Chapter Summaries

The Culinary Competition ended with the teams’ contrasting dishes revealing their different approaches, while the Lost Pearls Team’s simple apple pie stirred memories of home. On Christmas morning, Douglas Holmes’s carefully wrapped gifts arrived for the professors, and Flitwick and McGonagall began opening them.

• Xiaomi watched the academic team combine Chinese delicacy and British flavours in osmanthus sugar cakes and Earl Grey tea jelly, while Binns clashed with his assistants over their French soup.
• Tip and his assistants prepared smoked salmon with frost and a risky Flavour Stimulation charm, drawing Moody’s attention and approval of Tip’s ambition.
• The judges praised the academic team’s dish, gave the elite team middling scores, and were struck by the ambitious team’s forceful A Song of Ice and Fire.
• The Lost Pearls Team presented a steaming apple pie that evoked the feeling of home, leaving the Great Hall to form its own view of the likely winners.
• On Christmas morning, owls delivered gifts signed by Douglas Holmes to the professors; Flitwick delighted in his goblin-made tuning forks, and McGonagall smiled as she unwrapped hers.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout received gifts tailored to their interests, while Snape discovered that Douglas had sent him rare ingredients for Polyjuice Potion. At Christmas breakfast, Hogwarts students eyed the many presents beneath the Great Hall tree with dread, fearing Douglas’s tradition of surprising students with exam papers.

• Professor McGonagall tested a quill that translated her Scottish dialect into formal language.
• Professor Sprout received magical seeds that glowed in different colors to indicate soil pH.
• Snape opened Douglas’s apology and found a box of pristine potion ingredients, including Grindylow blood suitable for Polyjuice Potion.
• Snape left the gift displayed on his desk, then went to the Great Hall on Christmas morning.
• Hogwarts students whispered about Douglas’s Christmas gifts and feared finding exam papers among the boxes beneath the tree.

Hogwarts students received homework and exams as Christmas gifts, while Douglas, Sirius, and Lupin planned security for the graduation ceremony in Diagon Alley. Their meeting was interrupted when a pink-haired intruder burst into the staff room and called out to Douglas.

• Hogwarts students opened their Christmas presents and discovered assignments and exams from Douglas, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Snape.
• Beauxbatons students watched the chaos in disbelief, while Viktor Krum found it more challenging than winter swimming.
• Douglas, Sirius, and Lupin reviewed security plans for the graduation ceremony, focusing on Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Hogwarts Castle.
• A pink-haired girl burst into the staff room, saw Douglas, and called him Teacher Douglas.

Diagon Alley hosted the Werewolf Academy’s first graduation ceremony, where the graduates’ disciplined march and salute stunned the watching wizarding world. The ceremony ended with Tom realizing the werewolves were nothing like he had imagined.

• Tom and a regular at the Leaky Cauldron complained about the werewolf gathering as Diagon Alley filled with lanterns, banners, and reporters.
• More than thirty Werewolf Academy graduates marched through the alley in formation, carrying Moonstone Badges.
• A Daily Prophet reporter asked a graduate whether he feared losing control, and Rita Skeeter challenged the reporter’s prejudiced assumptions before the graduates continued.
• Sirius Black welcomed Minister Fudge, Rufus Scrimgeour, and foreign Ministry officials to the ceremony.
• The graduates regrouped beneath the platform and saluted in unison, transforming the gathering into a military review.
• Tom watched the disciplined graduates and admitted that they were nothing like he had imagined.

Remus Lupin addressed the werewolf graduates, urging them to master their strength and use it to protect others. The ceremony ended in heartfelt applause, while Scrimgeour and the French officials recognized the graduates’ resolve and Professor Holmes’s influence; Lupin’s knowing smile left Tonks flustered.

• Scrimgeour and the French official watched the graduates’ resolve and realized the ceremony was a declaration of their strength.
• Remus Lupin told the graduates that their strength came from self-control and should be used to protect others, then sent them out to prove themselves as champions.
• The crowd applauded, and the French official remarked that Lupin seemed more like a leader than Fudge and that Professor Holmes had shaped the werewolves into a force.
• Tonks applauded for Lupin, stumbled during a lull, and met his understanding smile before blushing and blaming Douglas in her thoughts.

