Chapter Summaries

Harry and the others attended the Welcome Feast, where Peeves unusually caused a disturbance before Dumbledore began his announcements. Dumbledore introduced Dolores Umbridge, who interrupted him and began addressing the students.

• Peeves splashed Ginny with soup and other liquids, then fled when Nick confronted him.
• Hermione wondered why Peeves had caused trouble at a feast, and Ron nearly choked while eating.
• Dumbledore reminded students about school rules and announced that Care of Magical Creatures would be compulsory for younger students and that Dolores Umbridge had joined the staff.
• Dumbledore began discussing Quidditch but stopped when Umbridge stood and coughed to interrupt him.
• Umbridge thanked Dumbledore and told the students she was happy to be back at Hogwarts.

Hermione realized Umbridge’s speech signaled that the Ministry of Magic was beginning to interfere with Hogwarts, leaving her and the others concerned about whether even Dumbledore could stop it. After Hermione led the first years away, Fred and George teased Harry about how he had looked as a first year.

• Hermione told Harry, Ron, and the others that Umbridge’s speech showed the Ministry of Magic was seeking influence over Hogwarts.
• Harry and Ron wondered whether Dumbledore could prevent the Ministry from interfering as Hermione led the first years to their dormitories.
• Harry asked Fred whether he had seemed as clueless as the first years, and Fred pretended to be George.
• Fred and George joked that Harry’s eyes had not been clear and unclouded, then escaped before he could react.

Harry found the Gryffindors gathered to assure him they did not believe the Daily Prophet’s attacks on him and Dumbledore. Angelina explained that the Ministry had repeatedly proved untrustworthy, leaving Harry reassured by his friends’ support.

• Harry entered the crowded Gryffindor Common Room with Neville and learned that Seamus’s mother had believed the Daily Prophet’s claims about him.
• Seamus jokingly described Harry as a bully, show-off, and habitual deceiver before insisting Harry would never lie about something important, making the Common Room laugh.
• Harry thanked the Gryffindors for standing by him and admitted he had worried they might believe the newspaper’s accusations.
• Lee Jordan dismissed the idea that the students would trust Fudge over Dumbledore, and Angelina reminded everyone of the Ministry’s past failures.

Harry and Ron joined an early Quidditch training run and learned that Cedric wanted Hagrid’s help remembering a sculpture in the underwater plaza from the Triwizard Tournament. The chapter ended with the group struggling to recall the plaza’s details because the Champions had focused on rescuing their treasures.

• Seamus woke Harry and Ron for exercise, and Angelina gathered the Gryffindor Quidditch players to run around the Castle.
• Harry noticed Hagrid’s Hut was still shut and worried about Hagrid’s absence, having written to Sirius without receiving a reply.
• The Gryffindors met Cedric and the Hufflepuff team, and Cedric asked Harry and Ron whether they remembered the underwater plaza from the Tournament.
• Cedric asked about a sculpture in the plaza, but Harry, Ron, and the other players could barely recall seeing one.
• The narration explained that the spectators’ magic followed the Champions, who had concentrated on their treasures rather than the plaza’s other features.

Fred and George recruited Hogwarts students to suggest products while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Qiu prepared for the new school year. Harry searched foreign newspapers for news of Voldemort but found nothing.

• Fred and George conducted market research and gathered students’ ideas for joke products and short-acting illness potions.
• Harry realized the illness potions could help students skip lessons as their exams approached.
• Hermione studied the fifth-year material and questioned why the new Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook contained only theory, while Ron tried to memorize the school rules.
• Hermione helped Neville prepare for classes, and Harry kept Qiu company as she grew unhappy about Hogwarts students supporting the Tutshill Tornados.
• Harry collected foreign wizarding newspapers with Dobby’s help but found no news about Voldemort.

Harry excelled in Ancient Runes while wondering about Professor Babbling and Sirius, then joined his classmates for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Umbridge. The students saw that the classroom had been rearranged for lessons focused on theory, and they feared the subject would change for the worse.

• Harry became the top Ancient Runes student in his year, and Professor Babbling encouraged him to continue the subject in sixth year.
• Harry wondered whether Professor Babbling and Sirius could reconcile their past differences as Voldemort returned.
• At lunch, Ron suggested Hermione write to Krum, hoping she could get him a Quidditch jersey.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their classmates arrived for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Umbridge.
• The students found the classroom filled with long tables and a blackboard, unlike the practical lessons Lupin and Moody had taught.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Umbridge ordered the students to copy notes and read Wilbert Slinkhard’s textbook, while Hermione challenged the course’s lack of practical defensive magic. The chapter ended with Hermione proving she had read the book by answering Umbridge’s question about a specific section.

• Umbridge made the students copy three lines and follow her required response to questions.
• Harry obeyed for the moment but watched Umbridge and considered confronting her if she showed prejudice toward Muggle-born students.
• Hermione raised her hand and told Umbridge that the textbook contained nothing about how to use defensive magic.
• Umbridge challenged Hermione to identify the contents of a section, and Hermione answered correctly without hesitation.

