Chapter Summaries

Pomona met Snape at the Smith family gathering, where he shared information about the missing Slytherin's Locket and Hufflepuff's Cup before Apparating away with her. Meanwhile, Georgiana reconsidered her plans and wrote to Padma to investigate a warehouse fire.

• Pomona tried to avoid a Goblin buyer at the gathering but became trapped in a tent with a Muggle after drinking two cocktails.
• Snape pulled Pomona into a secluded spot, shielded her from view, and told her that Hepzibah Smith's heirs had fought over the missing locket and cup.
• Snape explained that the locket had appeared in Slytherin's portrait, and Pomona recalled seeing Hepzibah hide the cup and another item from everyone but Riddle.
• Cedric called out for his Head of House, so Snape teased Pomona about her dishevelled appearance and Apparated away with her.
• Georgiana decided to investigate how the warehouse had burned down and changed her letter to Padma into a request for help.

Georgiana reflected on the carnage at the Battle of Zorndorf, the lasting wounds war left on soldiers, and Napoleon’s efforts to replenish his armies. She wrote a letter to Napoleon urging him to conquer himself, though she regretted the intimate address and considered destroying the letter.

• The Prussians and Russians fought a brutal day-long battle at Zorndorf, suffering immense casualties before withdrawing at dusk.
• Georgiana recalled the battle’s slaughter, compared it with other historic massacres, and pitied soldiers scarred by war, including Snape.
• Georgiana noted that Frederick and Napoleon both replenished their depleted armies by recruiting young men and recovered invalids.
• Georgiana began a letter to Napoleon about the Enlightenment and urged him to conquer himself, then hesitated over the words “My Lion” and considered tearing up the letter.

Pomona and Severus went to Diagon Alley so she could help him choose clothes for his important day and prepare disguises for a visit to Borgin and Burkes. The chapter ended with Pomona agreeing to pick out an outfit for Severus.

• The narration contrasted Voldemort's pursuit of power with Grindelwald's manipulation of the Qilin and discussed Xiang Yu's leadership and political choices.
• Pomona and Severus Apparated to London and entered crowded Diagon Alley, where Severus pulled her to Elegance Clothing Store.
• Severus told Pomona that they would go to Borgin and Burkes after buying clothes because a spy needed disguises.
• Severus asked Pomona to help choose an outfit for his big day, and she agreed.

Pomona accompanied Severus to Borgin and Burkes, where he paid Borgin for a memory that revealed who had sold Slytherin’s Locket. Albus used the memory to trace Voldemort’s past and Horcruxes, while Pomona’s later recollections revealed the losses and regrets she carried into the final battle.

• Severus bought Pomona several outfits, then took her through the alleys to Borgin and Burkes.
• Borgin recalled buying Slytherin’s Locket from a destitute, pregnant Merope and gave Severus a memory in exchange for a future favor and a memory of his own.
• Albus used Borgin’s memory and a photograph of Merope to trace the Gaunt family home and discover Voldemort’s ring Horcrux.
• Albus hid the Resurrection Stone in a Golden Snitch and arranged for Pomona to help Harry if he needed guidance into the Hufflepuff common room.
• Pomona recalled Albus’s fall from the Astronomy Tower, the return of a supposedly dead man, and her years of unanswered questions and regret.
• Albus sought memories from Hokey and Alden to establish that Hepzibah Smith had owned both the Cup and the Locket, and Alden refused to surrender his memory until his death.

Pomona and Severus visited the abandoned Black family home, but Severus sensed something alive inside and left without investigating. They walked through London holding hands, and Pomona reflected on how content she felt beside him.

• Pomona warned Severus about the Black family door, but he touched its snake-shaped handle and entered safely with her.
• Severus sensed a large living presence inside the house and questioned Pomona about her past with Sirius and Remus.
• Severus grew angry and led Pomona away from Grimmauld Place without going farther inside.
• Pomona and Severus walked through London as a homeless man played an old song, and Pomona took Severus's hand.
• Pomona told Severus to imagine the 1970s, and they continued down the streets hand in hand.

Pomona reflected on London housing and poverty before learning that Harry was staying at the Weasley house. She decided not to visit him and returned to the party with Severus.

