Recaps

Douglas’s strict teaching methods led Hogwarts to introduce monthly exams for fifth and seventh years, while he accumulated enough system points to unlock the Shop. He discovered that he could spend 10,000 points to remove his unidentified curse, which would take effect in seven months, and ended the chapter considering the choice.

• Harry used his Potions lessons to criticize Slytherin students who were preparing potion ingredients alongside him.
• Douglas returned poor test papers to the fourth and fifth years and scolded them for leaving written questions unanswered.
• Professor McGonagall held a staff meeting where Douglas explained his teaching and question-setting methods, prompting discussion of changes to Hogwarts learning.
• Hogwarts announced monthly exams for fifth and seventh years from late January through May and allowed them to use the Magic Practice Study Room until ten at night.
• On February 1, Douglas checked his system and found that his accumulated points totaled 10,017, enough to unlock the Shop and remove his curse.
• Douglas browsed the Shop’s costly offerings, then stared at the system’s notice that the curse was removable for 10,000 points.

Douglas removed his curse and prepared to open the Chamber of Secrets, while Hogwarts students faced increasingly intense exam preparations. At Hagrid’s Hut, Harry revealed that he could speak to snakes, and learned that Parseltongue was rare and associated with Salazar Slytherin’s descendants.

• Douglas removed the curse, saw the countdown vanish, and decided to focus on earning points at Hogwarts.
• Douglas’s exam slogans and study routines unsettled students, and he postponed the Defense Against Dark Magic practical exams because of a Quidditch match.
• At Hagrid’s Hut, Harry told the others that a boa constrictor had spoken to him at the zoo.
• Douglas, Hagrid, and Hermione explained that Harry’s ability was Parseltongue and that it was usually inherited, often by Slytherin’s descendants.
• Harry worried that he might be descended from Slytherin, and recalled that the Sorting Hat had wanted to place him in Slytherin.

Harry discovered that he could speak Parseltongue, and Douglas revealed that Voldemort had been Hagrid’s classmate, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Hagrid recalled Tom’s past and began to reconsider what had happened to Aragog, while Douglas hinted that Hagrid might soon clear his name.

• Douglas transfigured a chopstick into a golden snake, and Harry unknowingly spoke Parseltongue when he told it to turn around.
• Douglas confirmed that Harry spoke Parseltongue and said that Tom Marvolo Riddle was Salazar Slytherin’s only living descendant.
• Douglas revealed that Tom Marvolo Riddle was Voldemort, and Hagrid recalled that Tom had been Head Boy and connected him to Aragog.
• Douglas comforted Hagrid by saying Dumbledore thought he might soon clear his name, then asked him to call Voldemort Tom.
• Ron realized that Hagrid had been classmates with Voldemort, and Hermione pointed out that Ron was classmates with Harry.

Douglas took Harry to Dumbledore to learn whether his Parseltongue was connected to Voldemort, after reassuring him and sending Ron and Hermione away. They arrived just as Fawkes was reborn, and Douglas joked about cooking the phoenix, prompting the newborn chick to hide from him.

• Hermione raised the possibility that Harry's Parseltongue connected him to Voldemort, and Harry feared he had caused his parents' deaths.
• Douglas sent Ron and Hermione back to school, then led Harry away from Hagrid's Hut to see Dumbledore.
• Douglas used a list of sweets to get the stone gargoyle to open the way to the Headmaster's Office.
• Douglas and Harry found Dumbledore watching Fawkes burn up and be reborn from his ashes.
• Douglas joked about making phoenix-flavored beggar's chicken, and the newborn Fawkes covered himself with ashes when Douglas approached.

Douglas brought Harry to Dumbledore after discovering that Harry could speak Parseltongue, and Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had passed the ability and some of his magic to Harry. Dumbledore reassured Harry that his choices mattered more than abilities or traits, and Harry left the discussion accepting that he belonged in Gryffindor.

