Recaps

After someone broke into Snape's storeroom, William and his friends escaped the professors by using secret passages made by the Room of Requirement. The theft was blamed on George and Fred, while Dumbledore suspected an intruder had breached Hogwarts.

• Dumbledore inspected the damaged storeroom and ordered the professors to seal off the common rooms and search for students out of bed.
• William asked the Room of Requirement for passages to the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor common rooms, allowing the four friends to get back safely.
• The professors rounded up students caught out after curfew and punished them with lost points and detention with Filch.
• Students blamed George and Fred for the break-in, though the brothers had not raided Snape's storeroom.
• George complained about Filch too loudly in the library, and Madam Pince dragged him out by the ear.

William, Cedric, Fred, and George visited the Room of Requirement to check on Fluffy and discuss the attack on Snape’s potion storeroom. William tried a spell to reveal the Marauder’s Map’s password, but the map mocked him and cut five minutes from its usage time.

• George guessed that Madam Pince was angry because he had insulted Filch, and Fred suggested they study the Marauder’s Map in the Gryffindor common room.
• William showed Fred and George the Room of Requirement, where they found Fluffy had wrecked the room and discussed who might have attacked Snape’s potion storeroom.
• Fluffy bit Fred when he teased it with dried fish, then licked him after his whistling failed to make it fall asleep.
• William tapped the Marauder’s Map with his wand and cast “Reveal Password,” but the map said its makers had anticipated his spells and reduced its next usage period by five minutes.
• The map returned the five minutes after teasing George about his lack of pranks and warning Cedric to stay away from the others.

William realized the Marauder’s Map might reveal its password if they found a secret its makers had missed. He concluded that the Marauders had never discovered the Room of Requirement, and the group was left with that explanation for why their names did not appear on the map.

• George revealed the map, and Fred tried flattering Prongs to get the password.
• The map rejected Fred’s attempt but granted the group fifty-five minutes of use.
• William noticed that his and his companions’ names were missing from the map.
• Cedric suggested that the Room of Requirement might be unplottable.
• William argued that the Marauders had never found the Room of Requirement because searching for an undiscovered room would make the room’s response logically impossible.

As Christmas approached, William and the others prepared to leave Hogwarts for the holidays, while Fred and George continued exploring the castle. William returned home and shared stories about school with his family.

• Fred asked the Marauder's Map whether the group had disappeared from it, and the map revealed its opening and closing passwords.
• Professor McGonagall caught Fred and George trying to break into Snape's supply closet and punished them by making them clear snow, where they built a Troll snowman.
• Hagrid brought the last Christmas tree into the Great Hall, and William admired the decorations with Cho.
• After term ended, William, Cho, and Cedric met their families at Platform 9¾, where Cho's father and Cedric's father chatted with them.
• William went home with his family, and Bobocha settled in Anne's arms as William told everyone about Hogwarts.

William and his family exchanged Christmas gifts, while a Daily Prophet article reported that Professor Snape would stand trial over Robert’s illegal dealings. The article also said Snape had not been involved in the Ministry attack, leaving the identity of the disguised wizard unresolved.

• Anne woke William and told Roy and Lyanna that he had received chocolates and love letters from girls.
• William opened gifts from Hagrid, Cedric, Cho, the Weasley twins, and Dumbledore, and he gave gifts to them in return.
• William tried to trade his chocolates for Anne’s Two-Way Mirrors, but she refused and sent one mirror to Dumbledore.
• William gave presents to Bobocha, Mrs. Norris, Filch, and Snape, then joined Roy, who showed him a Daily Prophet article about Robert’s crimes.
• The Daily Prophet reported that Snape would stand trial and had not participated in the Ministry attack, suggesting that another wizard had impersonated him.

William and his friends learned that the Ministry had concealed an attack on the Department of Mysteries, while Professor Snape was acquitted and returned to Hogwarts. At the feast, Dumbledore gave Snape a hair-care gift from William, and Snape stared at William as if he blamed him for it.