• Pomona considered how London's terraced houses developed and how housing and poverty affected people in Britain and America.
• Pomona grew tired during her walk and thought about Lily choosing to remain in the Wizarding World.
• Pomona asked Severus where Harry lived and learned that he was staying at the Weasley house.
• Pomona chose to return to the party, and Severus took her there by Apparition.

Pomona attended the Smith family gathering with Severus and observed the attendees and their political disputes. She agreed to let Zacharias choose a Quidditch position, while reflecting on the dangers around Hogwarts and the students’ decision to practice yoga indoors.

• Pomona and Severus returned to the gathering, where Severus identified Horsa Smith as the man who had killed Nicolas Smith in a witnessed duel.
• Pomona spotted Cedric with his father near Percy Weasley and Gilbert Wimple, whose proposed legislation and experiments had drawn little support.
• Zacharias and his father approached Severus, and Pomona agreed to arrange whichever Quidditch position Zacharias wanted.
• Pomona decided not to push the Hufflepuff students to return to the Quidditch Pitch after Dementors had attacked Cedric and Harry there.
• Pomona considered the risks at Hogwarts, where Remus was a werewolf and Dementors were present, and judged the students’ indoor yoga practice cautious.

Pomona reflected on charitable relief, American politics, and the history of Harry Potter’s encounters with the Dursleys. She recalled that Henry Shaw had died the night he was killed by the person he had called a “freak.”

• Pomona remembered Mary Lou cursing Credence during their fight and considered the danger of young wizards’ magical outbursts.
• Pomona recalled how she had watched the Dursleys during Harry’s third year and wondered whether Harry or a Billywig had caused Marge to swell and float away.
• Harry ran away from the Dursleys after Marge insulted him, and Pomona found it easier to deliver his school letter through the Weasleys.
• Pomona connected Henry Shaw’s death to his earlier campaign speech and his claim that Credence was a “freak.”

Pomona listened as Snape discussed magic and North American wizarding traditions with Zacharias’s father, then insisted on finding Cedric. Snape took her to Cedric, who rejected an offer to intern with the Minister for Magic and defended his belief in ability; Snape then dragged Pomona away as Amos called Cedric over.

• Snape concealed the truth about Harry’s Patronus and discussed his water-magic theory with Zacharias and his father while Pomona waited to speak.
• After Zacharias’s father was called away, Pomona told Snape she wanted to find Cedric and urged him to return to Hogwarts and calm down before his match.
• Snape grabbed Pomona’s arm and led her forward, where they encountered Cedric.
• Snape asked Cedric whether he wanted to meet the Minister for Magic and offered him an opportunity to intern at the Minister’s side.
• Cedric refused, saying he would rather start at the bottom and that ability mattered more than political advancement.
• Snape grabbed Pomona and left as Amos Diggory called Cedric over; Cedric glanced back at Pomona before joining his father.

Pomona confronted Severus after he erupted over her refusal to let him arrange an internship for Cedric, and she urged him to respect Cedric’s choice. Severus Apparated away from the Smith family home, leaving Pomona weakened by the pressure of his anger.

• The chapter described Bloodroot’s uses and the history of Indigenous peoples, colonization, and the destruction of American bison and Rhem cows.
• Pomona pointed her wand at Severus after he released her hand and demanded to know what he wanted.
• Severus shouted that he was fine when Pomona asked whether he had been practicing Dark magic and reminded him that Albus had told him to calm his mind.
• Pomona refused Severus’s offer to arrange an internship for Cedric and defended Cedric’s right to choose hard work over immediate advancement.
• Pomona reminded Severus that Phoebe and Joy had trusted him, then suggested that he envied Cedric; Severus laughed and Apparated away.
• After Severus vanished, the pressure lifted and Pomona collapsed, unable to remain standing.

Georgiana practiced sensing danger through wind and reflected on the Mirror World’s separation from reality and her own desire to reshape it. Unable to sleep, she spoke with Albus about color, memory, and the unfinished letter to her Lion, admitting that trying to remake the world was her poison.

