Recaps

As the Hogwarts Express stopped in a storm and its lights went out, Draco, Hermione, and other students prepared for the suspected arrival of Dementors. Lupin and people placed by the Malfoy family reassured and guarded the students as shadowy figures moved past the windows.

• Rain intensified as Draco, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Emock joked together aboard the train.
• The Hogwarts Express jolted to a stop, and all the lights went out, frightening the students.
• Draco and Hermione lit their wands, while students across the train followed and a Malfoy family agent calmed the first-years.
• Hermione spotted tall, drifting figures outside and recognized them as Dementors, so Draco drew her close and shielded her.
• Lupin woke, lit a warm flame with Incendio, and told students to stay away from windows and doors.
• Malfoy family guards took positions throughout the carriages as the train settled into a tense silence.

Dementors attacked the Hogwarts Express, but a hidden defensive formation arranged by the Malfoy family repelled them and protected every carriage. Hermione and Cho Chang realized Draco had known the barrier would keep them safe.

• Dementors opened the train doors and terrified the students, while Draco reassured Hermione that the barrier would activate.
• As a Dementor entered, Lupin prepared to cast the Patronus Charm and Lucius's hidden people readied their wands.
• A pale golden barrier spread from carriage four and hurled the Dementors out of the train.
• People hidden in the carriages announced that they had set up the anti-Dementor formation on Mr. Malfoy's orders.
• Lupin thanked them, and Hermione understood Draco had arranged the protection in advance.
• Cho Chang realized Draco had not been worried because he knew the barrier was protecting them.

After Dementors attacked the Hogwarts Express, Professor Lupin explained their threat and promised to teach the Patronus Charm. The students reached Hogwarts, where Dumbledore warned them about the Dementors guarding the grounds, while Draco and Hermione reassured their friends about the danger.

• Draco, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Emock calmed down after the Dementors were driven from the train, and Lupin identified the creatures and explained the Patronus Charm.
• Once the train was safe, Malfoy's guards left by Apparition to report to Lucius.
• The first-years crossed the dark lake with Hagrid, while Draco and Hermione rode to the castle with Cho Chang and Emock.
• At the Great Hall, Draco and Hermione answered their roommates' questions before the Sorting Ceremony took place.
• Dumbledore warned the students that Dementors were guarding Hogwarts while searching for the fugitive, and Draco and Hermione explained that students could still visit Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest with caution.

After Ron and the Gryffindors worried about Dementors, Draco revealed that he had already learned the Patronus Charm and said he would protect Hermione. His boast drew the attention of the Great Hall, and his friends immediately asked him to protect them too.

• Hermione explained that Dementors only gave ordinary people cold, painful feelings, while the Dementor’s Kiss was reserved for prisoners sentenced to death.
• Draco suggested learning Expecto Patronum, but the students despaired when they heard how difficult the Patronus Charm was.
• When Hermione became uncomfortable under everyone’s expectations, Draco called her his wife and claimed he had learned the charm long ago.
• Ron’s shocked outburst drew the Great Hall’s attention, and Fred and George teased Draco about revealing his Patronus.
• Draco said he would only protect Hermione, prompting his friends to plead for his help and ask to join them on trips to Hogsmeade.

Draco agreed to escort a growing crowd of students to Hogsmeade, reassuring them after the Dementor panic and prompting admiration from students and professors alike. As his former underlings joined in, Pansy stood up, anxious that students from families who had fallen out with Draco would be left behind.

• Ron declared that Draco was still his boss, and Draco teased him before Hermione asked Draco to let the students join him.
• Draco agreed to take the students along, and Hannah, Susan, Cho Chang, Emock, the Weasley twins, and the Gryffindor Quidditch Team gathered around him.
• The first-years watched Draco in awe while Hermione held his hand, and the professors showed confidence in his ability to cast the Patronus Charm.
• Goyle and Crabbe joined Draco's group, and Pansy stood up, worried that students from families who had fallen out with Draco would be excluded.

After Pansy and Snape challenged Draco’s claim that he could cast the Patronus Charm, Draco demonstrated a fully formed lion Patronus that stunned Hogwarts. The hall erupted in celebration, and the chapter ended with Hermione stopping Crookshanks from stealing more food.

