Recaps

Harry collected a specially ordered item in Hogsmeade, then led an R.B. meeting where students practiced the Patronus Charm and several produced corporeal Patronuses. The chapter left the group celebrating their progress as Hermione, Angelina, and Alicia revealed their Patronus forms.

• Harry kept Professor Gageon's problem from Hermione and went with Qiu to Hogsmeade the next morning.
• At the Hog's Head, Harry collected a shrunken pair of connected cabinets from the scruffy shopkeeper and paid him.
• Harry and Qiu returned to Hogwarts, where Hermione organized an R.B. meeting for Patronus practice.
• Hermione produced a corporeal Patronus in the form of a red-tailed hawk, surprising Harry, Ron, and the others.
• Angelina produced a snow leopard Patronus, while Alicia Spinnet produced a plump orange cat.

Harry brought two Dementors to a practice session so the young wizards could test their Patronus Charms. Fred faced one but could only produce weak luminous mist before Harry’s enchanted chain stopped the Dementor from reaching him.

• Harry transformed a small box into a cabinet and revealed that two Dementors were inside for Patronus practice.
• Fred volunteered to face the first Dementor, and Harry opened the cabinet while the others moved back.
• The Dementor’s presence overwhelmed Fred and the other young wizards with fear and despair.
• Harry used the Confusion Charm to rouse Fred, but Fred’s Patronus attempts produced only faint mist that could not repel the Dementor.
• A hidden enchanted chain stopped the Dementor just before it reached Fred, who retreated and admitted how formidable it was.
• Harry tapped his wand against the chain around the Dementor’s neck.

Harry and the others continued practicing Patronuses as the Easter holidays approached, while Hermione’s determination to protect Muggle-born families helped her summon a corporeal one. With Umbridge and most professors expected to leave Hogwarts, Hermione, Harry, and Ron planned to spend the break studying at Weasley Manor; at the final R.B. meeting, Fred and George failed to cast corporeal Patronuses.

• Hermione told Harry she wanted to become stronger to protect her parents and other wizards from Muggle families from Voldemort.
• Harry stayed away from Professor Gageon’s Divination lessons and focused on the heavy workload for the Ordinary Wizarding Levels.
• Harry, Hermione, Cedric, and Qiu speculated about statues connected to Slytherin and Ravenclaw after discussing the centaur sculpture.
• As Umbridge and several professors planned to leave Hogwarts for Easter, Hermione chose to go to Weasley Manor with Harry and Ron to supervise their studies.
• At the final R.B. meeting before the holidays, Fred and George failed to cast corporeal Patronuses, and Ron joked that they did not care enough about protecting their pranks.

Umbridge caught Harry and the R.B. members in the Room of Requirement and brought them before Fudge, Dumbledore, and a group of Ministry officials. Harry and the others claimed they had only stumbled upon the room, leaving Fudge surprised by their united denial.

• Umbridge entered the Room of Requirement and accused Harry and the gathered students of breaking the rules.
• Umbridge, Ministry employees, and Draco led the R.B. members to Dumbledore's office, where Fudge, Scrimgeour, and other officials were waiting.
• Umbridge told Fudge that Draco had discovered the room and that she had caught the students returning toward their Common Rooms.
• Harry realized Draco had been watching the group and had reported their gatherings to Umbridge.
• Harry denied organizing anything, and Ron, The Twins, and the other R.B. members backed his story that they had merely discovered the room.

Umbridge and Fudge discovered a parchment that named the students’ group “Dumbledore’s Army,” and demanded that Dumbledore explain it. Dumbledore appeared to accept responsibility while Harry was magically immobilized and unable to speak.

• Umbridge argued that the group’s gathering violated a decree, and Draco presented her with a parchment he had found in the Room of Requirement.
• Umbridge and Fudge read the parchment and recognized the name “Dumbledore’s Army,” prompting Fudge to confront Dumbledore.
• Harry realized Hermione had once written the name as an alternative to “Defense Association,” and that the parchment had remained in the Room of Requirement.
• Harry tried to intervene, but Dumbledore immobilized him before he could speak.
• Dumbledore admitted that he had been found out and gave Harry a slight smile.

Dumbledore confronted Fudge and the Ministry officials, who tried to arrest him at Hogwarts. He defeated nearly all of them and left Scrimgeour immobilized but conscious.

• Scrimgeour warned Dumbledore that resisting the Ministry would make him its enemy, and Dumbledore replied that Fudge already considered him one.
• Dawlish reached for his wand, but Dumbledore noticed and warned him not to attempt an arrest.
• Dumbledore told McGonagall and the R.B. members that Hogwarts needed them and insisted he would face the Ministry alone.
• Fudge ordered the officials to attack, and Fawkes filled the room with flashes of silver light and clouds of dust.
• When the dust cleared, Fudge and nearly twenty Ministry officials lay unconscious, while Scrimgeour remained conscious but rigid against the wall.

