Recaps

Harry and his friends visited Hogsmeade, where they met Jacob Covenas and learned more about his plans to stay near Hermione. Harry noticed a sudden, powerful fluctuation in Jacob’s emotions, but could not identify what it was.

• The boys laughed about Romilda slipping Harry a love potion, then headed to Hogsmeade without the girls.
• Harry and his friends ran into Jacob Covenas, who had refused Minister Scrimgeour’s request to take another job and planned to become Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching assistant.
• Jacob asked whether Hermione had come with them, and Ron teased him about watching for her.
• Harry sensed a violent emotional surge from Jacob and noted that Jacob’s Occlumency was exceptionally strong.
• Harry recalled that Neville had trained in Occlumency while seeking a way to heal his parents, before a skilled healing wizard cured them.

Jacob explained the European Dark Council’s history, structure, and powerful members to Harry and the others, including the evidence linking Gilderoy Lockhart to its highest ranks. He left them with the report that the Council had at least three Queens, one of whom had been active recently.

• Harry and Jacob compared the European Dark Council with the organization from Jacob’s homeland, noting that the two were probably unrelated.
• Jacob described the Council’s playing-card ranks, with two Jokers and four Aces at the top, and said its members were powerful Dark Wizards.
• Jacob identified Gilderoy Lockhart as a likely Ace, citing his Egypt expedition, the deaths of its other powerful wizards, and his research into soul magic.
• Jacob explained that the Council’s Face Cards included Kings, Queens, and Jacks, and said the Queens were all witches.
• Jacob said investigators believed the Council had at least three Queens and that one had been active recently.

After Harry and his friends discussed the Dark Council and Jacob’s suspicions about Curilta Brach, they returned to Hogwarts and found the Castle under strict security. Professor McGonagall warned them to check their belongings and remain in the Common Room, leaving the cause of the incident unclear.

• Harry felt proud of killing Europe’s only Lord-class Werewolf while Jacob discussed the Dark Council’s activities and the unexplained invasion of Nagudinnaf.
• Jacob told the group that Curilta Brach might have ties to the Dark Council, and Neville questioned the significance of Brach’s association with one of its members.
• Jacob left, and Harry and his friends visited Honeydukes and other shops before returning to the Castle.
• Professor McGonagall inspected everyone entering Hogwarts and warned Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Thomas to check their belongings and stay in the Common Room.

Harry and the others returned to the Common Room and learned that Ron was patrolling the Castle with Natalie, while Lavender worried about him. Parvati described the large dinner party where Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick had drunk too much, but the cause of their hospitalization remained unclear.

• Harry and the others returned to the Common Room, where students discussed the incident and Hermione and Ginny were absent.
• Harry found Parvati and Lavender and told Lavender that Ron was safe and patrolling with the other prefects.
• Parvati explained that Professor Slughorn's dinner party had drawn dozens of guests, including several professors.
• Parvati said Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick had talked and drunk too much, but she did not know exactly what had happened.

Harry questioned Cedric about whether Professor Slughorn’s drinks had been poisoned, but tests found nothing harmful in the liquor or the professors’ glasses. Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick recovered from immediate danger and were sent to St. Mungo’s, while Instructor Monet appeared disillusioned with life after learning he would take over classes.

• Harry apologized to Cedric and Yi Qianqian for questioning Cedric, then teased Yi Qianqian about being protective of Cedric.
• Harry explained that he suspected the Dragon Blood Wine Draco and Pansy had given Professor Slughorn might have poisoned the drinks.
• Cedric said Professor Sprout and he had tested the base liquor, the Dragon Blood Wine, and the drinks left in the two professors’ glasses, finding no toxins.
• Cedric told Harry that Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick were out of danger and had been sent to St. Mungo’s to recuperate.
• Cedric said Instructor Monet and Professor Kaimir would take over Potions and Charms classes, and that Monet had seemed disillusioned with life when Dumbledore told him.

