Chapter Summaries

Bell made Shanna apologize to Elena, then comforted her after she feared he might stop loving her. The next morning, Shanna received Bell’s handmade Christmas coat, while Bell woke to a room full of gift boxes containing food.

• Elena returned with Shanna and scolded Bell for making his little sister cry, while William joined in and hoped to win Shanna’s favor.
• Bell called Shanna over, confirmed that she had apologized to Elena, and comforted her as she cried in his arms.
• Elena took William away, and the family’s reconciliation left him unaware that he no longer had to fear Shanna’s household traps and pranks.
• On Christmas morning, Shanna opened her presents and found Bell’s handmade hooded coat, which magically resized to fit her.
• Bell woke to a room piled with gift boxes and discovered that several contained dishes, including what appeared to be sweet and sour ribs.

Shanna accidentally struck Bell with a Hurricane Curse while trying to enter his room, and Bell mistook her attack for anger over his attempt to destroy one of her gifts. He gave her a matching Battle Robe designed to defend against spatial attacks, leaving the siblings delighted with their gifts and unaware that the gale had destroyed Hermione’s present.

• Shanna opened Bell’s bedroom door, and the piled-up gift boxes toppled toward her.
• Shanna instinctively cast a Hurricane Curse, and Bell blocked the gale with Protego Totalum.
• Bell and Shanna both apologized, then Bell changed the subject by asking whether she liked her trench coat.
• Bell showed Shanna his matching Battle Robe and explained how its Acromantula silk lining sealed off space.
• Bell demonstrated Side-Along Apparition with a Magic Power sphere, and Shanna praised his magic.

Bell spent Christmas with his family, tasting Shanna’s homemade cake before returning to Hogwarts. Hermione confronted him for neglecting her messages, and Bell swore he would never leave her feeling alone again.

• Shanna proudly told Bell she had made his gifts, then hurriedly burned the spoiled food she had prepared after Bell opened a foul-smelling box.
• After inspecting the gifts, Shanna offered Bell her chocolate cake, and he ate it tearfully because it made him happy despite its sweetness.
• Bell left home after Christmas using Side-Along Apparition and remembered that he had forgotten to meet Hermione.
• Hermione confronted Bell about his lack of replies and asked whether he truly liked her, then cried as she confessed she only wanted him by her side.
• Bell apologized, embraced Hermione, and swore he would never leave her alone again.

Bell and Hermione debated which Elective Courses she should take, as Bell tried to dissuade her from choosing Muggle Studies and Divination. Hermione remained curious about both subjects, so Bell suggested they ask Professor McGonagall if she could sit in on classes before deciding.

• Bell and Hermione spent their free time together until Easter Holiday arrived.
• Bell questioned Hermione's plans to take Muggle Studies and argued that she already knew more about Muggles than the course's professor.
• Bell asked Hermione whether she had ever experienced a prophetic dream, then explained his belief that foresight came from inherited bloodlines and could not be learned.
• Hermione still wanted to try Divination, despite Bell's arguments, and Bell accepted that he could not change her mind.
• Bell suggested that Hermione ask Professor McGonagall for permission to sit in on Elective Courses before choosing, and Hermione agreed the idea sounded good.

Bell explained the elective courses to Hermione and emphasized the importance of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Hermione arranged to audit additional courses next term before deciding, but kept Care of Magical Creatures on her selection form.

• Hermione asked Bell to explain the remaining elective courses, and he warned that Care of Magical Creatures would conflict with two more important subjects.
• Bell described Arithmancy as essential to large-scale magic and divination, and Ancient Runes as central to making magical items.
• Hermione said she understood that Arithmancy and Ancient Runes were important, while Bell hoped she would reject three other courses; she pushed him away when he pressed her.
• Hermione told Professor McGonagall she wanted to audit several courses next term before deciding, and Professor McGonagall agreed.
• Hermione revealed she had already selected Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures, and refused Bell's suggestion to drop the last course.

