Recaps

William and Hermione attended the Yule Ball as Champions, while William learned that Ludo Bagman had disappeared and Percy had come in Crouch’s place. The chapter ended with William wondering whether Bagman could simply abandon his role in the Triwizard Tournament.

• William reassured Hermione that Anne had probably found a way into the ball and then joined the other Champions with her.
• William saw Trene arrive as Phoebe’s partner, while Cedric and Cho wrestled, Malfoy arrived with Pansy, and Ron and Lavender discussed renting jewelry and dress robes.
• McGonagall led the Champions into the decorated Great Hall, where William comforted a nervous Hermione before they sat down.
• Percy thanked William for giving him Fudge’s signed books and said he had been promoted to Crouch’s personal assistant.
• Percy told William that Bagman had disappeared after apparently owing money to Goblins and wizards, and William wondered whether Bagman had fled over his lost bet.

At the Yule Ball, William and Hermione enjoyed the feast, then danced together as the Weird Sisters played. Hermione grew increasingly absorbed in dancing with William, and the night was just beginning for them.

• Dumbledore introduced individual dish orders, and William and Hermione discovered that several fancifully named dishes were disappointing.
• The students learned to choose plainly named food and ate lightly before the dancing began.
• Dumbledore cleared the Great Hall for a dance floor, and the Weird Sisters took the stage.
• William asked Hermione to dance, while Cedric led Cho onto the floor and Ron reluctantly joined Lavender.
• William and Hermione danced together, and Hermione relaxed into their familiar steps until she became absorbed in the moment with him.

At the Yule Ball, Harry grew jealous of Cho and Cedric while Ron's disastrous dance with Lavender ended with her slapping him. William and Hermione enjoyed the evening together, and they left the Great Hall after Hermione turned down Ron's invitation to dance.

• Harry refused to dance again and grew distressed when Parvati told him Cho and Cedric planned to go on a date.
• Ron stepped on Lavender repeatedly, tore her sleeve, and was slapped after suggesting he mend her dress in his dormitory.
• William carried the exhausted Hermione off the dance floor, and she drank eggnog until she became tipsy.
• Ron asked Krum for an autograph, then asked Hermione to dance, but she declined.
• William and Hermione left the Great Hall together, and William told Ron to mind his own business.
• Krum asked Ron why William and Hermione had left, and Ron told him to ask them himself.

William and Hermione left the Yule Ball for a walk, where they overheard Snape and Karkaroff discussing Karkaroff’s fear of Voldemort’s return. Hermione proposed replacing Karkaroff with an obedient fake headmaster, and the chapter ended with her and William alone on the Hogwarts roof, agreeing to go home together for Christmas.

• Anne and Gabrielle removed their plague masks after William and Hermione left the ball, and Anne planned to invite other students to dance.
• William and Hermione overheard Snape telling Karkaroff he could flee while Snape intended to stay at Hogwarts.
• Snape caught several students hiding in the rose bushes and took points from them and from William and Hermione.
• William explained that Karkaroff feared Voldemort because he had betrayed Death Eaters, and Hermione suggested installing their own headmaster at Durmstrang if Karkaroff fled.
• William carried Hermione to the Hogwarts roof, where they embraced and kissed beneath the moonlight.
• Hermione asked William to go home with her for Christmas, back to their little house.

Hermione feared William had left her behind, but he returned from buying food and spent the day with her at the cottage. While bathing, Hermione discovered the Golden Egg’s clue and pulled William into the tub with her.

• Hermione woke late at William’s cottage, found he was gone, and worried he had returned to school without her.
• William came back with groceries, explained he had tried to wake her, and warmed her hands before they went inside.
• William cooked lunch while Hermione built two snowmen in the yard.
• Hermione took the Golden Egg into the bath and discovered that its secret could only be heard underwater.
• Hermione and William submerged themselves as the egg sang a clue about searching underwater within one hour, and Hermione dragged William into the tub.

William and Hermione spent Christmas at the cottage, where Hermione deduced that the Second Task would require the Champions to retrieve people from the Merpeople’s village. Meanwhile, Tom failed to recover his locket, and Harry suffered another bout of pain in the Gryffindor common room.

