Chapter Summaries

Pomona accompanied Severus into the Slytherin common room to retrieve the other half of a stone slab, but she grew wary of being alone with him and left as soon as she could. She rejoined the waiting children without calling Severus to follow.

• Pomona reflected on Valmont’s mistreatment of Madame Dewey as Severus led her to the Slytherin common room.
• Severus tried the stone comb on the Mermaid statues near the entrance, then led Pomona down the spiral staircase.
• Severus placed the comb in the female Mermaid relief’s hand, causing her to sing and reveal the other half of the stone slab in the pool.
• Pomona covered Severus’s eyes when Mermaids gathered at the windows, then retrieved the stone slab herself.
• Severus questioned Pomona and held her hand, but she praised him until his grip loosened, then hurried upstairs and left the common room.
• Pomona walked out alone and rejoined the children waiting for her.

Pomona and the children identified the crest on the repaired stones as belonging to the Dale family and planned to visit their nearby tomb that night. Dumbledore warned Pomona not to bring Severus, fearing a family curse, and led her toward the library.

• Bill found a book identifying the crest as the Dale family’s, a family known for Herbology and Potions.
• Bill said Charlie had spotted what seemed to be the Dale family tomb nearby, and the group planned to ask him about it at dinner before visiting that night.
• Dumbledore asked Pomona how the investigation was progressing, and she told him the children were going to the tomb.
• Dumbledore warned Pomona not to bring Severus because a family curse might be triggered, then led her toward the empty library.

Pomona and Albus debated hope, free will, suffering, and the choices made for the greater good, including Harry’s upbringing and Ben Cooper’s painful past. Albus then told Pomona about the Dale family’s hereditary curse, leaving her walking beside him in the library despite her doubts about his understanding of despair.

• Pomona and Albus discussed the coming war and Albus’s decision to send Harry to live with his Muggle relatives, comparing Harry to the ugly duckling.
• Albus explained that Ben Cooper’s music box was the source of his pain and said he intended to keep it at Hogwarts.
• Pomona challenged Albus’s views on hope, justice, free will, and suffering, while Albus asked whether she wanted revenge.
• Pomona reflected on Albus and Grindelwald’s past before comparing their choices to a return from a wrong path.
• Albus told Pomona that Granam Dale cursed Marmaduke Dale’s sarcophagus, causing the Dale family’s descendants to transform irreversibly into plants.

Pomona reflected on Valmont’s destructive choices and discussed the coming war with Albus, who explained why he had hidden Harry’s origins. She then found Severus and warned him that the Dale family curse could turn him into a plant, but he went with her as she set out for the cemetery.

• Madame de Merteuil rejected Valmont’s demand that they become lovers, chose war, and told the elementary school student about him; after their duel, Valmont died and entrusted their letters to his opponent.
• Rita Skeeter published accusations against Newt Scamander, who denied being a spy in a new edition of his book but could not refute the other claims.
• Albus told Pomona that corruption had followed the Death Eaters’ rise and that he had hidden Harry’s origins to prepare him for the next war.
• Pomona recognized that Albus wanted Harry to retain valued qualities, then hurried to the Slytherin common room to find Severus.
• Pomona warned Severus that the Dale family curse would turn him into a plant and said he could not enter the cemetery, but she took his hand and led him out.

Pomona reflected on Severus’s past and tried to guide him toward a healthier future as they shared caramel pudding. The chapter ended with Severus keeping watch outside her bedroom while she went to sleep.

• Pomona considered how Severus’s painful history with Lily could affect his relationships and worried he might develop dangerous fantasies about students.
• Pomona fed Severus caramel pudding, and he grew affectionate, pulling her close and asking when they could taste something together again.
• Pomona asked Severus whether he and Lily had spent time by the river and offered to let him sleep at her place if he could be as he had been then.
• Severus looked insulted, but walked Pomona back to her office and insisted on sleeping on her sofa to keep Paul from sneaking in.
• Pomona saw the image of black lilies, then went to bed, reassured that Severus was standing guard outside her bedroom.