Bell enjoyed the end of the holidays and looked forward to a Quidditch match and picnic with Hermione. At breakfast, Ron accused Bell of stealing Harry’s diary, and Neville intervened when the argument threatened to escalate.

• Hermione made Bell select Care of Magical Creatures and submit his course form to Professor Flitwick under her supervision.
• Bell ate breakfast with Hermione and anticipated the Gryffindor-versus-Hufflepuff Quidditch match and a picnic by the Black Lake.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville confronted Bell, and Ron accused him of stealing Harry’s diary because Bell knew the Gryffindor Common Room password.
• Hermione defended Bell and insisted that he had neither stolen the diary nor had time to do so.
• Ron suggested Hermione might have helped Bell and demanded to search him, but Neville covered Ron’s mouth to stop him.

After Neville explained how Harry found the diary, Penelope burst into the Great Hall and told Bell that his enchanted earring had warned her of danger and helped her escape an attack. Bell prepared to take her back to the scene, but Penelope and Hermione objected, and Percy rushed over to question what had happened.

• Neville told Hermione that Harry had found a diary outside Moaning Myrtle's abandoned bathroom, while Bell realized the diary meant the Basilisk could return.
• Oliver Wood found Harry in the Great Hall and hurried him toward the Quidditch pitch for practice.
• Penelope rushed into the Great Hall and told Bell that his earring had warned her of danger and that she had barely escaped.
• Bell offered to go with Penelope to where she had encountered danger, but Penelope and Hermione both told him no.
• Percy hurried to Penelope and anxiously asked what had happened to her.

After Penelope warned Bell that she had sensed danger, he stunned Percy and used Magic Power Detection to search Hogwarts for the threat. He did not locate the Basilisk, but the scan gave him other information to investigate.

• Percy questioned Penelope in a panic, and Bell stunned him to stop his nagging.
• Bell gave Penelope cola containing Felix Felicis, calming her fear.
• Penelope and Hermione urged Bell to find Professor McGonagall, but he decided to investigate himself.
• Bell used Magic Power Detection to scan Hogwarts, but magical barriers prevented him from locating the Basilisk.
• Bell scanned the castle again and confirmed his suspicion that the detection had revealed something else.

Bell and Penelope realized the Basilisk had petrified several Little Wizards near the Library, and they went with Hermione to find the victims. Professor McGonagall arrived to take charge and ordered Bell, Hermione, and Penelope to come with her.

• Bell sensed that several Little Wizards near the Library were standing motionless, and Penelope feared they had been hurt while the Basilisk followed her.
• Bell reassured Penelope that the Basilisk was gone and led Hermione and Penelope toward the petrified students.
• Bell joked that he was worried the incident would spoil his picnic plans, prompting Hermione and Penelope to hit him.
• Bell found a petrified Little Wizard but lacked a way to help, and Professor McGonagall arrived after a student alerted her.
• Professor McGonagall examined the victim, then ordered Bell, Hermione, and Penelope to come with her.

After Hogwarts discovered six petrified victims, Bell reassured Hermione that the school would stay open, but Dumbledore’s removal as headmaster left her devastated. Bell promised to prepare carefully before hunting the Basilisk, then learned from William that Malfoy had arranged Dumbledore’s dismissal with William’s help.

• Bell warned Professor McGonagall that more petrified victims lay ahead, and five additional victims were found.
• Bell told Hermione and Penelope that Hogwarts would not close, then learned the next morning that Dumbledore had been removed as headmaster.
• When Hermione feared for Hogwarts and mourned Dumbledore’s dismissal, Bell promised to prepare before going after the Basilisk.
• Bell called William and learned that Malfoy had arranged Dumbledore’s removal while William had helped push it through.
• Bell told William not to push Dumbledore too far, ended the call, and entered his suitcase to prepare.

