Chapter Summaries

William told Dumbledore that Voldemort’s diary had taught Ron Dark Magic, and Dumbledore revealed he already knew Ron had visited the Forbidden Forest alone. Dumbledore took out his Pensieve to show William a memory of an attack from more than ten years earlier.

• Snape argued with Dumbledore about Ron’s use of Dark Magic, then caught his hand in the office door while leaving.
• William told Dumbledore that Ron learned Dark Magic from a diary that answered him when he wrote in it.
• Dumbledore showed William a letter from Arthur explaining that Molly had seen Ron leave school alone for the Forbidden Forest twice on the family map.
• William identified the diary’s author as Tom Riddle, and Dumbledore explained that Riddle later became Voldemort.
• Dumbledore said he believed Voldemort was still recovering in Albania and presented the Pensieve to show William a memory of an old attack.

Dumbledore showed William a memory of the wizarding war, where Voldemort’s forces used dragons and dark creatures, and Gideon Prewett was revealed to be controlled by a snake. Back in the Headmaster’s Office, Dumbledore explained that the diary was using snakes to control its victims, leaving William suspecting that Dumbledore had lost control of the situation.

• Dumbledore took William into a memory of a battle in Cleveland, where dragons and Death Eaters attacked Muggles and Remus Lupin fought alongside Lily and James Potter.
• James learned that the Death Eaters had killed Molly’s brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, but the group later found Gideon apparently alive.
• A snake burst from Gideon’s neck and attacked Lily and James, before Lupin transformed and killed it.
• Dumbledore told William that Voldemort had used Parseltongue-based Dark Magic to control snakes inside wizards, including Filch and the attacked students.
• Dumbledore said the diary needed its victims alive and that they could only wait for it to bring the snakes out; William suspected Dumbledore had lost control of the game.

With the school blaming Harry and Ron for Justin’s attack, William and his friends planned their next search for the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione accidentally transformed herself into a cat while using Polyjuice Potion, and William found her hiding in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom and comforted her.

• Harry and Ron were blamed for finding Justin after an attack, while William learned they planned to question Malfoy about the diary.
• William’s communication conch carried Hermione’s sobbing plea for help, and he hurried to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.
• William found Hermione hiding in a stall after she had used cat hair instead of Millicent’s hair in her Polyjuice Potion.
• Hermione revealed her catlike face, ears, and tail, and William reassured her that he would help her change back.
• William lifted Hermione into his arms and carried her from the stall as her tail curled around his neck.

After Hermione’s Polyjuice transformation left her as a catgirl, William carried her to the Hospital Wing disguised as a kitten. Madam Pomfrey said her recovery could take seven or eight weeks, but William proposed using Human Transfiguration to speed it up.

• Hermione could not walk, so William Transfigured her into an orange kitten and carried her through the corridor.
• Anne and Ginny petted Hermione, while Luna recognized who the kitten really was; William told Anne that Hermione had caught a cold and needed care.
• Madam Pomfrey scolded William for brewing Polyjuice Potion and mistakenly assumed he had used it to turn Hermione into a catgirl.
• Madam Pomfrey explained that Hermione would need Reparifarge and a Revealing Charm for seven or eight weeks to recover.
• William suggested using Human Transfiguration on Hermione each day, and Madam Pomfrey agreed it might help because of his skill.

After Hermione recovered enough to leave Hogwarts, William took her home to Ottery St Catchpole for the Christmas holidays. The two settled into a carefree routine, and the chapter ended with Hermione enjoying the snowy Christmas Eve while William prepared food.

• Rumors that Hermione had been attacked led students to bully Harry and Ron until Moaning Myrtle’s news shifted attention to Hermione’s catlike appearance.
• William treated Hermione in the Hospital Wing, and Anne visited before leaving with a promise to send her a Christmas card.
• William and Hermione left Hogwarts through the Headmaster’s Office Floo fireplace, bringing Bobocha and Mrs. Norris with them.
• At home, Hermione relaxed in her room while William and Hermione spent the holidays watching movies, playing games, practicing magic, and treating her.
• On Christmas Eve, Hermione admired the snow, while Bobocha briefly ventured outside and hurried back in from the cold as William made breakfast and lunch.

