Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus discovered that Venetian agents had tried to sell them a notorious, haunted property, then chose to visit the Villa of Sighs instead of Julian's villa. The chapter left them beside the Brenta River, considering the villa and imagining a wedding by the water.

• Pomona and Severus learned through the Imperius Curse that Venetian merchants had concealed the properties' histories while trying to sell them.
• Pomona recoiled at the thought of a woman hanging from a tree and cursed the Muggles for bringing them to a haunted house.
• Severus asked Pomona to choose between Julian's villa and the Villa of Sighs, and she reluctantly chose the latter.
• Pomona reflected on loyalty, House-elves, Kreacher, and Hermione Granger's efforts to free them.
• Pomona admired the Brenta River's scenery and imagined holding a wedding there.

Pomona and Severus inspected the ruined National Villa Pisani, where Severus sensed dark magic and Pomona suspected the ghostly disturbances were the dead wife’s revenge. Pomona reflected on women’s confinement, family responsibility, and the dangers of knowledge as the investigation remained unresolved.

• Pomona and Severus examined the villa’s ruined rooms while the real estate agent described its history and restoration costs.
• Severus sensed dark magic on the land after the agent fainted, and Pomona said the woman had taken revenge on her husband.
• Pomona considered how marriage, social rules, and violence had trapped women across different eras and societies.
• Pomona reflected on fathers’ responsibilities toward women and children, citing Tobias Snape, Tom Riddle Sr., Merope, and their sons.
• Pomona recalled that she had spread Severus’s Levicorpus spell freely and wondered how history might have changed if the Nazis had mastered dark magic.

Pomona and Severus inspected a former SS major’s villa as a possible property, while Pomona reflected on Fascist architecture, wartime history, and how oppression and unquestioning obedience fueled extremism. The chapter left her considering the consequences of suppressing pure-bloods and Werewolves as she entered the villa despite her misgivings.

• Pomona recalled Harry’s conflict with the Ministry over teaching defensive magic and contrasted Tonks’s poor packing with Remus’s orderly housekeeping.
• Severus began making contingency plans after several days of leisure, and Pomona considered the villa’s Fascist design and its former SS owner.
• The agent described the villa’s interior and dismissed the graffiti, while Severus suggested using a Muggle-Repelling Charm to deter troublemakers.
• Pomona reflected on wartime persecution, propaganda, and the ways authority and social pressure encouraged people to obey extremist regimes.
• Pomona entered the villa despite disliking the place and worried that suppressing pure-bloods and Werewolves could intensify conflict.

Pomona inspected Julian's villa with Severus and considered the ambitions and desires that had driven Tom Riddle. She found the house largely suitable, though a shadow moved through the attic junk after they left, and she hoped people would remember the Battle of Hogwarts with less hatred and prejudice.

• Pomona explored the villa and reflected on how Tom Riddle had pursued money, power, and immortality while lacking ordinary desires.
• Pomona used a Super-Sensory Charm and saw the villa filled with wartime SS activity as Celestina's song played in her mind.
• Severus appeared and interrupted Pomona's vision, and she asked the agent about another house before deciding to inspect the villa's upper floors.
• Pomona and Severus viewed the library, music room, bedrooms, and messy attic, and Pomona asked Severus to take photographs for Lucius.
• After Pomona and Severus went downstairs, a shadow drifted through the attic junk and vanished.

Astoria considered how political power and aristocratic privilege shaped the land around the villa, while arranging its purchase and reflecting on the people around her. She discussed moving the Black family's book collection there with Severus, who wondered how they could keep the villa's graffiti out of photographs.

• Astoria and her companions accepted the real estate agent's business card and agreed to complete the registration at town hall the next day.
• Astoria reflected on how Lucius might claim the Italian land with hedges and how Astoria's views could keep Scorpius from being taught pure-blood supremacy.
• Astoria told Severus that she hoped Pansy Parkinson would leave Britain, and Severus said Pansy would not follow arrangements like Blaise Zabini.
• Astoria suggested putting the Black family's book collection in the villa's large library, but Severus said they should wait for Lucius to decide.
• Severus looked at the graffiti on the villa's walls and wondered how they could keep it from appearing in photographs.

