Chapter Summaries

Snape urged Quirrell to use Herman Horace as a practical demonstration, while Neville, Hugo, and Ron sneaked through Hogwarts after curfew. They discovered Snape confronting the wounded Quirrell, leaving Neville convinced that Snape had been watching Quirrell rather than him.

• Snape told Quirrell that Herman Horace could serve as a teaching demonstration in Defence class, and Quirrell agreed.
• Neville, Hugo, and Ron left the Gryffindor common room with silent shoe covers and night-vision glasses supplied by Ron.
• The three wandered through the dark, shifting corridors and heard a distant roar before Neville recognized their location.
• Neville spotted Snape pointing his wand at the bloodied Quirrell, who appeared to be repeating something to him.
• Neville concluded that Snape had been lying in wait for Quirrell and that his own earlier encounter with Snape had been a coincidence.

Neville, Hugo, and Ron followed Quirrell’s trail to a room guarded by a three-headed dog, where they found Professor Malin healing its wound. After she escorted them back to Gryffindor, Neville decided they needed solid evidence of what Quirrell was after.

• Neville, Hugo, and Ron watched Snape confront Quirrell, who admitted his mistake before leaving.
• The three students unlocked the room and found a sleeping three-headed dog and Professor Malin healing its wound.
• Marlene recognized Neville as the Son of the Champion, warned the students about the danger, and escorted them back to Gryffindor.
• Neville told Marlene that Quirrell had been bitten by the dog, but she dismissed his concerns and said the professors had their own arrangements.
• Hugo pointed out a Trapdoor beside the dog, and Neville concluded they needed solid evidence before accusing Quirrell.

Herman’s shoulder wound from the three-headed dog worsened, and Harry explained that he needed magic or a potion to remove the magic left in it. Herman persuaded Harry to accompany him to ask Hagrid for treatment and information about what the dog guarded, leaving him hoping to avoid amputation.

• At breakfast, Herman noticed that his shoulder wound hurt more, while Draco and Harry joked about feeding him to the three-headed dog.
• Harry told Herman that the dog’s claws had likely left magic in the wound and suggested advanced healing magic or a special potion.
• Draco proposed asking her father to send a potion, then suggested Hagrid might have one because he kept the dog.
• Herman asked Harry to visit Hagrid with him, arguing that Hagrid might know about the dog and the hidden passage beneath its trapdoor.
• Harry agreed to go with Herman the next day if she had time.

Herman and Draco agreed to visit Hagrid, but Neville, Hugo, and Ron joined them after Neville received an invitation, turning the plan into a group outing. In the underground classroom, Snape warmly greeted Draco and Harry but ignored Herman, who took his seat with them.

• Draco eagerly discussed bringing Hagrid a gift, and Herman claimed they were visiting to ask about raising Fantastic Beasts.
• Neville arrived with Hugo and Ron, revealed Hagrid had invited him for tea, and agreed to visit Hagrid with Herman's group.
• Hugo hinted that Hagrid might know how to get past the many-headed dog, and Herman realized the others had encountered it too.
• The group reached the underground classroom, where Snape greeted Draco and Harry but ignored Herman's greeting.
• Neville suggested Snape was busy preparing for class, and Herman followed Draco and Harry to the Slytherin section.

Snape taught the first Potions lesson, awarding points to Harry and Hugo while criticizing Herman’s knowledge and brewing. Herman decided to aim only for a passing effort in Potions, while Neville finished a precise potion and helped Ron.

• Snape awarded Slytherin ten points for Harry and Miss Malfoy greeting him, then introduced Potions with his usual insults softened around Harry.
• Hugo accurately answered a question about Infusion of Wormwood and earned five points for Gryffindor.
• Snape gave Harry ten points for honestly admitting she had forgotten an answer, then quizzed Herman and deducted five Slytherin points when he guessed incorrectly.
• Herman brewed a poorly colored Draught of Peace, and Snape criticized his mechanical work and deducted five more points.
• Herman resolved to do the bare minimum in Potions, while Neville finished his potion carefully and helped Ron adjust the heat.

