Chapter Summaries

Douglas and the professors left Harry and his friends to investigate Wormtail while students prepared for mock O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. To contain Peeves during the exams, Douglas unveiled a six-story Demon-Suppression Tower that looked strikingly out of place at Hogwarts.

• Douglas told Lupin to let Harry and his friends handle their investigation of Wormtail unless they failed, and said McGonagall would teach them the Animagus counter-jinx.
• Students chose whether to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and grew nervous as the mock O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams approached.
• Neville and Colin said Douglas had promised them special lessons if they earned enough Outstanding marks, while students in the other houses discussed his magical rewards.
• McGonagall asked Douglas to confine Peeves during exam week because he had been taking revenge over the Peeves Cage Ball incident.
• Douglas brought out a six-story Demon-Suppression Tower and used it to test the device by capturing Peeves.
• Students discovered the tower in the castle grounds, and Lupin explained that it had been built to confine Peeves.

Douglas faced Umbridge as she arrived at Hogwarts to announce a new written W.O.M.B.A.T. assessment during exam week. He suspected the Ministry-focused test concealed a scheme, while Dumbledore appeared to approve of Umbridge’s explanation.

• Snape warned Douglas to avoid Lupin and repeated the rumor that Sirius Black had made Lupin a werewolf, while Lupin described how his friends protected themselves from infection.
• Umbridge greeted Douglas as though she were Minister, and he publicly addressed her by that title before she clarified that she was only a Deputy Minister.
• Percy told Penelope that the Ministry had banned one of Douglas’s novels and that his parents had appeared in it as a married couple.
• Umbridge announced that Fudge had sent her to inspect Hogwarts’ curriculum reforms and introduce a written W.O.M.B.A.T. test for students during exams.
• Douglas and the other professors examined the papers, which covered Hogwarts subjects but focused heavily on Ministry rules, policies, and current affairs.
• Douglas suspected a conspiracy in Umbridge’s assessment, while Dumbledore listened to her with apparent enthusiasm.

As Hogwarts’ holidays began, the Ministry collected the W.O.M.B.A.T. tests while Douglas and the professors finished the school exams. The Charon Detective Agency prepared to confront Peter Pettigrew, and Douglas went to the Headmaster’s Office as the students planned to bring Scabbers to their meeting.

• Umbridge announced that the Ministry would consider adding a course after the W.O.M.B.A.T. diagnostic test, and Professor McGonagall scheduled the test after Friday’s exams with Douglas and the other professors’ support.
• Douglas gave the younger students straightforward written exams and canceled their practical exams, while older students faced changing challenges in the Practical Lesson Classrooms.
• The Ministry collected the W.O.M.B.A.T. tests and exam papers, and Peeves apologized to Douglas before vanishing from the Castle.
• The Hogwarts Express departed on Monday, and Hermione told the students staying behind that the Charon Detective Agency had found traces of Peter Pettigrew and planned a final meeting the next morning.
• George and Fred revealed that Scabbers had briefly reverted to Peter Pettigrew, but they could not open his cage to change him back again without the Professor’s help.
• After the meeting, Douglas headed for the Headmaster’s Office while the students prepared to bring Scabbers to their next gathering.

The Charon Detective Agency tried to get help from Professor Holmes after Scabbers remained unconscious, while the Daily Prophet reported that Peter Pettigrew had returned from the dead. At a meeting in the Headmaster’s Office, Douglas revealed that he had caught Black, but had not yet said where he was.

• Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, and Fred failed to reach Douglas and decided to wait rather than break into his office to retrieve Scabbers.
• Hermione and the other members of the Charon Detective Agency read a Daily Prophet report claiming Peter Pettigrew had returned, but kept the Marauder’s Map secret.
• Dumbledore left for the Ministry of Magic with the Heads of House and delegated school affairs to Percy and Penelope.
• Hermione persuaded Ginny to help approach Percy so the group could get assistance with Scabbers and a powerful wizard to protect them.
• Douglas used a Two-Way Mirror to show the student gathering to the Ministry officials and professors assembled in the Headmaster’s Office.
• Douglas told Fudge, Scrimgeour, Snape, and the others that he had caught Black, prompting Snape and Scrimgeour to demand his location.

Douglas explained why he had kept Sirius hidden and presented the evidence that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew, while the Ministry and Hogwarts staff gathered in Dumbledore’s office. After Snape recognized the implications and reached for his wand, Douglas and Flitwick restrained him and the others tacitly agreed to keep Sirius concealed until Peter’s guilt was formally revealed.

