Chapter Summaries

William helped the students repel an overwhelming attack by Inferi and Dementors, then led the survivors to Hogwarts. At Hogsmeade Station, Snape learned that Harry Potter was missing.

• Hermione held back the Inferi while the students faced hundreds of Dementors, and Harry and the others failed to cast Patronuses.
• William returned to the train, rallied the students, and combined their magic into a gigantic sea eagle Patronus that drove off the Dementors.
• The battered train reached Hogsmeade Station, where the shaken students praised William and he organized the Prefects to count everyone.
• Snape arrived to lead the first-years, and William gave him the completed roll showing that Harry Potter was missing.

Snape searched for Harry after Ron admitted that Harry had taken the Invisibility Cloak to spy on someone, while William and the students proceeded to Hogwarts. At the feast, William found Professor Trelawney arguing with Professor McGonagall, and Harry was still missing.

• Ron confessed to Snape that Harry had taken the Invisibility Cloak and left the train to spy on someone.
• Snape docked fifty points from Gryffindor and went to search for Harry while William returned to the other students.
• William told Cho, Hermione, and Anne that Harry was probably hiding in a Slytherin compartment and that Snape had gone to find him.
• The students underwent security checks at the school gates before entering the Great Hall.
• William saw Professor Trelawney arguing with Professor McGonagall at the feast.

Trelawney and McGonagall argued over Firenze’s place at Hogwarts, while William tried to avoid choosing between their Divination classes. At the start-of-year feast, Dumbledore announced strict wartime rules and introduced William’s Campus Today map, which would track students’ locations and alert staff if anyone left the school.

• Trelawney demanded that McGonagall dismiss Firenze and pressured William to choose her Divination class, but McGonagall defended the students’ right to choose.
• Hagrid and Dumbledore returned as the argument intensified, and Flitwick led the young wizards into the Great Hall.
• The Sorting and feast began with fewer students than usual, while the young wizards noticed that Snape and Harry were absent.
• Dumbledore welcomed the students and announced that Hogwarts would be closed off, with departures requiring multiple approvals.
• Dumbledore introduced Akali’s Mystery Shop’s Campus Today map and instructed students to check in at their locations, with Prefects responsible for daily oversight.

Dumbledore appointed Slughorn as Potions teacher and Snape as acting Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, while Harry arrived at the Great Hall injured after Malfoy broke his nose. Later, Dumbledore and Snape discussed Voldemort’s worsening condition and Draco Malfoy’s role in Voldemort’s plan to punish his parents.

• Dumbledore introduced Slughorn as the new Potions teacher and announced that Snape would temporarily teach Defence Against the Dark Arts.
• Snape brought Harry into the Great Hall with a broken nose, while Malfoy mocked him to the Slytherins.
• Snape gave Dumbledore a potion and estimated that Voldemort had only five months left to live without an antidote.
• Dumbledore told Snape to keep Voldemort alive, both to protect Snape and because Voldemort’s body contained Harry’s blood.
• Dumbledore criticized Snape for humiliating Harry, and Snape defended his actions by pointing out that Harry had foolishly been caught spying on Malfoy.
• Dumbledore and Snape discussed Voldemort’s plan for Draco to kill them, with Snape explaining that the task was meant to punish Lucius and his family.

Dumbledore asked Snape to guide Draco away from Voldemort’s plans and unintended victims, and told Snape that he had saved himself and grown into a noble man. The next morning, William heard Hogwarts students gossiping about Harry, Snape, and Malfoy while he handed out timetables and checked sixth-years’ O.W.L. results.

• Dumbledore told Snape that Draco was in danger and asked him to find out what Draco was planning and offer him help.
• Snape doubted Draco would trust him, but Dumbledore urged him to guide the boy and keep him from being corrupted by Voldemort.
• Dumbledore praised Snape for saving himself and said Lily would be glad to see how much he had grown; Snape silently wiped away tears.
• William heard students spread rumors about Harry’s injuries, Snape, and Malfoy as he headed to breakfast.
• William handed out timetables and checked that sixth-year students’ O.W.L. results qualified them for their chosen N.E.W.T. courses.