• Pansy questioned whether Draco could cast the advanced Patronus Charm, but backed down after he mocked her lack of support.
• Snape agreed that the spell was exceptionally difficult and accused Draco of giving the school false hope, so Draco offered to demonstrate it.
• Draco cast a corporeal, fiery-red lion Patronus that swept through the Great Hall and drove away the chill.
• McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Dumbledore were astonished by Draco’s feat, while Snape fell silent.
• Draco stopped the excited students from crowding him by threatening to exclude them from the Hogsmeade trip.
• Crookshanks admired Draco’s power, then tried to steal a sausage until Hermione stopped him and teased him about his full belly.

Dumbledore asked Draco to protect Hogwarts from the Dementors, and Draco agreed in exchange for a future favor. Afterward, he gave Hermione a luxurious cat house for Crookshanks.

• Dumbledore announced that Professor Lupin Remus would teach Defence Against Dark Magic and Rubeus Hagrid would teach Care of Magical Creatures.
• Dumbledore asked Draco whether he had protected the train from the Dementors, and Draco credited Hermione with inspiring him to help.
• Dumbledore asked Draco to create a protective barrier around Hogwarts, and Draco agreed in exchange for one future condition.
• Draco arranged to begin setting up the barrier the next morning, with Dumbledore and the professors providing support.
• Draco gave Hermione a plush cat house for Crookshanks, who eagerly settled into it.

Hermione settled Crookshanks into Draco’s luxurious new cat house while her roommates teased her about Draco’s thoughtfulness and his styling her hair. As panic over the Dementors spread through the wizarding world, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Hagrid established a protective barrier around Hogwarts, and Hagrid asked the couple to assist with his Care of Magical Creatures lessons.

• Draco charmed Crookshanks’s new cat house to be light enough for Hermione to carry, and Hermione’s roommates admired it in the girls’ dormitory.
• Hermione told Lavender, Parvati, and Olivia that Draco had styled her hair himself, then stopped their teasing by reminding them they wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him.
• News of Dementors surrounding Hogwarts spread through the wizarding world as Fudge tried to suppress the panic and deployed Dementors to guard key locations.
• Draco explained the Big Dipper Protective Barrier to Dumbledore, Hermione, and Hagrid, and they placed seven moonlight amulets around Hogwarts.
• Draco activated the barrier with Dumbledore’s help, and Dumbledore departed for Ministry business.
• Hagrid asked Draco and Hermione to help him as teaching assistants in Care of Magical Creatures, and they agreed.

Draco, Hermione, and Olivia attended their first Arithmancy lesson, where Professor Septima Vector assigned students to calculate each other’s life path numbers. The chapter ended with Olivia pairing off with another student, leaving Draco and Hermione together.

• Hermione reassured Hagrid that she and Draco would help him with his lessons, and Hagrid eagerly accepted.
• The Daily Prophet reported that Dementors had boarded the Hogwarts Express without authorization, and Dumbledore demanded an explanation from the Ministry of Magic.
• Draco, Hermione, and Olivia attended Arithmancy while their classmates’ reasons for avoiding the elective were recalled.
• Professor Septima Vector introduced Arithmancy as the language of numbers and stars, and Hermione told Draco she hoped to become a knowledgeable, respected witch like her.
• Professor Septima assigned the class to work in pairs, and Olivia paired with the student beside her, leaving Draco and Hermione together.

In Arithmancy, Draco impressed Professor Septima by calculating Hermione's life path number mentally, then the class interpreted Draco's number six as a sign of responsibility and possessiveness. Hermione shyly promised to wait and see whether Draco could live up to the professor's advice, leaving their classmates amused by their public hints about a shared future.

• Professor Septima praised Hermione's precise Arithmancy work before Draco announced her life path number without using scratch paper.
• Draco showed the class his mental calculation, earning Professor Septima's praise for his natural talent and leaving the students stunned.
• Hermione read Draco's life path number six aloud, and Professor Septima explained its links to family, responsibility, success, and possessiveness.
• Professor Septima advised Draco to turn his protectiveness into respect, and Draco asked Hermione whether she believed he could do it.
• Hermione replied that she would wait and see, and Draco vowed to prove himself as their classmates and Olivia reacted to their implied future together.