• Douglas told Professor Sprout and the others that he had learned the truth from Sirius and had planned to hand him over to Dumbledore.
• Douglas explained that the missing Dementors and Remus’s account had made him believe Sirius, then pointed to the image of George and Fred identifying Scabbers as Peter Pettigrew.
• Lupin confirmed that Peter was an Animagus whose animal form was a rat, and Fudge questioned why the Ministry had honored him.
• Snape realized what Peter’s identity implied and reached for his wand, but Douglas disarmed and bound him while Flitwick disarmed Scrimgeour.
• Douglas warned Sirius to stay quiet, and the people in Dumbledore’s office tacitly kept Sirius hidden until Peter could reveal the truth.

Harry and the others exposed Scabbers as Peter Pettigrew and confronted him about betraying James and Lily Potter. Peter denied being the Secret Keeper, but Harry and Ron pressed him for answers while the Weasley twins threatened him.

• Percy opened the cage with Douglas’s spell, and Fred and George cast spells that woke Scabbers.
• Scabbers transformed into Peter Pettigrew as students and the people watching from the Headmaster’s Office reacted with astonishment.
• Harry aimed his wand at Peter and said James had made him the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm.
• Peter denied it and claimed Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters and revealed their location to Voldemort.
• Ron asked why Peter had faked his death and spent twelve years disguised as a rat in the Weasley home.
• George and Fred pointed their wands at Peter and demanded to know why he had hidden with their family.

Harry, Hermione, and Percy questioned Peter Pettigrew about his past and the Potters’ Secret Keeper, while Peter exposed Remus Lupin as a werewolf. Peter became increasingly alarmed by the questioning and ended by insisting Sirius Black was the spy.

• Peter claimed he had fled Voldemort’s followers out of fear, but Percy and Hermione challenged his explanation and Harry asked why Sirius Black would betray James.
• Peter said Remus Lupin was the werewolf who had been close to Harry’s father, prompting students to question Lupin’s secret and Aurors in the Headmaster’s Office to confront him.
• Dumbledore defended Lupin’s work at Hogwarts, and the professors testified that Lupin had never harmed anyone.
• Hermione questioned Peter about the Secret Keeper and bluffed that he had secretly held the role, making Peter panic when he heard that Holmes remained the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
• Peter admitted he had been waiting for Black to come after him, but when Hermione pressed him about how he knew Black was the Secret Keeper, he denied everything and called Black the spy.

Sirius explained how he recognized Peter and escaped Azkaban, while Douglas and Dumbledore argued that the Ministry should clear Sirius’s name. As the officials grew suspicious of Peter, Scrimgeour sent Aurors to investigate him.

• Douglas struck Sirius with a spell as Sirius appeared in the Headmaster's Office, and the Aurors aimed their wands at him.
• Douglas showed Scrimgeour the Daily Prophet photograph that had revealed Peter disguised as Scabbers, and Sirius explained how he had escaped Azkaban after recognizing him.
• Douglas urged Fudge to clear Sirius's name, and Sirius explained Peter's betrayal, his reasons for hiding, and his fear that Peter would harm Harry.
• Dumbledore confirmed that his investigation linked Peter to the leaks that had ruined Ministry operations against the Death Eaters.
• The Ministry officials grew more suspicious of Peter after watching him deny the accusations, and Scrimgeour sent Aurors to the Defense Against Dark Magic classroom.

Hermione’s questioning exposed Peter’s resentment toward James and Sirius and his reason for betraying Harry’s parents. Peter escaped the Aurors by turning into a rat and fleeing through a high window, leaving Kingsley to send the students back to the Common Room.

• Hermione pressed Peter with questions until Harry realized Peter had betrayed his parents, and Peter admitted he had resented James and Sirius and feared Voldemort.
• Peter argued that Voldemort’s violence had made resistance seem futile, and Neville shouted a spell that startled the crowd.
• Peter transformed into a rat and tried to escape, but the students hit him with spells, and Percy stunned him after he was forced back into human form.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Aurors entered the classroom, and Dawlish confirmed that Peter was unconscious.
• Peter turned into a rat again and escaped through a high window, so Kingsley sent the students back to the Common Room while the Aurors pursued him.

After Peter escaped from Hogwarts, Douglas stopped Sirius and Lupin from pursuing him and secured Sirius’s release by paying Fudge. Douglas then freed Snape and revealed that he and Dumbledore had withheld key information to give Peter a chance to escape, while a magical radar kept tracking him inside Hogwarts.

• Dumbledore ordered McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick to assemble the students and keep Dementors out of Hogwarts, while Scrimgeour went after Peter.
• Douglas persuaded Sirius and Lupin to wait in the office, and paid Fudge fifty thousand Galleons; Fudge agreed to withdraw Sirius’s warrant and issue one for Peter.
• Douglas reminded Sirius of their contract and promised to bring Harry to see him, so Sirius reluctantly returned as a dog with Lupin.
• After Dumbledore noted that events had gone better than expected, Douglas freed Snape, who retaliated with spells until Dumbledore intervened.
• Douglas used his Magic Radar to confirm Peter was still at Hogwarts and explained that the Pet Food he had made for Peter let him track the rat.
• Douglas and Dumbledore admitted they had withheld crucial information so Peter could escape if captured before receiving a Dementor’s Kiss.