• Douglas told Dumbledore that Harry was a Parselmouth, and Dumbledore tested and confirmed Harry spoke Parseltongue.
• Dumbledore explained that Harry's Parseltongue came from Voldemort, who had unintentionally transferred some of his magic to Harry when he gave him his scar.
• Harry worried that the Sorting Hat had sensed Slytherin qualities in him, and Dumbledore asked Douglas about his own Sorting; the Hat accused Douglas of wanting to take it apart.
• Douglas explained that he had asked to be placed in Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore contrasted his choice with Harry's choice to avoid Slytherin.
• Dumbledore told Harry that choices revealed who people were more than their abilities, and Harry concluded that he was a Gryffindor because he had chosen that house.

Douglas proposed using a magically modified radio to record Harry speaking Parseltongue commands, so they could open the Chamber of Secrets without exposing Harry to danger or revealing his ability to the Ministry. Harry began translating Douglas’s prepared phrases while Dumbledore and Douglas discussed whether Dumbledore could understand Parseltongue.

• Douglas showed Dumbledore a parchment of possible Parseltongue commands and suggested recording Harry’s translations with his multifunctional Magic Radio.
• Harry volunteered to enter the Chamber, but Douglas argued that revealing Harry’s Parseltongue to Ministry officials could make him a target and undermine their effort to clear Hagrid.
• Dumbledore agreed that Harry should stay safe and keep his ability secret, and asked him to translate the phrases on the parchment.
• Douglas cast a soundproofing charm around Harry and turned a teacup into a snake as Harry began recording the grandiose Slytherin commands.
• Dumbledore asked Douglas how he knew he could understand Parseltongue, and Douglas admitted he had only bluffed Harry.

Dumbledore explained to Douglas that Voldemort might have created seven Horcruxes and that they would need to destroy them before they could defeat him. After Harry confirmed his Parseltongue recording was normal, Douglas discussed plans to deal with the basilisk and asked Dumbledore how to handle any Slytherin legacies they might find.

• Dumbledore told Douglas about Horcruxes and suggested that Harry might be connected to the story of Slytherin's Half-Blood Prince, but asked him to keep the matter secret.
• Harry finished recording his Parseltongue, and Dumbledore confirmed that nothing was wrong with it before sending him to dinner.
• Douglas told Dumbledore they would wait for Fawkes to regrow, then have him blind the basilisk and ask the Ministry and Lucius Malfoy to attend.
• Douglas recommended that Hagrid raise more roosters, while Dumbledore became engrossed in Celestina Warbeck's song on Douglas's radio.
• Dumbledore traded the radio's recording plate for a mithril one, and Douglas asked how to handle any Slytherin manuscripts or other legacies found in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Dumbledore replied that Salazar Slytherin was a Founder of Hogwarts and the first Head of Slytherin House.

Harry told Ron and Hermione that Professor Holmes and Dumbledore knew the Chamber of Secrets existed and suspected its entrance was in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, then proposed entering it himself to control the Basilisk. As summer approached, the school delayed action until students left, and Harry shared a risky plan to capture the Basilisk while seeking Voldemort and answers about what he had transferred into Harry.

• Harry told Ron and Hermione that Professor Holmes had assigned them two feet of self-criticism and described his meeting with Holmes and Dumbledore about the Chamber of Secrets.
• Hermione found an account of the Chamber in Hogwarts, A History, and the three discussed Slytherin’s heir, the Basilisk, and the likelihood that Parseltongue could open the entrance.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione considered investigating the Chamber themselves, but Neville interrupted them while seeking help with his Potions homework.
• Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic agreed to wait until the end of term to act against the Basilisk, while Harry grew impatient and devised a plan to capture it.
• Hermione and Ron criticized Harry’s plan as risky and incomplete, and Harry explained that he wanted to find Voldemort in the Chamber and ask what he had transferred into him.

Hermione agreed to help Harry prepare to face the Basilisk, while Douglas focused on teaching advanced magic to students preparing for their OWLs. Harry struggled through Hermione’s demanding training plan, which she had designed to keep him from acting rashly.

