Chapter Summaries

Georgiana prepared herself to meet Napoleon at Compiègne, while Pomona reflected on how people with different values could unite. After the others watched her leave by boat with Rabastan Lestrange, Georgiana approached the French palace and painted her cheeks with blood, hoping Napoleon would like her appearance.

• Everyone rode flying brooms to Compiègne, where Georgiana chose a forest and asked for help getting ready to meet Napoleon.
• Carolan and another witch dressed Georgiana while the wizards raised a sheet of cloth to screen her from view.
• Rabastan Lestrange came to take Georgiana back, and she boarded a small boat, looking back at the people she was leaving behind.
• After the boat reached the river, Georgiana looked toward the palace, cut her finger, and smeared blood across her cheeks as rouge.

Georgiana reflected on authority, civic duty, and the need to act as she returned from her mission to the palace, where Bonaparte welcomed her. Their reunion ended with a kiss and his promise to reward her, while she insisted that she needed a place to live.

• As Georgiana drifted toward the palace, she considered myths of Zeus and the political ideas of Aristotle, connecting questions of honor and civic recompense to the dangers facing the wizarding world.
• Georgiana spotted Bonaparte waiting at the dock and assured him that her mission had gone smoothly; he reproached her for leaving without warning.
• Bonaparte stopped Georgiana from curtsying, then offered his hand as they approached the palace and asked what would make her calm down.
• Georgiana joked that she would calm down when the damned dog tick died, making Bonaparte laugh and easing the tension among the people around them.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte she needed a place to live, and he replied that she could live wherever he did.
• Bonaparte kissed Georgiana despite her resistance and promised to reward her later, then she headed to the banquet hall.

Georgiana reflected on the burdens of court ritual and the failures of efforts to help the poor, leaving her feeling useless. Napoleon challenged her about her intentions and handed her documents about Britain, asking whether she had visited Whitechapel.

• Georgiana considered how charitable granaries and her beer-tax proposal had turned voluntary aid into burdensome obligations, and she felt useless.
• Napoleon embraced Georgiana and urged her not to go back, then called her beautiful and offered a sexual encounter as her reward.
• Georgiana angrily told Napoleon she was not his ballet dancer, and he asked whether she truly believed that or was making excuses.
• Napoleon handed Georgiana documents about Britain's recent actions and asked whether she had visited Whitechapel.
• Napoleon described Huguenot silk weavers settling in Spitalfields after the Edict of Nantes was revoked, while Georgiana read the documents.

Georgiana read accounts of Spitalfields silk workers’ hardship and Britain’s dealings with Kandy before Bonaparte asked how she felt about him. When he startled her, Sphinx emerged from a mirror, and Georgiana enlisted its protection for the night.

• Georgiana read about Spitalfields silk workers losing jobs and homes after restrictions on foreign silk ended.
• Georgiana reviewed how Britain secured cinnamon privileges and political influence in Kandy through a treaty of protection.
• Georgiana read about the price and grading of Ceylon cinnamon before looking at Bonaparte, who posed confidently and asked how she felt.
• Georgiana touched her ring and reflected on love, friendship, respect, and her wish to feel protected as she once had.
• Sphinx emerged from the vanity mirror and stood between Georgiana and Bonaparte.
• Georgiana asked Sphinx to protect her, warned Bonaparte not to approach her, and went to make the bed.

Georgiana recalled how Eugene had received a red opal ring from Murad Bey’s wife before she dreamed of Garuda battling a sea serpent. After waking, she found Bonaparte distraught over the Sphinx and magic, and their conversation ended with Georgiana insisting she was cursed and making the Sphinx invisible.

• Georgiana remembered the Mamluks’ wealth, Murad Bey’s wife giving Eugene a red opal ring, and how Napoleon had agreed to the arrangement.
• In a dream, Georgiana saw Garuda fight a sea serpent, swallow its blue-black pearl, and fly away.
• Georgiana woke to find Bonaparte keeping watch beside the Sphinx and accusing her of tampering with his mind.
• Georgiana drew her dream memory into a vial and discussed magic, prophecy, and Bonaparte’s fear that none of it was real.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana to summon the black-clad wizard, and she then questioned him about Eugene before saying she was cursed.
• Georgiana summoned the servants and cast an invisibility charm on the Sphinx, restoring the room to normal.

