Chapter Summaries

William and his friends received their O.W.L. results and Hogwarts booklists, and Hermione was named Gryffindor Prefect. Harry and Ron were disappointed to learn neither had received the badge, while Neville became Prefect and shared the news with his mother at St Mungo’s.

• William distributed the new-term booklists and the students opened their O.W.L. results; William had earned twelve O grades, and Cho had earned five.
• Cho thanked Cedric for tutoring her, while Harry felt jealous and considered asking her to tutor him.
• William found Hermione’s Gryffindor Prefect Badge in her letter and pinned it to her clothes.
• Harry and Ron searched their letters for Prefect badges, but neither had been chosen.
• At St Mungo’s, Neville learned he was Gryffindor Prefect and pinned his badge to his mother’s nightdress; she smiled and hummed a lullaby.

As the new school year began, William focused on the growing threat from the Dementors and the aftermath of Umbridge’s trial. On the Hogwarts Express, Neville revealed that he was Gryffindor’s unknown new Prefect, leaving Harry and Ron stunned.

• Harry and Ron searched for classmates’ homework and tried to discover Gryffindor’s other Prefect, while William kept his plans concerning the Dementors and Bellatrix to himself.
• Umbridge received a one-month sentence in Azkaban after an Auror took the blame for the Unforgivable Curse cast with her wand.
• William brought Hermione and Anne to Platform 9¾, where reporters and students surrounded them with questions about Voldemort’s return.
• On the train, Neville showed Cedric and Cho a rare Mimbulus mimbletonia that he hoped to cultivate.
• When William set off for the Prefects’ compartment, Neville admitted he was a Prefect and said he had lost his badge; William turned Trevor into a temporary badge, leaving Harry and Ron shocked.

William attended the prefects’ meeting on the Hogwarts Express, where Cedric assigned patrol partners and paired William with Hermione. The meeting ended with Cedric leaving with Cho while William wondered how prefect duties had become matchmaking.

• Angelina told Hermione she was Gryffindor’s new Quidditch captain and declared that her team would pursue the Cup, while William and Cho teased her about Gryffindor’s record and Cho’s new broom.
• The new prefects arrived: Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott for Hufflepuff, Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw, and Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson for Slytherin.
• Cedric began the prefects’ meeting, reviewed their duties, and assigned patrol pairs.
• Cedric paired William with Hermione, Neville with Hannah, and Malfoy with Pansy, then paired himself with Cho.
• William left the compartment thinking that being Head Boy had turned into a matchmaking job.

William and Hermione confiscated banned prank products on the Hogwarts train, then learned that Sturgis Podmore had been arrested for allegedly breaking into the Department of Mysteries. Fudge claimed Sturgis had led a hundred people in a riot at the Ministry, leaving William suspicious of the charges.

• William decided confiscating Akali's Mystery Shop products would encourage students to buy replacements, then began enforcing the ban with Hermione.
• William confiscated Dungbombs from two Hufflepuff boys in dresses and a Fanged Frisbee from a second-year witch, compensating her with a broomstick coupon.
• Astoria asked William to search Daphne's belongings for banned products, but he refused and gave Daphne a discount coupon; after Astoria accused him of favoritism, he deducted two points from Slytherin.
• Hermione told William that Tonks had reported Sturgis Podmore's arrest for trying to break into the Department of Mysteries.
• William learned that Fudge was calling the incident a riot involving a hundred people and claiming Sturgis had led the invasion and stolen the lectern.

William and Hermione speculated about why Sturgis had broken into the Department of Mysteries, then returned to find Harry and Malfoy fighting on the train. After Ron accidentally hit Malfoy with Neville's stinksap plant and gave Harry a hickey while trying to help him, Anne showed William and Hermione Chocolate Frog Cards featuring them.

• William and Hermione considered whether Fudge or the Death Eaters had sent Sturgis into the Department of Mysteries, but could not determine the reason.
• William and Hermione found Malfoy arguing with Harry and Ron, and Malfoy taunted Harry and Ron about their Prefect appointments.
• Ron threw Neville's Mimbulus mimbletonia at Malfoy, spraying stinksap over Malfoy, Harry, and Ron.
• Ron tried to suck supposed poison from Harry's neck and left him with a hickey, while Malfoy panicked until William explained that stinksap was not poisonous.
• Anne returned with Luna and Ginny, and she showed William and Hermione Chocolate Frog Cards bearing their pictures.