In Ancient Runes, Draco saw a complete passage in the foundation runes, though he pretended he had only seen meaningless scrawls. Professor Babbling privately revealed that he could perceive ancient magic and warned that Hogwarts might lead him to hidden passages and trials, while Hermione promised to stay by his side.

• Professor Babbling taught Draco and Hermione about the foundation runes, which the other students could barely see.
• Draco saw the faint runes glow and recognized a complete passage, but told the class he had seen only incomprehensible scrawls.
• After class, Professor Babbling told Draco he could perceive ancient magic and cautioned him about hidden passages, chambers, and trials at Hogwarts.
• Hermione connected Professor Babbling's explanation to Draco's knowledge of the Big Dipper Barrier and the Room of Requirement.
• Professor Babbling asked Hermione to help Draco and told them to keep the incident secret; Draco took Hermione's hand as they left for the Great Hall.

Draco realized he could understand Ancient Runes without relying on memorization, then joined Hermione in helping Hagrid manage Care of Magical Creatures class. Hagrid brought a group of Hippogriffs to the paddock and Hermione explained how students should treat them, while Pansy mocked their pride.

• Draco concluded that he had an innate ability to translate Ancient Runes and saw that studying them could help him strengthen or create spells.
• Draco and Hermione helped Hagrid gather the students for Care of Magical Creatures, and Hermione showed them how to calm and open The Monster Book of Monsters.
• Hagrid left the class at the paddock while he went to fetch the creatures, leaving Draco and Hermione to keep order.
• Hagrid returned leading a dozen Hippogriffs, and Hermione told the students that they were proud and must be treated with respect.
• Pansy sneered that the chained Hippogriffs had no reason to be proud.

During Hagrid’s Hippogriff lesson, Draco and Hermione used their ability to communicate with the creatures and approached them without following Hagrid’s usual instructions. The class watched in amazement as Buckbeak and the other Hippogriffs welcomed them, leaving Pansy speechless and Hagrid stunned.

• Pansy threatened the Hippogriffs, and one of them frightened her into silence.
• Hagrid explained the Hippogriffs’ sensitivity and taught the class to bow and wait before approaching them.
• Draco and Hermione privately communicated with the Hippogriffs, and one asked whether they could understand the language of the wind.
• Draco and Hermione climbed into the enclosure and approached the Hippogriffs, despite Hagrid’s panicked warning.
• Buckbeak nuzzled Draco’s hand while the other Hippogriffs let Hermione stroke them, astonishing the class and leaving Pansy speechless.

Draco used dead moles to coax Buckbeak and the other Hippogriffs into carrying students, then rode Buckbeak with Hermione to demonstrate a flight. They landed safely to enthusiastic cheers, and Hagrid praised the exciting lesson.

• Hagrid praised Draco and Hermione for earning the Hippogriffs’ trust and suggested they take a flight.
• Draco revealed buckets of dead moles and offered the Hippogriffs snacks in exchange for flying, while Hagrid helped feed them.
• Draco mounted Buckbeak and helped Hermione settle in front of him, then mentally asked Buckbeak to fly steadily.
• Buckbeak carried Draco and Hermione through a smooth flight above the paddock as other Hippogriffs joined them in the air.
• Buckbeak landed in the paddock, and the students cheered while Hagrid celebrated the successful lesson.

The students took turns riding Hagrid’s Hippogriffs, while Neville and Hannah flew together and Ron’s careless approach earned him a painful swat. Draco persuaded the offended Hippogriff to give Ron one last chance, and Ron finally earned its reluctant bow by following the proper procedure.

• Draco used his wand to pick Neville at random, and Hannah joined him for a flight on a Hippogriff.
• Neville remained frightened throughout the short flight, while Hannah reassured and supported him.
• Ron ignored Hermione’s warning, approached a Hippogriff incorrectly, and was knocked backward by its wing.
• Ron insulted the Hippogriff, which threatened him and refused to carry him.
• Draco asked the Hippogriff to give Ron another chance, and Ron bowed properly, waited for its response, then stroked and fed it.

