Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus discussed Hermione’s safety and the magical research surrounding fate before Pomona turned her attention to preparing a dress for a cultural exchange event. She chose a pattern of pink plum blossoms and enchanted it onto her silver-white dress.

• Pomona chased Severus after realizing he had used her as a potion experiment, and they discussed Hermione’s safety and the evacuation of 12 Grimmauld Place.
• Pomona reflected on time magic, family, fate, and the limits of changing what was meant to happen.
• Severus asked what Pomona was thinking, and she revealed that she needed to choose a pattern for her formal dress before the party.
• Pomona studied books on silk patterns and chose tiny clustered flowers inspired by a flying goddess poster.
• Pomona enchanted pink plum blossoms onto her silver-white dress.

Pomona and Severus visited Justin Finch-Fletchley’s family home before a ball, where Justin’s grandfather challenged Pomona’s role as his mentor. Severus confronted the old veteran, then bonded with him over their war experiences and medals, while Justin hinted that Severus’s Hogwarts portrait had never moved.

• Pomona and Severus arrived at the Finch-Fletchley house in Mayfair and Justin welcomed them as his guests.
• Mrs. Finch-Fletchley greeted Pomona and Severus, and Severus surprised the family by kissing her hand.
• Justin’s grandfather criticized Justin’s education and questioned what Pomona had taught him, so Severus warned him about the dangers Hogwarts students faced.
• Severus and Justin’s grandfather compared their battle scars and discussed wartime experiences, then laughed together over their medals.
• Justin told Pomona that Severus’s portrait hung at Hogwarts but never moved, while Severus declined his grandfather’s offer of a cigar because Pomona disliked his smoking.

Pomona attended dinner with Justin Finch-Fletchley’s family, where Severus discussed war, Justin’s battlefield experience, and the danger of the recent disappearances. Severus offered the family weapons against Werewolves and used dark magic to keep his survival secret, leaving Justin asking for the Fidelius Charm.

• Pomona resented Severus and regretted attending dinner as the Finch-Fletchleys argued about war and Justin’s role in the battle at seventeen.
• Mrs. Finch-Fletchley challenged the lack of Hogwarts parents’ visiting days and learned that Justin had fought a Giant, not hidden in a shelter.
• Justin agreed to learn Occlumency, and Severus Confunded Mrs. Finch-Fletchley to conceal that he was alive.
• Severus told the Finch-Fletchleys that Werewolves might be behind the disappearances and offered special ammunition in exchange for high-purity gold and silver.
• Justin asked Severus to teach him the Fidelius Charm so he could protect his family, but Severus did not answer.

Pomona spoke with Justin about his unhappy family life, his fear of relationships built on money and status, and his doubts about Snape’s devotion to Lily. Justin challenged the idea that Snape’s one-sided sacrifice was love, leaving Pomona shaken but newly resolved to stop doubting herself.

• Justin told Pomona that he felt like a burden to his family and preferred the comfort of Hufflepuff to rebuilding his life in the Muggle world.
• Justin explained that Penelope Clearwater had ended her relationship with Percy after Percy pursued status at the Ministry and spied on his family.
• Pomona reflected on her feelings for Snape and her regret at competing with his idealized memory of Lily.
• Justin compared idealized, self-sacrificing love with worldly love and said he would not give everything to someone who did not love him in return.
• Pomona rejected Justin’s suggestion that Snape had risked his life because Lily was being held hostage, while Justin wondered whether guilt could explain such a sacrifice.

Pomona, Severus, and Justin rode in the Finch-Fletchleys’ Rolls-Royce to a cultural exchange event, discussing Lockhart, Justin’s search for someone to fight for, and the dangers of Muggle communications. The conversation left Severus angrily criticizing Ron’s call to Harry during Sirius Black’s escape, while Pomona hinted that Dumbledore had erased the records.

• Pomona found Gilderoy Lockhart’s book in the car, and Severus explained that Lockhart had stolen the stories and memories of other wizards.
• Justin said he wanted to find someone he loved and who loved him, giving him motivation to fight for, and Pomona hoped he would find a partner to rely on.
• Justin described an exhibition of murals and evidence of contact between the Eastern Roman Empire and Tang China, prompting Severus to discuss how communications had changed over time.
• Pomona explained that Death Eaters could have traced calls from Hermione’s home to find Harry, and Severus criticized Harry for causing trouble for Vernon.
• Pomona told Justin that Ron had called Harry while the Weasleys were in Egypt and Sirius Black had escaped, and that Dumbledore had used his connections to erase the call records.

