Chapter Summaries

Georgiana dined with Bonaparte and explained that mischievous ghosts were causing dangerous accidents in Margarita of Austria’s palace. After girls screamed elsewhere in the house, she ended their evening and was left wondering why she felt no desire for Bonaparte.

• Georgiana considered how the old rules governing Europe had broken down and why Napoleon’s death could lead to decades of civil war.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte teased each other over dinner, and she told him Bertin’s story about Marie Antoinette and Josephine.
• A salt cellar fell, and Bonaparte found an embroidery needle hidden in Georgiana’s potato; she warned him about the palace’s mischievous spirits.
• Bonaparte left, then returned and asked Georgiana to explain the needle, so she demonstrated by turning it into a wooden soldier.
• Georgiana explained how the spirits could cause fatal accidents and warned Bonaparte not to change his shoes in the palace.
• When girls screamed, Georgiana ended the evening and offered to have the Mamluks escort Bonaparte home.

After a bell rang mysteriously at Margaret of Austria's palace, Georgiana suspected mischievous spirits and summoned a ghost expert while Bonaparte moved everyone to the castle. There, she confessed her fears and urged him to consider how to make his authority legitimate, and the chapter ended with their intimate reconciliation.

• Augereau stopped the bell ringing in the dining room, and Georgiana explained that a mischievous spirit might be claiming ownership of the house.
• Bonaparte insisted they leave, and Georgiana summoned the Ministry of Magic to send a ghost expert to the palace.
• Bonaparte moved Georgiana and his party to the castle, where another bell rang from a mantel clock and Georgiana recognized it from a memory of the Tuileries Palace.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte she was frightened and urged him to consider how forceful obedience could become a legitimate obligation.
• Bonaparte reassured Georgiana, asked whether she loved him, and kissed her after she agreed to help undo his belt.

Georgiana attended Madame de Vaudey’s salon, where she discussed British enclosure laws, before Rabastan Lestrange brought her a proposal to send prisoners to Berlin for execution by a Manticore. She refused to sign, and afterward sought comfort with Bonaparte.

• Georgiana joined the guests at Madame de Vaudey’s salon and discussed the 1801 Enclosure Act and Arthur Young’s encounter with French farmers.
• Rabastan Lestrange visited Georgiana and presented an extradition document that would allow Berlin to execute prisoners by feeding them to a Manticore.
• Georgiana rejected the proposal and questioned Rabastan about the Manticore and whether it had offspring.
• Rabastan said Pierre Bonaccord should be replaced as president of the International Confederation of Wizards amid the war between wizards and Scourers.
• Georgiana went next door to Bonaparte and said she wished she could return to school and keep studying.

Georgiana reconsidered the agricultural loans agreement as she weighed the dangers of debt and recognized that Bonaparte needed her support more than another argument. She also talked about the Wizarding World with Harry Potter, while Dobby chose to place his loyalty in him.

• Georgiana decided not to persuade Bonaparte to sign the agricultural loans agreement because debt could harm French peasants and undermine him.
• Georgiana noticed Bonaparte’s loneliness and chose to stand by him rather than press her proposal.
• Dobby wanted to change his loyalty from Malfoy and Hermione to Harry Potter.
• Georgiana began telling Harry Potter about the Wizarding World as he reviewed documents, despite his lack of attention.
• Georgiana reflected on Dorcas’s betrayal by her Scourer boyfriend and considered how deceivers could disguise themselves as allies.

Georgiana woke from a disturbing dream about a sun-scorched landscape and the horrors surrounding Bonaparte’s executions at Acre, then rode alone to the lake to clear her head. There, Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck approached her with claims about Girl with a Pearl Earring, and she left him behind and rode back to the city.

• Georgiana slipped past Margarita, rode to the lakeshore, and plunged into the icy water fully dressed.
• Georgiana reflected on the laws and justifications surrounding the executions at Jaffa and Acre, including the soldiers’ fears that surrender would mean death.
• After drying herself with her wand, Georgiana encountered Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, who introduced himself as a Batavian legislator and former Patriot.
• Rutger claimed he had bought Girl with a Pearl Earring and complimented Georgiana, while she corrected him that the painting had been given to the Louvre Museum.
• Georgiana threatened Rutger with her wand, mounted her horse, and rode back toward the city.