William reviewed students’ career plans and N.E.W.T. subject choices, then accompanied Cho to Professor Sprout’s practical lesson at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Sprout announced that she would teach the seventh-years to use magical plants to protect Hogwarts, themselves, and their homes.

• William rejected Lisa Turpin’s request to join advanced Ancient Runes and advised Michael Corner to consider work as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts.
• Hermione and Anne arrived after Anne overslept, and William found no newspaper report about the attack on the Hogwarts Express.
• Cho urged William to keep Ravenclaw’s Quidditch team intact for a fourth consecutive championship, but William argued that they should select promising new players.
• Professor Sprout took her students to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and explained that they would learn to plant magical plants for protection.

Professor Sprout taught the students how to handle and plant Whomping Willow saplings as defensive guardians, while Hagrid introduced Giant Grubs and highly venomous Horned Serpents in Care of Magical Creatures. The students fled from Hagrid’s snakes, leaving William amused by the danger of the graduating class’s lesson.

• Professor Sprout quizzed the students about Whomping Willows, and Cho and William earned points for Ravenclaw with their answers.
• Professor Sprout gave the students saplings to plant, and William calmed his with Divine Finger while the others were battered by theirs.
• The students went to Hagrid’s Hut, where Hagrid showed them Giant Grubs and explained that they produced syrup for Honeydukes’ butterfly honey candy.
• Hagrid revealed Horned Serpents and assured the frightened students that they were safe because their seller had never received a bad review.
• The students ran from the highly venomous snakes, while William enjoyed the dangerous lesson.

Hagrid told William and Cho that Aragog was gravely ill and wanted the Acromantulas moved, while students learned about Harry’s unusually successful Potions lesson. Harry’s marked textbook revealed its former owner’s name: the Half-Blood Prince.

• Hagrid explained that Aragog was dying and asked him to find the Acromantulas a new home away from the Forbidden Forest.
• McLaggen hid a snake in his pants, was bitten, and howled that it was broken.
• William and Cho heard that Slughorn had awarded Hermione Felix Felicis for brewing the Draught of Living Death.
• Harry said he had followed handwritten instructions in an old textbook to brew the potion successfully.
• Harry showed the group the inscription identifying the book as belonging to the Half-Blood Prince.

Harry excelled in Potions by following the notes in the Half-Blood Prince’s textbook and became eager to learn the owner’s identity. William recognized the book as Snape’s, leaving Harry stunned to discover that the wizard he had imagined as a genius was the professor he disliked.

• Harry followed the Half-Blood Prince’s instructions and brewed the Draught of Living Death exceptionally well, finishing second in class.
• Harry, Ron, Anne, Hermione, and Ginny speculated about who had written the notes, while Harry defended the Prince against Ginny’s suspicion that he was a Death Eater.
• Hermione noticed that several ingredient-preparation methods in the book resembled techniques William had taught her.
• William examined the handwriting and told Harry that the book belonged to Professor Snape.
• William explained that the handwriting and the method for crushing Sopophorous Beans were characteristic of Snape, while Harry refused to believe the Half-Blood Prince was his hated professor.

Harry rejected William’s claim that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince and decided to investigate the name and the book’s history. Meanwhile, William explained the Prince family connection to Hermione and wondered whether Harry would uncover Snape’s childhood ties to Lily, while Slughorn’s prizes stirred excitement across the other years.

• Harry noticed that the textbook was published fifty years earlier and planned to search school records and old newspapers for a student named Prince.
• Harry persuaded Ron to stay late with him in the library to help investigate the Half-Blood Prince.
• Hermione told William that the book might have belonged to Snape’s mother, and William identified her as Eileen Prince.
• William said he would not tell Harry about Snape and Lily’s past, though he expected Harry might discover that they had lived near each other in Cokeworth.
• Slughorn offered valuable prizes in Potions classes: Anne won Baruffio’s Brain Elixir and gave it to Luna, while other students competed for a Dream Come True Potion and Slug Club invitations.
• The seventh-years finally had their first Potions Class on Thursday.

Slughorn introduced several unusual potions to his seventh-year class, with William identifying the mysterious Future Water. The class learned that the potion could reveal glimpses of the future but carried dangerous mental and physical risks.

