Chapter Summaries

Umbridge spent the afternoon and following days destroying fireworks that had turned into hundreds of dancing copies of her and hopping toads throughout Hogwarts. She then ordered fifth- and seventh-year students to remain at school over Easter, disrupting Harry and his friends’ plans.

• After a Vanishing Spell triggered the fireworks, thousands of miniature Umbridges and toads darted and hopped around Hogwarts.
• Professor McGonagall sent Lavender and Ron to tell Umbridge about the fireworks in her classroom instead of dealing with them herself.
• Umbridge spent the afternoon answering professors’ requests, then worked with Draco and the Inquisitorial Squad for two days to clear the remaining fireworks.
• Umbridge ordered fifth- and seventh-year students to stay at Hogwarts over Easter, despite several professors planning to leave.
• Harry lamented the ruined plans, and Qiu comforted him by pointing out that staying could help him prepare for his exams.

Harry and his friends saw Hufflepuff students’ elaborate pranks humiliating Umbridge, including two stubborn swamps and traps that targeted her with Dungbombs and Stink Pellets. They concluded Hufflepuff was behind the attacks, leaving Umbridge unaware of who was acting against her.

• Harry described his belief that people called honest were usually too timid or indifferent to act, while Hermione disagreed.
• Two days after Cedric’s clash with Umbridge, swamps appeared outside Umbridge’s office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the staff could not remove them.
• Dungbombs and Stink Pellets became common around Hogwarts, with pressure-triggered traps that went off only when Umbridge passed.
• Hermione explained how the traps could distinguish Umbridge by the pressure of her footsteps, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Qiu considered which house was responsible.
• Hermione concluded Hufflepuff was the likely culprit, and Ron agreed it was the only house that fit.

Harry and Qiu examined the Ravenclaw Diadem after Dumbledore and the others removed its Dark Magic. Qiu explained its supposed ability to increase its wearer's wisdom and asked Harry to let her study it, leaving her delighted with the Diadem.

• Harry recognized Dumbledore's familiar handwriting on the note accompanying the Diadem and wondered what it meant to use it well.
• Harry and Qiu saw that the Diadem no longer radiated the disturbing magic it had when it was a Horcrux.
• Qiu explained that Rowena Ravenclaw had supposedly enchanted the Diadem to increase its wearer's wisdom.
• Qiu asked Harry if she could study the Diadem for a few days, and Harry agreed.
• Qiu kissed Harry on the cheek, and Harry pulled her into a long kiss before they continued teasing each other.

Harry and Qiu found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom. After Myrtle recalled seeing a basilisk’s eyes when she died, Harry opened the hidden entrance with Parseltongue, leaving the pair facing a huge pipe.

• Harry and Qiu went to the abandoned Washroom on the second floor, where Moaning Myrtle appeared and complained about visitors.
• Harry asked Myrtle how she died, and she recalled seeing a pair of large yellow eyes about fifty years earlier.
• Qiu identified Myrtle as the student killed when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and pointed out a snake design on the washstand tap.
• Harry spoke Parseltongue to the tap, which opened the entrance and revealed an enormous pipe where the washstand had been.

Harry and Qiu received Rowena Ravenclaw’s vast store of magical knowledge after bowing to her statue, though the sudden influx knocked Qiu unconscious. After Harry revived her with a Restorative Potion, they began to realize the knowledge was integrating into their memories.

• Qiu told Harry to bow to Rowena Ravenclaw’s statue, and they bowed together.
• Harry and Qiu were overwhelmed by Ravenclaw’s knowledge, and Qiu passed out as they were transported out of the chamber.
• Harry gave Qiu a Restorative Potion, and she woke up.
• Harry explained that they had received Ravenclaw’s knowledge, and Qiu confirmed that she could sense many new things.
• Harry noticed Ravenclaw’s organized knowledge was quickly merging with his existing memories.

