Chapter Summaries

Bell struggled with his mother's punishment of having his Magical Animal meat confiscated, then realized Hogwarts tradition might offer a way to find more food. He headed into the Forbidden Forest with Fina to gather ingredients, leaving the consequences of his nighttime excursion unknown.

• Lockhart's reputation among the Little Wizards worsened, though Hermione still believed he was a great Wizard and Bell had no time to care.
• After Shanna caused trouble at home, Elena confiscated Bell's Magical Animal meat, leaving him craving meat after more than a week without it.
• Bell considered Fina's unchanged size while grooming her in the Ravenclaw common room, then recalled that raising Magical Animals was a Hogwarts tradition.
• Bell asked Fina to join him in gathering ingredients, and she eagerly perched on his head.
• Bell cast a Repelling Jinx on himself and set off with Fina for the Forbidden Forest.

Bell entered the Forbidden Forest to find Acromantulas and test whether their legs could be eaten, while chatting with Shanna during his search. He had not yet found the colony when he woke Fina to greet his sister.

• Bell entered the Forbidden Forest under a Disillusionment Charm to hunt Acromantulas, but he did not know where their colony was.
• Bell rejected asking Hagrid for directions and searched the forest by leaping from branch to branch, hoping to find a centaur or a giant spider.
• Shanna video-called Bell, who told her he was in the Forbidden Forest and asked whether their mother was nearby.
• Shanna described her plan to secretly buy an owl and send Bell food, but Bell asked her to put it on hold because he was seeking a new source of food.
• Bell told Shanna that he might send her some Magical Creatures to try if they tasted good, then woke Fina so she could greet her.

Bell searched the forest for Acromantula ingredients while assuring Shanna he would be careful, then killed an Acromantula that was hunting a fawn. He reached the spider’s corpse, though its appearance disgusted him.

• Shanna asked Fina whether she had protected Bell, and Bell intervened when Shanna teased the embarrassed Fina.
• Shanna warned Bell to watch out for dangerous creatures after hearing that someone had been injured by a Fire Dragon.
• After searching for hours without finding spider silk, Bell decided to keep looking until midnight before trying to get Hagrid drunk.
• Arabela, Aragog’s eighth child, patiently waited in a tree and prepared to ambush a fawn.
• Bell cast Diffindo and severed Arabela’s head, allowing the fawn to escape.
• Bell congratulated himself for saving the fawn, then approached the Acromantula’s corpse and found it nauseating.

Bell hunted Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest to collect spider meat and magical ingredients, but his attempt to gather more sparked a battle that damaged the woods. He protected himself from the spiders’ venom and prepared to finish dealing with them.

• Bell killed an Acromantula, collected its legs and magical materials, and buried the remaining corpse.
• Bell followed the growing number of spiders and webs until more than a dozen Acromantulas ambushed him.
• Bell used Incendio on the charging spiders, accidentally setting the surrounding woods and webs ablaze.
• Bell extinguished the flames with Watery Waterfall, then impaled spiders attacking from behind with Earth Spikes.
• The Acromantulas sprayed venom at Bell, but his Shield Charm and defensive accessories blocked it.

Bell fought a swarm of Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, killing many while sparing the young spiders. Aragog emerged to negotiate, and Bell put on a Confusion Mask after Aragog mistook him for a disguised Hogwarts student.

• Bell used transforming stones to kill charging Acromantulas while gently knocking the small spiders away.
• Aragog emerged and asked Bell to stop killing his descendants, suggesting Hagrid might discover him.
• Bell admitted he was disguised as a Hogwarts student and put on his Confusion Mask.
• The Acromantulas could no longer pinpoint Bell with their eyes, and Aragog mistakenly thought he had put on the mask to prepare for more fighting.
• Bell doubted Aragog's claim that the spiders meant no harm and reasoned that the old spider was negotiating only because it could not overpower him.

Bell confronted Aragog in the Forbidden Forest and explained that he had come to ask the Acromantulas for meat, but Aragog rejected his proposal and ordered an attack. As the spiders surrounded Bell with webs that blocked Apparition, he discovered a previously unknown property of their webs.

• Bell noticed Acromantulas creeping through the darkness and realized Aragog had been preparing to surround him.
• Aragog demanded to know why Bell had killed many of its descendants, and Bell spent twenty minutes telling a rambling account of his background.
• Bell asked Aragog to provide him with a few dozen pounds of Acromantula meat each month, but Aragog took the request as an insult and ordered the spiders to attack.
• Aragog fled as Acromantulas blanketed Bell with webs, and Bell discovered that the encirclement sealed off space and prevented him from Apparating away.

Bell fought the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, using earth and tree Transfiguration to kill most of them while preserving their bodies as ingredients. Meanwhile, Bane led a Centaur patrol toward the colony despite Ronan’s warning, and the chapter left them approaching the chaos.

