Chapter Summaries

Brian met Targaryen, the dragon researcher sent to collect Norberta, and found her eager to meet Hagrid because she was fascinated by nonhuman creatures. Hagrid emerged to say goodbye to Norberta, and Targaryen reassured him that the dragon would remember him.

• Brian carried Norberta's crate to the terrace, where Targaryen waited and eagerly asked to meet Hagrid.
• Brian warned Targaryen that Hagrid might not want to meet her, while Hagrid secretly followed them to the terrace.
• Hagrid emerged from hiding, and Targaryen lost interest when she discovered that being a half-giant did not make him look sufficiently nonhuman.
• Brian asked Targaryen not to mention Hagrid's half-giant heritage, and she agreed before meeting him.
• Hagrid asked whether Norberta would remember him, and Targaryen assured him that dragons remembered their early lives clearly.

Hagrid settled into his rebuilt hut, and Brian watched Harry win Gryffindor’s Quidditch match against Hufflepuff in under five minutes. A letter from Targaryen brought photos of Norberta and a Howler, whose message pointed Brian to tiny writing on the back of the photographs about Ron.

• Dumbledore visited Hagrid’s rebuilt hut and admired its improvements before seeing the gecko that had moved into the cellar.
• Brian watched Harry use a feint to evade Hufflepuff’s Seeker and catch the Golden Snitch, ending the match almost immediately.
• Brian caught and healed a burned owl carrying a letter from Miss Targaryen, then handed the letter to Hagrid.
• Hagrid and Brian saw photographs of Norberta and listened to a Howler containing Norberta’s roars and Targaryen’s request for samples and pictures of Fluffy.
• The Howler told them to read the tiny writing on the back of the photos, and Brian cast Engorgio to enlarge it.

Brian suspected that Ron’s rat, Scabbers, was an Animagus and wrote to Nicolas Flamel to ask about the old report. He gave his Muggle Studies students a test, handed out lucky Fennies, and received Flamel’s reply at the end of the chapter.

• Brian read a report linking dragons’ hostility to Animagi and suspected that Scabbers might be an Animagus, but Hagrid dismissed the idea.
• Brian sent Nicolas Flamel a letter asking about the report and tipped the snowy owl extra Sickles to deliver it quickly.
• Brian gave his Muggle Studies students a test and explained that unfamiliar terms could appear on exams; he awarded a Ravenclaw student five points for spotting an unfamiliar currency name.
• Angelina gave the Gryffindor Quidditch players Fennies as good-luck charms, and Harry asked her for three to give Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid.
• Brian marked the tests, decided the results justified assigning homework, and received a reply from Nicolas Flamel.

Brian used specially made Veritaserum to persuade Professor McGonagall to transform into a cat, then explained his investigation into a possibly unregistered Animagus and gained her support. The chapter ended with Ron playing with Fenny coins and putting Scabbers in his pocket.

• Brian asked Professor McGonagall to turn into a cat and secretly squeezed the Veritaserum bottle he had concealed.
• Professor McGonagall explained the requirements for becoming an Animagus and transformed into a cat while Brian observed the magic.
• After the potion took effect, Professor McGonagall noticed Brian had given her something and asked what was in the bottle.
• Brian apologized and shared his collected information about a possibly unregistered Animagus, emphasizing Ron and the others' help.
• Professor McGonagall agreed that the suspected Animagus could threaten Hogwarts' safety and supported Brian's investigation.
• Ron played with two Fenny coins, put Scabbers in his pocket, and bragged about being a lucky pet's owner.

Ron celebrated his birthday with Harry and Hermione, while Fred and George investigated the mysterious Peter Pettigrew appearing on the Marauder's Map. Outside Hagrid's Hut, Brian caught the twins spying on Harry, Ron, and Hermione and demanded to know what they were doing.

• Ron complained that Hermione had forgotten his birthday, and she apologized by offering to make revision timetables for him and Harry.
• Harry told Ron and Hermione that it was his first birthday party, and Ron and Hermione promised to help him attend parties in the future.
• Hermione led Harry and Ron toward the Hogwarts kitchens, where Fred and George spotted Peter Pettigrew's name beside Harry and Hermione's on the Marauder's Map.
• Peeves stole the Fenny coins from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Harry reassured Ron that Peeves was not targeting him personally.
• Brian hid near Hagrid's Hut and overheard Harry comforting Ron, then found Fred and George spying nearby and confronted them.

