Chapter Summaries

Pomona shared a memory of Lyall fleeing a monster in a maze and discussed Dumbledore’s capacity for killing with Severus. After Severus left, Tom urged her to investigate the maze’s masks, while she set off with Felix to find a place to live.

• Pomona considered how Inferi and Dementors could threaten Muggles, then experienced Lyall abandoning a companion to a monster in the maze during a Thought Reception Charm with Severus.
• Pomona questioned whether Dumbledore was incapable of killing, and Severus left without telling her his plans after she warned that the Werewolves planned to expose the magical world through a football broadcast.
• Tom told Pomona that the maze’s masks belonged to people who had failed its challenge and suggested Leo’s gold and pride offered clues to its riddle.
• Pomona refused to return to the maze alone and went with Felix to find a new home, rejecting a wooden cabin after seeing Meyer’s filthy residence.

Pomona and Felix prepared to settle near the wizarding village of Paroldo, where treasure hunters were pursuing ancient alchemical riddles. After Pomona explained Voldemort’s history to Felix, they made a deal: she would tell him Harry Potter’s story if he completed her next task himself.

• Pomona planted dancing grass and attached bells as an alarm while warning Felix that treasure hunters and monsters could both pose a threat.
• Felix had Kreacher hang the bells, and Pomona privately argued with Voldemort about using magic and choosing a sunny place to live.
• Pomona told Felix about Voldemort and Harry Potter, then promised Harry’s story if Felix completed her next task without handing it to Kreacher.
• Felix agreed, and Pomona opened her paint box to let Cockroach Cluster bask in the sun before they set off.

Pomona and Tom debated which star was the Fateful Star while discussing alchemy and the dangers in a nearby labyrinth. Their strawberry outing ended when Felix lost control after a farmer accused him of stealing, and Pomona erased the farmer’s memory before leaving without paying.

• Pomona argued that Spica in Virgo was more likely to be the Fateful Star than Alpha Boötis, while Tom suspected the labyrinth held a Basilisk.
• Tom refused Pomona’s offer to lend him the Sword of Gryffindor for facing the creature.
• Pomona went searching when Felix and Kreacher failed to answer her call to eat and found Felix confronting a farmer who claimed to own the strawberries.
• The farmer demanded one hundred euros, and Felix threw down the basket and ran after Pomona warned him to control his emotions as black smoke emerged from him.
• Pomona used Obliviate on the farmer, restored the strawberries to the basket with magic, and left without paying him.

Pomona tried to explain the Statute of Secrecy to Felix and steer him away from using his power to intimidate others, while Voldemort connected a prophecy to his own past and ambitions. The conversation ended without resolving Felix’s future, and Pomona called him to eat before they searched for a place to build a house.

• Pomona found Felix upset behind a tree after he had used his Obscurus to threaten a Muggle farmer over strawberries.
• Felix challenged Pomona’s decision not to punish a blackmailer, and she explained that the Statute of Secrecy protected wizards from Muggle persecution and war.
• Pomona told Felix about Grindelwald, Voldemort, Harry Potter, and the loss of Albus Dumbledore’s sister to explain why powerful wizards needed restraint.
• Felix asked whether he could have a wand, and Pomona said Edgar would arrange that while she looked after his daily needs.
• Voldemort recited Tycho Dodonus’s prophecy and identified himself as its avenger, while Pomona warned that he remained dangerous.
• Voldemort speculated about the maze’s fifth level and suggested reading the stars, but Pomona called Felix to eat before they went to find a building site.

Pomona explored an abandoned manor once used to house prizewinning Great Danes, then followed Voldemort’s suggestion to investigate a hidden cave nearby. After learning that the cave was connected to an old incident involving children who fell ill, she entered it with her companions and reluctantly split up to search.

• Pomona found an abandoned manor in the Alps, inspected its kennel grounds and unsettling barn, and discussed staying there with Felix and Kreacher.
• Voldemort told Pomona that he had noticed the nearby cave as a child and described how Amy Benson, Dennis Bishop, and Eric Wallace had become ill after exploring it.
• Pomona lit the cave with her wand and reluctantly entered after Felix warned that waiting until night could be more dangerous.
• Pomona agreed to split up, sending Felix and Kreacher together while she went deeper into the cave with Voldemort and marked their route with Flagrate.

Pomona explored a hidden cave with Voldemort and theorized that it was a feeding chute used to supply a Quintaped in the sinkhole. She suspected the slave trader had survived and raised the creature, leaving her worried that escaping would force them to find a new place to hide.

