Chapter Summaries

Harry and Ron were missing from the Hogwarts Express, so William used magic and Fred’s Niffler to search for traces. The search showed that neither boy had boarded the train, and William spotted a flying car outside the window.

• Luna read a Quibbler article claiming that Rita Skeeter was secretly Gilderoy Lockhart, while Cedric and Cho argued and the others shared snacks.
• Ginny, Fred, and George joined the compartment and said Harry was missing; Ginny then realized Ron was missing too.
• William led the group to the train entrance, cast Appare Vestigium, and used Fred’s Niffler to search for the boys.
• The Niffler found no traces of Harry or Ron, and William saw a car flying through the clouds outside the train.

Harry and Ron flew the enchanted Ford through the sky and showed it to students aboard the Hogwarts Express, alarming their friends and Dumbledore. As night fell, William, Cedric, Fred, and George Apparated away from the train to meet Hagrid, leaving the girls behind.

• Harry and Ron flew the Ford above the clouds, found the Hogwarts Express, and made the car visible as they waved to the students.
• William's group discussed the danger of Harry and Ron being expelled and of Mr. Weasley losing his job, then alerted Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley.
• Snape mocked Harry and Ron's stunt in Dumbledore's office while the train continued toward Hogwarts.
• Malfoy visited William's compartment to ask about Harry, then fled when Pansy called for him.
• William, Cedric, Fred, and George Apparated away from the train to meet Hagrid, surprising Cho, Anne, and Hermione.

William, Cedric, Fred, and George reached the Whomping Willow to obtain a branch for wand-making, using the Niffler to freeze the tree. William spotted the Bowtruckles living in it and tried to lure them away with a potion made from fairy eggs.

• William, Cedric, Fred, and George Apparated into the Forbidden Forest and avoided Hagrid as they headed toward the Whomping Willow.
• Cedric explained that pressing a knot on the Whomping Willow's trunk would stop it moving, though he did not know whether it would stay still after they removed a branch.
• The Niffler refused to help until William paid him a Galleon, then dodged the branches and pressed the knot to freeze the tree.
• George showed the others the tunnel beneath the tree, whose exit in Hogsmeade remained unknown.
• William noticed Bowtruckles living in the Whomping Willow and opened a potion brewed from fairy eggs to lure them away.

William and Cedric discovered a Bowtruckle colony beneath the Whomping Willow, while Mr. Weasley's runaway car crashed through the Black Lake and raced toward the tree. William transformed into a Steller's sea eagle and rescued Harry and Ron after they jumped from the car.

• William pretended to be harmless and won the trust of three Bowtruckles, which climbed into his pocket as more than a hundred Bowtruckles surrounded him and Cedric.
• Mr. Weasley's out-of-control Ford flew into the Black Lake and threatened the first-years' boats, but Hagrid redirected it and Anne levitated him to safety.
• The car struck the windmill on Hagrid's Hut and then headed toward the Whomping Willow as Cedric led William, Fred, and George out of the passage.
• William used Sonorus to warn Ron and Harry to brake, but Ron accelerated by mistake, so Harry released Hedwig and jumped from the car with Ron.
• William transformed into a Steller's sea eagle, caught Harry and Ron in midair, and carried them safely to the ground.

Harry and Ron’s stolen car crashed into the Whomping Willow, leaving the tree badly damaged before it fled into the Forbidden Forest. Snape sent the boys to his office, while McGonagall gave William his crowded timetable and discussed a Time-Turner, which he declined.

• The Whomping Willow rampaged after the car struck it, but the damaged car escaped into the Forbidden Forest and threw Harry and Ron’s luggage onto the ground.
• Cedric collected broken willow branches, and William flew Harry, Ron, and the others back to the castle.
• Hermione and Cho learned about the crash, and Snape ordered Harry and Ron to wait in his office after hearing the car had hit the Whomping Willow.
• McGonagall sent Harry and Ron toward Snape’s office and asked William to discuss his timetable with her.
• McGonagall offered to help William apply for a Time-Turner, but William declined because he already had enough time from the Ravenclaw Ring.

William chose his electives after Professor McGonagall warned him against Divination, then attended the Sorting Ceremony and discovered that Luna Lovegood was a natural Legilimens. The chapter left William surprised by Luna’s rare ability as she joined Ravenclaw.

