This time, everything goes so wrong during the holidays that Harry fears he might be expelled from Hogwarts for using a levitation spell on his unbearable Muggle aunt Magda, sending her to the ceiling, and then simply running away. While he is still imagining a life as an exile, the Ministry of Magic catches him, and to his astonishment, he arrives back at the castle just in time for the start of school. But now the real trouble begins! Why is a feared criminal hiding in the castle? How did he manage to get in? And why is he after Harry? Somehow, Harry finds the situation much more complicated than anyone wants him to believe. Together with his friends Ron and Hermione, he tries to unravel a web of betrayal, revenge, slander, and cowardice, stumbling upon incredible things that almost make him doubt his sanity.