Pansy got to fly on a Hippogriff after Draco persuaded the beasts to give her a chance, and Hagrid’s lesson ended as a success. Hagrid thanked the students, then offered them Rock Cakes that sent everyone fleeing.

• Ron’s Hippogriff put him through a terrifying ride before he adjusted and declared that flying was amazing.
• Lavender teased Ron about being frightened, and Draco reminded him of his previous rough landing.
• Pansy’s sharp-tongued mockery made the Hippogriffs refuse to approach her, so Draco promised them extra food and asked them not to embarrass Hagrid.
• A bronze Hippogriff reluctantly carried Pansy on a brief flight, sparing her the humiliation of being the only student who did not fly.
• Draco, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Neville, Hannah, and the others helped Hagrid return the Hippogriffs, and Hagrid thanked them with an overenthusiastic hug.
• Hagrid brought out Rock Cakes, prompting Ron, Harry, Neville, and Hannah to make excuses and flee; Draco and Hermione left after reminding Hagrid how hard the cakes were.

Professor Lupin introduced Expecto Patronum before bringing the class to the Staff Room for a practical lesson on Boggarts. The students reviewed how to defeat a Boggart with Riddikulus, and Lupin began the exercise as their joking settled down.

• Professor Lupin explained the basics of Expecto Patronum and told the students to practise the difficult spell outside class.
• Professor Lupin led the students into the Staff Room and revealed that a Boggart was inside a wardrobe.
• Neville and Hannah shared some of their fears, while Olivia and Hermione explained that Boggarts could be defeated by laughter and confusion.
• Lavender and Parvati recalled the Riddikulus spell, and the students credited Hermione and Draco with helping them revise.
• Ron, Draco, and Lavender traded teasing remarks until Professor Lupin stopped the banter and started the lesson.

During Professor Lupin’s lesson on Boggarts, Draco faced his fear of Hermione crying and then scolding him, while Hermione became the center of the class’s teasing. Hermione finally approached the wardrobe to face her own Boggart, whose form was revealed just as the chapter ended.

• Professor Lupin explained how to repel a Boggart, and Harry joked that Ron’s green face after eating a bogey-flavored sweet was funny.
• Draco opened the wardrobe and saw a crying Hermione, which transformed into a fierce, scolding Hermione.
• Draco used Riddikulus to dress the Boggart Hermione in a fluffy princess dress with tiger ears and a carrot wand, making the class laugh.
• Hermione pinched Draco’s waist and reproached him for embarrassing her, while Draco reassured her that he still liked her.
• The class urged Hermione to face the Boggart, and she stepped forward as the wardrobe opened and black mist began to take shape.

During Lupin’s Boggart lesson, Harry overcame his fear of a Dementor and turned it into a joke about Ron. On the students’ first Hogsmeade outing, Dementors approached the castle, and Hermione drove them back with her Patronus, a silver sea otter.

• Hermione turned the Boggart’s image of wounded Draco into Draco wearing a pink dress, while Neville, Hannah, Parvati, Lavender, and Olivia also defeated their fears with Riddikulus.
• Ron transformed the Boggart into an image of Harry falling into a muddy puddle, and Harry later turned the Dementor into Ron with a green face.
• Harry remembered Sirius’s love and protection, regained his nerve, and cast Riddikulus; Lupin praised him and Ron for drawing happy memories from their rivalry.
• Harry learned he could visit Hogsmeade because Sirius had signed his permission slip, and students gathered outside the castle on Saturday morning.
• Dementors approached the students, but Olivia, Cho Chang, Emock, and older students failed to cast effective Patronuses.
• Hermione cast Expecto Patronum and sent a silver sea otter charging at the Dementors, forcing them to retreat.

Hermione drove away the Dementors with a Patronus, then Draco led the students toward Hogsmeade. Along the way, they learned that Dementors had likely driven the village’s residents indoors, leaving the group concerned about the deserted village.

