Chapter Summaries

Pomona patrolled Chinatown on New Year's Eve, reflecting on Chinese customs and enjoying the festive streets before encountering Dolores Umbridge, her new colleague in the Werewolf operation. Umbridge mocked Pomona for having no subordinates, and Pomona left her with a warning to call her Watson if trouble arose.

• Pomona patrolled Chinatown as residents celebrated with tangyuan, firecrackers, and preparations for a dragon and lion dance.
• Pomona reflected on Cho Chang, China's wizarding world, and the song she heard elderly people singing in a tea restaurant.
• Umbridge approached Pomona and asked to see her wand, then claimed she had thirteen subordinates for the Werewolf operation.
• Pomona said she had no subordinates and reminded Umbridge that she could call her Watson if she needed help.
• Pomona continued down the street while the chorus sang, wondering which river the song described.

Pomona followed two Enforcers into a hidden facility and discovered Severus questioning officials about Werewolf attacks and a prison. After overhearing their tense exchange, she tried to leave but found a tiger watching her from behind.

• Pomona watched two Enforcers enter a concealed passage beside a sports bar, then slipped inside under her Invisibility Cloak.
• Pomona descended into the facility and saw a Werewolf being tortured with a corrosive liquid.
• Pomona eavesdropped on Severus, Ma Youjiang, and an Enforcer discussing Werewolf attacks, prisoners, and their uneasy alliance.
• Severus revealed that he had made a corrosive potion from Nettlethorn Tree sap and hinted that his godson had changed.
• Pomona prepared to leave the corridor but discovered a tiger behind her, staring at her with its fangs bared.

Pomona fled a tiger spirit and ended up in London Chinatown, where she confronted the painful compromises surrounding Severus and the dangers facing Werewolves. She urged Hermione, Neville, and Hannah to make their own choices, then found comfort in their embrace and resolved to face the battles ahead.

• Pomona Apparated away from the pursuing tiger spirit, vomited, and collapsed in London Chinatown, where Hermione found her.
• Pomona asked Hermione to summon Neville and Hannah, then warned them to treat Teddy Lupin fairly if he joined Hufflepuff.
• Pomona explained that anti-Werewolf prejudice was widespread, criticized a hateful book about Werewolves, and discussed tensions between Kingsley and Galvin.
• Pomona told Neville that Severus wanted to return to seclusion and said she had chosen to stay despite the burdens involved.
• Hermione, Neville, and Hannah embraced Pomona, who felt redeemed and decided she would face the coming battles without leaving more regrets.

Pomona warned Hermione, Hannah, and Neville that Werewolves might break Fenrir Greyback out of prison while the Aurors were distracted. After Hermione contacted the Order of the Phoenix, she and Pomona talked about missing the men they loved and the strain in Hermione’s relationship with Ginny.

• Hannah told Hermione that Rita Skeeter had published false claims about Newt Scamander, and Pomona asked whether Rolf might be a spy.
• Pomona remembered earlier Werewolf prison-break threats and warned that the Order of the Phoenix should reinforce its guard before Fenrir escaped.
• Hermione contacted the Order with a fake Galleon, and Pomona sent Hannah and Neville to guard Diagon Alley.
• Pomona and Hermione discussed missing Severus and Ron, and Hermione complained that Ron had destroyed Slytherin’s Locket without telling her.
• Hermione told Pomona that her new work improving House-elf treatment gave her a sense of achievement, and Pomona blamed Hermione’s conflict with Ginny on Ron’s weight.

Pomona and Hermione discussed animal ghosts, Patronuses, Dumbledore’s marriage, and their friends while Neville and Hannah argued nearby. Pomona left Hermione to make tea and walked away from the pair’s bickering.

• Pomona asked Hermione whether animal ghosts could be related to corporeal Patronuses and magical animal forms.
• Pomona told Hermione that Albus had married Gellert Grindelwald, then teased her with stories about their letters and romance.
• Pomona and Hermione debated whether Patronuses reflected their casters’ characters and discussed Harry’s confidence and game theory.
• Hermione complained about Ron’s comics and teased Pomona about Severus avoiding sunlight.
• Pomona told Hermione to make tea when the water boiled and walked away.

Pomona and Severus reunited after the war and resumed their intimate, teasing relationship in a London alley, where they discussed Werewolves, a gift, and Albus's inheritance. Severus explained that he had used Albus's money to support the families of defeated Death Eaters, and Pomona invited him to dance before they decided where to go next.

