Recaps

Harry and Hermione discussed reports that a lone intruder had stormed Nagadainaf Magic School and caused heavy casualties, and they wondered whether the attacker could have been Voldemort or Dumbledore. Harry ruled Dumbledore out based on the timing but had no way to tell whether Voldemort was involved, leaving the attacker’s identity unknown.

• Hermione told Harry that Australian news reported one intruder had attacked Nagadainaf Magic School and escaped despite causing heavy casualties.
• Harry and Hermione considered whether only Voldemort or Dumbledore could have been powerful enough to attack a school alone.
• Harry asked when the attack occurred, and Hermione said it happened two days before a newspaper published a week-old report, around the start of their summer holidays.
• Harry pointed out that Dumbledore had gone to Weasley Manor on the first day of the holidays, making him unlikely to have been the attacker.
• Harry told Hermione that he had sensed no unusual emotions or dreams from Voldemort, though he could not tell whether Voldemort had been inactive or had severed their connection.

Harry prepared to leave Privet Drive with Dumbledore, while Petunia revealed that she knew something about Harry’s future and Dudley struggled with the prospect of his departure. The chapter ended with Dudley hugging Harry goodbye before Harry left with Dumbledore.

• Harry received Dumbledore’s letter saying he would pick him up from Privet Drive that evening.
• Petunia asked whether Harry would return the following summer and said Dumbledore had told her a few things.
• Harry told Dudley he might not come back, leaving Dudley upset and the household subdued.
• Dumbledore arrived late that night to take Harry away.
• Dudley hugged Harry and urged him to stay safe, nearly squeezing the breath out of him.

Harry and Dumbledore arrived at Nurmengard, where they met Nagini and learned she had been living there. Nagini welcomed Harry and offered him food, while Grindelwald had yet to appear.

• Dumbledore led Harry into the neglected but clean castle of Nurmengard.
• Nagini greeted Dumbledore and complained that he had not told her who they would be visiting.
• Nagini warmly thanked Harry for breaking her Blood Charms and restoring her human form.
• Nagini led Harry and Dumbledore into the bare main hall and explained that she had removed the prison furnishings.
• Nagini offered Harry something to eat.

Harry wondered why Grindelwald recognized something about his contact with deities at a glance, and decided not to let him study Voldemort’s soul fragment. On his first night in Nurmengard, Harry absorbed the fragment with little difficulty, leaving him feeling refreshed the next morning.

• Harry recalled Grindelwald’s casual appearance and his remark that Harry had encountered two beings, which made Harry suspect he meant deities.
• Harry compared Grindelwald’s insight with what Luna, Lockhart, Professor Babbling, and Professor Gageon had told him about deities, and resolved to stay wary of Grindelwald.
• Harry chose not to let Grindelwald study Voldemort’s soul fragment and absorbed it in Nurmengard that night.
• Harry turned the fragment into red starlight and absorbed it, suffering only a brief headache before feeling refreshed the next day.

Harry settled into Nurmengard, where Grindelwald stopped pressing him to reveal his thoughts and told him the British Ministry could not monitor his magic there. He learned more about Nagini's life and lack of a wand, leaving him embarrassed that his question had touched on her past.

• Nagini put Harry in a room beside hers, while Grindelwald asked to examine Harry's mind and accepted his refusal.
• Harry told Grindelwald that Voldemort's soul fragment was gone, and Grindelwald did not question his explanation.
• Grindelwald told Harry he could use magic freely at Nurmengard, and Harry tested it without receiving a Howler from the Ministry.
• Harry noticed that food appeared each day and asked Nagini why she did not use magic to clean up after meals.
• Nagini explained that she had forgotten most spells and could not buy a wand because she was not registered as a witch, and Harry felt embarrassed for bringing it up.

On his fifth day at Nurmengard, Harry learned that Grindelwald had seen through his lie about absorbing Voldemort’s soul fragment. Grindelwald called Harry upstairs after breakfast, where Harry recognized a manuscript about the Kalkas Magic Array.