Georgiana considered the history of Dutch art and William V’s confiscated collection before returning to the garrison castle, where she brought two market vendors inside after guards drove the crowd away. She went to Bonaparte’s room to ask how to handle the situation, leaving the vendors in her room with an attendant.

• Georgiana learned that Girl with a Pearl Earring was still an inexpensive, little-known painting and considered buying works by Johannes Vermeer.
• Georgiana rode to Margaret of Austria’s former residence, where market vendors crowded around her and escorted her toward the garrison castle.
• Guards drove the vendors away at the castle gates, and Georgiana asked them to send two people inside.
• Georgiana selected a man and a woman from the vendors and had an attendant take them to her room.
• Georgiana went to Bonaparte’s room to ask what she should do about the encounter.

Georgiana found Bonaparte furious over a newspaper that branded him a monster and reassured him while they discussed political choices, loyalty, and their vows. She left him still drawn to her, though she reminded him that someone else was waiting for her.

• Constant gave Georgiana a newspaper attacking Bonaparte and warned her that the police were confiscating copies.
• Georgiana entered Bonaparte's suite, burned the newspaper, and discussed the exiles, the Louvre, and agricultural loans with him.
• Bonaparte praised Georgiana's political judgment, and they joked and flirted while lying together on the carpet.
• Georgiana explained that she would not break her existing vow but might make one with Bonaparte if the other man broke his.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte about Veela, Undine, and the wizard who had treated his lover cruelly.
• Bonaparte dried Georgiana's hair and kissed her, but she reminded him that someone was waiting for her.

Georgiana urged Bonaparte not to target civilians and arranged to find Leblanc, a doctor whose soda-making process she wanted to introduce in Belgium. As she reflected on her past with Severus and helped Bonaparte dress, he forbade her from establishing schools from the Middle Ages, and she left to meet her waiting guest.

• Georgiana recalled the factions among the Royalists and warned Bonaparte not to ruin their new beginning by taking his anger out on civilians.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte she had sent someone to find Leblanc, whose confiscated soda factory had left him in desperate circumstances, and said she wanted to bring his process to Belgium.
• Bonaparte pulled Georgiana back onto the bed, but she urged him to get up because people were waiting for him in Lyon.
• Georgiana reflected on Severus, their life after the war, and Bonaparte's mathematical talents while helping him fasten his coat.
• Bonaparte told Georgiana she was not allowed to establish schools from the Middle Ages, then left as Constant informed her that her guest had been waiting.
• Constant pointed out that Georgiana was moving her left hand and left foot together, and she fled in embarrassment.

Georgiana reflected on privilege, unjust laws, and the failures of Grindelwald and Voldemort to resolve the conflict between wizards and Muggles, while doubting her own ability to find another way. Layla then brought news of a hot-air-balloon jumping performance, and Georgiana invited two representatives to watch it and talk along the way.

• The account of Florence’s 1378 uprising described Salvestro de’ Medici’s resignation and Michele di Lando’s success in containing the unrest.
• The discussion examined French royalist politics, privilege, and how unjust laws had harmed commoners and wizards alike.
• Georgiana concluded that Grindelwald and Voldemort’s methods had failed to resolve the conflict between wizards and Muggles, but she lacked confidence in another approach.
• Layla told Georgiana that a performer would jump from a hot-air balloon, and Matilda said she and Margarita had seen the act in Paris in 1797.
• Georgiana asked when the performance began and invited two representatives to join her, planning to talk on the way.

Georgiana left the crowd watching a parachute demonstration and went to Saint Maudi Church, where she reflected on Bonaparte, her guilt, and her absence from Severus. After the parachutist landed safely, she met the cellist Jean-Pierre Duport and asked him to surprise her with another piece of music.

• Georgiana left her carriage and went to Saint Maudi Church while the crowd watched the sky.
• Georgiana listened to a cellist playing Bach and reflected on Bonaparte's ambitions, her guilt, and why Severus had not come looking for her.
• A parachutist descended from a hot-air balloon and landed in the square, where the crowd welcomed him.
• Jean-Pierre Duport told Georgiana that his cello was a Stradivari once owned by a doctor, and Georgiana teased him about being a musician rather than a doctor.
• Georgiana asked Duport to surprise her with another piece, then walked back into the church.

