Chapter Summaries

Faport’s history in Genoa and his role in Napoleon’s plans framed the tense petition in Brussels, where Georgiana listened to the petitioners while French forces prepared for unrest. After they withdrew, Georgiana questioned Charlotte about a discovery, leaving its nature—and what he would do next—unclear.

• Faport’s diplomatic history was recounted, including how he helped Napoleon quell a revolution in Genoa without sending troops into the city.
• Napoleon brought Faport to Brussels early, where the French prepared artillery and military cadets in case unrest turned violent.
• Georgiana listened to the petitioners, who withdrew after achieving their purpose, and Stanislas appeared before them.
• Georgiana and Faport discussed the cannon, Napoleon’s warning against armed emigrants, and Georgiana’s past as a schoolteacher.
• Georgiana asked Charlotte whether she would tell her about what she had just discovered, and Charlotte looked to Faport for guidance.

Pomona learned how Albus discovered the Horcruxes: Regulus Black had warned him about Voldemort, and Albus later found the cursed ring in the Gaunt home. The chapter left Pomona reflecting on deception, the people she had loved and mistrusted, and her hope that Regulus might still be alive.

• Pomona left Ernie to practice Potions in the greenhouse and went to meet Dumbledore in his office.
• Dumbledore showed Pomona his memory of Regulus Black warning him that Voldemort had made Horcruxes and used the Black family house-elf in an experiment.
• Dumbledore revealed that a Horcrux had cursed his hand and explained that he found the ring set with the Resurrection Stone beneath the floor of the Gaunt family home.
• Pomona later learned that Dumbledore had been searching for Little Hangleton and thought about how she had once hated Severus, unaware that he and Dumbledore had conspired together.
• Pomona rejected the belief that Regulus had died in the Inferi-filled water and resolved that she wanted to find him and bring him back.

Pomona reflected on Harry’s use of Crucio and discussed revenge, dark magic, and the dangers facing Hannah with Dumbledore. The story ended with Georgiana choosing not to greet Alice and the hussar major she spotted walking together.

• Harry struck Bellatrix with Crucio after she taunted him about killing Sirius, but Voldemort appeared and disarmed him.
• Dumbledore showed Pomona the battle between Voldemort and himself, then asked whether Harry’s Crucio had affected his connection to the Dark Lord.
• Pomona insisted her instinct told her Harry had returned to normal, while Dumbledore warned that revenge and dark power could corrupt anyone and asked whether Hannah might seek revenge for her mother.
• Dumbledore’s cursed ring left him visibly unwell, and Pomona resolved to check on Hannah and consider removing the Resurrection Stone from the ring.
• Pomona recalled that Dumbledore later worsened the ring’s curse by striking it again with the Sword of Gryffindor, and that Fawkes left Hogwarts after Dumbledore lost his master for a second time.
• Georgiana saw Alice walking hand in hand with a hussar major, and she pretended not to notice when Faport suggested greeting them.

Pomona reunited with Severus in the greenhouse, but Neville interrupted their intimate moment to warn that the Headmaster was in danger. The story then shifted to Georgiana in 1792, where Faport identified a French military guide and recalled the Tuileries.

• Pomona worried about thefts from the greenhouse and stayed there instead of going to Hogsmeade.
• Severus visited Pomona, told her he might not be able to spend Christmas with her, and asked whether she missed him.
• Pomona and Severus kissed, but Neville knocked and warned them that the Headmaster was in danger.
• Severus left to respond, while Pomona feared for the Headmaster and remembered Credence's Phoenix.
• Faport identified Major Louis de Seganville as a guide and told Georgiana about his military service and General Bessières.
• Faport recalled that he and others had been at the Tuileries on August 10, 1792.

Pomona discussed Albus’s condition and Katie Bell’s curse with Severus, who accused Harry of targeting Draco for revenge. The chapter then shifted to Georgiana’s conversation with Faport about Bessières’s past and her choice of Rose Bertin, leaving Faport to consider whether she could continue hearing his story.

• Pomona learned that Katie Bell had been cursed by a necklace intended for Albus and taken to St Mungo’s.
• Severus told Pomona that Harry had accused Draco of sending the necklace, and he believed Harry was seeking revenge over the previous year’s hearing.
• Pomona comforted Severus, arranged to meet him by the Forbidden Forest, and left to visit Albus.
• Faport recounted how Bessières had tried to save the King, resigned from the Constitutional Guard, and later rose through the army.
• Georgiana explained that she chose Rose Bertin because of her loyalty to the Queen, and Faport considered whether she was qualified to hear more.

Pomona reflected on her complicated feelings for Snape and became nauseated, raising the possibility that something was wrong. In a separate account, Faport guided Georgiana through the history of the La Rochefoucauld family and Leoncourt, then returned with her to the banquet without explaining why the King needed protection.

