Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus spent their date discussing his past, his political frustrations, and the unfairness he saw in the wizarding world. Severus confessed his jealousy and desire for her, and Pomona finally kissed him, leaving their relationship newly intimate.

• Pomona and Severus passed the crying Myrtle and discussed Draco working with Slughorn to prepare insecticide against the Acromantulas.
• Pomona asked Severus why he had waited for the Polyjuice Potion to wear off before kissing her, and he explained that he could not accept her looking like someone else.
• Severus described his frustration with Ministry debates over werewolves, executions, and political reform, then condemned the unfair advantages Sirius Black had regained.
• Severus confessed that he had grown jealous of Pomona’s attention to other men and had wanted to drive Neville away, despite despising such behavior in himself.
• Severus admitted he wanted Pomona and urged her to take the initiative, so she grabbed his neck and kissed him.

Pomona talked Severus through his anger and let him explore her memories, including the moment their relationship changed. Severus asked her to think about how she respected him, then closed his eyes to rest.

• Pomona warned Severus not to take his anger out on her and urged him to practice restraint.
• Severus refused a calming draught, lay with his head in Pomona’s lap, and asked about the centaur’s Fateful Stars.
• Severus used Legilimency to view Pomona’s memory of Lily and the swans, then saw the dance and kiss at Malfoy Manor that had changed her.
• Severus explained why he had stood with Dumbledore, protected Draco, and killed Dumbledore, then told Pomona to go to Castelobruxo if anything happened to him.
• Severus assigned Pomona the task of thinking about how she respected him before closing his eyes to rest.

Pomona and Severus discussed the Forbidden Forest expedition, their past choices during the war, and their future together. Severus insisted she would live outside Hogwarts and revealed that an informant had told him when Harry was being moved, but he demanded a price before naming the source.

• Pomona used her gift to glimpse a gathering of pure-blood figures before Severus stopped her and brought her back to Hogwarts.
• Pomona and Severus planned a joint pest-clearing expedition into the Forbidden Forest and discussed which former Death Eaters might join them.
• Severus accused Pomona of abandoning her wartime task and recalled taking her away from Hogwarts, while Pomona defended her actions and reminded him he had sworn to protect Draco.
• Severus insisted Pomona would go home each night if she returned to teach and said he would not sleep alone.
• Pomona asked how Severus learned when Harry would be moved from the Dursleys, and he admitted he had an informant but refused to identify the source without a trade.

Pomona and Severus considered whether Voldemort still had a soul fragment after Harry’s scar and the Death Eaters’ marks returned. Pomona recalled seeing a bloodied Tom at King’s Cross and suspected Theodore Nott might be able to make the Original Body Potion, so she and Severus went to find him.

• Severus refused to buy a house in Hogsmeade and insisted that Pomona use a safe house on Osmanthus Street if danger arose.
• Pomona told Severus she trusted him to handle any informant who threatened her, and he admitted he had traded the Original Body Potion for Fenrir’s blood.
• Pomona recalled dreaming of a bloodied man resembling Tom beneath a King’s Cross bench and identified him as a possible eighth soul fragment.
• Severus questioned how Harry could speak Parseltongue if he was not a Horcrux, and Pomona had no answer.
• Pomona asked whether Theodore Nott could make the Original Body Potion, and Severus took her to find him.

Pomona comforted Hermione after her fight with Lavender and explained her fears about Severus, leadership, and acting on emotion. Their conversation ended when Pomona confronted Peeves, who escaped after admitting that House-elves had started fighting back.

• Pomona found Hermione crying on the stairs after she insulted Lavender, and the two discussed Ginny, Remus, Tonks, and the dangers of Werewolf relationships.
• Pomona told Hermione that she had persuaded Remus to leave Tonks and worried that her feelings for Severus were compromising her judgment as a leader.
• Hermione pointed out that her quarrel with Lavender was less serious than Pomona’s problems with Severus, including his rash Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa Malfoy.
• Peeves threw a water balloon at Hermione, so Pomona pulled him down with Carpe Retractum and questioned him about bullying House-elves.
• Peeves escaped while Pomona was distracted, and Pomona told Hermione that House-elf rights were her responsibility and that Dobby had been an outcast among House-elves.

Pomona reflected on her feelings for Severus and her choice to help him, while weighing compassion against the risk of making the wrong choice. She accompanied Hermione to the Hogwarts kitchens, where the house-elves welcomed Pomona but remained wary of Hermione and her effort to free them.

