Recaps

Draco and Hermione visited a beauty potion shop, where he teased her about her curls and recalled how he first met her at Ollivander's Wand Shop. They went to visit Ollivander together, with Draco calling him the matchmaker who helped bring them together.

• Draco encouraged Hermione to choose whether she wanted a hair treatment, then told her he liked her curls as they were.
• Embarrassed by Draco's teasing in the shop, Hermione dragged him outside.
• Draco admitted he had pretended to be Ollivander's apprentice so he could talk to Hermione when she came to choose her wand.
• Hermione and Draco recalled Ollivander's role in their first meeting and embraced.
• Draco called Ollivander their matchmaker and led Hermione into his wand shop to thank him.

Draco and Hermione visited Ollivander to thank him for nudging them together, and he gave Hermione a keepsake from their first meeting. As they left Diagon Alley, Hermione recalled how she had once planned to avoid Draco, but his jokes about having many children quickly turned their tender conversation into playful bickering.

• Draco and Hermione told Ollivander that his earlier matchmaking had led to their relationship, and he teased them about their romance.
• Ollivander gave Hermione a piece of sycamore wood he had saved when she chose her wand and urged the couple to remember why they came together.
• Outside the shop, Hermione told Draco that Professor McGonagall had warned her about his family and that she had once intended to avoid him.
• Draco asked Hermione if having eight or ten children was too much, and she scolded him for ruining the romantic mood.
• Hermione said Draco would have to be a househusband if they had children, then stomped on his foot as he joked; she soon burst out laughing.

Draco and Hermione met Harry and Sirius in Diagon Alley, where the four shared drinks and reminisced about their first year. At King's Cross, the Malfoys and Grangers warmly said goodbye before Draco and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express for their second year.

• Draco and Hermione ran into Harry and Sirius in Diagon Alley, and Sirius thanked Draco for helping Harry discover their relationship.
• Harry told Draco and Hermione about his happy summer with Sirius, and the friends shared how much they had changed since their first year.
• Harry invited Draco, Hermione, and Sirius to the Leaky Cauldron, where they drank and teased one another before parting ways.
• Draco and Hermione met their parents at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where Narcissa and Mrs. Granger exchanged warm words about the children.
• Nearby pure-blood wizards watched with surprise and disapproval as the Malfoys treated the Grangers cordially.

The Weasleys greeted the Malfoys and Grangers at the station before Hermione, Draco, and their friends boarded the Hogwarts Express. Ginny wanted to join the second-years, while Draco directed Neville and two other girls to find seats elsewhere, leaving the group settled in their compartment.

• Arthur and Molly greeted Lucius, Narcissa, and the Grangers, and Ginny joined Hermione and Draco before Ron and the twins teased them about sharing a compartment.
• Hermione invited Ginny to sit with them, but Draco advised Ginny to spend time with her own year, so she went to the first-year compartments.
• The families said goodbye, and Draco carried Hermione's suitcase as the group boarded the Hogwarts Express.
• Harry joined Draco, Hermione, Ron, and the others in a compartment, but Draco sent Neville to find a seat elsewhere and suggested Goyle and Crabbe's compartment.
• Lavender and Parvati came looking for seats, but Draco told them the compartment was full, and they went next door.

Harry and the other students arrived at Hogsmeade Station and learned that Thestrals pulled the carriages. Draco used the system to get sunglasses that let Hermione see the creatures, while Ron was left waiting for a turn.

• The second-years arrived at Hogsmeade Station and saw carriages apparently moving without horses.
• Harry saw the Thestrals pulling the carriages, and Hermione explained that only people who had witnessed death could normally see them.
• Draco used the system to exchange Fortune Points for two pairs of Death Glasses.
• Draco gave Hermione a pair of sunglasses, and she was amazed to see the Thestrals.
• Hermione touched a Thestral, while Draco spoke to one and Ron complained that he still had no glasses.

Draco joked that Hermione could become Minister for Magic, prompting Ron to hope for a favor or a job while Hermione insisted she would follow the rules. The four arrived at Hogwarts, where the Sorting Ceremony took place and Dumbledore welcomed the students back.