• Pomona recalled Charity's death, the Hogwarts staff's wartime resistance, and how she and Severus eventually left the castle together after his return.
• Severus and Pomona kissed in a London alley, and he told her they were tracking Werewolves who had been biting people.
• Pomona found a jade seal bearing her signature among Severus's clothes and realized Ma Youjiang had arranged its carving.
• Pomona demanded to know what Albus had left her, and Severus said he had collected Albus's letters and used most of his money to support defeated Death Eater families, with Draco managing the funds.
• Pomona invited Severus to dance under the full moon and offered to take him for yuanxiao, but he pulled her back to continue their intimacy elsewhere.

Pomona and Severus discussed the werewolf investigation, the forged letters, and the risks surrounding Astoria and Draco. Their arguments over love, grief, and control gave way to renewed intimacy as they prepared to continue their work together.

• Pomona and Severus considered whether werewolves might try to break their prisoner out and who had forged Lily's letters, including how Lily had learned about Grindelwald.
• Pomona told Severus that she had informed Narcissa about Astoria's blood curse and believed Astoria would risk her life to have Draco's child.
• Severus argued with Pomona about Astoria, their lost Lily, Hermione's choices, and the consequences of confusing love with self-righteousness.
• Pomona and Severus reconciled in an alley, where she revealed the Invisibility Cloak and evening gown and teased him before they became intimate.

After dinner in Chinatown, Pomona and Severus met Mr. Lin, who recounted his family’s history in Salem and warned that vengeful ghosts might be behind disappearances in an underground city. He asked them to investigate similar disappearances in the London Underground, and Severus considered the request.

• Pomona and Severus stopped at Hu's Restaurant for dim sum after watching Spirited Away.
• Mr. Lin joined them and explained that immigration authorities had raided a friend's factory over illegal workers.
• Mr. Lin described how his great-grandfather and other Chinese residents had built tunnels beneath Salem’s Chinatown to protect their businesses and smuggle gold.
• Mr. Lin said murals had appeared in the tunnels, people had vanished, and a Daoist priest had warned residents to flee; the site later became farmland.
• Mr. Lin linked the disappearances to the ghosts of women executed during the Salem witch trials and asked Pomona and Severus to investigate disappearances in the London Underground.
• Pomona looked to Severus, who studied Mr. Lin thoughtfully as he considered the request.

Mr. Lin discussed Salem’s history, the persecution of Chinese communities, and why Chinese people turned to groups like the Hongmen when official law failed them. As he spoke with Severus, Pomona became distracted and quietly put her hand on Severus’s thigh.

• Mr. Lin explained how fear and ignorance had led to witch persecutions, including Ariana’s death and the Salem trials.
• Mr. Lin described Chinese printing, ghost stories, burial customs, and the social divisions between American old money and nouveaux riches.
• Mr. Lin recounted the 1887 Oregon Chinese Massacre and argued that unfair courts had driven overseas Chinese to seek protection from the Hongmen.
• Mr. Lin avoided asking Ma Youjiang for help, while Severus said Ma seemed to know about the disappearances in the London Underground and called them Kamikakushi.
• Pomona stopped paying attention to Mr. Lin and quietly slid her hand onto Severus’s thigh; Severus stiffened but did not stop her.

Pomona reflected on deception, ambition, desire, and social expectations while watching a Flamenco dance. She realized she no longer needed to hide her Veela nature, but remained conflicted because she was already married.

• The narrator compared Chinatown’s blended cultures and criticized Severus Snape’s greasy hair and provocative manner.
• The narrator discussed how Ma Youjiang and Severus Snape were evenly matched in deception, then explained the chemical trick behind blood-red hidden messages.
• The narrator contrasted ordinary people’s financial constraints with Scarlett’s business acumen and described how mortgages and affordable luxury kept people working and spending.
• The narrator recounted Esmeralda’s tragedy, Quasimodo’s devotion, and the archdeacon’s jealousy and violence.
• Pomona realized she no longer needed to hide her half-blood Veela identity, but she weighed the temptations of attention against her marriage.
• Pomona watched a Flamenco dance and considered the restrained but powerful feelings between the dancers.

Pomona and Severus prepared to face the danger surrounding London Chinatown’s Lantern Festival, where canceling celebrations could devastate local businesses. As they parted, they promised to return alive and face whatever came together.

