Chapter Summaries

Dudley’s chokehold failed to subdue Dikin, who used a Fire-Making Spell to force him off before Harry knocked Dikin unconscious. Harry and Dudley bound Dikin and went to Mrs. Figg’s house to ask her to handle the situation.

• Dudley pinned Dikin with a chokehold, but Dikin’s magical protection kept him from being injured by the earlier throw.
• Dikin conjured flames on his body, startling Dudley into releasing him.
• Harry cut through the vines restraining him and struck Dikin with the Sword Beam Charm, knocking him unconscious.
• Harry took Dikin’s wand, bound him with vines, and left him behind while he and Dudley went to find Mrs. Figg.
• Harry and Dudley arrived at Mrs. Figg’s house and found her knitting beside her sleeping kittens.

Harry and Dudley encountered Dementors near their home, and Harry destroyed both with his lion Patronus. He picked up a finger-bone-like object dropped by one of them, resembling something he had found during his third year.

• Harry explained to Dudley that the strange man they had found had likely had his soul sucked out by a Dementor.
• Harry realized Dementors should not have been outside Azkaban and wondered why they had appeared nearby.
• Two Dementors flew toward Harry and Dudley, and Harry shielded Dudley before casting Expecto Patronum.
• Harry's lion Patronus destroyed both Dementors as they tried to flee.
• Harry picked up a cold, finger-bone-like object that had fallen from one of the Dementors.

Harry received notice that the Ministry had expelled him for using a Patronus in front of a Muggle and ordered him to attend a hearing. Suspecting the Ministry had arranged the Dementor attack to discredit him, he returned to his room, where Dobby delivered a letter from Arthur Weasley.

• A Ministry notice accused Harry of underage magic, expelled him from Hogwarts, and summoned him to a hearing on August twelfth.
• Harry suspected the Ministry had set him up by arranging the Dementor attack to undermine his claim that Voldemort had returned.
• Petunia let Harry return to his room and stopped Dudley from following him.
• Dobby appeared in Harry's room, and Harry reassured him that he was not angry about the elf startling him.
• Dobby gave Harry a letter from Arthur Weasley.

Harry learned that Dumbledore and Sirius would support him at his upcoming hearing and stayed at his aunt and uncle’s house for protection. On August eleventh, Dobby took him and his luggage to Weasley Manor with Moody.

• Harry called Qiu, who supported him and advised him to stay at his aunt's house, then hung up when he became cheeky.
• Hermione told Harry that Ron had already informed her about his situation, and she said Dumbledore would resolve the matter at the hearing.
• Kreacher delivered Sirius's letter promising that he and Dumbledore would attend the hearing, and Harry sent Sirius a reassuring reply.
• Harry remained on Privet Drive, where his mother's protection was strongest.
• Dobby and Moody checked Harry's room for surveillance magic, then Dobby transported Harry and his luggage to Weasley Manor.

Harry arrived at Sirius's house, which had become the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters, and reunited with Hermione and Ron. Worried about his upcoming hearing, he slept poorly, woke before six, and found several adults already up in the sitting room.

• Sirius explained that Grimmauld Place was sealed as the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters and that the group had to enter through a concealed Floo connection at Weasley Manor.
• Harry traveled through the fireplace to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Hermione hugged him and he greeted Hermione and Ron.
• Mrs. Weasley sent Harry and the others to bed, insisting that Harry needed to get up early for his hearing.
• Harry struggled to sleep because he was worried about the hearing, then woke before six and dressed in clothes Dobby had prepared.
• Harry found Sirius, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and several others waiting in the sitting room, and Mr. Weasley asked why he was awake so early.

Harry, Sirius, and Arthur Weasley traveled to the Ministry of Magic for Harry’s hearing, where they passed security checks and waited in Arthur’s office. On the way, Harry spotted Kingsley, who acted as though he barely knew Sirius or Arthur.

• Arthur Weasley excitedly announced each Underground stop as he took Harry and Sirius to Whitehall.
• Harry found the Ministry’s telephone-box entrance, and the trio received visitor badges before being carried into the Ministry.
• A Ministry wizard scanned Harry and Sirius, inspected their wands, and recorded their details.
• Arthur led Harry and Sirius through the chaotic Ministry workplaces to his office to wait for the hearing.
• Harry saw Kingsley, but Sirius stopped him from greeting him as Kingsley kept his distance from Sirius and Arthur.

Harry and Sirius appeared before the Wizengamot, where Fudge tried to begin a trial over Harry using a Patronus in front of Muggles. Sirius objected that Harry had been summoned for a hearing, and the proceedings began with Percy recording the case.

• Harry recognized the gathered wizards as the Wizengamot and wondered why Dumbledore was absent.
• Fudge, Amelia Bones, and Dolores Umbridge appeared as the presiding officials, and Fudge announced the trial.
• Sirius objected that Harry's notice had called for a hearing and cited the Wizengamot Charter of Rights.
• Percy Weasley read the charges and the laws governing Harry's case, then identified Fudge, Bones, and Umbridge as the prosecution.