• Zacharias Smith complained about Slughorn's treatment of Granger, but Dean Thomas challenged his interference and helped Pomona in the greenhouse.
• Snape arrived, questioned Dean, and sent him away; Pomona dwelled on her past choices involving Snape and Lily before nausea interrupted her work.
• Pomona considered Lily's talent and the opportunities Albus had offered her, then wondered whether her nausea signaled something worse.
• Faport recounted the La Rochefoucauld cousins' lives, their roles in the French Revolution, and Leoncourt's flight from his enemies.
• Georgiana asked who the cousins' enemies were, but Faport redirected her attention to Miss Alice's family and declined to explain why the King should be protected.
• Faport and Georgiana returned to the banquet hall, where the guests applauded Georgiana and Alice's parents remained unaware that she had left with a cavalryman.

Pomona concealed her swap of the Peverell ring from Snape and reflected on Draco and Harry while she and Snape examined dangerous objects in the Room of Requirement. In another scene, Georgiana met Judge Albert Baines in Ghent, where Faport arranged a Champagne celebration.

• Snape supervised the Potions Club students as they practiced a protective spell in the greenhouse, then confronted Laura Madley over a pink bottle bearing the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes logo.
• Pomona distracted Snape when he demanded the Peverell ring, then secretly produced it from beneath a cabinet in the Room of Requirement after hiding it in her palm.
• Pomona and Snape found the cursed necklace that had nearly killed Katie Bell, and Pomona wondered why Draco had been visiting the eighth floor and when Harry would drink Felix Felicis.
• Faport introduced Georgiana to Albert Baines, the young chief judge of the Court of First Instance in Ghent, and praised his knowledge of Flemish law.
• Georgiana asked about Baines's history of Ulster customs, and Faport arranged Champagne and steamed mussels as the dignitaries celebrated victory and peace.

Pomona intervened when students tried to disrupt Harry’s Quidditch tryouts, then learned that Severus had made an Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa Malfoy. Georgiana reflected on the Malfoys’ family troubles and Draco’s future before a shrieking creature outside disturbed her attempt to sleep.

• Pomona and Flitwick hurried to the Quidditch Pitch after hearing students planned to trouble Harry, and Pomona removed the Hufflepuff players who had disguised themselves as Gryffindors.
• Severus told Pomona that he needed to leave and asked what would happen if he made an Unbreakable Vow, then explained the vow he had made with Narcissa Malfoy.
• Georgiana recalled Arthur Weasley’s search of the Malfoy home and how Narcissa had faced the house being ransacked while Draco was away at school.
• Georgiana considered Draco’s role in the events surrounding Dumbledore’s death and the Battle of Hogwarts, and why Lucius had chosen Crabbe and Goyle as his companions.
• Georgiana tried to sleep beneath her blanket, but a shrieking creature outside disturbed her again.

Pomona confronted Albus about Hufflepuff’s hostility toward Harry and his use of an old Potions textbook, while Albus urged her to consider how rumors and outside influence shaped people’s views. The story then shifted to Georgiana, who questioned a travel writer’s judgment and endured the Doxy’s cries as she lay in bed.

• In Herbology, Neville was injured collecting a Bubotuber pod, and Simon treated his wound while Pomona reflected on students’ resentment over Harry’s Slug Club status and Potions grades.
• Pomona went to Albus’s office, where he discussed changing viewpoints, support for the Dark Lord’s experiments, and the need to watch people swayed by rumors.
• Pomona told Albus that Harry’s use of the old Potions textbook was a shortcut and said Hufflepuff would not restore its friendship with him until he changed.
• Albus asked whether Harry had used other dark magic, and Pomona said he had not; she insisted that Hufflepuff wanted fair competition rather than victory at any cost.
• Georgiana reflected on Sir Bacon’s advice about travel and decided to keep Baines’s file despite his flawed choice of subject.
• Georgiana heard the hidden Doxy cry again and decided to tolerate it a little longer.

Pomona investigated Snape’s knowledge of the dangers surrounding her, then asked him to discover why Slughorn had invited Astoria Greengrass. Elsewhere, Georgiana spoke with Ledrell about court life and Major Desaixville’s ambitions.

• Snape burned Rose Zeller’s gift box and found a Golden Snitch bracelet that could serve as an amulet, then offered Pomona dragon’s heartblood for it.
• Pomona prepared to search the greenhouse for whoever had been stealing her potted plants, but Snape challenged her belief that Patricia Linnaeus was innocent and questioned her about Slughorn.
• Pomona asked Snape why Malfoy was catching birds, kissed him, and asked him to find out why Slughorn had invited Astoria Greengrass.
• Pomona explained that Albus and Grindelwald had broken their Blood Pact twice, and Snape took her unfinished jam tart as he agreed to investigate.
• Georgiana told Ledrell that she had seen Leoncourt’s granddaughter dating Major Desaixville and asked whether he wanted to accomplish great things.

