Chapter Summaries

Pomona revisited memories of Lily and heard troubling testimony about Sirius Black before returning to Hogwarts with Severus. Bill reported that Professor Carter, Barnaby, and Ben were missing, and Pomona and Severus flew to find them using Leeds's treasure map.

• Lily shared figs with Pomona while Severus sat lost in thought.
• At the Leaky Cauldron, Slughorn praised Lily's Potions talent, and Pomona recalled an Auror's claim that Sirius Black had laughed amid the ruins of the Potter home.
• Pomona and Severus returned to Hogwarts, where Bill reported that Professor Carter, Barnaby, and Ben were missing and suspected Carter had taken them over a Goblin treasure map.
• Pomona realized the map was with Leeds, and she and Severus went to her dormitory to retrieve it.
• Severus carried Pomona into the night as black smoke, and they headed toward the place marked on the map.

Bill discovered that Carter had secretly copied a library book about a legendary gold, while Severus and Pomona investigated Carter’s search for treasure and uncovered Paul’s connection to it. Carter escaped during a confrontation involving Trolls and Ministry officials, leaving the adults to handle the chaos.

• Bill found Carter copying a Restricted Section book about a legendary substance resembling gold that could not be made with the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Severus told Pomona that Carter believed the Sword of Gryffindor was at Hogwarts and that Paul might be connected to a Horcrux.
• Severus and Pomona followed a map to a cave, where Carter held Barnaby and Ben captive and tortured Ben with an Unforgivable Curse.
• Ben revealed that Paul had made himself a container, and the wooden puppet summoned two Trolls to attack Carter.
• Centaurs, Hagrid, and Apulia Moore arrived as Paul filled the forest with mist and hanging puppets, while Carter slipped away amid the confusion.
• Severus refused to pursue Carter and left with Pomona, saying that catching criminals was an Auror’s job.

Ben recounted his childhood, his friendship with Barnaby and Paul, and how Paul created an amusement park to bring himself happiness. After Paul’s death and Carter’s actions, Pomona and Severus tried to make sense of what had happened and the Ministry’s operation at the fortress.

• Ben recalled that his parents had mistaken his claims about the ghost in their home for lies until his magical outburst brought Aurors to him.
• Ben explained that Barnaby and Paul had become his friends because they shared lonely childhoods and felt different from those around them.
• Ben told Pomona and Severus that Paul had awakened the ability to control dolls and objects, then created an amusement park and sought people to play with him.
• Barnaby said the victims could have refused Paul’s demands, while Severus and Pomona questioned how Paul had died and how they would report the events to Dumbledore.
• Pomona wondered what treasure inside the fortress had prompted the Ministry of Magic to mount such a large operation.

Pomona and Severus discussed the haunted house and the people harmed by its history, then sparred as Pomona worked through her anger and ideas about strength. She wondered whether Hogwarts could claim treasure from land now occupied by Muggles, and returned with Dumbledore to find Fudge waiting awkwardly in the headmaster's office.

• Fudge questioned Dumbledore about the incident and left a letter from the Minister for Magic without explaining its contents.
• Severus told Pomona that Cecil had traced the haunted house to a builder named Pim and described its history of disasters and criminal owners.
• Pomona argued that oppressed people sometimes needed to use force, and she and Severus practiced spells outside the office.
• Pomona questioned whether a former Hogwarts defensive site and its treasury could be reclaimed, while Severus pointed out that the land belonged to Britain.
• Pomona returned to the headmaster's office with Dumbledore, where Fudge was waiting as Dumbledore went to fetch honey liquor.

Pomona, Severus, and Ben prepared dragon-dung fertilizer for Hagrid’s plan to change Grawp’s food source and reduce conflict between Forest Trolls and Centaurs. After the Hogwarts Express departed, Severus discussed Carter’s contribution to the school, and the group went to wait for Hagrid by the Black Lake.

• Pomona explained that she was adjusting dragon-dung fertilizer to improve plant yields for the Forest Trolls and support Hagrid’s plan to change Grawp’s staple food.
• Pomona had Ben practice using the Catching Charm on a moth so he could catch dragonflies later.
• Pomona, Severus, and Ben watched the Hogwarts Express leave while Ben and Barnaby stayed at school.
• Severus said Carter had contributed to Hogwarts and argued that competition was better than mutual suspicion, prompting Ben to think.
• Pomona led Severus and Ben to wait for Hagrid by the Black Lake.

