Recaps

Ron and Malfoy escaped the dragon with two Golden Eggs, but the judges voided Ron’s score for using Dark Magic. The judges gave him low scores, leaving the tournament’s first task unresolved for him.

• Ron struck the Peruvian Vipertooth in the eye with a black spear while Malfoy ran for the Golden Eggs.
• Ron and Malfoy fought over the eggs as the dragon breathed fire, and dragon handlers rescued them before subduing it.
• Karkaroff and Madame Maxime challenged Ludo over whether Ron had been allowed to use Dark Magic, and Crouch ruled that Ron’s score would be voided.
• Ron argued that he had not known Dark Magic was forbidden, but Crouch and Maxime rejected his excuse.
• The judges displayed their scores for Ron: Maxime gave him 4, Crouch 3, Dumbledore 9, and Ludo 6.

Cho and Cedric worked together to evade the Swedish Short-Snout and steal Golden Eggs from the other Champions. Their teamwork left them heading toward Beauxbatons to steal another egg.

• Students continued debating Ron’s use of Dark Magic until Cho summoned a broomstick and drew their attention back to the match.
• Cho took Cedric’s Golden Egg, mounted her broom, and lured the Swedish Short-Snout into the air.
• Krum hit the dragon’s eye with a Conjunctivitis Curse, while Cedric transformed into a husky and stole Krum’s Golden Egg.
• Cho flew down to Cedric, who changed back and climbed onto her Firebolt as the Durmstrang student chased him.
• The dragon set Krum’s clothes on fire while Cho and Cedric flew toward the Beauxbatons Champions to steal another Golden Egg.

Cho and Cedric scored well in the dragon challenge while William checked on the other Champions and learned how the round had gone. The next round began with a Durmstrang team facing the Hungarian Horntail, leaving its Champions stunned by the enormous dragon.

• Cho flew evasively to distract the dragons while Cedric transformed into a husky and stole Golden Eggs, and William left the arena confident they would succeed.
• William, Anne, and Gabrielle visited the medical tents, where Madam Pomfrey complained about the dangers at Hogwarts and treated the injured Champions.
• Hermione showed William the golden dragon horns she had collected, and the scores revealed that Cho had three eggs, Cedric had two, and Krum had one.
• Madam Pomfrey treated Krum and Cho, while William told Hermione that Ron's result had been invalidated for using Dark Magic.
• The fourth round began with two competitors facing one dragon, and the final group of three Durmstrang students faced the fifteen-meter Hungarian Horntail.

The First Task results left Hermione in first place and Ron at the bottom, while the Champions learned when the Second Task would begin. In a separate scene, Tom took control of a black-robed wizard to reach a Horcrux, but both were dragged beneath the lake by the Inferi.

• Hermione placed first with four Golden Eggs, while Ron and Chimpanzee Captain finished with zero.
• Ludo Bagman announced that the Second Task would begin on February 24th and gave Golden Eggs to Champions who lacked them.
• Ludo Bagman kept Ron behind after the other students left, while Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff celebrated.
• A black-robed wizard followed Tom's instructions through a cave and sailed across a lake to a basin of emerald liquid.
• Tom took control of the wizard and forced him to drink the basin dry, revealing a golden locket.
• The wizard crawled to the lake for water, but Inferi pulled him and Tom beneath the surface.

Harry reconciled with Ron, but his scar suddenly erupted in pain and he saw Tom. William took him to Dumbledore’s office, where they entered the Pensieve to find the headmaster.

• Harry waited for Ron and accepted his apology after Ron admitted he regretted becoming a Champion.
• Hermione returned to the common room and warned Ron not to use Voldemort’s Dark Magic again, while Ron argued that he would withdraw from the competition.
• Harry’s scar flared with severe pain, and he cried out as students rushed over and feared Ron had attacked him.
• Hermione contacted William, who calmed Harry and took him toward Dumbledore’s office.
• William opened the Headmaster’s Office with the password “Cockroach Clusters” and found Dumbledore absent while a Pensieve showed a Ministry interrogation.
• William entered the Pensieve with Harry to find Dumbledore.