William and the other students returned to Hogwarts in a storm, where Professor Grubbly-Plank had replaced Hagrid and Snape had replaced McGonagall to receive the first years. The chapter ended with Snape punishing Harry and Ron, while Harry chose not to argue with him.

• William and Hermione found their new Chocolate Frog cards in high demand, but Anne refused to sell hers.
• At Hogsmeade Station, Professor Grubbly-Plank guided the first years in Hagrid’s absence, while Ginny urged Harry to get off the train.
• Neville told William and Hermione that Hannah had introduced him to her friends and shared their future career plans.
• William joined Cho, Cedric, Hermione, and Neville in a carriage, and the Thestrals recognized the scent of his Granian carriage.
• Snape docked Gryffindor fifty points and gave Harry and Ron detention after Malfoy accused them of attacking a Prefect; Harry held back from arguing.

William returned to Hogwarts for the welcoming feast and listened as the Sorting Hat gave the first-years a new song about the Four Founders and unity. The feast ended with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor still absent and the hat urging the school to forge an unbreakable friendship.

• William sat with Cho and Luna at the Ravenclaw table, where Luna read a Quibbler article claiming Cornelius Fudge had become Minister after drinking toilet water every day.
• William overheard the ghosts discussing Peeves, who had wrecked the kitchen after they broke their promise to let him attend the welcoming feast.
• Cho pointed out that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was missing, while William recalled that Dumbledore had asked Moody to leave and the intended replacement was still in prison.
• Snape led the first-years into the Great Hall and carried the Sorting Hat on a stool.
• The Sorting Hat sang about the Four Founders, their disagreements and departure, then urged the students to unite and build an unbreakable friendship.

At the start-of-term feast, Dumbledore announced new restrictions and revealed that the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was serving a sentence in Azkaban. After Ron explained Harry’s neck mark, Ginny gave up on her crush and decided to date Michael Corner.

• Dumbledore warned students not to enter the Forbidden Forest without important business and an escort, making William suspect something had happened there.
• Dumbledore welcomed Professor Grubbly-Plank back to teach Care of Magical Creatures, while Harry grew angry that Hagrid and Sirius were away on missions.
• Dumbledore announced that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was still serving hard labor in Azkaban, startling the students.
• Colin spotted a mark on Harry’s neck, and Ron said he had left it on the train.
• Ginny saw the mark and, believing Harry and Ron were together, decided to date Michael Corner and forget her crush on Harry.

William and his friends planned to scale down Akali’s O.W.L. tutoring classes because they lacked tutors and expected Umbridge to return to Hogwarts. The chapter ended with Harry asking whether Cho would tutor, while secretly wondering about one-on-one lessons.

• A rumor spread through Hogwarts that Ron and Harry had kissed and become engaged, leaving the pair unaware of the latest versions.
• Hermione pressed Anne to take her studies seriously after discussing Anne’s slipping grades with Professor McGonagall.
• William, the twins, Cedric, and Cho discussed recruiting older students as tutors and reducing the number of Akali’s tutoring classes.
• Fred and George offered Ron paid work as a Skiving Snackbox test subject, and Cho promoted tutoring as a way to prepare for O.W.L.s.
• Harry asked Cho whether she would become a tutor and wondered how much one-on-one tutoring would cost.

William and Cho learned that Snape had raised the entry requirement for advanced Defence Against Dark Magic, then attended his first lesson, where he introduced the dangers of Dark Magic and explained what he intended to teach. Snape ended by saying that true strength meant protecting others, not defeating people.

• William and Cho encountered Ravenclaw students protesting after Snape required an O.W.L. grade of 'O' for advanced Defence Against Dark Magic, excluding Marietta.
• William encouraged Marietta not to give up, and Cho accused him of wanting her to pay for extra lessons.
• Snape silenced William and Cho, dismissed the textbook, and warned the class that the advanced course would be difficult.
• William identified the wall pictures as Botticelli's Map of Inferno and explained its magical depiction of Dark Magic's punishments.
• Judy Crouch asked whether Voldemort had returned, and Snape confirmed that the Dark Lord's resurrection was nothing to be surprised by.
• Snape said he would teach students to protect themselves and the people they cared about, declaring that true strength was measured by how many people they protected.

