while Scrimgeour and the Aurors searched Azkaban and failed to find him.
• Scrimgeour’s Aurors faced a gathering crowd of hungry Dementors, but the Dementors abruptly flew away in different directions toward prey out at sea.

Brian rescued Sirius Black from the sea near Azkaban and used his Giant Squid Patronus to defeat the Dementors. Sirius and Brian headed toward Harry and Dumbledore, while the Dementors returned to their posts and Scrimgeour learned that an unfamiliar wizard had subdued them.

• Brian found Sirius Black apparently dead in the sea, revived him, and told him that Harry was nearby with Lupin, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.
• Over a hundred Dementors approached, and Brian summoned a Giant Squid Patronus that blasted them with silver ink and knocked them into the sea.
• Sirius saw sunlight for the first time in ten years, and Brian spotted Harry, Lupin, and Dumbledore across the water.
• The surviving Dementors turned toward Harry’s boat but then changed course and flew back to Azkaban.
• Scrimgeour assembled the Aurors when the Dementors returned to their posts, and Byrne reported that an enormous squid Patronus had knocked them unconscious beside Brian and Sirius.

Sirius Black was exonerated, Peter Pettigrew was sent to Nurmengard, and Dumbledore raised the prospect of replacing the Dementors at Azkaban. At Grimmauld Place, Sirius wondered whether Harry would agree to live with him as they waited for Harry to arrive for Easter.

• After news of Sirius Black's innocence spread, angry citizens harassed Ministry employees and Arthur Weasley confiscated enchanted loudspeakers that disrupted his office.
• Sirius recovered at Grimmauld Place and reconciled with Harry and Lupin, while Brian declined Scrimgeour's offer to join the Aurors.
• At the proceedings, Peter Pettigrew was sentenced to Nurmengard, and Dumbledore proposed replacing the Dementors guarding Azkaban at the next Wizengamot meeting.
• Dolores Umbridge's proposal to send Sirius back to Azkaban for being an illegal Animagus failed, despite her insistence that he answer for the offense.
• While waiting for Harry to visit for Easter, Sirius asked Brian whether Harry might want to live with him, and then went to answer a knock at the door.

Sirius hosted an Easter dinner at 12 Grimmauld Place, where the guests exchanged gifts, confronted Kreacher’s hostility, and celebrated Harry’s growing ease with his godfather. The festivities stopped when Moody’s screaming eggs detected traces of dark magic somewhere in the Black family home.

• McGonagall brought Harry to Grimmauld Place, and the guests shared Easter decorations and awaited Sirius’s food delivery.
• Kreacher appeared and insulted the guests, prompting Sirius to order him away; Brian considered Kreacher’s upbringing but remained angry at being called a Mudblood.
• Brian gave everyone rabbit’s feet made with Memory Magic, and McGonagall pointed out that they were all right feet; Moody suggested using them as cursed weapons against dark wizards.
• Lupin arrived with rabbit toys, and Sirius invited everyone to celebrate while Harry received permission to drink one glass of Butterbeer.
• Moody’s screaming eggs exploded and screamed, leading Harry to ask whether dark magic was nearby; Tonks said the detection was unsurprising in the Black family home.

Brian and the others searched the fourth floor of 12 Grimmauld Place for Kreacher, who had hidden a Dark Magic object and ignored Sirius's summons. Their hunt continued after Harry was nearly strangled by a cursed robe, and Kreacher remained missing.

• Moody told Sirius that Kreacher had fled while carrying a Dark Magic object, and Brian suspected Kreacher had magically blocked his ears to avoid Sirius's summons.
• Brian proposed searching the fourth floor with Moody's Exploding Screaming Eggs, and McGonagall and Brian prepared protective raincoats for the group.
• The group searched the filthy fourth floor, where an egg exposed a Dark Magic grandfather clock that Moody subdued.
• Brian rescued Harry after a cursed robe tightened around his head and neck, and Sirius urged Harry not to risk his life to help find Kreacher.
• Tonks reported finding a long-dead nest of Puffskeins, while Kreacher remained undiscovered.

Brian and the others searched the final room for Kreacher and discovered him unconscious in a cupboard with a locket and a strange music box. The locket may have belonged to Regulus, and the group had yet to learn what it was or why Kreacher was hiding it.

