Chapter Summaries

Harry fought Voldemort with an array of unusual spells while the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry of Magic joined the battle. Voldemort’s silver shield kept turning aside their attacks, and Harry survived under relentless pressure with the help of his Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity.

• Harry’s barrage of light needles struck Voldemort’s silver shield without affecting it, while McGonagall and Umbridge separately suspected Sirius had taught Harry his unusual magic.
• Sirius attacked Voldemort with a Sword Beam Charm, but Voldemort hit him with a Blasting Charm and sent him crashing to the ground with a likely broken breastbone.
• Lupin, McGonagall, Moody, and the other Order members attacked Voldemort, whose silver shield blocked their spells as he continued pursuing Harry.
• The Death Eaters joined the renewed melee, and Voldemort’s defense and counterattacks overwhelmed the larger group, quickly striking down three more wizards.
• Harry scrambled to evade Voldemort and relied on his Maxim Shield to survive, while Voldemort noticed that Harry’s left hand could stop even powerful spells.

Ron’s Joint Spiders briefly restrained Voldemort, but Professor McGonagall’s Binding Lock failed to hold him. Voldemort freed himself with scarlet flames and faced the astonished wizards around him.

• Bellatrix and several other Death Eaters rushed to help Voldemort, but the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry forces intercepted them.
• Ron’s Joint Spiders restrained Voldemort’s limbs, preventing him from using his wand while his Silver Shield blocked most incoming spells.
• Professor McGonagall recognized the Joint Spiders and cast six golden-rune chains with Binding Lock around Voldemort.
• Voldemort erupted in scarlet flames, dissolving both the Joint Spiders and McGonagall’s binding spell.

Dumbledore arrived at the Ministry of Magic and saved Sirius from Voldemort’s Killing Curse with the Sword of Gryffindor. He then confronted Voldemort, who launched a rapid attack before Dumbledore trapped them both in a strange distortion.

• Sirius pushed Harry aside as Voldemort’s Killing Curse flew toward them, and the Sword of Gryffindor fell from above and deflected it.
• A phoenix appeared as Dumbledore arrived, drawing cheers from the Ministry officials and Fudge.
• Voldemort attacked Dumbledore with a Killing Curse, but Dumbledore redirected the spell into the ceiling.
• Voldemort moved in an instant and slashed Dumbledore with a black Sword Beam, but Dumbledore’s figure blurred instead of being cut.
• Dumbledore distorted the area around himself and Voldemort, making Voldemort’s movements extremely difficult.

Bellatrix attacked Dumbledore with a Killing Curse, but he reflected it with a Reversing Charm, forcing Voldemort to use one of his Mind-Bewitching Shields to save her. The shield was destroyed, and Bellatrix retreated as she recognized the gulf between her strength and Dumbledore’s.

• Bellatrix surprised the gathered wizards by attacking Dumbledore with Avada Kedavra.
• Dumbledore reflected Bellatrix’s Killing Curse with a Reversing Charm, and Voldemort’s Mind-Bewitching Shield intercepted it before it hit her.
• The Killing Curse shattered Voldemort’s second Mind-Bewitching Shield, leaving him with only one of the three he had made.
• Voldemort ordered Bellatrix to retreat, and she obeyed while feeling awed by Dumbledore’s power.
• Bellatrix recalled how Azkaban, renewed training, and the Enchanted Body potion had strengthened her, but she still felt Dumbledore was unshakable.

Dumbledore and Voldemort traded powerful spells, with Dumbledore repeatedly countering and containing Voldemort until Voldemort broke free and intensified the duel. As Voldemort unleashed a terrifying aura, Harry felt the Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity stir on its own.

• Dumbledore deflected Voldemort’s magical machine-gun shots back at him, forcing Voldemort to dodge and leaving him furious.
• Voldemort summoned black clouds and scarlet lightning, but Dumbledore’s silver phoenix blocked the bolts and tore through the clouds.
• Voldemort transformed into lightning-laced black smoke and charged Dumbledore, who trapped him inside a sphere of light.
• Voldemort intensified the lightning within the sphere and exploded it, forcing Dumbledore back several steps.
• Voldemort resumed attacking, then radiated a terrifying aura that caused Harry’s Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity to react on its own.

