Chapter Summaries

William speculated that the Ministry was using Lucius Malfoy as a scapegoat to extort money while distracting from the real murderer. The Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts began, drawing a chaotic crowd and revealing little about the team’s new players.

• William told Cedric and the others that the Ministry would publicly blame Lucius Malfoy to pressure him for Galleons and conceal its knowledge of the real murderer.
• The Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts began, and William lost interest while Cho and the Weasley brothers watched excitedly.
• William imagined Cho joining Ravenclaw’s team and teasing Cedric, while George and Fred focused on Hufflepuff as a threat to Gryffindor’s cup hopes.
• The tryout groups flew chaotically, with applicants crashing into goalposts, giggling together, or arriving without brooms.
• Lee Jordan brought Gryffindor first-years to disrupt the tryouts, but Madam Hooch seized him by the ear and threw him out.

Cedric failed to make Hufflepuff’s Chaser lineup but caught the Golden Snitch in five minutes and became the team’s youngest Seeker. As Ravenclaw students bragged about Quidditch and argued over athletes, William ended their dormitory quarrel with posters and brochures.

• Cedric missed most of his shots during Hufflepuff tryouts, but Captain Gabriel Truman gave him a chance to try out as Seeker.
• Cho cheered Cedric from the stands, while William, George, and Fred held up a banner urging him on.
• Cedric caught the Golden Snitch in five minutes and earned a place as Hufflepuff’s youngest Seeker.
• Ravenclaw first-years boasted about their Quidditch knowledge as Flying Class with Hufflepuff approached, despite their house’s poor record in the sport.
• Marcus Belby, Bradley, and Chambers argued over whether Hector Lamont, Magic Johnson, or Maradona was the greatest athlete.
• William put up a Madonna poster and showed the boys Victoria’s Secret brochures, ending their argument and prompting Marcus and Chambers to apologize.

William and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students attended their first Flying Class, where Summerby lost control of his broom and was caught by Devil's Snare. William used a flame to make the plant release Summerby, who was left falling through the air.

• William and the students began Flying Class with Madam Hooch, and Summerby accidentally shot away on his broom before the whistle.
• The students found Summerby tangled in Devil's Snare, which had snapped his broom and was swinging him toward the cesspit.
• Madam Hooch recognized the plant but did not know how to free Summerby and tried to fetch Pomona.
• Cho prepared to fly to Summerby's rescue, but William warned her away and used a blue flame to drive the Devil's Snare back.
• The Devil's Snare released Summerby, who fell from the air and cried for help.

After Summerby fell during flying practice, William slowed his descent, but the Devil’s Snare then ruptured Hogwarts’s waste-treatment pools and spread a terrible stench across the school. The Quidditch lessons were suspended while the contamination lingered, and Hagrid continued hiding Fluffy as pressure mounted over Malfoy’s case.

• William used Wingardium Leviosa to slow Summerby’s fall, and Madam Hooch awarded Ravenclaw five points for his rescue.
• The Devil’s Snare went berserk, shaking the ground and destroying the magic protecting the treatment pools.
• Cho escaped on her broom while William clung to its tail, as a powerful stench spread across the grounds.
• Dumbledore noticed the smell after Fawkes abruptly vanished from his office, and the odor soon enveloped all of Hogwarts.
• The school suspended Quidditch practice and bought new broomsticks, while students blamed their poor flying on the old ones.
• Hagrid kept Fluffy hidden as the Ministry faced pressure over Malfoy, and Filch blamed the Weasley brothers for the stench.

On Halloween, Professor Flitwick taught the students to make objects fly, and the feast was interrupted when Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge arrived at Hogwarts with Aurors. The chapter ended with Fudge standing nervously beside Dumbledore as the students watched.

• In Charms class, Professor Flitwick taught the students the spell for making objects fly and asked William to demonstrate the Buffalo Spell.
• At the Halloween feast, Hagrid grew distressed after hearing that the Ministry had declared Malfoy innocent and was seeking a suspect.
• Filch rushed into the Great Hall and announced that Aurors had surrounded Hogwarts, prompting Dumbledore to order the prefects to lead students to their dormitories.
• Cornelius Fudge entered the Great Hall with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Dawlish, and Marietta identified the two Aurors.
• Fudge approached Dumbledore and nervously wiped sweat from his forehead while Dumbledore remained seated.