After Dumbledore left Hogwarts, Umbridge became Headmaster, but she could not enter the sealed Headmaster's Office. As students mocked her, Draco confronted Harry, Ron, and Hermione and revealed that he had joined the Inquisitorial Squad.

• News of Umbridge replacing Dumbledore spread through Hogwarts, while members of R.B. circulated the story of how Dumbledore had driven off Fudge and the Ministry officials.
• Umbridge left the students unpunished but placed a painting near the Room of Requirement to prevent R.B. from meeting there.
• Umbridge found that the Floo connection and the stone guardian blocked her from entering the Headmaster's Office, so she labeled the door of her former office instead.
• Justin Finch-Fletchley, Dean Thomas, and Ron mocked Umbridge, while Hermione criticized her until Draco threatened to deduct house points.
• Draco told Hermione that members of the Inquisitorial Squad could take points from prefects, and Harry asked what the squad was.

Harry watched Fred and George deal with Graham Montague by trapping him in a broken Vanishing Cabinet, while Hermione feared the twins had gone too far. The twins revealed they were already planning to leave Hogwarts and hinted that their first phase would soon begin.

• Harry learned that the broken Vanishing Cabinet transported people to unknown places and that previous users had vanished for days or longer.
• Fred and George dismissed Hermione's concern about the danger of sending Graham away, saying he would not return soon.
• The twins explained that they planned to leave Hogwarts and were staying only to do something for Dumbledore.
• George checked his watch and said their first phase was about to begin, then Fred told the others to go to the Great Hall before the twins slipped into a crowd of students.

Harry recognized that Umbridge had drugged his pumpkin juice with an altered truth potion, but trusted that it would not affect him and drank it anyway. When Umbridge questioned him about Dumbledore’s whereabouts, Harry pretended the potion had taken effect and said he did not know who she meant.

• Harry saw Umbridge secretly tamper with his pumpkin juice and identified the potion by its smell.
• Harry decided to trust Snape’s Potions expertise and drank half the juice, though the potion had no effect on him.
• Umbridge believed the potion was working and asked Harry where Dumbledore had gone.
• Harry feigned ignorance, and Umbridge angrily pressed him to reveal Dumbledore’s whereabouts.

Harry left Umbridge behind as the Weasley twins’ fireworks transformed the sky above Hogwarts into enormous images of Umbridge and a toad. Qiu showed him the prank cards the twins had scattered across the grounds.

• Umbridge threatened Harry and hurried out after the room shook, then ran toward another loud bang in the corridor.
• Harry ran to the Great Hall and followed the other students outside when he heard more explosions.
• Harry saw six giant fireworks depicting Umbridge wriggling before transforming into a pink-and-green toad.
• Qiu checked that Harry was safe and led him outside, where he spotted two figures on broomsticks scattering items.
• Qiu handed Harry a card advertising Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and its prank products.

Umbridge spent the afternoon and following days destroying fireworks that had turned into hundreds of dancing copies of her and hopping toads throughout Hogwarts. She then ordered fifth- and seventh-year students to remain at school over Easter, disrupting Harry and his friends’ plans.

• After a Vanishing Spell triggered the fireworks, thousands of miniature Umbridges and toads darted and hopped around Hogwarts.
• Professor McGonagall sent Lavender and Ron to tell Umbridge about the fireworks in her classroom instead of dealing with them herself.
• Umbridge spent the afternoon answering professors’ requests, then worked with Draco and the Inquisitorial Squad for two days to clear the remaining fireworks.
• Umbridge ordered fifth- and seventh-year students to stay at Hogwarts over Easter, despite several professors planning to leave.
• Harry lamented the ruined plans, and Qiu comforted him by pointing out that staying could help him prepare for his exams.

Harry and his friends saw Hufflepuff students’ elaborate pranks humiliating Umbridge, including two stubborn swamps and traps that targeted her with Dungbombs and Stink Pellets. They concluded Hufflepuff was behind the attacks, leaving Umbridge unaware of who was acting against her.

• Harry described his belief that people called honest were usually too timid or indifferent to act, while Hermione disagreed.
• Two days after Cedric’s clash with Umbridge, swamps appeared outside Umbridge’s office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the staff could not remove them.
• Dungbombs and Stink Pellets became common around Hogwarts, with pressure-triggered traps that went off only when Umbridge passed.
• Hermione explained how the traps could distinguish Umbridge by the pressure of her footsteps, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Qiu considered which house was responsible.
• Hermione concluded Hufflepuff was the likely culprit, and Ron agreed it was the only house that fit.

Harry and Qiu examined the Ravenclaw Diadem after Dumbledore and the others removed its Dark Magic. Qiu explained its supposed ability to increase its wearer's wisdom and asked Harry to let her study it, leaving her delighted with the Diadem.

