Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus visited Venice, where the story of the Doge’s marriage to the sea and the Little Mermaid framed their romantic encounter. The chapter ended with Severus confessing his fear of losing Pomona and worrying that he might not be alive, while they remained together on the beach.

• The narrator described Venice’s annual Marriage to the Sea ceremony and the Little Mermaid’s unrequited love for a prince.
• The narrator recounted Venice’s history, its threatened lagoon, and the Moses Project to protect the city from flooding.
• Pomona and Severus kissed on Lido Island, and Severus teased her before telling her that he loved her.
• Severus spoke about Lily, his promise not to lose anyone he loved, and a vampire who feared dying without reuniting with his dead wife.
• Pomona corrected Severus’s account of the Deathly Hallows legend, and he admitted he did not know whether he was dead or alive.
• Pomona tried to reassure Severus, and they continued their intimate encounter on the beach.

Pomona, Severus, Monica, and Alessandro visited Venice’s old ghetto and a nightclub during Carnival, prompting reflections on the city’s history, social exclusion, opera, and mortality. The group left the unpleasant club, while the chapter ended with thoughts about vampires and the ways to defend against them.

• The narrator described the history of the Palace of Knossos and Venice’s crowded, vertically built neighborhoods, including the Jewish ghetto.
• The narrator recounted Sara Copio Sullam’s social isolation and compared her fate with Severus’s unwillingness to compromise.
• The narrator discussed Venetian opera and the story of Jason and Medea, then imagined Florindo’s faithfulness as a reason to fall in love.
• Monica brought Pomona and Severus to Paradiso nightclub in the old ghetto, where Pomona found the crowd and atmosphere frightening and foul-smelling.
• Severus warned Monica and Alessandro not to drink at the club, and Pomona said she wanted to leave.
• The narrator reflected on human evolution, death, and vampires, noting that Densaugeo or blocking a vampire’s bite could be effective defenses.

Pomona calmed down after the bar and, prompted by Severus, decided to follow Monica’s acquaintance Gianluca to his archaeology club. The group set off for DelBò Palace, with Pomona and Severus trading barbs as they followed the younger people.

• Pomona sat beside the canal to calm herself while Severus, Monica, and Alessandro gave her space.
• Alessandro suggested visiting the Doge's Palace, but Pomona refused.
• Monica greeted Gianluca, an acquaintance from her archaeology club, and he invited them to Paradiso.
• Severus asked about Gianluca’s club, and Pomona decided that the group would go there instead.
• Gianluca told them the club met in a room at DelBò Palace, and the group headed there.

Pomona and Severus toured a Venetian palace built for Cecilia Venier, while their conversation turned to wealth, desire, and Pomona’s feelings about her identity. The chapter left them dueling playfully through the palace after Pomona attacked Severus for teasing her.

• Gianluca showed Pomona, Severus, Monica, and Alessandro the palace and its marble bull, while Pomona guessed that Gianluca came from a wealthy background.
• Pomona and Severus discussed their bet and flirted privately as they toured the palace.
• Pomona spoke about not wanting to be a woman, and Severus reassured her that she made him happy.
• Pomona asked Severus what he thought of Cecilia Venier, then attacked him with Diffindo after he joked that he married her because she was easy to support.
• Severus blocked Pomona's spell with Protego and ran through the palace as she chased him.

Pomona, Severus, Monica, and Alessandro discussed Venice’s history of looting and decline before pressing Gianluca to investigate whether Venetians had helped the Knights Templar move their wealth. Gianluca agreed to begin researching, leaving the group focused on a scheme to restore Venice’s fortunes.

• Pomona and her companions visited the archaeology club’s office in Tao Niu Palace, where Gianluca explained that they were helping salvage a ship Napoleon had sunk.
• Pomona asked whether the club had records about the Knights Templar, and Severus asked whether Gianluca believed Venetians had helped transfer their wealth.
• Alessandro proposed using evidence of Venetian aid to the Templars to attract banking business, while Monica and Pomona pointed to Venice’s potential clients and trade connections.
• Severus questioned Gianluca about his family’s wealth and whether it wanted to become another Dandolo family.
• Gianluca sat at the computer and began looking into the Knights Templar.

