Chapter Summaries

After Christmas, Gryffindor trained hard for its upcoming matches against Hufflepuff while Harry and Ron joined Hermione in preparing to investigate the Chamber of Secrets using Polyjuice Potion. At the reopened Duelling Club, Professor Flitwick demonstrated how a quick, simple spell could interrupt powerful Dark Magic.

• Gryffindor's team resumed intensive Quidditch practice ahead of two matches against Hufflepuff's new Seeker, Cedric.
• Hermione continued investigating the heir of Salazar Slytherin, and Harry and Ron agreed to help now that the Polyjuice Potion was ready.
• The Duelling Club reopened, with Professor Flitwick hosting alongside Lockhart.
• Professor Flitwick explained that simple, fast spells could counter stronger magic and introduced a dueling Magical Automata made by Professor McGonagall.
• Professor Flitwick disarmed the automaton before it could cast its Dark Magic spells.

Lockhart praised Harry’s skill by reminding Flitwick that Harry had easily defeated Malfoy, prompting Draco to take offense. Flitwick warned Harry about the dangers of two dark spells, but Harry agreed to face them rather than lose face in front of his classmates.

• Lockhart told Flitwick that Harry had easily defeated Malfoy and credited his own teaching for Harry’s talent.
• Pansy laughed at Draco’s reaction, and Crabbe and Goyle copied her, mistakenly thinking they were joining in with a joke.
• Draco accused Crabbe and Goyle of mocking him and chased them as they begged for mercy.
• Flitwick explained the poisonous sand of Dark Storm and the poisonous, corrosive flame of Corrosive Poison Flame, advising Harry to dodge both.
• Harry reluctantly agreed to face the spells and promised Flitwick he would be careful.

Harry reunited with Luna Lovegood, who warned him that an evil aura had appeared on his left hand and eyes. Luna could not explain how to remove it, and Harry dismissed her uncertain memory of seeing the aura on a red-haired girl as a mistake.

• Luna approached Harry in the Great Hall and told him that she sensed an evil aura on him.
• Luna explained that the aura had grown on Harry’s left hand and had recently appeared on his eyes.
• Harry connected the aura on his left hand to the Left Hand of Chaos and Calamity given to him by the Black Man, and suspected the aura on his eyes might relate to his recent vision.
• Luna told Harry that she had seen a similar aura on her mother before she died in a magical accident, but she did not know how to remove it.
• Luna recalled possibly seeing the aura on a red-haired girl whom she had thought was Ginny Weasley, but Harry insisted she must have been mistaken.

Harry and the twins discussed using Magical Automata to speed up production and confirmed their products were selling well. Far away, a woman studying star charts struggled with the blizzard before a blue-haired wizard arrived at her igloo.

• Harry and the twins agreed to research Magical Automata that could load materials into their device.
• The twins said Zonko's was eager for more products and promised to finish Harry's requested item before Easter.
• A woman in an igloo on the Far Northern Icefield compared star charts and cursed the blizzard for disrupting her observations.
• The blue-haired wizard appeared, admired the smell of the broth, and sat down to eat while the woman told him to be quiet.

Hermione drugged Draco Malfoy to keep him away from the Quidditch match, creating a chance for Harry, Ron, and Neville to investigate the Chamber of Secrets. She laid out the next step of their plan: Harry would find the Slytherin Common Room password.

• Harry and Ron worried that Hermione would insist they pursue their investigation into the Chamber of Secrets and the heir.
• Hermione revealed that she had drugged Draco so he would feel slightly feverish and dizzy during Slytherin’s Quidditch match.
• Harry explained that Draco’s pride would make him pretend to be too ill to attend the match, and Hermione confirmed his guess.
• Hermione assigned Harry to find out the Slytherin Common Room password the following morning, and Harry agreed.

Harry, Ron, and Neville infiltrated the Slytherin Common Room to reach Draco Malfoy, with Ron and Neville disguised as Crabbe and Goyle and Harry invisible. They sat down with Draco and Pansy, who began to suspect their behavior was unusual.

• Hermione hid in a nearby classroom while Ron and Neville approached the Slytherin entrance with the invisible Harry.
• Ron said the password, "pureblood," and led Neville into the Common Room as Harry followed unseen.
• Draco and Pansy were alone in the Common Room when the disguised boys arrived.
• Draco asked where they had been, and Ron claimed they had gone to the Library before Neville said they had wandered there by accident.
• Pansy wondered whether Ron and Neville were acting strangely, but Draco dismissed them as dopey.

Harry, Ron, and Neville escaped the Slytherin Common Room when Hermione’s Polyjuice Potion wore off early, then concluded that Draco was not the heir. With the investigation stalled until Colin Creevey might recover, they headed toward the Library before a crowd returning from the Quidditch match arrived.

• Harry warned Ron that the Polyjuice Potion was wearing off, and Ron and Neville hurried out of the Slytherin Common Room with Harry following invisibly.
• Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione met on the way to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom, where Ron and Neville changed back and Harry returned the borrowed Slytherin robes.
• The four discussed Ron’s conversation with Draco and decided that Draco was not the heir, leaving them without a current suspect.
• Hermione explained that they would have to wait until June for mature mandrakes to restore Colin Creevey and possibly learn what he had seen.
• As the four headed toward the Library, the Twins and Lee Jordan led a crowd into the Entrance Hall and complained about Ravenclaw's Seeker.