• Draco let Ron wear the Death Glasses, and Ron excitedly saw the Thestral pulling their carriage.
• Draco teased Hermione about becoming Minister for Magic, while Ron first scoffed and then urged her to do it when Draco suggested he could benefit from knowing her.
• Hermione said she would not pull strings for Ron, and Draco told Ron he had no plans to open a shop and hire him.
• The carriage reached Hogwarts, and Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Ron entered the castle and joined the Great Hall.
• Hagrid brought in the first years for the Sorting Ceremony, and Dumbledore welcomed everyone back and repeated the castle rules.

At the Hogwarts feast, Draco turned Dumbledore’s baffling welcome remarks into a joke and then offered a convincing interpretation linking the words to the four houses. The students eagerly awaited his third theory, leaving the Great Hall’s liveliest gathering focused on Draco’s impromptu analysis.

• The students wondered whether Dumbledore’s strange words held deeper meaning, and Draco agreed to analyze them.
• Draco jokingly rearranged the four words into an insult, making the students laugh before he introduced a serious interpretation.
• Draco linked “nitwit” to Ravenclaw, “crybaby” to Gryffindor, and “blubber” to Slytherin; Hermione connected “tweak” to Hufflepuff.
• Students from several houses gathered to hear Draco’s explanation and were convinced that it revealed Dumbledore’s hopes for each house.
• Draco announced a third conjecture, and the students stopped eating to hear it.

Draco explained how the houses’ prejudices might fit Dumbledore’s four-word speech, then charmed Hermione with a public compliment at dinner. On the way to the dormitories, Peeves frightened the first-years but quickly stopped when he noticed Draco, leaving them wondering why the ghost obeyed him.

• Draco described the four words as possible expressions of each house’s prejudices, and Hermione suggested Hufflepuff saw others as stubborn and in need of correction.
• Draco urged everyone to eat, then praised Hermione and called her his wife, prompting teasing from their friends and a blush from Hermione.
• Ginny watched the lively second-years from the first-years’ table, wishing she could join their group.
• Peeves jumped from a suit of armor on the Marble Staircase and frightened the first-years, including Ginny.
• George and Fred invoked Draco’s presence, and Peeves abandoned his prank, bowed to Draco, and vanished.
• The first-years whispered about Draco’s influence over Peeves while Percy hurried them toward the common room.

Draco and Hermione prepared early for their Mandrake lesson while Ron and Harry slept through their alarms. The chapter left Ron and Harry panicking as they rushed to class late and tried to invent an excuse.

• Draco and Hermione said goodnight at the Gryffindor dormitory stairs, and Draco teased Hermione by calling her "wifey."
• Draco got up early and joined Hermione in the library, where they studied the Mandrake lesson together.
• Ron and Harry slept in while Ron joked that Draco had probably gone to find Hermione.
• Hermione, Lavender, and Neville waited for Herbology, and Lavender declared that Ron's promises to work hard were lies.
• Ron finally woke in a panic, and Harry hurriedly dressed after realizing they had overslept and would be late.

Draco handled the mandrakes with remarkable ease during Professor Sprout’s lesson, while Harry and Ron struggled with the plants and their poor earmuffs. The chapter ended with Draco giving a demonstration as the class watched in stunned silence.

• Professor Sprout taught the students how to safely remove, examine, and replant mandrakes.
• Draco and Hermione secured the best earmuffs, while Harry and Ron were left with thin, ill-fitting pairs.
• Draco’s mandrake stayed quiet and nuzzled his fingers, impressing Professor Sprout, while Ron and Harry’s mandrake wailed.
• Hermione completed the exercise, and Neville nervously attempted his turn as other students struggled.
• Professor Sprout asked Draco to demonstrate, and he calmly pulled out a mandrake that remained quiet and nuzzled his fingers.

Draco impressed Professor Sprout with his affinity for Mandrakes, while Hermione and Ron discussed the new Defence Against Dark Magic teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. On Wednesday, Lockhart began his first lesson by boasting about his awards and achievements, while the students watched and Draco's presence made him uneasy.