• Bell escaped Aragog’s web and chose not to attack Hagrid’s pet, then faced the gathered Acromantulas.
• Bell avoided fire and ice spells so he could collect ingredients, using Earth Spikes, Earth Walls, his Flying Shoes, and Transfiguration to fight the spiders.
• Bell’s tree Transfiguration pierced or crushed most of the Acromantulas, displaying the results of his years of training.
• Firenze and Ronan heard the commotion during their patrol and identified the Acromantulas’ territory as its source.
• Ronan urged caution, but Bane led the Centaur patrol toward the colony, and Firenze followed with them.

Bell fought the Acromantulas until the centaurs joined the battle, drawing the spiders’ attention away from him. As the centaurs retreated under Aragog’s attack, Bell slipped away to collect ingredients from the battle’s aftermath.

• Ronan warned Bane and the centaurs that Mars was approaching, but Bell’s attack scattered them with flying debris and killed several Acromantulas.
• The centaurs attacked the Acromantulas, and Aragog redirected his colony against them to escape Bell’s slaughter.
• Bell watched the centaurs and spiders fight, suspected the centaurs had stolen his kills, then used a Disillusionment Charm to leave and harvest ingredients.
• Outnumbered by the Acromantulas, Bane ordered the centaurs to retreat, but Aragog commanded his colony to stop them.

Hagrid arrived in time to stop the centaurs and Acromantulas from killing one another in the Forbidden Forest. He treated the badly wounded Bane, who would need several months to recover.

• Bane charged at the Acromantulas to hold them off, prompting the centaurs to turn back and fight beside him.
• Hagrid rushed toward the battle after hearing the commotion, carrying the frightened Fang despite the dog's resistance.
• Hagrid found the centaurs and Acromantulas fighting and shouted for them to stop.
• Aragog reluctantly ordered his children to cease attacking when Hagrid entered the battlefield.
• Hagrid pulled Bane from the wreckage, treated his wounds with herbs, and told him he would need months to recover.

Hagrid stopped the fight between the centaurs and Aragog’s Acromantulas and learned that both groups had been battling a mysteriously powerful Wizard. The Wizard had vanished, and no one could remember what he looked like.

• Firenze helped Bane up while Aragog came forward to greet Hagrid, who treated Bane’s wounds and asked why the groups had fought.
• Aragog and Bane traded accusations, and Hagrid urged them to calm down before asking the centaurs why they had entered the Acromantulas’ territory.
• Firenze explained that the centaurs had followed an unusual sign from Mars and attacked after seeing the Acromantulas fighting a Wizard.
• Aragog said the Wizard had demanded Spider Meat and attacked the spiders when they refused, while the centaurs had joined the fight against them.
• Firenze confirmed that the centaurs had seen the Wizard but did not know when he disappeared.
• Hagrid asked what the Wizard looked like, and the centaurs realized they could remember nothing about his appearance or clothing.

After secretly driving off the masked attackers in the Forbidden Forest, Bell stole spider legs from the battle and asked Lim to cook them. Lim confirmed the legs were delicious, leaving Bell eager to eat them.

• Aragog told Hagrid that the masked attackers had concealed their identities, and Hagrid planned to report the attack to Dumbledore and seek compensation for the Acromantulas.
• Bell returned to his dormitory and celebrated his secret good deed without realizing Dumbledore would search the Forbidden Forest.
• Bell summoned Lim, revealed a bag of spider legs, and asked him to test them for poison and prepare them as food without telling anyone at school.
• Bell spent the morning distracted by thoughts of eating spider legs and rushed away after class, leaving Hermione puzzled.
• Lim told Bell the spider legs tasted very good and admitted he had sampled some while cooking them.

Bell enjoyed Lim’s spider-leg dishes and brought Hermione to an empty classroom to share them with her, concealing what the meat was. The chapter ended with Bell and Hermione beginning their meal together.

• Lim served Bell a plate of spicy, fragrant spider-leg meat, and he praised her cooking as he eagerly ate.
• Bell took Lim’s enchanted lunch box and headed to the Great Hall to find somewhere to eat.
• Hermione heard strange noises that Bell was making from the entrance, recognized him, and punched him on the head.
• Bell invited Hermione to join him for some delicious food and led her to an empty classroom.
• Bell sealed the classroom, laid out several spider-leg dishes, and urged Hermione to eat without telling her what they were.

Bell served Hermione Spider Meat, then revealed what she had eaten after magically easing her overfull stomach. Hermione attacked him in shock, but they reconciled, and she secretly asked him to invite her next time he ate it.

• Hermione and Bell ate the meat, and Bell used magic to help Hermione digest her meal.
• Bell told Hermione that the meat was Spider Meat, and Hermione lunged at him in horror.
• Hermione cursed Bell’s leg, knocked him down, and shook him while demanding that he admit he was joking.
• Bell reassured Hermione, and she laughed with him before telling him not to do it again and asking him to call her next time.
• Fina ate Spider Meat in the Ravenclaw common room while the pets below her waited for scraps.