At the Werewolf Academy graduation, Cornelius Fudge claimed credit for the graduates’ achievements and promised support, unknowingly tying his reputation to the academy’s future. Douglas and Sirius watched as Rufus Scrimgeour recognized that the disciplined graduates resembled an army.

• Cornelius Fudge took over the ceremony’s publicity, presenting Lupin’s speech and the graduates’ success as proof of his own leadership.
• Fudge promised employment support and a dedicated fund for werewolves, then shook the graduates’ hands for the reporters’ cameras.
• Douglas told Sirius that Fudge had become a protective umbrella for the academy, bound to defend its graduates to protect his own reputation.
• Fudge returned to the High Table and told Rufus Scrimgeour that the ceremony would be his greatest political achievement.
• Scrimgeour watched the disciplined graduates and saw an army that Fudge had personally granted legitimacy.

At the Wolfmane Academy graduation ceremony, the graduates received their certificates and honored Douglas Holmes and their instructors, revealing the loyalty and unity binding them. As they moved toward the banquet, Scrimgeour recognized that the evening’s meal would become a contest over whom the werewolf graduates would serve.

• Sirius began the certificate presentation, and each graduate received Lupin’s completion certificate and the Ministry’s special qualification certification.
• The graduates honored Douglas Holmes for improving the New Wolfsbane Potion and giving them back their reason beneath the moonlight.
• The graduate representative led three bows of thanks to the instructors, then gave Lupin a memory crystal filled with moments from their shared lives.
• Lupin led the graduates in an oath to follow moonlight, uphold justice, discipline themselves, love others, and protect the Wizarding World.
• The graduates proceeded in formation to the round-table banquet, while Scrimgeour realized that the evening would determine whom they would fight for.

At a private dinner in the Griffin's Nest, German adviser Heinrich Schneider and French official Pierre Bonard tried to pressure Douglas Holmes into sharing his improved Wolfsbane Potion technology. Douglas rejected their offers and threats, insisting he only cooperated with friends, and left them with a veiled warning about his actions in Italy.

• Heinrich Schneider offered Douglas three times the Ministry's procurement price and a share of German patent revenue for the potion's technology and ingredient supply.
• Pierre Bonard confronted Douglas with intelligence about his operations in Italy and his werewolf force.
• Sirius watched the officials approach Douglas while Lupin quietly helped a nervous Tonks nearby.
• Douglas said he preferred to discuss potion cooperation with friends, not clients.
• Douglas described his Italian travels as research for a novel about disposing of large gregarious pests, leaving Schneider and Bonard speechless.

At Wolfmane Academy’s graduation ceremony, political tensions surfaced through guests’ messages on the Graduation Blessing Wall and Rita Skeeter’s takedown of a young reporter. Sirius Black then introduced the Marauders Power Company’s final graduation gift, leaving the guests waiting to see what it would be.

• Sirius Black introduced the Graduation Blessing Wall, and Cornelius Fudge wrote a self-congratulatory message on it.
• A young reporter challenged Rufus Scrimgeour about accepting former dangerous creatures into the Auror Office, and Douglas called out her question as a journalistic trap.
• Rita Skeeter demonstrated how she would turn Scrimgeour’s policy into a sensational headline, humiliating the reporter and signaling her alliance with Douglas.
• Scrimgeour, Pierre Bonnet, Heinrich Schneider, and Tom each left messages on the wall that reflected their political positions or hopes.
• Sirius Black returned to the dais and announced that the Marauders Power Company would present its final and most important graduation gift.

At the graduation ceremony, Sirius revealed Fenrir Greyback’s corpse and publicly credited Douglas Holmes and Remus Lupin with executing him in Italy. He demanded Ministry support for a victims’ foundation and rehabilitation program, leaving Scrimgeour to look to the stunned Fudge for a decision.

• Sirius named Fenrir Greyback as the source of fear surrounding werewolves and accused the Ministry of hiding the truth.
• Sirius revealed Greyback’s corpse in a crystal coffin, stunning the guests and sending reporters into a frenzy.
• Sirius announced that Douglas Holmes had planned Greyback’s execution in Italy and Remus Lupin had carried it out.
• Sirius proposed a victims’ foundation managed by Wolfmane Academy and demanded Ministry support for victims’ assistance and reintegration.
• Scrimgeour avoided answering Sirius and looked to the ashen-faced Fudge to shoulder the decision.

