Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Snape shared ice cream and a tender moment while discussing suffering and comfort. A memory then revealed Isidora using a mysterious power to remove darkness from Headmistress Fitzgerald, leaving Pomona and Snape to consider whether anyone had the right to take away another person’s suffering before they set off to find the little Trolls and return to school.

• Pomona and Snape talked about the stars and shared pink ice cream, then discussed kisses, his mother, and the Dark Lord.
• Pomona kissed Snape’s forehead, and he held her as they spoke about suffering and whether the world would be better without it.
• Black smoke emerged from Snape’s Mokeskin pouch and revealed a memory of Headmistress Fitzgerald confronting Isidora about her use of a power stored in a container.
• Isidora dismissed Fitzgerald’s warnings and removed a mass of darkness from her chest, insisting that the power could help people.
• Pomona and Snape discussed whether suffering was private, then set out to find the little Trolls and return to school.

Pomona and Severus rescued Bill, Apulia, Ben Cooper, Leeds, Barnaby, and the twins from a magical ruin in the Forbidden Forest by removing a stone from its altar. Pomona and Severus explored the ancient tomb beneath it, then left after finding human remains and evidence that it predated Hogwarts.

• Pomona and Severus Apparated to the Forbidden Forest, where magical pulses led them to ruins containing a water-covered altar and a necklace.
• Paul appeared from Severus's pocket, and Pomona called for Dolan after recognizing that the necklace belonged to him.
• Severus used Death Eater Flight to take the stone from the altar, making the water, butterflies, and pulses disappear and freeing Bill, Apulia, Ben Cooper, Leeds, Barnaby, and the twins.
• Apulia explained that Dolan had given them the necklace to guide them to their destined fate, and Bill showed the group a stone comb they had found in a tomb.
• Pomona and Severus entered the underground tomb, examined its human remains and ancient carvings, and concluded that it predated Hogwarts.
• Pomona closed the coffin, reminded Severus to leave someone outside during future explorations, and returned to the students.

Pomona and Severus questioned Apulia Moore about the moon-linked stone and the demolished fortress after the missing boys returned. The chapter ended with Pomona overhearing Arthur and Molly argue about the graveyard before Severus Apparated them away.

• Molly scolded Bill, George, and Fred for disappearing, while Arthur thanked Pomona and Severus for helping find them.
• Pomona arranged for Barnaby, Ben Cooper, and Leeds to take Paul back to the castle, then met Apulia with Severus in a bar.
• Pomona traded information about the graveyard for Apulia’s account of seeing a Centaur give a necklace to Barnaby, Leeds, and Ben Cooper.
• Apulia said Firenze had sensed the stone’s connection to the Moon and explained that Hogwarts Daedalian Keys depended on a person’s connection to the school.
• Apulia asked Pomona and Severus to meet her the next night at the Hog’s Head to discuss the demolished fortress.
• After vomiting outside the bar, Pomona overheard Arthur and Molly discussing Bill’s graveyard dare, and Severus Apparated them away.

Pomona considered the deceptive bargains people made and the uneasy relationships between humans and magical creatures as she investigated the recent creature problem at Hogwarts. After leaving a meeting, she spotted a dragonfly and hurried after it, believing it might lead her to another opportunity.

• Dumbledore announced the prefects, naming Bill Weasley Gryffindor's male prefect, then held Hufflepuff back to discuss the magical creature problem.
• Pomona reflected on the Black Lake mermaids' customs, their agreement with Hogwarts, and their wary relationship with humans and Centaurs.
• Pomona concluded she needed a breakthrough in her investigation and realized that Dumbledore's questions had made her seem like an untrustworthy adult to children.
• Pomona parted from Hagrid, Grubbly-Plank, and Kettleburn outside the Great Hall, noticed a dragonfly, and hurried after it.

Pomona followed the key to Peeves’s abandoned bathroom and recovered a gold necklace with a red gemstone pendant. Snape took it from her and brought her to a hidden alchemy laboratory, where he questioned her about the stone, leaving Pomona to conceal her thoughts with Occlumency.