Hagrid, Pomona, and the others cleared the hidden Forbidden Forest garden while dealing with its practical and political complications. At dinner, Barnaby shared news about Carter and the North Ford Bog fortress, and Severus offered to teach him Occlumency before Pomona left with Severus into the dark forest.

• Hagrid met Pomona and the students at the concealed garden, where Ben chose to separate Flying Seahorses from dragonflies while Pomona and Hagrid cleared the pumpkin beds.
• Pomona arranged for Ben and the others to stay in Grubbly-Plank's office, and she met Apulia Moore, who explained that she had lost the master key to the Department of Mysteries.
• Barnaby reported that Carter would avoid Azkaban but had disappeared from public view, and that the North Ford Bog fortress would be demolished.
• Severus offered to give Barnaby Occlumency lessons, and Pomona told Ben to accompany her the next day.
• Severus insisted on leaving with Pomona, and she reluctantly followed him into the Forbidden Forest.

Pomona confronted Severus in the Forbidden Forest about his assumptions and her own inability to secure justice for Ben Cooper. After she explained her compromise with the Ministry, Severus comforted her as exhaustion overcame her.

• Severus led Pomona to a patch of unfamiliar black fritillary flowers in the Forbidden Forest and suggested she share credit for discovering them.
• Severus challenged Pomona, saying she endured oppression rather than acting humbly, and held her while she struggled to escape.
• Pomona used green fire to kill an Acromantula behind Severus and defended giving the Flobberworms a chance to live.
• Pomona told Severus she would take Ben Cooper to the Ministry to choose an internship in exchange for his dropping demands to prosecute Carter, because she feared another upheaval.
• Severus told Pomona he understood her pain and embraced her, and she fell asleep in his arms.

Pomona woke after a strange dream with a new vision of a stone dragon in the dungeon and asked Severus to inspect it. After recovering with a drink, she prepared to visit Hagrid and reflected on werewolves and the stories people used to imitate.

• Pomona woke in a silk nightgown with split lips and realized she could not remember what had happened after she fainted among the black flowers.
• Pomona saw a stone dragon in a dungeon vision and asked Severus through the Two-Way Mirror to inspect the sculpture.
• Severus arranged to meet Pomona at the library, and she agreed to meet him there that evening.
• Pomona took honey-flavored brandy from a cabinet and decided to bring the rest to Hagrid.
• Pomona considered Cecil's plan to imitate Lockhart by using Transfiguration on werewolves, then dressed and left her room.

Pomona took Ben Cooper to the Muggle Court of Chancery before bringing him to the Ministry of Magic, while the chapter examined class, privilege, and the importance of having a powerful background. Paul grew restless in court, so Pomona woke Ben and agreed they should leave to find something else to do.

• Émilie Taylor's clique pressured its members to mock Esmeralda Muck, who instead joined a Slytherin girls' clique led by Isabella Sidney.
• Pomona took Ben Cooper to the Muggle Court of Chancery, where the chapter linked his Muggle-born background and status as a victim of the Unforgivable Curses to the importance of his testimony.
• Albus reached an agreement with Fudge that barred the Daily Prophet from hiring interns before seventh-year graduation and restricted Rita Skeeter's access to Hogwarts and its surroundings.
• The chapter contrasted the dangers faced by people without powerful connections with the protection offered by background, wealth, and the ability to resist oppression.
• Paul complained that court was boring, and Pomona woke Ben Cooper so they could leave and find something else to do.

Pomona took Ben Cooper and Paul to the Court of Chancery and discussed resistance, danger, and the need to build strength before seeking peace. She left with Ben for the Ministry of Magic while Paul rode in Ben’s pocket.

• Pomona bought ice cream and joined Ben Cooper and Paul outside the Court of Chancery.
• Pomona reflected on electoral reform and the 1866 riots as she considered how people responded to power and fate.
• Pomona told Ben she would not ask him to forgive Carter and urged him to judge danger, stay quiet for now, and build his strength.
• Ben asked what he could do if Cole targeted him, and Pomona encouraged Paul to help him become a stronger opponent.
• Paul told Pomona he found her interesting, and she took Ben to the Ministry of Magic with Paul tucked in his pocket.

