Recaps

William and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Common Room after dealing with a Horcrux and found the damage from Black’s fight with the armor guards. William then went to Dumbledore’s office, where Fudge was meeting with the headmaster.

• William and Hermione found Professor McGonagall inspecting the damaged Gryffindor Common Room, and she scolded them for being out all night while worrying about their safety.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Black had fought the armor guards through the boys’ dormitory and bathroom, while Peeves’s Dungbombs had left the common room reeking.
• Professor McGonagall planned to livestream the sorting of students’ scattered belongings so their owners could claim them, and Hermione stayed to help her.
• William took a detour to inspect the magical monster guarding the Headmaster’s Office, then entered and found Minister Fudge speaking with Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore asked William to wait while signaling that he wanted Fudge to finish their conversation quickly.

William overheard Fudge and Dumbledore argue about the missing Dementors before telling Dumbledore about the mole’s influence on Ron. Dumbledore asked William to watch Ron, and William ended the chapter suspecting Harry might be Tom Riddle’s mole.

• William listened as Fudge defended the Dementors’ unauthorized entry and proposed lifting restrictions on their breeding.
• Fudge hugged William, who plucked several more hairs from him, and warned William not to reveal the missing Dementors.
• Dumbledore explained to William that Fudge cared more about making the public feel protected than about preventing danger.
• William told Dumbledore about the previous night and the suspected mole, and Dumbledore asked him to keep an eye on Ron.
• Dumbledore said Ron had likely been affected by subtle suggestive magic rather than the Imperius Curse.
• William reasoned that the mole knew Ron well and wondered whether Harry was working for Tom Riddle.

William told Dumbledore that he and Hermione had found Voldemort’s Horcrux, the Diadem, in the Room of Requirement, and showed him the discovery through a memory. Dumbledore shared a memory of rejecting Voldemort’s application to teach at Hogwarts, leaving William to reflect on how the rejection helped drive Voldemort toward building the Death Eaters.

• William showed Dumbledore the Diadem and explained that he and Hermione had found it in the Room of Requirement.
• William and Dumbledore watched the memory of how they found the Horcrux, and Dumbledore said it confirmed that Voldemort had made more than one.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had first sought a teaching position at Hogwarts after graduating, then applied again ten years later.
• Dumbledore shared his memory of refusing Voldemort a job, suspecting that he had come to Hogwarts for an ulterior purpose.
• William joked that Voldemort’s failed application and appearance had driven him to found the Death Eaters.

William told Dumbledore that a Dementor had revealed Slytherin’s Ring was at the Gaunt Shack, and they planned to visit after Saturday’s Quidditch match. Snape reported that someone had broken into his office and stolen Potions ingredients, but Dumbledore dismissed his suspicions.

• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position and described his efforts to choose professors who could handle the curse.
• William told Dumbledore that the Dementor had seen memories linking a Horcrux to Slytherin’s Ring and the Gaunt Shack.
• Dumbledore and William planned to visit the Gaunt Shack after the Ravenclaw-Slytherin Quidditch Match on Saturday.
• Snape entered and reported that someone had broken into his office and stolen ingredients from his private stores.
• Snape suspected Weasley, Black, or a poor professor, but Dumbledore rejected his claims, and Snape left after smashing the door’s decorative glass.

Hogwarts students spread absurd theories about Black while Ron basked in his sudden notoriety after Snape accused him of stealing Potions. With Lupin on leave and Quidditch plans disrupted by the storm and Malfoy's injury, Gryffindor was unexpectedly scheduled to face Ravenclaw.

• Albert Anderson, Jon Hart, Alan Harris, and Professor Trelawney offered wild explanations for Black's escape, while Elena Kaslana convinced many that he had disguised himself as a woman.
• Snape took another hundred points from Ron, who became a celebrity and enjoyed embellishing the story of stealing Snape's Potions until Mrs. Weasley sent him seventy-two Howlers.
• Professor Lupin took leave for the full moon, and Professor Snape substituted for him, assigning students homework to kill a Werewolf and fueling rumors that Black was one.
• Snape approved Slytherin's request to withdraw from its match with Ravenclaw because Malfoy's arm had not healed, then arranged for Gryffindor to replace Slytherin as Ravenclaw's opponent.
• Cho looked forward to crushing Gryffindor in the coming stormy match, while Cedric suggested Ravenclaw seek a postponement so Hufflepuff could play instead.