Bell and Hermione spent Halloween Eve together, and Hermione enjoyed the feast she had missed out on the previous year. The celebration ended peacefully, with Bell still wondering how much longer it would be until Shanna could enroll.

• Bell and Hermione studied in the Library on Halloween Eve, drawing Madam Pince’s irritation as she thought they were there on a date.
• Hermione asked Bell to use a digestion spell after the feast so she could eat another round of food.
• Penelope questioned Bell about the spell and argued that he had ignored her when Hermione appeared.
• Bell enjoyed the singers’ performance at the feast, which ended after Dumbledore gave his customary speech.

Bell and Hermione discovered Mrs. Norris petrified beneath a message announcing that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Draco accused Hermione of being a Mudblood, and Bell confronted him, demanding an apology.

• The crowd fell silent and rushed toward the corridor, where Harry, Ron, and Neville stood beside a petrified Mrs. Norris and a warning written on the wall.
• Draco Malfoy shouted that Hermione was next and called her a Mudblood.
• Hermione asked Bell what the insult meant, and Bell stepped forward to confront Draco.
• Bell gave Draco a chance to apologize, but Draco refused and insulted Hermione and the Menethil family.

Bell defended Hermione after Draco insulted her, overpowering Draco and suppressing the dangerous surge of magic in his body. The chapter ended with Bell declaring that magic alone determined a Wizard’s status.

• Bell stopped Draco from drawing his Wand, immobilized him, and slammed him into the ceiling and floor.
• Draco’s fear unleashed a violent surge of magic, but Bell dispersed the power gathering in Draco’s arm and pinned him down to contain it.
• Hermione tried to stop Bell, but he bounced her away and silenced her.
• Draco questioned why Bell associated with Muggle-borns despite his strength, and Bell replied that he had no pure-blood pride.
• Bell crouched beside Draco and declared that only magic could determine a Wizard’s status.

Filch discovered Mrs. Norris petrified and rushed at Bell, mistaking the scene for a murder. Dumbledore arrived, heard Hermione’s account of Bell and Malfoy’s fight, and left the matter to Minerva.

• Filch found Malfoy lying motionless and Mrs. Norris hanging from a torch bracket, then lunged at Bell in rage.
• Dumbledore arrived with the professors and confirmed that Mrs. Norris was petrified rather than dead.
• Hermione explained that Malfoy had insulted her, Bell had confronted him, and the two had fought.
• Dumbledore assigned Minerva the authority to decide the matter, shocking Snape.

Professor McGonagall punished Bell for his fight with Malfoy and ordered Malfoy taken to the Hospital Wing. Hermione tried to share Bell’s punishment, but Bell stopped her, and McGonagall spared her.

• Dumbledore assigned Professor McGonagall to decide the punishment because the fight involved students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
• Professor McGonagall deducted fifty points from Ravenclaw for Bell and began to punish him.
• Bell pointed out that Malfoy was still seriously injured, prompting McGonagall to examine him and find that he would recover by morning.
• Professor McGonagall deducted twenty points from Slytherin for Malfoy and canceled his detention because of his injuries.
• Hermione asked Professor McGonagall to punish her too, but McGonagall refused, and Bell interrupted Hermione before she could argue further.

After Bell redirected attention to Mrs. Norris and the writing on the wall, Dumbledore took charge of the investigation and led Harry, Ron, and Neville away with him. On the way back to their common rooms, Hermione offered to share Bell’s punishment, while Bell reluctantly agreed to let her help with his detention.

• Bell pointed out the writing on the wall and Mrs. Norris, prompting the onlookers to focus again on the incident.
• Dumbledore took Mrs. Norris down and ordered Argus, Harry, Ron, and Neville to come with him.
• Lockhart led Dumbledore’s group to his office and kept his distance from Bell.
• After Dumbledore and the others left, the professors organized the Little Wizards and sent them back to their common rooms.
• Hermione complained that Bell had stopped her from arguing with Professor McGonagall and said she had wanted to share his punishment.
• Hermione promised to help Bell during detention, and Bell agreed reluctantly.

Bell received a detention from Professor McGonagall to clear snow from the Quidditch pitch and remove frost from the brooms without using his Wand. Hermione offered to help, while Penelope quietly walked away after Bell noticed her dark circles.

• Fina frightened a hungry owl away from Bell's breakfast, and the owl panicked through the Great Hall before remembering it could fly.
• Bell read Professor McGonagall's letter assigning him snow removal and broom defrosting at the Quidditch pitch.
• Penelope sat with Bell, fed Fina, and appeared downcast after a sleepless night thinking about what had happened in the corridor.
• Hermione read Bell's detention letter and offered to help, pointing out that it did not forbid other people from assisting.
• Bell noticed Penelope quietly walking away as Hermione volunteered to join him.