Pomona prepared for Slughorn’s Christmas party, then sneaked out to meet Snape in the Room of Requirement. The chapter explained why Xue Ni and Astoria were invited and detailed the uneasy cooperation between Slughorn and Snape, before Georgiana woke to the cries of a Doxy.

• Pomona learned Kreacher would prepare raw dragon eggs for Slughorn’s party and later encountered Snape, who reminded her of their planned meeting.
• Pomona dressed for her secret rendezvous with Snape and slipped out of her office after Teresa Buttermilk left.
• Slughorn invited Xue Ni to assess whether Astoria carried the Greengrass family blood curse, with the Headmaster’s approval.
• Slughorn and Snape agreed to cooperate on studying Astoria’s curse, while Slughorn pursued his own return to influence at Hogwarts.
• Pomona barred Slughorn from the Herbology greenhouses and warned him against taking her plants.
• Georgiana woke to a Doxy’s cries, drew her wand from her Trembling Flower Bracelet, and threatened the creature.

Pomona learned that Voldemort was gathering an army and that Astoria Greengrass might suffer from a blood curse, then passed Severus's intelligence to the Order of the Phoenix. After the Burrow was burned and Amelia Bones disappeared, the story shifted to Georgiana observing Henry Langenhorn's younger brother with children.

• Pomona entered the Room of Requirement and met Severus, who told her that Voldemort was building an army with wizard mercenaries and vampires at Malfoy Manor.
• Severus revealed that Slughorn had invited a vampire to investigate whether Astoria Greengrass suffered from the blood curse, and that Slughorn wanted to study her.
• At Christmas, Bella led the Death Eaters in burning down the Burrow, while the Order arranged for Harry to stay with one of its members after Pomona passed along Severus's intelligence.
• Amelia Bones disappeared, diverting the Order's attention after she had authorized the second search of Malfoy Manor.
• Georgiana watched Henry Langenhorn's younger brother playing with children and noted that he was not yet a doctor.

Pomona learned that Dumbledore had gone to track Voldemort through the Gaunt family, while Snape grew angry when she pressed him for information and brought up her grief over Sirius. In a separate scene, Georgiana planned to spread rumors about Alice and Major Desaix and watched the La Rochefoucauld couple react to startling news.

• Pomona heard from the Fat Friar that the Grand Staircase portraits could help use up the barrels of liquor, then drew Snape into a broom closet to ask about Dumbledore.
• Snape told Pomona that Dumbledore had tracked Voldemort through records about Morfin Gaunt and the Ministry employee Ogden, and revealed that Voldemort's mother was Merope Gaunt, a Squib.
• Pomona asked where Dumbledore had gone and questioned Snape about the photograph of Merope, but Snape demanded her attention and accused her of grieving over Sirius Black.
• Georgiana explained that she had spread rumors about Alice and Major Desaix to test their intentions and discourage a romance that might constrain him or leave Alice a widow.
• Georgiana noticed the La Rochefoucauld couple react with shock to a dignified lady's words and search the ballroom for someone.

Pomona confronted Filius about his refusal to address student misconduct, while Neville continued watching the Beauxbatons students and Luna drew attention without having dosed Harry with Amortentia. The chapter then shifted to Georgiana, who arranged a cello recital amid political guests and grew increasingly agitated as she watched the gathering.

• Neville used a dungeon room for his Herbology alchemy experiments while monitoring the Beauxbatons students for Pomona.
• Pomona asked Filius to help give wine to friars in portraits, then challenged him over pranks targeting Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang and the attempt to give Harry Amortentia.
• Filius agreed to watch for the misconduct Pomona described but left before she could raise another matter.
• Luna stood out among the girls despite not putting Amortentia in Harry's pumpkin juice, while Draco Malfoy was caught wandering the corridors by Filch.
• Georgiana arranged a cello recital by Duport for the assembled guests, then watched the Duchess of La Rochefoucauld and General MacDonald as her anger mounted.

Pomona visited Neville in his hidden study to ask about extracting concentrated Dittany, after hearing the Potions Club was seeking him for the process. Neville explained a method using salt water, then rushed off after realizing he had forgotten to return Dean's broomstick.

• Teresa Buttermilk told the Potions Club that Myrtle had left the second-floor bathroom and seemed to be talking to someone.
• Wayne Hopkins said he had an order for concentrated Dittany and was looking for Neville, while the club members discussed the request.
• Pomona recalled Audrey Dumont's search for a way to recreate the Philosopher's Stone and the mysterious flask that had begun shaking in the old laboratory.
• Pomona entered the Slytherin common room, used a hidden passage to reach the Hall of Hieroglyphs, and found Neville in his secret study.
• Pomona asked Neville how concentrated Dittany was extracted, and Neville said salt water could draw it from dried leaves.
• Pomona noticed Dean Thomas's broomstick, and Neville hurried away to return it after realizing he had forgotten it.

