Chapter Summaries

Oliver Wood tried to lift Harry Potter’s spirits after learning that Harry was lovesick over Cho Chang, while Ron and Hermione tested a hand-holding ritual meant to calm him. Harry arrived at the library and revealed that he had a date for the next evening.

• Oliver Wood confronted Harry about his poor Quidditch practice and offered to introduce him to a girl to help him move on from Cho Chang.
• Ron and Hermione tested a ritual by holding hands and sharing small amounts of magical power, and they found it made them feel better.
• Harry came to the library early, distracted and unaware that Ron and Hermione had been holding hands.
• Hermione suggested that Harry try their ritual, and Harry said he had a date for the next evening.

Draco Malfoy planned to use Harry Potter’s date at the Astronomy Tower to obtain his blood for Lucius, but Lucius suspected Chet Brian had been watching Draco and removed him from the mission. Chet Brian secretly listened from the Black Lake as Draco was ordered to attend Quidditch practice instead.

• Marcus Flint told Draco Malfoy that Harry Potter was upset over a girl and would have a date at the Astronomy Tower the next evening.
• Draco opened the Viper Box and told Lucius Malfoy he planned to use Love Potion Incense to lower Harry Potter’s guard and take his blood.
• Draco reported that Percy Weasley remained unconscious in the Hospital Wing and that Chet Brian had appeared at the Quidditch pitch during a confrontation.
• Lucius warned Draco that Chet Brian might be following him, ordered him to throw the Viper Box into the Black Lake, and assigned someone else to take over the mission.
• Lucius ordered Draco to attend Quidditch practice, while Chet Brian secretly listened from the Black Lake beside the Giant Squid.

After Dumbledore warned Brian that Voldemort might seek Harry Potter’s blood to rebuild his body, Brian discovered that Draco Malfoy had received a dark magical object by owl. Brian followed Draco’s disposal of the box into the Black Lake and saw a snake’s head emerge from it.

• Dumbledore told Brian that someone had taken a ring from the Gaunt house and dug up Tom Riddle’s bones, and warned that Voldemort might target Harry Potter’s blood for a body-reconstruction ritual.
• Dumbledore asked Brian to watch for anyone at Hogwarts showing unusual interest in Harry, while Kingsley investigated a missing employee linked to the Malfoy family.
• Brian saw a magically shielded owl deliver a parcel to a Slytherin dormitory, then identified Draco Malfoy as the student who opened it.
• Brian learned that Book had become Hogwarts’ Librarian and had secretly signed an employment contract with Dumbledore.
• Brian watched Draco cast a Water-Repelling Charm and throw the dark magical box into the Black Lake, then followed it as it floated upward.
• A snake’s head suddenly poked out of the box while Brian was following it.

Brian secretly tracked Nagini after she entered Hogwarts through a Transport Box, planning to capture the living Horcrux after observing her. At Malfoy Manor, Lucius prepared to oversee Nagini’s attempt to obtain Harry Potter’s blood and keep Draco out of the operation.

• Brian identified Nagini as a living Horcrux and followed her through Hogwarts while placing a Tracking Charm on her.
• Brian detected traces of a recent dark ritual on Nagini and considered how many Horcruxes Voldemort might have made.
• Brian saw Draco Malfoy’s dormitory light go out and suspected Lucius Malfoy had renewed contact with Voldemort.
• Lucius reflected on Voldemort’s trust in Nagini, his own lost hand, and his urgent need to prove loyalty.
• Lucius planned to use a staff meeting and a potion to reach the Astronomy Tower, watch Nagini attack Harry Potter, and keep Draco away from the operation.

Harry struggled with whether to attend a date arranged by Wood, but Neville helped his and Ron’s group brew a working Swelling Solution despite Snape shrinking their fingers. After Harry decided to attend and explain his doubts honestly, Fred and George drugged him and prepared to handle the date themselves.

• Harry’s distraction ruined his potion ingredients, so Snape docked Gryffindor points and threatened to shrink students’ fingers unless they brewed a satisfactory Swelling Solution.
• Neville gave Hermione salamander grass, which helped Harry and Ron restore their spoiled ingredients and brew the potion.
• Snape shrank Harry’s and Ron’s fingers, but Hermione applied their Swelling Solution and returned them to normal; she realized Harry had hoped the spell would let him avoid the date.
• Harry decided to attend the date and explain honestly that agreeing to it had been a mistake, while Ron and Hermione urged him not to torment himself.
• Fred and George told Harry that Ginny had cried over his date, sprayed him with instant sleep spray, and used his hair in a potion as they promised to handle the situation.

Brian created a memory-based double to attend Lucius Malfoy’s mandatory staff meeting while he secretly watched Harry, whom Lucius and Voldemort’s Horcrux were targeting. After seeing Harry head toward the Astronomy Tower, Brian wondered whether Harry’s date was meant to provoke Ginny.

