Chapter Summaries

Pomona and Severus returned from Napoleon’s era with a signed document allowing them to borrow two hundred chasseurs, then discussed trust, leadership, and their relationship. As they kissed in the Louvre, knocking sounds from deep inside the museum no longer frightened Pomona.

• Pomona and the others returned to the Louvre with Napoleon’s authorization to borrow two hundred chasseurs.
• Severus asked what Pomona had been discussing with Gong Saiyi, and Pomona reassured him before urging him to learn Albus’s way of trusting capable people.
• Gong Saiyi reflected that Josephine had been unfaithful because Napoleon spent too little time with her, and Severus pointed out that Josephine’s social skills had helped Napoleon.
• Severus danced with Pomona and kissed her after she told him to rely on his mind and wisdom rather than trying to become a hero.
• Pomona remembered opening the door to happiness and found the knocking from deep in the Louvre no longer frightening.

Pomona, Severus, and Gong Saiyi discovered that an Egyptian Sistrum could summon visions before a pair of ancient sandals began walking through the Louvre, apparently leading them onward. The chapter ended with Severus following the sandals while Pomona retrieved the Sistrum.

• Pomona and Severus used a Supersensory Charm to hear a Sistrum in an Egyptian gallery, and Gong Saiyi explained its ritual history before they took it from its case.
• Pomona touched the Sistrum and saw a vision of herself with an Egyptian Pharaoh, while Severus saw rising water; Gong Saiyi translated the Pharaoh's words as “my incomparable beauty.”
• Gong Saiyi identified nearby sandals as belonging to Nefertari, Ramses II's queen, and explained their importance in her afterlife journey.
• Pomona compared her feet with Nefertari's oversized sandals, which then walked away and seemed to wait for the group to follow.
• Severus followed the moving sandals and told Pomona to bring the Sistrum, while Pomona threw her boots at him before retrieving it.

Pomona, Severus, and Gong Saiyi followed the walking sandals to a pottery exhibit, where they identified a crocodile figurine as the cause of their lost magic and considered making an offering. Pomona discussed love and Edgar with Gong Saiyi before a beautiful, otherworldly song rang through the Louvre.

• Pomona and Severus questioned Gong Saiyi about Egyptian history as they followed the sandals through the exhibition halls.
• The sandals stopped in a hall filled with ceremonial pottery, and the group searched the exhibits for a clue.
• Gong Saiyi identified the crocodile figurine as Sobek, and Severus suspected it was stealing their magic.
• Pomona urged Severus to make a sacrifice instead of destroying the figurine, so he left to summon the Basilisk.
• Pomona told Gong Saiyi that love was a powerful weapon and hinted that Edgar had concealed his feelings until death.
• A beautiful, inhuman song sounded through the Louvre as Pomona finished speaking.

Gong Saiyi explained Egyptian beliefs about the dead and the group’s need to find eight crocodiles and a star-devouring demon to restore their magic. After surviving soul-eating snakes in the Louvre, Pomona, Severus, and Gong Saiyi split up to continue searching beneath the full moon.

• Gong Saiyi explained that the group needed to find eight crocodiles and the demon that devoured stars, and said they might need Hathor’s Eye of Ra to fight it.
• Severus poured wine over the floor and cut the little snake monster, causing eggs to rise from the liquid and hatch into soul-eating snakes.
• Gong Saiyi summoned a parrot Patronus that drove the snakes back, while Severus stabbed the crocodile figurine and made the snakes vanish.
• Pomona used her shield to block the snakes’ venom, and the souls they had eaten returned to their objects.
• Severus decided to search for the crocodiles while Pomona and Gong Saiyi went their separate ways through the Louvre.

Pomona and Severus investigated strange whispers and discussed whether the sound could be another language connected to dark magic and Horcruxes. At the Louvre, Pomona entered the transformed Dendera Zodiac hall and was drawn toward a beautiful woman on a golden throne.

• Pomona patrolled Hogwarts and spoke with Severus through a Two-Way Mirror while they discussed the attacks and the possibility that Voldemort's soul remained in the castle.
• Pomona encountered Crabbe and Goyle carrying food toward the Slytherin dungeons, and Severus went to investigate a presence behind him near the Ravenclaw stairs.
• Pomona and Severus discussed the strange singing, whether they could hear another language, and the danger of risking themselves to follow clues.
• Pomona arrived at Room 325 in the Louvre Museum, where the Dendera Zodiac had transformed into a golden hall filled with singing women.
• A beautiful woman on a golden throne beckoned to Pomona, who approached as if entranced.