Cecilia’s encounter with a masked devil in Venice shifts into Pomona’s dreamlike memory of being rescued from a storm by a Mermaid prince. The devil carries her over Venice, and they decide to return the next day to find the others.

• Cecilia struggled against the masked devil in the restored palace, but he held her tighter and promised no one would see them.
• After the Halloween feast, Pomona watched the staff question Harry about the bloody writing on the wall before she was swept into a storm at sea.
• Pomona abandoned her sinking boat and climbed aboard a Mermaid prince’s chariot, which carried her through the storm to shore.
• The Mermaid prince left Pomona on land without asking for anything, leaving her with a memory she could later tell tourists.
• The devil turned into black smoke and flew with Pomona over Venice, then said they would return the next day to find the others.

Pomona and Severus met Monica, Alessandro, and Gianluca in Venice and agreed to join an archaeological team’s Adriatic Sea shipwreck salvage. As they prepared by shopping at the Rialto fish market, Severus hinted at his dangerous ties to religious and political powers, while Pomona joked about using magic on Gianluca.

• Monica told Pomona and Severus that an archaeological team planned to salvage a shipwreck in the Adriatic Sea, and Pomona said she needed to discuss investigating the Knights Templar with her club members.
• Severus agreed to go to the Adriatic Sea to look for Mermaids, and Pomona volunteered to prepare food and water.
• Pomona and Monica shopped at the Rialto fish market while Severus and Gianluca discussed Venice’s history and the danger of foreign powers interfering in its politics.
• Severus told Gianluca that an emperor had use for him but the Pope did not, and Pomona said she could erase Gianluca’s Memory with magic.

Pomona and Severus boarded Gianluca’s yacht as it set sail from Venice, while Pomona reflected on how propaganda and self-interest had enabled persecution and genocide. The boat headed for open water, leaving them to hope that the people trying to save their home would not give up.

• Monica asked Gianluca where the refrigerator was while he prepared to sail, and Severus and Pomona discussed the yacht’s safety compared with larger ships.
• Severus and Pomona debated the Titanic’s speed and handling as Alessandro rang the bell and called them aboard.
• Gianluca raised Hurricane’s sail, and Pomona and Severus boarded as Alessandro and Gianluca steered toward open water.
• Pomona recalled historical examples of religious persecution, Nazi propaganda, and people who resisted, reflecting on how desire and indifference enabled cruelty.
• Pomona and Severus avoided using magic near the yacht’s navigation equipment and watched the horizon as they sailed away.

Pomona reflected on shipwrecks, Napoleon’s campaigns, Venice’s decline, and the ownership of treasures beneath the sea. She ended by imagining humanity’s eventual return to the ocean and the future species that might study human remains.

• Pomona considered the fortunes and historical secrets hidden in shipwrecks, including a gold-laden ship that sank in 1857.
• She recounted Napoleon’s rise and fall, his invasion of Venice, and the disastrous Russian campaign that ended in retreat.
• She described the Bucintoro’s wreck, Venice’s costly efforts to protect the city, and fears surrounding the 2012 end-of-the-world prophecy.
• She examined the disputes over ownership of salvaged wrecks and underwater cultural heritage.
• Pomona reflected on captains and leaders bearing responsibility for their decisions, then imagined future species studying human fossils beneath the sea.

Gianluca steered the group through Venice’s lagoon while they discussed the city’s history, flood defenses, and political past. Pomona revealed the Golden Egg’s mermaid song, and the chapter left Severus curious about Gianluca’s Dante family and wishing him luck as the Merchant of Venice.

• Monica misidentified a former monastery, and Gianluca corrected her while explaining its history as a refuge for respectable courtesans.
• Gianluca described the Moses Project’s floating floodgates as the boat approached the Adriatic Sea.
• Pomona opened the Golden Egg briefly, exposing the group to a mermaid’s shriek and revealing that the song could lure men underwater.
• Severus and Alessandro discussed magic, their differing fortunes, and the stories behind the Dandolo family.
• Gianluca described his devotion to Venice and introduced himself to Severus as Gianluca Dante, wizard.

Pomona and Gianluca took Severus and the others out to sea, where Pomona summoned Mermaids with music and wine. Back on the boat, Severus studied documents about the Moses Project and the archaeology club until Pomona drew his attention away.