• Brian prepared colleagues’ memories and used Ancient Magic to create a convincing double who could attend the staff meeting in his place.
• Brian’s Clone drank the artificial personality, gained a stable appearance and intelligence, and agreed to go to the meeting.
• Brian and his Clone discussed whether the Clone could preserve his personality and memories to help create future doubles.
• Brian sensed that the viper remained in the Astronomy Tower and went invisibly to check on Harry.
• Brian saw Harry leave with George Weasley, then heard Harry say he was heading to the Astronomy Tower while George agreed to handle other matters.
• Brian suspected that Harry’s date might be intended to provoke Ginny.

Lucius Malfoy secretly left the Great Hall while Sirius Black and Dobby tried to track him, believing Harry Potter might be his target. At the Astronomy Tower, Fred Weasley disguised as Harry was caught in a trap that tore out his eye, and Professor Brian arrived as Fred lost consciousness.

• Lucius Malfoy slipped out of the Great Hall, drank a Mist Form potion, and escaped through a bathroom window.
• Sirius Black found Lucius's clothes and asked Dobby to locate Harry, learning that Harry was asleep in his dormitory.
• Fred Weasley, disguised as Harry Potter, went to the Astronomy Tower and found Marietta Edgecombe instead of Chelsea Bradley.
• Fred looked into a sabotaged Moon-Gazing Mirror, which tore out his right eye as Marietta revealed her allegiance to the Dark Lord.
• Professor Brian unleashed his magical power, silenced Marietta, and destroyed most of the mirror before promising to take Fred to the Hospital Wing.

Brian brought Fred Weasley, who had been disguised as Harry Potter, to the Hospital Wing after Voldemort’s scheme to steal Harry’s blood was interrupted. Voldemort’s ritual produced a grotesque, weakened body because the blood he obtained was actually Fred’s, and Fred explained that he hated Voldemort for killing his uncles.

• Professor Brian carried an unconscious, badly injured Fred into the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey began treating him and Brian assured the Weasleys that Fred would recover.
• Brian recalled stopping Voldemort’s attempt to take Harry’s blood and discovering that the apparent Harry was Fred under Polyjuice Potion, though some blood had already been transported away.
• Voldemort prepared a resurrection ritual with the stolen blood, believing it belonged to Harry, after recounting how Grindelwald’s poisoned organs had damaged his previous body.
• The ritual created a misshapen, tiny body, and Voldemort realized the blood was not Harry’s because its magical power was weak and it contained potion ingredients.
• After Madam Pomfrey repaired Fred’s eye, Brian asked whether he hated Voldemort, and Fred said Voldemort had killed two of his uncles.

Brian interrogated Lucius Malfoy, rescued a bullied Luna Lovegood, and found no useful clues about Voldemort’s location. Meanwhile, Tonks infiltrated the Lestrange Vault to retrieve Hufflepuff’s Cup, but its defenses exposed her as an impostor.

• Brian used Legilimency on Lucius Malfoy, learned Voldemort had kept his whereabouts secret, and knocked Lucius unconscious after he pleaded for his family.
• Brian found Luna Lovegood barefoot after Ravenclaw girls hid her belongings, gave her shoes, and promised to share any news about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
• Tonks disguised herself as a member of the Lestrange family and persuaded Griphook to take her to the Lestrange Vault without verifying her identity.
• Tonks found a golden cup engraved with a badger and reached for it after making herself taller.
• The cup burned Tonks’s hand, and Griphook accused her of being an impostor after she triggered the vault’s defensive magic.

Tonks stole Hufflepuff's Cup from Gringotts with Moody's help, while Brian's Clone learned that Brian had caught Lucius Malfoy at the Astronomy Tower. The chapter left Dobby confused by the two Brians and how one had apparently teleported from Hogwarts.

• Tonks took Hufflepuff's Cup in the Silver Box, but Griphook confronted her with a dragon after disabling the vault alarm.
• Moody knocked Griphook unconscious and helped Tonks evade the dragon, then warned her about a deadly trap hidden in the wall.
• Moody brought Tonks to Fawkes and explained a secret route into Gringotts that depended on knowing the vaults' hidden weaknesses.
• At Hogwarts, Sirius told Brian's Clone that Lucius had disappeared from the Bathroom and that Dobby had gone to find him.
• Dobby returned and reported that Chet Brian had caught Lucius at the Astronomy Tower, leaving Sirius and Dobby puzzled when Brian's Clone stood before them.

The chapter recounted Hogwarts gossip after Gryffindor defeated Ravenclaw, Draco Malfoy’s forced rehabilitation, and Brian’s work on evolving his duplicate into a lasting super-duplicate. It also revealed that Brian and Moody had captured Voldemort’s spy at Gringotts, and left Brian preparing to seek Professor Sprout’s advice about his unstable “Brian Egg.”