Harry tested his newly acquired magical skill by casting and shaping Fiendfyre, then continued through the Chamber of Secrets’ tunnel. He reached a vast cavern beneath the Black Lake, where the ground was covered in tiny bones.

• Harry summoned Fiendfyre and found he could shape its flames into different animals with ease.
• Harry decided not to test Fiendfyre on anything until he had friends and the counterspell ready.
• Harry cast a wandless Starlight Spell and continued deeper into the tunnel.
• Harry reached a huge cavern filled with tiny bones and wondered if they belonged to the basilisk’s prey.
• Harry searched for shed basilisk skin but found none.

Harry and Qiu told their friends about Ravenclaw’s hidden chamber and the inheritance Qiu received, leading them to suspect that all four Hogwarts founders left legacies. The chapter ended with Harry demonstrating one of Ravenclaw’s inherited abilities and urging the group to seek the other inheritances.

• Harry and Qiu revisited Ravenclaw’s secret chamber and found that its statue had lost its glow and its Ancient Runes had vanished.
• Harry and Qiu explained their theory that Voldemort’s rapid rise to power came partly from receiving Slytherin’s Legacy, and Hermione accepted their reasoning.
• Hermione connected the founders’ inheritances to the statues of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff that Harry and Cedric had encountered.
• Harry said he and Qiu could enter Ravenclaw’s chamber only while holding hands, and Qiu agreed that he had helped her receive the inheritance.
• Harry dismissed speculation about Voldemort’s partner and demonstrated a wandless Light Sword that inscribed characters on a desk.

Harry and his friends failed to awaken a Founder’s legacy at the Black Lake and decided to wait for Dumbledore before risking the Forbidden Forest. In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry suggested using magic to bypass its inconvenient entrance, but Hermione and Cedric pointed out Hogwarts’ restrictions on teleportation.

• Harry and his friends explored the Black Lake, but none of the couples felt anything special at the square beneath the cliff.
• Ron guessed that a Founder’s legacy might require a student from that Founder’s house, while Qiu suggested Cedric try again with his girlfriend, Yi Qianqian.
• Cedric explained that Yi Qianqian was occupied with important magical research, and Harry suggested Hermione might still have a chance with Gryffindor’s legacy.
• Qiu proposed preparing before entering the Forbidden Forest and waiting for Dumbledore to return.
• Harry and his friends went to the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione worried that its entrance was too exposed to Umbridge and Malfoy’s Inquisitorial Squad.
• Harry suggested using magic to enter the Chamber, but Cedric and Hermione noted that most students lacked Apparition skill and Hogwarts prevented teleportation magic.

Harry attended a career interview with Professor McGonagall while Umbridge observed, and he deliberately provoked Umbridge by saying he planned to defeat the escaped Death Eaters. He left Umbridge unable to answer as she angrily scribbled on her notes.

• Harry reflected that his wealth made him want to avoid working, though he planned to present a more acceptable attitude to Professor McGonagall.
• Parvati warned Harry that Umbridge was in Professor McGonagall's office.
• Professor McGonagall asked Harry what he intended to do after graduating and how that affected his future studies.
• Harry began by saying he would defeat Voldemort, prompting Umbridge to interrupt him with a warning against lying.
• Harry clarified that he meant the Death Eaters who had escaped Azkaban because of the Ministry's inadequate supervision.
• Professor McGonagall looked approvingly at Harry while Umbridge fell silent and angrily scribbled on her paper.

Professor McGonagall defended Harry’s prospects of becoming an Auror against Umbridge’s objections, and Harry left after their exchange. With term starting, Umbridge also faced the return of the magical swamps outside her office and classroom.

• Umbridge argued that Harry’s supposed criminal record would keep him from becoming an Auror.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Harry had no upheld Ministry charges and that Umbridge could not control Auror recruitment or his examinations.
• Professor McGonagall encouraged Harry to pursue becoming an Auror, and Harry left her office.
• Umbridge was unable to focus on interfering with students’ career choices because the magical swamps became a problem again as term began.
• Umbridge’s first two Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons were suspended because the fifth-year students were meeting with their Heads of House for career guidance.

