Ch. 621Sword Saint Hermione

Hermione fought the Romanian Longhorn with her wand and Goblin-made sword, ultimately bringing the dragon down. William watched from the stands as the spectators and judges sat stunned.

  • Hermione used Confringo to trip the charging Romanian Longhorn, then Apparated behind it and drew her sword.
  • Hermione deflected the dragon’s fire with spells and a magical shield as she advanced through the dust.
  • Hermione Apparated onto the dragon’s head, broke off one golden horn, and was thrown aside before narrowly dodging its tail.
  • Hermione blinded the dragon with the Conjunctivitis Curse, tied up her loose hair, and slashed its back with the sword.
  • The Romanian Longhorn took flight with Hermione clinging to its back, then crashed to the ground, leaving the stands silent.
  • William relaxed in the stands and whistled a tune Anne recognized as one Hermione loved to hum.

Ch. 622Three-Dragon Tournament

Hermione and Phoebe survived the dragon chaos and collected all the Golden Eggs, while the tournament judges argued over how to score them. The three Longhorns were subdued, and the champions waited for the judges’ decision.

  • Hermione wounded a Longhorn with her Goblin-made sword, and it flew into another dragon as the two Durmstrang students watched their eggs get scattered.
  • Hermione appeared near the Durmstrang students, took their two Golden Eggs, and Disapparated after the girl protested.
  • Phoebe hypnotized a Longhorn and took its eggs, but the dragon woke and attacked her before Hermione blinded it with spells and Disapparated with Phoebe.
  • The dragons fought until their handlers subdued them, leaving Hermione and Phoebe as the only champions with Golden Eggs.
  • Hermione and Phoebe sat down for tea while Lee announced that the judges were about to score the champions.
  • The five judges argued over the scores and had not reached a decision.

Ch. 623Shameless Karkaroff

Karkaroff tried to have Hermione disqualified, but Dumbledore and the other judges rejected his objections and scored the dragon task. The next group of Champions entered to face Peruvian Vipertooths, with Ron and Malfoy still fighting each other.

  • Karkaroff demanded Hermione's disqualification because she had used a goblin-forged sword, but Dumbledore and Crouch confirmed that summoning it broke no rules.
  • Ludo questioned Hermione's use of Apparition, and Dumbledore explained that she had received a valid license from the Italy Ministry of Magic after the disaster in Venice.
  • Madame Maxime, Crouch, Dumbledore, Ludo, and Karkaroff scored Hermione; after the highest and lowest scores were discarded, she received 274 points, while Phoebe received 232.
  • Karkaroff gave the other schools' Champions low scores and his own school's Champions high scores, but those scores were discarded; the judges gave the chimpanzee captain zero.
  • Lee introduced the next group of Champions and described the Peruvian Vipertooths as small, fast, venomous, and intelligent dragons that fought in groups.
  • Ron and Malfoy emerged from the exit grappling with each other as Lee joked that the first to let go would be a dog.

Ch. 624The Dragon That Unloaded Its Dung (First Update for the Mooncake Festival!)

Ron and Malfoy were seized by a Peruvian Vipertooth after their fight distracted them from the dragon, and the Champions were carried around the arena in its claws. The dragons then flew over the stands and dropped white excrement on the spectators, beginning with Slytherin House.

  • Ron and Malfoy wrestled in the arena while a Peruvian Vipertooth watched them and drooled.
  • Malfoy cast Densaugeo on the Vipertooth, making its fangs grow so long that it could not close its jaws.
  • Ron grabbed both Golden Eggs and ran, but the Vipertooth caught him by the shoulder; Malfoy's Stupefy hit Ron instead of the dragon and knocked him out.
  • The Vipertooth caught Malfoy too, and the three dragons carried the Champions around the arena and past the stands.
  • William shielded the Ravenclaw students as the Vipertooths flew over the judges' stand and dropped white, viscous matter on the spectators, starting with Slytherin House.

Ch. 625A Big Gamble!

The Peruvian Vipertooths attacked the Hogwarts houses with dung and poison gas before dropping Malfoy and Ron beside a dragon guarding the Golden Eggs. With the contest nearly over, Ron and Malfoy gambled on distracting the dragon and striking its eye, and Ron’s spell hit its target.

  • The Vipertooths showered Slytherin with dung, while William shielded Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students took cover; the dragons later released poison gas over Hufflepuff, and Professor Sprout ordered the dung collected for her greenhouse.
  • The Vipertooths returned to the arena and dropped Malfoy and Ron near the Golden-Egg-guarding dragon.
  • Ron’s Summoning Charm failed, and Malfoy’s snake was killed and roasted by the dragon; Ron’s spell rebounded, leaving him vomiting slugs that the dragon ate with the snake meat.
  • Ron realized he could attack the dragon’s eyes, and he persuaded Malfoy to help distract it so they could try to seize the Golden Eggs before the contest ended.
  • With three minutes remaining, Malfoy distracted the dragon by throwing a snake-meat roll and taunting it, while Ron fired a Dark Light Crossbow Bolt that struck its yellow eye.