• Gryffindor won the Quidditch match despite Cho Chang catching the Golden Snitch, and Professor Flitwick punished two Ravenclaw students for spreading elaborate rumors about the game and Marietta Edgecombe.
• Professor McGonagall made Draco Malfoy continue his cleaning duties, while she reflected on Lucius Malfoy’s plea to keep Draco safe at Hogwarts during his Ministry investigation.
• McGonagall realized she had not seen Chet for several days, while Brian stayed busy trying to evolve his duplicate’s personality fragment into a stable version that could retain memories.
• The theft of a treasure from the Lestrange vault sparked panic among Gringotts customers, and the bank worked overtime to reassure them with new security measures.
• Brian and Professor Moody captured the black-smoke spy Voldemort had sent to check whether the Hufflepuff’s Cup Horcrux was missing, and Moody sent the Dark Wizard to Azkaban.
• Brian decided to ask Professor Sprout for help understanding why his growing “Brian Egg” kept splitting apart.

Brian continued teaching Muggle Studies while struggling to make the Brian Egg grow, and Dumbledore sent for him with news of a workable solution for Azkaban’s guards. The chapter ended with Dumbledore taking Brian to Devon to meet Nicolas and Brian’s three children.

• Brian explained that a hidden American bar during Prohibition was behind the stone door in his Muggle Studies question, while Angelina, Fred, and George discussed how they had chosen their answers.
• Brian visited Book in the library, invited it to lunch, and relayed a student’s request that Book stop appearing silently behind him.
• Brian reflected that his attempts to cultivate the Brian Egg had failed and that he would soon need to collect more raw memory material.
• Brian read Dumbledore’s letter announcing a workable solution for Azkaban’s guards and went to the Headmaster’s Office.
• Dumbledore told Brian they were going to Devon, where Nicolas and Brian’s three children were waiting.

Brian visited the Flamels with Dumbledore and discovered that his three magical children had grown enormous after drawing power from the Philosopher’s Stone. The trio were being considered as Azkaban’s new guards, and the chapter ended with Brian tasting a Kneazle cookie that made him hiss.

• Brian questioned whether the Flamels were safe after publicly faking their deaths, and Dumbledore showed him their new house, hidden under the Fidelius Charm next door.
• Perenelle welcomed Brian, while his giant dragon, Stone Soldier, and Whomping Willow squeezed through the doorway to greet him.
• Nicolas explained that the three children had grown rapidly after resonating with the Philosopher’s Stone, and Dumbledore proposed they serve as Azkaban’s guards.
• Brian agreed that the trio could work at Azkaban and asked whether they could eventually shrink back to their original sizes.
• Brian and Dumbledore sampled Perenelle’s magical Kneazle cookies, and Brian discovered that his cookie made him hiss.

Brian consulted Nicolas Flamel about his stalled Brian Egg experiments, then gained his Clone’s consent to resume the dangerous memory experiment. Meanwhile, Dumbledore warned acting Minister Scrimgeour that Voldemort was targeting Azkaban and offered the Order of the Phoenix’s help, leaving Scrimgeour wondering whether Dumbledore had already reassembled it.

• Nicolas Flamel suggested that Brian let his conscious duplicate absorb memories, and Brian explained that earlier attempts had produced grotesque forms.
• Nicolas encouraged Brian to pursue the experiment while remaining respectful of its dangers, prompting Brian to discuss the risks with his Clone.
• Brian’s Clone agreed to endure the experiment, arguing that the sacrifice could help them trace Voldemort’s original body and prevent further deaths.
• Fawkes arrived as Brian and his Clone prepared to restart the experiment.
• Scrimgeour told Dumbledore that the Ministry lacked the staff to relocate the Dementors, while explaining his efforts to prepare for Voldemort’s return.
• Dumbledore revealed that Voldemort had set his sights on Azkaban and offered the Order of the Phoenix’s help, making Scrimgeour question whether the organization had already been reassembled.

Brian and the reconstituted Order of the Phoenix contained Azkaban’s Dementors and sent them away from populated areas. As Brian returned to Hogwarts, Peter Pettigrew suffered in Nurmengard until a cloud of black smoke entered his cell and began reshaping his body.

• Brian and the Giant Squid subdued the last Dementor, and the new guards took over protecting Azkaban’s prisoners.
• Brian reflected on the Order of the Phoenix’s reformation and its first mission to isolate the Dementors, while Moody, Tonks, Sirius, Lupin, and the Weasleys transported them away.
• The Longbottoms prepared to travel to Ethiopia with a sack of Dementor Balls, and Brian reminded them to use the country’s preferred name.
• Brian noticed that Scrimgeour had sent an Auror to monitor the Order, then left Azkaban to return to Hogwarts.
• Peter Pettigrew endured renewed phantom pain in Nurmengard as black smoke entered his cell and began reshaping his body.