• Grindelwald questioned why Harry and Nagini had come to Nurmengard and offered to ask Albus to take Harry home.
• Grindelwald exposed Harry’s claim that he had absorbed the soul fragment without reaching out to it, explaining that the fragment’s protective mechanism made that impossible.
• Grindelwald told Harry to meet him upstairs after breakfast, and Nagini encouraged Harry not to feel embarrassed.
• Harry went to Grindelwald’s room and spotted a manuscript about the Kalkas Magic Array.
• Grindelwald was surprised that Harry recognized the array, and Harry vaguely said he knew a little about it.

Harry considered whether to learn Dark Magic from Grindelwald, weighing the old wizard’s skill against Voldemort’s strength and reflecting on Grindelwald’s apparent knowledge of deities. Grindelwald guessed that Harry had gained Dark Magic from Voldemort’s soul fragment and noticed that Harry still wanted something from him.

• Harry judged that Grindelwald’s Dark Magic expertise might surpass Voldemort’s, though Voldemort would likely be stronger in a fight.
• Harry recalled Voldemort’s enchanted body potion and his own encounters with Voldemort, which had revealed the Dark Lord’s magical resistance and connection to deities.
• Harry suspected Grindelwald had recognized that he had encountered two deities and became more interested in learning about them than in studying Dark Magic.
• Grindelwald guessed that Harry had inherited Dark Magic knowledge by absorbing Voldemort’s soul fragment.
• Grindelwald noticed Harry’s conflicted expression and inferred that he still wanted something from him.

Grindelwald told Harry that Lockhart had gone to Egypt to excavate a pharaoh’s pyramid, where he had become interested in Egypt’s unusual deities. He left Harry knowing that Lockhart had joined a capable young wizards’ organization with an unknown plan.

• Harry asked Grindelwald what had happened to Professor Lockhart, and Grindelwald said Lockhart had gone to Egypt to excavate a pharaoh’s pyramid.
• Grindelwald explained that some pharaohs’ curses were genuine and that Egyptian wizards had studied deities for longer than European wizards.
• Grindelwald told Harry that the deities Egyptian wizards encountered seemed to care more about humans than the deities he knew.
• Grindelwald said Lockhart had learned about deities from him and later joined an organization of capable young wizards with an interesting plan and goal.

Harry told Grindelwald how the Black Man had appeared to him, and Grindelwald traced their connection to Harry’s first touch of the Invisibility Cloak. Grindelwald revealed that Harry’s family cloak was unique, leaving Harry to wonder how it differed from other invisibility cloaks.

• Harry asked Grindelwald to identify the deity who had given him his left-hand ability, and Grindelwald asked him to recount how they had met.
• Harry described the Black Man’s appearances, and Grindelwald prompted him to remember an earlier unusual encounter.
• Harry recalled touching the Invisibility Cloak Dumbledore had sent him during his first year, and Grindelwald said the contact had likely caught the Crawling Chaos’s attention.
• Grindelwald identified Ignotus Peverell as the cloak’s previous owner and connected the cloak to The Tale of the Three Brothers.
• Harry argued that invisibility cloaks were not unique, but Grindelwald told him his family’s Invisibility Cloak was unique and asked whether he had noticed its differences.

Grindelwald explained to Harry that the Deathly Hallows came from three different deities and that bringing them together might unleash a world-ending horror. He revealed that the Elder Wand was also a key to the Nameless Mist, and Harry realized Dumbledore had been its master since defeating Grindelwald.

• Harry questioned Grindelwald about the Deathly Hallows, and Grindelwald said their union might bring down a horror capable of destroying everything.
• Grindelwald told Harry that the Hallows’ powers came from three different deities and that their functions had been misunderstood.
• Grindelwald explained that the Elder Wand was a key to the Nameless Mist, which could provide vast magical knowledge, usually at the cost of death.
• Harry asked where the Elder Wand was, and Grindelwald confirmed that Dumbledore had taken it after defeating him.
• Grindelwald complained that Dumbledore had held the wand for decades without seeking power from the Nameless Mist.