Douglas expected Peter Pettigrew to seek out Voldemort, while Hogwarts searched for the escaped rat and learned that Black had been framed. Professor Trelawney delivered a prophecy about Voldemort’s return, and the Aurors eventually traced Peter’s escape route before McGonagall destroyed it.

• Percy asked everyone to keep Lupin’s werewolf identity secret, while Harry and the others defended Lupin and demanded their rewards.
• Douglas explained to Dumbledore that he hoped Peter would escape and seek Voldemort, and revealed that Peter believed Voldemort was gone for good.
• McGonagall told the students that Peter Pettigrew had framed Black and warned them that Peter was dangerous.
• Trelawney delivered a prophecy that Voldemort’s servant had escaped and would help his master rise again, then did not remember saying it.
• After Aurors failed to find Peter, McGonagall followed Douglas’s note to the passage beneath the Whomping Willow and found rat footprints in the Shrieking Shack.
• McGonagall destroyed the Shrieking Shack and the passage to prevent anyone from using the route into Hogwarts again.

The Ministry cleared Sirius’s name and exposed Peter, while Snape came to discuss Trelawney’s prophecy with Dumbledore. Douglas sent Harry’s friends away, then revealed that Sirius was the stray dog Harry had befriended, leaving Harry to ask why Douglas had made them investigate Sirius.

• The Ministry issued a special edition clearing Sirius, identifying Peter as a wanted illegal Animagus, and prompting Mrs. Weasley to recognize Scabbers and clear rats from the Burrow.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Trelawney had made a genuine prophecy, and Dumbledore sent Douglas away to preserve his promise of secrecy.
• Lupin said that he and Sirius believed Douglas had deliberately let Peter escape and suspected he had worse plans for him.
• Douglas sent the Charon Detective Agency members away when they came to ask for rewards, keeping Harry behind.
• Douglas revealed that Sirius was the dog Harry had fed and played with, and Harry asked why Douglas had made them investigate Sirius despite knowing he was innocent.

Harry met Remus Lupin and Sirius Black at Douglas’s office, where Lupin gave him a multifunctional pocket watch and Douglas pointed him toward the Detective Club’s rewards. Sirius gave Harry a Christmas present, and Harry embraced him gratefully.

• Douglas introduced Remus Lupin as Harry’s parents’ close friend, and Harry called him Uncle Remus.
• Lupin gave Harry a pocket watch with several magical functions and promised to provide an instruction manual.
• Douglas reminded Harry about his summer test papers and told him to take the Detective Club’s rewards from a box.
• Harry told Douglas about his bet with Draco Malfoy, and Wangcai looked for Galleons when it heard about the debt.
• Sirius arrived and reunited with Harry, who recognized him as Padfoot and Sirius Black.
• Sirius gave Harry a Christmas present, and Harry thanked him and hugged him.

Harry reunited with Sirius and celebrated with him at Douglas's home, where Douglas revealed that the fireplace was a secret Floo passage. To protect the secret, Douglas insisted Harry learn Occlumency, and Harry agreed after learning Snape was skilled in Legilimency.

• Douglas played a recording of "A Window to the Past," prompting Sirius, Lupin, and Harry to reflect on their past before Dobby's tears broke the mood.
• Douglas explained that he had remade the radio and said the music drew inspiration from Orpheus; Harry considered it as a gift for Hermione.
• During the celebration, Sirius offered Harry a place at the Black family's home, but Harry said he was happy living with Douglas and asked whether he could see Sirius at school.
• Harry's question revealed that Sirius and Lupin had used a secret Floo passage, so Douglas told Harry it connected Hogwarts to his home in Surrey.
• Douglas gave Harry the choice of risking memory erasure or learning Occlumency, and Harry chose to learn it after Douglas mentioned Snape's Legilimency skills.

Harry learned how to guard against Snape’s Legilimency, while Snape punished the students who had been waiting for him. Harry arranged for Sirius to attend a Detective Club awards ceremony and discovered that Sirius, James, Lupin, and Peter had created the Marauder’s Map.

