Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus argued about the past, Albus, and the Time-Turner while traveling in the mountains near Grindelwald. Severus confessed that he longed to undo their painful history, and Pomona agreed to spend their honeymoon night on the mountain with him.

• Pomona and Severus watched a herd of deer and bickered about broom-riding and finding something fun to do.
• Pomona asked whether Albus’s lessons were useless, and Severus warned that Albus did not trust her as much as he seemed to.
• Severus said he wanted to return to the past, described Pomona’s long magical sleep and the hidden Horcrux, and asked whether she could give him the life he deserved.
• Pomona agreed that Severus could decide how they spent their honeymoon, and he proposed staying overnight on the mountain to watch the stars.
• Severus told Pomona a story about a Valkyrie and proposed they spend the night in the mountains, while Pomona warned him not to call her shorty again.

Pomona and Severus settled into an abandoned Alpine cabin, where she prepared an elaborate magical dinner and rewarded him with a playful reenactment of Nero’s banquet. The chapter ended with Pomona feeding Severus strawberries as he reclined in the tent.

• Pomona chose an abandoned Alpine hut for the night and used magic to fill its surroundings with blooming gentians.
• Snivellus cleaned the cabin while Pomona set up a magical tent and prepared food for dinner.
• Severus returned after setting up the defenses and found Pomona’s dinner arranged inside the tent.
• Pomona told Severus about Nero’s banquets and Golden House, then turned a tablecloth into a veil.
• Pomona straddled Severus and fed him strawberries as he reclined on the chaise lounge.

Pomona and Severus continued their delayed journey toward Venice, where a breakfast conversation with Sophia Jorkins reminded them of Bertha Jorkins and Voldemort’s return. As they traveled through Bavaria, Severus promised Pomona she could enjoy the scenery, leaving her irritated with him.

• Pomona and Severus boarded a train bound for Venice and ate breakfast in its dining car.
• Pomona asked about a German girl’s song, and a fellow passenger explained it told the sad tale of Hero Odo.
• Pomona met Sophia Jorkins, a Scottish woman who worked for the International Confederation of Wizards and was traveling on business.
• Severus noted Sophia’s surname and reminded Pomona that Bertha Jorkins had been Voldemort’s victim, prompting Pomona to recall how he had returned and infiltrated Hogwarts.
• Severus used Muffliato while Pomona asked Sophia why she was taking the train, then told Pomona they would pass Neuschwanstein Castle.
• Severus cheerfully told Pomona to enjoy the scenery, and she angrily ate his potato waffle.

Pomona and Severus traveled through the Rhine Valley, where a song about a bride’s foreign lover stirred arguments about Lily and old loves. Pomona redirected their journey toward Turin to seek a cure for Astoria’s blood curse, while Severus hinted that he would disrupt Pomona’s wedding.

• Severus translated the song “Noble Wedding” for Pomona, who was relieved that he had not caused a scene at Lily’s wedding.
• Pomona questioned Severus about whether he had wanted to bring Lily back to life, and he denied it before suggesting they travel to Rome.
• Pomona reflected on the burdens faced by royal women and on a wizarding tale of a princess, a wizard, and a war among the dead.
• Pomona reminded Severus that they needed to go to Turin and find the village that could make Horcruxes, since Astoria’s blood curse threatened her life if she had children.
• Severus promised he would ruin Pomona’s wedding and sang more verses of “Noble Wedding” until she told him to stop.

Sophia Jorkins arrived in Lindau, headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards, while Pomona and Severus continued their journey by train. Pomona promised she would stay beside Severus and help him atone if he went astray, and the chapter ended as the train departed Lindau.

• The chapter described Lindau’s history, its wizarding community, and the mountain Trolls who had long been hereditary enemies of its wizards.
• Sophia Jorkins got off the train in Lindau, where Pomona envied her chance to work for the International Confederation of Wizards.
• Pomona and Severus discussed whether she could join the Confederation and whether she would protect him if he committed a terrible mistake.
• Pomona promised Severus she would help him atone and remind him before he lost control, while Severus questioned why she also cared about Neville Longbottom.
• The train started moving again, and Pomona wondered why Lindau’s harbor had a lighthouse.