• Hermione agreed that Harry could go to the Chamber of Secrets if he followed her preparations, and Ron insisted on being included in the plan.
• Hermione brought Hogwarts: A History to Douglas, who supplied dictionaries to help her investigate its mysterious passage and urged her to focus on exams and spell practice.
• Douglas used a Boggart disguised as a Dementor to train five students in the Patronus Charm, but only one managed to produce silver mist.
• Harry struggled to learn Hermione’s advanced spells while studying for exams and attending extra Quidditch training, and he made Ron practice with him.
• Hermione felt relieved that her plan was slowing Harry down and believed it let her protect him without betraying their friendship.

As Hogwarts prepared for final exams, Douglas encouraged George and Fred to study by promising them a book about magical items, then closed his practical classroom so students could attend the Quidditch final, where Cedric led Hufflepuff to victory over Gryffindor. On the first day of exams, Douglas reunited with the Wizarding Examinations Authority examiners, who recalled his own exceptional N.E.W.T. performances and hoped his students would join the Auror Office.

• Douglas promised George and Fred the Complete Guide to Magical Items if they earned at least Exceeds Expectations in every subject, prompting the twins to study and seek Percy's help with a study plan.
• Douglas closed his practical classroom for the Quidditch final, and Cedric caught the Golden Snitch to give Hufflepuff a fifty-point victory over Gryffindor.
• Cedric congratulated Harry after the match, while Oliver Wood praised Harry's potential and George and Fred remarked on Oliver's strained reaction.
• As exams neared, Harry paused his spell training to revise, relieving Hermione, and the Hogwarts final exams and O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams began on June 1.
• Douglas greeted the Wizarding Examinations Authority examiners, and Professor Marchbanks and Professor Tofty recalled his N.E.W.T. performances as another examiner hoped his students would become Aurors.

After learning that the Ministry had concerns about Hogwarts, Douglas proposed partnering with the Wizarding Examinations Authority to publish a question-and-revision series for O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students. Dumbledore agreed to suggest the plan to Fudge, while Douglas intended the partnership to buffer Ministry interference and left its success uncertain.

• Douglas told Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall that the Ministry suspected Hogwarts was too much under Dumbledore's influence and might try to bring the school under its control.
• Professor McGonagall defended Hogwarts, while Dumbledore said he did not believe Fudge would interfere and noted that Fudge had deferred to Hogwarts over the Basilisk.
• Douglas proposed that Hogwarts professors and the Wizarding Examinations Authority publish Seven Years of N.E.W.T.s, Five Years of O.W.L.s, using past exam questions and practical requirements to guide students' revision.
• Professor McGonagall questioned whether the series would amount to cheating, but Douglas argued that it would build on the success of Monthly Exams and use the Authority's question bank to reduce professors' workload.
• Douglas asked Dumbledore to propose the partnership to Fudge, and Dumbledore agreed while saying the Authority's choice had to be respected.
• Douglas planned to use the project as a buffer against Ministry interference, with Hogwarts professors retaining control over how the questions were taught.

During the final Defense Against Dark Magic OWLs, Douglas observed his students and discussed the value of practical training with Professor Tofty. After exams ended, Harry seized the chance to pursue the Chamber of Secrets, persuading Ron to help draw the professors there while he sought answers from Voldemort.

• Douglas watched Shirley perform counter-curses and defensive spells during her practical exam, while another examiner praised a student's silver hummingbird Patronus.
• Professor Tofty commended Douglas's students and his practical classrooms, and Douglas explained that theory and practice should inform each other.
• After the final Ancient Runes exam, the Wizarding Examinations Authority staff left Hogwarts, and Douglas summoned class representatives to help mark papers.
• Harry remembered his plan to enter the Chamber of Secrets and took Ron under the Invisibility Cloak while Hermione was away.
• Harry told Ron to alert the professors by claiming he had entered the Chamber, so they would go after the basilisk while Harry followed them into the Chamber.
• Harry explained that he wanted to find Voldemort and learn why he could speak Parseltongue, leaving the basilisk for the professors to handle.