Harry saw Dumbledore gain the upper hand against Voldemort while the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry forces held off the Death Eaters. As the fight continued, Cedric and Ron each took down an enemy by exploiting openings in battles already being fought.

• The Death Eaters tried to reach Voldemort, but the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry fighters blocked them while Dumbledore fought Voldemort.
• Cedric joined Mr. Amos and a Ministry Auror against a Death Eater and took the man down with a surprise attack.
• Ron saw Arthur Weasley struggle against a magically resistant opponent and decided to help his father.
• Ron cast Petrificus Totalus, a spell he had mastered through his strong Transfiguration skills.

Harry captured the Demon Serpent and discovered that she had once been a person afflicted by Blood Charms, while Dumbledore and the others continued fighting Voldemort. Harry put the sleeping serpent in his box as Dumbledore kept Voldemort trapped in a rapidly spinning sphere of water.

• Harry bound the Demon Serpent with his Runes Lock and learned that she had been transformed by Blood Charms.
• Dumbledore drove Voldemort back, and Sirius and Lupin struck him with their Corporeal Patronuses when he tried to reach Harry.
• Voldemort fired a Killing Curse at Harry, but Sirius and Lupin intercepted it as Harry rolled clear.
• Dumbledore trapped Voldemort in a fast-moving sphere of water that kept him from casting a spell.
• Harry stunned the Demon Serpent unsuccessfully, then poured her a Draught of Living Death and placed her in his box.

Dumbledore made a Portkey from a piece of rubble and sent Harry and the other young wizards to his office after their fight with the Death Eaters. Harry and his friends waited there, exhausted but curious about how the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry had found them.

• Dumbledore turned a wooden decoration into a Portkey, while Sirius warned Umbridge that her actions could put her before the Wizengamot.
• Neville gave Dumbledore a tool containing Rodolphus Lestrange, and Dumbledore praised Neville for not letting hatred consume him.
• Dumbledore sent Harry and the other eight young wizards to his office with the Portkey.
• Harry steadied Qiu and Ginny as the group arrived, while Hermione and the others recovered from the journey.
• Harry and his friends decided to wait for Dumbledore and wondered how the Order and Ministry had reached them during the fight.

Harry and the others watched Trelawney deliver a prophecy about the person destined to vanquish Voldemort, then heard Dumbledore explain the Ministry attack and his confrontation with Voldemort. The chapter ended with Dumbledore asking whether they knew about Horcruxes.

• Trelawney prophesied that a child born at the end of July to parents who had thrice defied Voldemort would have the power to defeat him, and that the two would be bound to kill one another.
• Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall arrived, and Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had tried to retrieve the Prophecy Orb from the Ministry while other unknown forces were also active.
• Dumbledore credited Cedric with staying at the Ministry, which had allowed the professors to arrive in time.
• Dumbledore told Harry and the others that Voldemort had greater magical power than he did, though Voldemort had not yet recovered his former strength or mentality.
• Dumbledore asked the young wizards whether they knew about Horcruxes.

After the battle, Dumbledore explained the casualties and the fate of the captured Death Eaters, then told the students that a familiar Dark Magic professor might return to Hogwarts next year. He sent the others back to their Common Rooms but kept Harry behind to speak with him.

• Dumbledore asked Harry how he and the others had reached the battle so quickly, and Harry described what he had seen through his connection to Voldemort.
• Dumbledore said several Order members were injured but none had died, while some Ministry fighters had been killed.
• Dumbledore explained that some captured Death Eaters would face harsher imprisonment and others might be executed.
• Dumbledore said a Dark Magic professor might return for a second stint, and Harry and the others concluded that Lupin was the likely candidate.
• Dumbledore had McGonagall escort the students to their Common Rooms and kept Harry behind.