• Douglas advised Harry to avoid eye contact with Snape to make Legilimency harder, and Harry recalled Snape acting strangely around his eyes.
• Snape deducted ten House Points from each student gathered in the corridor and insulted them for failing to catch Peter; Neville realized Gryffindor students had made up most of the group and worried about punishment from Professor McGonagall.
• Harry asked Sirius to tour Hogwarts with him, but Douglas refused to authorize it and suggested Harry invite Sirius to a Detective Club awards ceremony instead; Sirius agreed to attend under restrictions.
• Harry invited Lupin and Douglas to the ceremony, but Douglas declined.
• Harry asked Sirius about the Marauder’s Map, and Sirius explained that he, James, Lupin, and Peter had created it and taken their nicknames from their Animagus forms.

Harry announced that Sirius Black and Lupin would attend the Charon Detective Agency awards ceremony, while Hermione limited attendance to agency members. On Christmas morning, Ron received an amulet from Bill and a tiny owl from Sirius, while Harry found test papers among his presents.

• Harry told the Great Hall that Sirius Black and Lupin would attend the agency’s awards ceremony the next morning.
• Hermione announced that only Charon Detective Agency members at school could attend and said the agency would recruit again after Christmas.
• Douglas decorated the tower outside Hogwarts with red lanterns after students’ ideas for a giant Christmas tree were rejected.
• Ron received an amulet from Bill that worked like Harry’s, while Harry unwrapped a set of extracurricular test questions from Douglas.
• Ron found a tiny owl and pieced together Sirius’s note explaining that Pigwidgeon was his new pet to replace the rat he had lost.

Harry received Sirius’s invitation and a Christmas report card before Sirius took him to Douglas’s London home, where Lupin and Douglas prepared to bring him somewhere by a tested passage. The chapter ended with Harry confused as they headed for the cupboard beneath the stairs.

• Ron showed off Sirius’s Christmas gift, a tiny owl that Ginny named Juvie Quong, and the owl responded to the name.
• Harry learned that Hermione had received Muggle exam papers and that the professors’ Chamber of Secrets challenge would involve students who placed first in each subject.
• Harry read his report card and went to Douglas’s office, where Sirius told him that Remus and Doug were waiting in London.
• Douglas sent Dobby to help Harry change, then told Sirius and Lupin that the passage was safe and that Apparition would put too much pressure on Harry.
• Sirius and Douglas bickered while Lupin recalled James and Lily, easing the group’s grief before they left.
• Douglas headed for the cupboard under the stairs, and Sirius told Harry they were not using the front door.

Harry, Sirius, and Lupin entered Douglas’s magical storeroom, where Harry encountered a dark barrier powered by Devil’s Whisper. The visit ended with Douglas assigning Harry a lengthy reflection and everyone debating his poor school marks.

• Douglas’s storeroom door opened through a secret rhythmic mechanism, and Dobby encouraged Harry to enter its darkness without fear.
• Harry heard whispers in the dark before a hand pulled him into a vast stone chamber, where Douglas explained that the barrier used Devil’s Whisper to affect intruders.
• Lupin recognized the ancient magic, while Sirius explained that the spell drew on negative emotions and worked best in silence.
• Douglas teased Harry for nearly listening to the whispers and assigned him a reflection of at least ten inches.
• Sirius first defended Harry, then agreed with Douglas that Harry’s marks lagged behind Draco Malfoy’s and Hermione’s, while Dobby claimed his own learning ability surpassed Harry’s.

Douglas, Sirius, Lupin, Harry, and Dobby used a magical teleportation array to travel to Godric's Hollow. Harry learned it was his birthplace and the place where his parents died, then followed Douglas toward the village, searching its snowy houses for his former home.

• Douglas led the group to a teleportation array, and Dobby entered coordinates for Godric's Hollow while the others touched its surface.
• The array transported them without discomfort to a snowy village, where Sirius and Lupin grew emotional at the sight.
• Douglas told Harry they were in Godric's Hollow, and Lupin explained that it was also Harry's birthplace.
• Harry realized his parents had died there and imagined the life he might have had if Voldemort had not attacked.
• Douglas set off toward the village center, and Harry searched each house for any sign of his family's former home.

Harry, Sirius, Lupin, Douglas, and Dobby visited the memorial and graves of Harry’s parents in Godric’s Hollow. As the others mourned, Douglas considered using the Resurrection Stone but kept it hidden because it could only offer a false reunion.

• Dobby explained that house-elves could not appear before Muggles in Godric’s Hollow, and Sirius and Lupin reminisced about the village.
• Douglas led the group to the memorial, which transformed into a statue of James and Lily Potter with baby Harry; Sirius and Lupin wept as Harry looked at it.
• Douglas guided them to the Potter family gravestone, where Harry read the inscription and cried.
• Douglas conjured a wreath, Sirius knelt and mourned, Lupin offered gin, and Dobby left a cake for James and Lily.
• Douglas considered using the Resurrection Stone, then recalled that it could not truly bring the dead back and had kept it secret.