William and Harry watched Dumbledore’s memories of Barty Crouch sentencing his son to life in Azkaban and later visiting him there. The chapter ended with the warden offering to arrange a healer or release in exchange for money, while Crouch reluctantly agreed to discuss the matter after seeing his son.

• William and Harry appeared in Dumbledore’s memory of Barty Crouch’s trial, where Crouch sentenced Barty Crouch Jr. and three others to life in Azkaban.
• Barty Crouch Jr. pleaded that he was innocent and called for his parents, but Crouch disowned him as the Dementors took him away.
• After the trial, Crouch’s wife begged him to save their son, but Crouch insisted that imprisoning him was the right thing to do.
• In another memory, an Azkaban warden told Crouch that Barty Crouch Jr. was suffering and offered to arrange a healer or release in exchange for money and connections.
• Crouch rejected the warden’s proposal at first, then agreed to discuss it after he and his wife were allowed to visit their son.
• Dumbledore ended the memory, and William helped Harry as the three of them rose into darkness.

Dumbledore and William examined Harry’s dream of Tom Riddle and concluded that it might reveal the location of a cave by the sea. Harry left the office believing William and Hermione had lied about burning down the Albanian forest, while Dumbledore asked William to stay behind.

• Dumbledore showed Harry and William a Pensieve memory in which William described fighting Voldemort and Wormtail in Albania.
• Harry recounted dreaming of sixteen-year-old Tom drinking a green potion before corpses dragged him into a lake, and said his scar had hurt until he passed out.
• Dumbledore asked Harry about the cave, and Harry described dark water and large rocks; William and Dumbledore realized they might have been searching in the wrong place for a Horcrux.
• Dumbledore theorized that Harry’s scar hurt because Voldemort’s failed Killing Curse had connected them, and William inferred that Harry had experienced Tom’s scene from his perspective.
• Harry left Dumbledore’s office, suspected that William and Hermione had burned down the Albanian forest, and Dumbledore asked William to remain for a private discussion.

William and Dumbledore discussed the escaped prisoner, Voldemort’s growing strength, and a missing Muggle, while avoiding the truth about Harry’s scar. The next morning, William and Hermione considered Voldemort’s plans and went to the Room of Requirement to solve the Golden Egg’s secret.

• William asked Dumbledore about the Azkaban warden Dondarrion, and Dumbledore explained how Crouch had exposed him and what became of Crouch’s imprisoned son and wife.
• William asked who Crouch had imprisoned, and Dumbledore said the wizard might have been an unknown Death Eater before warning that Voldemort would likely return for the Horcrux.
• Dumbledore told William that Voldemort’s power was growing and that the Muggle Frank Bryce had disappeared from the village where Voldemort’s father was born.
• William told Hermione what had happened, and Hermione suspected Wormtail had hatched the missing Runespoor egg to obtain venom for Voldemort.
• William reasoned that Voldemort was unlikely to check the Horcrux at the Gaunt Shack, and Hermione went with him to the Room of Requirement to work on the Golden Egg.

William and Hermione tried to uncover the Golden Egg’s secret while Hogwarts students faced mounting O.W.L. preparations and Hagrid’s dangerous Blast-Ended Skrewts. The chapter ended with Hagrid promising a Manticore lesson despite William and Cho’s objections.

• William recognized that the Golden Egg needed a special sound-transmitting medium, while Hermione insisted on investigating it herself and tried roasting it over a fire.
• Hermione borrowed the library’s dragon-egg books, and William arranged for Anne and Gabrielle to rent them to the other Champions.
• As December brought bad weather and heavier revision, Akali’s extra classes grew popular, and William arranged for Cedric to train Neville in practical combat.
• Moody taught students to dodge simulated Killing Curses, while Hagrid’s attempt to put the Blast-Ended Skrewts into hibernation boxes ended in chaos and left only five alive.
• William and Cho asked Hagrid to avoid dangerous creatures for O.W.L. lessons, but Hagrid defended his plans and insisted that studying a Manticore was preferable to studying a Unicorn.

Fawkes summoned William from class to meet Dumbledore, and William brought Hermione along from Potions. Snape secretly poisoned Hermione’s antidote, leaving Harry and Ron suffering after they drank it.