Albus Dumbledore invited Pomona to listen to music prepared by Flitwick and asked her to pay close attention, while she worried about Sirius’s plans to visit London. Elsewhere, Duport performed Ave Maria in a church, and Georgiana struggled to understand why the music left her uneasy as she prepared to travel with him to Paris.

• Albus Dumbledore told Pomona that Flitwick had prepared music for Halloween and asked her to listen carefully.
• Albus asked Pomona about Sirius’s plan to go to London to hear The Beatles, then reassured her that he had invited her only for company.
• Flitwick conducted the music as Albus explained that Beethoven had taught people to listen to music as an art rather than mere entertainment.
• Duport performed Ave Maria alone in a church while Georgiana reflected on art, change, and the passage of life.
• Georgiana hoped Duport would play Beethoven’s variations on The Magic Flute and wondered why his performance brought her no pleasure.
• Georgiana learned that Duport’s first tour stop was Paris and decided she might understand the music while traveling with him.

Pomona worried that Sirius and James might seek trouble with Severus after Quidditch, while Georgiana traveled through reflections on European wars, commerce, and slavery. Facing the dangers of the Sonian Forest on her way to Brussels, Georgiana resolved to defend her freedom with magic if necessary.

• Sirius blamed Snivellus for learning about the plan, while James suggested the Hog's Head owner might have told the headmaster.
• Pomona recalled that Severus would not play Quidditch and went to find him so he could stay alert around the Marauders.
• Georgiana considered the dangers of robbers in the Sonian Forest and the value of the Mughal Diamond Bonaparte had given her.
• Georgiana decided she could not avoid going to Brussels, even though reaching the French border would require her to travel through the forest alone.
• Georgiana recalled Theodora's refusal to flee in disgrace and resolved to use magic to protect herself if she faced danger.

Snape admitted that he had told Lily James liked her and objected to Pomona accepting Sirius Black’s concert invitation. Georgiana reflected on money, trade, and Snape’s past as she considered her feelings and the concert she had missed.

• Snape told Pomona that he had revealed James’s feelings to Lily because he feared James and Lily could not keep her safe, then reproached Pomona for accepting Sirius Black’s invitation.
• The narration examined the origins and properties of gold, silver, and black coins, and considered how Louis XVI was recognized and captured.
• The narration described French Assignats, Levant Thalers, and Ottoman trade, including how Marseille merchants and the Dutch West India Company pursued Mediterranean commerce.
• Georgiana recalled Sirius’s dangerous prank against Severus and how Snape had tormented Neville after Remus left Hogwarts.
• Georgiana thought about Snape, quoted the lyrics of “Yesterday,” and regretted missing The Beatles concert because the “snitch” had disrupted her plans.

Georgiana told Archbishop Roquelaure that the First Consul had agreed to let him establish schools suited to the modern age, but their discussion raised fears of religious division and left her motives unclear. She emphasized her concern for Pietists and war orphans as the archbishop questioned whether she was proposing a rival school or another schism.

• Georgiana waited for Archbishop Roquelaure in the sacristy while he polished a Bible stand.
• The archbishop asked Georgiana what she meant by saying the First Consul would allow schools that were not medieval, and she argued that education should reflect reality rather than outdated logic.
• Georgiana explained that she had named the order Saint Catherine partly in reference to Catherine of Siena persuading Gregory XI to return from Avignon to Rome.
• The archbishop asked what Georgiana had seen and whether she possessed the gift of prophecy, while she worried that the truth might reach Bonaparte.
• Georgiana said she was more concerned about Pietists and war orphanages than the Gallican Church's possible split, and the archbishop asked whether she wanted to establish a school opposed to the Pietist Academy.

Georgiana reflected on war, religion, and Bonaparte’s reasons for suppressing peaceful movements while discussing the history of Timur’s defeat of Bayezid and the Ming’s turmoil. She also worried that her long stay in the past might make her suffer the same fate as Eloise Mintumble when she returned to the present.

• The account described Timur defeating Bayezid at Ankara, then turning east toward the Ming before dying in 1405 without conquering it.
• Georgiana considered why Joseph II had demolished Mechelen’s walls and why local vegetable vendors were more concerned about their livelihoods than Napoleon’s attempted assassination.
• Georgiana recalled the suffering caused by war and questioned the practice of raising war orphans as reserve soldiers.
• Bonaparte explained that military strength remained necessary, even when peaceful organizations and public opinion argued otherwise.
• Georgiana thought about the Resurrection Stone, Inferi, and the limits of time travel as she wondered whether returning after a long stay would kill her like Eloise Mintumble.