• The chapter described the history of New York’s Chinatown, immigration, housing costs, and the effects of crime and the 1965 blackout.
• The chapter recounted how Petunia had kept Harry’s baby blanket and how Dudley had changed after the Dementor attack, eventually becoming sensible enough to hug Harry goodbye.
• Pomona worried that the Lantern Festival parades would go ahead despite uncertain intelligence and the danger to Chinatown.
• Severus asked why Pomona was not asking him to protect Justin, and she told him to be careful and come back alive.
• Pomona suggested Felix Felicis, but Severus said he trusted strength more than luck and admitted he might perform poorly in battle.
• Pomona reassured Severus that they would face any problems together, then Apparated away to find her students.

Pomona helped conceal the excavation at the old apartment site while the team prepared for danger beneath London. Ginny arrived to support Harry, and Pomona was left angry and worrying about how to disguise the site’s foul-smelling sewers.

• The chapter recounted the Jack the Ripper murders and the wizarding world’s belief that vampire Herbert Varney had been made a scapegoat.
• Pomona and the Snow Wolf team prepared to conceal the demolition site, where excavators uncovered seventeenth-century sewers.
• Pomona discovered that Ginny had come to the site without her newborn son, James Sirius Potter.
• Ginny said her mother was caring for James and that Harry needed her, then left after Pomona warned her about the danger.
• Pomona stopped thinking about Ginny and considered planting fragrant trees to cover the sewer stench.

Pomona reflected on the cost of surviving war and on the difficulty of managing Severus, whose loyalty and schemes made him a danger even when he was useful. At a Chinatown construction site, she realized he had tricked her into a difficult task and wondered whether she was clever enough to handle him.

• Pomona recalled how she had used a Striped Anemone seed to grow a deep-sea monster when Death Eaters blocked her return to Hogwarts.
• Pomona considered how survival had forced women like Scarlett to become strong and how she had repeatedly compromised her principles with Severus.
• Pomona judged Severus too unreliable to entrust with Vault 713 and contrasted him with Hagrid, whom she considered more dependable for simple tasks.
• Pomona questioned why Hufflepuffs were working through the night on a Werewolf attack in Chinatown, since the Werewolf Office was not their responsibility.
• Pomona cursed Severus at the construction site after realizing he had tricked her again, then wondered whether she was not clever enough to manage him.

Pomona checked the Chinatown construction site and planned to use fake traps and local pickpockets to keep the real operation secret. She returned to the Hexagonal Pavilion to ask Hermione to contact Kingsley and recruit Ivan, but Hermione challenged her about the intelligence on Accionites and their cooperation.

• Pomona found no problems at the construction site and decided to guard against information leaking by setting up false traps and finding Ivan.
• Pomona Apparated to the Hexagonal Pavilion and asked Hermione to have Kingsley get the London police to find Ivan.
• Hermione questioned Pomona about her source for the warning that Accionites would attack the nuclear power plant, and Pomona refused to explain.
• Pomona told Neville and Hermione to make their own choices in the coming operation, reminding Neville that he had acted on his own during the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Pomona gave Hermione pearl hairpins and teased her about being a girl, prompting Hermione to insist that she was Weasley.

Pomona reflected on Neville’s choice, the costs of leadership, and the losses and resentments left by the war before deciding she was no longer fit to lead Hufflepuff. Her conversation with Hermione about Werewolves, Snape, and Sybill ended with Hermione insisting she had not tampered with Pomona’s flask.

• Pomona considered how grief had turned people against her and concluded that her mistakes as a leader could harm too many others, so she stepped down as Head of Hufflepuff.
• Pomona recalled her attraction to the person who had guided Harry toward destroying Slytherin’s Locket and said she had chosen her side because she was a foolish idiot.
• Hermione told Pomona that scented body lotion had masked her smell when a Werewolf came close to her during the hunt.
• Pomona and Hermione discussed Snape’s sage perfume and Pomona’s claim that he had used Sybill in experiments with a psychoactive potion.
• Hermione handed Pomona her travel flask and swore she had not cast any spells on it.

Pomona and Hermione discussed Hermione’s wartime trauma and her relationship with Ron before Hermione pressed Pomona for information about Accionites and the events surrounding Severus’s birthday. Pomona refused to betray Marcus or provide answers, and Hermione left after accusing Pomona of being used.