Bell was summoned at midnight after Lim reported that Ginny Weasley had made an unusual move, and he found her controlled by Tom Riddle’s diary. The younger Voldemort revealed himself and questioned Bell about another version of himself, leaving Bell eager to continue studying the soul fragment.

• Lim woke Bell to report that Ginny Weasley had left her dormitory at night.
• Bell confronted Ginny in the Girls' Bathroom and recognized that the diary was controlling her.
• A Black Mist rose from Ginny, and the young Voldemort introduced himself and demanded Bell's loyalty.
• Bell told Voldemort that he had encountered another version of him at Hogwarts the previous year, who had failed to obtain the Philosopher's Stone.
• Voldemort urgently asked where that version was and whether he had succeeded, and Bell answered that he did not know where he was now.

Bell confronted Voldemort and Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, then prepared to fight the Basilisk with his magical liquid metal, Thousand Changes. When the Basilisk finally appeared, Bell was shocked by how small and unimpressive it was.

• Bell mocked Voldemort, who retreated into Ginny and escaped with her through the sink passage.
• Bell used an eye mask to block his vision and poured out Thousand Changes, shaping half of it into a spear to strike the Basilisk.
• The Basilisk crawled into the bathroom from outside rather than through the passage Bell had been watching.
• Bell was furious and disappointed that the thousand-year-old Basilisk was less than ten meters long and lunged at him.

Bell defeated the Basilisk beneath Hogwarts and arranged for its body to be taken away, then revealed that Ginny Weasley was alive and handed Voldemort’s diary to Professor McGonagall. He left for the dormitories after asking McGonagall to pass a message to Dumbledore.

• Bell used Thousand Changes to shield himself from the Basilisk, then pierced its skull and let it die.
• Professor McGonagall arrived, and Bell told Lim to take the Basilisk away for wine while keeping its eyes and fangs.
• Bell refused to go to McGonagall’s office, explaining that Ginny Weasley was still missing.
• Bell summoned Fina from the Girls’ Bathroom with Voldemort’s diary and confirmed that Ginny was alive but needed time to recover.
• Bell gave the diary to Professor McGonagall and asked her to tell Dumbledore to hurry with his plans before returning to the dormitories.

Hermione learned that the Basilisk had been killed, while Professor McGonagall concealed that she did not know who had slain it and suspected Bell had staged the scene. Bell persuaded Hermione to give him a lap-pillow massage, but their quiet moment ended when McGonagall summoned him to meet Dumbledore.

• Hermione heard the Great Hall’s Little Wizards speculate about who had killed the Basilisk, while Professor McGonagall privately concluded Bell Menethil could not have done it.
• Hermione worried over Bell’s claim that his head hurt and tried to take him to Madam Pomfrey.
• Bell convinced Hermione to massage his temples, then lay on her lap and claimed the Basilisk had caused him a mental injury.
• Professor McGonagall called for Bell in the Great Hall and told him that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see him.

Bell was summoned to Dumbledore’s office after killing the Basilisk, with Hermione insisting on accompanying him. Dumbledore questioned Bell about the killing, but Hermione recounted the events instead, leaving Bell’s methods and the Basilisk’s fate unexplained.

• Professor McGonagall summoned Bell to meet Dumbledore, and Hermione insisted on going with him.
• Professor McGonagall allowed Hermione to accompany Bell to the Headmaster’s Office.
• Arthur and Molly Weasley thanked Bell for saving Ginny before Dumbledore began questioning him.
• Bell admitted that he had killed the Basilisk but refused to explain how, and said its corpse had been sent home.
• Hermione described the events surrounding the Basilisk from Halloween through that morning while Bell listened.

Bell revealed that the diary was Voldemort’s Horcrux, then angrily confronted Dumbledore over Hogwarts’s neglect of its students and rejected his request to help Harry fulfill the prophecy. Bell left with Hermione after warning Dumbledore about his younger sister’s arrival next year.