Harry suspected that someone was advising Draco, but he had no evidence, while tighter Hogwarts security left Hermione exhausted and drove a wedge between Ron and Lavender. The chapter left Harry's investigation unresolved and Lavender upset over Natalie's frequent patrols with Ron.

• Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick returned to Hogwarts, and Harry suspected Voldemort had arranged Slughorn's drugging.
• Harry told Hermione and Ron that someone might be advising Draco from inside or outside the school, but he had no proof.
• Hermione worked long hours on a charms paper that Professor Flitwick had encouraged her to submit to a journal.
• Hogwarts suspended Hogsmeade visits and increased patrols by prefects, teachers, and poltergeists.
• Natalie repeatedly assigned Ron to patrol with her, making Lavender unhappy and causing her and Ron to argue.

Harry searched advanced spellbooks for magic that would let him enter other people's dreams, but Qiu explained that Dream Magic had been illegal and restricted for two hundred years. She told him a wizard's failed experiment had drawn an entire county into one dream, leaving Harry curious about the incident.

• Harry searched the Library and Restricted Section for magic that could let him enter other people's dreams.
• Qiu and Marietta noticed Harry's unusual research and asked what spell he was seeking.
• Harry told Qiu and Marietta that he wanted to find magic for entering other people's dreams.
• Qiu explained that the Ministry had banned learning, researching, and using Dream Magic two hundred years earlier.
• Qiu told Harry that a wizard's botched experiment had drawn everyone in an entire county into the same dream.

Harry researched dream magic and decided to summon the evil spirit Zug to enter Draco’s dreams and learn what had happened. He carried out the ritual in the Chamber of Secrets, where Hogwarts’ barrier could not interfere, and began chanting the incantation.

• Harry found no records of dream magic in Ravenclaw’s or Slytherin’s legacies, but discovered they contained extensive material on summoning evil spirits.
• Harry decided to use Zug to enter Draco’s dreams, despite knowing Hermione and others would object, and considered where he could safely perform the ritual.
• Harry chose the Chamber of Secrets over the secret passages to Hogsmeade, then slipped into Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom and opened the entrance.
• Harry reached the Slytherin Statue, prepared sacrifices and a magic array, and began chanting the ancient incantation to summon Zug.

Harry summoned a McGonagall Bird from the Dream Realm after the Black Man gave him the spell, forming a contract with the creature. The bird accepted his offering of two pigs’ heads, and Harry gained the ability to summon it and use its power.

• The Black Man told Harry about the McGonagall Bird and vanished, leaving Harry to decide whether to summon it.
• Harry recited the summoning spell, and a beautiful McGonagall Bird flew through the gate to the Dream Realm.
• Harry learned that the bird flew by magic, ate meat, and had formed a contract with him.
• Harry placed two pigs’ heads before the McGonagall Bird, which expressed gratitude and joy through their contract.

Harry explained to Qiu how the McGonagall Bird could make dreamers fall asleep even inside their own dreams, easing her fears about his safety. After walking Qiu back to Ravenclaw, he returned to Gryffindor and found Ron and the others studying a wizard’s chess game.

• Harry and Qiu were thrown out of the Library after laughing at the name McGonagall Bird.
• Harry explained that the McGonagall Bird could lull a dream’s owner to sleep, making dream invasions safer.
• Qiu warned Harry to be careful, and Harry walked her back to the Ravenclaw Common Room before curfew.
• Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and saw Lavender, Parvati, and Sally Ann together while Ron sat with Seamus, Dean, and other boys.
• Harry joined Ron and the others as they studied a professional wizard’s chess game in a newspaper.

Harry entered the Dream Realm and used a McGonagall Bird to reach Draco Malfoy’s dream at Malfoy Manor. There, Draco greeted Harry warmly and led him toward the manor, leaving Harry puzzled by the dream’s strange behavior.

• Harry set an alarm for three in the morning so he could enter Draco’s dream and learn what Draco knew about Voldemort.
• Harry entered the Dream Realm through a lucid dream and summoned a McGonagall Bird to take him to Draco’s dream.
• Harry passed through a doorway into the dream version of Malfoy Manor, where Draco and Pansy appeared.
• Draco praised Harry’s formal robes, took his hand, and led him toward the manor while Harry wondered what was happening.