Pomona reflected on courage, principles, and shared responsibility before talking with Severus about favorite lines from The Nightingale and the Rose. Severus returned the book to her shelf, took her hand, and left with her.

• The chapter contrasted the order of Eden’s lions with mythical monsters and considered how communities formed to address shared needs.
• It described public infrastructure, political interest groups, and the Chartist movement’s efforts to improve workers’ housing.
• It connected Batman’s restraint and James and Sirius’s dangerous missions to the courage required to defend principles.
• Pomona recalled that Albus used extraordinary measures to deceive Gellert Grindelwald, while Severus stayed in her room and read her books.
• Severus asked Pomona about her favorite lines from The Nightingale and the Rose, then took her hand and left with her.

Pomona and the students searched the Dale family cemetery for clues while she reflected on justice, resistance, and the lessons children needed to learn. Richard Carter escaped, and the group found a burial chamber whose carvings suggested an old conflict with the Centaurs; Pomona used the Two-Way Mirror to seek their next lead.

• Pomona recalled her argument with Minerva over Albus’s fairy-tale lesson before she and the others flew to Brockbarrow.
• Charlie led the group to the Dale family cemetery, where Pomona stayed near the entrance with him while the students searched inside.
• Pomona found a bronze shield and noticed an arrowhead on a Centaur relief pointing toward a carved doe as Richard Carter fled on a broomstick.
• Barnaby pursued Carter, and black smoke rose shortly afterward as Pomona continued searching with the others.
• The group discovered Marmaduke Dale’s empty coffin, a Dittany plant, and a relief showing a Centaur and a human facing each other in apparent conflict.
• Pomona discussed the meaning of the carving with the group, then took out the Two-Way Mirror to ask where they should go next.

Minerva and Pomona argued over Harry’s neglectful treatment by the Dursleys, while Pomona later learned Carter had been arrested and surrendered something now held in Dumbledore’s office. After a long night, Pomona ate alone and imagined a companion across the table.

• Minerva watched Petunia berate Harry for wetting the bed and nearly intervened before Albus persuaded her to leave.
• Minerva argued with Pomona about whether Harry deserved more care, and Severus and Flitwick calmed them both down.
• After completing the evening search with the children, Pomona learned Carter had been arrested and had handed over something to Dumbledore.
• Pomona returned the children to the school, reflected on justice and human nature, and went to the kitchen for food near midnight.
• Pomona ate beside the fireplace and imagined someone sitting across from her with a glass of iced liquor.

Pomona and Minerva discussed Harry’s placement with the Dursleys as Dumbledore reconsidered whether he should remain there. Dumbledore revealed that he had sent Petunia a letter and planned to wait for her reaction to seeing her sister before deciding.

• Pomona woke to find two Puffskeins in her room and recalled a dream of a lonely tower and Sirius Black.
• Minerva summoned Pomona to meet Dumbledore, where she explained that Harry had to stay with the Dursleys for Lily’s protective charm to work.
• Dumbledore discussed pain, honesty, and perfection with Pomona and Minerva as they walked through Hogwarts.
• Pomona suggested that Petunia’s response to seeing her sister could guide their decision about Harry.
• Dumbledore said he had already sent Petunia a letter by Muggle post and hoped it would arrive before term began.

Albus and Minerva discussed how to protect Harry from painful truths, while Pomona explored the nature of the curse trapping Phoebe in a portrait. The chapter ended with Pomona arranging an afternoon visit with Barnaby and Ben to entertain Paul.

• Albus told Minerva that love could help Harry face the Dark Lord, and Minerva agreed not to bring Harry back or reveal more than necessary.
• Minerva worried that Petunia and Vernon were deceiving Harry, but Pomona urged her not to interfere in his guardians’ decisions.
• Pomona found Severus clearing Professor Carter’s belongings from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and reminded him not to break anything.
• Pomona asked Paul about Phoebe’s curse, and he explained that it had transformed her into another form of life, neither alive nor dead.
• Pomona promised to bring Barnaby Lee and Cecil to see Paul after lunch, and Paul happily drove away.

