Chapter Summaries

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.

After the students returned from Hogsmeade, Lucius Malfoy publicly condemned Fudge for deploying Dementors and endangering Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. His open letter left the students feeling vindicated and hopeful that an influential wizard had spoken up for them.

• Draco explained that Dementors had driven the armored trolls into a frenzy, and the students blamed Fudge for the danger.
• The group returned to Hogwarts, where Crookshanks happily ate the dried fish treats Draco had brought him.
• Ron told Ginny and the first-years about the Hogsmeade trip and the battle with the trolls.
• The next morning, the Daily Prophet published Lucius Malfoy's open letter accusing Fudge of endangering students and civilians and demanding that he leave office.
• Lavender, Parvati, Ginny, Neville, and Seamus praised Lucius's letter, and the mood at Hogwarts shifted from fear to anger and vindication.

Draco watched Hogwarts endure Snape’s harsh Defence Against Dark Magic lessons while Lupin was away, then offered Lupin a job after learning he expected to leave teaching. The chapter ended with Lupin stunned by Draco’s invitation.

• Harry caught the Golden Snitch, winning Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup and giving Wood a triumphant final match.
• Snape covered Lupin’s Defence Against Dark Magic lessons, assigned a lengthy essay on identifying and killing werewolves, and burdened the students with heavy homework.
• Hermione explained that Ministry rules and Dumbledore’s responsibilities meant Snape was the only available teacher to cover the subject.
• Lupin returned, canceled Snape’s werewolf essays, and taught the students about Hinkypunks.
• Draco asked Lupin what he planned to do after resigning, then invited him to work for him, leaving Lupin astonished.

Draco told Lupin he would offer him safety and work when he had to leave Hogwarts, then explained to Hermione that Lupin was a werewolf and promised to cover his Wolfsbane Potion. As Snape’s hints about werewolves grew more obvious, Draco advised Lupin to promise Snape he would leave Hogwarts after the school year, and Lupin agreed to speak with him.

• Draco personally offered Lupin a secure future while keeping his secrets, and Lupin said he would remember the offer.
• Draco told Hermione that Lupin was a werewolf and explained that Snape’s grudge against him dated back to their school days.
• Draco promised to hire Lupin, pay for his Wolfsbane Potion, and arrange for him to tutor Hermione after leaving Hogwarts.
• Snape repeatedly focused his Defence Against Dark Magic lessons on werewolves, prompting students to speculate about Lupin.
• Draco privately warned Lupin that Snape was laying the groundwork to expose him and advised him to promise to leave Hogwarts after the school year.
• Lupin accepted Draco’s advice and agreed to speak privately with Snape.

As Christmas approached, Professor Babbling invited Draco and Hermione to investigate an ancient magic site after Draco opened a mysterious box containing a magically enchanted key. Hermione accepted eagerly, and Draco agreed to join her.

• Hogsmeade reopened, and students celebrated as criticism of Fudge's Dementor policy intensified.
• Draco worked on developing his own combat magic while he and Hermione studied Ancient Runes.
• Professor Babbling stopped Draco and Hermione after their final Ancient Runes lesson and asked them to meet her over the holidays.
• Professor Babbling showed them a thousand-year-old runic box she had found in the Scottish Highlands, and Draco opened it by touching its oak-leaf clasp.
• Hermione recognized the object inside as a key resembling a Gringotts vault key, and Professor Babbling proposed returning to the ruins to investigate it.
• Hermione agreed to join Professor Babbling, and Draco said he would go too.

Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling set out by Thestral carriage to investigate ancient ruins in the Scottish Highlands. A huge black dragon attacked and split the carriage, leaving Draco and Hermione falling toward the ground as the dragon prepared to strike again.

• Draco and Hermione wrote home to say they would stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, then changed into expedition clothes Draco had prepared.
• Professor Babbling explained that the ancient key bore runes matching those in the ruins and might unlock a magical barrier around a thousand-year-old secret.
• Professor Babbling gave Draco the ruins’ coordinates in a Highland gorge as they traveled by carriage.
• A gigantic black dragon tore through the clouds and split the Thestral carriage with one claw.
• Draco caught Hermione as their half of the carriage fell, while Professor Babbling was pulled away with the frightened Thestral.
• As the dragon gathered its breath to attack Draco and Hermione, Draco shouted to Professor Babbling that they would meet her in the Highlands.