Ch. 626Go Home and Raise Tebos!

Ron and Malfoy escaped the dragon with two Golden Eggs, but the judges voided Ron’s score for using Dark Magic. The judges gave him low scores, leaving the tournament’s first task unresolved for him.

  • Ron struck the Peruvian Vipertooth in the eye with a black spear while Malfoy ran for the Golden Eggs.
  • Ron and Malfoy fought over the eggs as the dragon breathed fire, and dragon handlers rescued them before subduing it.
  • Karkaroff and Madame Maxime challenged Ludo over whether Ron had been allowed to use Dark Magic, and Crouch ruled that Ron’s score would be voided.
  • Ron argued that he had not known Dark Magic was forbidden, but Crouch and Maxime rejected his excuse.
  • The judges displayed their scores for Ron: Maxime gave him 4, Crouch 3, Dumbledore 9, and Ludo 6.

Ch. 627The Broomstick Duo!

Cho and Cedric worked together to evade the Swedish Short-Snout and steal Golden Eggs from the other Champions. Their teamwork left them heading toward Beauxbatons to steal another egg.

  • Students continued debating Ron’s use of Dark Magic until Cho summoned a broomstick and drew their attention back to the match.
  • Cho took Cedric’s Golden Egg, mounted her broom, and lured the Swedish Short-Snout into the air.
  • Krum hit the dragon’s eye with a Conjunctivitis Curse, while Cedric transformed into a husky and stole Krum’s Golden Egg.
  • Cho flew down to Cedric, who changed back and climbed onto her Firebolt as the Durmstrang student chased him.
  • The dragon set Krum’s clothes on fire while Cho and Cedric flew toward the Beauxbatons Champions to steal another Golden Egg.

Ch. 628Settling the Scores and Advertising

Cho and Cedric scored well in the dragon challenge while William checked on the other Champions and learned how the round had gone. The next round began with a Durmstrang team facing the Hungarian Horntail, leaving its Champions stunned by the enormous dragon.

  • Cho flew evasively to distract the dragons while Cedric transformed into a husky and stole Golden Eggs, and William left the arena confident they would succeed.
  • William, Anne, and Gabrielle visited the medical tents, where Madam Pomfrey complained about the dangers at Hogwarts and treated the injured Champions.
  • Hermione showed William the golden dragon horns she had collected, and the scores revealed that Cho had three eggs, Cedric had two, and Krum had one.
  • Madam Pomfrey treated Krum and Cho, while William told Hermione that Ron's result had been invalidated for using Dark Magic.
  • The fourth round began with two competitors facing one dragon, and the final group of three Durmstrang students faced the fifteen-meter Hungarian Horntail.

Ch. 629Tom, Done in by Voldemort

The First Task results left Hermione in first place and Ron at the bottom, while the Champions learned when the Second Task would begin. In a separate scene, Tom took control of a black-robed wizard to reach a Horcrux, but both were dragged beneath the lake by the Inferi.

  • Hermione placed first with four Golden Eggs, while Ron and Chimpanzee Captain finished with zero.
  • Ludo Bagman announced that the Second Task would begin on February 24th and gave Golden Eggs to Champions who lacked them.
  • Ludo Bagman kept Ron behind after the other students left, while Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff celebrated.
  • A black-robed wizard followed Tom's instructions through a cave and sailed across a lake to a basin of emerald liquid.
  • Tom took control of the wizard and forced him to drink the basin dry, revealing a golden locket.
  • The wizard crawled to the lake for water, but Inferi pulled him and Tom beneath the surface.

Ch. 630The Painful Scar

Harry reconciled with Ron, but his scar suddenly erupted in pain and he saw Tom. William took him to Dumbledore’s office, where they entered the Pensieve to find the headmaster.

  • Harry waited for Ron and accepted his apology after Ron admitted he regretted becoming a Champion.
  • Hermione returned to the common room and warned Ron not to use Voldemort’s Dark Magic again, while Ron argued that he would withdraw from the competition.
  • Harry’s scar flared with severe pain, and he cried out as students rushed over and feared Ron had attacked him.
  • Hermione contacted William, who calmed Harry and took him toward Dumbledore’s office.
  • William opened the Headmaster’s Office with the password “Cockroach Clusters” and found Dumbledore absent while a Pensieve showed a Ministry interrogation.
  • William entered the Pensieve with Harry to find Dumbledore.