Herman reflected on Snape’s unfair praise of Harry’s potion and planned to spend the afternoon alone. George and Fred then arrived with a message from Professor Malin, asking him to visit her office that afternoon.

• Snape praised Hugo’s correctly brewed potion but deducted twenty points from Gryffindor after Seamus’s cauldron exploded.
• Snape awarded Harry thirty points for a well-made potion despite her casual method, while ignoring Draco’s failed brew.
• At lunch, Herman complained about discrimination and planned to visit Hagrid the next day and explore the castle that afternoon.
• George and Fred squeezed in beside Herman and told him Professor Malin wanted to see him in her east tower office.

Herman received word that Professor Malin had prepared his study plan, then got caught up in the Weasley twins’ prank and the Slytherins’ retaliation. The twins escaped, but several older Slytherins threatened Herman and warned him that this wasn’t over.

• George told Herman that Professor Malin had finished his study plan, and Fred warned him that she could be cold every few weeks.
• Herman suggested that Professor Malin’s periodic coldness was due to menstruation, and George and Fred recognized the same pattern in their mother.
• George insulted the Slytherins, then he and Fred released a foul-smelling gas and fled as Snape dispersed it.
• Snape demanded punishment for the twins, but McGonagall dismissed the prank and Quirrell accidentally supported her by calling their escape an act of necessity.
• Several older Slytherins confronted Herman after the twins escaped and threatened to deal with him later.

Herman left the Great Hall to visit Professor Marlene and receive an alchemy primer, after learning that she had seen the Horace surname in magical notes. The chapter ended with Marlene inviting him to ask any questions he had.

• Herman declined Draco's offer of protection and left to handle his business with Professor Marlene.
• Herman struggled to find the eastern towers, asked portraits for directions, and reached Marlene's office after one o'clock.
• Herman found Marlene dressed in black and noticed that she seemed unusually pale and cold.
• Marlene said she remembered a wizard named Horace mentioned in magical notes, but could not recall the details.
• Marlene gave Herman an introductory alchemy book and asked him to raise any other questions.

Herman asked Professor Malin about sharpening alchemical weapons and learned that he should focus on mastering his own magic. After discussing his natural spellcasting, he left with advice to study the Levitation Charm and Transfiguration and develop the abilities he had possessed since childhood.

• Herman asked Professor Malin how to make alchemical and transfigured weapons sharper, and she told him to study magic before relying on external aids.
• Professor Malin praised Herman's talent and asked him to name gifted students, so he mentioned Neville, Hugo, and Harry.
• Professor Malin asked Herman to invite any interested talented students to try becoming her alchemy apprentice, and Herman agreed.
• Herman described how he had turned his childhood bursts of accidental magic into a repeatable ability, and Professor Malin explained that his body had memorized a route for casting magic.
• Professor Malin demonstrated her own childhood ability to make objects fly and advised Herman to practice Levitation and Transfiguration to master his innate power.

Herman discovered that telekinetic magic came naturally to him, but his practice accidentally sent a corridor into chaos. He decided to find the Room of Requirement, then distracted Peeves with a card bet and ended the chapter as Peeves demanded another round.

• Herman tested his magic in an empty corridor, moving objects and paintings until everything shook and flew through the air.
• Herman withdrew his magic, settled the corridor, and realized that controlling objects came more naturally to him than other spells.
• Herman decided to find the Room of Requirement so he could practice somewhere private.
• Peeves caught Herman in the corridor and threatened to report him to Filch.
• Herman bet with Peeves using his alchemical playing cards, won, and told him not to report what had happened.
• Peeves demanded one more round and promised to share a secret if he lost.