Severus considered Harry’s burdens as the Savior and the uncertainty surrounding Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes while searching for Elphias Doge. Justin feared Doge might not return, and the group remained stuck in traffic as Pomona lamented her disrupted date.

• Ron admitted that Hermione had taught him to make phone calls, prompting the Order to worry that the Weasley family’s telephone calls could be traced.
• Harry ran away from the Dursleys after Marge’s visit and spent much of the summer at the Leaky Cauldron, disrupting the Order’s plans to protect him.
• Severus reflected on the possible Horcruxes still connected to Voldemort and feared Dumbledore was letting Harry enjoy his youth before sending him to die.
• Severus told Justin that he had asked Justin’s father to find Elphias Doge, whose whereabouts were unknown.
• Justin asked whether Doge would return, but Severus said he did not know as their car crawled through traffic.

Pomona and Severus explored the exhibition at a cultural exchange event and met Zhang Tao, an Eastern wizard who hinted that he knew about Severus and wanted to contact Hogwarts. When the lights failed, Zhang Tao vanished, leaving them uncertain whether magic or a Muggle effect had caused the disturbance.

• Pomona, Severus, and Justin attended the event at City Hall, where Justin went off to find his friends.
• Pomona and Severus secretly entered the exhibition hall and discussed a mural depicting foreign envoys appealing to the Tang Empire.
• Zhang Tao introduced himself as the event organizer and asked them to pass a message to Hogwarts about an envoy seeking a meeting.
• Zhang Tao mentioned Severus Snape and challenged him to control his desires, while Severus denied knowing anything about a murder.
• The lights went out, Zhang Tao disappeared, and Pomona and Severus saw beams of light outside.

Pomona, Severus, and Justin responded to a blackout and magical lightning attack at Tower Bridge, while fog and panic threatened London. As Justin and Severus worked to manage the bridge and the frightened crowd, Pomona sought shelter for civilians inside the Tower of London.

• Pomona Apparated with Severus and Justin to Tower Bridge, where a strange object drained electricity and lightning struck amid the fleeing Muggles.
• Severus told Justin to raise the bridge deck, then flew with Pomona to a vantage point and asked her to handle erasing memories.
• Pomona and Severus saw that the Tower of London guards were keeping panicked civilians outside while guarding the Crown Jewels.
• Pomona stopped an older castle guard and demanded he take her to his commander so she could arrange refuge for the public.
• Pomona ordered the guard to shelter civilians on the lawn by the White Tower, insisting that human lives mattered more than the jewels.

Pomona organized defenses at the Tower of London during the blackout and searched the Royal Mint battlefield for Severus as magical fighting continued. She suspected Accionites planned to rob the Mint’s gold, but the chapter left the battle and Severus’s whereabouts unresolved.

• Pomona and the Yeomen Warders prepared the Tower of London as a shelter, while she gave Astoria Fanged Geranium seeds and protected the Jewel House with Transfiguration.
• Pomona checked Tower Bridge, saw a helicopter turn away and two people arrive on brooms, then returned to find Damocles Belby in Severus’s place.
• Pomona told Damocles to prepare more Sleeping Potion in case stopped Underground trains left passengers trapped.
• Pomona learned Severus had gone toward the magical battle and Apparated to the Royal Mint to search for him.
• Pomona suspected Accionites intended to steal the Royal Mint’s gold after previously robbing Gringotts.

Pomona searched the ruined streets for Snape, summoned him, and asked him to help her students as danger spread around Tower Bridge. She clung to him and confessed that her feelings for him had remained unchanged since Christmas Eve, and Snape admitted that he had stopped wanting to live above ordinary life.

• Pomona recalled how war and poor choices had cost the Malfoys and others, then described Ginny meeting Michael Corner and Michael helping Aurors reopen Underground ventilation shafts.
• Pomona gave up searching the ruins for the Potions professor and summoned Snape, threatening to divorce him if he did not appear.
• Snape refused to leave the Royal Mint because he had seen Marcus Flint, whose electrolysis had filled the streets with explosive hydrogen and oxygen.
• Pomona hugged Snape as a frightened Muggle woman screamed nearby and told him that her students needed help.
• Pomona said she had smelled chocolate, ash, and mint in Amortentia and told Snape to remember Lily without comparing Pomona to her.
• Snape held Pomona and said that he no longer wanted to be above ordinary life.