• Moody identified a bottle of processed unicorn blood, and Sirius explained that an ignorant Black ancestor had used it in a failed attempt to purify his Muggle-born son.
• McGonagall and Moody teased Sirius about his age and marriage, and Sirius realized he was thirty-three after Lupin said he was thirty-two.
• The group finished searching their assigned rooms and followed Brian into the final dusty room, where he heard music and someone muttering Regulus's name.
• Sirius said Kreacher had been devoted to Regulus, and Brian suggested that the hidden object might be a keepsake Regulus left behind.
• Brian opened the cupboard and found Kreacher curled around a locket beside a broken music box whose tune made Brian feel dizzy and weak.

Kreacher revealed that Regulus had entrusted him with Voldemort’s Locket and ordered him to destroy it, then fainted after Sirius pressed him for answers. As Moody examined the Locket, Harry triggered a sinister voice from it, and Moody warned that its seal was opening.

• Kreacher tried to escape with the Locket, but the Music Box’s noise incapacitated everyone until Brian silenced it.
• Kreacher mistook Sirius for Regulus and gave him the Locket, revealing that Regulus had ordered him to destroy it and had died in a cave.
• Kreacher realized Sirius was not Regulus and tried to kill himself, but Brian, Moody, and Lupin stopped him, and McGonagall softened the cupboard.
• Sirius ordered Kreacher to explain Regulus’s death, but Kreacher fainted; Brian urged Sirius to treat him with respect, and Sirius apologized for his impatience.
• Moody examined the Locket and suspected it belonged to Voldemort, while Harry triggered a sinister voice by staring at the snake engraved on it.
• Moody warned everyone to prepare as the Locket’s seal began to open and something started emerging.

Brian resisted the Locket’s attempt to control him and tried to contain it for examination, but Kreacher destroyed it while completing Regulus’s order. Kreacher prepared to explain the Locket’s history to Sirius, while Voldemort’s servant in Austria promised to find a prisoner in the Wizard Tower.

• The Locket opened and released black vapor, prompting Brian to struggle against its influence and regain control of himself.
• The Locket conjured illusions of dead acquaintances accusing Brian, but he used Ancient Magic to suppress its power.
• Brian tried to keep the Locket intact, but Sirius caught it in his Animagus form and Kreacher kicked it apart.
• Kreacher celebrated completing Regulus’s task, then learned he had injured Sirius and agreed to explain everything about Regulus and the Locket.
• In Austria, a wizard in poacher’s clothing screamed in response to Voldemort’s anger and promised to find the prisoner in the Wizard Tower that night.

At Regulus Black’s funeral, Dumbledore explained that the locket had contained one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, then left for Austria after learning that Gellert Grindelwald had died in prison. Back at Hogwarts, Brian fielded unusual student questions while Hermione pushed Harry and Ron to prepare for exams.

• Sirius read an emotional eulogy at Regulus Black’s funeral, and Dumbledore asked Kreacher where the cave was.
• Brian met Dumbledore, who identified the locket as a likely Horcrux and explained that destroying it meant Voldemort could be killed again.
• A special edition of the Daily Prophet reported that Gellert Grindelwald had died in prison, and Dumbledore left for Austria to investigate.
• Brian advised Karyl Keller to eat normally, have a sweet after dinner, and walk daily so she could improve her Cheering Charm.
• Brian warned a Gryffindor student that trying to make a mandrake laugh could kill him.
• Hermione gave Harry and Ron revised study schedules, while Harry looked forward to staying at 12 Grimmauld Place for most of the holidays.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione reviewed their packed schedules while Brian arranged to plant tomatoes and discussed magical pest control with Professor Sprout. After sowing the field, Brian encountered the little unicorn, which had found its way to Hogwarts through a hidden passage.

• Harry and Ron compared their packed schedules, and Hermione said she had already finished her homework and planned to study.
• Brian asked Professor Sprout for insect potions and low-maintenance seeds for the plot Hagrid had given him beside the Pumpkin Patch.
• Brian told Professor Sprout about magical biological control, and she explained how wizards had once bred creatures to manage pests before using the Automated Magic Hat.
• Brian released Seeding Butterflies to sow tomato seeds, then used magic to water and cover the field.
• A little unicorn approached Brian from the Forbidden Forest and tossed its glowing hat into his hands.

Brian investigated why adult unicorns resisted being touched by men and suspected that they could smell male hormones. He brewed a failed Invisibility Potion to suppress his scent and entered the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid to test his theory.