Georgiana connected her strange dream and Fire Opal Ring to dragons, ancient magic, and a mysterious future, while reflecting on French defenses and history. When she received an unknown ruby-and-opal necklace, she threw it away, then returned to her unfinished design and vowed not to become like Grindelwald.

• Georgiana reasoned that the eye she had seen in her Fire Opal Ring resembled a Hungarian Horntail and imagined a connection between water dragons, dragon pearls, and Ravenclaw’s diadem.
• Georgiana felt compelled to draw two connected spheres and write down details from her dream before hearing the Imperial Guard celebrate Mr. Martin’s arrival with fresh horses.
• Georgiana considered France’s defenses, Napoleon’s route, and the history of the Moselle Valley and its fortresses.
• The Duchess of Leoncourt showed Georgiana a valuable ruby necklace with a Fire Opal called “Troy Is Burning,” which had been left for her as a Christmas present.
• Georgiana angrily threw the unknown necklace out the window with magic, remembering Katie Bell’s cursed necklace.
• Georgiana returned to her manuscript and quietly said she would not be like Grindelwald.

Georgiana experienced visions tied to German history and the Rhine treasure before Fargeon visited her with a necklace and news from Bonaparte. She learned he was returning books to Heidelberg and realized that more upheaval, including the Duke of Enghien and “Scipio,” still lay ahead.

• Giovanni compared Venus's Grotto at Linderhof Palace to Calypso's cave, and Pomona and Severus discussed the comparison with him.
• Georgiana saw visions of a treaty signing at Versailles, the destruction and rebuilding of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, and treasure hunters drawn to the Rhine legends.
• Georgiana found herself in a war-damaged Paris, rejected a necklace named for Helen, and told Fargeon she sensed malice rather than a curse.
• Fargeon told Georgiana that Bonaparte was busy arranging the return of Vatican books to Heidelberg, and she remembered the approaching crises involving the Duke of Enghien and “Scipio.”

Georgiana received one of Napoleon’s unsent letters but chose not to open it, turning instead to baking Gugelhupf for the Imperial Guard. She brought the first cake to Bonaparte, leaving their strained relationship unresolved.

• Napoleon stayed at the palace to handle government affairs while the Imperial Guard went hunting in the Forest of Compiègne.
• Fargeon gave Georgiana a rescued, partly charred letter Napoleon had written to her, but she resisted opening it.
• Georgiana decided she and Fargeon would not return for Christmas and went to the kitchen to make Gugelhupf.
• Georgiana reflected on Epicurus, death, and the destruction of Horcruxes as she baked cakes with the kitchen staff.
• Georgiana carried the first cake to Bonaparte, hoping he would still be hungry after working all day.

Severus explained that Giovanni’s belief in vampire immortality rested on an illusion, while Georgiana reflected on happiness, death, and the rules people accept. She found Bonaparte in the game room, where he taught her billiards and she wondered how to separate two spheres with the same fire attribute.

• Severus told Pomona that Giovanni had mistaken vampires for gods and was inviting them into his delusion.
• Georgiana carried a cake through Compiègne and reflected on Epicurean happiness, mortality, and the rules that governed society.
• Georgiana learned that Bonaparte was playing billiards and turned back toward the game room.
• Georgiana entered the game room, where the others left her alone with Bonaparte.
• Bonaparte taught Georgiana to play billiards, and she wondered how to separate two spheres with the same fire attribute.

Georgiana prepared to attend a gathering, set aside a costly necklace sent by the French Navy, and chose one Bonaparte had given her instead. As she left with Edgeworth, she questioned Layla’s future and forced herself to smile for the waiting crowd.

• The Duchess of Leoncourt showed Georgiana a valuable Tahiti pearl necklace sent in the name of the French Navy, but Georgiana set it aside.
• Bertin helped Georgiana choose an Etrurian-style gold necklace from Bonaparte, and Georgiana danced around the flower-filled room before stopping beside a scorched sculpture.
• Bertin explained that the sculpture’s blackened arm was a punishment inflicted on an assassin who had attempted to kill the king.
• Edgeworth arrived to escort Georgiana, and Georgiana questioned Layla about her studies and her transfer from the reception desk.
• Georgiana went downstairs with Edgeworth, saw the applauding crowd, and put on a smile.

Georgiana attended a ball with Bonaparte while visions of her past and another Georgiana unsettled her, and she encountered Eugene in a shadowy palace. The opening dance ended with Bonaparte agreeing to something she could not remember saying.