• Harry recognized Dumbledore's familiar handwriting on the note accompanying the Diadem and wondered what it meant to use it well.
• Harry and Qiu saw that the Diadem no longer radiated the disturbing magic it had when it was a Horcrux.
• Qiu explained that Rowena Ravenclaw had supposedly enchanted the Diadem to increase its wearer's wisdom.
• Qiu asked Harry if she could study the Diadem for a few days, and Harry agreed.
• Qiu kissed Harry on the cheek, and Harry pulled her into a long kiss before they continued teasing each other.

Harry and Qiu found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom. After Myrtle recalled seeing a basilisk’s eyes when she died, Harry opened the hidden entrance with Parseltongue, leaving the pair facing a huge pipe.

• Harry and Qiu went to the abandoned Washroom on the second floor, where Moaning Myrtle appeared and complained about visitors.
• Harry asked Myrtle how she died, and she recalled seeing a pair of large yellow eyes about fifty years earlier.
• Qiu identified Myrtle as the student killed when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and pointed out a snake design on the washstand tap.
• Harry spoke Parseltongue to the tap, which opened the entrance and revealed an enormous pipe where the washstand had been.

Harry and Qiu received Rowena Ravenclaw’s vast store of magical knowledge after bowing to her statue, though the sudden influx knocked Qiu unconscious. After Harry revived her with a Restorative Potion, they began to realize the knowledge was integrating into their memories.

• Qiu told Harry to bow to Rowena Ravenclaw’s statue, and they bowed together.
• Harry and Qiu were overwhelmed by Ravenclaw’s knowledge, and Qiu passed out as they were transported out of the chamber.
• Harry gave Qiu a Restorative Potion, and she woke up.
• Harry explained that they had received Ravenclaw’s knowledge, and Qiu confirmed that she could sense many new things.
• Harry noticed Ravenclaw’s organized knowledge was quickly merging with his existing memories.

Harry tested his newly acquired magical skill by casting and shaping Fiendfyre, then continued through the Chamber of Secrets’ tunnel. He reached a vast cavern beneath the Black Lake, where the ground was covered in tiny bones.

• Harry summoned Fiendfyre and found he could shape its flames into different animals with ease.
• Harry decided not to test Fiendfyre on anything until he had friends and the counterspell ready.
• Harry cast a wandless Starlight Spell and continued deeper into the tunnel.
• Harry reached a huge cavern filled with tiny bones and wondered if they belonged to the basilisk’s prey.
• Harry searched for shed basilisk skin but found none.

Harry and Qiu told their friends about Ravenclaw’s hidden chamber and the inheritance Qiu received, leading them to suspect that all four Hogwarts founders left legacies. The chapter ended with Harry demonstrating one of Ravenclaw’s inherited abilities and urging the group to seek the other inheritances.

• Harry and Qiu revisited Ravenclaw’s secret chamber and found that its statue had lost its glow and its Ancient Runes had vanished.
• Harry and Qiu explained their theory that Voldemort’s rapid rise to power came partly from receiving Slytherin’s Legacy, and Hermione accepted their reasoning.
• Hermione connected the founders’ inheritances to the statues of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff that Harry and Cedric had encountered.
• Harry said he and Qiu could enter Ravenclaw’s chamber only while holding hands, and Qiu agreed that he had helped her receive the inheritance.
• Harry dismissed speculation about Voldemort’s partner and demonstrated a wandless Light Sword that inscribed characters on a desk.

Harry and his friends failed to awaken a Founder’s legacy at the Black Lake and decided to wait for Dumbledore before risking the Forbidden Forest. In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry suggested using magic to bypass its inconvenient entrance, but Hermione and Cedric pointed out Hogwarts’ restrictions on teleportation.

• Harry and his friends explored the Black Lake, but none of the couples felt anything special at the square beneath the cliff.
• Ron guessed that a Founder’s legacy might require a student from that Founder’s house, while Qiu suggested Cedric try again with his girlfriend, Yi Qianqian.
• Cedric explained that Yi Qianqian was occupied with important magical research, and Harry suggested Hermione might still have a chance with Gryffindor’s legacy.
• Qiu proposed preparing before entering the Forbidden Forest and waiting for Dumbledore to return.
• Harry and his friends went to the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione worried that its entrance was too exposed to Umbridge and Malfoy’s Inquisitorial Squad.
• Harry suggested using magic to enter the Chamber, but Cedric and Hermione noted that most students lacked Apparition skill and Hogwarts prevented teleportation magic.

Harry attended a career interview with Professor McGonagall while Umbridge observed, and he deliberately provoked Umbridge by saying he planned to defeat the escaped Death Eaters. He left Umbridge unable to answer as she angrily scribbled on her notes.