Pomona reflected on political purges, betrayal, and the dangers of misplaced trust while commissioning a mermaid chandelier on Murano Island. She considered the traitor within the Order of the Phoenix and questioned whether Sirius Black had killed Barty Crouch Sr., while remaining trapped in the power struggles surrounding Draco and Severus.

• Pomona commissioned a mermaid chandelier on Murano Island and chose Lucía as its model rather than Murcus.
• Pomona considered finding an assassin to test Lucius Malfoy’s security, but Draco was neither willing nor capable of killing his father.
• Pomona recalled how a traitor had placed a letter supposedly written by Lily in Sirius’s bedroom, while Hermione Granger alone noticed that the room had long been unoccupied.
• Pomona reflected on how Peter Pettigrew’s betrayal had sent Sirius to Azkaban for twelve years and wondered whether Sirius had killed Barty Crouch Sr.
• Pomona wished for a simpler life like the Weasleys, but Draco was her godson and Severus remained bound by the Unbreakable Vow.

Pomona returned to her new residence on St Helena and wondered whether Arthur Weasley’s attack had been staged, while reflecting on political upheavals, possession, and jealousy. Severus appeared as they prepared to move into their new home near Venice, hoping it would not suffer the fate of their first home.

• Pomona settled into her brand-new St Helena residence and questioned whether Arthur Weasley’s attack had been a genuine assassination attempt or a staged self-inspection.
• Pomona considered how political repression and economic hardship had shaped the French Revolution, and compared those lessons with the conflicts surrounding Lucius Malfoy, Draco, and Kingsley.
• Pomona wondered whether St Mungo’s shock therapy could treat possession and reflected on historical figures including Louis XVI and the Marquis de Sade.
• Pomona considered Leviathan as both a measure of love and a source of jealousy that could turn love into hatred.
• Severus appeared downstairs as Pomona looked out at the Adriatic Sea and hoped their new home would not be destroyed like their first one.
• Pomona noted that New Venice had been built on Elena Island, while the investors behind the thirteen imperial palaces needed to keep Venice from sinking.

Pomona and Severus discussed Palladian architecture while planning changes to Villa Foscari, including secret rooms and a bathhouse. Their dinner conversation turned flirtatious, ending with Severus kissing Pomona.

• Pomona and Severus admired Villa Foscari and discussed adapting it as a wedding venue and retreat.
• Severus explained Palladio’s architectural principles and described plans for secret rooms and compartments in the house.
• Pomona imagined designing a luxurious bathhouse and discussed its statue and the dangers of unchecked desire.
• Severus noticed Pomona was distracted, and she teased him by suggesting they discuss Plato’s two Aphrodites while she bathed.
• Severus pounced on Pomona and kissed her in the dark, empty room.

Pomona and Severus discussed the horrors connected to Poveglia Island and an abandoned Italian estate, then considered how to punish people who exploited asylum patients for sacrifices. The chapter left Pomona imagining a Dullahan-style fright while Severus examined a bracelet and the stripped Gucci bag.

• Severus told Pomona that Poveglia Island's asylum had subjected patients to lobotomies and that a mist had killed the doctor who performed them.
• Severus explained that wealthy devil worshippers had used asylum patients as sacrifices at the nearby estate once owned by Silvio Minetta.
• Pomona suggested wearing a Headless Hat to pose as Dullahans and frighten the people responsible, but Severus refused to wear it.
• Severus examined the Gucci bag after its logo came off, and Pomona laid out seven Bulgari bracelets for him to choose from.
• Pomona considered using a transformed bronze horse or Thestrals to create a frightening Dullahan-like appearance.

Pomona explored a dark, empty environment inside Newt's suitcase after Severus finished using the Extension Charm, and she admired the space as a miniature world. She left the chapter marveling at how wonderful being a wizard was.

• Severus finished using the Extension Charm and Pomona climbed down the rope ladder into the suitcase.
• Pomona found the space pitch-black and empty, then told Severus it was fantastic.
• Pomona raised her wand and made an ever-burning candle float in the air.
• Pomona looked at the candle like a sun and felt fortunate to be a wizard.

The chapter reflected on Savonarola, religious persecution, propaganda, capitalism, art, and the preservation of knowledge across history. It ended with Pomona watching Venice at dawn and wondering what would remain of humanity’s past and its abandoned ideals.