• William and Hermione relaxed together at the cottage, watching a movie after dinner.
• Hermione worked out that the Second Task would take place underwater and that the Champions’ treasures were likely people; she and William suspected they would need a potion to breathe underwater.
• Tom returned to the cave with a Muggle sacrifice, but the locket did not appear after the Muggle drank the potion.
• Tom forced his host to drink the potion, still found no locket, and was dragged into the lake by the Inferi.
• Ron was blamed when Harry collapsed in pain in the Gryffindor common room, while Harry wondered how to make the pain stop.

William and Hermione welcomed Nicolas to their cottage, where he gave them Flying Cloaks and used the Holy Grail to unlock the Book of Alchemy’s third volume. The book revealed Azoth, a substance capable of restoring youth, but William and Nicolas discovered they lacked the instructions needed to brew it, leaving them caught in Death’s trap.

• William showed Nicolas the cottage and received two Flying Cloaks made from a Dementor and a Lethifold.
• William placed the Holy Grail on the Book of Alchemy, unlocking its third volume and revealing new alchemical knowledge.
• Nicolas found the method for making Azoth, which could restore youth and heal injuries.
• William realized the Book of Alchemy did not explain how to brew the Elixir of Life or a potion that used Azoth to restore youth.

After Nicolas left for Moscow, William and Hermione studied the Book of Alchemy and built a Portkey linking their home to Godric's Hollow. As the Christmas holiday drew to a close, William wondered whether eternal life was possible, and Hermione reassured him that he would rather share a short life with her than live forever alone.

• Nicolas left the cottage for Moscow, leaving the Book of Alchemy with William so he could study it.
• William and Hermione used the Book of Alchemy to learn how to make a Portkey, then spent two days preparing a door that could connect their home to Godric's Hollow, Paris, or Venice.
• William and Hermione successfully activated the Portkey and explored Godric's Hollow, where they saw Dumbledore's old home before returning.
• While playing Wizard's Chess, William told Hermione he wondered whether eternal life was possible and said he wanted to brew the Youth Elixir of Life.
• Hermione asked whether William would want eternal life if she could not share it, and he said he would rather spend a short life with her.
• Hermione offered to wear a maid outfit if William lost their chess game, so William threw her pieces into the box and declared that he had lost.

William returned to Hogwarts after Christmas and learned that a Polyjuice impostor had sparked rumors about his time with Madame Maxime; he identified Anne as the culprit. He also read Rita Skeeter’s articles attacking Ron and exposing Hagrid as a Half-blood Giant, and learned Hagrid had disappeared from his hut.

• William returned to the Ravenclaw common room and found students gossiping that he had spent the holidays with Madame Maxime.
• Cedric and Cho told William that someone resembling him had stayed in the Beauxbatons carriage after the Yule Ball, and William realized Anne had used Polyjuice Potion.
• William asked Cedric and Cho whether they had solved the Golden Egg, but they had made no progress.
• Cho showed William Rita Skeeter’s articles accusing Ron of attacking Harry and Lavender and exposing Hagrid as a Half-blood Giant.
• Cho and Cedric told William that Hagrid had left his hut and would not see them, while Fluffy was gone too.

Hermione punished Anne for helping Gabrielle hide, while the fifth-years returned to intense exam preparation and welcomed Professor Grubbly-Plank as Hagrid’s temporary replacement. William revealed that Cedric needed to visit the Merpeople at the Black Lake to solve the Golden Egg’s clue, leaving Cedric’s plans for a surprise awkwardly exposed.

• Hermione found Anne and Gabrielle hiding on Trene’s ship, suspended Anne’s allowance, and made her work as an assistant.
• Snape’s strict Potions exam results drove students to study harder, while rumors spread that their textbooks caused nausea.
• Professor Grubbly-Plank taught the class about a unicorn, impressing the students with her expertise and winning their approval.
• Cedric invited Cho to the Prefects’ Bathroom to show her a surprise, but she stormed off after misunderstanding him.
• Cedric invited William to bathe with him, and William revealed that the Golden Egg’s clue meant Cedric should find the Merpeople at the Black Lake.

Cedric worried that the second Triwizard task would force him into the Black Lake, while his friends joked about his mermaid princess and suggested ways to hide his identity underwater. Harry persuaded Ron to visit the Prefects' Bathroom so he could keep an eye on Cedric and Cho, and Ron revealed that Ludo Bagman was secretly helping him prepare for the tournament.