William’s sixth-year classes became far more demanding as teachers introduced Nonverbal Spells and advanced Transfiguration. After William and Snape’s spectacular duel energized the students, the chapter ended with sixth-years overwhelmed by heavier coursework and anxiety about graduation and employment.

• Snape made his students drink a foul Potion to stop them from speaking incantations during Nonverbal Spell practice.
• William faced Cho in practice, then fought Snape in an exhibition duel that left the class amazed and fired up.
• McGonagall began teaching Human Transfiguration and demonstrated how to make herself look younger, prompting girls to ask William about breast enhancement.
• The sixth-years found that their teachers had assigned heavier homework and essays despite promises that school would ease up after their O.W.L. Exams.

Sixth-year classes became more demanding, while students eagerly practiced nonverbal spells and anticipated the return of Quidditch tryouts. William and Hermione reached the Great Hall, where Anne handed William the Ravenclaw applicants list and he was surprised by how many students had applied.

• Professor Burbage assigned students a nuclear reactor project and a controlled-fusion design, while Professor Trelawney offered paid Inner Eye tutoring.
• William refused to hold sixth-year tutoring sessions, and Harry was disappointed that Cho needed Cedric to tutor her.
• Professors used William's nonverbal spells as demonstrations, and students struggled to imitate them in class.
• William and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall late after reviewing Hermione's time-loop experiments, while Anne teased them about staying out all night.
• Anne gave William the Ravenclaw Quidditch applicants list, and William frowned at the large number of applicants.

William oversaw Ravenclaw’s Quidditch tryouts while Angelina worried about preparing her team for the championship. Ron learned that Ginny was dating Michael Corner, objected to the relationship, and drove her to tears before the others went to comfort her.

• William cleared non-Ravenclaws from the tryouts and hung Astoria from a goal hoop after Daphne reported her sabotage plan.
• Angelina considered the pressure of captaining the team and dismissed Wood’s advice to impose punishing training.
• Ginny cheered for Michael Corner, prompting Ron to learn that she was dating him.
• Ron tried to forbid Ginny from dating Michael, and Ginny argued back before running off crying.
• Hermione explained that Ginny had stopped hoping to date Harry, while Luna told Ron he was meddling; the others went to comfort Ginny.

Ron and Ginny’s feud over her boyfriend Michael Corner spilled onto the Quidditch pitch, where Ginny humiliated Ron during Keeper tryouts. Meanwhile, William followed developments beyond Hogwarts as Umbridge returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.

• William learned that Ron objected to Ginny dating Michael Corner, and Ginny confronted Ron over his interference.
• Ginny joined the Chaser tryouts and scored ten goals against Ron, leaving him shaken and humiliated.
• Ron made the Gryffindor team as Keeper after McLaggen missed tryouts and other candidates were ruled out; Anne also impressed as a Chaser.
• Rita’s investigation found that Fudge had no involvement in Sturgis Podmore’s case, leaving the Death Eaters’ role in sending him to the Department of Mysteries unresolved.
• Umbridge was released from prison and returned to Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and deputy minister, intent on investigating Dumbledore and Stark and driving them from the school. After she monopolized breakfast with a speech about becoming students’ confidante, William sent Dungbombs flying at her, leaving her alone in the Great Hall amid the stench.

• Umbridge arrived at breakfast and asked McGonagall where Dumbledore was; McGonagall defended Hogwarts’s recent results against Umbridge’s criticism.
• Umbridge introduced herself to the students, advertised her influence at the Ministry, and claimed she was nearly their age.
• Parvati, Lavender, Cho, and Luna mocked Umbridge’s clothes, while the professors grew increasingly impatient with her speech.
• Hermione asked how long Umbridge would keep talking, and William sent a row of Dungbombs toward her.
• The students fled as the Dungbombs exploded, and Umbridge found herself surrounded by the stench with no teachers left at the staff table.

Umbridge accused William of attacking the professors with a Dungbomb, but he deflected her attempt to seize his wand and challenged her Ministry-approved Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. The chapter ended with William accusing the textbook’s author of violating magical law and stirring up trouble, leaving Umbridge speechless.

