Recaps

Harry and his classmates continued their lessons and Quidditch training as the first Hogsmeade visit of the year was scheduled for late October. More than half a month passed without major events, and Harry improved in Potions and learned how to earn high marks in Divination.

• Hagrid agreed to add an advanced Hippogriff lesson after students asked for another chance to ride, and Hermione decided she would fly one too.
• Oliver intensified Quidditch training, while Professor Lupin announced an outdoor Defense lesson by the Black Lake that Harry and Hermione identified as a lesson about Kappas.
• Oliver booked a Saturday morning practice and arranged a friendly match against Ravenclaw for Sunday.
• Harry learned that the first permitted Hogsmeade visit would take place in late October, and he looked forward to seeing the Shrieking Shack.
• Over the following weeks, Harry improved in Potions and earned two consecutive Outstandings in Divination by writing miserable prophecies about himself.

Ron and Hermione’s growing tension over Crookshanks attacking Scabbers led to a major argument that continued into the next day. Before Professor McGonagall decided who could visit Hogsmeade, Harry learned that Lavender Brown was grieving the death of her rabbit.

• Ron and Hermione had previously made up after arguing over Divination, but Harry expected their latest disagreement about Crookshanks and Scabbers to be worse.
• Crookshanks tried to attack Scabbers again at breakfast, and Ron’s accumulated anger erupted into an argument with Hermione.
• Harry thought Hermione’s heavy workload and exhaustion had made it harder for her to control her emotions, and the two friends continued ignoring each other through breakfast and Herbology.
• Hermione tried to speak to Ron during Herbology, but he snapped at her, and their cold war resumed.
• Before Transfiguration, Harry went to ask why Lavender Brown was crying and learned that her rabbit, Binns, had died.

Harry and Ron encountered Dobby in Hogsmeade, who delivered Harry a magical letter proposing a potions partnership with the Xilieikesi family. Ron recognized the family’s significance and accepted the offer, while Harry remained puzzled about who they were.

• Harry and Ron met Dobby on their way to the Shrieking Shack, and he gave Harry a letter from Zuosili Xilieikesi.
• Harry read the letter, which proposed that the Xilieikesi family buy potions from him and his friends.
• Ron urged Harry to accept the proposal and burned the letter with his wand.
• The letter confirmed that the Xilieikesi family would contact them again, and Ron explained that the family had deliberately erased itself from records.

Harry met Professor Lupin in the corridor and agreed to have tea with him, giving Lupin a chance to discuss his friendship with Harry’s parents. Lupin began to tell Harry how his parents met, while a strange creature watched them from a tank in Lupin’s office.

• Harry finished his homework and set out to visit Hagrid, but encountered Professor Lupin instead.
• Harry noticed Lupin looked unwell and accepted his invitation to sit and have tea.
• Harry told Lupin he had seen a photograph of Lupin, his parents, and Sirius Black, prompting Lupin to acknowledge their old friendship.
• Lupin avoided explaining what had happened between the friends and suggested telling Harry how his parents met.
• Harry and Lupin entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, where a green, horned creature rubbed its tentacle-like fingers against a glass tank.

Harry asked Professor Lupin why his Patronus Charm remained weak, and Lupin explained that it required powerful positive emotions as well as sufficient magical power. The chapter ended with Lupin asking Harry what happy memory he used to cast it.

• Harry demonstrated the Patronus Charm to Professor Lupin, producing silver light that failed to take shape.
• Harry admitted that he knew little about the distinctions between ordinary, dark, and white magic.
• Professor Lupin explained that dark and white magic often drew on emotion, and that the Patronus Charm required strong positive feelings.
• Professor Lupin said Harry’s magical power was more than sufficient and suggested his happy memory was not joyful enough.
• Professor Lupin asked Harry what he had been thinking about while casting the spell.

Harry reunited with Ron and Hermione before the Halloween Feast and learned they had reconciled after Ron asked Hermione for help with his Astronomy homework. The chapter also revealed that Ron secretly researched magical automata and ended with Hermione keeping her reaction to a potion Professor Slughorn gave Professor Lupin to herself.

• Harry left Professor Lupin's office and found Ron carrying Hermione's schoolbag as they walked to the Great Hall together.
• Harry told Ron and Hermione that Professor Lupin had given him private guidance in magic.
• Harry noticed Hermione's reaction when he mentioned that Professor Slughorn had brought Professor Lupin an unknown potion, but Hermione said nothing was wrong.
• Ron explained that he and Hermione had spent the afternoon working on his Astronomy homework, which had helped them make up.
• The narration revealed that Ron spent much of his free time secretly researching magical automata in the dormitory.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione found the Fat Lady’s portrait slashed and learned that Sirius Black had attacked it after she refused him entry. Dumbledore calmed the panicked students, while the search for the missing Fat Lady began.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Percy to the Gryffindor entrance and found the Fat Lady’s portrait badly damaged and empty.
• Percy called for someone to fetch Dumbledore or McGonagall, and several professors arrived to investigate.
• Filch volunteered to search for the Fat Lady, but Peeves told Dumbledore she was hiding on the fifth floor in a landscape painting.
• Peeves said Sirius Black had wrecked the portrait after the Fat Lady refused to let him in.
• The students panicked at the news, and Dumbledore ordered them to be quiet, calming the crowd.