• Draco handled a Mandrake calmly, and Professor Sprout praised his talent and gave him an Outstanding grade.
• At dinner, Hermione questioned Lockhart's celebrated adventures, while Lavender and Parvati defended him and Ron mocked him.
• Draco told Hermione that having something to anticipate made school less dull, and Hermione decided to wait for Lockhart's lesson to reveal the truth.
• On Wednesday, Lavender and Parvati eagerly hurried to Defence Against Dark Magic after Herbology.
• Lockhart entered the classroom, noticed Draco, and avoided drawing his attention before boasting about his awards and the Wandon Banshee.
• Lavender, Parvati, and the other girls applauded Lockhart as he basked in their admiration.

Lockhart gave his class a quiz about his books, then introduced a cage of Cornish Pixies as a Defence Against Dark Magic lesson. He scolded Seamus for laughing at the creatures, leaving the class silent as the lesson began.

• Lockhart handed out a quiz about his personal exploits, but exempted Draco after Draco flattered him.
• Hermione answered every question correctly and earned ten points for Gryffindor, despite inwardly resenting Lockhart.
• Lockhart criticized the class’s poor quiz results and told everyone to study his books more thoroughly.
• Lockhart unveiled a cage of Cornish Pixies and warned the class not to scream.
• Seamus laughed that the Pixies looked like little flying blue dolls, so Lockhart lectured him about underestimating their danger.

Lockhart’s attempt to demonstrate how to tame Cornish Pixies unleashed chaos in the classroom, and Hermione took charge while the students fought back with spells. After the pixies were captured, Draco claimed he had stayed back to give everyone else a chance, and Neville thanked him sincerely.

• Draco asked Lockhart about Cornish Pixies, and Hermione explained that they were mischievous and difficult to control.
• Lockhart opened the cage to demonstrate taming the pixies, but they attacked the students and wrecked the classroom.
• Draco rescued Neville from the pixies, while Lockhart’s spell failed and he hid under the lectern.
• Hermione rallied the students and led them in using spells to subdue the pixies, with Draco protecting her from ambushes.
• Hermione and the students captured the last pixies, and Draco claimed he had held back to let them gain experience.
• Neville thanked Draco and Hermione, while Ron doubted Draco’s explanation and complained that Hermione was defending him.

After the students defeated the Cornish Pixies, Lockhart falsely claimed credit and fled when the bell rang. Draco repaired the classroom, and the students brought the pixies to Hagrid, who happily took them in.

• Lockhart emerged from beneath the lectern and claimed that the pixie fight had been part of his plan, but Harry asked where his wand was.
• The bell rang, and Lockhart hurried out without collecting his wand or the pixies.
• Ron mocked Lockhart, Olivia brought up Professor Quirrell, and Draco repaired the wrecked classroom with Reparo.
• Hermione suggested taking the pixies to Hagrid, and Harry, Dean, and Neville helped carry their cage.
• Hagrid eagerly took the pixies to keep in an enclosure behind his hut alongside the Augurey.

After Professor Lockhart lost control of Cornish Pixies in class, Harry and his friends handed them to Hagrid and discussed the disaster over lunch. Lockhart hid in his office, wondering whether he should resign, while his reputation crumbled.

• Harry, Ron, and Dean told Hagrid how Lockhart had released the Cornish Pixies and hidden under his desk, and Hagrid took the creatures into his care.
• Harry's group crossed the courtyard, where Colin Creevey tried to photograph Harry and Ron; Draco led Hermione ahead to the Great Hall.
• Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati discussed the chaotic lesson with Draco and Hermione, and the group hoped Lockhart would avoid another disaster that afternoon.
• Lockhart hid in his office and regretted trying to capitalize on Harry's fame as he wondered whether to resign.

Lockhart abandoned his dangerous demonstrations and taught Defence Against Dark Magic from the textbook, while Hogwarts students competed in Quidditch and faced the autumn cold. Draco cared for Hermione in the corridor, pulling her into his robe and calling her his girlfriend as they walked together.