• Cedric panicked over having to enter the Black Lake and asked William to take his place with Polyjuice Potion.
• William suggested Cedric use Human Transfiguration to disguise part of his body for the underwater task.
• Cedric asked the others to accompany him to the Prefects' Bathroom for training, but they refused.
• Harry told Ron they should visit the Prefects' Bathroom and gave him the location and password.
• Ron told Harry that Bagman was secretly helping him and claimed William was helping Hermione win the tournament.
• Harry privately hoped he could stop Cedric and impress Cho by rescuing her.

William took Hermione and Anne out to the Black Lake, where they met Trene and asked her to map the lakebed for the Second Task. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron tried to enter the Prefects' Bathroom, but Myrtle's interruption left them outside and drew attention with her loud crying.

• William, Hermione, and Anne passed Hagrid's Hut and saw Madame Maxime knocking, then spotted Snape and Karkaroff discussing their darkening Dark Marks by the lake.
• Snape told Karkaroff that the secret of the Golden Egg was at his feet, and Karkaroff mistakenly concluded that he had to smash it with a stone.
• William and Hermione asked Trene to survey the Black Lake and draw a detailed map for the Second Task, while Anne ate grilled fish.
• Harry and Ron tried several passwords at the Prefects' Bathroom door, but it stayed shut.
• Myrtle appeared and revealed she had not seen Cedric in the bathroom for ages, then insulted Ron and began crying loudly after he called her dead.

Harry and Ron were caught wandering the castle at night after falling down a staircase, and Snape took five hundred points from Gryffindor. William, Hermione, and Anne returned to the common room unseen while Moody searched the castle and caught more students.

• Harry and Ron fled Moaning Myrtle, fell down a staircase, and hid beneath Harry’s Invisibility Cloak as Filch and Snape arrived.
• Moody spotted Harry and Ron, removed the cloak, and overruled Snape by sending the injured boys to the Hospital Wing.
• Snape deducted 250 points each from Harry and Ron for wandering at night, while Moody took them away.
• William revealed that Moody had not exposed him because Dumbledore had authorized his nighttime visits to the headmaster’s office, then escorted Hermione and Anne to the common room.
• Moody searched the castle again and caught other students meeting secretly, while Gryffindor lost the most points.
• McGonagall questioned Snape’s deduction, and Snape defended it by invoking Heinrich’s Law of nighttime wandering.

As the Second Task approached, the Champions learned they would have to spend an hour in the Black Lake, while Hagrid returned to Hogwarts and resumed teaching about Unicorns. William and Harry went to Dumbledore’s office, where they learned that students would be used to help the Champions recover the people represented by their Golden Eggs.

• Ron worried that Ludo had not returned and refused to buy the twins’ information about the Golden Egg.
• Karkaroff regretted ordering the Durmstrang Champions to smash their eggs, then bought information from Akali’s Mysterious Intelligence Shop and split the cost with his students.
• Hagrid returned from his wilderness trip, left the Blast-Ended Skrewts behind, and took his class to see Unicorns and their foals.
• Harry awkwardly greeted Cho while walking with William, then told William that Dumbledore wanted to see them.
• William told Harry that Cedric had not taken Cho to the Prefects’ Bathroom, but teased him by saying they had gone to Home Inn.
• At Dumbledore’s office, William told Gabrielle that students would steal the Champions’ Golden Eggs for the Second Task, and Gabrielle objected to taking her sister’s egg.

Ron searched the library all night for the secret of the Golden Egg but overslept and missed the Second Task, while the other Champions entered the Black Lake. The spectators were left watching a still lake in the cold, unable to see the competition.

• Ron searched books about dragon eggs in the library, fell asleep, and woke too late to reach the Second Task.
• At the Black Lake, Karkaroff and Crouch insisted the competition begin on time, and Lee announced that Ron had been disqualified.
• Cho, Cedric, Krum, George, and Malfoy used different methods to enter the lake.
• Hermione flew over the water in her cloak, drank Gillywater Potion, and dove into the lake.
• Ginny asked Anne what the spectators would do, and Anne prepared to read Hermione's notes as the crowd realized they could not see the Champions.