• The Daily Prophet rallied public support for Professor Snape, and Dumbledore presented evidence that Snape had spent the summer with Newt Scamander, leading to Snape's acquittal and release.
• On the Hogwarts Express, Cedric told William and Cho that the Ministry had been attacked at the Department of Mysteries, not the Department for the Regulation of Fantastic Beasts, and that Minister Fudge had covered it up.
• Cedric said the Department of Mysteries was staffed by Unspeakables and shared rumors that something important or dangerous might have gone missing there.
• William, Cho, and Cedric failed to work out what had been taken and passed the journey playing Fight the Landlord, which William won.
• At the first-night feast, Professor Snape returned to Hogwarts looking thin and weak, and Dumbledore gave him a box of shampoo and conditioner that William had provided.
• Dumbledore pointed out William, and Snape turned to stare at him after receiving the gift.

After the feast, Ravenclaw students discovered that the bronze knocker had been stolen and a message claimed the thief would use Ravenclaw’s Ring to revive the Dark Lord. Dumbledore gathered the students in the Great Hall for the night while the staff searched the castle.

• Fred and George admitted they had spent Christmas playing Super Mario instead of watching Snape’s storeroom, and William let the matter go.
• William and Cho reached Ravenclaw Tower with the other students and found Prefect Robert beside a hole where the bronze knocker had been removed.
• Dumbledore used his wand to reveal a message saying that Ravenclaw’s Ring had been taken.
• Peeves said he had seen a figure who looked exactly like Professor Snape and claimed to be a Death Eater planning to use the Ring to bring back the Dark Lord.
• Dumbledore ordered the students to sleep in the Great Hall while the staff searched the castle, and he conjured purple sleeping bags for them.

Students spent the night in the Great Hall after the Ravenclaw knocker was stolen, while Dumbledore and Snape searched Hogwarts for the intruder. The chapter ended with Snape revealing his fear that someone was framing him, as Dumbledore promised to keep him out of Azkaban.

• Cho, Cedric, William, Fred, and George discussed whether the Death Eater was still in Hogwarts and whether someone had impersonated Snape.
• Dumbledore told Robert that the original knocker would return when needed and that students could go back to their dormitories the next day.
• Snape reported that the castle's passages and other locations had been searched, but the intruder had not been found.
• Dumbledore told Snape that the Ministry claimed the Department of Mysteries' Planetarium had been attacked, and Snape called it another lie.
• Snape said someone was deliberately framing him, and Dumbledore promised he would not let Snape return to Azkaban.
• William saw Snape stare out the window with trembling hands and tears streaming down his face.

After a Death Eater stole Ravenclaw’s Bronze Ring, William and his friends tried to learn its history from Professor Binns. Binns began praising Ravenclaw as a goddess of wisdom, but the chapter ended before he explained the ring.

• The replacement knocker in the Ravenclaw Common Room spoke in a cold mechanical voice, while Robert searched for the Death Eater who had stolen the original.
• William, George, Fred, Cedric, and Cho discussed their homework-answer trade and the missing copies of Hogwarts, A History.
• Cho suggested asking Professor Binns about Ravenclaw’s Ring, and she raised the subject during History of Magic.
• Professor Binns dismissed the ring’s story as a fairy tale, then agreed to tell the class about it.
• Professor Binns praised Ravenclaw for ten minutes as the cleverest Founder, and William suspected he regarded the other Founders as useless.

Professor Binns told the class legends about Ravenclaw’s Diadem and a time-manipulating bronze ring supposedly reserved for her heir, then dismissed the stories as nonsense. After class, William and Cho discussed whether the missing Ravenclaw door knocker could help a Death Eater resurrect Voldemort, and William reasoned that history showed it had not.

• Professor Binns described legends that Ravenclaw’s Diadem increased wisdom and her bronze ring could travel through time.
• Professor Binns said Ravenclaw supposedly hid the ring for her true heir, but dismissed the tale and insisted no special ring had been found.
• Arthur, Marietta, and Hans Bibo questioned Professor Binns about the missing door knocker and whether a Death Eater could use it to bring Voldemort back.
• Professor Binns ended the discussion and returned to the textbook, leaving the class drowsy again.
• Cho asked William whether the door knocker could take someone to the past, and William said Voldemort’s death would have been prevented if the Death Eater had succeeded.