Pomona and Severus discussed the defenses around Nurmengard and the possibility that Voldemort had killed a fake Grindelwald, while Pomona reconsidered the stories of love and imprisonment. The chapter left them questioning what truly happened between Grindelwald and Albus and whether Grindelwald had ever loved him.

• Pomona compared her family life to a cage and worried that Molly might not be able to cope with George’s condition.
• Pomona and Severus joked and kissed in the train’s observation car before discussing their route past Nurmengard.
• Severus explained that Albus’s wards protected Nurmengard and argued that Voldemort’s Elder Wand was likely a fake made from elder wood.
• Pomona wondered how Harry had survived Avada Kedavra and whether the Deathly Hallows’ legends were true, while Severus said his wand was loyal only to her.
• Pomona considered whether Grindelwald had truly loved Albus or had only used him, and reflected on Albus’s fall into darkness.

The chapter contrasted fairy tales about innocence and danger with reflections on desire, history, and love. It ended by praising Lily for decisively leaving Severus while Pomona considered how to protect her from the boy who kept pestering her.

• A hunter followed Little Red Riding Hood, then killed the wolf and rescued her from the cottage.
• The chapter recounted lessons about Red Caps and Pinocchio, including how Muggles in Bavaria sometimes encountered dangerous magical creatures while searching the Black Forest for witches.
• The narration examined desire, historical cycles, and the motives behind human choices, including the second brother's use of the Resurrection Stone.
• Severus used the Room of Requirement's Thought-Reception Charm with a Daydream Charm to subject her to his fantasies, and she resisted before returning to the moving train compartment.
• Socrates advised a heartbroken man to accept his lover's choice and seek happiness, while the narration praised Lily for leaving Severus clearly and decisively.
• Pomona considered driving away the boy pestering Lily or finding someone who could protect her.

Pomona and Severus rode a train through Germany, where chef Joseph offered them illegal Remora soup. Pomona refused to eat the nearly extinct fish, while Severus left the choice to her, and Joseph appeared to sell the soup to the noisy family at the next table.

• At lunch, Pomona watched a family’s rowdy children and suspected Severus was close to disciplining them with his wand.
• Severus told Pomona that Draco had once entered Knockturn Alley after using the Floo incorrectly.
• Joseph offered the couple complimentary champagne because the train was nearing vampire territory.
• Joseph recommended Remora soup, and Pomona objected that catching the nearly extinct fish was illegal.
• Severus said he would not force Pomona to try it, then teased her after she stomped on his foot.
• Joseph shook hands with the man at the neighboring table as the woman scolded her sons.

Pomona and Severus argued over marriage, law, and the nature of their relationship during a noisy train journey through Bavaria. A song about Snape’s past love led them to confront their loyalty to each other, and they ended the chapter embracing while acknowledging how far they might go to avoid losing one another.

• Pomona complained to Severus about the noisy children on the train, and she teased him about whose money had paid for their tickets.
• Pomona explained the history and legal differences between marriages with and without marital authority, then called Severus her former lover and her paramour.
• Severus tried to seduce Pomona, but she stopped him and asked whether his loyalty belonged to his wife or his mistress.
• A girl sang a song about a man who loved Lily and protected her child, and Pomona realized it described Severus.
• Severus insisted that he had forgotten Lily and that Pomona had helped him forget, while Pomona warned she would forget him if he betrayed her.
• Pomona and Severus embraced and agreed that they were not kind people, imagining being buried together beneath wildflowers.

Pomona and Severus traveled by train toward vampire territory while discussing Ludwig II’s lonely life and the palaces he built. In their compartment, Severus gave Pomona earrings and their flirtation turned intimate, ending with her asking him to call her Nox.