Harry and Ron sneaked toward Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom to investigate the Chamber of Secrets, but their disagreement over Professor Holmes’s safety and a locked door stalled their plan. Filch and Mrs. Norris arrived, leaving the boys hiding under the Invisibility Cloak as Ron realized Harry had treated him as a backup.

• Harry and Ron discussed using Harry’s break-in to lure the professors into action, and Ron worried that Professor Holmes might be in danger because of the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse.
• Harry told Ron he had heard the basilisk speaking Parseltongue before and believed Professor Holmes had sealed the Chamber after discovering the monster.
• Ron tried and failed to unlock the bathroom’s padlock with Alohomora, and Harry’s loud attempt drew Filch and Mrs. Norris toward them.
• Harry revealed that Hermione had made his training schedule to keep him from seeking the basilisk, and that he had stopped her from telling Ron so Ron would keep training with him.
• Ron pulled Harry under the Invisibility Cloak as Filch passed, then felt hurt that Harry had included him only as a backup.

Harry and Ron tried to break into the Chamber of Secrets but discovered the bathroom door was a trick, and Douglas caught them. Douglas took Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and brought the boys to his office, where the Weasley twins identified a magical link to the broken lock.

• Harry and Ron used an axe from a suit of armor to smash the lock outside Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, but Harry ran into the door and could not get inside.
• A linked lock broke in Douglas’s office, prompting him to check the Marauder’s Map and hurry to the bathroom.
• Douglas sent Filch away, exposed Harry beneath the Invisibility Cloak, and showed Ron that the bathroom door opened outward without the broken lock being necessary.
• Douglas took Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and ordered Harry and Ron to wait outside his office while they thought about their actions.
• George and Fred told Douglas the broken lock bore a Transfiguration Charm and was linked to something else, so Douglas took two points from Gryffindor and awarded one to Slytherin.

Douglas punished Harry and Ron for trying to reach the Chamber of Secrets, then used Harry’s sock to hide Voldemort’s Diary. The chapter ended with Douglas sending the boys away and warning them not to ask more questions.

• Douglas rewarded the class representatives, gave them house points, and asked Hermione to stay behind.
• Douglas summoned Harry and Ron, deducted thirty points from Gryffindor for each of them, and challenged their reasons for pursuing the basilisk.
• Harry defended his actions by warning that the basilisk and Voldemort threatened Hogwarts, but Douglas told him and Ron to consider their mistakes.
• Douglas assigned Harry and Ron five-foot self-reflections to complete under Hermione’s supervision and give to Professor McGonagall.
• Douglas gave Harry Voldemort’s Diary and told him to put a sock inside it, then sent Harry and Ron away when Hermione recognized the Diary.

Douglas gave Professor Kettleburn enchanted mechanical prosthetics and adopted a young Niffler, naming it Wangcai. As the term neared its end, Dumbledore asked whether Douglas planned to remain in his Defense Against the Dark Arts post, and Douglas said he wanted to stay.

• Douglas visited Professor Kettleburn and found Dumbledore there, who had already brought the retiring professor wooden prosthetic limbs.
• Douglas revealed his silver mechanical arm and leg, fitted them to Kettleburn, and explained that he had adapted Muggle-inspired technology with magical materials.
• Dumbledore asked Douglas about his plans after term, and Douglas said he wanted to remain in his Defense Against the Dark Arts position despite not being made permanent.
• Kettleburn introduced a young Niffler that had been separated from its litter, and Douglas lured it with Galleons.
• Douglas named the Niffler Wangcai and left with it tucked into his pocket.

Douglas prepared a fortune basin to keep Wangcai occupied, then attended Hufflepuff’s graduation farewell party. After the party, he caught Wangcai with stolen items and reminded him of their agreement.