• Harry reflected that his wealth made him want to avoid working, though he planned to present a more acceptable attitude to Professor McGonagall.
• Parvati warned Harry that Umbridge was in Professor McGonagall's office.
• Professor McGonagall asked Harry what he intended to do after graduating and how that affected his future studies.
• Harry began by saying he would defeat Voldemort, prompting Umbridge to interrupt him with a warning against lying.
• Harry clarified that he meant the Death Eaters who had escaped Azkaban because of the Ministry's inadequate supervision.
• Professor McGonagall looked approvingly at Harry while Umbridge fell silent and angrily scribbled on her paper.

Professor McGonagall defended Harry’s prospects of becoming an Auror against Umbridge’s objections, and Harry left after their exchange. With term starting, Umbridge also faced the return of the magical swamps outside her office and classroom.

• Umbridge argued that Harry’s supposed criminal record would keep him from becoming an Auror.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Harry had no upheld Ministry charges and that Umbridge could not control Auror recruitment or his examinations.
• Professor McGonagall encouraged Harry to pursue becoming an Auror, and Harry left her office.
• Umbridge was unable to focus on interfering with students’ career choices because the magical swamps became a problem again as term began.
• Umbridge’s first two Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons were suspended because the fifth-year students were meeting with their Heads of House for career guidance.

Harry and the other R.B. members learned that making a Portkey would take too long to help them resume their activities this school year. After Gryffindor suffered a crushing Quidditch defeat, they left the match and found Hagrid waiting to ask them for help.

• Qiu explained that the Portkey would have to be made during the holidays for use next term.
• Umbridge remained unable to stop the school's constant pranks, while R.B. members stayed banned from Quidditch.
• Gryffindor lost badly to Slytherin because most of its regular players and reserves were banned.
• Harry left the match in disgust, and Ron, Hermione, and Lavender followed while Ginny stayed behind.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Hagrid bruised and wearing his moleskin overcoat; he said he had come to ask for help and asked whether Qiu or Cedric was there.

Hagrid told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Dumbledore had maintained a Sensory Barrier around Norberta in the Forbidden Forest, but had missed the scheduled visit to replenish it. The chapter left them wondering why Dumbledore had not appeared.

• Hagrid led Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the Forbidden Forest to explain the problem involving Norberta.
• Hagrid revealed that Dumbledore had cast a Sensory Barrier to protect Norberta and renewed it once a month.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione were astonished that Dumbledore could maintain such a large barrier with a single casting for a month.
• Hagrid explained that Dumbledore had missed the day before yesterday's scheduled visit to replenish the barrier.

Harry examined the Sensory Barrier Dumbledore had left behind and realized it combined ancient magic with a repelling effect and the ability to draw power from its surroundings. He marveled at Dumbledore’s skill as he and the others passed through the barrier.

• Harry compared Dumbledore’s Sensory Barrier with modern and ancient versions of the spell.
• Harry discovered that Dumbledore’s spell could draw power from the soil, plants, and air, though it was unusually complex.
• Harry praised Dumbledore’s genius, prompting Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione to wonder what he had noticed.
• Harry thought about wishing Cho Chang were there to understand his observations and worried she might be upset if she could not find him.
• Hagrid showed no reaction as they crossed the barrier, while Ron and Hermione shivered when they sensed it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid and met Norberta, his unusually docile Norwegian Ridgeback dragon. After assessing Dumbledore’s Sensory Barrier around her, Hermione concluded they could maintain it for only an hour or two, but Harry suggested there might be another option.

• Hagrid stopped Norberta from attacking Harry, Ron, and Hermione, then explained she had mistaken them for food and was wary of wands.
• Hagrid introduced the trio to Norberta, who stayed calm after he told her they were friends, and they watched him pet her.
• The trio remembered they had come to help maintain the Sensory Barrier protecting Norberta and the Forbidden Forest while Dumbledore was away.
• Hermione said their magic could sustain the barrier for only an hour or two and suggested asking Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick.
• Harry said there might be another option, prompting Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron to turn toward him.

Harry tested his ability to recreate Dumbledore’s protective barrier and helped Hagrid care for Grawp and the fire dragon. Back at Hogwarts, he learned how the Quidditch season had ended and faced the approaching exams.

• Harry created a barrier around Grawp that lasted five days, though it was much smaller and less stable than Dumbledore’s.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron left the Forbidden Forest, and Harry arranged for Dobby to help Hagrid care for Grawp and the fire dragon.
• Dobby told Harry he knew nothing about Dumbledore’s activities, and Harry decided not to ask him to investigate.
• Harry told Qiu what he had been doing and learned that Hufflepuff had won the Quidditch Cup after Gryffindor’s crushing defeat.
• As the students turned to their exams, Harry felt nervous despite knowing he did not need them.