After Ravenclaw’s stolen door knocker turned up, the students focused on studying for the House Cup while the school prepared for the Quidditch Cup final. William took Cedric and the twins through a secret passage toward Hogsmeade and described the other hidden routes.

• Robert found the missing Ravenclaw door knocker in the rubbish, and Bobocha and Mrs. Norris caught him trying to take it away quietly.
• Ravenclaw students began revising hard to protect their lead in the house points standings and win the House Cup.
• Easter arrived, and William and his friends worked in the library on homework they planned to sell.
• With the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Quidditch Cup final approaching, William took Cedric, Fred, and George through a fifth-floor mirror into a secret passage.
• Fred and George told William and Cedric that seven secret passages led to Hogsmeade, including one at the Whomping Willow that Cedric wanted to explore.

William, Cedric, Fred, and George explored a vast underground palace beneath Hogwarts while following the Marauder's Map toward Hogsmeade. Near the passage's exit, William heard someone moving in the depths and stopped to listen.

• William recognized the underground palace from a book and followed the route on the Marauder's Map with Cedric, Fred, and George.
• The four explored a temple resembling the Parthenon and saw a golden model of Hogwarts.
• They found a pyramid on an island, with four colored coffins on its summit, but an invisible magical barrier blocked their way.
• William tried to open numbered doors with Alohomora and a knife, but the doors stayed shut and the blade melted.
• After walking toward Hogsmeade for about forty minutes, William heard someone moving and stopped the others.

William, Cedric, Fred, and George discovered an enormous python’s shed skin in a secret passage and fled, leaving the passage unexplored. The next morning, William found Robert exhausted from guarding the Ravenclaw door knocker and gave him a potion to test.

• William, Cedric, Fred, and George found scattered animal bones and a giant python’s shed skin in the passage, then ran back to Hogwarts.
• Cedric suspected Slytherin had left the python to guard the pyramid, and the four agreed to avoid the passage for now.
• William dreamed about the python and the coffins, then woke and noticed Bobocha was missing from the dormitory.
• William found Robert standing guard at the common room entrance after staying up since four in the morning.
• William gave Robert a bottle of Draught of Living Death to test, and Robert accepted it before William headed to the Great Hall.

The Quidditch final between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor began amid fierce house rivalry, while William noticed that Dumbledore, Snape, and Professor Tywin were missing. The match was still underway when the chapter ended, with Angelina Johnson shooting for Gryffindor.

• Students from Hogwarts gathered at the Quidditch Pitch to support Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, and William brought badges for both houses to avoid offending anyone.
• Lee Jordan introduced the teams and provoked the crowd with his commentary about Gryffindor and Hufflepuff players.
• Charlie and Truman shook hands before the match, while William noticed that Dumbledore, Snape, and Professor Tywin were absent.
• William watched the match from the Ravenclaw stands with Hagrid and Cho, and Hagrid shared roasted walnuts with him.
• Gryffindor and Hufflepuff traded possession of the Quaffle before Angelina Johnson led a fast break and shot at the Hufflepuff goal.

A Quidditch final was abruptly suspended after Dumbledore’s Patronus ordered students back to their common rooms. Professor Flitwick told William that Prefect Robert Hilliard had been murdered, and Filch then reported that Professor Tywin was dead as well.

• Angelina scored during a close Gryffindor–Hufflepuff match before Dumbledore’s silver phoenix Patronus halted the final and ordered students to return to their common rooms.
• Professor McGonagall organized the students’ departure, and Professor Flitwick took William to the Hospital Wing.
• Professor Flitwick revealed that Robert Hilliard had been killed with Dark Magic during the match and that he had been found holding a bottle of Draught of Living Death.
• William told Professor Flitwick about his conversation with Robert that morning, but could offer no other clues.
• Dumbledore arrived as Filch rushed in and announced that Professor Tywin was dead.

After Professor Tywin was found dead in his office, William suspected Fluffy had killed him and investigated the Room of Requirement. There he discovered a clue suggesting Tywin had entered to hide something: an ancient bronze ring that fell from Fluffy’s mouth.