• Bell identified the diary as Voldemort’s Horcrux and refused to explain how he knew about it.
• Dumbledore questioned Bell about his conversation with Tom, and Bell accused him of neglecting Hogwarts and keeping Hermione afraid.
• Dumbledore asked Bell to help Harry defeat Voldemort, but Bell rejected the prophecy and insisted that he would control his own future.
• Bell warned Dumbledore to improve Hogwarts before his younger sister enrolled, then left the office with Hermione.
• Snape regretted missing his chance to ask Bell for Basilisk materials, while Hermione questioned Bell’s disrespect toward Dumbledore.

After Bell confronted Dumbledore, he reassured Hermione that the headmaster could not expel him and persuaded her to return Ten Thousand Snakes for further research. Hogwarts settled back into peace, but Harry became the target of students’ anger for supposedly killing the Basilisk and bringing back final exams.

• Bell told Hermione that Dumbledore would not expel him and accidentally revealed that the professor had a lover, prompting Hermione’s curiosity.
• Bell asked Hermione to return Ten Thousand Snakes, but she refused because she cherished the protection and affection it represented.
• Bell promised to give Hermione a completed version after his research, and she reluctantly let Ten Thousand Snakes crawl back onto his hand.
• With the Basilisk dead, Hogwarts’s final exams went ahead, and the students blamed Harry for killing it and ending their hopes of canceled exams.

Bell heard Penelope worry that her Muggle-born background would make it difficult to find a good job after graduation, and he offered her work with the Bell Family. He also realized the family could recruit talented Hogwarts students before they graduated.

• The petrified students recovered, then learned they would have intensive lessons during the final week to make up for missed classes.
• Bell joked with Hermione and Penelope, who had become close friends after Penelope recovered from the Basilisk attack.
• Penelope explained that she was worried about finding work after graduation and earning enough N.E.W.Ts certificates.
• Penelope said that Pure-blood Families dominated many industries and that her Muggle-born status limited her career prospects.
• Hermione began worrying about her own future and whether Bell's family would accept her.
• Bell offered Penelope a job and considered having the Bell Family recruit promising Hogwarts students before graduation.

Bell offered Penelope a secretary job, and she accepted despite being surprised by the generous salary. The breakfast conversation turned to Percy, leaving Bell pressed to explain why he supposedly disliked him.

• Bell offered Penelope a job organizing documents and filtering important information, explaining that Hermione lacked the necessary knowledge.
• Penelope accepted the position and agreed to a starting salary of fifty Galleons a month.
• Hermione asked to work for Bell too, and Bell joked that as the boss's wife she should pay him instead.
• Penelope complained about Percy’s obsession with being a Prefect and asked Hermione and Bell what they thought of him.
• Hermione praised Percy, while Bell gave a noncommittal answer and refused to criticize him.
• Penelope and Hermione concluded that Bell disliked Percy and challenged him to explain why.

Bell discussed family, honor, and summer plans with Hermione and Penelope, while Dumbledore awarded Gryffindor the House Cup by crediting Harry, Ron, and Neville with driving Acromantulas from the Forbidden Forest. As the Hogwarts Express neared the station, Hermione abruptly left Bell, still afraid his family would reject her for being Muggle-born.

• Bell told Hermione and Penelope that family mattered more than outside honors, leaving Hermione ashamed of her hesitation and Penelope uncertain about Percy.
• Bell invited Hermione to travel with his family, but she declined because her family planned a summer trip to France; Bell said he would visit China and Japan.
• Dumbledore awarded Harry, Ron, and Neville fifty points each, claiming they had driven the Acromantulas from the Forbidden Forest, and Gryffindor narrowly won the House Cup.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville accepted their classmates' admiration despite not understanding why the spiders had fled, while Bell worried that Dumbledore's story meant his supply of Crispy Spider Legs was gone.
• Hermione suddenly apologized to Bell and left the train compartment, afraid Bell's family might dislike her for being Muggle-born.