Severus Snape and Pomona watched a mummy movie before Snape fell asleep and woke in the Egyptian Gallery, where he and Gong Saiyi searched for enchanted crocodile statues. After destroying another statue and learning that more remained, Snape abandoned a failed summoning attempt and followed Gong Saiyi downstairs to find Mrs. Smith.

• Pomona took Snape to a movie about a mummy, and Snape fell asleep halfway through.
• Snape searched the Egyptian Gallery for crocodile statues, hoping to break the curse and regain his magic before sunrise.
• Snape tried to summon Imhotep with a potion-making ritual, but the attempt failed.
• Gong Saiyi found a turquoise crocodile statue after it reacted, and Snape destroyed it with Pharaoh Kamose's dagger.
• Snape warned Gong Saiyi that their method might unleash deadly insects, then learned six statues still remained.
• Gong Saiyi went downstairs to find Mrs. Smith, and Snape followed after pouring out the lotus seed oil.

Severus and Gong Saiyi searched for Pomona in the Louvre and traced her disappearance to a mysterious gallery, where Gong Saiyi suspected Egyptian magic was involved. Gong Saiyi prepared an Ancient Egyptian spell that might summon a writing tablet and reveal their next clue.

• Severus and Gong Saiyi discussed Hathor, the priests of Amun, and a story about a priest whose actions fulfilled a ghost’s prophecy.
• Gong Saiyi used a tracking spell to follow Pomona’s footprints to Gallery 325, where they vanished at the entrance.
• Gong Saiyi connected the disappearance to Nefertari, Senet, and a legend about Thoth, then searched his notebook for a spell.
• Gong Saiyi explained that the spell invoked the Law of Ma'at and warned Severus that Nefertari might be judging them.
• Gong Saiyi told Severus to repeat the Ancient Egyptian spell, which might summon a writing tablet containing their next clue.

Pomona dreamed of a military tribunal and spoke with Napoleon Bonaparte about the punishment of two exhausted officers who had refused to return to the front. She challenged his belief that soldiers had to be driven by fear and victory, and Napoleon left angrily while the trial continued.

• Pomona found herself in a military tribunal where Pottier and Lotte stood accused of leaving their mission and heading for Paris after days of fighting.
• Napoleon Bonaparte appeared beside Pomona in her dream, and she asked why he had ordered cannons fired at civilians.
• Napoleon admitted that soldiers’ lives meant little to him and said he could not confess his actions to a priest or expect God’s forgiveness.
• Pomona argued that Pottier and Lotte’s company needed rest and that the major had mishandled the exhausted troops.
• Napoleon insisted he needed victory to preserve his power, but Pomona warned that his path led to destruction and defended soldiers’ right to show weakness.
• Napoleon cursed Pomona and walked away as she laughed, while the tribunal continued without hearing them.

Pomona found herself held by Hathor in the Seven Fireplaces Room, where Hathor explained Napoleon’s dreams and his choice between becoming Augustus and having a happy family. Hathor left Pomona facing punishment by asking her to dance, while Napoleon’s story remained unresolved.

• Pomona discovered that Hathor had taken her hostage in the Seven Fireplaces Room and learned that Napoleon was pacing nearby.
• Hathor explained that Napoleon had chosen ambition over family in a dream, then described his Egypt campaign, Josephine’s betrayal, and his relationships with other women.
• Pomona asked whether Hathor had cursed Napoleon, and Hathor said his greatest enemy was himself as he lost trust in those around him.
• Hathor told Pomona to dance as punishment, and Pomona noticed the Flower of Life pattern beneath her feet.

Severus and Gong Saiyi met Eugene de Beauharnais, who revealed that Severus had sworn to remain upright and fair for the duration of the game. Hathor showed Pomona visions of Napoleon and Eugene’s past, provoking painful thoughts about her own lost hopes, until Fawkes arrived and restored her spirits.

• Severus correctly pronounced the spell, summoning a Mamluk sword and Eugene de Beauharnais in the Louvre.
• Eugene explained that Severus’s oath bound him to remain upright and fair for the duration of the game, then led Severus and Gong Saiyi onward.
• Eugene challenged Severus with his sword and accused him of hiding his real name and not trusting Gong Saiyi.
• Hathor showed Pomona visions of Napoleon’s family and teased her about a possible future, while Pomona reflected on the warm home she had lost.
• Fawkes flew into the Seven-Fireplace Hall, and Pomona transformed a wooden crate into a tree for him to perch on before correcting Hathor about his name.