• Dumbledore and the professors found Professor Tywin dead in his office bathroom, his body marked by severe wounds and bite marks.
• Professor Flitwick told William that Robert had also died and that the Ministry might send the killer to Azkaban or close the school.
• William entered the Room of Requirement and found Fluffy wounded beside a trail of congealed blood.
• William realized Tywin could only have entered the room if he had wanted to hide something.
• A bronze eagle-shaped ring fell from Fluffy’s mouth, and William found the inscription, “Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.”

William found Professor Tywin’s wand and the Ravenclaw-like ring in Fluffy’s mouth, leading him to suspect Tywin had stolen the ring and posed as a Death Eater. Unable to find Dumbledore, William told Professor McGonagall what he had discovered, and she brought him to her office to consider his account.

• William found Professor Tywin’s ebony wand and a bronze ring in Fluffy’s mouth, then discovered the ring would not come off his finger.
• William went looking for Dumbledore and found Professor McGonagall grieving in the entrance hall; she told him Dumbledore had gone to the Ministry with the arrested Professor Snape.
• William showed McGonagall Tywin’s wand and accused Tywin of being the culprit behind Professor Tywin’s death.
• William took McGonagall to the Room of Requirement to show her Fluffy, then she brought him to her office and considered his story.

Professor McGonagall told William that Snape had been taken away because Dark Magic on Tywin’s wound matched Snape’s wand, while William kept the day’s discoveries secret and waited for Dumbledore. The next morning, William found that the date had apparently reset to April 20 and that Robert, Tywin, Dumbledore, and Snape had reappeared on the Marauder’s Map.

• Professor McGonagall wrote to Dumbledore, warned William to keep quiet to protect Snape, Hagrid, and Robert, and explained that Snape’s wand had produced the Dark Magic found on Tywin.
• William returned to Ravenclaw Tower, where students remained unaware of the previous day’s events and were confined to their common rooms.
• That night, William’s ring glowed blue as a golden compass deep beneath Hogwarts turned once, then both fell quiet.
• William woke the next morning and found Ravenclaw students preparing for the Quidditch final, which Cho and Marietta said was scheduled for April 20.
• William checked the Marauder’s Map and saw Robert, Professor Tywin, Dumbledore, and Snape on it, leaving him bewildered.

After waking up a day earlier with Robert alive, William suspected the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring had sent him back so he could prevent the deaths he had foreseen. He sought Dumbledore’s help against Professor Tywin, but Tywin intercepted them and claimed to know secrets about James’s death and the Dark Lord.

• William found Robert alive and considered whether the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring had returned him to the previous day.
• William decided Professor Tywin was the key to preventing the deaths and hurried to find Dumbledore.
• William left Robert at the Ravenclaw Common Room entrance and encountered Dumbledore outside his office.
• William told Dumbledore that Tywin was a Death Eater, but admitted he had no proof.
• Dumbledore took William toward the Ravenclaw Common Room, where they encountered Tywin waiting in a corridor.
• Tywin interrupted Dumbledore and said he had urgent information about James’s death and a secret about the Dark Lord.

William’s prediction came true despite Professor Tywin being with Dumbledore: Robert Hilliard was murdered, and Tywin was found dying in his office. Dumbledore halted the Quidditch final and took William to his office to discuss why William had been summoned.

• Dumbledore took Professor Tywin to his office while William waited outside and watched the Quidditch match.
• Professor Snape reported that Ravenclaw Prefect Robert Hilliard had been killed, and William rushed to the Ravenclaw Common Room.
• William found Robert dead with his left eye missing, the door knocker gone, and an Eye of Horus mark that Dumbledore said symbolized resurrection.
• Dumbledore told William that Professor Tywin might be in danger, then found him gravely wounded in the Defence Against Dark Magic office bathroom.
• Dumbledore declared the Quidditch final suspended and summoned everyone to their common rooms before taking William to his office.