• Professor McGonagall told William that Sybill Trelawney had left Hogwarts after her first year and revealed that Trelawney had once predicted McGonagall would die in her seventh year.
• William agreed to switch from Divination to Professor Septima Vector’s Arithmancy class and went to the Great Hall.
• Luna Lovegood handled the Sorting Hat with a needle before Professor Flitwick sorted her into Ravenclaw.
• Luna told William that Cedric had needed a Whomping Willow branch for a wand, prompting William to realize she had read his mind.
• Luna explained that she had been born with the ability she called mind-reading, and William recognized her as a natural Legilimens.

William discussed Luna’s unusual ability to read thoughts as the Hogwarts Sorting continued. Anne Stark’s Sorting dragged on as she spoke with the Sorting Hat, leaving Dumbledore wondering why it had not placed her in Gryffindor.

• Luna told William that she could hear other students’ thoughts, and William warned her not to pry before explaining Occlumency.
• Ginny Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor, where her brothers and Oliver Wood caused a commotion.
• Anne Stark confidently put on the Sorting Hat and told it that Luna had offered to mend it.
• Anne refused to reveal who had told her how Sorting worked, and the Sorting Hat continued speaking with her for five minutes.
• Dumbledore wondered why the Sorting Hat had not yet announced Anne’s house and suspected it might change sides.

Anne persuaded the Sorting Hat to leave Hogwarts with her for a Paris holiday next summer, then joined Gryffindor to keep Hermione company. After the feast began, Lockhart introduced himself as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and announced gifts for the professors.

• Anne learned that the Sorting Hat could use Legilimency and had discovered Luna’s secret by looking into her father’s mind.
• Anne persuaded the Sorting Hat to come with her to Paris next summer, and it agreed despite its worries about leaving Dumbledore.
• Anne chose Gryffindor so she could keep Hermione company, and she gave the Sorting Hat the nickname Mr. Macchiato.
• Anne joined Hermione at the Gryffindor table, and Dumbledore began the feast before leaving to deal with Harry and Ron.
• Dumbledore returned with Snape and McGonagall, and Lockhart introduced himself as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and offered gifts to the professors.

At the Hogwarts feast, Lockhart handed out bizarre gifts that offended the other professors, and Dumbledore welcomed him as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. As the school song ended, William and Cho discussed the Grey Lady and the search for Ravenclaw’s Diadem, leaving William considering whether the Bloody Baron could help.

• Lockhart gave Dumbledore whitening toothpaste, Sprout a magazine featuring himself, McGonagall a Quidditch trophy, Flitwick height-boosting shoes, and Snape his own shampoo.
• William realized Lockhart’s Occamy Egg shampoo might provide an inexpensive source of an ingredient he needed.
• Dumbledore warned students to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and away from the damaged Whomping Willow, then introduced Lockhart as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Dumbledore led the annual school song as students from all four houses sang and the Grey Lady danced with the seventh-year witches.
• Cho told William that the Grey Lady claimed Ravenclaw composed the school song, but she had not mentioned the Diadem.
• William considered approaching the Bloody Baron, who had watched the Grey Lady throughout the performance, for help finding Ravenclaw’s Diadem.

William and Hermione discussed the consequences Harry and Ron would face for taking the flying car, while William introduced Hermione to a Bowtruckle and arranged for it to live in an expanded ring. Cedric planned to help Professor Sprout treat the Whomping Willow, and the chapter ended with Ron receiving a Howler from Mrs. Weasley in the Great Hall.

• Hermione told William that Gryffindor students were celebrating Harry and Ron’s return, and William advised her not to argue with them because they would be punished.
• William showed Hermione three Bowtruckles from the Whomping Willow, helped one onto her hand, and gave her a ring with expanded space for the creature to live in.
• William named his Bowtruckle Zaun and told Hermione that another Bowtruckle was meant for Anne.
• Cedric told William and Hermione that he had asked Professor Sprout to let them help treat the Whomping Willow so he could collect more broken branches.
• Hermione pointed out that William’s timetable scheduled up to ten classes in a day, and William said he would skip some classes and take their final exams.
• Mrs. Weasley’s Howler scolded Ron for taking the flying car, and Ron argued that he had not violated the International Statute of Secrecy.