• The narration described Ludwig II’s unfulfilled relationships, growing debts, confinement, and mysterious drowning at Lake Starnberg.
• Pomona admired her new snowflake earrings as the train passed Zugspitze, while Severus explained the song about a dancing hag.
• Pomona asked where Ludwig II’s ghost might reside, and Severus compared the king’s dining table with Hogwarts’s enchanted tables.
• Pomona worried that Severus might not love her if she were ugly, and he reassured her with a story about a beautiful monster.
• Severus lifted Pomona and carried her toward the desk at her request, and she told him to call her Nox.

Pomona reflected on Tang history, succession, illness, and political power before Severus discussed dark forests and Lockhart with her on the train to Vienna. The chapter ended with Pomona humming along to an eerie song while restraining herself from dancing.

• Pomona connected Li Chengqian’s leg ailment to polio and considered whether feng shui and the former Sui Bright Hall could explain Li Zhi’s headaches.
• Pomona examined Li Longji’s treatment of Empress Wang and reflected on concubinage, inheritance, and women’s choices.
• Pomona burned Plato’s book with Incendio, and Severus questioned why she had done so.
• Pomona asked Severus about the passengers’ German song and whether Quirrell had encountered vampires in Albania or Bavaria.
• Pomona and Severus joked about Gilderoy Lockhart’s claims, then Pomona hummed to the tune while holding back from dancing.

The chapter reflects on class, gender, wealth, and vanity through historical examples, including Countess Sanguina’s murders and Queen Mary’s downfall. It leaves the narrator praying for the train to pass through the Alps and away from the suffocating darkness.

• A harp-playing girl sang a ballad about a woman abandoned by the man she loved.
• The narrator described Countess Camilla Sanguina’s murders of girls at Csejte Castle and explained how her crimes were exposed.
• The narrator compared the power and inequalities facing men and women across European and Chinese history.
• The narrator argued that Queen Mary lost her chance to preserve the monarchy by fleeing Paris with her jewels.
• The narrator recalled stories about fake jewelry and vanity, then prayed for the train to pass through the Alps.

Pomona and Severus discussed Sirius Black’s inheritance and Severus’s decision to take responsibility for Harry Potter, then turned to vampires and the dangers faced by women in history. The chapter ended with speculation that Ludwig II might have survived his reported death as a vampire.

• Pomona demanded that Severus sing, but he explained the song’s reference to the right of the first night and refused.
• Severus told Pomona that Sirius Black’s will made Harry Potter his heir and that the portraits had appointed Severus temporary head of the Black family.
• Severus said he was bearing the Black family’s obligations for Harry, and Pomona stopped pinching him after he explained that he was atoning for Lily’s death.
• Pomona said she disliked vampires and the Muggles who worshipped them, and Severus compared their desire for power to the wizarding world’s desire for power from the Dark Lord.
• The chapter recounted historical examples of women’s vulnerability and Ludwig II’s mysterious drowning, then speculated that he might still live as a vampire.

Pomona and Severus traveled through the Alps by train, sharing a bath and discussing family, love, and the pressures surrounding same-sex relationships. As their journey continued toward Innsbruck, Pomona reflected on marriage, legal rights, and the consequences of men hiding their sexuality by marrying women.

• Pomona noticed that the train had stopped outside Innsbruck’s Edelweiss Tavern and complained about the vampires they were traveling with.
• Pomona and Severus soaked in the train’s bathtub, teasing each other about toys and pajamas as they admired the colorful Alpine town.
• Severus told Pomona that his mother had loved Tobias Snape, who had betrayed her, and complained that no one had read him fairy tales until he was thirty-eight.
• Pomona and Severus kissed as their Black Swan and White Swan Pendants drew closer.
• Pomona considered same-sex marriage, legal rights, adoption, and inheritance, and reflected that a woman discovering her husband was homosexual might find it worse than infidelity.

Aboard the train, the passengers sang a Roma song as the journey followed the Inn River, and Fleur Delacour arrived by flying carriage. She reflected on marriage, social responsibility, and the kind of dependable man she wanted while kissing Severus.