Harry faced a Ministry hearing over using magic to conjure a Patronus outside Hogwarts, while Fudge tried to establish his guilt through leading questions. After Harry demonstrated his corporeal lion Patronus, he revealed that two Dementors had been present, leaving the Wizengamot stunned.

• Fudge questioned Harry about using magic in front of a Muggle, repeatedly interrupting his explanation until Harry objected that the hearing was not a trial.
• Amelia Bones asked Harry whether his Patronus had a definite form, and Harry demonstrated a silver lion before the Wizengamot.
• Umbridge argued that a visible Patronus made the violation worse, while Amelia let Harry continue explaining his actions.
• Harry said that he had cast the Patronus because two Dementors had been there, and the hearing fell silent.

Harry challenged Fudge and Umbridge’s claim that Dementors could not have attacked him in Little Whinging, arguing that the Ministry could not prove it controlled them completely. The hearing remained unresolved as Fudge rejected Harry’s offer to undergo interrogation, and Amelia grew interested in Harry’s powerful Occlumency.

• Sirius questioned Fudge’s claim that Dementors could not enter Little Whinging without being sent there, and Harry got Fudge to insist that the Ministry controlled every Dementor’s movements.
• Harry cited the Quidditch match where over thirty Dementors attacked him and Cedric Diggory, then challenged Umbridge’s claim that the Ministry could control Dementors completely.
• Umbridge redirected the hearing to Harry’s use of magic, and Dumbledore cited the law permitting underage magic to protect lives while Sirius argued that Harry had used the Patronus Charm against Dementors.
• Harry offered to undergo Veritaserum or other interrogation magic, but Fudge claimed Harry’s Occlumency would make those methods ineffective.
• Amelia became interested in Harry’s advanced Occlumency, wondering how a student who had not yet taken his Ordinary Wizarding Levels could have such a high level of skill.

Harry was declared innocent at his hearing and returned to 12 Grimmauld Place with Sirius, where his friends celebrated his safe return. Sirius and Moody suspected Lucius Malfoy was influencing Fudge to prepare the way for his master.

• Harry won the hearing after the majority voted that he was innocent.
• Harry and Sirius met Mr. Weasley, who left for Serbia and asked them to tell Molly he might not return that night.
• Harry mocked Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry, and Sirius threatened to shave off Lucius’s hair if he spoke against Harry again.
• Moody waited for Harry and Sirius, and Sirius Apparated them back to 12 Grimmauld Place.
• Ron, Hermione, and Ginny welcomed Harry home, and he recounted the hearing while eating Kreacher’s feast.
• Sirius told the group he had seen Lucius at the Ministry, and Moody and Sirius suspected Lucius was trying to influence Fudge on behalf of his master.

Harry and Ron received their Hogwarts supply lists, which suggested a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had been chosen. Ron was stunned to discover he had been made a Gryffindor prefect, leaving the twins incredulous and Harry’s own appointment unresolved.

• Mido brought Harry and Ron their Hogwarts letters and supply lists at 12 Grimmauld Place.
• Harry noticed Wilbert Slinkhard’s Defensive Magical Theory on the book list and wondered who had chosen it.
• Fred and George speculated that Dumbledore had found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and discussed how hard the post was to fill.
• Ron stared silently at his unopened Hogwarts letter until one of the twins took it from him.
• A Gryffindor Prefect Badge bearing Ron’s initials fell from the envelope, surprising Ron, Harry, and the twins.

Mrs. Weasley held a dinner to celebrate Ron and Hermione becoming prefects, where the guests joked about Ron and Harry not being appointed. Mr. Weasley arrived from a Ministry assignment with the unpopular Mundungus Fletcher, whose presence dampened the celebration.

• Mrs. Weasley hosted a dinner for Ron and Hermione, and Sirius joked that Harry becoming a prefect would have worried him about Hogwarts.
• Sirius and Lupin recalled their school days, including Lupin's time as a prefect and James and Sirius's frequent detentions.
• Mr. Weasley returned from official business in Serbia and congratulated Ron and Hermione, while teasing Ron about his appointment.
• Mundungus Fletcher entered with Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks reacted with displeasure.

Harry asked to join the Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius and the others refused because he was still underage. He learned about Mundungus Fletcher’s past dealings with the twins, then Ron worried about taking his Ordinary Wizarding Levels after neglecting his studies.

• Harry told Sirius he wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius, Lupin, and the adults refused to involve the children yet.
• Mrs. Weasley praised Sirius’s maturity and gave him an extra chicken leg, while Ron admitted he had also hoped to join the Order.
• Harry learned that Mundungus had profited from buying cauldrons of dubious origin, though the money meant little to him.
• Harry learned that Mundungus had once supplied the twins with hard-to-obtain materials before their expanding business connections made him unnecessary.
• Harry doubted Mundungus could be relied upon in a crisis because he had spent away his earnings and was now broke.
• Ron told Hermione he felt nervous about his Ordinary Wizarding Levels after doing little homework during the previous year.

Harry overheard Kingsley, Sirius, and Moody discuss Dumbledore’s decision not to make him a prefect and the Daily Prophet’s attacks on him, then spent the remaining days before school studying with Ron and Hermione. The Weasleys prepared for the new school year, and Ron passed his old broom to Ginny before an unspecified incident disrupted their quiet days.