• Pomona considered Severus's devotion to Lily and admitted she had opened her door to him despite knowing it would bring her trouble.
• Pomona worried that her students might blindly follow others and decided that helping Hermione was her own choice.
• Hermione warned Pomona that the house-elves still disliked her for giving them clothes and said they might be preparing dinner.
• Pomona brought Hermione into the kitchen, where the house-elves greeted Pomona joyfully but reacted darkly to Hermione.
• Pomona explained that the elves viewed Hogwarts as home and that forcing them to leave was not necessarily helping them.

Pomona reminisced about her intimate relationship with a Potions professor while explaining Hogwarts’s kitchen and tableware magic to Hermione. Hermione then asked about Horcruxes, and Pomona revealed that Voldemort had replaced the Resurrection Stone in Slytherin’s Ring with a fake.

• Pomona recalled how House-elves cooked in Hogwarts’s kitchen and how she had gradually made a private dining corner there with the Potions professor.
• Pomona remembered her affection for the professor and described how she enjoyed choosing clothes and gifts for him.
• Hermione asked whether the food sent to the Great Hall came through the kitchen’s Golden Plates, and Pomona explained that food could not be conjured from nothing.
• Hermione asked whether Geminio could copy gold and tableware, and Pomona explained that copies could not reproduce souls or identify the original Horcrux Cup.
• Pomona told Hermione that Tom had removed the Resurrection Stone from Slytherin’s Ring and replaced it with a fake, then warned her to keep her voice down.

Pomona explained how Snape used the broken Two-Way Mirror and Phineas Black’s portraits to find Harry and guide him to the Sword of Gryffindor. She then revealed that the real Resurrection Stone was hidden in a Golden Snitch and urged Hermione to take Harry back to the Forbidden Forest to find it.

• Hermione deduced that Mundungus had sold Sirius’s Two-Way Mirror to Aberforth, but Pomona explained that Snape had destroyed his mirror and used a remaining shard and Phineas Black’s portraits to locate Harry.
• Hermione told Pomona that Ron had seen Harry and Hermione together and believed Harry had called him dead weight before realizing the vision could not be true.
• Pomona compared Ron’s jealousy and humiliation with Snape’s past, explaining how poverty and wounded pride had shaped both Snape and Tom Riddle.
• Hermione questioned Pomona about the Gaunt family ring, and Pomona said it was a family emblem rather than the Resurrection Stone.
• Pomona revealed that the real Resurrection Stone was hidden in a Golden Snitch and told Hermione to take Harry back to the Forbidden Forest to find it.

Pomona revealed that she had secretly used Legilimency on Severus and identified Pyrites as the Death Eater who killed Lily and James Potter. Severus confronted her about her spying, her dealings with Mundungus, and her disclosures about his private life, then left to think while keeping her bound in the villa.

• Pomona advised Hermione to visit the Ministry with Hannah and rushed toward Severus when she saw him surrounded by black smoke.
• Severus Apparated with Pomona to the villa, threatened to use Deathvine Water, and demanded answers about whether she was still a spy.
• Pomona admitted that she had used Legilimency on Severus and recalled seeking Pyrites through Mundungus Fletcher.
• Pomona explained that Mundungus had brought her the Gaunt Ring in exchange for money and Re'em blood, which Severus suspected might have led to Moody's murder.
• Severus accused Pomona of exposing his private affairs and threatened to spread humiliating stories about her before saying he would not imprison her.
• Severus bound Pomona in the sitting room and left to think, ordering her to remain there until he found a solution.

Pomona reflected on the past and tried to draw Severus out of his anger and isolation, reassuring him that she wanted him safe. They reconciled, and Severus revealed what Grindelwald had told him about the Elder Wand and Dumbledore before kissing Pomona.

• Pomona recalled searching for the real Peverell ring after Dumbledore was cursed and explained how she confirmed Voldemort had worn it.
• Pomona asked Severus to come out, remove the spell restraining her, and eat dinner, but he angrily confronted her for comparing him to Ron Weasley.
• Pomona praised Severus for protecting Harry and the others from Remus, then admitted she feared losing him again.
• Severus embraced Pomona and told her Grindelwald had used the Elder Wand to show pure-bloods visions of Muggle warfare and argue that wizards should rule the world.
• Severus described Grindelwald's imprisonment and his plea for Voldemort to kill him, then kissed Pomona and pulled her onto the sofa.

Pomona and Severus discussed Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and the dangerous compromises Severus had made as a spy. Severus ordered Pomona to erase Hermione’s memories and protect the Weasleys from learning about another fragment of the Dark Lord’s soul, while Pomona worried that Grindelwald might still be alive.

