Chapter Summaries

Pomona learned that Bill Weasley was asking about the Portrait Curse to impress Émilie Taylor, while Rita Skeeter might exploit the secret for an internship. After Pomona spoke of the curse and her fear of becoming trapped in a mirror, Snape comforted her, and the chapter left her resting in his arms.

• Émilie Taylor shoved aside a Slytherin girl who collided with her in the corridor.
• Pomona brought herbs to the Hospital Wing, where Snape dismissed Bill Weasley after Bill asked about the paintings.
• Snape warned Pomona that Bill had a crush on Émilie and that Rita Skeeter might seek information about the Portrait Curse.
• Snape told Pomona to protect Phoebe from becoming the subject of gossip, and Pomona reflected on the harm caused by Unforgivable Curses.
• Pomona explained that the Portrait Curse frightened her because she feared being trapped like a portrait, and Snape rushed to hold her as she cried.

Pomona tested Snape’s body wash and fled after he touched her wrist in a way that unsettled her. Later, Snape intervened when three students bullied a Slytherin boy, and the confrontation ended with the bullies leaving.

• Snape applied an ointment to Pomona’s wrist, and she fled the Hospital Wing after his massage caused an unfamiliar sensation.
• Pomona noted that Snape had been giving gifts to staff as he prepared to challenge Slughorn, who proposed making Eternal Potion body wash for the prefects’ bathroom.
• Pomona saw three boys from Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff tossing a Slytherin boy’s schoolbag around.
• Snape returned the schoolbag with magic and warned the three boys that he would use nonverbal curses if they attacked him.
• The three boys left, and Snape walked away without speaking to the Slytherin boy.

Pomona and Severus investigated the rumors linking Esmeralda Muck and Barnaby Lee, while Patricia’s inquiry into Phoebe’s curse ended in her departure from Hogwarts. The school year ended, and Pomona learned that Esmeralda had fought Émilie over a diary and concealed what happened in the washroom.

• Herbert Spring urged Severus to intervene in the rumors, but Severus stayed silent until Spring left and then asked Pomona about Barnaby Lee.
• Pomona explained that Barnaby cared for magical creatures and had met Esmeralda while watching a bat-hitting contest; Barnaby’s uncle Cecil later visited, and the rumors subsided.
• Charlie discovered Barnaby and Esmeralda tending burned Crups together, but Esmeralda jinxed him and sent him to the Hospital Wing.
• Patricia used Legilimency on a student while investigating Phoebe’s curse, provoking a siege against her that led her to leave Hogwarts.
• The school year ended, and Pomona learned that Esmeralda and Émilie had fought over Esmeralda’s diary on the day Esmeralda was knocked unconscious, prompting Esmeralda to keep the washroom incident secret.

Pomona attended Ogg’s farewell party in Hogsmeade, where hostility toward Hogwarts’s teachers and talk of Snape’s escaped trial left her resentful. That night she swam to the Slytherin common room window and reflected on Sirius, Snape, and the power of reflected sunlight, planning an experiment for the next day.

• Pomona saw Damocles Belby honored for inventing the Wolfsbane Potion and learned that Hagrid had officially become Hogwarts’s gamekeeper after Ogg retired.
• Pomona went to Ogg’s farewell party with Grubbly-Plank, where Hogsmeade regulars treated the Hogwarts teachers with hostility because Dumbledore had protected Snape from trial.
• Pomona returned to Hogwarts in silence, passing the Shrieking Shack and recalling Peter’s failure to help James and Sirius enter the hidden passage on June 21, 1977.
• Pomona swam to the Slytherin common room window at night and remembered Sirius’s sunny music classroom appearance and the Young King’s question about happiness and sorrow.
• Pomona considered how mirrors might alter sunlight and decided to conduct an experiment if the next day brought good weather.

The chapter explains the science of eclipses and optics as Severus helps Pomona revise her experiment and gives Sinistra a coated telescope lens. It leaves Severus facing a risky challenge against Slughorn, while Mary’s past and the dangers of crowds, power, and love shape the chapter’s reflections.

• The narrator describes the 1999 total solar eclipse and recounts how experiments by Young and Fresnel helped establish the wave theory of light.
• Severus identifies flaws in Pomona’s sunlight experiment, gives Sinistra a specially coated telescope lens, and gives Minerva colored nail polish for the female teachers.
• Pomona’s lack of support from Slughorn and Mary’s injuries from Mulciber’s group underscore the stakes of Severus’s challenge and the changes facing Slytherin.
• The narrator compares Tulip Mania and the Ottoman Tulip Era with the South Sea Bubble, describing how crowds can sweep individuals into irrational behavior.
• The narrator contrasts Lucius Malfoy’s departure from the crowd with Bellatrix’s continued loyalty, then reflects on Lily’s relationship with James and Pomona’s interest in learning about love.