William, Cho, and the other students attended their first Divination class with Professor Trelawney, who filled the lesson with dramatic claims about prophecy and the rare gift of Sight. She ended by predicting that Judy Crouch’s uncle would be in great trouble.

• William, Cho, and Marietta climbed into the Divination classroom through a trapdoor in the North Tower.
• Professor Trelawney welcomed the students and claimed that a millennium Prophecy required wizards to sign a confidentiality agreement in 1999.
• Trelawney told the class that Divination was harder than Transfiguration and that only those with the Sight could truly see the future.
• Trelawney singled out Judy Crouch and predicted that her uncle would soon be in great trouble.

Professor Trelawney taught tea-leaf reading and made several predictions, but the lesson went awry when she mistook Eloise’s cup for William’s and foretold doom for him. The class ended with Trelawney falling silent after Eloise corrected her.

• Professor Trelawney outlined the year’s Divination lessons, predicted that someone would leave forever, and warned William that an unwanted event would happen before Christmas.
• William noticed that the tea leaves Trelawney had provided were moldy, so she replaced them with fresh tea leaves.
• William and Cho exchanged cups and invented playful readings of each other’s tea leaves, and William gave similarly made-up fortunes to other students.
• Professor Trelawney woke from a nap, took William’s cup, and predicted that he would be kidnapped, imprisoned, and abused.
• Eloise pointed out that William had been holding her cup, and Professor Trelawney fell silent.

After Divination, William encountered Griselda Marchbanks, who came to Hogwarts to register his Animagus form and verify that he was not afflicted by a Blood Curse. William transformed into a great sea eagle for her examination, impressing the watching students.

• Cho, Marietta, and William discussed Professor Trelawney's predictions as they left Divination.
• Harry and Neville's roommates carried Neville toward Madam Pomfrey after Neville was knocked unconscious by a Mandrake's cry in Herbology.
• Hermione explained what had happened to Neville, and William wiped the mud from her face.
• William recognized Griselda Marchbanks in the Transfiguration classroom and learned she had come partly to register his Animagus form.
• Marchbanks praised William's achievement, asked him to demonstrate his transformation, and William changed into a great sea eagle as the students applauded.

William received the Most Promising Newcomer Award for becoming a registered Animagus, and Lockhart embarrassed himself by revealing his ignorance of Transfiguration Today. The magazine became popular at Hogwarts, where Ron’s criticism of William’s article angered Professor McGonagall and earned Harry and Ron a Saturday punishment.

• Professor Marchbanks presented William with the Most Promising Newcomer Award, which could help him apply for an International Young Wizards Scholarship.
• Lockhart interrupted the award presentation, falsely claimed he had used Animagus magic, and dismissed Transfiguration Today as an insignificant magazine before hurriedly leaving under the crowd’s scrutiny.
• Transfiguration Today became popular among Hogwarts students, and Hermione praised William’s article to Harry and Ron.
• Ron accused Professor McGonagall of praising William’s article because he had thanked her, and McGonagall overheard him.
• Professor McGonagall ordered Harry and Ron to report to Mr. Filch on Saturday as punishment for flying a car into school.

Harry and Ron discussed Hermione, William’s Animagus scholarship, and what animals they would turn into. William’s first Care of Magical Creatures lesson ended with Professor Kettleburn urging the students to let Billywigs sting them, and everyone recoiling.

• Hermione left the Gryffindor table after Ron offended her, while Anne grew suspicious of Hermione’s interest in William.
• Harry admitted he was reading Transfiguration Today partly to have more to talk about with Cho, and Ron wondered whether learning to become an Animagus could earn him a scholarship.
• Harry said he would want to become a Golden Snidget, while Ron imagined turning Malfoy into a rat.
• William and Cho attended their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Professor Kettleburn and the Hufflepuffs.
• William identified the Billywigs that kept Kettleburn floating and earned ten points for Ravenclaw.
• Kettleburn covered himself with Billywigs and invited the students to be stung, but they backed away in alarm.