At the end of Wolfmane Academy’s graduation ceremony, Lupin sent hundreds of glowing paper cranes into the sky to form the words “Walk together,” leaving the crowd inspired. Tonks gave Lupin a tiny glowing dandelion, and the graduates began their celebration as Sirius revealed a hidden passage for the Marauders Express.

• Lupin announced the final part of the graduation ceremony and released the graduates’ paper cranes into the sky.
• Hundreds of cranes joined the graduates’ to form the glowing words “Walk together” above Diagon Alley, drawing heartfelt applause.
• Tonks stumbled near Lupin, then presented him with a glowing dandelion as a graduation gift.
• Fudge and the foreign officials left Diagon Alley while Scrimgeour departed after looking at the crystal coffin.
• Lupin invited the graduates to celebrate with Butterbeer and a bonfire, and Sirius revealed a hidden stone passage behind a tapestry.

Douglas brought Tonks to the graduates’ celebration despite Lupin’s worry that she would discover their plans and be forced to report them to the Ministry. At the forest base, Douglas introduced her to Marco and Aldo of the Ashen Claw, while Lupin explained that the graduates had earned the chance to relax.

• Lupin warned Douglas that involving Tonks, a Ministry Auror, could put her in a difficult position, but Douglas said they had a fake base for the Ministry to see.
• Douglas invited Tonks to the celebration, and she followed him and the others through a hidden passage to a forest clearing.
• The graduates celebrated around a bonfire while Fred and George demonstrated their Nosebleed Nougat to an amused crowd.
• Douglas introduced Tonks to Marco, leader of the Ashen Claw, and Aldo, who had traveled from Italy for the ceremony.
• Marco remarked on the lively celebration, and Lupin replied that the graduates deserved to relax after all they had put into it.

At the celebration, Marco and the Italian werewolves pledged themselves to Douglas’s cause and spoke of the hope brought by the new gravestone. The next morning, Sirius and Douglas saw that the Daily Prophet had promoted their alliance with the Ministry, then someone knocked on the office door.

• Marco toasted the new moonlight and pledged the respect of the Italian werewolf tribes to Douglas.
• Douglas told Tonks that Isabella, an Italian Auror, had secretly protected Marco’s tribe and sent her apologies.
• Tonks reacted with shock that Isabella had protected a wanted werewolf tribe in defiance of regulations.
• Sirius read the Daily Prophet’s glowing coverage of his alliance with Fudge and Scrimgeour, while Fenrir Greyback’s death appeared only in a small inside-page report.
• Douglas and Sirius agreed that Fudge had taken the bait and would now care about the thirty graduates’ jobs and welfare.
• Someone knocked on the Defense Against Dark Magic office door.

Douglas assigned Harry’s Charon Detective Agency to investigate what Severus Snape had lost, despite Sirius’s objections. Harry first panicked that he would be blamed, but Douglas framed the task as a chance to uncover the truth and left the investigation about to begin.

• Severus Snape stormed into the office and demanded that the Academic Affairs Office recover the belongings stolen from his private storage cabinet.
• Douglas told Sirius that Harry’s Charon Detective Agency would investigate Snape’s loss, and Sirius protested that Snape despised Harry.
• Douglas pointed to the Daily Prophet’s image of Fudge and said the assignment was part of his plan.
• Harry arrived and nervously insisted he and Ron had spent the night studying instead of sneaking around Hogwarts.
• Douglas reminded Harry that the agency’s mission was to uncover the truth and explained how seriously Snape took the missing item.

Douglas persuaded Sirius and Harry to accept an official commission to investigate Snape’s missing possession, giving Harry legal authority to search Snape’s office. Hermione organized the Detective Club’s response, and Harry led the group to meet Snape as their first step.