• Hermione cast a Patronus to repel the Dementors, and the students teased her about learning the charm so quickly.
• Draco took Hermione’s hand and led the group toward Hogsmeade as Hermione and Olivia pointed out magical plants along the path.
• Ron complained that the others were turning their outing into a lesson, while Percy and several students argued that learning about plants was useful.
• Cho Chang noticed that the path was unusually empty, and Hermione suggested Dementors had gathered in Hogsmeade beyond Hogwarts’s protective wards.
• The students praised Dumbledore’s protection and worried that the Dementors had frightened Hogsmeade’s villagers into staying indoors.

Hermione and Draco drove Dementors away from the entrance and streets of Hogsmeade, where the students hoped to enjoy their first visit. They found every shop closed, and their excitement gave way to disappointment.

• Hermione used her otter Patronus to drive Dementors away from the path and the entrance to Hogsmeade.
• Harry told Hermione she should become Minister for Magic, and the students enthusiastically agreed while Hermione demurred.
• Hermione and Draco used their Patronuses to clear Dementors from Hogsmeade’s deserted streets and warned the students the creatures would return.
• The students hurried to their favorite shops, but found every door barred and every business closed.
• George, Lavender, Neville, Percy, and other students lamented the shops they had hoped to visit before the crowd gathered silently in the street.

Draco and Hermione drove the Dementors away from the Hog's Head, where Hogsmeade's shopkeepers had taken shelter. Draco offered the shopkeepers a protective barrier in exchange for a ten-percent stake, and they began to consider his proposal.

• Draco and Hermione cast their Patronuses, scattering the Dementors outside the Hog's Head.
• Harry, Ron, and the other students found the shopkeepers sheltering in the pub and learned that the Dementors had forced Hogsmeade's businesses to close.
• Draco told the shopkeepers that the Malfoy family could protect the village with a Patronus Barrier.
• Draco offered to set up the barrier in exchange for a ten-percent equity stake, promising not to interfere with the shops' management.
• The shopkeepers hesitated over the Malfoy family's reputation, so Draco offered to make the arrangement in his personal name and let them test the barrier first.

Draco persuaded Hogsmeade’s shopkeepers to accept his help, then set up a Patronus-powered barrier and sent Malfoy guards to patrol the road. The barrier drove back the Dementors’ influence, and the village’s shops reopened as Draco returned to Hermione.

• Draco promised the shopkeepers a free year-long trial of his barrier and arranged patrols to clear Dementors from the route between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.
• Draco returned to Malfoy Manor, explained his plan to Narcissa, and asked her to gather ten people to help.
• Draco gave eight guards Patronus Rune Stones to patrol the road while two watched the village entrance.
• Draco secretly buried rune stones at eight points around Hogsmeade and completed a barrier powered by the Big Dipper formation.
• The silver barrier warmed the village and shut out the Dementors, prompting the shopkeepers to reopen their businesses.
• Draco returned to Hermione and told her the work was done.

After Hogsmeade recovered from the Dementors, Draco and Hermione shared a sweet moment before two armored Trolls attacked the village. The students organized a defense, and Draco and Hermione held one Troll in check as the fight continued.

• Students explored Hogsmeade, and the shopkeepers thanked Draco for helping protect the village from the Dementors.
• Draco asked Hermione for an unwrapped sweet, and she fed it to him while Ron and Harry watched.
• Two armored Trolls smashed through shops and charged at the students and shopkeepers.
• Percy organized the older students to fight while Ron, Harry, and Olivia led younger students to safety.
• Draco identified the Trolls' weak points, and Hermione coordinated attacks with him as they held one Troll back.

Hogsmeade’s shopkeepers and students defeated two armored trolls and began repairing the village. The chapter ended with the shopkeepers dealing with the trolls’ bodies.

• Aberforth and Madam Rosmerta joined the fight, while the shopkeepers used spells, potions, enchanted goods, and animals to weaken the trolls.
• Aberforth and Madam Rosmerta brought down the left-hand troll, and Draco and Hermione shattered the right-hand troll’s armor before Aberforth knocked it unconscious.
• The students applauded the shopkeepers, and Seamus accidentally blasted pieces of the troll’s armor toward Dean.
• Olivia led the students in casting Reparo to restore Hogsmeade’s damaged shops and streets.
• The shopkeepers thanked the students and began dealing with the trolls’ bodies.