• Fawkes found William in Divination class, where he was cooking eggs while Professor Trelawney slept.
• William dragged Fawkes away from the eggs and went to Snape’s Potions class to fetch Hermione for their appointment with Dumbledore.
• Snape let Hermione leave after calling her antidote barely usable, and Harry and Ron drank it as soon as she was gone.
• Snape revealed that he had poisoned Hermione’s antidote, and Harry and Ron collapsed with swollen, red faces.

William and Hermione reached the sea cave where Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux, and Dumbledore showed them the concealed magical entrance. William began considering how to adapt Voldemort’s protections for his own cottage as a trap for Death Eaters.

• William and Hermione arrived on a cliffside, and William tossed Fawkes into the sea after the phoenix clawed his shoulder.
• Hermione Apparated with William to a boulder below the cliff, and they used their gondola to travel through a narrow sea passage to Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore confirmed they had reached the cave and swam there, while Fawkes complained about William.
• William detected faint traces of magic and taught Hermione how to reveal them, locating the strongest traces on the cave wall.
• Dumbledore revealed Voldemort’s concealed entrance with Ancient Runes, and William recognized that opening it required a sacrifice.
• William considered copying and altering Voldemort’s protective magic to lure Death Eaters into a trap near his cottage.

William, Dumbledore, and Hermione entered the cavern protecting Voldemort’s Horcrux and discovered that a hidden boat could cross the Inferi-infested lake. William tried to board it, but the boat overturned because he was carrying a whole zoo of magical creatures.

• William used Blast-Ended Skrewt blood to reveal a hidden entrance in the cave wall, and Dumbledore led the group inside.
• William warned Hermione and Dumbledore not to touch the vast black lake after he spotted a green light across it.
• Dumbledore and William determined that Inferi, Anti-Apparition magic, and an Anti-Flying Charm prevented them from crossing by ordinary means.
• William sensed a Wizard-Banishing Charm, and Dumbledore found the invisible chain that summoned a small bronze boat from the lake.
• William and Hermione reasoned that Voldemort had used a sacrifice to drink the potion protecting the Horcrux, so the boat could carry more than one wizard.
• William jumped into the boat, which capsized under the weight of the magical creatures he carried.

William fought his way through the Inferi in the lake and reached shore, where he, Hermione, and Dumbledore drove back the dead. After Hermione realized Fawkes could Apparate on the island, Dumbledore and then Hermione left with the phoenix, leaving William alone in the boat.

• William used nonverbal magic to scatter the Inferi underwater and escaped to the surface by stepping on Fawkes, who had been knocked into the lake.
• Hermione helped William ashore, and Dumbledore burned the Inferi emerging from the lake while William and Hermione trapped some in iron cages.
• Hermione pointed out that Fawkes could Apparate where wizards could not, and Dumbledore took the phoenix to the island's center.
• William tried to persuade Hermione to sit on his lap in the narrow boat, but Fawkes Apparated in, took Hermione, and left William behind.

William, Hermione, and Dumbledore retrieved a locket from Voldemort’s potion-protected cave, then discovered a note saying the real Horcrux had been stolen by someone with the initials R.A.B. The chapter leaves them identifying the likely thief as Regulus Arcturus Black.

• William and Dumbledore tested the potion basin and found that its liquid could only be removed in a limited amount unless someone drank it.
• William forced the Blast-Ended Skrewt to drink cup after cup of potion until the basin was empty, allowing Dumbledore to retrieve the locket.
• Dumbledore brought William, Hermione, and the locket back to his office, where William sensed that something was wrong with it.
• Dumbledore opened the locket and read a note from R.A.B. claiming to have stolen the real Horcrux and intending to destroy it.
• Hermione and William considered possible identities for R.A.B., and Phineas Black’s comment led Dumbledore to identify Regulus Arcturus Black as the likely thief.

William reflected on Regulus Black’s theft of the Horcrux and planned to have Sirius search for it or the locket. At Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall announced the Yule Ball, and William left as girls began eyeing him as a potential dance partner.