Pomona returned to Hogwarts for the new school year, where Snape’s cold silence and his strict Potions lessons weighed on her as the school settled into its routines. She watched Hagrid bring Flobberworm mucus to Snape and wondered how she could persuade him to eat in the Great Hall again.

• Pomona watched the opening feast, where Richard Carter began his post as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Hagrid joined the teachers as groundskeeper.
• Pomona recalled Snape’s blank response when she revealed her true form and reflected on Richard Carter’s work tracing family lines and the Ministry’s efforts to capture dark creatures.
• Snape deducted points harshly in Potions, while Richard organized Gryffindor students and Quidditch players for matches against Slytherin.
• Pomona met Hagrid carrying Flobberworm mucus to the Potions classroom and asked him to collect Unicorn horn powder as well.
• Pomona wondered how she could get Snape to stop eating outside the Great Hall.

Pomona watched Dumbledore’s Memory of young Tom Riddle asking Slughorn about Horcruxes, then confronted Snape over the Memory and what Dumbledore had learned. The chapter left Pomona and Snape facing each other in darkness, close enough for a first kiss.

• Pomona left the Hufflepuff welcome party and overheard a Gryffindor boy reassure a frightened Hufflepuff girl.
• Dumbledore showed Pomona the Memory of Tom Riddle asking Slughorn about Horcruxes, after which Slughorn angrily sent Tom away.
• Snape confronted Pomona about Dumbledore’s meeting with Slughorn and said Slughorn had revealed a secret that should never have been disclosed.
• Snape blocked Pomona from leaving and demanded that she look him in the eyes.
• Pomona raised her head in the darkness and thought about love, jealousy, and the taste she wanted her first kiss to have.

Pomona learned how Barnaby Lee had been humiliated by Snape and why he resisted being mistreated, while the school prepared for the Ravenclaw Celestial Ball. The chapter ended with Fang recovering after eating a sleeping-potion-laced meat pie and students asking Pomona for flowers.

• Snape cast a wandless Confundus Charm on Mrs Norris, and Pomona urged him to build a fireplace before winter.
• Richard Carter gave Pomona an invitation to the Ministry of Magic's Christmas party and told her students would not spend Christmas break at school.
• Pomona heard that Snape had read an unsigned love note to Barnaby Lee aloud in class, prompting Barnaby to leave and receive detention in the Forbidden Forest.
• Pomona recalled Barnaby's cruel upbringing and Esmeralda Muck's neglect by her family.
• Pomona found Hagrid comforting Fang in the Hospital Wing after Fang ate a meat pie laced with a sleeping potion, and Poppy Pomfrey gave him an antidote.
• Students came to Pomona asking for flowers for the Celestial Ball as the school prepared for the event.

Pomona reflected on the Celestial Ball, Voldemort’s ideas about power, and how she had been deceived by Severus. The chapter ended with her weighing the cost of pursuing justice and following Hufflepuff’s rule to hide her anger.

• Pomona rejected the Ravenclaw girls’ attempt to get Hufflepuff students to provide free flowers for the Celestial Ball.
• Lily and James were elected student council presidents, while Pomona recalled how the council had once organized a successful protest over the school toilets.
• Pomona considered Voldemort’s belief that the powerful had a duty to keep others in their place and questioned who was lying.
• Pomona compared herself to a bumblebee deceived by a flower and wondered what might have happened if Hufflepuff had continued seeking justice for Phoebe.
• Pomona smiled at her reflection, then blew out the candle with a blank expression.

Pomona investigated Barnaby Lee’s unusual talent and learned from Dumbledore that he might be given a test, which she was asked to observe. Their conversation also raised concerns about Richard Carter’s interest in the Sword of Gryffindor, and Dumbledore decided another test might be needed.

• Pomona noticed that Barnaby had safely played with Dark magic items since childhood and questioned why Voldemort had visited his family’s manor.
• Pomona watched Barnaby help students during Herbology and began to suspect that his natural kindness was significant.
• Pomona asked Dumbledore whether Barnaby had special plans, and Dumbledore asked her to observe a test of his character.
• Dumbledore told Pomona that Richard Carter had wanted to see the Sword of Gryffindor and explained its importance to Goblins.
• Dumbledore said the sword’s legend meant he would need to prepare another test.