Severus and Gong Saiyi faced a dangerous force emerging from black liquid in an Egyptian exhibition, while Pomona shared food and wine with Hathor and asked about phoenix origins, love, and Egyptian history. Hathor’s explanations left Pomona reflecting on jealousy, heirs, and the purpose of pyramid-building.

• Severus pulled a dagger from a canopic jar, and he and Gong Saiyi used their Patronuses to force the powerful presence in its black liquid back down.
• Hathor mistook Fawkes for a divine bird, and Pomona explained that the phoenix was Dumbledore’s pet.
• Pomona offered Hathor food, wine, and a cushion, then asked her about Bennu’s origins and learned that the phoenix was created by alchemy beyond human making.
• Pomona and Hathor discussed jealousy, royal heirs, and the relationships between women and powerful men.
• Hathor explained that pyramid and tomb construction created jobs and encouraged Egyptian inventions, and Pomona admitted she was tired and hungry.

Pomona learned that Hathor had manipulated Napoleon’s hopes for a legitimate heir and agreed to take part in a test of Severus’s love. Meanwhile, Severus, Eugene, and Gong Saiyi continued their Louvre mission, fought crocodile monsters, and ended by challenging each other to a competition.

• Hathor told Pomona that she had prevented Cleopatra from bearing Napoleon’s heir and arranged for the child to be born to the Habsburg princess instead.
• Hathor offered to test whether Severus loved Pomona more than Lily, and Pomona agreed after Hathor threatened her lover.
• Eugene explained to Severus and Gong Saiyi why he had served Hathor and reflected on the ordinary life he and his father had hoped to find.
• Severus provoked Eugene until Gong Saiyi reminded them that they had only five hours before sunrise, and Severus reluctantly asked Eugene to lead him to the next target.
• Severus stabbed a Nile crocodile mummy with the pharaoh’s dagger, releasing black water and more than a dozen crocodiles that all three fought together.
• Severus and Eugene agreed to compete over who killed more monsters, with the loser branded a failure, and they hurried out of the exhibition hall.

Eugene endured the strain of hearing gossip about his mother and helped persuade Napoleon not to shoot him or act against her. Later, in the underworld, Eugene and Severus fought a demon while arguing about whether Muggle methods could succeed where magic failed.

• Eugene broke down over Pauline's gossip about his mother, and Rustam challenged him to fight rather than surrender to humiliation.
• Eugene attacked Rustam with a Mamluk sword, but Rustam disarmed and battered him until he collapsed from exhaustion.
• Napoleon aimed a pistol at Eugene, then lowered it after Eugene pleaded with him to forgive his mother; Lannes later gave Eugene The Sorrows of Young Werther to read.
• Eugene, Severus Snape, and Gong Saiyi encountered a dog-headed demon in the underworld, and Eugene helped kill it with his Mamluk sword.
• Eugene and Severus argued over Muggle methods and magic before Eugene urged the group to hurry, noting that five demons had been destroyed and three remained.

Severus and Eugene argued over Napoleon, faith, and family before Severus offered a deal. Eugene learned Severus suspected Napoleon’s relatives, not the British, had intercepted his letters, and the chapter ended with Severus asking the living ghost for help.

• Severus questioned how Eugene had become a living ghost, and Eugene said an Egyptian spell had bound him to his father’s cause.
• Eugene described Napoleon as the soldiers’ faith and defended his father’s authority, while Severus challenged him over abandoning Napoleon’s return to power.
• Gong Saiyi left with the scarab amulet, refusing to wait for the dagger.
• Severus suggested Napoleon’s relatives might have intercepted his letters to Josephine, and Eugene fell silent.
• Severus explained that Napoleon’s law code had helped unify France but also led to his downfall, then said he understood why Eugene had stopped following him.
• Severus offered to explain his suspicions if Eugene did a task for him, calling him Cupid.

Pomona listened as Hathor explained Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, his return to France, and the debt of death he still owed. Hathor pressed Pomona to help restore her sculpture to the Tuileries Palace, then began recounting how palace politics and lawyers contributed to the French Revolution.