Grindelwald explained how the Resurrection Stone could restore a corpse’s life but not its soul, then began describing the Invisibility Cloak’s connection to the Crawling Chaos. He identified the yellow figure Harry encountered as the King in Yellow, a relatively peaceful avatar of the Lord of the Deep Space Star Sea.

• Grindelwald explained that the Resurrection Stone could restore life to a corpse but could not return a soul that had dissipated.
• Grindelwald said the Invisibility Cloak drew its power from the Crawling Chaos, unlike the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone.
• Grindelwald explained that most deities responded only when wizards contacted them through specific actions or rituals.
• Grindelwald told Harry that deities had avatars and projections, and identified Harry’s yellow figure as the King in Yellow.
• Harry recalled that he had nearly died when he encountered the King in Yellow and that another person had died.

Harry left Nurmengard with Dumbledore, eager to reunite with his schoolmates, and they arrived at the Burrow instead of Sirius’s home. There, Harry was stunned to encounter a beautiful woman he had not expected to see.

• Harry said goodbye to Grindelwald, who invited him to return and learn from him.
• Dumbledore took Harry away from Nurmengard, and Harry noticed the Elder Wand in Dumbledore’s hand.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort might have supporters inside the Ministry of Magic and brought Harry to the Burrow.
• Harry expected to find members of the Weasley family at the Burrow, but a beautiful woman greeted him and Dumbledore.
• The woman greeted Harry and Dumbledore in accented English, leaving Harry speechless with disbelief.

Harry visited the Weasley Manor, where Fred and George showed him ideas for new products in their research room. The twins lacked the magic to develop some of their more unusual suggestions, and Harry was left considering how they might put the ideas into practice.

• Harry reunited with Ron and Mrs. Weasley, while Fred and George brought him to their research room.
• Dumbledore stayed for dinner and relaxed in the Manor courtyard as Mrs. Weasley welcomed him.
• Fred and George told Harry that most of the promising ideas they had collected came from children in Muggle families.
• The twins showed Harry their ideas and explained that they lacked the magic needed to make some of them work.

Harry and Ron discussed Ron’s lingering struggle with Pheobe’s Veela enchantment and learned that Hermione planned to erase her parents’ memories because she feared dying in the fight against Voldemort. Harry also reflected on his own suspicions that his memories had been altered, while Ron connected Hermione’s fears to Bill’s delayed engagement to Pheobe.

• Harry asked Ron whether he had grown used to Pheobe, and Ron admitted that her sudden appearances still affected him.
• Harry recalled Ron’s old infatuation with Pheobe and concluded that Ron could resist her enchantment if he had time to prepare.
• Harry asked why Hermione had not visited, and Ron said she planned to erase her parents’ memories in case she died fighting Voldemort.
• Harry recalled that he had learned memory-modification magic from Grindelwald and suspected that his own memories had been altered.
• Ron explained that Bill had delayed getting engaged to Pheobe because the threat of the Dark Lord had worried him.

Hermione checked Harry and Ron’s homework as the friends prepared for the new school year, while teasing about her love life became a way to make her blush. With Voldemort’s return disrupting Quidditch in Britain, Ron stayed with his family instead of attending the Chudley Cannons’ trial, despite the club’s eagerness to sign him.

• Hermione checked Harry and Ron’s completed homework and kicked or shoved them while Qiu and Lavender encouraged the teasing.
• Harry and Ron asked Hermione whether Krum or Jacob had contacted her, making her blush and flee after punching one of them.
• Voldemort’s return led the Commonwealth Tournament Committee to reduce British Quidditch matches and increase security.
• The Chudley Cannons urged Ron to attend a trial and promised him a top-salary contract, but he stayed with his family because of the danger posed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Harry and his friends traveled to Hogwarts under heavy Order of the Phoenix protection, but the journey remained uneventful. Lupin joined their compartment as the newly rehired Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and the chapter ended with the group settling in for the train ride.