• The First Lord of the Admiralty investigated dockyard corruption and created naval factories to produce vital supplies independently.
• Georgiana worried about Padma and the Witchcraft Act, then saw a black dog outside and recalled Peter Pettigrew’s betrayal and death.
• At Order of the Phoenix headquarters, Pomona questioned Sirius about choosing Wormtail as Secret Keeper, and Snape arrived before leaving with Sirius.
• Bonaparte led Georgiana in the opening dance, while she saw Hathor and another Georgiana discussing a room decorated after Botticelli’s Primavera.
• Georgiana found herself in a dark palace where Eugene blocked her exit and ordered her to go back.
• Georgiana returned to the ballroom after the dance, and Bonaparte said they would do as she had suggested, though she did not know what she had said.

Georgiana discussed the Pious Ones’ beliefs about sin, temptation, and forgiveness while reflecting on souls and Voldemort’s immortality. At a ball, Bougainville helped her escape a crowd by turning a saddle into a sleigh, and they prepared to ride out together.

• Georgiana reflected on how the Pious Ones judged good and evil, comparing their beliefs with Sirius, Remus, Severus, and the pursuit of immortality.
• Georgiana danced with Bougainville and joked with him about penguins, the North Pole, and traveling by sleigh.
• Georgiana noticed a striking young woman whose face she had previously seen as old, and Bougainville realized the surrounding women were interested in her apparent youth.
• Bougainville led Georgiana out of the ballroom and asked her to conjure a sleigh while he went to fetch horses.
• Georgiana transformed a saddle into a sleigh, then joined Bougainville in harnessing the horses and taking the reins.

Georgiana rode with Bougainville to a secluded lake, where he asked her to help the First Consul and explained the history behind her Tahitian pearl necklace. His story of the Bounty and Pitcairn Island left her reflecting on vengeance, law, and the frightening prospect of growing up.

• Georgiana denied speaking ill of anyone when Bougainville asked her to point the First Consul's people toward a way out.
• Bougainville explained that Captain Wallis had reached Tahiti before him and that the island's pearls had drawn British interest; Georgiana rejected the necklace as a gift that brought trouble.
• Bougainville recounted how thefts, neglect, and mutiny disrupted the Bounty's voyage, leaving mutineers stranded on Pitcairn Island.
• Bougainville told Georgiana that the lone surviving adult on Pitcairn Island had taught the children to read and write, helping her understand why societies turned from personal vengeance to courts.
• As the sleigh galloped across the snow, Georgiana thought about war and adulthood and admitted to herself that she was afraid to grow up.

Pomona watched Harry receive a Nimbus 2000 and worried that Snape would make his remaining Potions lessons miserable. In another time and place, Georgiana received a Christmas gift from Talleyrand and learned that Lucien had arranged a place for her to live, just as Napoleon entered the ballroom.

• Six owls delivered Minerva's Nimbus 2000 to Harry at the Great Hall, and Pomona noticed Snape's hostile reaction.
• Pomona reflected that Harry might be receiving his first Christmas present and worried that Snape would punish him in Potions class.
• Georgiana returned to the ballroom at Compiègne, where Talleyrand presented her with a model of a new library as her Christmas gift.
• Lucien told Georgiana she could live at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts or the Paris Botanical Garden after their return.
• Napoleon entered the ballroom, and Georgiana snatched a glass of Champagne to steady her nerves.

Pomona questioned Cedric about observing magical life and souls, then challenged Snape over James and Sirius’s Animagus secrets. Meanwhile, Georgiana reflected on death, environmental collapse, and the future of humanity during Bonaparte’s New Year address, and Layla refilled her drink.

• Pomona gave Cedric a book about evolution and the shaping of souls, telling him to remain objective while interacting with the whole and suggesting he ask Minerva for guidance.
• Snape asked Pomona what Cedric and Harry had in common, and she contrasted Harry’s interaction with Buckbeak with Malfoy’s lack of one.
• Pomona explained that James’s stubborn devotion to justice had let him become an Animagus, then confronted Snape for keeping James’s illegal transformation secret.
• Snape demanded to know what animal Sirius could become, but Pomona questioned whether he had told anyone about James’s secret; he left after she said he could not become an animal without correcting himself.
• Georgiana ignored Bonaparte’s address and reflected on Harry’s experience of death, humanity’s vulnerability, and the environmental destruction threatening life.
• Layla refilled Georgiana’s champagne, and Georgiana wondered about her memory for names and rejected the poisonous cake.