• Douglas bought a blue-black fortune basin, enchanted it, and bound a copying Fake Galleon inside to make it Wangcai’s nest.
• Douglas shook Wangcai’s magical pouch empty, found valuable items including a Unicorn Horn and mithril arrowheads, and set some aside to return before placing Wangcai in the basin.
• Douglas prepared food and attended Hufflepuff’s graduation farewell party, where he delivered a speech and celebrated with the students and Professor Sprout.
• Wangcai slipped out of Douglas’s pocket during the party and moved from student to student while Douglas spoke with the seventh-years.
• Professor Sprout asked Douglas about his plans, and he said he intended to prepare lessons or travel before returning to work at Hogwarts.
• Back in his office, Douglas caught Wangcai approaching the basin with more stolen goods, including silver tableware and the Quidditch Cup, and reminded him that he could choose ten of Wangcai’s possessions.

At the End-of-Year Feast, Dumbledore praised Professor Holmes and announced the House Cup standings before awarding Luna Lovegood for helping prevent a crisis that could have closed Hogwarts. Luna ended the feast laughing at the Wrackspurts around her.

• Snape stayed angry with Douglas over his suggestion to exterminate the Basilisk, but Dumbledore's arrival interrupted their exchange.
• Dumbledore praised Professor Holmes's contributions to Hogwarts and announced that Ravenclaw had won the House Cup, followed by Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor.
• Harry and Ron realized Gryffindor would not have overtaken Hufflepuff even without losing points, while George and Fred defended their efforts to earn points back.
• Hermione reminded Harry that his Parseltongue could open the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry hoped Gryffindor would receive points for it.
• Dumbledore praised Luna Lovegood for reporting the danger to the professors, gave her the Special Contribution Award, and awarded Ravenclaw two hundred points.
• Luna laughed as the Ravenclaws applauded her and exclaimed, "So many Wrackspurts!"

Douglas explained why Harry did not receive an award, then prepared George and Fred for supervised research and monthly mock OWLs. After the students left for the holidays, Minister Fudge and a Ministry party arrived at Hogwarts to deal with a dangerous creature, and Douglas reunited with former student Nymphadora Tonks.

• Douglas persuaded Dumbledore not to give Harry an award, arguing that it might encourage him to take reckless risks.
• Douglas returned the Marauder's Map to George and Fred and required them to take monthly mock OWLs before pursuing their research.
• Hogwarts students boarded the Hogwarts Express without receiving their exam results, and rumors spread that the school would send them home.
• Cornelius Fudge, Scrimgeour, Lucius Malfoy, Ministry officials, and Aurors arrived at Hogwarts, where Professor McGonagall led the welcoming party in Dumbledore's absence.
• Douglas greeted Nymphadora Tonks, who thanked him for training that had helped her excel in stealth and tracking during Auror training.

Douglas brought Ministry officials and professors to the girls' bathroom to investigate the Chamber of Secrets, then reopened Myrtle's 1943 murder case and named the basilisk as the real killer. Myrtle began recounting her death, but Fudge's interruption upset her before she could describe what happened.

• Douglas greeted Newt Scamander, whom he had met while traveling in Brazil, and told him he had started keeping a Niffler.
• Dumbledore led the group to the girls' bathroom, where Douglas opened the door and announced that they first needed to address an old case.
• Douglas said Myrtle's 1943 murder had been wrongly blamed on Hagrid's pet and that the basilisk was the real killer.
• Douglas asked Myrtle to describe her death; she recalled hiding in the bathroom after Olive Hornby mocked her glasses.
• Fudge pressed Myrtle to get to the point, and she wept and accused everyone of not caring about her death.

Douglas used Moaning Myrtle’s testimony and Newt Scamander’s expertise to challenge the verdict against Hagrid, leading Fudge to declare Hagrid innocent. Douglas then identified Tom Marvolo Riddle as Voldemort, leaving Lucius Malfoy visibly shaken.