Pomona considered Barnaby Lee’s unusual potential, Hogwarts legends, and the danger of trusting deceptive people. She burned Carter’s invitation and decided to spend Christmas sleeping, imagining a beautiful dream.

• Pomona reviewed Barnaby Lee’s OWLs and reflected on his detention, studies, and possible talent.
• The Fat Friar asked Pomona whether ghosts could attend the Celestial Ball, then went to ask the Grey Lady.
• Pomona thought about Helena Ravenclaw, the Diadem, Hogwarts legends, and Severus Snape’s search for the Chamber of Secrets.
• Pomona reflected on Valmont’s deception of Madame Du Wei and the torment people could inflict on one another.
• Pomona burned Carter’s invitation with Incendio and planned to sleep through Christmas.

Pomona watched Barnaby and three third-years visit the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid to observe Mooncalves, while Barnaby discussed Werewolves and collected dung. As the Mooncalves danced to Barnaby’s song, Pomona drifted into thoughts of a fairy queen’s enchanted love and the possibility of seeing a lover clearly once a spell wore off.

• Hagrid restrained Fang from eating a meat pie until he gave him permission, then led Barnaby and the three third-years toward the Forbidden Forest.
• Charlie asked about a rumored white Werewolf, and Barnaby explained that white-furred Werewolves were rare but no different from others.
• Barnaby gave Charlie, Pippa Macmillan, and Rowan Khanna mosquito repellent while Charlie told him a story about Ron’s fear of spiders.
• The group waited by a stream until Mooncalves emerged, and Barnaby regretted not bringing bait to collect more dung.
• Barnaby sang softly, and the Mooncalves relaxed and danced as Pomona imagined a fairy queen discovering that her enchanted lover was a donkey.

Pomona confronted Snape over his mistreatment of Barnaby Lee, who had been assigned kitchen detention, while Snape blamed her for Sirius Black and James Potter. At the Halloween feast, students feared Barnaby had endangered the food, but Dumbledore’s speech and Charlie’s example persuaded them to eat.

• Pomona told Barnaby to stir the enormous cauldron of soup while he served detention in the kitchen.
• Pomona challenged Snape about driving Barnaby from Potions class, and Snape said Barnaby needed to learn manners before attacking Pomona over Sirius Black and James Potter.
• Pomona returned to the kitchen to help prepare the feast, while Snape did not attend dinner.
• A Gryffindor boy said the students feared the food because a dangerous person had entered the kitchen, and Pomona looked toward Barnaby in Ravenclaw.
• Dumbledore urged the students not to let anger guide them, and Charlie began eating, prompting the rest of the students to follow.

Pomona spent the weekend thinking about Harry and Hogwarts’ hidden history, then helped Severus uncover a concealed fireplace and an immense underground space beneath the castle. She left with Severus after persuading him to stop exploring, though the room’s secrets remained undiscovered.

• Charlie, Rowan, and Bill met Barnaby and went with him to Hogsmeade, where they planned to visit the Three Broomsticks.
• Pomona spoke with Minerva about Harry, wondered whether he resisted Dark magic, and urged Minerva to visit him.
• Pomona noticed Phoebe ignoring her sister Joy, then went to Severus’s office and insisted on repairing his fireplace.
• Pomona and Severus revealed a hidden fireplace behind a wall in his rooms and lit a fire.
• Pomona and Severus used their tools to find a concealed passage and discovered a vast underground space filled with fireplace pipes and fireflies.
• Pomona persuaded Severus to leave the underground space, telling him they could explore it another time.

During Herbology, Pomona packed the Heart-Taming Plum harvest and found a glowing frog trapped among the plants. After Duncan delivered the harvest, Severus visited her greenhouse, where Pomona asked him to assist with her planned soil and fertilizer research, and he thanked her for helping him become Draco’s godfather before leaving.

• Charlie and Pippa discussed their pets while packing Heart-Taming Plums, and Pomona reflected on Barnaby, Liz Tuttle, and the students’ lives.
• Pomona found a glowing frog wearing a bow tie among the Heart-Taming Plums and trapped it in a bubble prison.
• Duncan House collected the packed harvest and flew away from Hogwarts in a Thestral carriage.
• Severus questioned Pomona about Duncan’s delivery, and she explained that he worked for Dumbledore.
• Pomona asked Severus to assist with her soil and fertilizer research, and he thanked her for supporting him before leaving the greenhouse.

Pomona reluctantly allowed Hagrid to keep Fluffy, a Cerberus puppy given to him by Carter, after learning it had been difficult to handle. As December arrived, Pomona reflected on ancient magic, hunting, and Valmont’s motives, leaving Barnaby’s true nature uncertain.