• Harry thought the Order of the Phoenix had assigned too many people to protect him and his friends, since their trip to the train passed without danger.
• Lupin told Harry he had returned to Hogwarts as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts after Dumbledore secured his reappointment, and he had become engaged to Tonks.
• Ron, Hermione, and Lavender welcomed Lupin into their crowded compartment.
• Harry spotted Qiu with her parents and waved to her, embarrassing her before he pulled back inside.
• Qiu spent time with Harry before returning to her girlfriends, while Hermione, Ron, and Lavender played cards in the compartment.
• Harry recalled that he had earned Outstanding marks in most of his nine O.W.L. subjects, Exceeds Expectations in Herbology, and Acceptable in History of Magic.

Harry was surprised when Romilda Vane appeared at his compartment and openly flirted with him. He declined her invitation to join her and her friends, while reflecting on his role as Gryffindor's vice-captain and his lack of interest in anyone but Qiu.

• Harry recognized Romilda Vane, who had openly pursued him since joining the Quidditch team, and recalled that he had kept her out of R.B. to avoid upsetting Qiu.
• Harry reminded himself that Qiu was the only person he was interested in and regarded Romilda's sudden appearance with surprise.
• Harry told Romilda that Katie Bell was captain and he was only vice-captain.
• Romilda spotted Lupin and Lavender in Harry's compartment, then invited Harry to sit with her and her friends, winking at him.
• Harry considered the romance films Dudley had shown him over the holiday as he tried to interpret Romilda's flirtation.

Harry, Neville, Luna, and Lavender talked in the hospital wing about their friendship and whether R.B. meetings would continue. Luna’s questions about Romilda’s apparent confession made Harry interrupt her, while Professor Lupin revealed he had been listening and laughed.

• Neville told Harry that he had been discussing Professor Sprout’s holiday questions with Toller and other students.
• Luna asked whether R.B. meetings would continue now that Professor Lupin had returned, and Harry said they were no longer necessary.
• Luna questioned whether she and the others were really friends, and Harry and Lavender assured her that they had been friends for years.
• Luna asked Harry whether Romilda and the people with her had confessed their feelings to him, and Harry hastily stopped her questions.
• Harry noticed Professor Lupin trying not to laugh, and Lupin admitted he had been listening before laughing aloud.

Harry considered Marcus Belby’s unsuccessful pursuit of Qiu and learned that Slughorn had invited him and Hermione to a gathering. Belby said Hermione was being invited by Cormac McLaggen, while Harry wondered why McLaggen had joined Gryffindor’s Quidditch team as a Keeper when Ron already held the position.

• Harry recalled that Marcus Belby had pursued Qiu, joined the Quidditch team for her, and remained without a girlfriend after she rejected him.
• Belby invited Harry to a gathering on Professor Slughorn’s behalf, and Harry hesitated because Lavender and Luna were with him.
• Belby said Neville Longbottom could not attend because he was working on a Herbology project, and that Hermione Granger was also invited.
• Belby explained that Cormac McLaggen would invite Hermione after the prefects’ meeting with the new Head Boy.
• Harry reflected that McLaggen had joined Gryffindor’s team as a Keeper despite Ron’s reputation as an outstanding Keeper.

Harry learned that Natalie, the newly appointed Female Head of the Student Council, had asked Ron to spend more time with her, despite having a Male Head and older Boy Prefects available. Hermione also noticed Natalie repeatedly watching Ron during the meeting, leaving Harry convinced she had a particular interest in him.

• Harry recalled Ron's disastrous Hogsmeade date with Natalie, when Ron had stared at Madam Rosmerta and Natalie had later dated and broken up with another boy.
• Harry realized Natalie’s new position would bring her into regular contact with Ron, who was a Prefect.
• Hermione told Harry that Natalie had asked Ron to spend more time with her because she found it difficult to communicate with boys.
• Hermione said Natalie had kept glancing at Ron during the meeting, especially while Fawley was speaking.
• Harry concluded Natalie was likely interested in Ron.