Pomona and Neville followed Audrey Dumont’s trail through a secret passage, and Pomona pushed Neville to explore it alone. After confronting Snape about stolen ingredients, Pomona left the dungeon, while Georgiana followed Doxies and overheard a conversation in an unfinished palace.

• Pomona and Neville found that Audrey Dumont’s footprints vanished near Helena Ravenclaw’s portrait, then opened the hidden passage behind it.
• Pomona took Neville to Snape and had him give Neville a Perception Potion for exploring the passage, but Neville panicked and ran off.
• Pomona asked Snape about the curses in his storage room and learned that ingredients, including Occamy eggshells, had been stolen; she refused to enter when he invited her inside.
• Georgiana followed the cries of the Doxies and approached an unfinished palace after hearing people murmuring inside.

Pomona explained the dangers of the Vinegar-to-Wine Charm to Neville before Severus sent him back to his common room. Later, Susan told Pomona she had helped Neville because she suspected he might be the other child who fit the prophecy, leaving Pomona wondering who would care for the greenhouse after her.

• Pomona explained how the Vinegar-to-Wine Charm could produce dangerous substances and explosions, while Neville struggled to follow her explanation.
• Severus interrupted, told Neville to focus on his textbooks, and reminded him to return to his common room before nine.
• Pomona and Severus left the hidden room together, and Pomona returned to the greenhouse before sunset.
• Pomona asked Susan why she had helped Neville, and Susan said she suspected he might be the other child who fit the prophecy but had not been chosen by the Dark Lord.
• Susan pointed out that Pomona had favored Neville over Cedric, then left with the other Potions Club members as the castle gates were about to close.
• Pomona looked over the thriving greenhouse and wondered who would care for it after her.

Pomona recalled the Ministry’s investigation into Barty Crouch’s murder, then comforted Neville after Lee Jordan took an Occamy shell. Severus confronted her about the night of the murder and carried her into the dungeon, before the story shifted to Pomona and Severus living together in a repaired house.

• Kingsley Shacklebolt questioned Severus about Barty Crouch’s murder, while Albus defended Severus and asked whether the Triwizard Tournament would continue.
• Lee Jordan took an Occamy shell from Neville’s room to show Fred and George, and Pomona reassured Neville that he had not failed by letting him take it.
• Severus confronted Pomona about being at the Forbidden Forest when Barty Crouch was murdered, and he transformed into black smoke and carried her deeper into the dungeons.
• Pomona considered how appearances could mislead and prepared a necklace meant to protect maze interns from the Fireseed Bushes.
• Severus showed Pomona the repaired house, and she kissed him before he led her inside.

Pomona and Severus lived in seclusion for six years, choosing not to attend the wizarding world’s memorials and celebrations while old questions about the war remained unresolved. The story then shifted to Georgiana watching a supposed magic act, which she recognized as a scientific demonstration, as Fresnel declared his intent to disprove Newton.

• Pomona found an invitation to the first anniversary memorial for the Battle of Hogwarts but decided that returning with Severus would invite questions about his survival and their relationship.
• Pomona and Severus teased one another about birthdays, and they later stayed away from major wizarding events and cut themselves off from the world for six years.
• Pomona reflected on unresolved secrets involving Severus, the Carrows, Barty Crouch, and Harry’s ill-fated attempt to rescue Sirius.
• Georgiana watched Duport finish his cello solo, then saw a magician make a boy appear to float while volunteers inspected the stage.
• Georgiana recognized the floating demonstration as an effect of static electricity, and Fresnel said he would prove Newton wrong about the wave theory of light.

Pomona reflected on Charlie Weasley’s romance with Olivia Girling while experimenting with a magical liquid and considering Merope’s choices. The chapter ended with Severus noticing Pomona had bought the liquid and warning her not to spend money on it again.

• Pomona recalled how Charlie Weasley supported Olivia Girling at Hogwarts, left school after rumors spread about them, and later took Hagrid’s dragon to Romania.
• Pomona used food magic to make meringue and tested a mercury-like liquid delivered by owl from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
• The twins told Pomona that Lee Jordan’s Murtlap Essence had helped their experiments and that Lee had found a new secret passage.
• Albus asked Pomona why Merope had stopped giving Tom Riddle Sr. Amortentia, and Pomona considered that Merope might have hoped for real love or been unable to buy more.
• Severus found Pomona’s vial of tears, asked how much she had paid, and told her not to buy it again before leaving as Pomona made lemonade.