• Georgiana trained to sense attacks through changes in the wind, a skill used in Auror training and the path toward becoming a warlock.
• Georgiana questioned the purpose of changing events inside the Mirror World because nothing there could affect the real world.
• Albus joined Georgiana as she lay awake, and they discussed photographic negatives, complementary colors, and the limits of ghosts.
• Georgiana reminded Albus that he had once discussed color and the original-body potion with her, but he did not remember the conversation.
• Georgiana admitted she did not know what to write in her letter to her Lion and said her mistake had been trying to reshape the world, as Albus and Grindelwald had once done.

Pomona returned to Hogwarts and Flitwick explained how memory, perception, and time shaped the Patronus Harry had cast. Later, as she recalled her past with Albus and Severus, Pomona reflected on trust, choice, and Harry’s decision not to save Snape.

• Pomona left the Smiths’ gathering, bought Albus’s favorite sweets in Hogsmeade, and walked back toward Hogwarts.
• Pomona met Flitwick, who told her he was attending Adalbert Waffling’s deathday ceremony and discussed how memories and time shaped perception.
• Flitwick explained that Harry’s experience of time travel had made his Patronus proof of an act he had already performed, while his other self had imagined James saving him.
• Pomona told Flitwick that Random had agreed to train the interns’ endurance for the maze without relying on Invigoration Potions.
• Pomona recalled her history with Albus and Severus and concluded that Harry could have saved Snape with a treatment known from Arthur Weasley’s case, but had chosen not to.

Pomona and Flitwick revisited the lakeside a month after Remus Lupin’s early transformation, but Flitwick ended the investigation when evening came. Elsewhere, Georgiana considered how light, reflections, and knowledge might distinguish appearances from reality, then summoned Rutger and practiced yoga.

• Pomona and Flitwick checked the lakeside and discussed Sybill’s prophecy and the crystal ball Pomona had taken.
• Flitwick noticed Venus rising and led Pomona away from the lakeside, deciding they would return to investigate in daylight.
• Pomona reflected on the hidden events involving Hermione’s Time-Turner and Harry’s Patronus, which remained Hogwarts’s top secret.
• Georgiana reasoned about light, mirrors, and how knowledge could distinguish gold from similar-looking materials.
• Georgiana sent Matilda to call Rutger and Figor, then practiced Wheel Pose alone.

Pomona overheard Percy Weasley arguing with Penelope Colinwater near the Quidditch Pitch, then reflected on loss, fate, and her own return from death. Albus urged her to continue her yoga practice until she broke down.

• Pomona gave Flitwick sweets for Albus and headed toward the Quidditch Pitch, thinking about life and how the Fireseed Bush might reproduce.
• Pomona overheard a boy angrily confronting a girl about their breakup, hid under the Invisibility Cloak, and saw a red-haired boy who resembled Percy Weasley leave.
• Pomona later learned from Hermione that Percy’s girlfriend was Penelope Colinwater and that Penelope had ended their relationship after they had drifted apart.
• Pomona reflected on how loss had changed Albus, her own grief and isolation, and how Albus had used the ring to bring her back from the dead.
• When Pomona stopped practicing yoga, Albus reminded her of her earlier question about soldiers leaving battle and pressed her to continue until she broke down.

Pomona inspected the interns’ maze preparations before Albus summoned her and asked her to teach the students to dance for the Yule Ball. The narrative shifted to Georgiana, who woke from a deep reverie when Figor announced Mr Laggett’s arrival.

• Pomona found the interns struggling with tangled communication-device cords and reviewed their work schedule before leaving them to continue preparing for the maze.
• Pomona crossed the darkened Quidditch Pitch and received a summons to Albus’s office from his Phoenix Patronus.
• Albus danced with Pomona and asked her to teach students to dance for the Yule Ball, recalling that an old friend had taught him.
• Pomona reflected on Penelope’s relationship with Percy and her later partnership with Random, as well as Pansy’s and Draco’s changing circumstances.
• Figor told Georgiana that Mr Laggett had arrived, and Georgiana rose from the floor after waking from her thoughts.

Pomona questioned Albus about the Smith family, Borgin and Burkes, and the Basilisk before reflecting on Phoebe’s Portrait Curse and continuing toward Severus. In the parallel French storyline, Georgiana considered Napoleon’s plans for Saint-Domingue and the relocation of soldiers’ remains, ending with an ominous thought about Paris’s vulnerability to destruction.