• Pomona followed the key through the castle and entered Peeves’s bathroom, where she found Ferdinand trapped in a portrait and unlocked a cabinet.
• Pomona took a gold necklace with a triangular pendant and red gemstone from the cabinet, then hurried out of the bathroom.
• Snape caught Pomona in a safe area, took the necklace, and insisted they investigate it together.
• Pomona reminded Snape they still needed to find the Centaurs and Apulia Moore before following him into a hidden alchemy laboratory.
• Snape asked Pomona where she had gotten the stone, and Pomona claimed she had picked it up while using Occlumency to protect her friend.

Pomona and Severus examined Percival Rackham’s memory of Isidora removing her father’s grief, while Dumbledore revealed a key hidden inside San Bakar’s pendant. The chapter ended with Severus entering the Pensieve to view the pendant’s memory.

• Severus asked Pomona to attend the Slytherin house dance with him, and they argued about Sirius Black and Severus’s lack of support.
• Dumbledore examined San Bakar’s necklace and brought Pomona and Severus to his office to view Percival Rackham’s memory.
• Pomona watched Isidora remove a dark mass from her father and concluded that Isidora had taken away both painful and happy memories.
• Dumbledore opened San Bakar’s pendant with a phrase in a hoarse language, revealing a key from within it.
• Severus plunged into the Pensieve to view the memory stored in the pendant.

Pomona and Albus discussed Isidora’s attempt to remove pain, the harm she caused, and whether San Bakar had been right to kill her. Pomona concluded that Bakar had done nothing wrong, then left with Severus to see what the others were doing.

• Pomona recalled that Isidora’s magic stripped away both painful and positive emotions, leaving her father and many students damaged.
• Albus questioned whether San Bakar should have used Avada Kedavra on Isidora, and Pomona and Severus debated a teacher’s responsibility toward students.
• Albus asked Severus about the Centaurs, and Severus said they were messengers of destiny who only learned events’ exact details when they unfolded.
• Pomona and Severus left the Headmaster’s office, and Severus asked whether she would have used an Unforgivable Curse on Isidora.
• Pomona said Isidora’s power had to be stopped and firmly declared that San Bakar had done nothing wrong.

Pomona and Severus searched the hidden room where Fitzgerald’s necklace had been found, and Pomona uncovered a memory left behind by Fitzgerald. She was drawn into a medieval village where masked wizards murdered Muggles and tried to disguise the killings as a plague.

• Pomona ignored Severus as they walked through Hogwarts, then used the bronze frog statue to travel to the alchemy laboratory.
• Severus took Pomona to a concealed room behind the fireplace and asked her to search for anything he had missed.
• Pomona noticed the candles differed and wondered where Fitzgerald’s memories were kept in the room.
• Fitzgerald’s sketch appeared and warned Pomona that what she saw might not be real and that her life was in her own hands.
• Pomona found herself in a medieval village, where plague-doctor wizards killed two Muggles and were ordered to make the deaths look like a plague.
• Pomona used the Disillusionment Charm and moved through the village unseen.

Pomona explored a vision of a village destroyed by witch-hunting and learned that wizard robbers had staged plague attacks to punish its people. After Fitzgerald challenged her to confront the pain and her own sense of responsibility, Pomona escaped the vision and headed toward Bakar's Tower, believing the key around her neck would let her find what she sought.

• Pomona found a farmer who attacked her, then heard a hidden child say the villagers had killed Joan in God's name.
• Pomona used Legilimency on a survivor and witnessed a witch being drowned while her infant was threatened, then protected the baby with Peaceful Guard.
• Pomona read a plague doctor's mind and learned that wizard robbers staged attacks on villages that had burned witches, then stunned him.
• Fitzgerald questioned Pomona about love, suffering, and responsibility as she watched the village burn and climbed toward a castle platform.
• Pomona followed the scent of a Hippogriff to leave the vision and returned to the real world near Bakar's Tower.
• Pomona walked toward the tower, carrying its key and expecting to find what she had come for.

Pomona examined Bakar's Tower's concealed entrance while reflecting on Muggle political and economic history and Doug McPhee's contributions to wizarding society. She uncovered a metal door and approached it with Bakar's key, leaving what lay beyond unknown.

• Pomona used Diffindo and Accio to move concealed stone blocks in the rock face beneath Bakar's Tower.
• The shifting stones revealed a metal door hidden behind the cliff face.
• Pomona took out Bakar's key, decorated with a vulture and a harp, and walked toward the entrance.