Harry threw a heavily doctored piece of bread at Malfoy before Gryffindor faced Ravenclaw in Quidditch. The match began in fierce wind and rain, with both teams equipped to cope with the weather.

• William assessed the teams' chances and expected Cho to have trouble catching the Snitch against Cedric in the storm.
• Malfoy taunted Harry at breakfast, and Harry hit him in the face with bread covered in porridge, milk, butter, ketchup, and cat-poop coffee.
• Snape deducted twenty points from Gryffindor for Harry's attack and wasting food.
• Wood urged Harry to play rough against Cho, while Cedric gave Cho the same advice about knocking Harry off his broom; Cho's smile made Harry consider letting her win.
• William explained to Hermione why wizards did not regulate the weather, while Anne carved names into William's broom and Luna gave her a roaring lion hat.
• The teams reached the pitch in heavy rain, and Madam Hooch started the match.

William played through a rain-soaked Quidditch match, scoring spectacularly for Ravenclaw despite fierce Gryffindor defense. Ravenclaw gained a slight lead, but worsening wind and poor visibility left William hoping Cho would catch the Snitch while Harry kept close to her.

• William noticed Anne had carved two more names into his broom and decided to buy a new one for himself.
• Lee Jordan promoted waterproof badges during his commentary until Professor McGonagall scolded him, then returned to calling the match.
• After Alicia passed him the Quaffle, William broke through Angelina’s deliberate block and escaped Fred and George’s Bludger attack with a Wandless Magic move that summoned his broom back beneath him.
• William slipped past four Gryffindor players and Wood to score, prompting Professor McGonagall to praise him as Hogwarts’s best Chaser.
• William intercepted the Quaffle and launched another fast break with Bradley screening for him, helping Ravenclaw take a slight lead as the wind worsened.
• William struggled to track the Bludgers in the poor conditions and hoped Cho would catch the Snitch, but Harry stayed close to her.

During a Quidditch match, Dementors attacked the pitch, Harry fell from his broom while suffering a vision, and William and the professors moved to stop the creatures. William trapped the Dementors with lightning as Patronuses surrounded them, setting the stage for a massacre.

• Harry spotted a huge black dog near Ron in the Gryffindor stands, then lost sight of it and turned his attention to the Golden Snitch.
• William fouled Alicia during their fight for the Quaffle, then noticed at least fifty Dementors approaching the pitch.
• Harry convulsed and fell from his broom, so Cho abandoned the Snitch to catch him, while Cedric slowed their fall with a charm.
• William summoned a sea-eagle Patronus against the Dementors, and Dumbledore sent Fawkes to drive them back.
• William summoned lightning to trap the fleeing Dementors as professors' Patronuses surrounded the pitch.

After recovering from his fall during the Quidditch match, Harry learned that Cho had abandoned the Snitch to save him and that William and Dumbledore had left Hogwarts. William and Dumbledore reached the Gaunt Shack to investigate a Horcrux, where they discovered Voldemort’s connection to the Gaunt family.

• Harry woke in the Hospital Wing and learned that Cho had caught him after he fell, while Cedric slowed their descent with a charm.
• Harry’s teammates explained that Ravenclaw had won the match and that William and Dumbledore had destroyed the Dementors before leaving Hogwarts.
• Hermione concealed her knowledge of the Horcrux and wished she could accompany William and Dumbledore.
• William and Dumbledore traveled toward Little Hangleton, and Dumbledore explained that Tom Marvolo Riddle was descended from Marvolo Gaunt and that his father was a Muggle.
• Dumbledore led William to the decaying Gaunt Shack, whose front door bore a snake biting its own tail.

William and Dumbledore opened the Gaunt Shack by using Harry’s recorded Parseltongue and Acromantula blood. They found old footprints inside and followed them into a room, where William was left dumbstruck.

• William examined the cursed ouroboros knocker and reasoned that it required Parseltongue to open.
• William used a crystal ball containing Harry’s recorded Parseltongue to tell the knocker to open the door.
• The knocker became a snake and produced a silver key, while Dumbledore worked out that magical blood would reveal the lock.
• William splashed Acromantula blood on the knocker, and Dumbledore unlocked the door with the silver key.
• William and Dumbledore entered the filthy shack, noticed old footprints, and followed them into one of its rooms, where William was dumbstruck.

William confronted Dumbledore over the dangerous ring beside Lockhart’s corpse, realizing it was likely the Resurrection Stone and that Dumbledore wanted to use it. After they fought, Dumbledore regained control of himself and admitted the Stone’s temptation had overwhelmed him.