Severus Snape and Pomona Sprout crossed the chaos caused by Marcus Flint’s lightning sword and discussed Flint’s crimes, their past, and Severus’s plan to save him. Severus left Pomona atop a clock tower and Apparated toward the Royal Mint to intervene.

• Severus explained that Marcus Flint’s magical sword had caused a blackout around Tower Bridge and was fueling destruction and looting.
• Pomona and Severus argued about Marcus’s anti-Muggle views before sharing a brief, romantic exchange about watching Titanic together.
• Severus spoke bitterly about Sirius Black’s rivalry with him and recalled Sirius’s attempt to use Lupin to kill him at school.
• Severus Apparated with Pomona to a clock tower overlooking the Royal Mint, where Marcus was unleashing lightning.
• Pomona warned Severus not to risk himself for Marcus, but Severus said Marcus could still become a double agent and make amends before he Apparated away.

Pomona watched Marcus and the Aurors battle over the Royal Mint before Severus helped Marcus escape. Oliver Wood remained the one witness whose memories of the incident had not been erased, while Pomona put away her Omnioculars and prepared for the cleanup.

• Marcus's accomplices stole gold from the Royal Mint and Apparated away, leaving him to face the Aurors.
• Oliver Wood approached Marcus, vanished just before a lightning strike hit a brass lion, then returned on a broomstick to attack him.
• Two Nifflers protected Marcus, but a member of Accionites used Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder to help the group disappear.
• The Aurors formed a defensive barrier, but a potion and a hidden breach allowed Severus to escape with Marcus.
• A memory-erasing potion left Oliver Wood as the only person who could expose Marcus, and Pomona put away the Omnioculars.

After Marcus Flint’s attack on London was contained and Muggle memories were being erased, Pomona watched the rescue effort with Astoria and discussed her divided loyalties and doubts about Snape’s choices. Astoria asked to call Pomona and Snape by their names, but Pomona refused.

• Ravenclaws spread Doxy venom to erase Muggles’ memories, while rescuers treated the injured and restored order around Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
• Oliver Wood judged that Marcus could be useful on the Werewolf battlefield and should not die in London.
• Astoria joined Pomona on the wall, and they discussed the Dementor, Harry’s arrival with the Order of the Phoenix, and Pomona’s partial membership in the Order.
• Pomona told Astoria that Snape cared about Harry but had followed Dumbledore’s instructions to send him to his death, and Astoria observed that Snape was not a Malfoy.
• Astoria explained that Draco and Lucius were guarding against Werewolves while Neville and Hannah planned the Leaky Cauldron’s rebuilding.
• Astoria asked to call Pomona and Snape by their names, but Pomona refused, prompting Astoria to pull her candy closer.

A Death Eater cornered Marcus Flint and his Accionites companions in an abandoned Underground station, then tried to recruit Marcus by warning him that his friends had set him up. Marcus left the offer open and flew away, leaving the Death Eater with the two fallen Accionites members.

• Marcus Flint and his companions escaped through the Underground on broomsticks with a Death Eater following them.
• The Death Eater struck Augurey and sent the silent Accionites member flying, leaving Marcus to face him alone.
• The Death Eater told Marcus that Oliver Wood had helped expose him and that the Accionites would bring him trouble.
• The Death Eater urged Marcus to leave the Accionites and use his strength to gain power and recognition.
• Marcus said he would consider the offer, told the Death Eater to contact him through the station, and flew away, leaving his companions behind.

Pomona reflected on Titanic and Rose’s longing for freedom while talking with Severus at Traitor’s Gate on his birthday. Their teasing and argument about love, friendship, and sacrifice ended with Severus kissing her.

• Pomona watched the stars from Traitor’s Gate and spoke with Severus about Titanic, Rose, and her wish to help Muggles in danger.
• Pomona teased Severus about Harry’s ice rescue and his black underwear, then criticized his harshness and asked whether he had guided Ron to Harry.
• Severus and Pomona argued about Tonks, Remus Lupin, and whether Tonks would forgive Pomona for questioning her marriage.
• Severus reminded Pomona that it was still his birthday and compared himself to Jack, while Pomona praised his courage but rejected the idea that heroes were owed romantic rewards.
• Pomona told Severus she had not married him because he was a winner, and Severus kissed her at Traitor’s Gate.