• A Dungbomb attack left Umbridge furious, and McGonagall dismissed her demands to investigate it as an overreaction.
• Umbridge confronted William in Defence Against the Dark Arts and demanded his wand, but he used Prior Incantato and threatened to sue her for defamation.
• Umbridge ordered the class to copy course objectives and silently read the textbook instead of practising defensive magic.
• While plotting ways to target William and Hermione, Umbridge ignored his raised hand until the class stopped reading.
• William cited passages in Wilbert Slinkhard’s textbook that he claimed violated magical laws and questioned the author’s motives, leaving Umbridge frozen.

William exposed the flaws in Umbridge’s textbook and revealed that Wizengamot members had begun impeachment proceedings against Fudge. Umbridge fled class in tears, while Hogwarts celebrated William and Fudge publicly denounced the impeachment.

• William attacked the errors and anti-offensive-magic rules in Slinkhard’s textbook, persuading the class that Slinkhard was a Death Eater plotting against the Ministry.
• William told Umbridge that Griselda Marchbanks and Ogden had begun impeachment proceedings against Fudge, then challenged her about the textbook and her Defence Against Dark Magic O.W.L. grade.
• Umbridge ended the lesson and left in tears, and the class cheered William as the incident spread around Hogwarts.
• Harry celebrated William and planned to defy Umbridge by talking about Voldemort and the events of that night.
• Rumors about William and Umbridge grew increasingly bizarre, while Flitwick and McGonagall celebrated William and Snape refrained from mocking him or deducting points.
• Fudge gave an interview condemning the impeachment proceedings as ridiculous and dangerous.

Umbridge retaliated against Hogwarts students with confusing reading assignments and forced Harry into detention after he challenged her about Voldemort’s return. William and Hermione discussed her punishments over dinner, and William planned to use Polyjuice Potion to attend Hermione’s detention in her place.

• Fudge ordered Umbridge to drive Dumbledore and Stark out of Hogwarts, so Umbridge resumed teaching with difficult journal articles instead of the disputed textbook.
• Umbridge required every sixth-year student to take Defence Against Dark Magic, and Harry challenged her in class by insisting Voldemort had returned.
• Umbridge deducted fifty points from Gryffindor and assigned Harry Saturday detention, while Hermione told William that she had received detention for reading his Occlumency notes.
• William told Hermione he would impersonate her with Polyjuice Potion and attend her detention to discover what Umbridge was planning.
• William and Hermione practiced Occlumency, and Hermione leapt onto him when he teased her about secrets he had seen in her memories.

William disguised as Hermione attended detention with Harry, where Umbridge used a blood-writing quill to punish them. William turned the quill’s curse back on Umbridge and repeatedly wrote “I’m a Mudblood!” until she begged him to stop.

• William and Hermione switched appearances, and Hermione went to oversee Ravenclaw Quidditch practice in his place.
• William arrived at Umbridge’s office, where Harry asked to reschedule detention so he could attend Quidditch practice, but Umbridge refused.
• Umbridge taunted Harry about his parents and ordered him to write “I must not tell lies” with a cursed quill.
• Umbridge told William to write “I’m a Mudblood!” as revenge for her attack in Vienna and imprisonment in Azkaban.
• William used the quill’s curse against Umbridge, repeatedly carving the words into her face as it healed, and told her they could both take the sentence to heart.

William and Hermione exposed Umbridge’s Dark Magic quill punishment, turning Hermione into a Hogwarts hero and prompting Akali’s Mystery Shop to sell protective badges. When Hermione warned that Umbridge would choose a new punishment, William ordered the shop’s House-elves to intercept and inspect her correspondence and purchases.

• Hermione used the enchanted quill to make Umbridge’s face bear the words “I am a Mudblood” while William watched and Harry stood trembling nearby.
• Professor McGonagall blasted open Umbridge’s office door, discovered the punishment, and condemned Umbridge’s use of corporal punishment and Dark Magic.
• News of Umbridge’s quill spread through Hogwarts, and Harry’s embellished account made Hermione nearly as popular as William.
• William designed Anti-Jinx Badges that protected students from the quill and reflected its effects onto Umbridge, and the first batch quickly sold out.
• Hermione warned that Umbridge would switch to another punishment, so William ordered the shop’s House-elves to intercept and inspect her owls, letters, and purchases.