Harry entered Draco’s dream and used the Imperius Curse to question him about the poisoning of Slughorn and Flitwick. Draco revealed that he had targeted Dumbledore with a delayed poison, but a flash of black light appeared in Draco’s eyes when Harry asked about Voldemort’s task.

• Harry had the McGonagall Bird put Draco to sleep inside the dream, then cast the Imperius Curse on him.
• Draco said he hated Albus Dumbledore and Ron Weasley most, and that he did not know where his father, Lucius Malfoy, was.
• Draco admitted that he had poisoned Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick, though Dumbledore had been his intended target.
• Draco explained that Dragon Blood Wine contained a substance that became poisonous when mixed with Ice-Mist Snakegrass juice, then turned harmless after ten seconds.
• When Harry asked what Voldemort had tasked Draco to do at Hogwarts, a flash of black light passed through Draco’s eyes.

In Serbia, an Asian seer told Curilta Brach that his visions had faded and that a turning point was approaching, while warning that Voldemort’s rising power could bring a dangerous change. Meanwhile, Harry’s attempt to question Draco sent him into a strange vision of his parents, and the chapter ended as he recognized Lily and James Potter.

• The Asian man and Curilta Brach discussed Gilderoy’s worsening curse, the search for a new Ace of Diamonds, and the Asian man’s increasingly clouded visions.
• The Asian man predicted that Voldemort’s growing momentum could lead him to the top of Heaven, though he could not see what would follow.
• Curilta Brach and the Asian man sensed that a cage made with the Asian man’s device had been activated, but the Asian man refused to investigate the Castle himself.
• Harry dreamed that he questioned Draco under the Imperius Curse about Voldemort’s mission, but a flash of black light transported him to an unfamiliar house.
• Harry saw a red-haired woman and a dark-haired man pass through him, then recognized them as his parents, Lily Potter and James Potter.

Harry was trapped in a dreamlike scene, forced to watch Voldemort kill his parents repeatedly before remembering that he had entered Draco’s dream to uncover Voldemort’s secret mission. He recognized that he was now facing a powerful mind or soul magic effect and prepared to break it with Soul Shatter.

• Harry found himself at his parents’ cottage and watched Voldemort kill James and Lily while baby Harry cried.
• Harry relived the scene repeatedly, unable to affect events or escape the half-minute before his parents died.
• A sudden chill cleared Harry’s agitation, and he remembered entering Draco’s dream and questioning him about Voldemort’s instructions.
• Harry emerged into darkness and saw enormous, emotionless eyes staring down at him.
• Harry concluded that he was still in a dream, likely trapped by the mental block in Draco’s mind, and considered using Soul Shatter to break it.

Harry realized the prison was a construct within Draco's dream rather than an illusion, and escaped by willing himself back to the manor lawn. In Serbia, Brach and the Asian man sensed the Dream Cube had been breached and wagered over whether Harry was responsible.

• Harry concluded that the dark enclosure trapping him was part of a dream, so Soul Shatter could not break it.
• Harry focused on leaving the enclosure and returned to Draco's dream, where the McGonagall Bird was waiting.
• Brach and the Asian man sensed that someone had broken through the Dream Cube and discussed whether they had received outside help.
• The Asian man guessed Harry had escaped, while Brach doubted a child could enter the dream realm.
• Brach and the Asian man bet on whether Harry had broken through, wagering Felix Felicis against the unfinished Philosopher's Stone.

Harry uncovered Draco's plan to repair a Vanishing Cabinet so Death Eaters could invade Hogwarts, and realized someone had altered Draco’s memories and placed a sophisticated restriction in his mind. As Harry prepared to leave Draco’s dream, he sensed a mental current and suspected another person had opened a door inside it.