• The second-class passengers sang a song about meeting again in an emerald valley, and the narration described the Roma and their traveling culture.
• Fleur Delacour arrived in a flying carriage, and the narrator praised her liveliness and dependability.
• The train followed the Inn River, and the narrator considered how gradual steps could temper impulsive behavior.
• She told the man to slow down, then asked whether he was the bard or the prince and kissed him.
• She reflected on marriage, surnames, finances, and social welfare, concluding that she valued dependable men and opposed marriage when it weakened society.

Pomona and Severus shared a playful, intimate conversation on the train as she tested whether her Patronus could show her what it saw. She sent her swan Patronus toward Crystal World, and it flew over mountains and forests toward Crystal Palace.

• Pomona sang a French song about a woman urging her lover to fight for his country, and Severus asked what it meant.
• Pomona and Severus discussed wizarding attitudes toward same-sex relationships and Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald.
• Pomona teased Severus, then sent her swan Patronus toward Crystal World to test whether she could see through its eyes.
• Pomona and Severus shared ice cream in the darkened compartment while she contacted the Patronus as it flew toward Crystal Palace.

Pomona and Severus tried to save Mr. Lorraine after he suffered a magical riot from eating Remora fish. The train stopped by a forest, and Pomona set out to find Blackroot while Severus stayed with the stricken man.

• Louis Merveilleux brought Severus and Pomona to Mr. Lorraine, who was groaning in pain in his compartment.
• Pomona recognized that Mr. Lorraine was suffering a magical riot, and Severus warned him that he needed to expend the excess magic.
• Severus and Pomona ruled out potions and bloodletting, then considered using Blackroot to neutralize some of the magic.
• Mr. Lorraine admitted he had eaten two Remora fish, and the train began slowing beside a forest.
• Pomona went to search for Blackroot while Severus told Mr. Lorraine to try controlling the foreign magic.

Pomona arranged for Severus to fetch Blackroot from Godric’s Hollow while Lorraine’s magical rampage was contained in the forest. Severus returned with Dr. Draco Malfoy, but Joseph fled the train, leaving the attendants without a chef.

• Pomona gave Severus the Godric’s Hollow key so he could retrieve Blackroot while she took Lorraine into the woods.
• Lorraine rampaged through the forest with Dark magic, and Pomona cast protective spells around the area.
• Severus returned before six with Blackroot and Dr. Draco Malfoy.
• Joseph climbed out of a train window and Apparated away as Louis and two attendants shouted after him.

After the Grand Duke of Lorraine fell ill in Salzburg, the travelers continued by train to Munich, while Pomona reflected on love, loss, and her relationship with Severus. The chapter ended with Severus interrupting their romantic moment to make her read a book.

• Louis replaced Joseph as the train's chef after the crime scene had been photographed, and the Grand Duke's condition forced the Lorraines to take a train from Salzburg to Munich.
• Pomona wondered whether Grindelwald had truly loved Albus Dumbledore and reflected on how love, desire, and binding contracts shaped people's lives.
• Pomona stroked Cockroach Cluster and considered carrying her greenhouse with them so they could live in it instead of sleeping in tents.
• Severus invited Pomona to sit with him, and she asked him to sing before reciting a poem by Goethe.
• Severus took Discourse on the Origin of Inequality from his pouch and told Pomona to finish reading it, so she smacked him with the book.

On the train to Wolfgang, Pomona read Rousseau and reflected on inequality, poverty, and the dangers of continued conflict between humans and Werewolves. She worried about Teddy Lupin’s future and asked Severus to send chestnut cake to Harry Potter, but he warned that Auror poison testers would consume it first.

• A conductor bought Pomona chestnut cake from Zuaner in Bad Ischl as a favor to Severus.
• Pomona read Rousseau and considered how inequality and luxury could deepen poverty and lead to revolution.
• Severus questioned Rousseau’s claims about barbarians, then shared Pomona’s cake and returned to his documents.
• Pomona connected her thoughts about poverty and social conflict to Werewolves and worried about Teddy Lupin’s future.
• Pomona asked Severus to send chestnut cake to Harry Potter, and Severus said Auror poison testers would eat it before it reached the table.