• William and Dumbledore found Lockhart’s burned, un decayed corpse and a black ring bearing the Peverell symbol in the Gaunt Shack.
• Dumbledore rushed toward the ring, but William blocked him and warned that they had come to destroy the Horcrux.
• William recognized the ring as possibly containing the Resurrection Stone and refused to let Dumbledore touch it.
• Dumbledore attacked William with powerful water magic, and the two fought until the water dragon suddenly vanished.
• Dumbledore apologized, admitted he had lost control because of the Resurrection Stone’s temptation, and threw his wand away.

Dumbledore told William how guilt over Ariana’s death had driven him to seek the Resurrection Stone, but William discovered that Tom Riddle had replaced Slytherin’s Ring with a cursed Opal Necklace and taken the real Horcrux. Tom’s trap activated, leaving William and Dumbledore to face a freezing attack while realizing they had been outmaneuvered.

• Dumbledore confessed that he and Grindelwald had neglected Ariana, and that she died during their duel with Aberforth.
• William found that Slytherin’s Ring was actually a cursed Opal Necklace, and he and Dumbledore concluded that Tom had taken the real ring and Resurrection Stone.
• Dumbledore explained that Tom had murdered his father and grandparents, framed Morfin Gaunt, and likely made the diary into a Horcrux after killing them.
• Dumbledore examined Lockhart and determined that a curse from the Horcrux had struck him when he touched the ring.
• Tom’s mocking voice sounded as a magical blizzard filled the room, but Dumbledore melted the falling snow before it reached them.
• William collected the Opal Necklace and recognized that Tom had set the trap to retaliate against them.

Tom took the Horcrux, forcing William to abandon his plan to use its memories to find the others, while Lupin returned to Hogwarts and Snape resumed teaching Potions. Hagrid was cleared of responsibility for Malfoy’s injury, but the Ministry’s Committee for Dangerous Creatures was set to deal with Buckbeak.

• Tom took the Horcrux, leaving William without a lead to find the remaining Horcruxes.
• Lupin returned to teaching, canceled Snape’s homework, and Snape reassigned the essay on killing Werewolves to Potions.
• Harry and Ron discovered they had no homework to hand in after the House-elves had thrown away the essays they tore up.
• Hagrid’s Flobberworms ate themselves to death after the students fed them lettuce, and Hagrid proposed crossbreeding a Manticore with a Fire Crab.
• Hagrid received a letter clearing him of responsibility for Malfoy’s injury but saying that the Committee for Dangerous Creatures would deal with Buckbeak.

William and his friends discussed how to protect Buckbeak from the hearing, while Harry asked William to teach him the Patronus Charm. William suggested Harry seek help from Professor Lupin and revealed that the twins had a Boggart hidden under their bed.

• William shared the School Governors' letter, and Cedric said his father had heard that Fudge was pressuring the committee to have Buckbeak put down.
• Hermione proposed researching similar cases to help Hagrid prepare a defense, and Cho wrote down the books she recommended.
• Harry and Ron learned about Buckbeak's hearing, and William rejected Ron's idea that Dumbledore could simply order Fudge to spare the Hippogriff.
• Harry asked William to teach him the Patronus Charm, but William said he and Hermione had no time and suggested Harry ask Professor Lupin.
• William told Harry that the twins had hidden a Boggart under their bed, while the twins' custom photo business continued to attract buyers.

William and his friends searched the library for cases that might help Hagrid, while Ravenclaw’s Quidditch season continued through a win over Slytherin and a loss to Hufflepuff. As Christmas approached, William taught his students to make Warming Badges, and Cedric’s attempt to impress Cho with a staged rescue failed.

• William and the others searched old creature cases to help Hagrid, discovering that Mrs. Scamander’s past defenses of Hippogriffs had often ended in worse punishments.
• At the end of November, Ravenclaw defeated Slytherin, and Cho used a Wronski Feint that left Malfoy too frightened to follow her after the Snitch.
• Ravenclaw lost to Hufflepuff in early December, and William gave the team a pep talk while Gryffindor’s hopes of winning the championship rose.
• As Christmas neared, William taught his students to make single-use Warming Badges, but Hermione alone produced one that gave off steady heat.
• Cedric arranged for students to pose as Slytherins harassing Cho so he could rescue her, but Cho saw through the plan and defeated them herself.