• Harry learned from Draco’s memories that Draco was repairing a Vanishing Cabinet to let Death Eaters enter Hogwarts and attack the school.
• Harry confirmed that Pansy had used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Draco while he worked on the cabinet, and that Draco possessed a Hand of Glory.
• Harry discovered that Draco’s memories of the Christmas feast had been altered to conceal another accomplice, and considered Lockhart, Voldemort, and the Dark Council as possible culprits.
• Harry examined Draco’s memories further, then prepared to leave the dream through an entrance opened by the McGonagall Bird.
• Harry felt a mental current near the Dream Realm door and noticed that Malfoy Manor remained in the dream after Draco had been hypnotized.
• Harry suspected that someone else had opened a door inside Draco’s dream.

Harry discovered a hidden Dream Realm entrance in Draco’s dream and explored it before returning safely to the Common Room. He realized Draco’s secret activities could help expose the Death Eaters’ planned attack on Hogwarts, then encountered Hermione and asked what time it was.

• Harry found a Dream Realm entrance concealed in a mirror inside Draco’s dream and stepped through it with the McGonagall Bird.
• Harry returned to the real world and used a gold coin and his spiritual power to verify that he had truly awakened.
• Harry concluded that Draco’s secretive behavior could reveal the Death Eaters’ plan to attack Hogwarts and decided to tell Dumbledore what he knew.
• Hermione found Harry awake in the Common Room, and Harry asked her what time it was.

After Professor McGonagall reprimanded Harry for entering Draco's dream, Harry returned to his Dormitory to sleep and unexpectedly entered a strange dream. There, a black-robed stranger challenged him with powerful magic, and the chapter ended as Harry controlled Fiendfyre into a flower around himself.

• Professor McGonagall scolded Harry for entering Draco's dream and warned him not to repeat it, saying she would inform Dumbledore.
• Harry visited the Library but left without disturbing Qiu, then returned to the Dormitory exhausted and fell asleep.
• Harry found himself lucid in a vast desert and sensed a hidden presence in the Dream Realm.
• A black-robed man appeared and attacked Harry with a misty snake and necromantic skulls, which Harry countered with a Shield Charm, a whirlwind, and his Patronus.
• The stranger sent corrosive black rain toward Harry, but Harry's Fiendfyre consumed it and spread across the dream space.
• Harry drew the Fiendfyre into petals around himself as the black-robed man praised his control and promised to show him something more interesting.

Harry fought a black-robed opponent who attacked him with bizarre magical creatures, including a worm that survived Fiendfyre, Sandlurkers, and Byakhee. Harry summoned five enormous black flying creatures to seize the Byakhee, then prepared to counterattack.

• Harry considered whether his opponent would use Ancient Magic and reflected on how the Enchanted Body potion and Meditation Method had increased his magical power.
• A giant worm covered in smaller creatures burst from the sand and charged Harry, but its smaller worms devoured Fiendfyre while protecting its body.
• Harry evaded the worm with Apparition as over thirty Sandlurkers emerged from the sand and attacked him with stone weapons.
• The black-robed man sent two Byakhee after Harry, but five enormous black winged creatures appeared and caught them in their jaws.
• Harry mocked the black-robed man's tricks and announced that it was his turn to put on a show.

Harry defeated the black-robed intruder’s Sigurson Moss by transforming into a Gundam, then watched a Horror Hunter kill the weakened summoner. After the intruder vanished, Harry realized the desert dream remained and suspected the scene held special significance.

• Harry’s summoned Horror Hunters devoured the Sandlurkers and frightened the tiny worms off Sigurson Moss, though they still avoided the giant creature.
• Harry transformed into a Gundam and charged Sigurson Moss, cutting it apart with a Light Sword and Beam Saber.
• The black-robed figure weakened when Sigurson Moss died, and a Horror Hunter attacked and swallowed him.
• The intruder vanished after warning Harry Potter that he would remember him, and Harry dismissed his creatures and Gundam.
• Harry noticed the desert dream persisted after the intruder disappeared and concluded that the scene had special meaning.