• Slughorn welcomed the students to his newly decorated classroom and credited William with persuading him to return to Hogwarts.
• Elena Kaslana identified Amortentia and described the foods she smelled in its steam.
• Lynn Belock identified a Sex-Change Potion and revealed how it could be used to change someone's sex.
• Ivan Hals identified Beautification Potion and gave Slughorn chocolates from his mother, which Slughorn discarded after misreading her wish for him to live to a hundred.
• William identified the bubbling multicolored potion as Future Water, and Slughorn warned the class that it could reveal the future but might cause poisoning or severe mental problems if brewed or taken improperly.

In Slughorn’s first Potions class, he taught the students to brew a weaker Elixir of Life and explained its limits and ingredients. He hoped William might someday make a Philosopher’s Stone, while the class began brewing the potion.

• Slughorn offered William Future Water to win his interest, then announced that the class would brew an Elixir of Life.
• Judy Crouch asked whether the potion granted eternal life, and Slughorn explained that only Nicolas Flamel’s Philosopher’s Stone could make a truly life-extending Elixir.
• McLaggen asked about Flamel’s recipe, and Slughorn said the students lacked the Philosopher’s Stone, which Flamel had made alone in six hundred years.
• Slughorn explained that the students’ version could extend life temporarily, but repeated use caused resistance, and he said Muggles could drink it too.
• The students began brewing the Elixir of Life while Slughorn privately hoped William could make another Philosopher’s Stone.

William brewed the Elixir of Life with ease, won Slughorn’s Future Water, and avoided his party invitation by citing Quidditch duties and confidential Ministry business. After the Ministry fined the Flint family and announced the Hogwarts Express attack, worried parents began contacting students, while the Patils’ parents sought to sell dubious potions that William rejected.

• William brewed the Elixir of Life flawlessly in class, and Slughorn praised him and awarded him a vial of Future Water.
• Slughorn invited William to a party, but Cho helped him decline by reminding him of Ravenclaw’s Quidditch plans and four-championship goal.
• William told Slughorn that the Ministry would fine the Flint family 182,000 Galleons for hoarding medicine and attempting to monopolize supplies.
• The Daily Prophet reported the Ministry’s fine and revealed that the Hogwarts Express had been attacked, prompting worried parents to send students letters.
• Lyanna wrote from Venice asking William to look after Anne and Hermione, while the Patils’ parents discussed selling Indian potions with him.
• William rejected the Patils’ parents’ cow-urine-and-Ganges-water potions and suggested they market them in New York instead.

After Death Eaters murdered Hannah Abbott’s mother, students continued leaving Hogwarts, while those who remained tried to make sense of the war and William’s role in it. Professor McGonagall redirected their political debates with piles of homework, and Saturday’s Quidditch tryouts revealed how badly withdrawals and graduations had weakened the houses.

• The Death Eaters attacked the Abbott family after Hannah’s father refused to serve the Dark Lord, and Hannah disappeared after learning her mother had been murdered.
• More students withdrew, while Hogwarts students formed political discussion circles and proposed a European magical union with William as a second Dumbledore.
• Professor McGonagall called the professors together and assigned students so much homework that their debates and free time stopped.
• Cho struggled with advanced classes and resented Harry’s repeated requests for Apparition tutoring, while William took over tutoring her after Cedric left.
• Ravenclaw held orderly Quidditch tryouts under Cho, while Slytherin and Hufflepuff gave up on the term and Gryffindor faced major losses among its starting players.

Harry promised Professor McGonagall that Gryffindor would win the Quidditch Cup, then began tryouts with a weakened team and pursued a clue to the Half-Blood Prince’s identity. Meanwhile, William watched the chaotic tryouts with Hermione and learned that the Ministry planned to blame the Death Eaters for a nuclear plant disaster near Mahoutokoro.

• Harry promised Professor McGonagall that Gryffindor would win the Quidditch Cup, then told Ron the team would hold new tryouts and assured him he could earn the Keeper position.
• Harry showed Ron an old newspaper photograph of Eileen Prince and said he would investigate her family to learn who the Half-Blood Prince was.
• William, tired after answering Tonks’s summons to fight Death Eaters attacking a Muggle village, watched Anne’s Gryffindor tryout with Hermione and Luna.
• Harry’s inexperienced tryouts descended into chaos as students collided on their brooms, while Anne warmed up for her chance to play.
• Hermione told William that a nuclear plant near Mahoutokoro had exploded and that the Ministry planned to blame the Death Eaters and rally other countries against them.