Pomona and Snape discovered how to reach Sen Bakar’s tower, where his portrait revealed that Isidora had promised the Goblins the Sword of Gryffindor in exchange for magic silver. The memory left them facing the consequences of her bargain.

• Pomona explored the underground passage and found a Lockwood family crest before Snape arrived and asked about Paul.
• Pomona and Snape worked out that the mosaic could carry them upward when her transfigured key formed an egg at its center.
• They reached Sen Bakar’s tower, where Pomona asked whether Goblin magic gold existed and where Isidora’s magic silver was.
• Sen Bakar showed them a Pensieve memory in which Charles Lockwood told Percival that the Goblins had rebelled and demanded the Sword of Gryffindor.
• Charles explained that Isidora had promised the Goblins the sword in exchange for magic silver, and Percival proposed finding the others.

Pomona and Severus learned from San Bakar that Goblins had armed Centaurs with silver arrowheads and that Isidora's immense power had helped build San Bakar's tower. They left the tower knowing the Centaurs' involvement could bring disaster.

• In Everard's memory, Hogwarts prepared for conflict after the Ministry rejected the Goblins' demand for representation in the Wizengamot.
• Largos warned Everard that Goblins planned to win over the Centaurs with silver arrowheads that could pierce Protego.
• San Bakar confirmed the arrowheads were real and urged Pomona and Severus to help the children and stop them if necessary.
• San Bakar showed Pomona and Severus a memory of Isidora using her power to raise the tower while Charles Lockwood praised her.
• Pomona connected the Centaurs' actions to the Sword of Damocles and warned that their alliance with the Goblins could lead to their destruction.
• Pomona took the key and flew out of San Bakar's tower with Severus, while San Bakar chose to remain there.

Pomona considered Paul’s dangerous nature and went to Hogsmeade with Severus to seek Apulia Moore’s help. On the way, they discussed talent, family, Phoebe’s future, and the children’s ball, leaving their relationship playfully unresolved.

• Pomona returned to Hogwarts, where Severus checked on the children and Pomona spoke with Albus about Paul’s excessive power.
• Pomona reasoned that Paul had absorbed people’s desire to escape pain and longing for joy, making him difficult to destroy and likely to fight over territory.
• Pomona used the Two-Way Mirror to summon Severus from the library and asked him to accompany her to Hogsmeade to find Apulia Moore.
• As they crossed the wooden bridge, Pomona and Severus discussed family, talent, Phoebe’s future, and her warning that he should not rescue Ferdinand.
• Severus asked Pomona to go to the children’s ball with him, and Pomona declined while inviting him to her office instead.

Pomona and Severus investigated Apulia Moore’s memory loss and learned that Sopophorous Bean juice had been added to her drink. Apulia brought them to a hidden underground vault, where Severus took a bronze frog and used it to transport them away.

• Pomona and Severus met Apulia Moore at the Hog’s Head, where she showed them a jar of Sopophorous Bean juice that had been added to her drink.
• Severus identified the juice as a substance that removed memories, and Apulia asked him to help restore hers.
• Apulia Apparated with Pomona and Severus to a hidden vault beneath the North Ford Bog fortress and showed them its empty interior.
• Apulia revealed that the vault had been opened through a door connected to Ben and Barnaby, while Severus chose to take the bronze frog.
• Pomona realized the frog could help them return, and Severus touched it with her and vanished with her.

Pomona watched Snape brew an antidote for Apulia while thinking about Ben Cooper’s family history and the economic forces behind the Chartist movement. Snape left the Potions classroom after asking Pomona to check on the students, and she apologized for cursing him in her thoughts.

• Pomona had Apulia review materials with the children while Snape brewed an antidote for her memory loss.
• Pomona reflected on Thomas Cooper’s role in the Chartist movement, including how he negotiated with workers during a Lancashire factory confrontation.
• Pomona considered how speculation, credit, railways, and slavery shaped economic change in Britain, America, and Germany.
• Snape stopped stirring, told Pomona to see what the students were doing, and waited when she did not follow.
• Pomona told Snape she was sorry for cursing him in her heart, and he smiled before leaving the classroom.