After Sirius Black’s intrusion, Hogwarts students slept in the Great Hall while the staff searched for him and arranged a temporary guard for Gryffindor. In the days that followed, Harry wondered whether Black could have entered Hogwarts as an Animagus.

• Dumbledore checked with Percy that the Great Hall was safe and said a new portrait would temporarily guard Gryffindor while the Fat Lady recovered.
• Slughorn told Dumbledore that the staff had searched the Castle but found no trace of Black, and Dumbledore refused to let the Dementors enter Hogwarts.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville woke with full bladders and went to the toilet together.
• The students spent the next few days debating how Black had entered Hogwarts, and Hannah Abbott suggested he might have turned into a shrub.
• Harry considered whether Black could have used Animagus transformation to evade the Castle’s barrier and the Dementors.

Harry continued Quidditch training under staff supervision as Hogwarts prepared for a season with a new points system. Oliver Wood rallied Gryffindor before their first match, insisting they could win the Cup and urging Harry to beat Cedric.

• McGonagall allowed Harry to continue training as long as a staff member watched, and Madam Hooch took on the duty.
• Hogwarts changed its Quidditch standings to award points only for winning, based on each team's winning margins.
• Gryffindor assessed its rivals, including Ravenclaw's new Seeker Cho Chang, Slytherin's captain Peregrine Derrick, and Hufflepuff's skilled Seeker Cedric.
• Oliver Wood told Gryffindor that winning the House Cup was his last chance before he graduated and joined Puddlemere United as a reserve player.
• Oliver praised Gryffindor's Chasers, Beaters, and Seeker, and Harry vowed to crush Cedric.

Gryffindor and Hufflepuff began the Quidditch Cup opener in cold, rainy weather, with Harry’s flying and Gryffindor’s coordinated attack giving them an early advantage. Gryffindor led 20–0 less than a minute into the match, leaving Hufflepuff under pressure as Cedric searched for the Snitch.

• Madam Hooch started the match, and Harry quickly climbed above Cedric on his Firebolt.
• Angelina led Gryffindor’s Chasers to score within ten seconds of the opening whistle.
• A Gryffindor Beater struck a Hufflepuff rookie with a Bludger, and Alicia Spinnet recovered it and sent it to Angelina.
• Angelina scored again, putting Gryffindor 20–0 ahead before the match had lasted a minute.
• Cedric continued searching for the Golden Snitch and could not rally Hufflepuff as captain.

Harry and Cedric battled for the Golden Snitch until Harry spotted the Grim in the stands and lost focus. A swarm of Dementors then attacked the Seekers, leaving Cedric unconscious and hanging dangerously from his broom.

• Harry and Cedric raced neck and neck after the Golden Snitch, jostling each other as it repeatedly dodged their grasp.
• Harry saw a large black dog in the stands and briefly froze, allowing Cedric to pull ahead.
• Harry spotted more than a hundred Dementors in their path as a chilling silence fell over the pitch.
• Several Dementors swooped at the Seekers, and Cedric stiffened and fell from his broom.
• Cedric's feet caught on the broom's hooks, keeping him from falling immediately, while Dementors continued to surround his unconscious body.

Harry thanked Cedric for his help during the match and learned that the Dementors had triggered memories of Cedric’s mother’s death. At Gryffindor’s celebration, Harry heard that Dumbledore had driven the Dementors away and began wondering whether he could capture one to study.

• Harry thanked Cedric for helping him during the match, then asked why Cedric had passed out near the Dementors.
• Cedric explained that their presence had brought back memories of his mother’s fatal magical experiment, and Harry apologized for bringing up the painful subject.
• After the players recovered in the Hospital Wing, Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room for the team’s celebration.
• Harry heard that Dumbledore had threatened the Dementors after they protested his powerful Patronus, and they stayed away from Hogwarts Castle’s grounds.
• Harry wondered how Dementors communicated and considered capturing one to study, though he did not want to openly oppose the Ministry of Magic.

Ravenclaw crushed Slytherin 390–60, leaving Gryffindor’s team alarmed by the strength of Ravenclaw’s new Chasers and Beaters. After the match, Gryffindor’s players debated whether Ravenclaw’s performance came from skill, luck, or both.