In Serbia, Zou learned from Brach that Harry had created the dream in which he summoned six Horror Hunters and a Metal Magic Puppet that killed Sigurson Moss. Harry then found a Dream Realm Gate inside a pyramid in his own dream, but he could not enter it.

• Brach recovered from the backlash of his dream simulation and told Zou that Harry had summoned six Horror Hunters and a Metal Magic Puppet that killed Sigurson Moss.
• Zou examined Brach’s memories and explained that Harry had created the dream, rather than merely summoning magical creatures within Brach’s simulation.
• Zou suggested that the puppet might be connected to the Tower Chapters and the Colossal God Soldier, but said he had never foreseen the Tower Chapters appearing.
• Brach paid Zou the Felix Felicis he owed from their bet, then admitted he had used an item Zou had given him when building the dream.
• Harry explored a desert dream and found a pyramid emitting fluctuations like a Dream Realm Gate, but could not enter it despite trying several methods.

Harry discussed unusual sealing spells from Ravenclaw's and Slytherin's legacies with Qiu after the spells surfaced in his mind during a dream battle. The two agreed the Founders had deliberately left the spells behind, and Neville arrived to say Professor McGonagall wanted Harry.

• Harry left the dream without discovering what the pyramid meant, then woke tired and was teased by Seamus and Dean, who mistook his defense of his dry pajama pants for evidence of a dirty dream.
• Harry threatened his roommates into keeping quiet, but Lavender looked at him strangely that afternoon.
• Harry took Qiu for a walk and explained that sealing spells from both Founders' legacies had surfaced in his mind while he fought magical creatures in a dream.
• Qiu said she had encountered the same spells without Ravenclaw's understanding accompanying them, and she agreed with Harry that the Founders may have deliberately left them behind because they were important.
• Neville arrived with Luna and Rolf and told Harry that Professor McGonagall wanted him.

Harry went to meet Professor McGonagall after Neville found him, wondering why Luna had been able to guess where he was. He arrived at the staffroom with Neville and Qiu, where several professors, Hermione, and Lavender were waiting, but the chapter ended before they explained why they had summoned them.

• Neville told Harry that Professor McGonagall had asked him to find Harry, and Luna had led Neville to him.
• Harry noticed Luna and Rolf together and privately wondered whether Luna had a talent for Divination.
• Harry, Qiu, and Neville went to the staffroom and found Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Vector, Professor Burbage, Hermione, and Lavender there.

Harry and his friends waited through most of the Easter holidays for Draco and the Death Eaters to attack Hogwarts, but nothing happened. As Harry considered provoking Draco through his dreams, Neville arrived with news of an unexpected development.

• Harry and the others watched Draco and guarded the Vanishing Cabinet, but Draco made no move before or during the Easter holidays.
• Gryffindor remained the favorite to win the Quidditch Cup, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their friends stayed at Hogwarts in case the Death Eaters attacked.
• With less than a week of the holidays left, Harry suggested entering Draco’s dream again to push him into summoning the Death Eaters, and Ron questioned whether it was a bad idea.
• Neville rushed into the Common Room and told Harry and Ron that something unexpected had happened.

Harry and Ron learned that Cedric and Rolf had jointly obtained Helga Hufflepuff’s inheritance after holding hands before her statue. The group left the Black Lake ready to examine the inheritance and consider pursuing Gryffindor’s as well.

• Neville led Harry, Ron, and Lavender to the Black Lake, where they found Cedric, Yi Qianqian, Rolf, and Luna.
• Yi Qianqian told Harry that Cedric had obtained Hufflepuff’s inheritance with Rolf, prompting the group to demand an explanation.
• Luna recounted how she suggested that Cedric and Rolf try together after their separate attempts had failed.
• Cedric and Rolf held hands before Hufflepuff’s statue, causing the Golden Cup to react and granting them the inheritance.
• Cedric urged everyone to focus on sorting out the inheritance, while Harry proposed putting Gryffindor’s inheritance on their agenda.