• Pomona ruled out the cave as a German-built defensive passage, and Voldemort suggested it led to the bottom of the sinkhole.
• Voldemort compared the passage to the secret route between Hogwarts and the Shrieking Shack and discussed how he had used the Vanishing Cabinet to attack Hogwarts.
• Pomona told Voldemort she had kissed Severus Snape, cutting off his attempt to persuade her to hand him control of her body.
• Pomona reasoned that someone might still be feeding the Quintaped and identified the slave trader as the likeliest person to have raised it.
• Pomona suggested the trader had fed it battlefield corpses and used albino hounds to drive Nogtails into the cave before leaving to find more bodies.
• Pomona and Voldemort acknowledged that their ideas about the cave were only deductions, and Pomona worried that they would need a new refuge if she was right.

Pomona tried to challenge Tom Riddle’s belief in immortality by showing him a Skeleton Flower, but he revealed his hatred of his family and his estrangement from the Death Eaters. After she collapsed, Pomona awoke briefly to find herself a red-eyed crow in a strange cave.

• Pomona found a Skeleton Flower by a spring and used magic to make it bloom and turn transparent.
• Pomona told Tom Riddle that the flower represented family affection and questioned whether immortality should be his faith.
• Tom described how the Riddle family rejected him, admitted that he had killed them, and said he hated the body inherited from his father.
• Tom reflected on his need for connection, his relationship with the Death Eaters and Severus, and his discovery of the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Pomona warned Tom that they were in danger, then collapsed with sharp pain as Tom said he had already been cursed by God.
• Pomona heard a mysterious voice and briefly opened her eyes to see a little marmot marten call her a red-eyed crow.

Pomona was trapped in a vision of her past with the Marauders before waking in a ballroom at Voldemort's new residence. She reunited with Severus, learned Voldemort had found a new creature occupying the manor, and reflected on how to break Amortentia's effects.

• Pomona relived a memory of visiting the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, where Sirius and James discussed their Quidditch final against Slytherin and gave her the nickname Nox.
• Pomona angrily left after Sirius tried to add her to the Marauder's Map, then found herself in a ballroom with Severus, Felix, and Kreacher.
• Voldemort told Pomona that a Nogtail had taken over the sinkhole after the Quintaped died, and showed her a ring found among the remains.
• Voldemort said that removing Amortentia's poison left its target as nobody, then flew away as a raven.
• Severus embraced Pomona and checked that she was unharmed; she learned only a day and a half had passed and noticed she was bleeding.

Pomona toured the renovated manor and examined Severus’s model of the labyrinth as they discussed how to enter it and retrieve the gold. Severus told her to stay behind while he returned to Britain, warning her that resisting Voldemort could put her in danger, and left after accusing her of hypocrisy.

• Pomona saw that the boys had transformed the study and sitting room into an elegant astronomical library, with a hidden entrance to the workshop.
• Severus showed Pomona the labyrinth’s outer three layers and explained that Voldemort had reached only that far; they discussed a blue rose that could activate the magic circle.
• Severus told Pomona to remain and recuperate while he went back to Britain, and warned her not to resist Voldemort because of the danger to her.
• Pomona reflected on the Golden Snitch, the Fountain of Life, and the choices that led Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort to seek life after death.
• Pomona asked Severus whether Voldemort’s theory about the seven metals was right, and Severus said they had to pursue the gold to escape their past.
• Severus left the secret room after telling Pomona she was not as selfless as she claimed, leaving her alone beside the labyrinth.

Pomona used the stars and the history of Charles II to explain political power, fear, and persecution to Felix, who learned more about the Dark Lord’s influence over the house. After Felix left, Severus joined Pomona in the library, where they discussed Grindelwald’s damaged eye and shared a romantic moment.

• Pomona showed Felix Epsilon Boötis and told him how Cor Caroli had been linked to Charles II’s restoration.
• Pomona described Cromwell’s rule and Charles II’s policies, connecting religious and political persecution to Voldemort’s treatment of Muggle-born wizards.
• Pomona warned Felix that fear and scapegoating could drive people to target those they considered different, and Felix described the Dark Lord’s frightening authority and how quickly he had transformed the house.
• After Felix went to bed, Severus appeared behind Pomona and asked whether she should use the Fidelius Charm.
• Pomona wondered whether Grindelwald had blinded one eye by looking through a telescope, then she and Severus discussed birthday flowers and kissed.