William cared for Hermione as she continued recovering from her transformation, and the two spent Christmas Eve together at his protected cottage. After falling asleep beside him on the sofa, Hermione kissed William and wondered whether a kiss was supposed to taste sweet.

• William cooked breakfast with magic, and Hermione playfully stuffed a snowball down his collar.
• William gave Hermione potions and magical treatment to reduce her remaining cat features, but her fur faded only slightly.
• William and Hermione caught koi beneath the frozen river and learned that reporters had gathered at The Burrow to seek Arthur Weasley.
• William reassured Hermione that the Fidelius Charm kept their cottage hidden, and they decorated it for Christmas.
• William and Hermione shared a lavish Christmas Eve dinner, practiced magic, and watched a film together on the sofa.
• After William fell asleep, Hermione kissed him, then wondered why she had not tasted the sweetness described in books.

William and Hermione celebrated Christmas by exchanging gifts, and Luna brought pastries while revealing that Rita Skeeter had come to ask about William. The chapter left William wondering why Rita had turned her attention to him.

• William woke with Bobocha on his chest after Hermione had taken the blankets, then got up and made breakfast.
• William and Hermione opened Christmas presents; William received a wand from Cedric, a model kit from Phoebe, a portrait frame from Dumbledore, and Felix Felicis from Snape.
• William gave Hermione a magical safety watch that could track whether William, Hermione, and Anne were safe and let them communicate over long distances.
• Luna visited William and Hermione with homemade pastries and said Rita Skeeter had come to ask about William.

William and Hermione discovered Rita Skeeter had secretly entered their home as a beetle, revealing her to be an illegal Animagus. William restrained her and confronted her about the break-in, leaving Rita realizing she had underestimated him.

• Luna departed after delivering her message, and William and Hermione returned home through the snow.
• William sensed an intruder, and Hermione spotted a beetle that William exposed as Rita Skeeter with Revelio.
• Rita pretended not to know how she had arrived and tried to turn the situation into an exclusive interview with William.
• William stopped Rita’s Quick-Quotes Quill and challenged her claim that she had used Polyjuice Potion, pointing out that he could recognize an Animagus.
• Rita reached for her wand, but William bound her with enchanted sofa cushions and threatened to expose her illegal Animagus activity.

William caught Rita Skeeter spying on his home and forced her to become his intelligence source. After learning that Lucius Malfoy was working to remove Dumbledore, William stunned Rita to erase her memory of Hermione and prepared to consult Dumbledore.

• Rita explained that she had entered the protected house by riding on William as a beetle after following Luna Lovegood.
• William destroyed Rita’s fabricated notes and ordered her to stop writing about him and his associates, then recruited her to gather intelligence.
• Rita reported that Lucius Malfoy was contacting the School Governors in an effort to have Dumbledore dismissed.
• Rita proposed writing an interview to boost William’s fame, but William refused and stunned her to modify her memories of Hermione.
• William asked Hermione to fetch Dumbledore’s picture frame so he could consult the professor.

William altered Rita's memory and learned that an Unbreakable Vow could keep her from entering his protected house. After Hermione recovered and the students returned to Hogwarts, Lockhart announced a plan to resolve the Chamber of Secrets crisis, then held an extravagant Valentine’s Day celebration.

• William modified Rita's memory to remove her recollection of Hermione's catgirl form and asked Dumbledore's portrait how to stop her entering his house.
• Dumbledore advised William that an Unbreakable Vow could make Rita forget the house's secret and prevent her from returning.
• William restored Hermione to human form, and the two returned to Hogwarts after walking around Hogsmeade.
• At the end-of-holiday feast, Lockhart declared that he knew the Chamber of Secrets culprit and would settle the matter himself.
• On Valentine's Day, Lockhart had students decorate the Great Hall in pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti while William shielded the Ravenclaw table from the owls' mess.

Lockhart’s Valentine’s Day event unleashed a flood of unwanted love letters across Hogwarts, culminating in a prank that humiliated Snape and a bizarre green apparition in the sky. The chapter ended with students mistaking Lockhart’s magical display for the Dark Mark.