Pomona reflected on Britain’s industrial and public-health crises before returning to Hogwarts with Ben and watching him take a Time-Turner. After a strange vision led her to Severus in a dungeon, she learned he had found a dragon egg filled with emperor dragonflies and suggested they search for a cabinet the next day.

• Pomona considered how shortages, exploitation, and cholera had worsened conditions for British workers and contributed to unrest.
• Ben Cooper chose the Time-Turner, returned to Hogwarts with Pomona, and went into the Forbidden Forest while she headed back to the castle.
• Pomona heard the Clock Tower bells and ran toward them as green lacewings rose around her.
• Pomona experienced a vision of a sleeping Dragon and a dark figure, then touched a lacewing and appeared in a dungeon with Severus.
• Severus told Pomona that he had found an egg that shattered when touched and released emperor dragonflies throughout the school.
• Pomona suggested they search for a cabinet the next day, and a dragonfly shaped like a key flew past them.

Pomona cleaned and prepared the Astronomy classroom while reflecting on astronomy, industry, education, and the people overlooked by history. She left with a plan to use a secret ballot to learn whether the school supported holding the Celestial Ball again.

• Pomona moved and cleaned Albus's old celestial models, then planned to ask Sinistra and the Astronomy Club to calculate Lagrange points.
• Pomona considered how Henrietta's discovery of Cepheid variables and Hubble's observations had changed humanity's understanding of the universe.
• Pomona reflected on industrial waste, textile production, market competition, and the changes brought by the Second Industrial Revolution.
• Pomona thought about lace machinery, the independence of children from their fathers, and Godric Gryffindor's belief in the potential of Muggle-born students.
• Pomona decided she could use a secret ballot to measure support for another Celestial Ball, then left the Astronomy classroom.

The chapter recounted the astronomy behind Cepheid variables and Henrietta’s work classifying variable stars, then followed Pomona through a quiet summer at Hogwarts as she considered visiting the Weasleys. It left her putting away an ill-fitting lace nightgown and thinking about a gift for Bill.

• The chapter explained how Delta Cephei’s changing brightness made it a cosmic measuring stick, unlike the eclipsing variable known as Medusa’s Eye.
• Charles Pickering formed an all-female team to classify astronomical photographs, and Henrietta’s focus on variable stars led her to a major discovery.
• Pomona noticed that Severus and Dumbledore had found a hidden Chamber of Secrets behind a stone dragon statue and that Severus was chasing the castle’s dragonflies.
• Hagrid trained Fluffy not to steal food from its other heads, but the Cerberus continued fighting with itself.
• Pomona received a lace nightgown that fit like a fishing net and considered visiting Molly and giving Bill a gift after he earned twelve Os on his OWLs.

Pomona visited the Weasley family and saw how Molly and Arthur found happiness amid the noise and bustle of their home. After reflecting on family, social expectations, and survival, Pomona returned to Hogwarts and chased a dragonfly through the castle.

• Pomona watched Arthur return to the Burrow and saw him join Molly and their children in the lively household.
• Molly and Pomona chose a clothing style together, and Molly promised to sew the clothes and send them by owl.
• After leaving the Burrow, Pomona reflected on happiness and the pressures that shaped people's lives and choices.
• Pomona returned to Hogwarts and, after a dragonfly flew past her in the Great Hall, chased after it despite the possible dangers.

Pomona worked with Hagrid and Liz to fertilize the Forbidden Forest fields while reflecting on power, responsibility, and Harry’s uncertain future. The chapter ended with Pomona deciding to establish herself before teaching others her theories.

• Hagrid showed Pomona and Liz that music from Ben Cooper’s music box made Fluffy fall asleep.
• Pomona, Liz, and Hagrid spread experimental dragon dung fertilizer and soil amendments across the fields.
• Pomona warned Liz to remove her Lumos ring while farming, and Liz put it in her bag.
• Pomona thought about Vernon’s business, Harry’s future with the Dursleys, and the blood magic between Harry and Petunia.
• Hagrid directed Grawp to place a tree marking where the fertilized fields began.
• Pomona resolved to wait until she had found her footing before sharing her ideas about law and responsibility.

Charlie helped Hagrid, Pomona, and Lizzie grow and harvest Bubotubers before asking about finding wild Hippogriffs. Back at the castle, Pomona sent Barnaby, Ben Cooper, and Apulia Moore to search for Daedalian Keys, then learned from Dumbledore about Sen Bakar’s tower as she pursued the mysterious place she had glimpsed.