Pomona relived an illusion of intimacy with Severus before a hoarse voice forced her to confront whether she would kill him for Sirius’s death. She denied that she would, and Severus sent her away as the Spider-Clearing Operation continued ahead of the full moon.

• Pomona and Severus kissed in the little cabin while she reflected on Remus Lupin and Tonks’s relationship and the Wolfsbane Potion.
• A vision of Tom Riddle and Cecilia gave way to a hoarse voice urging Pomona to kill Severus and retrieve the Resurrection Stone to revive Sirius Black.
• Pomona dropped her wand and collapsed, then told Severus she would not kill him.
• Severus ordered Pomona to leave him alone, and she went outside as an owl arrived with the Daily Prophet.
• Pomona noted that five days had passed since the Battle of Tower Bridge, the Spider-Clearing Operation had begun, and the next full moon was due on January 24, 2005.

Pomona connected her sudden Parseltongue episode to the Dark Lord and feared Severus might be helping him return, while reflecting on Horcruxes, Basilisks, and the dangers of the Sword of Gryffindor. Still furious and unable to get answers, she took the headmaster with her to hunt monsters.

• Pomona recalled Ginny’s possession by Tom Riddle’s diary and worried that a soul fragment might be controlling her.
• Pomona considered whether Severus had been threatened into brewing a resurrection potion and wondered about Harry’s Parseltongue and scar.
• Pomona reviewed how Slytherin’s Basilisk venom had empowered the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy Horcruxes, while leaving the blade dangerously poisoned without a scabbard.
• Pomona warned herself that conflict between wizards could let werewolves and Dementors gain power, and that the Dark Lord might have made another Horcrux.
• Pomona asked whether Harry would retain Parseltongue after the Battle of Hogwarts, but no one answered.
• Pomona found the headmaster, asked him to help kill monsters, and Apparated away with him.

Pomona watched the Houses battle spiders in the Forbidden Forest before talking with Luna Lovegood, who shared her fears about the Aurors and her missing father. Luna recognized a dark creature following Pomona and asked her to help find the Resurrection Stone, leaving Pomona to wonder why Luna trusted her.

• Pomona watched the three Houses clear spiders from the forest while eating lunch in a tree.
• Luna warned Pomona away from the battle, and they discussed the Aurors, their plans for the Ministry, and the werewolves sentenced to death.
• Luna noticed a dark creature hidden in black mist following Pomona.
• Pomona and Luna discussed Snape, the Resurrection Stone, and Luna's missing father; Luna said she had broken up with Neville so she could search for Xenophilius.
• Pomona hugged Luna and urged her to find her father, and Luna asked Pomona to help locate the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest.

Pomona and Luna discussed Luna’s father, the ruined wedding, and the luck Luna believed her yellow dress had brought her. Luna then explained the spider-hunting operation’s rules, while Pomona returned to eat before the event continued.

• Luna told Pomona that Viktor Krum had helped her understand the Peverell symbol worn by her father, Xenophilius Lovegood.
• Luna said she had heard that Professor Longbottom and Hannah Abbott had grown close after dancing together at a wedding.
• Luna described the spider-hunting operation’s team limits, scoring, supplies, and boundary between the competing groups.
• Pomona teased Luna with a secret about the Black Lake, then recalled the danger posed by its giant squid.
• Pomona removed her summoning ring and headed off for lunch.

Severus and Pomona met in a private room at the Three Broomsticks, where she discussed Luna’s search for the Resurrection Stone and warned that the Dark Lord was trying to divide them. After Severus left to fetch Butterbeer, Pomona wondered whether she and Albus were pursuing an impossible dream.

• Severus took Pomona to a private room at the Three Broomsticks and sealed it with protective spells.
• Pomona told Severus that Luna had said Xenophilius Lovegood was searching for the Deathly Hallows to bring her mother back, and Severus told her to watch him.
• Pomona admitted she was jealous of Lily but called her an outstanding mother, and Severus said Lily had loved Harry Potter.
• Pomona warned Severus that the Dark Lord was stirring up trouble to turn them against each other and suggested investigating France ahead of the Quidditch World Cup.
• Pomona demanded Butterbeer before agreeing to Severus’s demands, so he left to get a drink.
• Pomona lit the fireplace and wondered whether she or Albus was dreaming an impossible dream.