• The chapter outlined the Moses Project’s controversies and Venice’s interest in bringing Chinese police to help protect tourists.
• Gianluca stopped his yacht beside an old reef fortification, where Pomona lowered the Golden Egg into the sea and played its song.
• Pomona poured wine into the water, attracting Mermaids, and fed them seafood while warning the others not to heed their temptations.
• Severus examined documents about the Moses Project, New Venice, and archaeology club members, and remarked that Gianluca seemed like a spy.
• Pomona sat on Severus’s lap and kissed him, prompting him to put the documents aside and focus on her.

Pomona and Monica discussed corruption, Venetian history, and Monica’s future while sunning themselves near the reef. Pomona wondered how Gianluca Dante was connected to the bull emblem and Tao Niu Palace.

• The chapter recounted how Doge Leonardo Donato resisted Pope Paul V’s attempt to excommunicate Venice, with Paolo Sarpi helping force the pope to withdraw his decree.
• The chapter described how Vatican finances, Swiss banks, and art investments could facilitate money laundering and evade investigation.
• Monica told Pomona she wanted to keep her promise to become a designer in Milan alongside her sister Laura, while her other sister Veronica hoped to become a nun.
• Pomona advised Monica to decide whether she wanted to accept Gianluca’s invitation to summer camp or reject him clearly.
• Pomona considered Venice’s systems of oversight and the contrast between collective responsibility and the ambition of the Borgia family.
• Pomona connected the Borgia family’s bull emblem to the stone bull at Tao Niu Palace and wondered who Gianluca Dante really was.

Pomona visited the Michelangelo research vessel and challenged Giovanni Masaku over the design and long-term viability of Venice’s Moses Project. She left him with a warning to learn from Eastern engineering before he ruined the project.

• Gianluca introduced Pomona and her companions to Captain Diego Vecchio aboard the Michelangelo.
• Pomona reflected on the Mediterranean, maritime history, and the difficulty of uncovering the Knights Templar’s traces.
• Pomona recognized Giovanni Masaku, head of the New Venice Group, and dismissed his record of projects that had harmed others.
• Pomona questioned Masaku about the Moses Project, comparing it to Dujiangyan and asking how its flood drainage would work.
• Masaku said he would do everything he could, and Pomona introduced herself as Mrs. Prince before urging him to learn from Eastern experience.

After lunch in Venice, Pomona reflected on the Moses Project, human greed, and the danger of grand plans that ignored nature and ordinary people. Watching Giovanni Masaku remain behind, she accepted that she could not control Venice’s fate and returned to the cabin to enjoy her honeymoon.

• Pomona and the others finished lunch at Michelangelo and boarded a boat to leave.
• Giovanni Masaku watched them depart without smiling, reminding Pomona of Dr. John from Jurassic Park and the unintended consequences of ambitious plans.
• Pomona considered Venice’s flood defenses, the misuse of public money, and how Dujiangyan worked with nature rather than against it.
• Pomona sighed at the Adriatic Sea, acknowledged her powerlessness, and returned to the cabin to enjoy her honeymoon.

Pomona and Severus discussed Venice’s hopes of preserving its independence and considered using San Marino as a secure vault location. At Ghost Sanctuary, Pomona reflected on unhappiness and home before Voldemort’s voice returned, leaving her wondering whether a diadem could help shield her from his Legilimency.

• Severus told Pomona that Gianluca thought San Marino could house a vault, and explained how the small republic had survived and helped Italy unify.
• Severus said Venice no longer wanted to pursue independence after its past suffering, and Pomona toasted with him to the endurance of the collective.
• Gianluca brought Pomona, Severus, and Monica to Ghost Sanctuary, where Monica said rumors linked its construction to Freemasonry.
• Pomona told Severus she had decided against building a wizarding orphanage and admitted that Venice made her almost forget England and Hogwarts.
• Voldemort spoke through Pomona, who asked Severus to make her a diadem to help guard against his Legilimency.

Pomona studied Venice’s hydrological records and concluded that the lagoon was a finely balanced system threatened by changes to its rivers, inlets, and shipping. After copying a record, she joined Severus and Alessandro for a planned nighttime visit to the Doge’s Palace, while reflecting on Venice’s precarious towers and costly effort to save the city.