Pomona reflected on grief, power, and the ways people avoided reality while preparing a meal and confronting her feelings about Lily and Severus. She returned to the Great Hall hoping to watch the stars with Sinistra, and wondered whether death was truly an enemy to defeat.

• Pomona had Pitts summon Barnaby and Ben Cooper back to school because she wanted Paul to stop bothering her.
• Pomona considered the dangers of dark magic and power while thinking about Barnaby’s refusal to use Unforgivable Curses on a House-elf.
• Pomona dwelled on Harry’s painful life with the Dursleys and envied Lily’s beauty and devotion from Severus.
• Pomona angrily pounded steaks while thinking about Lily, Severus, and the work she would have done for Lily and James.
• Pomona returned to the Great Hall and waited for Sinistra, reflecting that death might be beautiful rather than an enemy.

Pomona joined Bane in the Forbidden Forest, where she saw Golden Snidget eggs and urged Severus to master his anger rather than let it rule him. Following a magical butterfly, Pomona and Severus found the self-aiming arrowhead, while Pomona reflected on the hardships that shaped people.

• Pomona met Bane beneath a wand tree, and he led her to a cave where Bowtruckles could guard Golden Snidget eggs.
• Pomona and Bane found Dolan at the cave, then Severus arrived; Pomona argued that the eggs should remain until they hatched and told Severus not to let anger control him.
• A Golden Snidget chick emerged from its egg, and Pomona followed a butterfly through an illusory rock passage with Severus.
• Severus identified a Hippogriff statue as the location marked on Carter's treasure map, and Pomona bowed to it.
• The Hippogriff statue bowed back, and green flames revealed silver arrowheads in the braziers; Pomona picked one up and spoke to Severus about hardship and becoming stronger.

Pomona considered the Dursleys’ home and family pressures, then sent Vernon a cheque and letter to help him buy a larger van. She reflected on work, failure, and the pressures that shaped Vernon’s treatment of Harry as she walked alone through London.

• Pomona reasoned that the Dursleys likely had a spare room and wondered whether Harry’s arrival had disrupted Petunia and Vernon’s plans for a second child.
• Pomona decided to help Vernon buy a larger van without telling Petunia, hoping it would make work and family outings easier.
• Pomona called Grunnings from a public phone box, confirmed Vernon worked there, and left him a cheque and letter at reception.
• Pomona waited across the street until she knew Vernon had received her letter.
• Pomona considered how work pressures and expectations might have led Vernon to take out his frustration on Harry, then continued walking alone through London.

Pomona and Severus discussed whether San Bakar had been justified in using the Unforgivable Curses on Isidora, while Severus reported that the Centaurs would not use the arrowheads and that he had returned Carter’s luggage. Pomona urged Severus not to let silence make others draw damaging conclusions, and they continued walking through London together.

• Severus told Pomona that the Centaurs had decided not to use the arrowheads and that he had returned Carter’s luggage to his residence.
• Pomona said Carter deserved a decent exit, and Severus asked whether he had done the right thing.
• Severus told Pomona that she had done what she could and could not control what the boy would become.
• Pomona explained that a suspect’s silence could lead people to assume the worst and clarified that she had wanted Severus to stay calm, not silent.
• Severus laughed at Pomona’s comparison to a girlfriend closing her eyes, and they continued walking along the path.

Carter regretted using Unforgivable Curses and planned to leave the country, while Severus and Pomona discussed his place at Hogwarts, Apulia Moore’s efforts, and whether Minerva might take Harry in. The chapter left Pomona considering asking Minerva for a manicure.

• Carter accepted Severus’s visit, regretted his actions, and planned to leave the country for a while.
• Severus questioned Pomona about who had told Carter the prophecy and why she was helping Apulia Moore.
• Pomona explained that an informant in the Department of Mysteries had helped Moore and discussed arrowheads designed to target werewolves.
• Severus warned Pomona that Dumbledore should decide whether Harry was handed over, while Pomona wondered if Minerva might take him in.
• Pomona reflected on Minerva’s gentleness and looked forward to asking her for a manicure.