• Douglas convinced Sirius that the commission gave Harry and the Charon Detective Agency a lawful chance to search Snape’s private office, and promised the Academic Affairs Office would protect Harry.
• Harry reluctantly accepted the commission, then explained it to the Detective Club, where Ron objected, Terry sought clues about the missing item, and Hannah worried about the club’s reputation.
• Hermione arrived, proposed interviewing Snape as the first step in a professional investigation, and persuaded the club to approach him as detectives rather than students.
• Harry agreed with Hermione and led the group down to the dungeons, where they stopped at Snape’s black-painted oak door.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione failed to get Snape to cooperate with their investigation into the theft from his private storeroom, though they noticed his reaction to a locked cabinet. After the Detective Agency’s other teams also hit dead ends, Harry agreed to recruit Draco Malfoy to approach Snape, with a calculating confidence that unsettled Ron and Hermione.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione interviewed Snape, who mocked them, refused to discuss the stolen items, and ordered them out of his office.
• Hermione asked whether anything else had been disturbed, and Harry and Hermione noticed Snape glance at a three-locked cabinet before he denied it.
• At the Detective Agency meeting, Terry Boot criticized the failed interview and the Ravenclaw team’s inconclusive research, while Ernie Macmillan described the Hufflepuff team’s failed attempts to gather information.
• Terry suggested that Draco Malfoy approach Snape, and Hermione agreed that the Slytherin might get further than they had.
• Harry agreed to speak to Draco, claiming he knew what to say, which left Ron and Hermione staring at him in surprise.

Harry used his request for Malfoy’s help with Snape’s theft case to make the investigation public, then learned that Snape had punished Malfoy for revealing it. Harry and Hermione saw a chance to force Snape to cooperate and remove Malfoy from the Detective Club, but the case remained unsolved until Fred and George announced that Moody wanted to advise Harry.

• Harry asked Malfoy to approach Snape about the theft, and Malfoy loudly announced the case to the Great Hall before refusing to help without Snape’s authorization.
• Students across the school learned about Snape’s stolen item, while Detective Club members cited their confidentiality agreement.
• Snape watched Malfoy during Potions and deducted twenty points from Slytherin after Malfoy made a mistake.
• Harry explained that he had wanted Malfoy to reveal the case publicly, and Hermione realized Snape would now have to tolerate the publicity or cooperate with the club.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione recognized that the case was still stuck, then Fred and George told Harry that Moody wanted to see him and offer professional advice.

After Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s public tactic against Malfoy draws the Academic Affairs Office’s attention, Moody reprimands them for mishandling the investigation and takes charge as their consultant. He demonstrates the forensic details they missed, leaving the three eager to learn from him.

• Fred and George tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Moody has summoned them to his office, while the twins stay behind for their own plans.
• Moody scolds the trio for turning Snape’s theft case into a public spectacle, alienating Snape and making Malfoy a target.
• Moody acknowledges that their use of the rules had merit, then announces that the Academic Affairs Office will direct the investigation and appoints himself their Investigative Consultant.
• Moody quizzes the trio about what they observed in Snape’s office and points out ink splatters and traces of red soil they overlooked.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione recognize how much they have to learn and eagerly accept Moody’s offer to teach them.

Moody ordered Harry, Ron, and Hermione to document their investigation, then reviewed their report and rejected their motion to expel Malfoy. He told the stunned trio that rules were weapons, leaving them unsure what he meant.

• Moody ordered the Detective Club to write a formal account of their investigation and barred them from acting without his approval.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione worked through the night to complete the report, and Harry signed their motion to expel Malfoy for revealing club secrets.
• Draco tried to explain himself to Snape, who condemned him for spreading private affairs and walked away.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione presented their report and expulsion motion to Moody, expecting him to support them.
• Moody questioned why they wanted to expel Malfoy, dismissed their reasoning, and told them that rules were weapons.

Moody rejected the motion to expel Snape’s rule-breaking ally and taught Harry, Hermione, and Ron how leverage could turn an opponent into an informant. He assigned the Detective Club to investigate access to Snape’s private storeroom, then showed them how to pressure portraits and question house-elves about indirect clues.

• Moody explained that the club could use the threat of public exposure to control the rule-breaker, then burned the application and denied it.
• Moody assigned the club to map everyone with permission and opportunity to enter Snape’s private storeroom and record their routes through Hogwarts.
• Ernie Macmillan and Ron said the portraits and house-elves had refused to provide information, but Moody told them their earlier approach had been begging rather than questioning.
• Moody gave the club scripts to warn portraits that uncooperative ones could be moved to a storeroom, and instructed them to seek indirect clues from house-elves about stains, footprints, potion residue, and unusual dishes.
• The Detective Club split into groups and set out across Hogwarts with Moody’s letters of authorization and new instructions.