Harry and the other R.B. members learned that making a Portkey would take too long to help them resume their activities this school year. After Gryffindor suffered a crushing Quidditch defeat, they left the match and found Hagrid waiting to ask them for help.

• Qiu explained that the Portkey would have to be made during the holidays for use next term.
• Umbridge remained unable to stop the school's constant pranks, while R.B. members stayed banned from Quidditch.
• Gryffindor lost badly to Slytherin because most of its regular players and reserves were banned.
• Harry left the match in disgust, and Ron, Hermione, and Lavender followed while Ginny stayed behind.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Hagrid bruised and wearing his moleskin overcoat; he said he had come to ask for help and asked whether Qiu or Cedric was there.

Hagrid told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Dumbledore had maintained a Sensory Barrier around Norberta in the Forbidden Forest, but had missed the scheduled visit to replenish it. The chapter left them wondering why Dumbledore had not appeared.

• Hagrid led Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the Forbidden Forest to explain the problem involving Norberta.
• Hagrid revealed that Dumbledore had cast a Sensory Barrier to protect Norberta and renewed it once a month.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione were astonished that Dumbledore could maintain such a large barrier with a single casting for a month.
• Hagrid explained that Dumbledore had missed the day before yesterday's scheduled visit to replenish the barrier.

Harry examined the Sensory Barrier Dumbledore had left behind and realized it combined ancient magic with a repelling effect and the ability to draw power from its surroundings. He marveled at Dumbledore’s skill as he and the others passed through the barrier.

• Harry compared Dumbledore’s Sensory Barrier with modern and ancient versions of the spell.
• Harry discovered that Dumbledore’s spell could draw power from the soil, plants, and air, though it was unusually complex.
• Harry praised Dumbledore’s genius, prompting Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione to wonder what he had noticed.
• Harry thought about wishing Cho Chang were there to understand his observations and worried she might be upset if she could not find him.
• Hagrid showed no reaction as they crossed the barrier, while Ron and Hermione shivered when they sensed it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid and met Norberta, his unusually docile Norwegian Ridgeback dragon. After assessing Dumbledore’s Sensory Barrier around her, Hermione concluded they could maintain it for only an hour or two, but Harry suggested there might be another option.

• Hagrid stopped Norberta from attacking Harry, Ron, and Hermione, then explained she had mistaken them for food and was wary of wands.
• Hagrid introduced the trio to Norberta, who stayed calm after he told her they were friends, and they watched him pet her.
• The trio remembered they had come to help maintain the Sensory Barrier protecting Norberta and the Forbidden Forest while Dumbledore was away.
• Hermione said their magic could sustain the barrier for only an hour or two and suggested asking Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick.
• Harry said there might be another option, prompting Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron to turn toward him.

Harry tested his ability to recreate Dumbledore’s protective barrier and helped Hagrid care for Grawp and the fire dragon. Back at Hogwarts, he learned how the Quidditch season had ended and faced the approaching exams.

• Harry created a barrier around Grawp that lasted five days, though it was much smaller and less stable than Dumbledore’s.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron left the Forbidden Forest, and Harry arranged for Dobby to help Hagrid care for Grawp and the fire dragon.
• Dobby told Harry he knew nothing about Dumbledore’s activities, and Harry decided not to ask him to investigate.
• Harry told Qiu what he had been doing and learned that Hufflepuff had won the Quidditch Cup after Gryffindor’s crushing defeat.
• As the students turned to their exams, Harry felt nervous despite knowing he did not need them.

Harry and his friends considered whether a Horcrux had been hidden in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts, then turned their attention to the approaching Wizard Level Examinations. The exams began after Ministry wizards cleared Hogwarts of its pranks, and Dean Thomas was relieved that the results would arrive in July.