• William accepted that Regulus had taken the Horcrux and decided they would need to find either the intact Horcrux or the locket; Sirius would get the search assignment.
• During Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall kept the class late and helped Cho through a question after she struggled to answer.
• Professor McGonagall announced that the Yule Ball would take place in the Great Hall at eight o’clock on Christmas night and explained that Champions and their partners traditionally opened it.
• After class, Professor McGonagall asked Cho to stay behind, and William explained to Marietta that she likely wanted to discuss Cho’s dance partner.
• Marietta and other girls watched William as he packed up, but he hurried away to the Great Hall.

The Yule Ball announcement sent Hogwarts students scrambling to find dates, and William became a target of eager witches. After rejecting Mormont’s invitation and being tricked into signing autographs, he fled with Cedric, who tried to redirect the pursuing crowd toward him.

• Professor McGonagall’s Yule Ball announcement stirred up Hogwarts, while Cedric and Harry viewed the ball as a chance to compete for Cho.
• Witches crowded around William in the corridors, and Mormont asked him to be her date.
• William rejected Mormont, but she used the exchange to collect autographs from him and sell them to her friends.
• William ran into Cedric, who shouted that William had no date and drew the pursuing students after them.
• William and Cedric argued over who would act as a decoy, then William shoved Cedric behind a pillar and announced his hiding place to the crowd.

At the Yule Ball, Cedric sought advice about asking Cho, while Ron’s comments about choosing a pretty date upset Hermione. William followed Hermione out of the Great Hall, but Anne caught up with him and asked whether he had a date.

• Cedric took William to the Gryffindor table and admitted he planned to invite Cho to the ball.
• Fred demonstrated his approach by asking Angelina to the ball, and she accepted.
• Ron said he wanted a pretty date and insulted Eloise Midgen, prompting Hermione to criticize him and leave the Great Hall.
• William got up to follow Hermione, but Anne caught up with him and asked, “Brother, do you have a date?”

William considered whom to invite to the Yule Ball while Anne urged him to ask Hermione. He finally invited Hermione in the Room of Requirement, and she accepted.

• Anne asked William to invite Gabrielle to the ball, but he refused and joked about inviting Phoebe instead.
• Anne insisted Hermione would be William’s future sister-in-law and urged him to invite her to the ball.
• A fourth-year boy asked Anne to be his date, but she turned him down because he had not earned his O.W.L. certificates.
• Hermione complained that William had ignored her while other girls surrounded him and called him a lecher.
• William invited Hermione to the Yule Ball, and she accepted.

As Christmas approached, William and Lee launched the Lily Network to match students with dance partners, while Hogwarts students and professors scrambled for invitations. Harry still hoped Cho would ask him, unaware Cedric had already invited her, and Snape planned to spend the Yule Ball grading mock exams.

• William invested in Lee's new Lily Network, which sold information about students and their potential dance partners.
• Malfoy bought a diamond premium membership, discovered his listed partner was Pansy Parkinson, and felt relieved that Harry had no partner listed.
• Harry waited for Cho to invite him, unaware that Cedric had already asked her and that she had readily agreed.
• Ron struggled to find a girl to invite because students suspected him of studying Dark Magic, while Trelawney and Binns tried unsuccessfully to get attention from their colleagues.
• Snape announced a final-term O.W.L.s mock exam and said the results would be sent to students' parents on Christmas, leaving everyone convinced he would spend the Yule Ball grading papers.

William avoided invitations by hiding in the Room of Requirement, but his crowded Ancient Runes classes and rumors about his luck made him the focus of students’ attention. After Phoebe pulled him away from a crowd of Beauxbatons girls, Ron asked her to be his dance partner, and she ignored him.

• William turned his overcrowded Ancient Runes class into a badge-making contest and offered the first successful student a permanent fifty-percent-off voucher for Akali's Mystery Shop.
• William ran into Luna, who carried a withered Devil's Snare, and learned that Anne and Gabrielle were hiding together with a secret surprise.
• Luna told William that girls believed inviting him to the dance would bring them good luck next year, though William already had Hermione as his partner.
• Beauxbatons girls crowded around William to invite him, and Phoebe pulled him away from them.
• Ron asked Phoebe to be his dance partner, but she turned away from him.