Georgiana reflected on guilt, change, mortality, and the dangers of love while smoking alone after a banquet. Her conversation with Layla left her wrestling with the contradictions of wanting to warn the girl against love while urging her to embrace life.

• Georgiana found an empty room to smoke in and thought about James saving Severus while exposing his own secret.
• She considered Cedric’s ideas about living and nonliving matter, Napoleon’s historical claims, and the Bounty captain’s failures with his crew.
• Georgiana wondered why Fargeon had salvaged the unburned letter and recalled the Book of Splendor’s descriptions of Hell and Purgatory.
• She reflected on Taotie, the Ouroboros, and the unchanging snake she had reconstructed, then grew furious over how little he had changed.
• Layla asked Georgiana what troubled her, and Georgiana advised her not to fall in love while also telling her to seize joy before time passed.
• Georgiana questioned Layla about whether one perfect love could outweigh the desire to date others, then sank into the sofa, overwhelmed by love’s contradictions.

Pomona confronted Minerva over the unfair treatment of Harry and urged Cedric to continue competing despite learning the first task involved dragons. Later, Georgiana reflected on loss and fate before drawing Bonaparte away from the crowded ballroom.

• Pomona told Minerva that the Firebolt and the unfairness surrounding Harry had gone too far, then left her office.
• Cedric told Pomona that Harry had warned him the first task involved dragons and asked if he could withdraw.
• Pomona urged Cedric to compete for Hufflepuff's honor, and Cedric decided to continue in the tournament.
• Georgiana reflected on Cedric's death, happiness, loss, and fate, then burned the Tarot card of the Fool.
• Georgiana used her fan to signal Bonaparte and led him away from the ballroom after he said he had a dance partner.

Cedric Diggory faced a Swedish Short-Snout in the Triwizard Tournament, trying to distract it while his Transfigured dog went for an egg. Elsewhere, Georgiana reflected on fate while discussing a sculpture with Bonaparte, then left with him for the night.

• Hermione Granger told the others she had missed the draw because Rita Skeeter had appeared, and Pomona sent the students back to their seats.
• Cedric entered the arena and used a Transfigured dog to distract the Swedish Short-Snout while he tried to reach its nest.
• Cedric dodged the dragon, used a tornado and the Reductor Curse, and was warned against concealing himself with the Disillusionment Charm.
• The Transfigured dog reached the nest and tried to take an egg, but the dragon blasted it into a glass sculpture.
• Georgiana discussed the sculpture’s depiction of the goddess of fate and Hercules with Bonaparte, then said she would not use a Time-Turner to change the past and left with him.

After the first task, Cedric delayed opening the Golden Egg until it could be inspected. Georgiana sang to Bonaparte and questioned him about other women, then read Dante to him as New Year’s fireworks sounded outside.

• Cedric returned to the Common Room with the Golden Egg after telling everyone he would wait for it to be inspected.
• Georgiana sang a mermaid song to Bonaparte while keeping his eyes closed.
• Georgiana questioned Bonaparte about Miss Campini and the Corsican woman he had rescued, and he swore he was innocent.
• Georgiana explained the meaning of Bruno’s Spaccio della bestia trionfante and refused to show Bonaparte the book.
• Bonaparte lay in Georgiana’s lap while she read the Divine Comedy, and she continued reading as fireworks marked the New Year.

Pomona received McGonagall’s letter about the vanished badges, while Georgiana reflected on art, power, and love after the Triwizard Tournament’s underwater task. She discussed proper love with Bonaparte, who left for his study with an idea to add the seven virtues to something, while Georgiana went to sleep.

• Harry Potter delivered McGonagall’s letter to Pomona, who replied that she was welcome despite having had nothing to do with the badges disappearing.
• Georgiana considered Lucrezia Borgia, Renaissance art, and the ways women and men used family influence to protect their interests.
• After the champions completed the Black Lake task, Pomona followed a snake away from the stands.
• Bonaparte ordered Georgiana to display her sculpture and asked what proper love was; she answered that she was talking about herself and her habit of seeking married men.
• Georgiana described the seven stars as faith, hope, love, courage, justice, wisdom, and temperance, and Bonaparte went to the study to add them to something.