Ch. 631Justice on Their Lips, Business on Their Minds

William and Harry watched Dumbledore’s memories of Barty Crouch sentencing his son to life in Azkaban and later visiting him there. The chapter ended with the warden offering to arrange a healer or release in exchange for money, while Crouch reluctantly agreed to discuss the matter after seeing his son.

  • William and Harry appeared in Dumbledore’s memory of Barty Crouch’s trial, where Crouch sentenced Barty Crouch Jr. and three others to life in Azkaban.
  • Barty Crouch Jr. pleaded that he was innocent and called for his parents, but Crouch disowned him as the Dementors took him away.
  • After the trial, Crouch’s wife begged him to save their son, but Crouch insisted that imprisoning him was the right thing to do.
  • In another memory, an Azkaban warden told Crouch that Barty Crouch Jr. was suffering and offered to arrange a healer or release in exchange for money and connections.
  • Crouch rejected the warden’s proposal at first, then agreed to discuss it after he and his wife were allowed to visit their son.
  • Dumbledore ended the memory, and William helped Harry as the three of them rose into darkness.

Ch. 632I Always Thought You Were a Decent Person!

Dumbledore and William examined Harry’s dream of Tom Riddle and concluded that it might reveal the location of a cave by the sea. Harry left the office believing William and Hermione had lied about burning down the Albanian forest, while Dumbledore asked William to stay behind.

  • Dumbledore showed Harry and William a Pensieve memory in which William described fighting Voldemort and Wormtail in Albania.
  • Harry recounted dreaming of sixteen-year-old Tom drinking a green potion before corpses dragged him into a lake, and said his scar had hurt until he passed out.
  • Dumbledore asked Harry about the cave, and Harry described dark water and large rocks; William and Dumbledore realized they might have been searching in the wrong place for a Horcrux.
  • Dumbledore theorized that Harry’s scar hurt because Voldemort’s failed Killing Curse had connected them, and William inferred that Harry had experienced Tom’s scene from his perspective.
  • Harry left Dumbledore’s office, suspected that William and Hermione had burned down the Albanian forest, and Dumbledore asked William to remain for a private discussion.

Ch. 633A Full Stomach Gives You Strength to Work

William and Dumbledore discussed the escaped prisoner, Voldemort’s growing strength, and a missing Muggle, while avoiding the truth about Harry’s scar. The next morning, William and Hermione considered Voldemort’s plans and went to the Room of Requirement to solve the Golden Egg’s secret.

  • William asked Dumbledore about the Azkaban warden Dondarrion, and Dumbledore explained how Crouch had exposed him and what became of Crouch’s imprisoned son and wife.
  • William asked who Crouch had imprisoned, and Dumbledore said the wizard might have been an unknown Death Eater before warning that Voldemort would likely return for the Horcrux.
  • Dumbledore told William that Voldemort’s power was growing and that the Muggle Frank Bryce had disappeared from the village where Voldemort’s father was born.
  • William told Hermione what had happened, and Hermione suspected Wormtail had hatched the missing Runespoor egg to obtain venom for Voldemort.
  • William reasoned that Voldemort was unlikely to check the Horcrux at the Gaunt Shack, and Hermione went with him to the Room of Requirement to work on the Golden Egg.

Ch. 634The Rich Get Rich First, Then Their Descendants

William and Hermione tried to uncover the Golden Egg’s secret while Hogwarts students faced mounting O.W.L. preparations and Hagrid’s dangerous Blast-Ended Skrewts. The chapter ended with Hagrid promising a Manticore lesson despite William and Cho’s objections.

  • William recognized that the Golden Egg needed a special sound-transmitting medium, while Hermione insisted on investigating it herself and tried roasting it over a fire.
  • Hermione borrowed the library’s dragon-egg books, and William arranged for Anne and Gabrielle to rent them to the other Champions.
  • As December brought bad weather and heavier revision, Akali’s extra classes grew popular, and William arranged for Cedric to train Neville in practical combat.
  • Moody taught students to dodge simulated Killing Curses, while Hagrid’s attempt to put the Blast-Ended Skrewts into hibernation boxes ended in chaos and left only five alive.
  • William and Cho asked Hagrid to avoid dangerous creatures for O.W.L. lessons, but Hagrid defended his plans and insisted that studying a Manticore was preferable to studying a Unicorn.

Ch. 635A One-in-Ten-Thousand Potions Genius

Fawkes summoned William from class to meet Dumbledore, and William brought Hermione along from Potions. Snape secretly poisoned Hermione’s antidote, leaving Harry and Ron suffering after they drank it.

  • Fawkes found William in Divination class, where he was cooking eggs while Professor Trelawney slept.
  • William dragged Fawkes away from the eggs and went to Snape’s Potions class to fetch Hermione for their appointment with Dumbledore.
  • Snape let Hermione leave after calling her antidote barely usable, and Harry and Ron drank it as soon as she was gone.
  • Snape revealed that he had poisoned Hermione’s antidote, and Harry and Ron collapsed with swollen, red faces.