Joseph confronted Father Stein about Alex Brown’s arrival at the monastery and the Church’s investigation, while Stein warned that a storm was approaching. In London, Harry delayed a Wizengamot decision on declaring war on the Werewolves, then spoke with Hermione about protecting Remus and Teddy before returning to the courtroom.

• Joseph told Father Stein that Alex Brown’s illness came from amoebae and demanded to know how Brown and the strangers had reached the monastery, but Stein refused to explain.
• Joseph accused Stein of concealing the truth about the monastery’s past, and Stein warned that a storm could prevent a helicopter from arriving.
• Galvin Robles urged the Wizengamot to classify Werewolves as harmful creatures and declare war, while Roble Shacklebolt argued for negotiation.
• Harry called a recess rather than immediately vote, then told Hermione he could not support a motion that would endanger Remus and Teddy.
• Hermione advised Harry to seek another way to protect Werewolves and suggested he speak with Aurors who had been bitten; Harry agreed to return to the courtroom with her.

Harry argued with Auror chief Galvin Robards about the Ministry’s treatment of Werewolves and Severus Snape, and Galvin urged him to pursue awards through political compromise. Harry left after reporting that Hermione had spoken to him about Remus and his scar had started hurting again, while Galvin stayed to prepare for battle.

• Galvin told Harry that he opposed treating Werewolves as pests but had set a political bottom line to secure a compromise.
• Harry defended Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, while Galvin explained why Snape could not receive a First Class Order of Merlin and suggested applying for a Second Class award instead.
• Galvin asked Harry what Hermione had said, and Harry reported her comments about Remus, Dumbledore, and injured Aurors.
• Harry told Galvin his scar had started hurting again, but Galvin dismissed it as a normal reaction to changing weather and insisted Voldemort was gone.
• Harry left the Death Chamber, and Galvin remained behind with a cold expression to prepare battle plans.

Harry returned to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Kingsley gathered him, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to plan for a werewolf plot to expose the wizarding world during televised football matches. Kingsley assigned Ron to use Dumbledore’s Deluminator to disrupt the broadcasts, while Harry was left questioning whether he was a Horcrux and thinking of those absent from the house.

• Harry avoided Cormac McLaggen’s invitation to a party and escaped through the Floo to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Kingsley was waiting for him and Ron.
• Kingsley told Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that werewolves planned to transform during a televised football match, and said Ron would use Dumbledore’s Deluminator to extinguish the stadium lights while the Muggles cut the broadcast.
• Harry asked who would track Peter Pettigrew, and Kingsley said Amos Diggory would pursue him without knowing about the Horcrux he carried.
• Harry challenged the theory that he was a Horcrux, and Kingsley urged him to look beyond binary judgments and consider the perspective of the middle.
• After Kingsley left, Harry briefly thought he saw Severus Snape in the entrance hall and lingered by the dining room before answering Ron’s call upstairs.

Harry cooked a welcome-home meal with Hermione while discussing Umbridge’s new work at the Werewolf Office, Ron’s feelings about the Order of Merlin, and Harry’s unusual reactions to Dark magic. As dinner neared, Harry wondered why he had never noticed anything strange in the kitchen where Kreacher once slept.

• Harry prepared clam and pumpkin soup with Hermione and explained that he had used the Deluminator to prevent recordings of the gathering from being captured.
• Hermione told Harry that Umbridge had been released from Azkaban and was working at the Werewolf Office, and Harry argued that the public had supported the Werewolf Act.
• Hermione revealed that Ron felt sensitive about leaving Harry and Hermione during their adventures, so he did not want an Order of Merlin.
• Harry told Hermione that his hand scar hurt when he touched Umbridge’s enchanted sign, while his forehead scar reacted to Voldemort, and he wondered why his skin seemed different.
• Hermione went to call everyone down for dinner, and Harry wondered why he had never noticed anything while eating in the kitchen where he later found Slytherin’s Locket.

Ron told Harry that he had searched a castle near Death Swamp for Peter Pettigrew, and the two discussed Dark magic, the werewolf operation, and Ron’s fears about failing and his father’s Ministry investigation. Harry gave Ron a potion that made him fall asleep, while a photograph left in the study glowed with a cryptic message of revenge.

• Ron described finding a lead to Peter Pettigrew at Death Swamp and showed Harry photographs of a deserted castle where he had searched.
• Harry and Ron discussed burning Pettigrew with Fiendfyre, the use of Dark magic, and whether Harry regretted sparing Pettigrew in the past.
• Ron worried that he would fail the werewolf operation and questioned why Arthur Weasley was under investigation while former Death Eaters escaped punishment.
• Harry added Felix Felicis to Ron’s whisky, and Ron drank it before collapsing into a deep sleep.
• Hermione floated Ron away to a guest room, and Ginny led Harry out of the study to bathe while a photograph glowed with the word “Revenge.”

