Harry Potter and the Ring of Reduction

As Harry starts his seventh year at Hogwarts, he becomes more directly involved in the fight against Voldemort than ever before. Seeing death far more often than any seventeen-year-old should have to, Harry struggles with the costs of leading the fight: seeing those closest to him suffer for following where he leads, the necessity of making moral compromises, the burden of knowing that a lapse in judgment could have devastating consequences... and the fact that his pursuit of the "nice, boring life" he so desperately wants but has never had must always be secondary to his pursuit of Voldemort. Blaming himself after a mistake lets Voldemort slip through his fingers, will Harry take one step too far in his attempt to fulfill the prophecy?

An attack on the Aurors yanks Harry out of his relaxed summer, and puts him and his friends in the thick of the action.

Hermione's world comes crashing down around her as an old mistake comes back to haunt her, bringing grief to her and those she cares about.

Having suffered two traumatic events in less than twelve hours, Hermione and Neville struggle to cope; already busy helping Aurors try to prevent Death Eaters from Apparating freely, Harry must also worry about the prospect of every secret in his life becoming public.

Harry and the others try to work out how to respond to Skeeter's blackmail, as she publishes an article about his childhood which paints him in a positive light, but is sure to enrage Petunia.

After setting up their plans for how to deal with Skeeter's blackmail, Harry and Ginny go to the nicest restaurant in Diagon Alley, but the evening ends up being memorable in more ways than one.

Her immediate ordeal over, Hermione must face up to the events of the past few days, as the six wrestle with the implications of what happened, and try to get back to life as usual. For Harry in particular, of course, it isn't that easy, as he gets some highly disturbing information.

Harry struggles with the moral implications of helping a murderer, until another Death Eater attack forcefully brings home the idea that some moral compromises may be a necessary part of their fight.

Harry meets the new Minister of Magic and discovers that they have something very unusual in common; the Sorting Hat's song contains a message for Harry, and the Sorting... does not go as planned.

The last Hogwarts Sorting Harry will ever attend as a student is beginning; the first years are nervously waiting, the hundreds of candles floating. The second student's House is being decided, when... 'With the suddenness of a light being turned off, two things happened simultaneously: the Hat went silent, and all of the hovering candles plummeted to the floor.'

At the request of the Minister of Magic, Muggle Special Forces troops arrive at Hogwarts to provide security while the magic remains out.

Harry teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts for the first time to his same-year peers, who after the events of the past week are highly motivated; so are his second years, who want to learn to do dangerous things that he doesn't want them learning.

A crisis on Ginny's sixteenth birthday leads to her meeting Petunia for the first time, under less-than-ideal circumstances.

It's a very bad day for Harry as a student's indiscretion leads to difficulty in Harry's relationship with Snape, and Harry finds out why Legilimency is such a rare skill, as Hermione is very hurt by something she sees in Harry's memories.

Harry gives his History of Magic class a talk on Dumbledore and his formative experiences; the Slytherin seventh-year boys' dormitory once again becomes a source of trouble.

Snape is seething after Harry ignores a warning from Dumbledore and makes what Snape considers a critical mistake.

Harry feels the burdens of his position even more strongly than usual, as he must fight self-doubt, find the confidence to help someone who desperately needs it, and make a judgment in which doing the moral thing could have very negative real-world consequences.

In the wake of the most recent deaths at Hogwarts, McGonagall and Harry must confront concerned parents asking pointed questions about the school's security.

Harry confronts the Minister again over actions he finds morally objectionable, and has friction with Neville over his assistance of Snape.

In the first Quidditch match of the year, things take an unexpectedly personal turn as Gryffindor faces Ravenclaw and their new captain and Keeper Michael Corner.

Armed with a device that will negate Hogwarts' magical defenses, Voldemort's forces--including over a dozen giants--march on Hogwarts.

With Voldemort in retreat, Wormtail shows up at Hogwarts with information he hopes to trade for lenient treatment.

Voldemort has taken refuge in the ninth and last room of a Ring of Reduction, and plans to stay there in suspended animation for two hundred years, until 'the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord' is gone. Harry and Hermione go in after him... but must first get past eight rooms, set up with spells and environments of Voldemort's choosing. And if Harry fails, Voldemort will re-emerge immediately, and with no one to stop him, resume his reign of terror.

The final chapter. What will the future bring?