Dumbledore brought William Stark to his office and left to verify some matters, while William explored the room and spoke with the Sorting Hat. As he waited, William discovered Dumbledore’s extensive academic work and resolved to become a wizard like him.

• Dumbledore took William up to the Headmaster's Office, sent a message through the fireplace, and told him to wait while he checked something.
• William examined the Sorting Hat, which told him its tiny Acromantula was a mutant shunned by its kind.
• William saw Cho, Cedric, and the twin brothers searching for him from the office window, then returned to the room after they left.
• William explored Dumbledore's study and found books, journals, and thousands of articles written or coauthored by Dumbledore.
• William admired Dumbledore's contributions to the Wizarding World and decided that he wanted to become a wizard like him.

William discovered a Pensieve in Dumbledore’s office and fell into a memory of young wizards aboard the Hogwarts Express. The memory revealed the first meeting of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Tywin, while William watched from within it.

• William found a silver-lit basin in a cabinet and recognized it as a Pensieve.
• William touched the basin’s surface and was pulled into a memory aboard the Hogwarts Express.
• Young Snape sat with Lily, who cried over her sister Petunia and argued with Snape about Slytherin House.
• James Potter and Sirius Black mocked Snape and Lily, and Lily left the compartment with Snape.
• James introduced himself and Sirius to Remus Lupin, then introduced Tywin as his friend.

William saw memories revealing Tywin’s childhood attachment to James Potter and wondered whether Tywin had stolen the Ravenclaw Ring to resurrect him. Back in Dumbledore’s office, he learned more about the Pensieve and watched memories concerning Snape, Fudge, and Tywin’s jealousy over James and Lily.

• William watched a memory of James, Sirius, Lupin, and Tywin on the Hogwarts Express, where James mocked Tywin and Tywin grew embarrassed.
• At the Sorting, James was placed in Gryffindor while Tywin went to Ravenclaw, and Tywin watched James turn his attention to Sirius.
• William suspected Tywin had stolen the Ravenclaw Ring to resurrect James Potter, whom Voldemort had killed.
• Dumbledore brought William back to his office, explained how the Pensieve stored and examined memories, and showed him Snape’s account of finding Robert dead and Fudge demanding Snape’s arrest.
• Dumbledore showed William a memory of Tywin admitting he had been angry after seeing James and Lily kiss, and William asked whether Tywin had always liked James.

Dumbledore confirmed that William was trapped in a time loop and explained that the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring was tied to the Prehistoric Mysteries, an ancient power Hogwarts was founded to study and protect. He revealed that this power had defeated the Dark Lord and was still protecting someone, leaving William with more questions about the ring and the loop.

• Dumbledore told William that Professor Tywin had special feelings for James and had likely used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Professor Snape.
• Dumbledore asked William how many loops he had experienced, leading William to guess that he was trapped in a time loop.
• Dumbledore confirmed that William's time had stopped on the current day and said the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring did not work as legends claimed.
• Dumbledore explained that Hogwarts's Founders had established the school to study, protect, and pass down the Prehistoric Mysteries.
• Dumbledore said he had seen the Prehistoric Mysteries used to defeat the Dark Lord and that their power still protected someone.

William learned that his ring was an artifact tied to Prehistoric Mysteries and that it let him relive a day for study. Dumbledore explained the ring’s history and suggested William would leave the time loop once he could save Hagrid and Robert, capture Professor Tywin, and understand the whole affair.

• William asked Dumbledore whether he meant Harry Potter, and Dumbledore said Harry’s mother Lily had used the magic that let Harry survive Voldemort’s attack.
• Dumbledore told William that Lily and Snape had known each other as children and made him promise to keep it secret from everyone.
• Dumbledore explained that the ring was a tool for studying Prehistoric Mysteries, allowing its user to relive a day repeatedly.
• Dumbledore recounted how the Four Founders studied at the Egypt Mystery School, and how Ravenclaw broke the contract to keep the ring when she left.
• Dumbledore explained that William was only a user of the ring, not its owner, and could not choose when the loop ended.
• Dumbledore suggested the loop would end when William could save Hagrid and Robert, capture Professor Tywin, and understand the entire affair.