William and Hermione welcomed Nicolas to Hogsmeade, where he discussed Newt and hinted that Professor Babbling might use William’s face to rise at Ilvermorny. Meanwhile, Harry secretly listened as adults discussed Black’s betrayal, and Fudge began considering how William might inherit Nicolas’s fortune.

• The twins gave Harry a map of Hogwarts for Christmas, while William and Hermione went to Hogsmeade Station to meet Nicolas.
• Nicolas arrived by Hogwarts Express to help repair and enchant the damaged train, then chose to stroll through Hogsmeade rather than go straight to the school.
• Nicolas told William that Newt had been released under surveillance and that Professor Babbling was doing well in the United States, possibly using William’s face to become Ilvermorny’s dean and deputy headmistress.
• Harry sneaked into Hogsmeade under his Invisibility Cloak and overheard McGonagall, Flitwick, and Rosmerta discuss Black’s closeness to James and his betrayal of Harry’s parents.
• Fudge spotted Nicolas outside and privately speculated that William might inherit Nicolas’s fortune, deciding to maintain a good relationship with him and reconsider Hagrid’s Hippogriff case.

William and Bobocha opened their Christmas presents, and William received an expensive wand from Phoebe and a mysterious Firebolt. Hermione and Anne arrived with anonymous gifts of their own, leaving the three of them unable to identify the sender.

• Bobocha tore into his presents, and William claimed Fawkes's feather for himself while letting Bobocha keep Fluffy's bone.
• William opened Phoebe's French wand and read her letter about a Thunderbird attacking Emerald Lake and striking Madame Maxime with lightning.
• William found an anonymous Firebolt among his presents and suspected it came from a wealthy female fan.
• Hermione and Anne arrived with their own anonymous gifts: Hermione had received a Demiguise-fur Invisibility Cloak, and Anne had received a Firebolt.
• William, Hermione, and Anne considered who could have sent the expensive gifts but could not identify the sender.

William and the girls tried to identify who had anonymously sent them expensive Christmas gifts, then learned Harry had also received a Firebolt and suspected Sirius Black. The group left the question unresolved as Ron changed his mind and agreed that the brooms should be checked.

• William, Hermione, and Anne failed to identify the sender of their gifts, and Hermione suggested selling the Firebolts before agreeing to keep them.
• William found a Christmas gift from Minister Fudge, who invited him to dinner to discuss the Hippogriff and hinted at introducing him to a distant cousin.
• William, Hermione, and Anne met Harry and Ron, and Harry revealed that he had received an anonymous Firebolt too.
• Hermione urged Harry to ask Professor McGonagall to inspect the brooms and suspected Sirius Black had sent them, while Ron initially insisted Harry should ride his.
• After learning that William and the girls had also received anonymous gifts, Ron changed his mind and agreed that Professor McGonagall should check them.

William attended a Christmas feast at Hogwarts, where Snape secretly poisoned the sherry. Professor Trelawney arrived, drank from Ron’s glass, and collapsed, leaving Snape to blame Sirius Black.

• Dumbledore hosted a Christmas feast with William, the professors, Nicolas, and Filch, and gave Snape a witch’s hat to wear.
• Snape secretly poisoned the sherry and urged William to pour it, but William avoided drinking and gave Hermione and Anne antidote.
• Professor Trelawney arrived after predicting danger at the feast, warned that thirteen diners were unlucky, and squeezed into a seat between William and Ron.
• Trelawney scolded William for missing Divination lessons, then softened after he reminded her of the sherry he had sent as a Christmas gift.
• Trelawney drank from Ron’s glass, collapsed into the turkey, and declared that the wine was poisoned.
• Snape denied responsibility and claimed Sirius Black had infiltrated Hogwarts.

Trelawney recovered from the poisoned wine and traded barbs with McGonagall during the Christmas feast. After McGonagall took the anonymously delivered Firebolts and Invisibility Cloak for inspection, William sent Picquery to search for the Thunderbird in France, then left Hogwarts with Hermione and Anne for Nicolas's estate.

• William gave Trelawney an antidote, and she regained consciousness and drank unpoisoned sherry.
• Trelawney claimed she had foreseen the danger at the feast, while McGonagall challenged her predictions and Dumbledore ended their argument.
• Harry and Ron left the feast, and Trelawney pocketed the remaining sherry before leaving.
• Hermione told McGonagall about the three Firebolts and an Invisibility Cloak sent anonymously, and McGonagall took them to inspect and dismantle.
• William told Mera Picquery that the Thunderbird had gone to Beauxbatons, and Picquery left to investigate.
• William, Hermione, and Anne boarded a carriage at Hogwarts to spend Christmas at Nicolas's estate.