Professor Kettleburn's lesson on Clabberts went disastrously when the creatures ate his Billywigs, leaving him devastated. William and Cho then headed to Defence Against Dark Magic, where the students prepared to face the disgraced Lockhart, whom William had business with.

• Professor Kettleburn showed the class Clabberts, and Cho identified the creatures correctly.
• The students fed the Clabberts, and one sprayed Summerby with foul-smelling liquid after he put his hand in its mouth.
• Professor Kettleburn sent Billywigs to sting the Clabbert, but the Clabberts devoured the insects and spat out their stingers.
• William told the students that Billywig stingers were valuable, and they rushed to collect them while Professor Kettleburn lay dejected.
• Cho worried about Professor Kettleburn's health, and William predicted he would retire within two years.
• William and the other students entered Lockhart's classroom, where they sat near the front to make a quick escape; William attended because he had business with Lockhart.

Lockhart entertained his students with an exaggerated story about his adventures, then struck a deal with William to promote his expensive shampoo. William left with thirty bottles of shampoo containing Occamy Eggs, which he planned to use to make Felix Felicis.

• Lockhart blamed Quirrell and Tywin for the students’ poor education, then performed a comic story about subduing werewolves, reconciling Jacob and Edward, and defeating Bellatrix.
• The students laughed and applauded, treating Lockhart’s class as entertainment.
• William asked Lockhart for shampoo, and Lockhart took him to his office and offered a bottle.
• William proposed selling the shampoo through his shop and named Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and Umbridge as possible promoters.
• Lockhart gave William thirty bottles after William repeatedly tried to pay, and William left with the Occamy Eggs he needed for Felix Felicis.

William, Hermione, Anne, Cedric, and Cho headed to visit Hagrid, but Anne and Hermione stopped to watch Gryffindor practice. The practice was interrupted when Draco Malfoy joined Slytherin as its new Seeker and insulted Hermione, prompting Anne to attack him.

• Anne took Hermione to watch Gryffindor practice while William, Cedric, and Cho discussed the Nimbus 2001 and the Quidditch Cup.
• Wood led the exhausted Gryffindor team onto the pitch for practice as Anne and Hermione joined Ron and Colin in the stands.
• Flint interrupted Gryffindor's practice with a note from Snape and revealed that Draco Malfoy was Slytherin's new Seeker.
• Malfoy showed off Slytherin's Nimbus 2001s and called Hermione a Mudblood after she criticized him.
• Anne slapped Malfoy, threatened him with her wand, and kicked him, warning him not to insult Hermione again.

Hermione defeated Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and the other Slytherin students after they attacked Anne. At Hagrid’s Hut, William learned Professor Kettleburn might retire and connected the news to Professor Trelawney’s prophecy.

• Crabbe and Goyle charged at Anne, and Hermione stopped them with spells before disarming Malfoy.
• Hermione used Levicorpus and binding cords to knock down the Slytherin students who drew their wands against her.
• William, Cedric, and Cho visited Hagrid and discovered he was reading On the Self-Cultivation of a Professor.
• Hagrid said Professor Kettleburn had asked whether he wanted to take over as professor because Kettleburn planned to retire.
• William recalled Professor Trelawney’s prophecy and wondered whether she had known that Lockhart and Professor Kettleburn would leave.

Hagrid told William, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Anne, Cho, and Cedric about Professor Kettleburn’s long probation and his own hopes of becoming the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. After Anne slapped Malfoy for insulting Hermione, William took the girls to Professor McGonagall’s office and turned Snape’s accusation back on the Slytherins.

• Hagrid told William and his companions that Professor Kettleburn had spent sixty-two years on probation and admitted he feared his own record might keep him from becoming a professor.
• Harry and Ron told Hagrid that Slytherin had taken the Quidditch pitch with Snape’s permission and that Malfoy had joined the team after his father donated seven Nimbus 2001 brooms.
• Anne said she had slapped Malfoy for calling Hermione a Mudblood, and Hermione explained that she had disarmed the Slytherins after the insult.
• William took Hermione and Anne to Professor McGonagall’s office, where Snape and Malfoy accused the girls of attacking Slytherin students.
• William pointed out that Malfoy’s claim meant a second-year witch had defeated ten Slytherins, prompting McGonagall to doubt him and Snape to fall silent.