Harry used Parseltongue to persuade Nagini to speak with Dumbledore, who asked when she had joined Voldemort. Nagini said she had met Tom at Hogwarts about fifty-seven or fifty-eight years ago and followed him about fifty years ago, after he received an Ancient Sage’s legacy that might break her curse.

• Harry threatened Nagini with snake meat to get her to talk to Dumbledore.
• Nagini asked what Dumbledore wanted to discuss, and Harry relayed her question.
• Dumbledore asked when Nagini had joined Voldemort, and Harry translated the question.
• Nagini said she met Tom when he had just arrived at Hogwarts, then followed him years later because he had received an Ancient Sage’s legacy that might break her curse.

Harry and Dumbledore helped Nagini break her curse, allowing her to change from a snake into a human woman. Nagini agreed to help them in the future, though she still could not speak and relied on Dumbledore to convey her thoughts.

• Nagini transformed from a snake into a human woman, leaving Harry shocked by her appearance.
• Dumbledore gave Nagini a robe, and she struggled to speak after years without using human language.
• Nagini showed Harry her gratitude and agreed to honor her promise to help them in the future.
• Nagini nodded when Dumbledore offered to convey her thoughts, and he began speaking on her behalf.

Newspapers reported Voldemort’s return, the Ministry battle, and the arrests of Death Eaters and Dolores Umbridge. At Hogwarts, students and staff reacted to the news while Hermione and the others sought treatment for their injuries.

• Draco Malfoy read that Lucius Malfoy had been confirmed as a Death Eater and imprisoned, while other Slytherins learned that their relatives had been named and captured.
• R.B. members celebrated that Harry and Dumbledore had been proved right, though students saw Ron and the others arrive at breakfast injured.
• Hermione, Lavender, Cedric, Neville, and Qiu went to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey treated their magical injuries.
• Madam Pomfrey identified Hermione’s painful wound as the result of Antonin Dolohov’s Dark Magic, and Hermione disparaged Umbridge’s past claim that students did not need to master spells.
• Hogwarts staff welcomed Umbridge’s departure, Professor Trelawney celebrated with drink, and Filch mourned the end of her time at the school.

After Dobby reported hearing the words “Boss Red King” before he was captured, Harry told Hermione, Ron, and Lavender about his past contact with the mysterious organization and its involvement in Voldemort’s resurrection. The group connected the organization to Peter’s reported death during his transfer to the Ministry, but Ron’s theory remained unresolved.

• Dobby returned and said an unknown person had captured him two days earlier, knocking him out after he heard them say “Boss Red King.”
• Harry told Qiu, Hermione, Ron, and Lavender about the organization and his possible connection to a deity, while avoiding any mention of the Black Man.
• Harry revealed that Dismask and the organization had been involved in Voldemort’s resurrection.
• Ron recalled that Susan had said Madam Amelia Bones’s party was attacked while escorting Wormtail to the Ministry, and Lavender confirmed that Peter had been killed before reaching it.
• Ron suggested that Peter’s killer might have belonged to the organization and that the magic used could have left Peter in a state of false death.

Voldemort confronted Allen Dismask, Red King Toreador, and Gladys Gageon over how quickly the Order of the Phoenix had reached the Ministry. After punishing Yaxley for his mistake, Voldemort worried that Lucius Malfoy or the captured Nagini might expose his Horcruxes.

• Voldemort and nine Death Eaters met with Allen Dismask, Red King Toreador, and Gladys Gageon in a mountain hut.
• Toreador said a Ministry employee named Diggory had stayed at the Ministry and suggested Yaxley could confirm it.
• Yaxley admitted that Amos Diggory often stayed overnight, but said he had mistakenly believed Diggory would be out drinking.
• Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse on Yaxley for fifteen seconds, leaving him sprawled and unable to rise.
• Voldemort reflected that Lucius Malfoy had been arrested with one of his Horcruxes and that Nagini had also been captured.

At Hogwarts' end-of-term feast, Hufflepuff won the House Cup, and Professor Marchbanks told Harry and Hermione about their excellent O.W.L. results. Dumbledore reiterated that Voldemort had returned, leaving the students sombre as Harry prepared to leave school and return to Privet Drive.