• Hermione told Pomona about hiding from Snatchers with Harry and Ron and described how isolation and the Horcrux strained their friendship.
• Pomona challenged Hermione to remember how she and Ron had cared for each other as friends, and Hermione explained how jealousy over Viktor’s invitation had revealed Ron’s feelings.
• Hermione worried Rita Skeeter would distort her past with Harry and asked Pomona about Severus’s birthday, Christine, and which of his students had joined Accionites.
• Pomona asked Hermione whether she would forgive a repentant wrongdoer and refused to identify Accionites or blame an innocent person for another’s mistakes.
• Hermione threatened that she would use the Cruciatus Curse if necessary and accused Lucius of using Pomona; Pomona retorted that Hermione might be used too.
• Hermione left after warning Pomona that she had changed, and Pomona walked alone through the London fog, humming “London Bridge is falling down.”

Pomona reflected on forgiveness, jealousy, secrecy, and the lasting pain caused by trauma and discrimination. After deciding she could not betray Marcus or recruit Ivan, she sought Mr. Wen’s help while worrying about the anti-Werewolf bill, Severus’s obligations, and the uncertain future of Harry’s generation.

• Pomona recalled Albus’s counsel about forgiveness and considered how jealousy and old grudges shaped the choices of Ron, Severus, and others.
• Pomona decided she could not betray Marcus or force Ivan into her work, so she went to the Dragon-Phoenix Restaurant to seek Mr. Wen’s help.
• Pomona considered how Harry’s scar and the Longbottoms’ injuries showed that psychological suffering could outlast physical wounds.
• Pomona reflected that Umbridge’s anti-Werewolf bill would harm Remus Lupin and others who had little in common with violent Werewolves.
• Pomona wished she could flee, but Severus had to care for Draco because of the Unbreakable Vow, and she thought about Bella’s curse and the uncertain timeline of future children.

Pomona warned Ma Youjiang that a secret trap against the Werewolves might be leaked, but he dismissed her concerns and refused to help restart relations between China and Britain. Their conversation ended with Ma probing about Severus's wand and Pomona leaving without learning what Severus had told him.

• Pomona met Ma Youjiang outside Mr. Wen's office and warned him that someone might leak the trap against the Werewolves.
• Ma rejected Pomona's warning and told her that his people would handle their own internal problems.
• Ma questioned Pomona about heaven and Peach Blossom Spring, then criticized Muggles and discussed ghosts, wandlore, and the possibility of cooperating against them.
• Ma said that his people would not help because of old grievances and their rules against wizards intervening in Muggle wars.
• Pomona asked whether China and Britain could start over, but Ma dismissed the idea as beyond their station.
• Ma asked what material Severus's wand was made from, and Pomona answered before leaving.

The chapter examined the strained lives of British Aurors and police officers, whose low pay and dwindling resources left the public less protected as Werewolves rebelled against Umbridge’s bill. It ended by considering whether defensive spells could protect London’s Chinatown from invading Werewolves.

• Harry’s parents’ deaths, Sirius’s role, and Peter Pettigrew’s survival left Harry reeling, while the Quidditch World Cup and Triwizard Tournament offered brief distractions before Death Eaters ruined them.
• Umbridge’s Werewolf bill pushed Werewolves toward rebellion, placing exhausted Aurors and underfunded police officers on the front lines.
• The chapter described how poor pay, staffing cuts, and bribes weakened policing, while better-paid private security drew workers away from public service.
• The chapter recalled how Fenrir turned Lyall’s beloved son Remus into a Werewolf after Lyall insulted Werewolves.
• The chapter considered how humans had driven the Peruvian Vipertooth extinct and suggested defensive spells could help protect London’s Chinatown from Werewolves.

Pomona drank alone at the Leaky Cauldron and spoke with Hannah about her grief, her past work with werewolves, and her relationship with Severus. Hannah left after asking about Luna’s missing father, while Pomona remained with her smoldering cigarette.

• Pomona drank and smoked at the Leaky Cauldron as she dwelled on the child she had lost to the Cruciatus Curse and her plans to retire at sixty.
• Hannah confronted Pomona about teaching Neville and other boys Animagus transformation, and Pomona admitted she had used them as helpers while fighting a werewolf each month.
• Pomona told Hannah that Dumbledore had used her gardening talent in the Werewolf Rehabilitation Program and that Severus still loved Lily, though he had chosen a different path.
• Hannah asked why Xenophilius had disappeared, and Pomona said he seemed interested in the Deathly Hallows and might want to bring Pandora back.
• Hannah dismissed the idea as madness and left, leaving Pomona’s smoldering cigarette by the table.