• Pomona told Albus that Borgin and Burkes had supplied a memory, and she asked whether the Basilisk had been male or female; Albus suggested she ask Severus about the dissection.
• Pomona left Albus’s office and recalled how Phoebe had escaped the Portrait Curse, lost a year of time, and returned to Hogwarts alongside Joy.
• Pomona considered Greta’s long wait for Sirius and continued down to the dungeons to seek Severus.
• Pomona reasoned that Voldemort could not solve his need for a body by possessing an animal, and she doubted Albus’s theory that Harry was the seventh Horcrux.
• Georgiana learned that Napoleon’s forces had departed from Amsterdam for Saint-Domingue and considered the political stakes of reclaiming the colony.
• Georgiana considered the relocation of soldiers’ remains to Père Lachaise and Napoleon’s influence over the world, then looked at a map of Paris and imagined its destruction.

Pomona recalled Patricia Linn’s suspicious departure and wondered whether someone in Hogwarts was using an Animagus to pursue an unknown object. She later reflected on her fear of losing herself in the Mirror World, while the chapter ended with her considering how choices and companionship shaped a person’s path.

• Pomona remembered how Patricia Linn had used Legilimency on students and how Phoebe had remained troubled after being trapped in a portrait.
• Pomona told Snape she suspected someone might be using an Animagus to seek something hidden in Hogwarts, and she asked whether the Basilisk was male or female.
• Snape reminded Pomona about the next day’s task before leaving by the stairs.
• Pomona considered how the Deluminator’s light could help plants survive when volcanic ash blocked the sun, and she resolved to understand how she had entered the Mirror World.
• Pomona feared losing touch with her original world and becoming someone who treated the people around her as expendable.
• Pomona thought about Hecate, crossroads, and how choices determined who a person became.

Georgiana considered the purpose and cost of Napoleon’s military policies and defended exemptions that preserved poor families and educated young men. Laggett warned that her guardian was under pressure from every side and urged her to consider a more powerful country than Ireland, leaving Georgiana to change the subject.

• The chapter recounted how Louis XVI’s attempted flight pushed France and Europe toward war, ending with Louis choosing war and recalling Roland and Clavière.
• Georgiana reflected that Napoleon’s supposed peacetime measures concealed a system that recruited educated students and preserved poor laborers as future soldiers.
• Georgiana considered resistance to her charitable tax for war orphans and the uncertain prospects of young people and widows.
• Laggett told Georgiana that her guardian could barely withstand pressure from all sides and advised her to choose a more powerful country than Ireland.
• Georgiana questioned Laggett about his suggestion, then rang for Margarita to bring them beer and changed the subject.

Pomona chose a modest robe and met Severus Snape, who gave her a Fire-Breathing Potion for emergencies before they left for the day. Elsewhere, Laggett explained the history of tobacco, corsets, and colonial search powers to Georgiana, then hinted that his words carried a personal warning.

• Pomona rejected the conspicuous silver robe, drank Polyjuice Potion, and dressed in an earth-yellow formal robe.
• Severus Snape arrived in the clothes Pomona had chosen and gave her a bottle of Fire-Breathing Potion in case the interns encountered Acromantulas.
• Pomona thanked Severus Snape and left the potion behind as she went with him.
• Laggett recounted the history of tobacco, colonial taxation, and general warrants while Margarita brought beer to Georgiana.
• Laggett described Catherine de Medici's use of corsets and tobacco, then told Georgiana that he liked her and that his wife understood his meaning.

Pomona accompanied Severus Snape to the Ministry for a public trial of his Wolfsbane Juice, with Remus Lupin serving as the volunteer. After the weighing and drawing of lots, Snape’s potion was chosen to go first, and he was taken away to prepare it while Remus was led toward the cells.

• Pomona and Severus arrived at the Ministry, where Lucius Malfoy greeted Snape and joined them on the way to the crowded courtroom.
• The host announced that the gathering would test Snape’s claims about his Wolfsbane Juice, and Remus Lupin entered as the masked volunteer.
• Remus was weighed on the golden balance while Snape and Damocles Belby watched, and Pomona questioned Lucius about fairness and the risk of an accident.
• Damocles drew the lot marked with a black 2, so Snape’s Wolfsbane Juice was selected to go first.
• Snape was escorted away to prepare his potion, while Aurors led Remus toward the cells.