Ch. 636Getting Free Labor Out of Voldemort... Wouldn't That Be Wonderful?

William and Hermione reached the sea cave where Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux, and Dumbledore showed them the concealed magical entrance. William began considering how to adapt Voldemort’s protections for his own cottage as a trap for Death Eaters.

  • William and Hermione arrived on a cliffside, and William tossed Fawkes into the sea after the phoenix clawed his shoulder.
  • Hermione Apparated with William to a boulder below the cliff, and they used their gondola to travel through a narrow sea passage to Dumbledore.
  • Dumbledore confirmed they had reached the cave and swam there, while Fawkes complained about William.
  • William detected faint traces of magic and taught Hermione how to reveal them, locating the strongest traces on the cave wall.
  • Dumbledore revealed Voldemort’s concealed entrance with Ancient Runes, and William recognized that opening it required a sacrifice.
  • William considered copying and altering Voldemort’s protective magic to lure Death Eaters into a trap near his cottage.

Ch. 637William Dug His Own Pit and Jumped In

William, Dumbledore, and Hermione entered the cavern protecting Voldemort’s Horcrux and discovered that a hidden boat could cross the Inferi-infested lake. William tried to board it, but the boat overturned because he was carrying a whole zoo of magical creatures.

  • William used Blast-Ended Skrewt blood to reveal a hidden entrance in the cave wall, and Dumbledore led the group inside.
  • William warned Hermione and Dumbledore not to touch the vast black lake after he spotted a green light across it.
  • Dumbledore and William determined that Inferi, Anti-Apparition magic, and an Anti-Flying Charm prevented them from crossing by ordinary means.
  • William sensed a Wizard-Banishing Charm, and Dumbledore found the invisible chain that summoned a small bronze boat from the lake.
  • William and Hermione reasoned that Voldemort had used a sacrifice to drink the potion protecting the Horcrux, so the boat could carry more than one wizard.
  • William jumped into the boat, which capsized under the weight of the magical creatures he carried.

Ch. 638You Can Sit on My Lap

William fought his way through the Inferi in the lake and reached shore, where he, Hermione, and Dumbledore drove back the dead. After Hermione realized Fawkes could Apparate on the island, Dumbledore and then Hermione left with the phoenix, leaving William alone in the boat.

  • William used nonverbal magic to scatter the Inferi underwater and escaped to the surface by stepping on Fawkes, who had been knocked into the lake.
  • Hermione helped William ashore, and Dumbledore burned the Inferi emerging from the lake while William and Hermione trapped some in iron cages.
  • Hermione pointed out that Fawkes could Apparate where wizards could not, and Dumbledore took the phoenix to the island's center.
  • William tried to persuade Hermione to sit on his lap in the narrow boat, but Fawkes Apparated in, took Hermione, and left William behind.

Ch. 639R.A.B.

William, Hermione, and Dumbledore retrieved a locket from Voldemort’s potion-protected cave, then discovered a note saying the real Horcrux had been stolen by someone with the initials R.A.B. The chapter leaves them identifying the likely thief as Regulus Arcturus Black.

  • William and Dumbledore tested the potion basin and found that its liquid could only be removed in a limited amount unless someone drank it.
  • William forced the Blast-Ended Skrewt to drink cup after cup of potion until the basin was empty, allowing Dumbledore to retrieve the locket.
  • Dumbledore brought William, Hermione, and the locket back to his office, where William sensed that something was wrong with it.
  • Dumbledore opened the locket and read a note from R.A.B. claiming to have stolen the real Horcrux and intending to destroy it.
  • Hermione and William considered possible identities for R.A.B., and Phineas Black’s comment led Dumbledore to identify Regulus Arcturus Black as the likely thief.

Ch. 640Too Busty and Brutal!

William reflected on Regulus Black’s theft of the Horcrux and planned to have Sirius search for it or the locket. At Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall announced the Yule Ball, and William left as girls began eyeing him as a potential dance partner.

  • William accepted that Regulus had taken the Horcrux and decided they would need to find either the intact Horcrux or the locket; Sirius would get the search assignment.
  • During Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall kept the class late and helped Cho through a question after she struggled to answer.
  • Professor McGonagall announced that the Yule Ball would take place in the Great Hall at eight o’clock on Christmas night and explained that Champions and their partners traditionally opened it.
  • After class, Professor McGonagall asked Cho to stay behind, and William explained to Marietta that she likely wanted to discuss Cho’s dance partner.
  • Marietta and other girls watched William as he packed up, but he hurried away to the Great Hall.
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Page 32 of 57