• Savonarola rose to power in Florence, led religious reforms, and was excommunicated before his enemies had him executed.
• The narrator contrasted the Inquisition and jury systems, arguing that Protestant propaganda shaped how people remembered Catholic Spain.
• The narrator warned that capitalist greed and inequality could provoke upheaval, while literature and newspapers shaped public feeling and political understanding.
• The narrator described how architectural and artistic progress depended on exploration, failure, patronage, and protection for artists.
• Pomona looked over the Adriatic Sea as Venice faced the threat of rising water and reflected on the loss of history and ideals.

Pomona and Severus prepared a magical paint box for their travels and discussed the contrasts between wizarding and Muggle society. After Pomona insisted that her botanical garden remained her own choice, they Apparated to an Eastern goods shop, while the chapter ended with an account of Inquisition procedures and the limits of tolerance.

• Pomona reflected on Muggle behavior, British society, and the different cultural responses to authority in the East and West.
• Pomona transformed the travel bag into a paint box, and Severus revealed its carefully arranged paints and brushes.
• Pomona admired Severus and teased him, then refused his suggestion to plan her botanical garden like Padua Botanical Garden.
• Pomona linked arms with Severus and Apparated with him to an Eastern goods shop along Slavs' Embankment.
• The narration described the Inquisition's procedures and explained that secular authorities carried out its punishments.

Pomona and Severus visited a Venetian shop filled with antiques, where Severus used Veritaserum to question the owner about stolen furniture from a supposedly haunted Irish castle. The owner described the castle’s troubled history, leaving Pomona to compare its misfortunes to Hogwarts and the agricultural school that had occupied it.

• Pomona criticized the cruise ships and reckless speedboat drivers flooding Venice’s canals during her honeymoon with Severus.
• Pomona led Severus into a shop displaying crafts, textiles, and furniture from around the world.
• Severus immobilized the elderly shop owner and made her drink Veritaserum.
• The shop owner revealed that stolen furniture had come from an Irish castle once owned by the wealthy Salter family.
• The shop owner said the castle had become a haunted house and that its former agricultural school’s students struggled to find work.

Pomona and Severus listened as the landlady confessed under Veritaserum that she had stolen furniture from the old castle to sell, then discussed Milner Field’s history, its misfortunes, and the exploitation of Van Gogh’s work. The castle had been demolished, leaving only the greenhouse tiles as evidence that it had existed.

• The narrator described how Mr. Salt built a workers’ town and Titus Salt Jr. created an amusement park with a gondola ride, before the family’s textile empire collapsed.
• The castle and amusement park passed through a series of owners and disasters, and the estate later served as a school before falling into ruin.
• The Irish buyer purchased the neglected castle, while its former factory grounds were redeveloped and statues commemorated the Salt family.
• The landlady admitted under Veritaserum that she had stolen furniture and asked Pomona to find buyers for it.
• The landlady offered to show Pomona and Severus a Van Gogh painting, and they discussed the artist’s poverty, posthumous fame, and the castle’s strange deaths.
• Pomona questioned whether the deaths were retribution, and rain fell as she reflected on the loss of beautiful things and the demolished castle.

Pomona and Severus examined a Van Gogh painting and discussed how memory, conflict, and emotion shaped people. Severus then seized a collection of valuable furniture from the shop’s proprietress by threatening her, while Pomona returned the painting and tried to soften the deal; they remained in the shop as Pomona inspected unusual tea utensils.

• Pomona studied a painting signed by Van Gogh and reflected on his art, memory, and the idealized women men created in their minds.
• Pomona connected Severus’s resentment toward Lily and his buried anger to the danger of emotions erupting into violence.
• The proprietress asked whether the painting was authentic, and Severus declared that he would take all the furniture.
• Severus threatened the proprietress with his wand and argued that the furniture was stolen, while Pomona urged him to leave her some benefit.
• The proprietress reluctantly agreed, and Pomona returned the painting as Severus levitated the furniture into a painting case.
• Pomona continued browsing and asked the proprietress about a parrot-shaped tea knife and another ornate piece of tea ware.

The chapter recounts how Catholicism took root in Japan and how famine, taxation, and religious persecution led to the Shimabara Rebellion, which ended in the massacre of the rebels at Hara Castle. In Rome, Joseph reflected on faith and human desire before continuing toward the hospital where the pope was staying, while a white dove with red eyes appeared behind him.