• Lockhart introduced twelve winged dwarfs to deliver Valentine’s cards and embarrassed Dumbledore and Snape with stories about their romantic pasts.
• Cedric and William tried to avoid public confessions, but students and dwarfs pursued them with love letters throughout the day.
• Snape encouraged William to read a letter in Potions class, only for a dwarf to sing a crude love song addressed to Snape, which Snape blasted apart.
• Cho told William and Cedric that the twins had paid students to write love letters to Snape through the Adorably Cute Snape Fangirl Support Group.
• An enormous green image of Lockhart’s head and the words “Happy Valentine’s Day” appeared in the evening sky, alarming the students.

At the Valentine’s Day feast, Snape’s euphoric potion led Lockhart to mistake a dwarf for his beloved and drag him to his office. The students later heard a scream from inside, while the chapter left the identity of the next victim uncertain.

• Lockhart defended his prank involving the Dark Mark, while McGonagall demanded that he apologize to the school.
• Snape secretly served Lockhart whiskey mixed with Elixir to Induce Euphoria and encouraged him to pursue the person he loved at the Gryffindor table.
• Lockhart mistook the singing dwarf delivering Harry’s Valentine for his beloved, knocked Harry down, and stunned him when he tried to interrupt.
• Lockhart took the dwarf to his office, and Snape delayed bringing him the antidote despite Dumbledore’s instruction.
• After the feast, students heard a heartbreaking scream from Lockhart’s office and suspected Harry and Ron had retaliated.

William learned that Fudge planned to send Hagrid to Azkaban over the Chamber of Secrets attacks, while Dumbledore explained why he would not become Minister for Magic. The chapter ended with Dumbledore confessing that guilt over a child he had hurt made Hogwarts his personal Azkaban.

• Lockhart repeatedly told students his account of being found naked and tied to a bed with a dwarf, then plotted to turn the incident into a book that portrayed Snape as the victim.
• William reassured Lockhart that his shampoo would sell well abroad, and Lockhart offered him several boxes of it.
• After receiving a letter from Rita, William met Dumbledore and learned that Fudge intended to send Hagrid to Azkaban for opening the Chamber of Secrets.
• Dumbledore told William that he had refused the position of Minister for Magic because, when young, he had hurt a child and feared the temptation of power.
• William tried to comfort Dumbledore, who said he could not forgive himself and that Hogwarts was his Azkaban.

Dumbledore explained how Tom Riddle framed Hagrid for the Chamber of Secrets attacks fifty years earlier, then deduced that the diary had possessed Lockhart and moved on to another person. He told William to enter the Chamber and save Harry when Fawkes appeared.

• Dumbledore told William that Hagrid had been expelled after Tom Riddle reported his Acromantula, making Hagrid the scapegoat for a girl’s death in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Dumbledore suspected Lockhart was the sixth victim because he knew about Dumbledore’s poetry and had cast a spell based on Tom Riddle’s Dark Mark.
• William and Dumbledore reasoned that the diary had used Lockhart to frame Hagrid and had likely left Lockhart, possibly with help from another wizard at Hogwarts.
• Dumbledore instructed William to go to the Chamber of Secrets and save Harry when the phoenix appeared.

Dumbledore explained his plan for William to find the Chamber of Secrets and rescue Harry after the diary tried to force him out of Hogwarts. Hagrid was arrested in public, and Hermione told William that Rita would arrive on Saturday, giving him a chance to expose Lockhart.

• Dumbledore told William to locate the Chamber of Secrets, wait for Fawkes, and enter only when the diary made its move against Harry.
• Dumbledore explained that the diary would wait until he was driven from Hogwarts and that he could influence the School Governors’ decision.
• Aurors arrived at Hogwarts and took Hagrid away after Fudge cited the attacks and Lockhart’s report to the Ministry.
• Lockhart sought an award for supposedly protecting students, but Snape challenged his claims about finding the Chamber and stopping the attacker.
• Harry angrily protested Hagrid’s arrest, but the Aurors took Hagrid away.
• Hermione told William that Rita had replied and would come on Saturday, and William prepared to expose Lockhart.