• Harry and his friends reasoned that the Lestrange family vault at Gringotts might have held a Horcrux, leaving them wondering what object the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters sought in the Department of Mysteries.
• Hermione reminded Harry and Ron to focus on the approaching Wizard Level Examinations, while Harry warned Ron that the cheap brain-boosting potions sold by students were likely ineffective.
• Professor McGonagall gave the students final exam precautions as exam day arrived.
• Umbridge brought Ministry wizards to Hogwarts, and they cleared the Castle's Stink Pellets, Dungbombs, and swamps near her office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
• Harry and Ron heard that someone, apparently from Hufflepuff, had warned that the pranks would return if Umbridge stayed next school year.
• Dean Thomas was delighted that the exam results would arrive by owl in July, after the holidays had begun.

Harry and the other students began their Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations, starting with Charms theory. After the exam, Hermione worried that some of her answers might not have been good enough, though Harry and Ron were astonished by how many examples she had written.

• Professor Marchbanks told Umbridge that she doubted the Ministry could capture Dumbledore, prompting Harry to remark that older people were wiser.
• Harry and the other students waited for the examinations to begin, then the fifth-years entered the Great Hall for their Charms theory exam.
• Harry saw that the paper had one hundred questions, found them easy, and finished the examination without much difficulty.
• The students left the exam relieved, but Hermione looked troubled by several answers.
• Hermione explained that she had listed seventeen situations for the Cheering Charm and nine ways to counter the Hiccuping Jinx, leaving Harry and Ron stunned.

Harry and his classmates took their Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Ancient Runes exams. Their Defense exam went especially well, and the chapter left Harry noticing how few students had continued Ancient Runes to fifth year.

• Harry and Ron felt confident about their Charms results, while Hermione seemed dissatisfied.
• Harry and Ron assessed their Transfiguration performances differently, and Harry expected at least an Exceeds Expectations overall.
• Harry thought he had done average work in Herbology and was more likely to earn an Exceeds Expectations than an Outstanding.
• Harry and his classmates completed the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam successfully despite Umbridge watching, and Harry and Hermione earned extra marks for their Corporeal Patronuses.
• Harry and Hermione began the Ancient Runes exam with only four other students, and Professor Babbling noted that two Gryffindors had continued the subject unusually long.

Percy warned Ron in a coded letter that Umbridge had recruited three Aurors and five Hit Wizards, though Harry and his friends did not know why. Harry and Ron then took their Potions exam, and Harry later learned Hagrid was supervising the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test rather than their exam, easing their concerns.

• Percy sent Ron a coded letter reporting that Umbridge had added three Aurors and five Hit Wizards to her staff.
• Harry and his friends wondered what Umbridge intended to do with her new Ministry helpers and decided to wait for more information.
• Harry and Ron took the Potions exam, and Harry thought he had a good chance of earning an Exceeds Expectations or an Outstanding.
• Harry and his friends worried when Professor Grubbly-Plank guided their Tuesday exam instead of Hagrid.
• Harry learned at lunch that Hagrid was guiding students taking the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test, and he relaxed.

During the Astronomy examination, Harry watched Ministry of Magic wizards attack Hagrid and Professor McGonagall, leaving both in danger. Hagrid blew a bone flute and fought back, but the battle was still unfolding.

• Harry saw a Ministry wizard stun Fang and attack Hagrid at his hut.
• Hagrid fought back against the Ministry wizards while the students and Professor Tofty watched from the Astronomy Tower.
• Professor McGonagall rushed to Hagrid's aid, but Umbridge and three other figures ambushed her with Stunning Spells and knocked her down.
• Hagrid pulled out a bone flute and blew it, then moved among the attackers and held out against at least eleven wizards.
• Draco Malfoy mocked Hagrid, and Harry warned him to stop as Hagrid remained in grave danger.