Peter Pettigrew awoke in Ron Weasley’s pocket, smugly reflecting on how he had survived by posing as a rat, until he was compelled to transform back into a human at Hagrid’s Hut. Brian protected the students and used Veritaserum to expose Peter as a murderer and confirm his identity, leaving Peter trapped and confessing.

• Peter mistook Ron’s call of “Scabbers” for a threat from his past, then reassured himself that his secret identity was safe and imagined one day killing Harry for the Dark Lord.
• A sudden compulsion to be honest made Peter leap from Ron’s pocket and transform from a rat into a man in Hagrid’s Hut.
• Ron, Harry, and Hermione recoiled as Peter demanded Ron’s wand, and Brian rushed in to shield the students.
• Under the effects of Brian’s Veritaserum, Peter admitted that he was a murderer who had killed more than a dozen Muggles and feared execution in Azkaban.
• Brian asked whether he was Peter Pettigrew, and Peter confirmed his identity despite trying to hold his mouth shut.

Brian interrogated Peter Pettigrew, who confessed to betraying Harry’s parents and framing Black. Harry attacked Peter in fury, and Brian let the spell strike before reviving Peter, then reassured Harry that no one had died.

• Brian sealed Peter’s magic and used Veritaserum to make him explain why he had killed Muggles.
• Peter confessed that he had killed the Muggles to frame Black and conceal his betrayal of Lily and James Potter.
• Harry learned that Peter had sold his parents’ whereabouts to Voldemort and charged into Hagrid’s Hut.
• Harry cast a Severing Charm at Peter, and Brian allowed it to cut Peter’s neck before healing him with ancient magic.
• Harry panicked after seeing Peter bleed, and Brian told him that he had brought Peter back to life and that no one had died.

After Peter Pettigrew was exposed, Harry chose not to kill him, and Dumbledore revealed that Sirius Black was Harry’s godfather and had been imprisoned in Azkaban. Brian sent a Patronus to summon Remus Lupin and went to Hagrid’s Hut, where a reporter had arrived investigating the smell of human blood.

• Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George waited outside the Headmaster’s Office and resolved to support Harry when he came out.
• Brian told the students that Harry was still upset, then reassured them that he would restore any points taken from Gryffindor for waiting past curfew.
• Dumbledore told Brian and Harry about the Marauders, the Fidelius Charm, and Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, who was imprisoned in Azkaban for a crime Peter Pettigrew had committed.
• Brian sent a Giant Squid Patronus to invite Remus Lupin to Hogwarts, and Dumbledore explained Patronuses to Harry.
• Harry refused to kill Peter Pettigrew, and Dumbledore said they needed compelling evidence before contacting the Ministry about Black.
• Brian arrived at Hagrid’s Hut and found Hagrid with a reporter who was investigating the smell of human blood.

Brian confronted Rita Skeeter when she tried to interview Hagrid and expose his past, then diverted her attention from Harry by inventing a story about a Muggle schoolmate. Rita left toward Hogsmeade, unaware that a beetle had crawled onto Brian’s robes.

• Rita Skeeter used her enchanted quill to fabricate a story about Hagrid being a bloodthirsty half-giant, but Brian erased the writing and the blood she had spotted.
• Rita threatened to investigate Brian’s background, and Brian mocked her reporting before insisting she leave Hogwarts.
• Rita claimed Hagrid had agreed to an interview, but Hagrid denied it and left after Brian said Dumbledore needed him.
• When Rita overheard Hagrid mention Harry, Brian led her away and promised to tell her about him.
• Brian described a fictitious Muggle classmate named Harry Kate and made a pumpkin vanish to warn Rita off; after she left, a purplish beetle crawled onto his robes.

Tonks’s first solo patrol in Knockturn Alley turned into a confrontation with a werewolf pursued by Chet Brian’s giant squid Patronus. The Patronus captured Remus Lupin and summoned him to Hogwarts with news that Peter Pettigrew was alive, while Tonks was left guarding Lupin until dawn.

• Tonks chased a suspicious figure, but a disguised House-elf posing as an old woman burst apart and escaped after warning its master that an Auror was nearby.
• Tonks encountered a werewolf and summoned a silver rabbit Patronus as a giant squid Patronus pursued him through the alley.
• The squid Patronus blocked Tonks’s spell, then caught the werewolf and identified him as Remus Lupin.
• Chet Brian’s Patronus told Lupin that Peter Pettigrew had been found alive and asked him to come to Hogwarts immediately.
• Tonks concealed herself and Lupin, realizing she might have to guard him until dawn, while Brian wondered why his magic was still draining.

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.