Herman discovered that the enchanted cards were making him want to keep gambling, so he stopped playing and went to the Room of Requirement to practice his magic. After exhausting himself, he found that the room’s enchanted sword resisted his telekinesis, leaving him wondering whether magic respected ownership.

• Herman noticed the cards’ influence, stopped gambling with Peeves, and made Peeves promise to take responsibility for the corridor noise.
• Herman summoned a private practice room on the Seventh Floor by walking past the tapestry three times while stating what he needed.
• Herman used telekinesis to hurl furniture at enchanted dummies, which repaired their damage, until his magic ran low and he became dizzy.
• Herman reasoned that better control through the Levitation Charm’s magic pathways let him use his ability more efficiently, though he had overexerted himself.
• Herman tried to pull a short sword from a dummy’s hand, but an unseen resistance kept him from moving it.

Herman considered how he could incorporate other spells into his telekinetic ability, then returned to the Slytherin Common Room and confronted students who had threatened him. After they attacked, he used magic to defend himself, and the Nott family's son called for everyone to join in.

• Herman realized he could adapt the Disarming Charm and other spells to expand his telekinetic ability, then rested while reading Marlene's alchemy book.
• Herman entered the Slytherin Common Room and found Draco, Harry, and a group of male students waiting for him.
• Draco tried to shield Herman, but the Nott family's son and Flint insulted him and called him a Mudblood.
• Herman insulted the students, then blocked their spells with a coffee table and used a transformed rug to knock down the Nott family's son, disarm Flint, and trip the girl.
• The Nott family's son got up and ordered everyone to attack Herman.

Herman repelled a group of Slytherin students who attacked him, then recovered in the common room while reading Introduction to Alchemy. The students left him alone, and he expected no more trouble from Slytherin for the time being.

• Herman blocked most of the students’ spells, disarmed some of them, and lifted the wandless students upside down before warning them to stop.
• Herman ended the suspension, and the students crashed to the floor before the Nott family's son, Flint, and the embarrassed girl retreated down the corridor.
• Herman sat down exhausted and hungry, ate Crabbe’s pie, and told Draco that he had practiced his magic that afternoon.
• Harry praised Herman’s improvement, and Herman opened Introduction to Alchemy after the remaining students stopped watching him.

Herman went with Draco, Neville, Hugo, and Ron to visit Hagrid, hoping to get help for his worsening shoulder. Hagrid welcomed them, complained that Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, and received Draco’s gift of a tea set.

• Herman noticed his shoulder pain had worsened and decided to visit Hagrid before it became more serious.
• Draco showed Herman a parcel she had brought for Hagrid, while Harry refused to join them and went back toward the common room.
• Neville, Hugo, and Ron joined Herman and Draco on the walk to Hagrid’s Hut, where Draco awkwardly remarked on Ron’s old robes.
• Hagrid welcomed the group and asked why Harry had not come, then grumbled that the Sorting Hat had wrongly placed her in Slytherin.
• Draco gave Hagrid an ornate tea set, which he examined and thanked her for.

Draco and Ron argued over their families’ reputations while visiting Hagrid, and Herman and Neville steered the conversation toward magical creatures. Hagrid revealed that his three-headed dog Fluffy was guarding something on the third floor before realizing he had said too much.

• Hagrid praised Draco’s manners, prompting Ron to criticize Draco’s father and Draco to insult the Weasley family.
• Neville stopped Ron and Draco from arguing, and Hagrid offered them rock cakes.
• Herman asked Hagrid how to strengthen his raven Xiao Hei and received a recipe for special feed.
• Neville and Hugo asked Hagrid about three-headed dogs, and Hagrid described their resistance to magic, loyalty, and appetite.
• Herman asked about injuries from magical beasts, and Hagrid said Fluffy had never bitten him hard enough to hurt him.
• Hagrid revealed that Dumbledore had borrowed Fluffy to guard Nicolas Flamel’s secret on the third floor, then realized he had said too much.