Harry attended Professor Slughorn's dinner party despite disliking the Slug Club, and he reflected on why neither he nor Qiu had joined. Ginny bristled when Blaise Zabini sneered at Harry's popularity, and Slughorn warned Zabini about her Bat-Bogey Hex.

• Harry recalled that Slughorn had invited him to the Slug Club, but he had declined because he disliked its name and was pursuing Qiu.
• Harry arrived at Slughorn's dinner party and received warm greetings from most of the students, while Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davies did not greet him.
• Ginny envied the students who hugged Harry, but held back because she had arrived with him only an hour earlier.
• Zabini sneered at Harry's popularity, and Ginny challenged him with a glare and a sharp remark.
• Slughorn told Zabini that he had seen Ginny cast an impressive Bat-Bogey Hex and warned him not to provoke her.

Harry left Professor Slughorn’s gathering and followed Millicent Bulstrode invisibly after seeing her act suspiciously. He discovered Draco Malfoy and his companions in a compartment and used Peeping Eye to spy on them.

• Harry told Slughorn he was leaving to see his girlfriend, and Slughorn let him go.
• Harry spotted Millicent Bulstrode outside the compartment, noticed her panic, and followed her under his Invisibility Cloak.
• Harry saw Bulstrode enter a compartment with Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle.
• Harry silently opened the compartment door and cast Peeping Eye inside before Goyle shut it.
• Harry watched and listened to the compartment through Peeping Eye from outside.

Draco complained about being left out of Slughorn’s club and hinted that he would soon leave Hogwarts for a more exciting life. His remarks led Pansy and the others to suspect he planned to join Voldemort, while Harry questioned whether Draco had actually made contact with him.

• Bulstrode listed the students Slughorn had invited, and Draco and Pansy discussed their family connections and why they had qualified.
• Pansy said Slughorn had not invited Theodore Nott after learning that Nott’s father had been arrested by the Ministry of Magic.
• Harry recalled that Slughorn’s Potions grade requirement also explained why Draco and Ron had not joined the club.
• Draco dismissed Slughorn’s club and said he might leave Hogwarts partway through the term to live a more exciting life.
• Draco said his mother wanted him to finish school, but he argued that Voldemort would value loyalty and usefulness over exam results.

Harry returned to Hogwarts for the start of the school year and noticed Professor Flitwick reinforcing the Castle’s defensive barrier. Reflecting on Voldemort’s power and his own progress, Harry resolved to strengthen his friends, though he still believed Voldemort would be difficult to defeat.

• Harry rode to the Castle with Ron, Lavender, and Qiu, while Hermione shared a carriage with Neville, Ginny, and Luna.
• Harry saw Professor Flitwick reinforcing the defensive magical barrier around the Castle grounds and wondered if it was a precaution against Voldemort.
• Harry listened to Dennis Creevey talk casually about Voldemort and recalled how frightening Voldemort had seemed during their past encounters.
• Harry considered how his magic and knowledge had grown through the Meditation Method and the Ravenclaw and Slytherin Legacies.
• Harry planned to share what he knew about the Legacies with his friends and help them become stronger, while keeping his knowledge of Neil and deities secret.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered that Cedric Diggory and Yi Qianqian had joined Hogwarts’s staff. At the feast, Dumbledore announced that Lupin had returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the students welcomed him enthusiastically.

• Harry and Ron noticed Cedric and Yi Qianqian sitting at the staff table and asked Hermione why they were there.
• Hermione guessed that Cedric and Yi Qianqian had been hired by Hogwarts as teachers.
• Dumbledore spoke about Voldemort’s return and urged the students to stand united.
• Dumbledore announced that Lupin had returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, prompting applause from students across the school.