Harry ordered an extra dessert portion for Luna and greeted Ginny, whose shy manner changed once she was out of sight. At Slytherin and Ravenclaw’s Quidditch match, Ravenclaw took an early lead with skilled teamwork while Draco played Seeker.

• Harry ordered six portions of dessert, including an extra one for Luna because she had helped him before.
• Ron teased Harry about ordering dessert for a girl, and Hermione recognized Luna as “Loony Luna.”
• Ginny greeted Harry shyly, then left with a gloomy expression after he and the others looked at her.
• Harry and his friends watched the Slytherin-Ravenclaw match, where Draco played despite having considered feigning illness.
• Ravenclaw fielded a different Seeker, and its Chasers quickly took the lead through precise passing that frustrated Slytherin’s rough style of play.

After watching Ravenclaw’s new Seeker play, Harry encountered her again outside the Castle and was struck by her smile. Hermione noticed his reaction and teased him about the girl as Ron and Neville joined in.

• Harry and the Gryffindor Quidditch Team discussed Ravenclaw’s new Seeker and agreed that Cedric Diggory was the bigger concern before their upcoming Hufflepuff matches.
• Harry froze at the Castle entrance when he spotted the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team and recognized the black-haired girl among them.
• The girl met Harry’s gaze, smiled at him, and went into the Castle, leaving him staring after her with his heart pounding.
• Ron brought Harry back to his senses, and Harry blushed as he realized he had not heard what Ron was saying.
• Hermione teased Harry about looking at a girl, and she reminded Ron that Ravenclaw had a new, younger team member.

Hagrid told Harry, Hermione, and Ron that Fluffy and a tribe of wolf demons had devastated Aragog’s spider colony in the Forbidden Forest. The surviving spiders had been driven away, and Hagrid feared their Acromantula bloodline would eventually disappear.

• Harry asked Hagrid why he looked down, and Hagrid said Aragog was badly injured.
• Hagrid explained that Fluffy had joined a wolf demon tribe, which attacked Aragog’s descendants after they provoked the wolves.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron asked Hagrid what wolf demons were, and he described them as intelligent, wolf-shaped offspring of two low-rank werewolves.
• Hagrid said Fluffy and the wolf demons had killed many of the colony’s purer-blooded spiders and driven the rest to the forest’s outskirts.
• Hagrid stopped Fluffy from attacking further but feared the spider colony would lose its Acromantula bloodline and become ordinary large spiders.

Harry learned that Luna had been struck by a powerful curse and reasoned that the attacker must be inside Hogwarts. He left Padma and Sally waiting for him to explain what he had suspected.

• Padma told Harry that Luna had fainted after Flying Class and was being kept isolated in the Hospital Wing while staff investigated the curse.
• Sally suggested Luna might have brought the curse on herself through research into dangerous magic, but Padma disagreed.
• Padma said Madam Pomfrey and Flitwick believed someone had cursed Luna, and Harry realized Hogwarts's barrier meant the attacker had to be inside the Castle.
• Padma pressed Harry to share what he had thought of, but the chapter ended before he answered.

Ginny argued with Black Ginny about the spell that had harmed Luna and learned they needed to grow stronger to escape their predicament. Later, Luna returned to the Great Hall unharmed, and Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick identified the curse as Evil Spirit Convergence.

• Ginny confronted Black Ginny over the spell that had caused Luna nightmares, and Black Ginny apologized for misjudging Luna as a natural medium.
• Black Ginny told Ginny that they needed to cooperate and strengthen their magic to escape the situation created by Him.
• Ginny left the classroom with the Mirror and black notebook, while Lockhart revealed himself as a ghost and decided to keep watching without telling Dumbledore.
• Luna returned to the Great Hall on Tuesday and said she had felt nothing during the incident and felt well afterward.
• Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick concluded that the curse on Luna was a form of Dark Sorcery called Evil Spirit Convergence.

Harry learned that Cho Chang was Ravenclaw’s third-year Seeker and found himself daydreaming about her, while Luna’s unusual ideas about romance left him flustered. He returned to his Transfiguration essay, which he and Ron were struggling to complete safely.

• Luna asked Harry about the girl he liked and said he should want to learn more about her, then pointed out that he was supposed to call her back and ask questions.
• Harry learned from Luna that the girl was Cho Chang, Ravenclaw’s third-year Seeker, and that several boys in her year were pursuing her.
• Harry reflected on Cho’s Chinese heritage and the meaning of her name, then daydreamed about her in the Common Room.
• Ron interrupted Harry and reminded him to finish the essay Professor McGonagall would check the next day.
• Harry worked on the essay about turning vertebrates into inanimate objects and recalled that Ron’s practice had once killed a frog.