• Pomona asked Snape about Barnaby’s rings, and Snape said they looked human-made.
• Hagrid asked Pomona for permission to keep a Cerberus Carter had given him for his birthday, and she agreed on the condition that it stay away from the castle.
• Pomona saw Fluffy bite Hagrid hard enough to make him bleed for a day, though Hagrid remained devoted to the dog.
• Pomona realized December had arrived and considered her plans as Snape prepared to visit the Malfoy family and become Draco Malfoy’s godfather.
• Pomona reflected on the history of magic, ancient hunting, and Valmont’s lessons, then wondered whether Barnaby was kind or cold-hearted.

Pomona accompanied students on a detention trip to Aindale, where Hagrid had arranged for them to collect horseshoes. Before they boarded, Bill Weasley invited Émilie Taylor to the Celestial Ball and was mocked; Pomona then noticed Hagrid had brought Fluffy along and hurried to prevent an accident.

• Snape assigned the sixth-years a three-foot essay due on the Celestial Ball and upset students by enforcing school rules with Filch.
• Pomona and the students gathered at the docks to travel by boat to Aindale and collect horseshoes for Hagrid.
• Bill Weasley asked Émilie Taylor to the Celestial Ball, but Émilie mocked his appearance and said she only went with outstanding people.
• Charlie Weasley stepped in to defend Bill, while Pomona moved the younger students toward the boat.
• Pomona saw Hagrid carrying Fluffy and hurried over, worried the three-headed dog might cause an accident.

Pomona went to Aindale to look for Rudy and the others and ask Severus Snape for help with a safer test, but a mountain Troll and Graphorn attacked the village. Barnaby and Leeds Thugut stopped the threat, and Pomona left with Snape after the Graphorn departed.

• Pomona questioned Severus Snape about Rita Skeeter's informants and asked him to help devise a test for Barnaby.
• Pomona climbed toward Aindale's tunnels, where a mountain Troll riding a Graphorn charged toward the village.
• A net trapped the Troll and Graphorn briefly, and Barnaby used a ring to cast Hellshoon on the Troll.
• Leeds Thugut revealed that a helmet controlled the Troll and helped stop the Graphorn as Barnaby's blood oath summoned Fiendfyre, which killed the Troll and destroyed the helmet.
• Leeds approached the scarred Graphorn, which lowered its head and then left, while Rudy and the others arrived on Thestrals.
• Pomona asked Barnaby to join her for a drink and walked away with Severus Snape.

Leeds explained how she found a map to a Goblin mine and discovered that magical helmets made Trolls attack like Inferiuses, while Pomona worried about the dangers and Rita Skeeter’s interest in the incident. Back at Hogwarts, Pomona sought comfort from Snape and fell asleep beside him, dreaming of a black-clad knight on a fiery horse.

• Leeds told Snape and Pomona that she found a map among scattered library pages, followed it to a cave, and tracked a Graphorn into it.
• Leeds showed them notes by Helios Black and explained that the helmets changed Trolls’ behavior and destroyed their minds.
• After the group left the bar, Pomona confronted Leeds, who admitted that Helios Black was a dead Hogwarts ghost and member of the Headless Hunt.
• Mermaids helped the group return to Hogwarts, while Pomona worried that Rita Skeeter might publish a sensational account of the incident.
• Pomona feared for Grawp and asked Snape to hug her; he eventually embraced her as she leaned against him.
• Pomona fell asleep beside Snape and dreamed of a black-clad knight riding a fiery horse beneath an enormous full moon.

After the Aindale incident, Dumbledore assigned staff to investigate threats outside Hogwarts and maintain order in the castle. Hagrid and Leeds treated Vera’s wounds and spinal deformity, while Pomona noticed Barnaby’s rings seemed to make the Crups wary and wondered whether Voldemort had been interested in the Li family’s antiques.

• Dumbledore held a staff meeting about security beyond Hogwarts and relations between the Houses, assigning Rudy to investigate the mines and helmets and the Slytherin Head of House to oversee order in the castle.
• Hagrid named the injured Erumpent Vera and decided she should be treated before anyone decided whether she would return to the herd.
• Leeds examined Vera under Kettleburn’s guidance and found that pressure from the Troll had deformed her spine, which could still be corrected with Skele-Gro.
• Snape brewed Skele-Gro during the blizzards, while Pomona taught Biting Cabbage cultivation and suggested that Barnaby adopt one of Kettleburn’s Crups.
• Pomona noticed Barnaby’s rings made the Crups instinctively avoid his hands and wondered whether Voldemort had sought something among the Li family’s antique collection when he visited Barnaby’s home.