Hermione used Gillywater Potion and a concealed boat to race toward the Merpeople village, while the other Champions struggled to find their way. At the village, the mermaid princess ordered her people to capture Cedric so she could make him her husband.

• Hermione dove into the lake with a waterproof map and drove a concealed boat at high speed toward the Merpeople village, striking Krum along the way.
• Malfoy scratched his tentacles and debated whether he would rather rescue Pansy or Harry, then swam northwest.
• Krum searched underwater for the Merpeople village and Hermione before Hermione's boat hit him and sped away.
• William woke in the Merpeople village and met the mermaid princess, who asked where Cedric was.
• The mermaid princess ordered Anima and the Grindylows to block the waterways and seize Cedric when they found him.
• The mermaid princess said she planned to have children with Cedric and then marry him, and William hoped something would happen to Cedric.

William freed himself and befriended the Merpeople while waiting for Hermione to rescue him from the Black Lake. After Hermione brought him back to the surface ahead of the other Champions, they slipped away to return to the lake and help Cedric.

• William used Wandless Magic to free himself, then spoke with the Merpeople in Mermish and won them over with rum and algae.
• William persuaded Shaxing to release Gabrielle, revived her, and learned that the Merpeople held their ritual when the starlight was brightest.
• Hermione arrived by gondola, rescued William, and left Gabrielle behind to await her sister.
• Hermione carried William out of the lake after only twenty-five minutes, and the crowd cheered her quick completion of the task.
• William and Hermione left the tents under a Disillusionment Charm and headed back toward the lake to help Cedric.

Malfoy descended into the Black Lake and was captured by an amorous octopus after being overwhelmed by its ink. Krum killed Grindylows and was seized by the Merpeople, but Cedric convinced him that the mermaid princess wanted to meet him, leaving Krum hopeful that she would lead him to the hostage.

• Malfoy swam into ink-black water, vomited, and tried to surface before an octopus grabbed his ankle.
• The octopus blasted Malfoy with ink, knocked him unconscious, and wrapped him up.
• Krum lost the Merpeople's trail and killed two Grindylows with Dark Magic, then tried to capture another to find the village.
• Anima ordered the Merpeople and Grindylows to seize Krum, while Cedric identified him as the Seeker the princess wanted to meet.
• Cedric persuaded Krum that the princess was his admirer and would send him to the hostage, so Krum went willingly with the Merpeople.

Phoebe found Gabrielle at the Merpeople village, while Cedric and Cho tried to escape with their hostages after Krum was mistaken for Cedric and taken to the mermaid princess. William and Hermione arrived to hold off the pursuing Merpeople as the princess approached with a trident.

• Phoebe found Gabrielle gathering shells and learned that Hermione had already taken William away.
• The mermaid princess mistook Krum for Cedric, and Anima had him taken to her room; George confirmed Krum was Cedric.
• Cedric met Cho near the statue, and they hurried to rescue their hostages as the mermaid princess announced her coming marriage to Cedric.
• The mermaid princess discovered that Krum was not Cedric and ordered the Merpeople to pursue Cedric and Cho while she fetched a trident.
• William and Hermione arrived by gondola and offered to hold off the Merpeople as Cedric and Cho fled.

William fought and defeated the mermaid princess, then took the trident despite her warning that it was bound to the Merpeople. The trident awakened the six Goblin Gems, and a mysterious woman emerged from a vortex, looking at William, the gems, and the weapon.

• William warned the mermaid princess to stop interfering with the Triwizard Tournament, while Cedric admitted he liked boys and Cho Chang stared in shock.
• The mermaid princess attacked William with the trident and lake water, but he countered with a powerful Water Tornado.
• William Apparated beside the mermaid princess and struck at her, but the trident sent him flying; Hermione rammed the Hippocampus’s tail with the gondola to protect him.
• William stunned the mermaid princess and knocked her back, then picked up the trident despite her claim that he could neither remove nor use it.
• The trident blazed with light, and the six Goblin Gems flew from Hermione’s trunk to William as a huge vortex opened overhead.
• A woman emerged from the vortex and looked at the trident, the gems, and William.