• The chapter explained how Catholic missionaries gained and then lost Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s support, and how Christianity faced persecution in Japan.
• Matsukura Katsuie’s harsh taxes and persecution of Catholics helped spark the Shimabara and Amakusa uprisings, with Amakusa Shirō Tokisada leading the rebels at Hara Castle.
• Matsudaira Nobutsuna sealed off Hara Castle and secured Dutch gunboat fire, and the shogunate army eventually captured the castle and massacred its defenders.
• The chapter described how Christianity continued to influence Japan after the rebellion and reflected on the cohesion faith could give people.
• Joseph looked over Rome, thought about the human desire to obtain what was wanted, and continued toward the hospital where the pope was staying.
• After Joseph passed through a corridor, a red-eyed white dove flew into it; the chapter connected the bird with stories of doves, rainbows, and covenants.

Pomona and Severus visited a Japanese shop where its shopkeeper discussed swords, craftsmanship, and customs while Pomona reflected on samurai violence and the expectations placed on women. The chapter left Pomona troubled by Japan’s history and culture, and thinking about how girls were taught to please others.

• Pomona and Severus toured a shop displaying Japanese armor, swords, and a shot put, and the shopkeeper explained how careful craftsmanship gave objects exceptional balance.
• The shopkeeper described the Parrot Tea Knife, Longquan swords, Damascus blades, and the mysteries surrounding Tang swords while Severus questioned her about her husband.
• Pomona asked about a bracelet made of five-yen coins, and the shopkeeper explained how different numbers of coins symbolized good or bad bonds.
• Pomona reflected on the Shinsengumi, the violence of swordsmanship, and the bloody consequences of the Ikedaya Incident.
• Pomona considered Japan’s history and the burdens placed on women, and she contrasted girls’ lessons in smiling with boys’ lessons in swordsmanship.

Pomona explored a shop selling Eastern goods and was swept into a nightmare involving typewriters, wartime casualties, and a voice claiming to be connected to Vietnam. She returned to the shop beside Severus and kissed him, though the voice’s warning about Zidiac remained unresolved.

• Pomona found a Chinese typewriter in the shop and became frightened when a middle-aged woman appeared and Severus vanished.
• Pomona fled into the rain and heard typewriters, seeing women typing lists of soldiers killed in World War II.
• A hoarse voice said Pomona had received its message, and she found the letters “EBEORIETEMETHHPITI” on a sheet of paper.
• Pomona questioned the voice about the Vietnam War and asked how she could help, but it did not answer.
• Pomona’s vision cleared, and she found herself back in the shop beside the elderly woman and Severus.
• Pomona explained that TET was the Vietnamese New Year, said Zidiac could barely hold on, and kissed Severus.

Pomona reflected on the importance of heirs and the history of Singapore’s Heirless Island while dealing with a Chinese typewriter. She connected the island’s transformation into a resort for the wealthy with the forgotten suffering and injustices that had taken place there, and left Venice’s plans for Poveglia Island under the same shadow.

• Pomona considered Abraham Lincoln’s condolence letter to a mother who had lost five sons, and thought about the danger of pure-blood families dying without heirs.
• Pomona set aside concerns about having children and focused on a complicated Chinese typewriter from a Singapore printing house.
• Pomona traced Heirless Island’s history from plague and military fortifications to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and executions of Chinese civilians.
• Pomona noted that the island later became Sentosa, a tourist resort and gathering place for the wealthy despite its violent past.
• Pomona compared the island’s transformation with Venice’s plan to develop Poveglia Island as a tourist resort.

She and Severus investigated a Chinese typewriter that carried memories of Singapore’s wartime resistance and the slaughter of overseas Chinese, then left without dealing with it. The typewriter briefly typed a blood-stained character after they departed, while the account of Miyuki Ishikawa’s killings revealed the madness the chapter’s title invoked.

• She reflected on Singapore’s history, its Chinese community’s resistance to Japan, and the typewriter’s possible connection to wartime propaganda.
• Severus asked whether she had found the problem, and she chose to leave rather than deal with the machine.
• She left the shop with Severus, carrying the Parrot Tea Knife she had bought.
• Miyuki Ishikawa killed abandoned babies, while a doctor helped her profit and the hospital concealed the crimes.
• Two officers from Waseda Police Station discovered five victims’ remains, and the case became public after the media exposed it.
• After She and Severus left, the typewriter printed a blood-stained character that quickly vanished.