Georgiana discussed religious ideas about creation, shadows, sin, and forgiveness with Archbishop Roquelaure, then warned him that newspapers reporting Napoleon’s assassination had spread beyond Mechelen. She joined Edgeworth, Father Grégoire, and the archbishop to discuss a proposed school as the threat of wider unrest lingered.

• Georgiana explained her interpretations of Adam Gadmon, Lilith, and religious ideas about flawed souls, while Archbishop Roquelaure listened.
• Georgiana hoped the bandits who had fled into the forest would surrender and face judgment rather than take poison to avoid torture.
• Georgiana told Archbishop Roquelaure that newspapers about Napoleon’s assassination had been scattered widely and could stir a storm across Europe.
• Edgeworth and Father Grégoire arrived, and Grégoire proposed renovating an existing central school instead of establishing a new one.
• Georgiana joked that students might want to blow up a boring school, then offered to sing a song they had made.

At a meeting about Church administration and education, Georgiana considered the power, vineyards, and industrial secrets that might shape Belgium’s future. She agreed that textbooks should be printed locally, provided their contents were reviewed.

• Georgiana reflected on Julian Ouvrard’s political suspicions, his Burgundy vineyards, and the power she might offer him in place of love.
• Georgiana considered how Tournai could use its porcelain factory and Belgium could exploit secret glassmaking techniques to compete with foreign industries.
• Grégoire asked whether textbooks should be shipped from France or printed locally, and Georgiana supported local printing with content review.
• The Archbishop rejected the idea of unrestricted publication and moved the meeting to its next subject.

Georgiana reflected on the Book of Enoch, the history of Giants, Abyssinia, and the spread of knowledge and technology. Her thoughts turned to forests and wild animals, ending with the question of whether Giants had truly gone extinct and what might be hiding in the dark.

• Georgiana considered how the Book of Enoch described fallen angels, their Giant children, and the Great Flood, and compared its account with wizard records of the Giant Wars.
• She traced the history of Abyssinia, including its religious independence, the arrival of James Bruce, and his copying of the Book of Enoch.
• Georgiana reflected on censorship, patents, and inventions, including the Paris gas lamps and John Lombe's silk-twisting machine.
• She thought about forests as refuges for outcasts and about farmers struggling with wild animals that damaged their crops.
• Georgiana imagined glowing eyes in the forest and wondered whether Giants had survived somewhere in hiding.

Georgiana reflected on dangerous beasts, political leaders, and the consequences of treating people as animals before meeting Bonaparte at the Grand Council Palace. Bonaparte called himself a lion and Georgiana a Veela, then rested with his head in her lap, leaving her question about accepting oneself unanswered.

• Georgiana discussed phlogiston and carbon monoxide with Edgeworth before encountering Bowens and Périer.
• Georgiana considered Louisiana, American settlers, and the risk that Bonaparte's sale of the territory could destabilize Europe.
• Bonaparte's aide-de-camp summoned Georgiana to the Grand Council Palace, where she found Bonaparte by a window.
• Georgiana compared Qilin, wolves, rabbits, and animal-selected rulers while speaking with Bonaparte.
• Bonaparte called Georgiana a Veela and himself a lion, then lay with his head in her lap and asked her to wake him in half an hour.

The chapter recounted Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, from the French army’s miserable desert march and victory over the Mamluks to the fleet’s destruction at Aboukir Bay, before turning to Napoleon’s return to France and his dealings with Georgiana. It ended with Napoleon revealing that he had forged the identities of the men who tried to kill him and asking Georgiana to keep the secret.

• The French expedition landed in Egypt, struggled through heat, thirst, and illness, then defeated the Mamluks with square formations and entered Cairo.
• Nelson’s fleet destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir Bay, sinking Napoleon’s flagship, the Orient, and its cargo of treasure.
• Napoleon returned to France in 1799, while bandits robbed his luggage in Provence and people welcomed him as a hero.
• Napoleon traded a precious ring for half of a bey’s wife’s property and discussed convent life with Georgiana, warning that it would be cruel for a child.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana why she had not revealed that he sent people to Hamburg, then told her the supposed bandits were Hoche’s former Army of the Rhine men.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to keep his secret, and they sealed their promise with a hooked little-finger gesture.