William and Hermione met Rita Skeeter in Hogsmeade and gave her evidence of Gilderoy Lockhart’s stolen stories so she could expose him. After Rita fled the Three Broomsticks, Hermione revealed her sly plan to take credit for buying Anne’s sweets.

• William and Hermione secretly went to Hogsmeade and met Rita at the Three Broomsticks.
• Rita explained that Rosmerta disliked her after an article she had written about the landlady.
• William gave Rita a document documenting Lockhart’s theft of other wizards’ memories, and Rita agreed to expose him without naming William or Hermione.
• Hermione asked William to remember to buy Fizzing Whizzbees for Anne, then admitted she planned to tell Anne that she had bought them herself.
• William promised not to reveal Hermione’s scheme, and Hermione held his hand and sang beside him.

Rita Skeeter published a sensational report exposing Lockhart, who fled to the hospital wing after a cursed letter injured him and then became ill from the backlash. By the end of March, Dumbledore had been suspended, fear had spread through Hogwarts, and William and his friends had narrowed down the Chamber of Secrets' location, though Fawkes and the diary remained silent.

• Rita Skeeter published a front-page report accusing Lockhart of exploiting students, violence, and plagiarizing his heroic exploits.
• Lockhart read the report at breakfast, tore up newspapers, and threatened to send Rita a wizard's legal notice.
• Owls delivered letters to Lockhart, and a cursed letter covered his hands in painful sores, sending him sobbing to the hospital wing.
• Wizards across the country continued cursing Lockhart, leaving Defence Against Dark Magic without a professor again.
• By the end of March, the School Governors Malfoy suspended Dumbledore, and fear spread through Hogwarts.
• William waited for Fawkes while the diary stayed silent, as he and his friends had nearly determined the Chamber of Secrets' location.

William, Cedric, and Cho visited Hagrid’s Hut to feed Fang and then headed into the Forbidden Forest to see Fluffy. After Ronan warned them that the stars of Hydra foretold danger, they learned Ron had repeatedly visited the Acromantula territory and decided to investigate.

• William, Cedric, and Cho cleaned Hagrid’s Hut, fed Fang, and set off to check on Fluffy.
• Ronan warned them that Epsilon Star of Hydra had grown brighter than the Heart of the Hydra, signaling danger in the Forbidden Forest.
• William asked whether Ron had entered the forest, and Bane revealed that Ron had gone several times to the Acromantulas’ home.
• William, Cedric, and Cho agreed to investigate the Acromantula territory, while Fluffy waited in his valley for their food delivery.

William, Cho, and Cedric found that the Acromantulas had been recruited to attack Hogwarts and escaped their lair after the spiders turned on them. They left to warn Professor McGonagall about the coming assault.

• William captured an Acromantula, forced it to provide venom, and made it carry him, Cho, and Cedric to the colony's hollow.
• Aragog revealed that a red-haired young wizard had ordered the spiders to attack Hogwarts after Dumbledore was driven away, threatening to kill Aragog's children if he refused.
• William realized the colony had already entered the Forbidden Forest to carry out the plan and decided to alert Professor McGonagall.
• Aragog's spiders surrounded the group and threatened to eat them, so William killed the Acromantula carrying them and used golden flames to drive back the others.
• William transformed into a giant sea eagle and flew away with Cho and Cedric.

William, Cedric, and Cho discovered that Acromantulas were driving animals toward Hogwarts and warned the professors, who prepared the castle’s defenses. Riddle waited in the Chamber of Secrets, growing stronger and expecting his final prey.

• William spotted Acromantulas driving wild cattle and dangerous magical creatures toward Hogwarts.
• William took Cedric and Cho to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where Cedric set off fireworks to alert the castle.
• William warned Professor McGonagall and the other professors about the approaching creatures.
• Professor McGonagall ordered the castle sealed, summoned help with Patronuses, and animated the statues and suits of armor to defend Hogwarts.
• Fawkes arrived with a ragged package, and William recognized the phoenix’s appearance as Professor Dumbledore’s signal.
• Riddle entered the Chamber of Secrets and prepared for his final prey as his power grew.