Brian recorded his experiments on stabilizing a memory-based duplicate and discovered that a triangular structure helped him build the duplicate more reliably. By November 30, the experiment had reached eighty percent, and Brian began a Wizard’s Chess match against his duplicate, whose new ideas could still threaten his stability.

• Brian wrote that Hogwarts had been peaceful, Percy had awakened and been rejected by his former girlfriend, and Draco Malfoy had become more subdued after Lucius’s imprisonment.
• Brian reviewed his memory-stacking experiments and realized that categorizing memories and building a solid base had stabilized his duplicate, though the duplicate still shattered after suddenly having an idea.
• Brian concluded that the stacking method was the remaining problem and planned to build a triangular structure, using hazy drinking memories as stabilizers.
• By November 30, Brian had completed the triangular structure to its peak, and his duplicate reported feeling stable despite briefly sprouting a third hand.
• Brian warned his duplicate that Wizard’s Chess would provoke a stream of new ideas, then opened the chess set and started a match as the pieces mistook the two players for identical people.

Brian held a Hogwarts Christmas event that collected students’ memories of love while giving away Honeydukes sweets. He planned to use the memories to force Voldemort’s Horcruxes to merge, and Harry arrived just as Brian considered filling Voldemort’s soul fragments with love.

• Ron told Harry and Hermione that the Pensieve event copied memories of love without removing them, and described memories of his wand and his parents’ love for him.
• Harry grew eager to use the Pensieve to recall memories of his parents, and Hermione persuaded Ron to help them finish their punishment duties.
• Brian encouraged Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang to use the Pensieve together, collecting a powerful shared memory of their affection.
• Brian revealed that the event supported his plan with Dumbledore to combine Voldemort’s Horcruxes using memories of love.
• Brian considered implanting love-filled memories into Voldemort’s soul fragments, and Harry Potter came to the event.

Harry used Brian’s Pensieve to recover a warm but indistinct memory of his parents, and Brian suspected it came from the night they died. Meanwhile, Ministry workers relaxed before Christmas, unaware that a dangerous rat was lurking in the Department of Mysteries’ Time Room.

• Harry’s overflowing memory filled a fifteenfold-capacity Memory Jar before he recalled his parents’ voices and asked Brian to let him try again.
• Hermione explained that Harry would likely struggle to recover more details, and Brian told him the Pensieve would remain available; Ron and Hermione comforted Harry as he left with candy.
• Brian concluded that Harry’s memory probably captured Lily and James Potter’s final moments and retained an echo of Lily’s powerful love magic.
• Ministry employees eased into the Christmas period, while two Unspeakables played a magical card game in the Brain Room and joked about Time-Turners and Ministry security.
• The Unspeakables heard a possible noise in the Time Room and went to investigate, while a rat with silvery, mercury-like forepaws crouched in the darkness.

The Department of Mysteries descended into chaos as an orchestrated attack disrupted several rooms and overwhelmed its emergency channels. Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr. stole Time-Turners, while Crouch revealed that Scrimgeour’s decision to put his father in charge of the Ministry’s internal investigation had helped set the assault in motion.

• Rainbow rain transformed the Brain Room’s brains, and the Unspeakables struggled to control the resulting chaos.
• Sarah sent a distress signal and learned that other Department of Mysteries rooms were also under attack, while the Emergency Support Team tried to reach the department.
• Peter Pettigrew used the Dark Lord’s enchanted hands to steal Time-Turners from a locked cabinet in the Time Room.
• Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as his father, told Peter to escape through the rat hole and said Scrimgeour would pay for putting Barty Crouch Sr. in charge of the internal investigation.

After Voldemort summoned the Death Eaters and the Ministry fell into chaos, Dumbledore sent Snape to infiltrate their gathering while Brian prepared another attempt to fuse Horcruxes. Harry experienced a vision of Voldemort, and Hogwarts students learned their families had abruptly arranged for them to stay at school over Christmas.

• A Death Eater disguised as a fireworks-shop customer recognized Voldemort’s summons, put on his mask, and left to join the gathering.
• Snape told Dumbledore he would attend the mandatory meeting to regain Voldemort’s trust, despite the danger, and asked what Order information he could reveal.
• Dumbledore learned that Voldemort’s attack on the Department of Mysteries had left Scrimgeour gravely injured and the Ministry overwhelmed.
• Brian reviewed his Horcrux-fusion experiments with his duplicate and planned to divide a memory of love between two Horcruxes for another attempt.
• Harry dreamed that he was Voldemort choking a late-arriving masked man, then hid the vision from Ron and resolved to tell Dumbledore.
• Hogwarts students received letters saying their families had to travel and that they should stay at school for Christmas.