• Lockhart stayed at Hogwarts to protect his reputation and led his afternoon class by reading theory from his book.
• Ginny joined Gryffindor's second team and Fred and George became first-team starters, while Ron failed to make the team again.
• Cho Chang joined Ravenclaw's Quidditch team, and Ravenclaw won the championship after Harry was distracted during a match.
• As colds spread through Hogwarts, Draco noticed Hermione was poorly dressed for the cold and zipped up her jacket and scarf.
• Draco wrapped Hermione and himself in his robe, held her close in the corridor, and called her his girlfriend.

Hermione and Draco’s shared robe drew teasing from Ginny and the Gryffindor common room, leaving Hermione mortified while Draco indulged in the attention. Hermione dragged Draco away and hurried toward the library to study, where they walked together through the cold corridor.

• Hermione pulled the school robe tightly around herself when Ginny spotted her and Draco sharing it near Gryffindor Tower.
• Ginny denied telling anyone, but Lavender, Parvati, and Ron’s teasing made Hermione realize the others had heard about them.
• Hermione fled upstairs for her coat, then returned and pulled Draco out of the common room amid more laughter.
• Hermione blamed Draco for distracting her and rushed him toward the library so they could finish their homework.
• Hermione hunched her shoulders as a cold October wind blew through the corridor.

Draco and Hermione shared a tender study session in the library before joining the Halloween Feast, where Harry heard a sinister voice speaking Parseltongue. The voice moved upward through Hogwarts, and Hermione and Draco arrived as Harry tried to explain the danger.

• Draco cast a Warming Charm on Hermione and joined her in the library, where he flirted with her and helped with her homework.
• Hermione accepted Draco's hand beneath the table as they studied together.
• Hermione and Draco heard a commotion, packed up, and followed the crowd to the Halloween Feast.
• Harry heard a cold, malicious voice in Parseltongue and told Ron and Ginny that it had returned.
• Harry heard the voice say it was hungry and time to kill, then realized it was moving upward through the castle.
• Hermione hurried over to Harry and Ron, and Draco followed, asking whether Harry had seen a ghost.

Harry heard a Parseltongue voice moving through Hogwarts, and Filch announced that Mrs. Norris had been found dead in the second-floor corridor. Dumbledore summoned Draco and Hermione to his office to discuss the Chamber of Secrets, ending by asking Draco who might have opened it.

• Harry heard the Parseltongue voice again and warned that it was moving through the castle.
• Filch rushed into the Great Hall and announced that Mrs. Norris was dead in the second-floor corridor.
• Dumbledore ordered the students back to their dormitories while Draco suspected Harry was the only person present who could open the Chamber.
• Dumbledore signaled Draco to meet him privately, and Draco brought Hermione with him to the Headmaster's Office.
• Dumbledore said the diary Draco had given him had remained safely in his possession and asked who Draco thought had opened the Chamber.

Draco, Hermione, and Dumbledore investigated the Chamber of Secrets and concluded that Harry had not opened it, though an unknown force was imitating the Chamber’s attacks. Meanwhile, blood writing appeared on a corridor wall, and the frightened students began to suspect Harry.

• Draco told Dumbledore and Hermione that Harry’s behavior at the feast had not seemed like an act and that he doubted Harry had opened the Chamber.
• Dumbledore revealed that a fragment of Voldemort’s soul attached to Harry let him hear Parseltongue, but did not make him the Heir of Slytherin.
• Hermione connected the petrification to the Basilisk, and Dumbledore asked Draco whether he had encountered another object tied to Voldemort; Draco said the diary was the only one.
• Students returning to their dormitories found Filch sobbing over the petrified Mrs. Norris as blood writing formed by itself on the wall, declaring that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
• Harry heard the cold Parseltongue voice again but could not explain it as suspicious glances turned toward him, while Ron tried to shield him and Pansy and other Slytherins whispered about the Heir.

After Mrs. Norris was petrified and a warning appeared on the wall, Dumbledore sent Draco and Hermione away together to avoid further danger. Draco revealed that the Chamber of Secrets had opened despite the diary being destroyed, and began explaining its deadly history to Hermione.