Nicolas determined that Ravenclaw's Diadem had been ruined by ten thousand years of accelerated aging caused by Ravenclaw's time magic, rather than by Voldemort making it a Horcrux. He said repairing it might be possible if he and William unlocked the second section of the Book of Alchemy, leaving them needing to obtain Slytherin's Wand.

• William assisted Nicolas as he examined Ravenclaw's Diadem, but Nicolas concluded that he could not repair it with his current abilities.
• Nicolas used a silver instrument to show how the diadem had dulled and rusted through the power of time.
• Nicolas explained that Ravenclaw had used Prehistoric Mysteries to make the diadem endure ten thousand years of aging within a thousand years.
• Nicolas said the diadem was likely already useless when Voldemort found it, so its damage had nothing to do with its becoming a Horcrux.
• Nicolas explained that the second section of the Book of Alchemy contained methods for making the Deathly Hallows and might reveal how to repair the diadem.
• William realized that they still needed to obtain Slytherin's Wand to unlock that section.

William learned that Nicolas needed all three Deathly Hallows to unlock the Book of Alchemy, then returned to find Hermione asleep over her work. Hermione proposed using a Time-Turner to restore Ravenclaw’s Diadem, leaving William considering how to obtain one and where he would sleep.

• William reflected on the Book of Alchemy, the missing Holy Grail, and the mysterious guidance that had led Nicolas to the book.
• William found Hermione asleep at her desk, covered her with his coat, and finished writing her defense of Hagrid.
• William carried Hermione to his bed and told her that the Diadem had been repaired, but Slytherin’s Wand was still missing.
• Hermione worried that relying on Tom was unsafe and suggested using a Time-Turner to restore the Diadem.
• Hermione fell asleep before William could answer, and he removed her Time-Turner before realizing she had taken his bed.

William and Hermione spent a snowy morning at the manor with Anne, while William studied how to make a Flying Cloak. Hermione suddenly realized that Black might have escaped the Dementors’ search in a way connected to the dogs.

• William and Hermione found the manor buried in snow, ate breakfast, and went to wake Anne, who had hidden under her quilt with three cats.
• William studied the Book of Alchemy’s complicated instructions for making a Flying Cloak, which required a Dementor and a Lethifold.
• Hermione and Anne built snow figures while William fished through a hole in the frozen lake.
• Anne worried that Dahei might be cold and suggested searching for him in the Forbidden Forest on the Firebolt.
• Hermione stared at Anne’s snow dog and realized how Black might have escaped the Dementors’ search.

As rumors spread about Black’s escape from Azkaban, Hermione deduced that Dahei was Black in his Animagus form. William agreed, and the group decided to warn Dumbledore.

• Black became famous as the Death Eaters’ leading figure after escaping Azkaban, while Rita and Fudge spread competing theories about how he had escaped.
• Hermione argued that Black was an unregistered Animagus who could turn into Dahei, citing the dog’s presence when Dementors pursued them in France.
• Anne questioned why Dahei had protected them from a Werewolf, but Hermione pointed out that his unusual ability to fight it suggested he was no ordinary dog.
• Hermione connected the anonymous Christmas gifts, including her Invisibility Cloak and Harry’s Firebolt, to Black’s identity.
• William praised Hermione for solving the mystery, then put away his fishing gear and proposed that they warn Professor Dumbledore.

Hermione told Dumbledore that Sirius Black was an unregistered Animagus, and Lupin admitted he had known about the secret. Lupin’s account of Peter’s Animagus form led William to suspect that Ron’s rat Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew, prompting Dumbledore to summon Ron and the rat.

• Hermione told Dumbledore that Sirius Black had been appearing as a black dog, and Dumbledore said they needed more direct evidence to convince Fudge.
• William suggested asking Lupin, who had been Black’s close friend, and Dumbledore summoned him through the Floo Network.
• Lupin admitted he had known Black was an unregistered Animagus and apologized for keeping it secret, explaining that he had been afraid to confess his past mistakes.
• Lupin revealed that James, Black, and Peter had also become Animagi, with Peter turning into a rat called Wormtail.
• William connected Peter’s rat form with Scabbers’s unusual longevity and behavior, and suspected that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew.
• Dumbledore summoned Minerva and told her to bring Ron Weasley and Scabbers, warning that the rat might be the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew.