Chapter Summaries

Harry visited the ruins of his childhood home with Sirius, Lupin, Douglas, and Dobby, and learned that the house had been preserved as a memorial. After Harry entered the grounds, Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks arrived in response to an alarm, and Harry asked how Tonks knew Douglas.

• Harry recognized the ruined house as his former home and said he would restore it after Douglas suggested that its owner should do so.
• When Harry touched the gate, a memorial sign appeared, and Douglas and the others drew their wands after he spotted a concealed spell shoot into the sky.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks Apparated to the gate, where Douglas recognized them from their earlier Hogwarts operation.
• Tonks explained that the Aurors had set an alarm to respond if anyone entered the yard, then apologized when she realized Harry was there.
• Harry asked Tonks what relationship she had with Douglas.

Douglas helped Harry reclaim the Potter home, explaining that Harry could spend time there despite the requirement to stay with the Dursley family during summer holidays. The chapter left Harry clearing the overgrown yard while Dobby watched without helping.

• Tonks introduced herself to Harry, and Sirius learned that she was Andromeda Tonks's daughter and asked her to pass along his regards.
• Sirius explained that Andromeda was his cousin and that they had both been disowned by the Black family.
• Douglas scolded Harry for prying into Sirius's past, then told him he could make the abandoned property into the Potter home.
• Harry eagerly began pulling weeds, and Douglas reminded him to use the Weeding Charm he had left at Holmes Orchard.
• Sirius and Lupin explained that the Ministry would not detect Harry's magic with adult wizards nearby, while Douglas left Dobby to watch Harry without helping.
• Dobby set up a chair, tea, and a book beside the yard, leaving Harry to do the work himself.

Harry reflected on restoring the ruined Potter home, and Sirius recounted the Potter family's history and wealth. Douglas proposed protecting the house with the Fidelius Charm and making Sirius its Secret Keeper, leaving Sirius eager to help Harry repair it.

• Harry sat in the overgrown yard and resolved to restore the Potter home to its former warmth.
• Sirius told Harry about the Potter family's history, including Linfred's potions, Henry Potter's support for Muggles, and Fleamont's invention of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion.
• Douglas joked that Harry would need to study Potions to restore the family's glory, and Sirius encouraged him by recalling Lily's talent.
• Douglas proposed casting the Fidelius Charm over the home and appointing Sirius as Secret Keeper.
• Douglas suggested Sirius bring Harry to the house during summer holidays to repair it, and Sirius looked to Harry, hoping to make up for his past regret.

Harry chose Sirius as the Secret Keeper for the Potter home, and the group used the Fidelius Charm to hide it. They then traveled to Grimmauld Place, where Sirius revealed the heavily protected Black family home to Harry.

• Harry named Sirius as the Potter home's Secret Keeper, and Douglas warned Sirius to stay alive and protect himself.
• Sirius cast the Fidelius Charm on the Potter home while Douglas watched its magic; Harry began to forget what they were doing there.
• Bathilda Bagshot came out to investigate the spell, and Lupin explained that she had been close to Lily and had attended Harry's first birthday tea.
• Douglas's Teleportation Array made Harry vomit, so Douglas gave him an experimental pill that quickly eased his nausea.
• Sirius led Harry, Douglas, and Lupin to Grimmauld Place, where the hidden Black family home appeared between numbers eleven and thirteen.
• Sirius explained that only people with Black family blood could see the house unless a Black family member led someone to it.

Sirius brought Douglas, Lupin, Harry, and Dobby into the Black Ancestral Home, where they encountered his hostile mother’s portrait and the house-elf Kreacher. The chapter ended after Douglas silenced the screaming portraits with a spell.

• Sirius opened the entrance door and led everyone inside, while Douglas cast protective spells and a detection spell.
• Dobby lit the entrance hall lamps, and Douglas found no sign of life apart from magical traps.
• Mrs. Black’s portrait began screaming, and Sirius explained that she had died while he was in Azkaban.
• Kreacher appeared carrying a dead rat, insulted Sirius’s guests, and moved aside when Sirius ordered him to.
• Sirius tried to remove his mother’s portrait, but Douglas cast a soundproofing spell that silenced it and the other portraits.

Sirius showed Harry and the others his bedroom, a Gryffindor-decorated room that reflected his rebellion against the Black family. Outside, Douglas questioned Kreacher about Regulus Black and an object Voldemort may have given him, leaving Kreacher trembling and in tears.

• Sirius led the group upstairs past the mounted house-elf heads and opened his bedroom with a Muggle key after explaining the magical protections on the lock.
• Sirius asked Dobby to clean the dusty room, then showed Harry its Gryffindor banners, Muggle motorcycle pictures, and a photograph of James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter.
• Sirius awkwardly blocked Harry’s view of the bikini posters, and Harry recognized the photograph of his parents and their friends that Hagrid had once collected for him.
• Douglas asked Kreacher to take him to Regulus Black’s room, and Kreacher insulted him before Dobby defended Douglas.
• Douglas warned Kreacher not to use the insult again, then asked whether Regulus had received something from Voldemort; Kreacher broke down in tears and refused to answer while Lupin watched suspiciously.

Douglas brought Harry to the Black Ancestral Home and went straight to Regulus Black’s room, prompting Sirius to explain his dead younger brother’s ties to Voldemort. The chapter left Kreacher suspended and distraught, while Harry wondered how Regulus had died.

• Douglas introduced Harry to Kreacher, and Dobby praised Harry and Douglas as symbols of hope for House-elves.
• Kreacher recoiled from Dobby and tried to leave, but Douglas headed for a room Kreacher had watched and opened Regulus’s door.
• Kreacher insulted Douglas, so Douglas levitated him; Sirius then challenged Douglas for entering Regulus’s room.
• Sirius told Harry that Regulus had joined the Death Eaters and that their parents had supported Voldemort’s pure-blood ideas.
• Kreacher insisted Regulus had been a hero, and Harry asked whether Aurors had killed him.

Douglas discovered that Regulus’s locket was hidden in the Black family home and persuaded Kreacher to reveal its history and ask for help destroying it. The chapter ended with Douglas realizing Kreacher could not retrieve the locket while still under his spell.

• Sirius and Lupin questioned Douglas about what he was searching for, and Douglas asked to speak to Kreacher alone.
• Douglas took Kreacher into Regulus’s room and used his Magic Radar to locate a magical item nearby.
• Douglas told Kreacher he knew about the locket and asked him to hand it over, prompting Kreacher to explain Regulus’s cave mission and his failed attempts to destroy it.
• Douglas reassured Kreacher that he could help fulfill Regulus’s final wish, and Kreacher questioned whether Douglas could open and destroy the locket.
• Kreacher pointed out that Douglas had left him under a spell, so he could not fetch the locket.

Douglas arranged for Harry and Lupin to leave, then had Kreacher recount how Regulus sent him to Voldemort, who forced him to drink a potion in a cave. Kreacher had not yet explained how the locket returned to the Black home when he insisted he had not stolen it.

• Douglas sent Dobby to take Harry and Lupin to Hogsmeade and told Lupin to fetch Dumbledore.
• Kreacher returned with Slytherin's locket, but Douglas concealed Sirius and ordered him not to interfere while Kreacher spoke.
• Kreacher explained that Regulus joined Voldemort's organization and offered him to Voldemort as a House-elf.
• Kreacher described how Voldemort took him to a cave, made him drink a basin of potion, and left him stranded on an island.
• Sirius demanded to know how the locket returned and whether Voldemort had killed Regulus, but Douglas restrained him.
• After Dobby appeared, Kreacher resumed his account and insisted that he had not stolen the locket.

Kreacher revealed how Regulus Black stole Voldemort’s locket Horcrux and died, leaving Sirius to confront the meaning of his brother’s sacrifice. Douglas secured the locket and pressed Sirius and Kreacher to accept their lasting connection, while Sirius ordered Kreacher to keep the secret.

• Kreacher recounted how Regulus ordered him to switch Voldemort’s locket for a copy before drinking the potion and being dragged into the lake.
• Sirius questioned why Regulus had risked his life for the locket, and Douglas explained that it was a Horcrux containing part of Voldemort’s soul.
• Douglas sealed the locket in an Anti-Magic Stone Box, and Kreacher whimpered when he saw Douglas had not destroyed it.
• Douglas warned Kreacher that Regulus had died protecting the Horcrux, and Sirius ordered Kreacher never to reveal what had happened.
• Douglas told Sirius and Kreacher that they could not escape their bond, then reflected on Kreacher’s loyalty and his plans to have Hermione study house-elf psychology.

Douglas and Dumbledore examined Slytherin’s Locket and learned the story of how Regulus stole it from Voldemort. The group prepared to recover Regulus’s remains, while Sirius struggled to understand his brother’s sacrifice.

• Douglas asked Kreacher to take them to the entrance of the cave’s magical defenses so they could recover Regulus’s remains safely.
• Dumbledore examined Slytherin’s Locket and gave Douglas a mithril plate to help destroy it.
• Douglas explained that Regulus had discovered Voldemort’s secret and stolen the Locket, prompting Lupin to comfort Sirius.
• Dumbledore called Regulus a hero, while Sirius mourned that his brother had died protecting a family he considered rotten.
• Kreacher asked Dumbledore whether the Locket could be destroyed and whether he would help bring Regulus home, and Dumbledore told him to trust Douglas.

Douglas brought Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Dobby, and Kreacher to Voldemort’s cave, pitching it as a practical training site for Hogwarts students and requesting materials to build a Teleportation Array. They arrived at the cavern, where Douglas began measuring the area while Kreacher kept the secret entrance to himself.

• Douglas sent Dobby and Kreacher ahead to learn the route, then arranged for them to transport Sirius and Lupin while giving Dobby strength pills.
• Douglas told Dumbledore that he wanted to use Voldemort’s cave as a training site so Hogwarts students would learn not to fear Dark Wizards.
• Douglas asked Dumbledore for materials to build a Teleportation Array, and Dumbledore agreed to help while demanding a middleman’s fee.
• Dumbledore and Douglas joined Sirius and Lupin in the cavern, where Lupin observed that a damp passage led toward the sea rather than to a secret chamber.
• Douglas instructed Dobby to measure the cavern platform and watched Kreacher, who stayed silent about the secret entrance and how to open it.

Dumbledore’s group opened Voldemort’s hidden entrance and entered a vast, dark lake cavern where a green light glimmered in the distance. After Kreacher revealed that Voldemort had taken him across the lake by boat, Dumbledore turned to Douglas and demanded an explanation.

• Dumbledore pointed out the concealed entrance, and Douglas used the Magic Radar to identify the magic protecting it.
• Douglas transformed Voldemort’s blood-sacrifice ward into a mechanism opened by spitting on a statue of Voldemort at sixteen, then revealed the archway.
• Dumbledore entered the darkness first, but Douglas and the others followed before he gave his signal; Dumbledore caught Dobby before he could rush into the lake.
• Sirius questioned Kreacher, who trembled and pointed out a boat used by Voldemort to take him to the lake’s center.
• Dumbledore recognized the situation and asked Douglas for an explanation.

Douglas denied having visited Voldemort’s hidden cave, while Dumbledore found the boat leading across the lake. Douglas proposed using a Muggle speedboat to gather the Inferi, and Sirius prepared to drive it.

• Douglas dismissed the idea that he had copied Voldemort’s obstacles and argued that Hogwarts needed more modern, innovative teaching.
• Dumbledore questioned Douglas about whether he had ever visited the cave, then led the group onward and found a hidden chain and boat.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort’s boat carried only one wizard at a time and would keep the lake’s creatures from attacking.
• Douglas brought out a Muggle speedboat and suggested gathering the Inferi together so they could be destroyed or sealed away.
• Douglas picked Kreacher to stir up the Inferi, but Kreacher refused, so Sirius volunteered to drive the speedboat and asked Douglas for its key.

Douglas used a voice-controlled speedboat to draw the Inferi together, then helped trap and destroy them with Dobby, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Lupin. The Soul-Subduing Stele suppressed the remaining Inferi, revealing a stone island at the lake’s center as the group waited for the current to fade so they could search for Regulus’s remains.

• Douglas ordered Kreacher to drive the speedboat, then used its preset route to lure the Inferi toward the group.
• Dobby set up a Magic Array underwater while Douglas gathered storm clouds and the others prepared their spells.
• Dobby trapped the Inferi with the array, Douglas and Dumbledore attacked them with lightning and fire, and Sirius and Lupin froze the lake.
• Douglas released the Soul-Subduing Stele, which drew the Inferi into the lake and suppressed them with arcs of electricity.
• Kreacher was shocked when he touched the water, and Dobby gave him a pill while recording his condition.
• Douglas explained the stele’s purpose, and the group saw a stone slab and basin on an island at the lake’s center.

Hogwarts celebrated Christmas with enchanted gifts, house activities, and a feast as Harry shared some of his news with Ron and Hermione. After Harry mentioned Professor Holmes was away with Professor Lupin and Headmaster Dumbledore, the ghosts prepared to join the feast, including Peeves, who planned to bring Douglas’s stinky tofu brine.

• The Weasley Twins tried to study the enchanted icicles, triggering a Laughing Charm they could not break, and Percy explained its protection against forced cracking.
• Ravenclaw students offered a question-answering eagle that dispensed presents, while Hufflepuffs turned their table into a communal kitchen.
• Harry returned to Hogwarts, ate Ginny’s chili dessert, and told Ron and Hermione some of what had happened, while keeping some details secret.
• Hermione found it interesting that Sirius’s home was hidden among Muggle buildings in London.
• Harry told Nearly Headless Nick that Professor Holmes was away with Professor Lupin and Headmaster Dumbledore, and Nick soon left.
• The Hogwarts ghosts prepared performances for the Christmas feast, while Peeves wrapped gifts and bottled Douglas’s stinky tofu brine; George and Fred asked the house-elves for a Holmes Pagoda cake.

Douglas, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Kreacher explored Voldemort’s island and recovered Regulus Black’s body from the lake. They buried Regulus in the cavern and honored him with a memorial describing his attempt to destroy Voldemort’s Horcrux.

• Douglas found that magic could not reach the potion in the basin and used the Magic Radar to examine the island’s enchantments.
• Douglas and Dumbledore concluded that Voldemort’s potion weakened anyone who reached the island and that Regulus had bypassed the defenses using house-elf magic.
• Kreacher and Sirius emerged from the lake carrying Regulus’s body, and Sirius cleaned his younger brother while Dumbledore covered him with a Slytherin flag.
• Douglas placed Regulus’s remains in a stone coffin and suggested burying him in the cavern, and Sirius agreed.
• Douglas sealed Regulus’s coffin into the rock wall, and he, Sirius, Lupin, and Dumbledore protected the resting place with magic.
• Douglas carved a bust of Regulus Black and inscribed a tribute to his attempt to destroy Voldemort’s Horcrux.

After Christmas, Hogwarts resumed classes and dealt with exam results, new training, and Sirius’s visits to help Harry learn Occlumency. The first group of seventh-years entered the Chamber of Secrets and were greeted by an unexpectedly cheerful Moaning Myrtle.

• Sirius ordered Kreacher to return to the Black family home and keep their business secret, while Lupin accompanied Sirius on a walk.
• Douglas and Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts, where the ghosts fled when Douglas entered the Great Hall; Snape mocked Douglas after Sirius failed to return.
• Students returned from the holidays and heard about Peter, while Neville received goblin-made swords from Augusta Longbottom and other students reacted to their Christmas rewards and exam results.
• Douglas gave Harry a large stack of books to study for Occlumency, and Sirius continued visiting Hogwarts to watch Harry practice.
• Sirius followed Harry to Quidditch practice as a big black dog, while Percy and Penelope led twelve seventh-years into the Chamber of Secrets.
• Moaning Myrtle greeted the seventh-years as their guide to the Hogwarts Mystery Practice Base, surprising them with her cheerful manner.

Percy, Penelope, and the other students listened to Moaning Myrtle explain the Chamber of Secrets challenge and its seven subject-based passages. After debating whether to take an oath, they gathered beneath their house founders’ statues and repeated Myrtle’s rules for a safe and fair adventure, leaving ready to begin the challenges.

• Percy and the students placated Moaning Myrtle, who recounted Hogwarts’s founding, Slytherin’s departure, and her own death and mistreatment.
• Moaning Myrtle announced that the students would face seven passages based on core subjects and asked them to help her enter the Chamber of Secrets and slay the basilisk.
• Moaning Myrtle instructed the students to stand beneath their house founders’ statues and swear an oath, making them wary of possible magical consequences.
• Percy reassured the students that Dumbledore would not harm them, and Penelope urged them to proceed so students in later years would not have to face the challenge alone.
• Percy and Penelope led the students to their statues, and Moaning Myrtle recited an oath requiring them to protect the challenge, act fairly, follow her instructions, and enjoy the adventure.

The students began a timed, subject-based exam challenge at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets while the professors reviewed Douglas’s proposed stages. Meanwhile, Malfoy taunted Neville into agreeing to a duel at the Quidditch Pitch.

• Moaning Myrtle directed the students to activate floor tiles, revealing exam stations that required scores above ninety to unlock the next stage.
• The students chose subjects and began answering timed questions as Moaning Myrtle watched over them.
• Douglas proposed combining Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions into stages whose rewards tested students’ knowledge and ingredient choices.
• Professor Sprout and Hagrid embraced adding edible ingredients to their stages, while Snape objected to using his cauldrons for cooking.
• Malfoy mocked Neville’s sword practice, and after their classmates egged them on, they agreed to duel at the Quidditch Pitch.