• Brian asked Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid why adult unicorns avoided men, and Hagrid shared a story about a unicorn recognizing someone disguised with Polyjuice Potion.
• Brian suspected that unicorns detected the scent of hormones and asked Snape whether a potion could contain them; Snape explained that a failed Invisibility Potion could have that effect.
• Brian brewed the potion, which left its drinker voiceless for forty-eight hours, and tested it on a little white mouse.
• Brian went into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid and Fang, hoping to approach the unicorns without being rejected.
• Brian, Hagrid, and Fang reached a clearing where a herd of unicorns grazed beneath the moonlit trees.

Brian and Hagrid discovered Newt Scamander visiting his old unicorn friends in the Forbidden Forest, and Brian explained the potion he had brought to help him approach them. Newt learned that the potion contained ten ounces of Demiguise hair, leaving him astonished at what Brian called “some.”

• Brian noticed fresh human footprints among the unicorn tracks and wondered who had entered the forest.
• The little unicorn revealed Newt Scamander hiding inside an enchanted suitcase, and Brian stopped Hagrid from threatening him with a crossbow.
• Hagrid excitedly greeted Newt, who reunited with the unicorns Amanda and Anderson and explained that he had sneaked into the forest using enchanted boots and an Invisibility Cloak.
• Brian told Newt that his potion was intended to help him get close to unicorns, and Newt praised the idea.
• Brian explained that the potion was an Invisibility Potion brewed with ten ounces of Demiguise hair, and Newt questioned whether that could be called “some.”

Newt Scamander attempted to reverse the potion’s speech-loss side effect by brewing a purification potion with Brian and Hagrid. As the potion reached its final stage, Brian connected the Thunderbirds’ casual electrocution of fish to the Ministry’s use of Dementors at Azkaban.

• Newt found Abby, his Occamy, asleep in the cauldron, and Brian helped him lure it back inside after it lunged for the cricket in Hagrid’s beard.
• Newt began improving the potion, adding Fwooper and Thunderbird feathers while explaining how they could gather and remove impurities.
• Thunderbird magic formed a dark cloud above the cauldron, and Newt described a Thunderbird couple that amused themselves by striking a lake with lightning.
• Brian explained that Muggles used electrofishing to target invasive species, prompting Newt to compare the practice to the Ministry using Dementors to guard Azkaban.
• Brian said Dementors should disappear from the world, and Newt agreed that Dumbledore’s effort to remove them from Azkaban was right.
• The potion’s impurities formed a layer of oil, and lightning struck the surface, turning the layer pale red as the brew began to boil.

During finals week, Brian helped stressed students and uncovered Peeves’s diary prank, which had spread a false rumor that Calming Draught lowered exam marks. As exams began, students turned to dubious lucky charms, and Brian stopped the Weasley Twins from selling more exam-week toys unless they improved their grades.

• Brian submitted his article about unicorn noses to Newt Scamander and encountered Percy Weasley anxiously preparing for his O.W.L.s.
• Brian found five seventh-year students sneaking food from the kitchen and let them go after advising them to seek Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey.
• A Ravenclaw seventh-year brought Brian a diary that kept returning after she tried to dispose of it, and Brian recognized it as Peeves’s prank.
• Brian sent the Ravenclaw girl to teach Peeves a lesson, and Peeves’s screams echoed through Hogwarts as the rumor about Calming Draught was curbed.
• The Weasley Twins sold exam good-luck toys, and Brian ended their sales by promising to increase his investment if they earned at least three O’s without any P’s.

Brian introduced three students involved in a library quarrel to Managing Emotions Starting Today, a magical book designed to help them manage their feelings. After it revealed moments that had upset them, Brian told them to tear out its pages, and Angelina acted first.

• A Hufflepuff student cried over repeated mistakes, and a Slytherin girl harshly told her to leave the library.
• Angelina defended the Hufflepuff student, and the two girls drew their wands as the argument escalated.
• Brian disarmed the three girls, brought them to his office, and decided not to give them detention or deduct House points.
• Brian explained that strong emotions could be managed and introduced a magical book that displayed recent upsetting events.
• The book revealed the Hufflepuff girl's incorrect answers and Angelina's memory of Wood's repeated Quidditch speech, then Brian instructed the girls to tear out the title page.
• Angelina tore out the page while the other two girls hesitated.

Brian demonstrated Managing Emotions Starting Today to Angelina and two other girls, then resolved their library disagreement and collected their copies for reports. He later graded Muggle Studies work, found George Weasley had submitted a bizarre Divination prophecy instead of the assigned essay, and began a revision lesson as the Quidditch final approached.

