It was not only the Hogwarts Express that departed from King's Cross Station; the scenery seen from the windows of the Great Magic Express was also different from that seen aboard the Hogwarts Express.
Looking back now, the reason they had been able to stay in that Renaissance-era old mansion, and why she had received an antique dress that had crossed into this world with her, was all because they had saved the Duke of Lorraine.
Too many years had passed. If not for that journey, neither Pomona nor Severus would have known that the intensity of the Witch Hunts varied by region.
Before Hector and Achilles fought their final duel, Hector had tried to negotiate with Achilles. One of them was bound to fall first. Hector hoped they could swear an oath before the gods: he would not dishonor Achilles's body, only take the armor that represented his honor, and the body would be returned to the Achaeans. In return, he asked Achilles to treat him the same way.
Yet Achilles refused. Just as there could be no oath between a lion and a man, nor harmony between wolves and sheep.
Likewise, Polyphemus had wanted to reconcile with Odysseus, except the Cyclops called it "giving a gift."
He said those words twice: once before he was blinded, and once after. Before losing his sight, Polyphemus considered "eating Nobody last" a "gift." The second time was after he had been blinded. Even fallen gods could not possibly be equals with humans, much less enter into any oath. Naturally, Polyphemus would not, like Hector, have the gods witness an oath and give it binding force.
Yet he prayed to Poseidon, asking him to bring disaster upon Odysseus on his journey home.
So when Carolan returned and told them that the prisoners