At the Black Lake, Phoebe surfaced with Gabrielle while Krum remained missing, and a storm gathered as the Lady of the Lake appeared to William beneath the water. She demanded the Goblin Gems, but William refused, and she attacked him with his trident.

• Phoebe completed the task and brought Gabrielle ashore, while Karkaroff worried that Krum had not returned.
• Dumbledore sensed something and looked up as purple lightning struck the lake and clouds formed a vortex.
• In Miami, Nicolas saw a witch in his Prophecy Orb, which exploded after she pointed at him, and he identified her as the Lady of the Lake.
• The Lady of the Lake emerged before William as the Merpeople knelt, then demanded the Goblin Gems.
• William refused and said he had already given the gems to Hermione; the Lady of the Lake seized his trident and attacked him.

William fought a powerful witch beneath the Black Lake, where she demanded the Goblin Gems and offered to teach him how to break Ravenclaw’s magic. He used the goblet’s blue-white flames and Accio Stonehenge to trap her in a cage of lake water.

• The witch attacked William with water halberds, and he unleashed a Fiendfyre dragon that burst out of the lake before Dumbledore stopped it.
• The witch demanded the Goblin Gems and offered to teach William how to break Ravenclaw’s magic so he could start a time loop outside Hogwarts.
• The witch charged William with her trident, but it stopped just short of his chest when he raised a goblet surrounded by blue-white flames.
• William cast Accio Stonehenge, causing the lake water to pour toward the witch and form a cage around her.

William used Merlin’s magic to restrain Vivian, who revealed that she was trapped by Stonehenge and offered information about the Deathly Hallows and Death in exchange for the Goblin Gems. After Vivian vanished, the Black Lake returned to its bed, and William left with Hermione troubled by her warning.

• William used the Holy Grail and Merlin’s incantation to restrain Vivian, who had projected herself into the Black Lake.
• Vivian identified herself as Vivian and offered William the trident, a way to bypass Ravenclaw’s magic, or clues about Ravenclaw and the other founders in exchange for the gems.
• Vivian claimed the holders of the Deathly Hallows were marked by Death and said Ravenclaw and the other founders were trapped too.
• Vivian vanished into the whirlpool, while Malfoy and the other captured Champions found themselves on the lakebed beneath the Black Lake suspended overhead.
• The Black Lake crashed back into its bed, and William returned to shore with Hermione as the trident dissolved into light.
• William worried over Vivian’s warning about Death and left with Hermione along the reed beds.

After the Black Lake upheaval, the Champions returned to shore and the judges awarded scores amid arguments over the competition. Malfoy was penalized for dropping Harry, and the announcement of the third task was followed by a brawl among the students.

• George reached shore with Fred, while Krum arrived later in a grass skirt after escaping his broken cage.
• Malfoy took both Pansy and Harry from the merpeople village but dropped Harry halfway back and brought only Pansy ashore.
• Dumbledore told the judges that a volcano had erupted beneath the lake, and Karkaroff demanded that the round be scrapped and accused Cedric of cheating.
• Lee announced the scores, revealing that Karkaroff had given Hermione only the base score and that Malfoy received fifty points after a twenty-five-point penalty.
• Krum charged at Cedric and Harry went after Malfoy after learning he had dropped him, while Lee announced the third task would take place on June 24.
• Lee joined the students as they broke into an all-out brawl.

A school brawl erupted after rumors and suspicions sparked fights between Harry, Malfoy, Krum, and Cedric, leaving several students injured and the houses heavily penalized. Ron briefly turned his missed task into a heroic story before Rita exposed him, while Hermione and William disappeared from view again.

• Krum and Harry attacked Cedric and Malfoy, setting off a four-way brawl between Durmstrang and Slytherin against Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
• Dumbledore ended the fight, punished the houses by taking points, and sent more than a dozen injured students to the Hospital Wing; Krum was taken to St. Mungo's.
• Students traded conflicting stories about the Second Task, while Ron returned late and claimed the Merpeople had kidnapped him.
• Ron embellished his account into a tale of defeating Merpeople and stopping a volcano, winning Lavender's admiration.
• Rita published an account revealing that Ron had overslept and watched the task from the reeds, so Lavender stopped speaking to him.
• Hermione's popularity grew after she placed first in two tasks, but she and William disappeared except for her attendance at classes.