The chapter examined banking, social customs, factionalism, and tolerance in the magical and Muggle worlds. As Sirius investigated the Marauder's Map, dust gathered and scattered across its blank spaces, and she heard someone tell her to wake up.

• The narrator compared Muggle consumer credit and bank lending with Gringotts' role as a custodian and currency exchanger, questioning whether Isidora's debts had been forgiven.
• The narrator discussed goblin political representation, Hogwarts' responsibility for employment, and the need to tolerate people whose lives differed from one's own.
• Artemisia Black could not accept that her daughter was a Squib, while the Dursley family could not accept Lily and James as wizards.
• Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy waited to see whether Severus Snape would make Hogwarts fairer for Draco, while others watched and waited as well.
• Sirius examined the Marauder's Map, and dust moved across its blank spaces before she heard someone tell her to wake up.

In 1848, Thomas Cooper faced accusations of betrayal and struggled to protect starving refugees while warning that government spies sought to provoke a violent Chartist uprising. Pomona and Severus discussed Cooper’s story before she hurried off to speak with the Centaur.

• An Irish refugee leader told Thomas Cooper that violent Chartists had allied with Irish Repealers, while Cooper learned that the movement had branded him a traitor.
• Cooper explained that he had resigned because he believed O'Connor’s land scheme would ruin the Chartist movement, and he warned veterans against being provoked into violence.
• A wealthy aristocratic descendant brought Cooper bills of exchange, food, and horses, then warned him that government spies were compiling leaders’ names and addresses for the army.
• Severus told Pomona about Isabella Sidney, Thomas Cooper’s son, and the events surrounding the Chartist refugees, while Pomona recalled Ben Cooper.
• Pomona refused to discuss the cloth Molly had mentioned and hurried from the library to talk to the Centaur about preventing an extreme choice.

Pomona reflected on Victorian women, her memories of Lily and Severus, and the dangers and tactics involved in Severus’s training against Centaurs and other foes. She ended by challenging Paul to come up with an interesting game instead of merely asking her to dance.

• Pomona put away her lace nightgown and recalled how she had kept separate friendships with Severus and the Marauders while Lily openly stood by Severus.
• Pomona considered how Severus learned to defend himself against Dolan and other Centaurs with Protego, evasion, and short-range Apparition, though Werewolves remained a different challenge.
• Pomona reflected on Lily’s prospects, Mary’s judgment of Severus and James, and the dangers faced by Muggles and those targeted by Death Eaters.
• Pomona compared the Joker’s pursuit of amusement to the mess left for others to clean up and considered how a ball could become a target for ridicule.
• Paul visited Pomona and proposed dancing, but Pomona challenged him to invent a more interesting game.

Pomona discussed love, revenge, and French with Paul, then admitted she had embraced someone while trapped in snowy mountains. Severus interrupted their conversation in a jealous temper and left, while Pomona prepared for bed.

• Pomona and Paul began a French lesson and argued over whether to address each other formally or informally.
• Pomona reflected on revenge and admitted she had embraced someone in a cave because they were trapped in the cold.
• Severus burst into Pomona's office, radiating magical pressure, and ordered Paul to leave.
• Pomona told Severus that Paul would return and said they needed to make a contract with him.
• Severus questioned Pomona about what she wanted to do with a puppet, then left angrily, and Pomona said good night in French before preparing for bed.

Pomona endured a painful encounter with Severus, then questioned the Fat Friar about power and its misuse. After the school’s statues reacted to Barnaby finding a stone tablet, Severus took the comb and led Pomona away to search for the tablet’s missing half.

• Pomona woke with painful red marks on her back after Severus had touched and kissed her during the night.
• Albus asked Pomona about learning French and Paul, then sent her to study with the Fat Friar.
• Pomona asked the Fat Friar whether people who sought godhood or world rule could be right, and he argued that power itself was not evil but could control those who misused it.
• Severus interrupted their discussion and told Pomona that the comb’s proper place had been found.
• Barnaby revealed that he had guessed correctly and found half of a stone tablet, while Bill suspected the other half was hidden elsewhere in Hogwarts.
• Severus took the comb from a Mermaid statue, restoring the fountain statues, and Pomona left with him to search for the other tablet half.