Recaps

Harry and the Hogwarts staff defeated the monster, and Harry destroyed Voldemort’s Horcrux diary while Snape survived Black Ginny’s attack. Over the summer Harry reunited with the Weasleys, learned that Sirius Black had escaped, and the Dark Lord acquired a rare object from Borgin and Burkes.

• Snape confronted Black Ginny in the Forbidden Forest, where she severed his arm and later struck him with a weakened killing curse that left him unconscious.
• Professor Babbling immobilized the regenerating monster with Ancient Magic, and the Heads of House dismantled it after she explained that an anchor connected it to the Evil God.
• Harry woke in the Hospital Wing, then helped Dumbledore investigate the black notebook and identify it as a Horcrux linked to the Chamber of Secrets monster.
• Harry destroyed the diary with the Sword of Gryffindor, while Dumbledore warned Lucius Malfoy against bringing Voldemort-related objects into Hogwarts and Harry helped Dobby secure paid work.
• Lockhart warned Harry about using Second Sight casually, and Harry spent the summer preparing an Animagus potion before beginning the transformation ritual.
• Harry returned to the Weasleys and joined them at their manor, where he and his friends recognized Sirius Black in a newspaper photograph and learned he had escaped from Azkaban.
• In Diagon Alley, Crookshanks lunged at Scabbers, and Ron chased the rat after it escaped.
• The Dark Lord visited Borgin and Burkes in disguise and paid Caractacus Burke fifty Galleons for a rare object.

Harry began his third year at Hogwarts, meeting Slughorn and encountering a Dementor before starting new classes with Lupin and Hagrid. As Hermione and Ron remained at odds, Harry faced fresh lessons and mysteries, while Ron discovered his abilities had unexpectedly improved.

• Dumbledore took Harry to meet Horace Slughorn, who recognized him as Lily Evans’s son and agreed to welcome Dumbledore because Harry was with him.
• On the Hogwarts Express, Harry and his friends encountered a Dementor, which Harry’s Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity destroyed, and Ron later suffered a strange convulsion.
• At the Welcome Feast, Harry learned that Hagrid would teach Care of Magical Creatures and recognized Remus Lupin from an old photograph of his parents’ friends.
• Trelawney read the Grim in Harry’s tea leaves, but McGonagall reassured him that he was healthy and would not die, while Ron and Hermione’s argument worsened.
• During Hagrid’s first lesson, Draco ignored Hagrid’s instructions and provoked Fidebabi, then his parents’ complaint failed to get Hagrid removed from Hogwarts.
• Lupin taught the students to face Boggarts, and Ron, Neville, and Amanda Apalla transformed their fears with Riddikulus.
• Harry found Lupin’s Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons and Slughorn’s Potions class challenging, while spending more time studying with Hermione.
• At Quidditch practice, Ron’s team won 190–20, and Ron realized his strength, balance, reactions, and control had improved despite not practicing over the holidays.

Harry faced Dementors during Quidditch and learned more about Sirius Black’s betrayal, while the Marauder’s Map and his growing closeness with Cho Chang shaped his days at Hogwarts. The arc left Harry and Cho planning to practice the Patronus Charm together.

• Harry and Ron received a proposal from the Xilieikesi family to buy potions, and Ron burned the letter after urging Harry to accept.
• Sirius Black attacked the Fat Lady’s portrait, prompting Dumbledore to search Hogwarts while keeping the Dementors outside the grounds.
• Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff, but Dementors invaded the pitch and caused Cedric to fall from his broom.
• Harry discovered the Marauder’s Map and recognized the names Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs from the Marauders’ Notebook.
• Ron accused Hermione’s Crookshanks of eating Scabbers, and the quarrel drove the friends apart again.
• Harry overheard Fudge, Hagrid, and McGonagall discuss Sirius Black’s role as the Potters’ Secret Keeper and Peter Pettigrew’s death, then told Ron and Neville what he had learned.
• Harry spent time with Cho Chang and gave her copied instructions for the Patronus Charm as a Christmas present.
• Cho invited Harry to find somewhere to practice the Patronus Charm with her.

Harry practiced the Patronus Charm with Cho, helped Gryffindor win its Quidditch matches, and found a sinister box near the Forbidden Forest as Sirius Black’s intrusion unsettled the school. Ginny’s appearance changed over Easter, and the story left Harry and his friends finishing their exams.

• Harry practiced Patronus casting with Cho and learned from Lupin that he needed a stronger desire to protect someone before his Patronus could become corporeal.
• Harry and Cho spent time together, drawing rumors that they were a couple, and Harry caught the Snitch to lead Gryffindor to victory over Ravenclaw as Ron made spectacular saves.
• Sirius Black entered Gryffindor Tower and stood by Ron’s bed before fleeing, prompting McGonagall to investigate how he had obtained the password and to increase security.
• Harry followed strange sounds near the Forbidden Forest and used a Switching Spell to uncover a rune-bound wooden box whose sinister presence stirred his Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity.
• Ron learned that Greyback had been killed with Dark Sucking, which he said was exclusive to the Black family, while Neville recalled his parents’ unsuccessful hunt for the werewolf.
• Black Ginny brewed an enchanted body potion for Ginny, who hoped it would improve her chances with Harry without harming Cho or Padma.
• Gryffindor lost to Hufflepuff with a reserve lineup, and students remarked on Ginny’s transformed beauty as exams approached.
• Harry, Ron, and their classmates sat their exams, and Ron emerged from Divination unsure of what his crystal ball had shown.