• Pomona searched the former water council’s records and learned how river diversions, altered lagoon entrances, land reclamation, and cruise ships had affected Venice’s flooding and ecology.
• Alessandro brought Pomona rum ice cream, and Pomona told him she had not found the real cause of the lagoon’s flooding but had realized someone genuinely wanted to save Venice.
• Pomona compared Venice’s delicate hydrological balance to the precarious construction of leaning bell towers, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• Alessandro suggested visiting the Doge’s Palace after dinner, and Severus insisted Alessandro call over his cousin and warned him not to underestimate Gianluca.
• Pomona copied a hydrological record with Geminio, returned the original to the shelf, and considered Venice’s history of towers that seemed stable or doomed before collapsing.

Pomona and Severus spent their honeymoon night exploring Venice, where Alessandro brought them to a dockside fighting venue before they set off on a gondola tour. They left Monica and Gianluca to make their own way home and drifted through the city beneath its night lights.

• Pomona and Severus visited a dockside bar where Venetian boatmen practiced fighting and joked about her prize for winning.
• Pomona kissed Severus before Gianluca interrupted them, and Alessandro offered to take the group out for the evening.
• Monica insisted she could get home alone, while Gianluca followed her and Severus challenged his offer to escort her.
• Pomona pulled Severus toward the dock and insisted that their honeymoon date should not be spoiled.
• Monica left with Gianluca, and Pomona and Severus boarded Alessandro's gondola for a nighttime tour of Venice.

Pomona and Severus arrived in Venice after rescuing a fish, and a masked Venetian diplomat welcomed them to a dangerous tour of the Doge's Palace. The chapter leaves them heading toward a forbidden entrance as a storm gathered and the diplomat warned of bloodshed and conspiracy.

• The old woman in the fisherman’s tale demanded to rule the sea, but the goldfish swam away and left her and the old man with their original broken hut and tub.
• The account described Venice’s republican traditions, including nobles’ restraint, protections against religious authority, and the use of lotteries in political systems.
• Pomona arrived at St. Mark’s Pier with Severus, wearing a golden gown from the Vienna palace, after they had saved a fish at the cost of two Remoras.
• A masked diplomat welcomed Pomona and Severus and said the Doge had just been beheaded between two pillars.
• Severus welcomed the display of force, and Pomona followed the diplomat toward the entrance forbidden to tourists as storm clouds gathered.

Severus and Pomona entered the Doge's Palace with a Venetian diplomat, challenging the city's leadership over tourism, corruption, and the preservation of its art. A masked Comforter invited them to dinner, and Voldemort questioned how many people Severus would fool this time.

• Severus and Pomona entered the Doge's Palace by the Golden Staircase, where the diplomat questioned Severus about his support for Sandy and Monica and his investigation into the Knights Templar.
• Severus challenged the diplomat over the mayor's plans to sell palaces and the authenticity of paintings in the Doge's Palace, while Pomona asked about The Wedding at Cana.
• Severus and Pomona criticized the city's leaders and warned that they were driving away people trying to help Venice.
• A masked man introduced himself as one of the Comforters and invited Severus and Pomona to dinner as honored envoys.
• Voldemort laughed and asked how many people Severus would fool this time, while Pomona remained silent and depressed.

Pomona and Severus attended a secret gathering at the Doge's Palace, where Severus offered Italian factions a chance to compete with a wizarding bank and Pomona tried to steer the meeting toward calm discussion. The masked Venetians recognized Hogwarts and argued over art, Fortuna, and Severus's appearance, while Pomona remained troubled by her past and her marriage.

• Pomona and Severus entered the Council of Ten's gathering in the Hall of Four Doors, where the masked attendees treated them with suspicion.
• Severus used his wand to animate the hall's paintings and offered to help the Venetians create a competitor to a monopolistic wizarding bank.
• Pomona explained that she and Severus were Hogwarts teachers, and the Bauta recognized the school and recalled the Triwizard Tournament.
• Dama discussed Veronese's Wedding at Cana and urged Pomona to embrace a happier life, leaving Pomona reflecting on her dead mentor and her marriage to Severus.
• Ghost Mask and the others discussed François Pinault's Fortuna weather vane at Venice's Customs House, then mocked Severus's clothes and hair while Pomona joined in.