• Angelina tore the flyleaf from Managing Emotions Starting Today, which became an approving version of Oliver Wood before reverting after her anger subsided.
• The Hufflepuff girl saw a future version of herself as a Herbology professor, while the Slytherin girl chose not to test the book.
• Angelina, the Slytherin girl, and the Hufflepuff girl apologized to one another, and the Hufflepuff girl agreed to cheer for Angelina in the final.
• Brian found George Weasley's Muggle Studies essay was a strange Divination prophecy about George's elaborate death and funeral.
• Brian reprimanded the class for neglecting Muggle Studies, while George realized he had submitted the wrong homework and whispered with Fred about Angelina's changed behavior.

Brian corrected the last flaw in Managing Emotions Starting Today, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished their exams and prepared for the Quidditch final. After grading the students’ papers, Brian discovered something that made him rush to buy sweets and drinks for the students.

• Filch brought McGonagall a handprint-covered slate and claimed Gryffindor students had planned a magical ritual to cancel exams, but Brian and McGonagall recognized that Filch had been fooled.
• Brian corrected the black-smoke flaw in Managing Emotions Starting Today, leaving only its chance of losing color unresolved.
• Ron gave Harry and Hermione counterfeit Felix Felicis bought from Fred and George, then discovered many students had been tricked with the same bubbling potion.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione completed their exams, and Ron complained that Hermione’s Quidditch-history prediction had not helped him answer the History of Magic paper.
• Wood told Harry that Ravenclaw’s regular Seeker was injured and would be replaced by second-year Cho Chang in the Quidditch final.
• Brian calculated the students’ total marks, reacted with astonishment, and took Book to buy sweets and drinks for the students and the match.

Harry Potter helped Gryffindor win the Quidditch final by stopping just short of colliding with Cho Chang and catching the Golden Snitch. After the celebrations, he went to Hagrid’s Hut to ask Brian whether he had gone too far during the match.

• Sirius Black sneaked into Hogwarts to watch Harry play and stayed in Brian’s office.
• Harry and Cho Chang competed closely as Gryffindor and Ravenclaw battled for the lead.
• Angelina told Harry that Cho was reading his movements, and Harry tried to keep calm while planning a feint.
• Harry flew straight at Cho Chang, stopped just short of her, and then caught the Golden Snitch to win the match for Gryffindor.
• Harry received Sirius’s invitation, went to Hagrid’s Hut under his Invisibility Cloak, and nervously asked Brian whether he had gone too far on the pitch.

Brian finished refining Managing Emotions Starting Today and arranged its publication under the pen name Fragrant Mallow, while Dumbledore announced the end-of-year changes and Gryffindor’s House Cup victory. Harry remained too hesitant to approach Cho Chang, and Brian received a letter from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary.

• Sirius and Brian encouraged Harry to speak to Cho Chang, and Brian told him two versions of a strange story about a masked neighbour and her Labrador.
• Brian reviewed student feedback, completed Managing Emotions Starting Today, and gave the finished book to Professor Burbage, who wrote three prefaces for it.
• Brian chose Fragrant Mallow as his pen name after Professor Burbage advised him to publish under one.
• At the End-of-Year Feast, Dumbledore announced that Professor Moody was leaving Hogwarts and that Gryffindor had won the House Cup.
• Harry stayed distracted by Cho Chang but decided not to speak to her before term ended.
• Brian received a letter from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary that night.

Brian went to Knockturn Alley to retrieve two dragon eggs stolen from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary and sold to Borgin and Burke. Outside the shop, he stopped Dobby from hurting himself and offered help, while Lucius Malfoy negotiated inside with Bok.

• Charlie Weasley and Targaryen asked Brian to buy back two stolen dragon eggs from Borgin and Burke, offering him honorary sanctuary privileges in return.
• Brian decided to visit Knockturn Alley on his day off and recalled Tonks's drunken trolley-problem game with Harry and Lupin.
• Bok prepared to idle at the shop while waiting for Lucius Malfoy, who arrived with Dobby carrying a large box of goods.
• Lucius kicked and berated Dobby, then ordered him to watch for Ministry officials as he went inside with Bok.
• Brian used a spell to stop Dobby from repeatedly striking himself, and Dobby asked whether Brian was from the Ministry.
• Brian told Dobby he was not from the Ministry but offered to help him.