• Harry overheard Kingsley ask Sirius why Dumbledore had not made Harry a prefect and say Harry needed reassurance amid the Daily Prophet’s slander.
• Sirius and Moody defended Harry’s resilience, and Harry returned to bed without revealing that he had been listening.
• Harry and Ron reviewed their lessons with Hermione’s help while Mrs. Weasley bought their school supplies.
• Ron received a new Nimbus broom and gave his old broom to Ginny, reflecting on the Weasley family’s past hardships.
• An unspecified event disturbed the otherwise peaceful days before school began.

Harry and the others traveled from the Black Mansion to King's Cross in Sirius's dangerously fast car, accompanied by several guards. At the station, Harry spotted Cho Chang and called to her, but she rolled her eyes and stayed with her parents.

• Hermione organized the group’s school supplies, and Sirius provided a car to take them to the station with their guards.
• In the car, Lupin reassured Hermione about the ride and explained that he would warn her before they stopped.
• Sirius sped to King's Cross in under half a minute, leaving Mrs. Weasley and Tonks feeling sick and vowing not to ride with him again.
• Harry noticed Lupin avoid Tonks’s gaze and wondered why their relationship seemed different from the year before.
• Harry spotted Cho Chang at the platform and called to her, but she rolled her eyes and stayed with her parents.

Neville waited at St. Mungo’s Hospital while Master Brach treated his parents’ soul injuries. His aunt’s account of Brach’s expertise gave Neville hope, though he was still waiting to learn whether the treatment had worked.

• Neville waited outside the ward with his grandmother and Aunt Britney while Master Brach treated Frank and Alice Longbottom.
• Britney reassured Neville that Master Brach had studied the soul for over fifty years and had recently developed new ideas about soul injuries.
• Neville recalled how practicing the ancient magic Harry taught him had improved his memory and seemed to strengthen his soul.
• Neville had practiced meditation for years, hoping his strengthened soul might eventually help his parents recover their awareness.
• Neville learned that Master Brach, Curilta Brach, was a renowned potions grandmaster and leading healer who had been researching soul injuries with wizards from the New Continent.

Harry rode to Hogwarts alone until Luna Lovegood joined him, and he bought several holiday issues of The Quibbler from her. As first-years stared at him with suspicion, Harry shut the compartment door, and Luna told him that Wrackspurts were in his head.

• Harry sat alone in a compartment and read a supplementary charms book while waiting for the train to depart.
• Luna Lovegood entered Harry’s compartment, bringing her trunk and several copies of The Quibbler.
• Harry bought one copy of each holiday issue Luna had and began reading them as the train left the station.
• Several first-years visited Harry’s compartment and gave him odd looks, so he shut the door.
• Luna told Harry that Wrackspurts were in his head, and Harry considered whether her unusual claims might be true.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna discussed the new prefects on the Hogwarts Express, including Pansy Parkinson’s surprising appointment. Ron suggested patrolling the carriages, but before they decided, Draco Malfoy arrived with Crabbe and Goyle, prompting Harry to reflect on Crabbe’s parents’ deaths in Serbia.

• Qiu fled after Ron interrupted her and Harry, and Harry complained that they had returned at a very bad time.
• Ron told Harry that Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were Slytherin’s prefects, while Hermione and Luna discussed why Pansy might have been chosen.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione went over the prefects from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, including Anthony Goldstein, Padma, Macmillan, and Abbott.
• Ron proposed that they patrol the carriages, and Hermione accused him of wanting to exercise his authority.
• Draco Malfoy arrived with Crabbe and Goyle, and Harry recalled that Crabbe’s parents had been extradited to Serbia and died there.

Harry traveled to Hogwarts with his friends, reunited with Qiu, and worried when Hagrid was absent from the platform. He learned Qiu knew Thestrals pulled the carriages and found comfort in her reassurance, while the reason for Hagrid’s absence remained unclear.

• Hermione teased Harry about staring at Qiu’s compartment, and the group chatted about Neville and hoped his parents would recover.
• Cedric visited the compartment and told Harry that he and his father believed Harry and Dumbledore.
• Hermione and Ron went to the prefects’ compartment, then Harry left the train with Luna, Qiu, and Marietta.
• Harry looked for Hagrid but saw Professor Slughorn gathering the first years, leaving him to wonder whether Hagrid had lost his teaching qualifications.
• Qiu told Harry that Thestrals were not evil or ill-omened, and comforted him when he admitted he could see them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione worried that Umbridge might be returning to Hogwarts as a professor while they watched the Sorting Ceremony. The Sorting Hat’s warning about enemies outside the school left them uneasy as Dumbledore began the feast.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione speculated that Umbridge might teach Defense Against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures.
• Professor McGonagall brought the new students into the Great Hall, and the Sorting Hat sang about hungry-eyed enemies and the need for unity.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione wondered whether the song was a warning, and Nearly Headless Nick said the Sorting Hat felt responsible for warning the school.
• McGonagall completed the Sorting Ceremony, and Dumbledore announced the start of the feast.