Herman and the others failed to convince Hagrid that Quirrell was suspicious, though Neville learned more about Fluffy and planned to investigate Nicolas Flamel. Back at the common room, Harry gave Herman a potion recipe she had taken from Snape's office, promising it would solve his shoulder problem.

• Hagrid dismissed Neville, Hugo, and Ron's warning about Quirrell and described Fluffy's diet and habits to Draco.
• Neville concluded that Fluffy was a three-headed dog resistant to ordinary magic, and he suggested they investigate Nicolas Flamel.
• Herman returned to the common room without treatment for his shoulder and told Harry that Hagrid could not help him.
• Harry teased Herman into asking for help, then handed him a parchment containing a potion recipe.
• Harry told Herman she had taken the recipe from Snape's office.

Harry sought a treatment for Herman’s magical wound and took a potion recipe from the Restricted Section to Snape for advice. Snape said the recipe might work but seemed to have other effects, then questioned whether Harry’s injured friend was a wanted criminal.

• Harry went to the library and took a book containing a recipe for treating wounds with residual magic from the Restricted Section.
• Harry realized she could not safely make the imprecise potion herself and went to Snape’s office with the book.
• Harry asked Snape whether the recipe could treat her injured wizard friend without revealing that the friend was Herman.
• Snape warned Harry against consulting forbidden books and said the recipe could work in theory, though he was uncertain about some ingredients.
• Snape asked whether Harry’s friend was a wanted criminal and why he had not gone to St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Harry obtained a potion formula from Snape to treat Herman’s wound, though she warned that brewing it would be difficult and uncertain. Herman agreed to try it, and the group planned how to find the rare ingredients.

• Snape gave Harry a formula based on the Restricted Section notebook and warned her to follow its instructions carefully.
• Harry showed Herman the formula, and he agreed to try it despite the risks and difficulty of brewing it.
• Draco said her father was searching for a finished potion, but Madam Pomfrey was unlikely to treat Herman’s injury.
• Harry identified the ingredients they needed, including rare ashwinder eggs, ashwinder scales, and mandrake rootlets.
• Herman decided to obtain the ingredients himself and said he knew a goblin who could find almost anything for money.

Herman sent Xiao Hei to deliver a letter to Kramer requesting alchemy materials, then waited restlessly for a reply. At lunch, Draco tried to recruit Herman to counter Neville joining Gryffindor’s Quidditch team, but Herman refused and led Draco and Harry to a quiet hallway.

• Herman wrote to Kramer requesting materials and said he could pay in pounds sterling, then sent the letter with Xiao Hei.
• Herman spent Sunday in his dormitory, distracted by his aching shoulder and unable to focus on his books.
• At lunch, George and Fred announced that Neville had joined Gryffindor’s Quidditch team as its youngest Beater.
• Draco urged Herman to join Slytherin’s team, but he refused and suggested Harry could become a Seeker.
• Herman led Draco and Harry out of the Great Hall and stopped at a half-open wooden door in a quiet hallway.

Harry saw her father’s name and photograph on a Quidditch Cup, and Herman concluded she would join the team despite her silence. After arranging a purchase of medicinal ingredients through Kramer, Herman began planning how to profit from the Soviet Union’s coming dissolution without drawing the Ministry of Magic’s attention.

• Herman showed Harry the trophy engraved with James Potter’s name and the photograph of him playing Quidditch, and Harry lingered before leaving without answering whether she would join the team.
• Herman told Draco that Harry would go, and promised to fill in if she refused; Draco agreed to prepare the sponsorship money.
• Xiao Hei delivered Kramer’s message confirming the medicinal ingredients were available, and Herman sent back a deposit certificate and asked for prompt delivery.
• Herman considered using Kramer’s connections to profit from the Soviet Union’s dissolution, since he could not safely travel to Russia himself.
• Herman recalled that the dollar would strengthen and oil and gold prices would fall, leading him to anticipate a long upward cycle in the United States stock market.