Harry learned that Hogwarts girls viewed his upcoming Seeker duel with Cedric Diggory as a contest over who was the school's best and most popular boy. The Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match began with Harry and Cedric climbing above the pitch, and Harry's faster Firebolt gave him an early advantage.

• Hogwarts girls ranked Cedric Diggory and Roger Davies among the school's handsomest boys, while Harry's achievements made him more popular.
• Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell urged Harry to beat Cedric, then Angelina explained the girls' private rivalry to him.
• Harry promised his teammates he would give the match his all as both teams took to the pitch.
• Madam Hooch started the match, and Harry and Cedric climbed high to search for the Golden Snitch.
• Harry noticed that Cedric's Nimbus 2000 and One was slower than his Firebolt.

Harry used a Wronski Feint to shake Cedric during the Quidditch match, then spotted the Golden Snitch and raced after it. Cedric gave chase, but Harry’s Firebolt kept him ahead.

• Harry dived toward the ground with Cedric following, then pulled up at the last moment and performed a Wronski Feint.
• Lee Jordan announced Harry’s move as the students and professors watched in amazement.
• Cho Chang admired Harry’s flying, while Cedric, Draco, and Terence recognized how risky the maneuver was.
• Harry spotted the Golden Snitch and accelerated toward it, with Cedric reacting a moment later and pursuing him.
• Cedric’s greater experience and physical strength showed in his flying, but Harry’s Firebolt kept him ahead.

After a Bludger hit Harry during the Quidditch match, Madam Pomfrey treated his face while the Gryffindor players kept Lockhart from interfering. Harry’s wounds healed completely, and he remained asleep.

• Madam Hooch ended the match after Harry was struck by a Bludger, leaving Gryffindor a hundred points behind.
• The Gryffindors rushed to Harry and saw that broken fragments from his glasses had cut his face and struck his eyes.
• Lockhart tried to treat Harry, but Oliver Wood and the other Gryffindor players blocked him until Madam Pomfrey arrived.
• Madam Pomfrey checked Harry for a jinx, cast a Sleeping Charm, and removed the fragments of his glasses.
• Madam Pomfrey healed the wounds on Harry’s face, and Harry began snoring softly while still asleep.

In the Hospital Wing, Harry and his friends discussed wizards’ eyesight and wondered whether Dobby had caused the Bludger attack. Hermione explained that Hufflepuff Beater Horace Antonio had apologized, and the group concluded that his accurate shot had been deliberate play rather than another plot by Dobby.

• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville discussed which wizards wore glasses and recalled that Harry’s father had worn them in photographs.
• Hermione wondered whether Dobby had controlled the Bludger that hit Harry, but Harry said he had not seen Dobby since the basilisk was killed and had watched Horace Antonio hit the Bludger.
• Hermione told Harry that Horace had asked her to apologize for him and described his accurate hitting and Quidditch experience.
• Harry and the others agreed that Horace’s shot was skillful and that George and Fred were more agile but less experienced Beaters.

Harry became preoccupied with Cho Chang and dreamed about attending class with her before Valentine's Day. He and Ron arrived at Hogwarts's Great Hall to find it covered in magical roses, with Percy confirming the decorations were unprecedented.

• Harry thought about Cho Chang before falling asleep and dreamed that they attended class together.
• Harry woke up smiling, and Ron asked him why he seemed so cheerful.
• Harry and Ron reached the Great Hall and found it lavishly decorated with pink flowers and magical rose petals.
• Harry asked Percy whether the decorations were a Hogwarts tradition, and Percy said he had never seen them before.
• Ron tried to brush away the petals, but they turned into roses and vanished when they touched him.

On Valentine's Day in 1992, Harry received several cards at Hogwarts and enjoyed the attention while trying to act embarrassed and indifferent. The day ended with him realizing that all the cards seemed to come from younger students, while the Cupid deliveries disrupted classes and caused a record number of Potions accidents.

• Wizarding Cupids repeatedly interrupted Hogwarts classes with Valentine deliveries, distracting students and irritating professors.
• Several cauldrons exploded during Potions lessons, and Seamus and Ron laughed at the misfortune of the students involved.
• Harry received three cards, including one from Monet Heli, a Hufflepuff first-year who admired him.
• Hermione identified Monet Heli, while Ron admitted that Harry's popularity made him jealous.
• Harry enjoyed receiving the cards but pretended to be unconcerned, and he noted that they appeared to come only from first-years.

On Valentine’s Day, Harry learned that Gemma Farley had received the most love letters at Hogwarts, then turned his attention to Gryffindor’s crucial Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Gryffindor built a commanding lead, but the chapter ended while the match was still underway.

• Fred and George, with Lee Jordan, counted the Valentine’s Day cards and named Gemma Farley, Angelina Johnson, and Penelope Clearwater the three most popular girls.
• Harry returned to Quidditch training and prepared for Gryffindor’s match against Hufflepuff.
• Oliver encouraged the Gryffindor team before Madam Hooch started the match, and Harry reached the highest point before Cedric.
• Ron played Keeper for Gryffindor and stopped enough shots to help the team take a five-goal lead in the first ten minutes.
• Gryffindor supporters sang a song written by Fred and George as the match continued.