• Pomona questioned Severus about his Unbreakable Vow with Cissy, and he explained that he had needed to regain the Dark Lord’s trust.
• Severus admitted that he had exposed Emmeline Vance with Dumbledore’s approval, then said he had not betrayed the McKinnon family.
• Severus explained that he stayed away from headquarters because Harry’s actions risked exposing Grimmauld Place and Emmeline’s knowledge of the Order.
• Severus told Pomona that Sirius had noticed her, described destroying the mirror Sirius had taken, and warned her about the Black Vine Water that had left a woman soulless.
• Severus ordered Pomona to erase Hermione’s memories and said the Weasleys would become Death Eater targets because another fragment of the Dark Lord’s soul was attached to something unknown.
• Pomona asked whether Grindelwald was really dead, and Severus said Dumbledore was trying to make Muggles accept wizards.

Pomona and Severus argued over the dress he had bought for her to wear to a formal party, as their conversation turned to trust, self-protection, and the dangers they had faced. Pomona eventually put on the dress, and Severus left to join the others for dinner.

• Pomona recalled the deaths and disappearance of Order members during the First Wizarding War and her assignment to deal with the Yetis in XZ.
• Severus gave Pomona a white Empire-style dress, then set her wardrobe on fire when she refused to wear it.
• Pomona extinguished the Dark magic fire with Finite and told Severus she would not give up her wand or ability to protect herself.
• Pomona and Severus discussed the Obscurus attack on Diagon Alley, the Scourers, and the dangers of trusting others.
• Pomona put on the dress, and Severus admired it before leaving to join the others for dinner.

Pomona struggled with her feelings for Severus and dressed for a dinner at Malfoy Manor, where she refused to let the gathering take place at the table where Charity Burbage had died. The former Death Eaters followed her and Severus out of the dining room.

• Pomona accepted that Severus still loved Lily and dressed herself in a Greek-inspired gown, concealing Bella’s dagger beneath her skirt.
• Pomona and Severus traveled by fireplace to Malfoy Manor, where a dozen former Death Eaters had gathered around Voldemort’s old table.
• Pomona asked Narcissa why she was seated beside Lucius and suggested moving the meal to the ladies’ tea room.
• Pomona said she could not eat at the table where Charity Burbage had died and joked about marrying a handsome young man if Lucius died.
• Severus led the way out, and Allen Rosier, Lucius, and the other guests stood and followed Pomona and Narcissa.

At a gathering, Pomona discussed Severus Snape’s ambitions, relationships, and the risks of escalating conflict with Werewolves while reflecting on how Dumbledore’s choices had shaped Severus’s life. Narcissa gave Pomona a potion recipe intended to help her conceive, and the conversation ended with Pomona denying she knew anything about Draco and Astoria’s views on Muggles.

• Pomona, exhausted, sat with Narcissa Malfoy while pure-blood men held a meeting in the women’s tea room.
• Narcissa teased Pomona about Severus’s admirers and asked why Pomona wanted nothing from him, while Pomona said she wanted to help him achieve greatness.
• Pomona warned that mishandling the Werewolf problem could intensify conflict and lead Werewolves to ally with Goblins.
• Narcissa defended harsh punishment for Werewolves and handed Pomona a potion recipe for helping pure-blood families have children.
• Pomona compared herself with Bellatrix and reflected on Dumbledore’s influence over Severus and the dangers of putting ambition above what mattered.
• Narcissa said she hoped Draco would change Astoria’s mind about peaceful coexistence with Muggles, and Pomona denied having heard anything about them.

Pomona danced with Severus at a gathering of former allies as they discussed their past, the new Ministry, and the dark magic in Bella’s dagger. The evening ended with Severus sending everyone home to prepare for the Ministry’s opening, while he and Pomona left together.

• Severus invited Pomona to dance, and they opened the waltz as Draco filmed them and Lucius and Narcissa joined in.
• Pomona challenged Severus over exploiting Hufflepuff students, and they traded jokes about their old identities and Barnabas’s attempt to teach a Troll ballet.
• Severus explained that Bella’s dagger carried dark magic and had been affecting Pomona’s mood, then kissed her in front of the gathering.
• Severus ended the party and told everyone the Ministry would begin work the next day, urging them to prepare for the coming struggle.
• Pomona and Severus discussed Draco’s camera and the school newspaper before leaving the tearoom together by Floo.

Pomona reflected on Dumbledore’s secrets, Severus’s past, and the threat posed by Werewolves as she and Severus spent the morning together in Godric’s Hollow. Severus admitted he did not hate Dumbledore enough to kill him, but said he could not trust him to protect Pomona.