The chapter recounted Prohibition’s effects and then followed Pomona as she tried to piece together what she had done while drunk. She remembered threatening Rita Skeeter at the Daily Prophet, but an unexplained minty taste and a trace of sage aftershave left her wondering what had happened afterward.

• The chapter described how liquor smuggling, speakeasies, counterfeit alcohol, and legal loopholes flourished during American Prohibition.
• The chapter connected Prohibition-era impostors to Batman and explained that Bruce Wayne’s Batmobile and Batsuit came from military prototypes.
• The chapter recounted how Scamander defended the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them using a Latin argument about grammar and reference.
• Minerva painted Pomona’s nails as Pomona admitted she had gone to the Daily Prophet and threatened to chop up Rita Skeeter and feed her to pigs.
• Severus confirmed that Pomona had made the threat loudly in front of the editorial department, and Minerva regretted not joining her.
• Pomona noticed Severus’s sage-scented aftershave and recalled a peppermint-toad taste as she tried to remember how she had traveled from the Leaky Cauldron to the Daily Prophet offices.

Pomona and Severus headed toward Charing Cross Street to help Apulia Moore find the key, while Pomona reflected on Superman, Joker, and what it meant to be a person. The chapter left them nearing the Leaky Cauldron, with the key still unfound.

• Severus suggested that he and Pomona help Apulia Moore find the key instead of handing her the arrowhead.
• Pomona bought a Superman comic at a newsstand while she and Severus walked toward Charing Cross Street.
• Pomona considered the comic’s multiverse and time paradoxes, reflecting on the scale of the universe and whether it needed saving.
• Pomona told Severus that a Muggle doctor had defined a person as anything capable of laughing, and Severus dryly agreed while looking at a dog.
• Pomona and Severus continued toward the nearby Leaky Cauldron.

Pomona visited the Leaky Cauldron, reflected on the Joker story and the news of Chernobyl, then drank with Hagrid before going to Honeydukes with Severus. After she became drunk and cried, Severus carried her away unconscious.

• Pomona entered the Leaky Cauldron, ordered brandy, and read a Superman comic while looking for Severus.
• Hagrid joined Pomona for drinks and told her the Centaurs shot arrows at Grawp whenever he appeared.
• Pomona and Hagrid discussed growing pumpkins and buying pumpkin fizz before Severus arrived without Apulia's keys.
• Pomona left with Hagrid and Severus, then shouted that she wanted candy at Honeydukes.
• Severus gave Pomona a Toad Mint, and she began crying until she grew dizzy and passed out.
• Severus half-carried the unconscious Pomona out of Honeydukes.

Pomona and Severus discussed kings and symbolic logic while Hagrid went to Knockturn Alley, and Pomona spotted Rita Skeeter near the Daily Prophet office. Pomona shoved Severus aside and charged toward the newspaper office.

• Pomona discussed Aristotle and the Young King with Severus while they looked at Lockhart's photograph.
• Hagrid went to Knockturn Alley to buy gut strings for Fluffy's instrument.
• Pomona noticed Rita Skeeter posing near the Daily Prophet office.
• Pomona shoved Severus aside and headed toward the newspaper office.

Pomona and Severus went to the Daily Prophet to confront Rita Skeeter, but their meeting ended without a resolution. After returning to Hogwarts, Pomona told Minerva about the encounter while admiring Minerva’s nail art.

• Pomona reflected on Hamlet, Superman, and the burdens of doubt as she walked with Severus toward the Daily Prophet.
• Pomona and Severus claimed they had an exclusive story about a secret weapon against werewolves to secure a meeting with Rita Skeeter.
• Pomona challenged Rita over her reporting, but Rita dismissed her concerns and Severus led Pomona away before the argument escalated.
• Pomona and Severus met Hagrid, who had been buying catgut, and returned to Hogwarts.
• Minerva showed Pomona her nail art, and Pomona excitedly recounted her encounter with Rita.