Umbridge defended her risk-free Defense course, but Hermione, Ron, Seamus, and Winnie challenged how it could prepare students for real dangers. Umbridge claimed teachers would protect them in class, though several students still had questions.

• Umbridge said the Ministry’s course would teach defense spells safely, and Ron asked how students could defend themselves if attacked outside class.
• Seamus argued that he needed defense training because his own frequent explosions could happen in any lesson.
• The class confirmed Seamus’s reputation, and Winnie asked how the other students could protect themselves from his explosions.
• Umbridge said professors would be there to help, but several students kept their hands raised.

Harry challenged Umbridge’s denial that Voldemort had returned, prompting her to assign him detention and send him to Professor McGonagall with a sealed message. On his way to the Transfiguration office, Harry drove Peeves away with a Spirit-Binding Charm.

• Harry insisted that Voldemort had returned and challenged Umbridge to say that Voldemort was dead.
• Umbridge assigned Harry detention for the next evening and wrote a sealed note for him to take to Professor McGonagall.
• Harry left class with the unopened note and headed toward the Transfiguration office.
• Peeves dropped ink bottles at Harry, but Harry blocked the ink with a Shield Charm.
• Harry cast a Spirit-Binding Charm, and Peeves fled through a wall.

Harry faced growing disbelief among Hogwarts students after claiming Voldemort had returned, while Umbridge encouraged students to spy on one another. After a troubled night of dreams involving Voldemort and Death Eaters, Harry wondered whether they were connected to the soul fragment in his mind but hesitated to seek help.

• Some Gryffindors questioned how Harry could have survived Voldemort, and Harry privately remembered the many circumstances that had saved him.
• Ron told Harry that Umbridge was asking students to report anyone who discussed Voldemort's return, leaving Gryffindor with no clear way to resist.
• Harry had repeated dreams of Voldemort, Wormtail, and unidentified Death Eaters celebrating, and he suspected the dreams might be connected to Voldemort's soul fragment in his mental world.
• Ron urged Harry to tell Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall about the dreams, but Harry hesitated and went with Ron to breakfast.

Harry faced a week of detention with Umbridge that would keep him from important Quidditch tryouts and practice. He went to her office, where its cat-themed decorations made clear how completely its former teaching purpose had disappeared.

• Angelina Johnson confronted Harry about missing Friday practice, Saturday tryouts, and a practice match because of his detention.
• Harry refused to ask Umbridge to excuse him because he would not take back what he had said about Voldemort's return.
• Harry reassured Qiu, Ron, and Hermione before heading alone to Umbridge's office.
• Umbridge let Harry into her office, where he saw lace-covered furniture, dried flowers, and decorative plates showing cats in bows.

Harry discovered that Umbridge's enchanted quill made the words he wrote appear painfully on her hand instead. After he forced her to cancel his punishment, Harry went to the Great Hall and told Ron and Lavender what had happened.

• Harry noticed that the red marks appeared on Umbridge's hand as he wrote with her quill.
• Harry wrote the sentence repeatedly, causing Umbridge pain until she snatched away the parchment.
• Harry refused to hand over the quill until Umbridge canceled his punishment and the remaining sessions for the week.
• Harry left Umbridge's office and went to the Great Hall, where he told Ron and Lavender what had happened.

Harry returned safely from Umbridge’s punishment, reunited with Qiu, and went back to his heavy fifth-year workload. In the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione revealed the mysterious box she had been hiding, leaving Harry and Ron stunned.

• Qiu greeted Harry with relief in the Library, hugged him outside, and warned him not to underestimate Umbridge or the Ministry.
• Harry and Qiu studied together, then wandered around the Castle before Harry walked her back to Ravenclaw Common Room.
• The twins organized a celebration after Ron spread news that Harry had dealt with Umbridge, while Hermione urged everyone to stay cautious.
• Harry noticed the box Hermione had been keeping beside her, and Ron pointed out that she was obviously hiding something.
• Hermione lifted the cloth from the box, and Harry and Ron were stunned by what they saw.

After Gryffindor’s Quidditch tryouts, Angelina worried about the team’s future, though Harry and Ron gave the current lineup strength. Harry then experienced a strange dream in which he watched events through an uncontrollable viewpoint as a pale young man entered a shabby room.

• Angelina and the Gryffindor players found that the tryouts produced few promising recruits, and McLaggen was best suited to Keeper despite Ron already holding the position.
• Angelina worried that several seventh-year starters would graduate, while Katie pointed to Harry, Ron, Seamus, Parvati, and Ginny as reasons for optimism.
• The players joked that Qiu could distract Harry during a Quidditch match, and Ron reminded Harry that he had recently grinned when Qiu smiled at him.
• Harry opened his eyes in a shabby room and realized he could see through a viewpoint he could not control.
• A pale young man entered the room, and Harry could not hear what he said.