After Ron and Harry were rejected by Fleur and Cho, Ron tried to persuade Hermione to be his Yule Ball partner. Hermione declared that William was her boyfriend and left the common room, while Ginny confirmed they had become a couple in Paris.

• Ron learned that the Gryffindor password had changed to “toad” and found Ginny comforting him after Fleur ignored his invitation to the ball.
• Harry arrived and told Ron that Cho had already agreed to go with Cedric.
• Hermione came in looking for news of Anne, then argued with Ron after he suggested she become his ball partner.
• Hermione announced that she and William had shared dangerous adventures and that William was her boyfriend, then stormed out.
• Ginny confirmed that William and Hermione had become a couple in Paris and said William had asked Hermione out long ago.
• Ginny revealed that she had agreed to go to the ball with Neville, while Ron and Harry remained without partners.

Phoebe invited William to the Yule Ball, but he declined because he had already asked Hermione. When Krum staged a rescue to invite Hermione, William publicly declared that Hermione was his girlfriend and dance partner, leaving Daphne heartbroken.

• Phoebe asked William to be her dance partner, and he declined while explaining how much Hermione meant to him.
• Hermione found William and confronted him about Phoebe, then secretly pinched him when he refused to reveal the dance partner he had recommended for Phoebe.
• Elena Kaslana, Evan Mason, and Maca McLean approached William and Hermione while acting as thugs.
• Krum used Wandless Magic to knock Mason and Maca down and send Elena flying, hoping to create a dramatic moment to invite Hermione.
• William announced that Hermione was his girlfriend and dance partner and told everyone not to invite either of them.
• Daphne arrived to invite William, broke down in tears after hearing his announcement, and Krum was met with Hermione's icy order to get lost.

William celebrated Christmas at Hogwarts, opening gifts that included a Pensieve from Dumbledore and an ancient magic book from Sirius. After finding no present from Hermione, he put his gifts away and headed toward Gryffindor.

• The professors and Prefects decorated Hogwarts for Christmas, while rumors about extravagant school purchases boosted Akali's Mystery Shop's sales.
• William woke up to a mountain of Christmas presents, but Bobocha refused to get out of bed.
• William opened his gifts and received an exquisite Pensieve from Dumbledore and a three-drop Gillywater Potion from Snape.
• William received an ancient Latin magic book from Sirius, a photo album from Phoebe, and a wooden model of St Mark's Basilica from Trene.
• William gave friends and professors gifts, including scented shampoo, a sapphire necklace for Phoebe, and an alchemical sword for Trene.
• William found no Christmas present from Hermione, put his gifts away, and headed toward Gryffindor.

As Hogwarts students prepared for the Yule Ball, Ron’s invitation to Lavender sparked a fight with Seamus and a schoolwide rumor. William and Hermione spent the afternoon together before she sent him away to get ready, telling him to come find her before the ball.

• The Fat Lady told William that Professor McGonagall had threatened to break his legs if he brought Hermione back late again.
• Fred and George teased Ron about asking Lavender to the ball, and Ron said she had accepted his invitation.
• Seamus confronted Ron over Lavender, punched him, and chased him toward the dormitory; Harry followed to stop the fight.
• A rumor spread that Ron, Seamus, and Harry had fought over Lavender, who delighted in the attention.
• William and Hermione studied the Golden Egg in the Room of Requirement until Hermione sent William away to get ready for the ball.

William and Hermione dressed for the Yule Ball and arrived together, drawing attention from the students. After they entered, William returned to the entrance and got Gabrielle inside as a second date, while Anne disguised them with masks and warned her not to let Hermione find out.

• William found Hermione dressed in a blue gown and jewels in the Room of Requirement, and he told her she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
• Hermione promised to follow William wherever he went, and they walked arm in arm to the Great Hall.
• Harry waited for Cho while standing with Parvati, then greeted Ron and Lavender as they arrived.
• William and Hermione entered the Great Hall, stunning the crowd as they passed Ron without acknowledging him.
• William returned to the entrance with Gabrielle and persuaded Filch to let them in as his second date.
• Anne gave masks to herself and Gabrielle, then warned Gabrielle to keep Hermione from discovering their plan.