• Moaning Myrtle recalled seeing terrifying yellow eyes before she died, and said no Ministry staff or Hogwarts professors had questioned her afterward.
• Hagrid admitted he had illegally kept an Acromantula named Aragog, paid Fudge a fine, and insisted that Aragog had never hurt anyone.
• Newt Scamander explained that Acromantulas attacked with their chelicerae, webs, and venom, while Dumbledore noted that Myrtle had no wounds.
• Douglas argued that Myrtle’s lack of injuries pointed to a basilisk rather than an Acromantula, and Fudge declared Hagrid innocent and promised a public apology.
• Douglas named Tom Marvolo Riddle as Voldemort, prompting Lucius Malfoy to shout for him to stop while Fudge protested that Voldemort was dead.

Douglas helped prepare the search of the Chamber of Secrets, then kept Lucius Malfoy from going down by inviting him to his office. There, Douglas mentioned finding a diary, and Lucius and Dobby reacted with alarm.

• Fudge dismissed Myrtle's complaint, and Douglas called her a hero of Hogwarts for discovering Voldemort's crime and saving the students.
• Snape opened the Chamber of Secrets entrance with the recorder, and he led the Slytherins and several Aurors below while the others guarded the exits.
• Dumbledore, Douglas, Snape, and Hagrid supplied protections against the basilisk, including Fawkes, special sunglasses, restorative draught, and silenced roosters.
• Douglas invited the hesitant Lucius Malfoy to his office, where Lucius agreed to discuss Draco with him.
• Douglas told Lucius that he had recently come across a diary, making Lucius freeze and Dobby stare at him.

Douglas freed Dobby by arranging for Lucius Malfoy to give him a sock, then confronted Lucius about the Diary and his plans. Lucius left with the ruined Diary after Douglas warned him about Voldemort’s return and told him to leave Dobby alone.

• Douglas presented Lucius Malfoy with the Diary, and Lucius tossed its enchanted sock into Dobby’s hands, freeing the house-elf.
• Lucius tried to attack Douglas, but Douglas immobilized him and took his wand; Dobby accidentally broke a table leg while trying to protect Douglas.
• Douglas stopped Dobby from punishing himself and told him to enjoy refreshments while he spoke privately with Lucius.
• Douglas accused Lucius of using the Diary to undermine Dumbledore and evade the Ministry, then revealed that it contained a piece of Voldemort’s soul.
• Douglas demanded that Lucius leave Dobby alone and urged him to consider preventing Voldemort’s return; Lucius denied the idea and left with the Diary.
• At the doorway, Lucius said Douglas would make an excellent Slytherin if he were not Muggle-born, and Douglas replied that Slytherin would never welcome him.

Douglas offered Dobby a well-paid position as his household butler, and Dobby eagerly accepted despite trying to negotiate for less. After signing the contract and receiving clean clothes, Dobby learned that his first task was to study butlering and write a career plan.

• After Lucius left, Dobby treasured Harry Potter's sock and thanked Douglas for helping him.
• Douglas offered Dobby a butler job with generous pay, time off, clothes, and opportunities to learn, and Dobby accepted the terms.
• Dobby signed the contract, and Douglas made copies and enchanted them for safekeeping.
• Douglas told Dobby to bathe and change, then altered a Muggle suit for him to wear.
• Douglas gave Dobby The Butler's Self-Cultivation and told him to write a plan for his future duties, leaving Dobby dumbfounded as Wangcai laughed.

Douglas returned to the girls' bathroom after the basilisk had been captured alive for Newt Scamander's research, but Snape rewarded him only with a piece of shed snakeskin. After the Ministry left, the Chamber of Secrets door remained open, and Dumbledore assigned Douglas to deal with it.

• Douglas received a piece of shed basilisk skin from Snape and learned that Newt had asked for the basilisk to be captured alive.
• Dumbledore brought the basilisk up in his suitcase, and Fudge left with the Ministry personnel while Newt prepared to take it away.
• Tonks left happily with an updated cookbook, and Scrimgeour asked Douglas to become an Auror, but Douglas declined.
• The professors discovered that the Chamber of Secrets door would not close, and Dumbledore told Douglas to come to his office and handle the matter.
• Douglas proposed turning the Chamber into a practical training ground and replacing the magic that controlled its entrance.