Harry woke from a nightmare about the zoo and questioned whether he could be a Horcrux, then spoke with Hermione about Occlumency and a book linking the Dementors of Azkaban to the Gaunt family. The chapter ended with Hermione still holding back something she wanted to tell him, while Harry refused to press her further.

• Harry dreamed of returning to the zoo, where a snake-faced monster called him a killer and showed him the Goblet of Fire, then woke beside Ginny.
• Harry reasoned that Basilisk venom should have destroyed any Horcrux fragment inside him, and Ginny comforted him after his nightmare.
• Harry met Hermione in the kitchen, where she asked for Occlumency advice and told him Kreacher had become a free House-elf.
• Hermione showed Harry a Department of Mysteries book about Azkaban and a riddle connecting its Dementors to the Gaunt family, prompting them to discuss Harry's Parseltongue and ancestry.
• Harry asked Hermione about the Centaurs and Hagrid, then told her she could learn Occlumency but should not speak until she was ready to tell him what was troubling her.

Pomona and Felix argued over breakfast before Voldemort offered them a wand taken from a cave of abandoned wands, while Pomona wrestled with her reluctance to accept his plans. With a storm preventing them from going out, she decided to teach Felix a different kind of dance and insisted he keep training for his future as a battle mage.

• Pomona and Felix argued about Coke and pumpkin juice while Severus returned from a run and joined them for breakfast.
• Felix asked Pomona to get him a wand, and Voldemort spoke to her through a raven and offered a wand from a cave where abandoned wands were stored.
• Felix picked up the wand, which sparked and shattered the raven's plate, and Pomona told him it did not suit him.
• Pomona examined the silver lime wand and reflected on Voldemort's plans, her ties to Severus, and her fear of being drawn toward darkness.
• When thunder and dark clouds kept them indoors, Pomona proposed teaching Felix to dance and told him he was destined to become a battle mage.

Harry visited Cedric’s grave and spoke with Neville about guilt, time travel, Voldemort’s possible return, and Snape’s feelings for Lily. Neville left after asking how Harry would feel if Snape no longer loved Lily, leaving Harry puzzled beside Cedric’s grave.

• Harry brought flowers to Cedric’s grave and confessed his guilt over killing Quirrell and his fears about the coming war with the Werewolves.
• Neville joined Harry and explained that he had cared for Lavender after she was bitten, before Simon and others took her away.
• Neville challenged Harry’s ideas about preventing future disasters through time travel and explained Professor Croaker’s views on time travel and its consequences.
• Neville warned that rumors of Voldemort’s return were spreading because people had been told the truth without regard for the consequences, and Harry thanked him for helping him feel better.
• Neville asked how Harry would feel if Snape no longer loved Lily; Harry defended Snape’s freedom to choose whom he loved, and Neville hurried away.

Pomona considered how the Werewolf Act had pushed werewolves into rebellion and how Voldemort might exploit the unrest to build power. While waiting for Voldemort to return, she continued helping Felix practice using his power in the unfinished ballroom.

• Pomona examined the ballroom and the Slytherin-style dress she believed Voldemort had chosen for her.
• Pomona reflected on how the Werewolf Act had denied werewolves work and security, leaving many no choice but to join the rebellion.
• Pomona feared that the Ministry would struggle to contain the werewolf uprising while Voldemort was making his comeback and could rally creatures such as Giants and Trolls.
• Pomona reasoned that stability required addressing werewolves' basic needs, though society had cast them aside and now treated them as criminals.
• Pomona waited for Voldemort to return while making Felix continue practicing his power in the ballroom.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron joined an Auror operation targeting werewolves in Muggle football stadiums, but Harry also recruited Blaise Zabini and the Slytherins for a search connected to Voldemort. The group traveled through the fireplace to Death Swamp to search a castle.

• Galvin Robards briefed the Aurors on werewolf attacks and assigned teams to cover football matches in several cities.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched Lucius Malfoy, Umbridge, and Blaise Zabini arrive at the Ministry, where Blaise was named commander of the Slytherin group.
• Harry asked the Slytherins whether they had Dark Marks and explained that he needed their help because Voldemort might return.
• Harry led the group toward the fireplace and announced they were going to Death Swamp, then Ron and Hermione followed him.