Harry told Professor McGonagall that he had been having strange dreams involving Peter, and she brought him to Dumbledore. Dumbledore suspected the dreams were connected to Voldemort regaining his strength and reminded Harry of their discussion about Harry’s connection to him.

• Harry visited Professor McGonagall after the Quidditch practice match and described his strange dreams, which had begun around a year earlier.
• Professor McGonagall took Harry to Dumbledore’s office, where they learned from Headmaster Phineas’s portrait that Dumbledore would return soon.
• Dumbledore arrived by fireplace, and Professor McGonagall told him about Harry’s dreams.
• Dumbledore said the dreams did not seem particularly serious and suspected they were linked to Voldemort regaining his strength.

Harry discovered that Qiu was unwell because of her menstrual period and tried to care for her by sending hot drinks back to her dormitory. After an evening Quidditch practice, new Chaser Romilda told Harry that she believed in him.

• Harry found Hermione and Ron in the Library but learned that Qiu had returned to her dormitory because she was feeling unwell.
• Hermione hinted that September ninth was an important date for Harry, while Lavender laughed and neither explained the joke.
• Harry checked on Qiu at lunch, and Marietta told him to take extra care of her and bring her a hot drink.
• Angelina explained menstruation to Harry and Ron, and Harry later sent hot drinks to Qiu through Marietta.
• Harry joined a short Gryffindor Quidditch practice, where Romilda told him that she believed in him.

Ron received a letter from Percy that appeared to urge him to side with Umbridge and the Ministry, but Ron decoded it as a warning about monitored correspondence and Umbridge’s growing authority. Harry and the others learned that Percy was secretly trying to help them prepare.

• Percy wrote Ron a letter congratulating him on becoming a prefect and advising him to keep his distance from Harry and cooperate with Umbridge.
• Hermione and Neville became angry at Percy’s apparent support for the Ministry, while Harry and Ron remained calm.
• Harry told Hermione that the letter contained a hidden message, and Ron explained that Percy had used a code taught by Fred and George.
• Ron decoded Percy’s warning that the family’s letters were being monitored and that a house-elf should carry urgent information.
• Percy revealed that Sturgis had apparently tried to break into the Department of Mysteries and that Umbridge had received special Ministry authority to interfere at Hogwarts.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione read that the Ministry had appointed Umbridge Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her authority to assess and dismiss professors. Harry suspected Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix were occupied with important business, then went to speak with Qiu.

• Harry and Ron went to the Great Hall early to find out how the Ministry planned to interfere with Hogwarts.
• Hermione read that Umbridge had been appointed High Inquisitor and could judge professors' qualifications and forbid them from teaching.
• Hermione said the Ministry intended to use Umbridge to keep Dumbledore in check, while Harry suggested Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix were busy with something important.
• Harry noticed Qiu, left Ron and Hermione, and asked whether she was still feeling unwell.
• Qiu objected to Harry calling her “darling” because she found it too sappy.

Harry and his friends discussed Umbridge’s first classroom inspection and guessed which lessons she might observe. Umbridge skipped Ancient Runes, where Harry and the other four students struggled through a demanding lesson as Professor Babbling explained the high bar for her Advanced Class.

• Fred and George told Harry and the others that Umbridge had silently observed Professor Flitwick’s seventh-year Charms lesson and questioned Alicia afterward.
• Harry and his friends speculated that Umbridge might inspect Ancient Runes or Divination, and Harry apologized after offending Lavender by criticizing Professor Trelawney.
• Harry and Hermione attended Ancient Runes without seeing Umbridge, and the five remaining students found the lesson exceptionally difficult.
• Professor Babbling told the students that the term’s workload would remain intense and that students needed an E on their Ordinary Wizarding Levels to enter her Advanced Class.

Harry discovered that he had been mysteriously compelled to write the ancient sorcery term “Star Sea,” which connected to a deity he feared. At the library, Ron and Lavender told him Umbridge had challenged Professor Trelawney in class, prompting Harry to recall a prophecy Trelawney had made years earlier.

• Qiu explained that “Star Sea” appeared in prayers for ancient sorcery and questioned how Harry had copied it perfectly in place of “extreme cold.”
• Harry realized that seeing the term had drawn him into writing it and recalled a connection to the Lord of the Deep Space Star Sea.
• Harry found Ron and Lavender in the library, where Lavender was upset about Umbridge’s confrontation with Professor Trelawney during Divination.
• Ron and Lavender explained that Trelawney had refused Umbridge’s demand for a prophecy and had defended the Inner Eye as something that could not be opened on command.
• Harry recalled that Trelawney descended from the great seer Kardashian Trelawney and remembered her earlier prophecy that a servant imprisoned for twelve years would escape and rejoin the Dark Lord.