• Pomona admitted she had visited Napoleon, and Hathor asked her to recount their meeting.
• Hathor described Napoleon’s hardships in Egypt, including the plague, the deaths of prisoners, and his secret return to France.
• Hathor revealed that Napoleon had planned to seize the Director and take control of France, while she sought to claim his soul.
• Pomona realized Hathor might keep her from returning to her world unless she restored the sculpture to the Tuileries Palace, and feared Severus would suffer if she refused.
• Hathor asked why the Directory’s Senate was full of lawyers, then began discussing palace mistresses and the Maupeou Reforms.

Pomona and Hathor discussed trial by combat, France’s judicial and political struggles, and Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition. Hathor then revealed that Grindelwald had delivered a speech in a graveyard, where the dead had heard him.

• The narrator explained how trial by combat and the struggle between royal power, judges, and religious factions shaped France’s legal and political conflicts.
• The narrator described the rise and fall of Maupeou’s reforms, Madame du Barry’s influence, and the return of the judges under Louis XVI.
• The narrator recounted Choiseul’s diplomacy and Napoleon’s failed Egyptian expedition, including how the British took the Rosetta Stone.
• Hathor praised Napoleon’s ability to turn the Egyptian expedition into a source of popular fascination, and Pomona discussed his choice of destiny and his name.
• Pomona asked Hathor about Grindelwald, and Hathor said she had heard his speech in a graveyard where the dead resided.

Severus, Gong Saiyi, and Prince Eugene encountered Lyall Mayer among the Louvre’s living ghosts and continued toward the museum roof, where magic was restricted. In a separate scene, Pomona watched Napoleon at court and reflected on his loneliness and fate.

• Eugene led Severus and Gong Saiyi through the Louvre, where they met Lyall Mayer, who explained the difference between living ghosts and pearl-white ghosts.
• Severus refused to tell Lyall what he had wagered in a chess game with a resident of the other world, and the group left to seek another site on the roof.
• Gong Saiyi discovered that he could not Apparate, and Eugene explained that the rules required them to fight without their usual magical advantages.
• At a French court gathering, Hathor wanted to dance the waltz with Napoleon, while Pomona considered how his guarded nature and fate shaped his loneliness.

Severus and Gong Saiyi investigated a lapis lazuli crocodile in a Louvre secret chamber but hesitated to destroy it because the chamber threatened to flood and Fiendfyre could damage the museum. Meanwhile, Hathor seized control of Pomona’s body, saying she only wanted to dance.

• Eugene led Severus and Gong Saiyi through the Louvre to its roof and showed them the flooded courtyard below.
• Severus entered a secret chamber through an iron door and lifted the crocodile sculpture while Gong Saiyi climbed down after him.
• Severus warned Gong Saiyi that the chamber could flood and that releasing a monster would endanger the human world.
• Jean-François Champollion appeared and discussed the sacred lapis lazuli sculpture, while Severus rejected using Fiendfyre in the Louvre.
• Hathor spoke with Pomona about Napoleon and Theseus, then took control of Pomona’s body so she could dance.

Hathor took control of Pomona’s body and confronted Napoleon at a ghostly ball, challenging him to dance and questioning his views on women and survival. As they waltzed, she reminded him of their past encounter and demanded an answer about his impressions of Egypt.

• Hathor changed Pomona’s gown to red and explained that the ball’s guests were living ghosts, while Napoleon appeared only as a Shadow.
• Hathor approached Napoleon and challenged his interpretation of Machiavelli’s account of the Medes, then invited him to dance the waltz.
• Napoleon accepted Hathor’s invitation, and the guests formed a circle to watch them dance.
• Napoleon asked Hathor to tell him her prophecy, but she pressed him about Egypt and criticized his divorce laws and understanding of women.
• Hathor recalled Napoleon’s courtroom remarks about truth, happiness, and the lives of a million people, then urged him to answer her pleasantly.

Severus and Eugene explored the Louvre’s Egyptian exhibits while arguing about ambition, power, and their bet, then fought a swarm of heart-eating Babbies. At the ballroom, Napoleon used a story about the siege of Acre to challenge Hathor’s view of soldiers and defeated her in their verbal contest.

• Severus and Eugene discussed the forces behind revolution and the dangers of ambition, and Severus proposed that Eugene work for him if he won their bet.
• Severus stabbed the baboon statue, releasing a swarm of Babbies, and he and Eugene fought them as the creatures climbed the pillars and began making strange cries.
• Napoleon told Hathor, speaking through Pomona, how he used British cannonballs to capture Acre and argued that soldiers could be moved by honor as well as fear and profit.
• Napoleon threatened to imprison Hathor if she again claimed that women lived with men only for survival, and Pomona declared Napoleon the winner of their first round.