• Ravenclaw defeated Slytherin by 330 points, with Cho Chang catching the Golden Snitch before Draco.
• Angelina admitted Ravenclaw’s Chasers were stronger than she had expected.
• The Twins praised Ravenclaw’s Beaters for disrupting Slytherin’s formations with well-timed Bludger hits.
• Hermione said calculating every Bludger’s path was impossible, while Ron observed that the Bludgers had seemed normal.
• Oliver and Seamus wondered whether Ravenclaw had simply been unusually lucky.

Harry went to Hogsmeade with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, hoping to visit the Three Broomsticks and see Cho Chang, but found the pub closed. As the Ravenclaw students left to celebrate elsewhere, Harry spotted Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.

• Harry insisted on going to Hogsmeade despite Ron's worries about the Grim and Dementors.
• Harry hurried Ron, Hermione, and Neville toward the Three Broomsticks, hoping to see Cho Chang and enjoy its drinks.
• Harry found the Three Broomsticks closed and saw Cho Chang among the disappointed Ravenclaw students outside.
• Ron recognized Cornelius Fudge, and Harry remembered him as the Minister for Magic from the Daily Prophet.

Harry returned to Hogwarts after failing to find the Ravenclaws’ gathering and overhearing that Fudge planned to visit Slughorn again. After several peaceful days, he watched Ravenclaw face Hufflepuff in a Quidditch match that proved more competitive than expected.

• Harry failed to find where the Ravenclaws were gathering and continued to hesitate over confessing his feelings to Cho Chang.
• Harry and his friends overheard Fudge tell Slughorn that he would return on the twelfth of the next month, while Madam Rosmerta refused to close the Three Broomsticks again.
• Harry told Ron he wanted to use the Invisibility Cloak to eavesdrop on Fudge, then showed him how to pick a simple lock.
• Harry watched Ravenclaw’s Chasers dominate Hufflepuff during their Quidditch match.
• Cedric caught the Golden Snitch before Cho Chang, but Cho’s strong flying made his victory hard-earned.

Fred and George showed Harry and Ron the Marauder's Map, a magical parchment that displayed Hogwarts and everyone inside it. Harry recognized Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs as names connected to the Marauders' Notebook and wondered whether Wormtail had been its unknown fourth author.

• Fred and George teased Harry about finally asking for their pranking secret and warned Ron to mind his manners by threatening his pocket money.
• The twins explained that they had stolen something from Filch's office after being caught during their first year.
• Fred and George tapped the parchment and activated it with the words, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
• Harry examined the Marauder's Map and saw that it showed Hogwarts's layout, changing corridors, and the people inside the castle.
• Harry recognized Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs from the Marauders' Notebook and wondered whether Wormtail was its mysterious fourth author.

Gryffindor celebrated its Quidditch victories but found itself trailing Ravenclaw in the standings by 110 points. The chapter left Gryffindor needing to win both upcoming matches against Ravenclaw to control its chances of claiming the Cup.

• The rain stopped, and students across Hogwarts welcomed the clear weather as Gryffindor celebrated beating Slytherin.
• Slytherin players accepted using Muggle-made heat patches because they needed them to compete in the rain.
• Gryffindor beat Slytherin by 190 points, adding to its earlier 300-point victory over Hufflepuff.
• Ravenclaw's two large victories gave it a 600-point difference, putting it 110 points ahead of Gryffindor.
• Gryffindor recognized that it needed to win both matches against Ravenclaw before Easter to secure the Quidditch Cup.

Ron searched for Scabbers after noticing that his rat had been missing for over a week, then accused Hermione’s cat, Crookshanks, of eating him. The argument left Ron and Hermione refusing to speak to each other as Harry and Neville prepared for the Hogsmeade visit.

• With the season’s matches over, Hermione made Harry and Neville finish most of their homework before they went to Hogsmeade.
• Ron realized Scabbers had been missing for more than a week and had not touched the food and water he left out.
• Ron searched the dormitory and found a ginger hair beneath his bed that matched Crookshanks’s fur.
• Ron accused Crookshanks of eating Scabbers, while Hermione insisted her cat obeyed her instructions not to attack other students’ pets.
• Ron and Hermione argued and stopped speaking to each other; Harry thought it unlikely that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers.

Harry, Ron, and Neville ran into Cedric outside the Three Broomsticks and learned he was mailing a letter to a foreign pen pal. Cedric revealed that she was a student at Nanyang Magic Academy in Singapore, while insisting they were only friends.