Minister Fudge took Professor Snape away as a precaution over the Ministry attack, despite Dumbledore insisting Snape was investigating Professor Robert’s death elsewhere. Madam Pomfrey took over Potions Class and began teaching post-injury care, blaming the course for students’ mental health problems.

• Fudge told Dumbledore that Lucius Malfoy had been released and that the Ministry planned to take Snape in for questioning.
• Dumbledore said Snape had been investigating Professor Robert’s death and denied that he had appeared at the Ministry during the attack.
• Fudge took Snape away, while Dumbledore warned that doing so would accomplish nothing.
• Students speculated about Snape’s connection to the attack, and Madam Pomfrey temporarily took over Potions Class.
• Madam Pomfrey told William’s class to put away their cauldrons and began a lesson on post-injury care for wizards.

With Snape away on a Ministry mission, Madam Pomfrey took over Potions class and taught medical care instead of brewing, leaving the students missing Snape and debating which teacher they preferred. After class, William received a letter from Hagrid inviting him to discuss something important.

• Madam Pomfrey replaced Potions lessons with medical-care instruction and told the class Snape was away on a mission from Dumbledore.
• Judy Crouch and other students questioned the lesson and Snape’s absence, but Madam Pomfrey refused to discuss it further.
• Madam Pomfrey criticized Snape’s earlier potion lessons, confiscated several bottles, and assigned an essay about treating someone who had drunk the Draught of Living Death.
• The students left class and discussed Madam Pomfrey, worrying about exams and whether Snape would return.
• William received a letter from Hagrid inviting him to his hut to discuss an important matter.

William, Cedric, and Cho visited Hagrid and found Fluffy had wrecked the hut, forcing them to find a new place for the growing three-headed dog. Charlie revealed he planned to study dragons in Romania after graduation and proposed keeping Fluffy at Hogwarts in the meantime, leading the group to consider the Room of Requirement.

• William, Cedric, and Cho followed Hagrid's map to his hut and found Fluffy had torn it apart while Hagrid and Charlie tried to manage him.
• Hagrid refused to release Fluffy or tell Dumbledore, and Cho suggested the Forbidden Forest, but Hagrid said the centaurs would kill him.
• Charlie offered to take Fluffy to Romania during the summer and revealed that he planned to study dragons after graduating instead of pursuing Quidditch.
• Charlie said he had told his father about his plans, while Hagrid recalled that Molly had been upset when Bill left for Egypt.
• Charlie asked William, Cedric, and Cho to keep his plans secret, then suggested the Room of Requirement as a hidden place to keep Fluffy.

William, Charlie, Cedric, and Cho sneaked out to move Fluffy from Hagrid’s hut to the Room of Requirement, using a Disillusionment Charm to evade Filch. They got Fluffy into a box and started carrying him toward the castle, leaving their success at reaching the room unresolved.

• Cedric explained how he had discovered the Room of Requirement, and William convinced Hagrid that Fluffy could only be hidden there until Charlie took him away the following summer.
• William set out at night with Bobocha and found Cho waiting in the Ravenclaw common room; she insisted on joining the mission.
• Charlie met the group, cast the Disillusionment Charm on them, and led them across the grounds to Hagrid’s hut.
• Charlie and Hagrid could not soothe Fluffy, but Cho sang to him until he fell asleep.
• Hagrid packed Fluffy into a wooden box with food, a blanket, and his favorite doll, and William levitated the box as the group headed toward the castle.

William, Cho, Cedric, and Charlie hid Fluffy in the Room of Requirement and searched its vast store of discarded objects. An alarm then revealed that someone had broken into Professor Snape’s potions storeroom, and the professors began investigating while Filch accused the Weasley brothers.

• William and the others avoided Professor Tywin as they carried Fluffy upstairs to the Room of Requirement.
• Charlie opened the Room of Requirement, and the group left the sleeping Fluffy beside a broken Vanishing Cabinet before gathering a few treasures.
• An explosion and alarm sounded as the group headed downstairs, and Charlie identified the source as Professor Snape’s potions storeroom.
• Professor McGonagall and Professor Tywin examined the break-in while Filch accused the Weasley brothers without evidence.
• Dumbledore arrived, and Filch admitted that he had not caught the culprits but insisted he knew who they were.

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.