• Pomona considered Dumbledore’s longing for freedom and how Severus had once asked him to hide Lily Potter.
• Pomona thought about the dangers facing both magical and Muggle society, including falling birth rates and the growing Werewolf population.
• Severus asked Pomona why she had not told him to stop, and she complained about the students at school.
• Severus said he did not hate Dumbledore enough to kill him, then accused him of using Pomona against him.
• Severus told Pomona that Dumbledore would never forgive him for letting her down, and insisted Dumbledore was not his father and Pomona was not his mother.

Pomona introduced Dumbledore to Lucía the Mermaid and refused his offer to arrange a Ministry job, choosing to stay at Hogwarts. Later, she confronted Severus about his feelings, and he admitted he feared losing her as Dumbledore’s curse and her failing protective bracelet worsened.

• Pomona brought Dumbledore to meet Lucía the Mermaid, and Dumbledore offered to teach Pomona Mermaid language and introduce her to Newt Scamander.
• Pomona told Dumbledore she wanted to remain with him and stay at Hogwarts instead of working at the Ministry.
• Pomona discussed Harry’s scar, the Dark Mark, and the Leaky Cauldron’s concealment charms with Severus while they ate breakfast.
• Pomona challenged Severus to explain his Patronus and feelings for Harry, and Severus admitted he had not wanted to deny caring about Harry.
• Severus confessed that he could not bear Pomona being with Sirius and feared her curse, Dumbledore’s worsening curse, and the Dark Lord’s return.
• Pomona soothed Severus, cast a sleeping spell on him, and held him as he said he was tired and would go with her if she died.

Pomona reflected on the dangers of hiding, the power of plants, and her wish to transform into a swan before she died. While talking with Severus, she learned more about Dumbledore’s past and speculated that Grindelwald might have taught Lily the spell that rebounded Voldemort’s curse, leaving her suspicious of a hidden connection.

• Pomona recalled how her plant magic could restrain a Giant and how the Black family’s fragile protections had been compromised around Arthur Weasley.
• Pomona considered Dumbledore’s mistaken belief that Harry was a Horcrux and reasoned that Voldemort’s use of Harry’s blood had connected them like twins.
• After watching a ballet about a dying swan, Pomona told Severus she wanted to visit the Malfoys and demanded to know what Dumbledore had asked him to do.
• Severus told Pomona that Dumbledore had begged him to end his life, and Pomona challenged his account of Dumbledore’s feelings about Sirius Black.
• Severus revealed that Lily’s letter to Sirius mentioned Grindelwald, and Pomona wondered whether a spy had planted it in the Black family home.
• Pomona and Severus speculated that Grindelwald might have taught Lily the rebounding spell, and Severus said he was beginning to like Grindelwald.

Pomona discussed Draco’s rebellion and the possibility that Voldemort had returned with Narcissa and Severus, then began questioning Severus’s motives and Dumbledore’s role in Sirius’s fate. Narcissa’s memories of the Black family and the locket left Pomona convinced that she had overlooked an obvious truth.

• Narcissa complained that Draco had told his parents to stop meddling, and Pomona urged her not to damage the Malfoys’ standing or reject the Greengrasses.
• Pomona warned Narcissa that Harry’s scar had begun hurting and advised her to have Lucius inspect Voldemort’s belongings for anything like the diary.
• Narcissa questioned the story that Severus had protected Harry out of love for Lily, recalling that Peter Pettigrew had been alive when he opened the door at Spinner’s End.
• Narcissa explained that Regulus had taken Voldemort’s locket and worried that Draco might run away from home like Sirius.
• Pomona recalled that Dumbledore had wanted Sirius dead and concluded that she had failed to see the most obvious problem.

Pomona tried to deflect Narcissa’s questions about her ties to Severus and the Order of the Phoenix, while the two women discussed Draco, the Dark Mark, and the vulnerable children of pure-blood families. Narcissa warned Pomona that Draco’s safety mattered above all, leaving them glaring at each other over their competing loyalties.

• Narcissa questioned Pomona about whether she had joined the Order of the Phoenix and why she had not denied that Draco risked his life for her.
• Pomona discussed discrimination against people with the Dark Mark, Tonks’s marriage to Lupin, and Narcissa’s fears that the Dark Lord had intended Draco to die.
• Narcissa explained that Draco used the Dark Lord’s money to help orphaned children from Death Eater families find pure-blood guardians.
• Pomona told Narcissa about Dorcas Verbilav’s Desperate Witches Association and argued that women should help rather than hurt one another over men.
• Narcissa challenged Pomona’s feelings for Severus and warned her to pay closer attention to Draco’s affairs if she wanted to protect Severus.
• Pomona and Narcissa glared at each other as Pomona reflected on Hufflepuff’s reputation and urged its members to show their strength.