Draco and Hermione escaped a black dragon by Apparating to a cave near ancient wizarding ruins, and Professor Babbling soon joined them unharmed. The three began exploring the fortress, where Babbling explained that a powerful master of Ancient Magic had once lived and worked, but their path was blocked by ice and rubble.

• Draco Apparated with Hermione just before the dragon destroyed their carriage, and Professor Babbling escaped the dragon's attack as well.
• Draco and Hermione found themselves in a cave overlooking seaside ruins and worried about whether Babbling had survived.
• Professor Babbling emerged from the cave unharmed and explained that the ruins' unstable space prevented Apparition, while her ancient key was a Portkey.
• Babbling told Draco and Hermione that the fortress had been the home and laboratory of an ancient master of Ancient Magic.
• The three approached the fortress to search for clues, but a wall of ice and fallen rubble blocked their path.

Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling explored the fortress ruins, where Draco and Hermione cleared obstacles and repaired a broken bridge together. Inside, they searched for hidden Ancient Magic marks and reached an arch-shaped wall bearing the same pattern as an Ancient Magic key.

• Hermione used Reducto to clear the rubble, and Draco dissolved the ice wall with Reparo.
• Professor Babbling challenged Draco and Hermione to cross a broken bridge, and they repaired it together with Reparo.
• Draco led Hermione across the restored bridge, and Professor Babbling explained the ancient murals depicting the Keepers of Ancient Magic.
• Draco cast Specialis Revelio around the hall, but found no hidden marks on the walls, floor, pillars, or statue.
• Professor Babbling led them to a patterned stone wall, and Hermione cast Specialis Revelio at it before Draco could.

Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling used an Ancient Magic passage to reach Gringotts, where Draco claimed access to Vault Twelve. A goblin took them by cart toward the vault, and the chapter ended as they sped through the underground tunnels.

• Draco revealed the hidden crystal passage with Ancient Magic and led Hermione and Professor Babbling through it to Gringotts.
• The group found a sleeping goblin, and Draco woke it by announcing that its big spender had arrived.
• The goblin recognized Draco, then asked for the vault key; Professor Babbling handed over the Ancient Magic key.
• The goblin took them to the cart platform and explained that Vault Twelve was an ancient private vault that had never been visited.
• Draco helped Hermione into the cart, and the goblin drove them at high speed through the underground tracks toward Vault Twelve.

Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling traveled through Gringotts to Vault Twelve and discovered a hidden vault beyond its sealed outer chamber. They entered the ancient vault, where Professor Babbling warned them about its magical defenses, and the three began exploring with no way to Apparate out.

• Hermione marveled at Gringotts’ underground caverns and defenses as the goblin driver boasted about the bank’s security, and Draco embarrassed it by mentioning the previous robbery.
• A goblin guard checked their destination, and the driver opened Vault Twelve with Professor Babbling’s Ancient Magic key.
• The driver shut the vault door after Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling entered, leaving them trapped in a chamber with no visible exit.
• Draco used Specialis Revelio to reveal a hidden door, then touched its Ancient Magic mark and transported the three into another space.
• Professor Babbling and Draco lit the dark vault and saw a forest of stone columns; Professor Babbling warned them about the ancient magical mechanisms and led the group deeper inside.

Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling uncovered an Ancient Magic guardian beneath the hidden vault’s icy floor and activated its mechanism. The statue summoned six stone warriors and sealed the three of them inside a magical barrier, leaving Draco to face the guardians to escape.

• Draco entered the blue-white magic, used Specialis Revelio, and revealed an armored swordsman beneath the ice.
• Hermione noticed the swordsman’s misaligned shadow, and Professor Babbling identified it as an Ancient Magic mechanism that had to be aligned with the statue.
• Draco aligned the shadow while Hermione and Professor Babbling stood back, causing the stone swordsman to rise.
• The swordsman summoned six more stone warriors, and the blue-white magic formed a barrier that trapped Draco, Hermione, and Professor Babbling.
• Draco pulled Hermione back and concluded that they had to defeat the statues to escape the barrier.