Ron failed to borrow Harry's Firebolt from Ginny, then spotted a chance to use a first-year's Nimbus 2200 at the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. He took the broom and headed onto the pitch, while William and Hermione watched.

• Ron arrived at the pitch with an old Cleansweep Seven after learning that Harry had lent his Firebolt to Ginny.
• Ron demanded the Firebolt from Ginny, but she refused and told him to ask Harry directly.
• Ron saw William talking with Hermione and noticed two first-year Gryffindors asking William to teach them to fly.
• Hermione challenged Monica and her friend for bringing a Nimbus 2200, since first years were not allowed to bring brooms.
• Ron took Monica's Nimbus 2200 and headed to the center of the pitch to use it for the tryouts.

Ron borrowed a younger student’s Nimbus 2200 and joined the Gryffindor Keeper tryouts, where Harry considered Cormac McLaggen a strong rival. After Lavender cheered Ron on, he felt confident on the new broom, but it went out of control and carried him out of sight.

• Ron took the younger girls’ broomstick to the Quidditch pitch and met Cormac McLaggen, who announced that he wanted to try out for Keeper.
• Harry watched the candidates and saw McLaggen save five shots in a row, while Ron grew nervous as the crowd gathered.
• Lavender Brown cheered for Ron, encouraging him as he mounted the Nimbus 2200 for his turn.
• Ginny sent a tricky shot toward the goal, but Ron’s broom kept climbing and then spun wildly out of control.
• Ron and the Nimbus 2200 vanished from the pitch as Harry called after him.

Ron was injured when a tampered Nimbus 2200 went out of control, and William and Hermione concluded that Malfoy had arranged the attack. As Dumbledore tried to reach Malfoy through Snape, William wondered whether Malfoy was the third traitor foretold by Trelawney.

• Ron crashed into the Forbidden Forest, where Hagrid rescued him from the Acromantulas and took him to the Hospital Wing.
• Ron's injury kept him off the Quidditch team, while Lavender visited him and Ginny enjoyed having her brother out of her way.
• Hermione found no curse on the wrecked Nimbus 2200, and William reasoned that its control mechanism had been removed before it entered the school.
• William suspected Malfoy had targeted him with the broomstick, while Hermione worried that Malfoy might endanger other students.
• William told Hermione that Dumbledore had Snape making contact with Malfoy, then recalled Trelawney's prophecy and considered Malfoy the possible third traitor.

William realized he had skipped Divination for weeks and went with Cho to make up the numbers, where he found Professor Trelawney arguing with Firenze over prophecy. Trelawney drew a Death card and warned of trees being cut down, a man imprisoned, and danger closing in on Dumbledore.

• William realized he had missed several Divination classes, leaving Cho as Trelawney’s only other student.
• William and Cho found students gathered outside Classroom Eleven, where Trelawney and Firenze were arguing about divination and prophecies.
• Trelawney berated Firenze as a fraud until he angrily left the classroom.
• Trelawney told William that Dumbledore had dismissed her warnings and drew a Death card predicting cut-down trees, an imprisoned man, and danger approaching Dumbledore.

William and Cho visited Trelawney for a lesson in fire divination, where Trelawney predicted a devastating blaze. Her spilled sherry ignited and quickly set the Divination Classroom on fire, leaving William and Cho facing the disaster.

• William and Cho accompanied Trelawney to the North Tower after Trelawney gave Dumbledore a grim tarot reading.
• Sir Cadogan confronted William about his promised match with a Black family lady, and Cho volunteered to arrange a meeting between their portraits.
• Trelawney began teaching William and Cho fire divination, and William recorded her prediction of a fire threatening the school.
• Trelawney dropped sherry into the fire basin, igniting spilled liquor and setting off a crate of sherry.
• Trelawney tried to douse the flames with more liquor as the fire spread through the classroom, and Cho woke to find the room ablaze.