• Hufflepuff narrowly took the House Cup from Slytherin after winning the Quidditch Cup.
• Professor Marchbanks told Harry he was likely to have six Outstandings and the rest of his O.W.L. marks at least Exceeds Expectations.
• Professor Marchbanks told Hermione that every confirmed subject was an Outstanding and that she might earn twelve Outstandings.
• Harry worked out which subjects likely earned him Outstandings and concluded he would not receive them in History of Magic or Potions.
• Dumbledore reiterated at the feast that Voldemort had returned, and the students grew sombre.
• Harry planned to return to his dormitory before leaving Hogwarts the next day for Privet Drive.

Harry told Dumbledore about Hufflepuff’s legacy and how he and Qiu had obtained Ravenclaw’s legacy, but their discussion turned to Harry’s escort and summer arrangements. Dumbledore explained that the Ministry was occupied with a threat from Voldemort’s wider network of followers and dark creatures.

• Harry told Dumbledore about Hufflepuff’s Golden Cup and his joint acquisition of Ravenclaw’s legacy with Qiu.
• Dumbledore said breaking the magic on the Golden Cup without damaging it would take a month or two, and Harry noted that Cedric would not be at Hogwarts next year.
• Dumbledore said Ministry trouble would limit the people available to escort Harry from the station to Privet Drive and arrange his summer holidays.
• Harry questioned why the Ministry needed help when Voldemort seemed to have few followers left, and Dumbledore explained that many former followers remained active or believed in Voldemort’s theories.
• Dumbledore added that Voldemort had dark creatures such as werewolves, giants, and liches among his forces, while McGonagall questioned whether Harry should hear about them.

Dumbledore discussed Harry’s Voldemort soul fragment and asked him to consider spending part of the summer with a friend who studied Dark Magic. Harry became intrigued by the friend’s expertise and asked for his name.

• Slughorn noticed Harry’s Confundus Charm resembled Voldemort’s, and Dumbledore explained that Voldemort’s soul fragment influenced Harry.
• Dumbledore asked Harry whether he planned to deal with the soul fragment, and Harry said he wanted to wait while privately hoping to absorb its knowledge.
• Dumbledore dismissed the other Heads of House and asked Harry to spend part of the summer with a friend after his stay on Privet Drive.
• Dumbledore explained that his friend was interested in Harry’s soul fragment, studied Dark Magic, and was helping Nagini undo her Horcrux.
• Harry became curious about Dumbledore’s highly skilled friend and asked him to reveal the man’s name.

Harry eagerly agreed to meet Dumbledore’s legendary friend, and Dumbledore arranged to collect him from Privet Drive at the end of July. Dumbledore then contacted the gray-haired wizard, who discussed his progress on removing the soul fragment from the Little Snake Girl and asked whether Harry had refused to meet him.

• Harry enthusiastically agreed to meet Dumbledore’s friend despite the man’s fearsome reputation.
• Dumbledore said he would pick Harry up from Privet Drive at the end of July and wished him a happy summer holiday.
• After Harry left, Dumbledore used the fireplace to contact the gray-white-haired wizard.
• The gray-haired wizard said he expected to find a way to address the Little Snake Girl’s problem within a month and hoped to remove the soul fragment without harming her within six months.
• Dumbledore told the gray-haired wizard that he had asked Potter, and the wizard wondered whether Harry had refused to meet him.

Harry and his friends set out from Hogwarts for the station, but a strange distortion suddenly isolated them from everyone else. Harry recognized the phenomenon as resembling the attack he and Qiu had suffered before, and the chapter left them facing an unseen presence.

• Harry returned to the Common Room, spent time with his friends, and went to bed before leaving Hogwarts the next day.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville walked toward the station while Lavender and Sally Ann discussed new news about the Weird Sisters.
• Neville told Harry and the others that his parents were improving and might recover fully after two more treatments.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville noticed that everyone else had vanished as the station and surrounding scenery blurred and distorted.
• Harry called out to whoever was there and recalled the Australia Wizard who had attacked him and Qiu the previous school year.