• Hermione left Harry, Ron, and Neville to visit a bookshop in Hogsmeade.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville encountered Cedric on his way to the Owl Post with a letter.
• Cedric explained that his own owl could not deliver mail outside the United Kingdom.
• Ron teased Cedric about his international pen pal, and Cedric admitted she was pretty but said they were just friends.
• Cedric told Harry, Ron, and Neville that his pen pal was from Singapore and attended Nanyang Magic Academy.

Harry overheard that Sirius Black had been his parents’ Secret Keeper and had betrayed them to Voldemort, making Harry’s parents’ deaths feel deliberate. He struggled to control his fury as he returned to Hogwarts, then told Ron and Neville what he had learned.

• Harry went invisibly to the Three Broomsticks’ second floor to eavesdrop on Hagrid, Fudge, and Professor McGonagall.
• Harry learned that Sirius Black had served as the Potters’ Secret Keeper and that Peter Pettigrew had been killed while pursuing him.
• Harry realized Black’s betrayal had led to his parents’ deaths and understood why the Weasleys had warned him not to seek Black out.
• Harry’s anger surged, but his meditation practice helped him regain control of himself.
• Harry told Ron and Neville what he had overheard.

Harry learned that Draco knew almost nothing about Black and had only mentioned what he overheard from Lucius to provoke him. After Harry eased Draco’s pain, he left with Ron and Neville, planning to ask Professor Lupin about the past during their Christmas Patronus lesson.

• Harry sensed that Draco was telling the truth and realized Draco knew little beyond a few snippets from Lucius.
• Harry cast a Pain-Relief Charm on Draco and let him leave the basement.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville left the basement and Harry considered using his Christmas lesson with Lupin to get answers.
• Harry and his friends met Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass on the stairs, and Harry concealed what had happened to Draco.
• Daphne greeted Harry, Ron, and Neville before Pansy hurried her away.

Harry spent the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts, worrying about Ron and Hermione’s falling-out and learning about the dangerous Lethifold Professor Lupin planned to use for Patronus practice. He went to train for the Ravenclaw match and found Cho Chang already flying on the Quidditch pitch.

• Harry woke to find the dormitory empty and thought about Ron’s missing rat and his quarrel with Hermione.
• Harry visited Professor Lupin’s office, found a note saying Lupin had gone to Hogsmeade, and wondered if he was collecting a Lethifold.
• Harry recalled that the Patronus Charm was the most effective way to drive off a Lethifold.
• Harry took his Firebolt to the Quidditch pitch to train for the match against Ravenclaw.
• Harry recognized Cho Chang as the person already practicing on the pitch.

Harry spent Christmas Eve with Cho Chang, sharing dinner and studying before escorting her back to Ravenclaw Tower. He then received a letter from Fred and George about preliminary talks with the Xilieikesi family, which the twins planned to attend with help from a Muggle relative.

• Harry and Cho Chang ate dinner together in the nearly empty Great Hall and discussed the Tutshill Tornados.
• Harry noticed Professor McGonagall was missing from the feast, then went with Cho to the Library to work on holiday homework.
• Harry escorted Cho back to the Ravenclaw Common Room before returning to Gryffindor Tower.
• Hedwig delivered a letter from Fred and George about their planned meeting with the Xilieikesi family at the Leaky Cauldron.
• Fred and George sought help with the talks from their mother's Muggle cousin, a stockbroker whose husband had a wizard brother.

Harry celebrated Christmas by opening presents and preparing gifts for his friends. After realizing he had forgotten Cho Chang, he copied notes on the Patronus Charm to give her and watched her head to breakfast on the Marauder's Map.

• Harry opened his Christmas presents and recalled the gifts he had chosen for his friends, including books for Hermione, robes for Professor Lupin, and wool socks for Dumbledore.
• Harry opened the Marauder's Map and saw Cho Chang unwrapping presents in Ravenclaw Tower.
• Harry realized he had forgotten to prepare a gift for Cho and decided to copy the Marauders' notes on the Patronus Charm for her.
• Harry used his Enchanted Quill to produce a neat copy of the Patronus notes.
• Harry watched Cho leave her dormitory and head toward breakfast on the Marauder's Map.

Harry gave Cho Chang notes on the Patronus Charm, and the two spent time together in the Library as he hoped to get closer to her. The chapter ended with Cho inviting Harry to practice the spell with her.

• Cho Chang was delighted when Harry gave her instructions on the Patronus Charm, which she hoped would help her feel safer around Dementors in Hogsmeade.
• Harry reassured Cho that she could give him a present the following Christmas, and she promised to choose one carefully.
• Harry and Cho went to the Library together, where Cho asked him about the Patronus Charm while he worked on his homework.
• Cho checked Harry's Charms homework and confirmed his approach was correct.
• Cho invited Harry to find somewhere to practice the Patronus Charm with her.