• Charlie joined Hagrid, Pomona, and Lizzie in using growth charms and harvesting Bubotubers, which they left for Grawp to wash.
• Charlie asked Lizzie and Pomona where to find wild Hippogriffs, and Pomona said two had escaped from the poachers’ camp.
• Pomona rallied Barnaby, Ben Cooper, and Apulia Moore to search the castle for Daedalian Keys, then returned to the greenhouse to prepare dragon-dung fertilizer.
• Dumbledore visited Pomona with Fawkes and asked why she was still searching after finding a key; Pomona explained that she sought the abandoned place she had glimpsed.
• Dumbledore told Pomona that Bakar Tower had belonged to Sen Bakar, a Hogwarts professor and former Hufflepuff Head who loved Astronomy, then left her with a cryptic remark.

Pomona and Severus investigated clues left by the former Hogwarts professors, then traveled to Bakar Tower. They found a hidden entrance that required a key, and Pomona wondered where the key was concealed.

• Bill found a book identifying Sen Bakar as a Slytherin professor of beast studies, and the group discussed him and other famous former Hogwarts figures.
• Severus showed Pomona a pearl necklace he had found in the alchemy room and suggested they visit Bakar Tower.
• Barnaby proposed returning to Hagrid to deal with the Centaurs and Trolls, while Pomona noticed Ben Cooper looked guilty.
• Severus took Pomona through the Hog's Head fireplace and led her to Bakar Tower, which had no visible entrance and could not be reached by broomstick.
• Pomona and Severus discovered a hidden doorway in a stone wall, but its lock required a key.

Pomona and Snape attended a midsummer carnival with the Weasleys, but Snape took her aside to confront her about a valuable pearl necklace and her reluctance to pursue her desires. Their argument ended in the rain with Pomona admitting she had started chasing dragonflies because she saw Snape doing it.

• Pomona enjoyed the carnival with Snape and the Weasleys, where Molly asked about the mysterious fabric Pomona had supplied.
• Snape hurried Pomona away from the crowded market, then told her Albus had asked him to talk to her about something he had forgotten.
• Snape revealed that he had considered giving Pomona a pearl necklace he thought might increase intelligence, but Pomona refused it and said she did not need it.
• Snape challenged Pomona about hiding her beauty and asked what she had seen in the Mirror of Erised; Pomona refused to discuss it and tried to leave as rain began to fall.
• Snape urged Pomona to accept who she was and pursue what she wanted, while Pomona argued that people were defined by their choices and admitted she had chased dragonflies because she saw him doing it.

Pomona reflected on Helen Keller’s privileged opportunities and Maxim, Edison, and Tesla’s struggles and rivalries before considering suffering and redemption. After Severus spoke carelessly again, Pomona cleared the storm clouds, told him to pursue what he wanted, and left him repairing the damaged bridge.

• Pomona contrasted Helen Keller’s wealth and access to specialized teaching with Maxim’s poverty and self-taught career, then recounted Edison’s battles with Maxim, Tesla, and Westinghouse over electric lighting.
• Pomona rejected the idea that suffering or good deeds promised redemption after death and argued that people should find redemption while alive.
• Pomona considered Severus’s renewed mistake in speaking without restraint and decided he was not worthy of her.
• Pomona summoned a violent wind that tore apart their shelter and scattered the rain clouds, revealing the stars.
• After fireworks began, Pomona ordered Severus to repair the wooden bridge, praised his work, and left.

Pomona reflected on the history of war and the destruction caused by the Maxim gun before Snape rescued her from a fall. A tarot reading confronted her with the choice to forgive someone from her past or change her life, and Snape carried her away in black smoke.

• Pomona wandered through the carnival drinking wine and reflected on the Maxim gun, the Crimean War, and the soldiers who had made an uneasy peace in the trenches.
• Pomona stumbled, and Snape caught her before she fell and broke her wine bottle.
• Pomona entered a tent where an old witch gave her a tarot reading about hardship, a new beginning, and the need to forgive or make a clean break.
• The witch told Pomona that she was trapped in an unbearable situation, while Snape insisted she was not going anywhere.
• Snape paid the witch and transformed into black smoke, carrying Pomona away as onlookers panicked at the sight of a Death Eater’s mark.