• Professor McGonagall calmed the crowd, ordered students back to their common rooms, and sealed the bloody writing on the wall.
• Draco, Hermione, and Dumbledore agreed to wait for the culprit to act again, while Dumbledore told Draco and Hermione to stay together.
• Draco warned Hermione that Harry carried a fragment of Voldemort’s soul and that a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets could petrify anyone who looked directly into its eyes.
• Draco explained that someone else might possess an unknown object and be continuing Voldemort’s work, then led Hermione away from deserted places.
• Draco told Hermione that the Chamber of Secrets had opened fifty years earlier and that someone had died during the attacks.

Draco explained to Hermione that Voldemort had opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years earlier and that the diary was a Horcrux, while warning that another hidden force might now be controlling the basilisk. They formed a plan to protect Harry and investigate the mystery, then returned to the Gryffindor common room, where the students described the bloody message appearing on its own.

• Draco connected the Chamber's history, Moaning Myrtle's death, and the current attacks, and Hermione realized Voldemort had been the true culprit fifty years earlier.
• Draco told Hermione that Voldemort's diary was a Horcrux and suspected another means of controlling the basilisk remained hidden.
• Draco and Hermione agreed that Olivia would watch over Harry while they researched the Restricted Section for information about the Chamber.
• Draco and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room, where Harry and Ron questioned them about their absence and the attack on Mrs. Norris.
• Colin and Ginny described how the bloody warning appeared to seep from the castle walls without anyone writing it, confirming one of Draco's suspicions.

Draco and his friends discussed how the Chamber of Secrets seemed to be acting without a visible controller and agreed to investigate cautiously while keeping Harry from acting alone. That night, Draco and Hermione searched the Restricted Section, narrowly avoided Filch twice, and continued their investigation after he left.

• Draco said the Chamber's bloody writing and the Basilisk's movements suggested either an ancient curse or someone hiding through unknown means.
• Hermione, Olivia, Ron, and the others agreed to look for clues while prioritizing their safety, and Olivia and Ron promised to stay near Harry.
• Draco contacted Hermione through the Two-Way Mirror, took her under his Disillusionment Charm, and searched the Restricted Section by recording the books' contents without touching them.
• When Filch approached, Draco pulled Hermione into the shadows and shielded her until Filch passed.
• A restless book alerted Filch again, and Draco hid Hermione in his arms until Filch searched the room and left.

Draco told Hermione that the Chamber of Secrets had awakened on a fifty-year cycle and that the basilisk was following Salazar Slytherin’s ancient orders to attack Muggle-born students. He then revealed that he knew the Chamber’s entrance was in the abandoned girls’ bathroom where Moaning Myrtle stayed.

• Draco teased Hermione into praising his quick reflexes and research before explaining what the system had deciphered.
• Draco explained that the Chamber had awakened automatically and that the basilisk was carrying out Slytherin’s orders to attack Muggle-born wizards.
• Hermione condemned Slytherin’s prejudice and cruelty, and Draco comforted her before suggesting Voldemort had added another layer to the curse.
• Hermione said they needed to find the entrance, kill the basilisk, close the Chamber, and break the cycle.
• Draco revealed that the entrance was in the abandoned third-floor girls’ bathroom where Moaning Myrtle stayed, and Hermione realized how the clues fit together.

Draco and Hermione discovered that a mirror could make the Basilisk petrify itself, but the creature hunted them in the corridors and targeted Hermione. Draco redeemed several Basilisk countermeasures and prepared to fight back while the Basilisk remained nearby.

• Draco warned Hermione that confronting the Basilisk directly would be too dangerous, and they realized a mirror could make it see its own eyes and petrify itself.
• Draco and Hermione encountered the Basilisk’s tail hanging from the ceiling, then escaped to an empty classroom as it hunted them through the pipes.
• Draco concluded that the Basilisk had deliberately targeted them, especially Hermione, and angrily asked the system for effective countermeasures.
• Draco redeemed Phoenix Tear Concentrate, a Godric Mirror Fragment, and a Snake Venom Immunity Amulet, then gave Hermione the amulet to wear.
• With the Basilisk still nearby, Draco gripped his wand and prepared to fight back.