Chapter Summaries

Hathor used Pomona’s body to confront Napoleon about women’s rights and his treatment of women, then hinted she could bring him back to life. Elsewhere, Severus and Eugene discovered that the red-eared baboons they encountered resisted decapitation and left to investigate the exhibition hall.

• Hathor danced with Napoleon and challenged him over women losing work, demanding equal rights and criticizing his behavior toward women.
• Napoleon dismissed Hathor’s claim that she deserved respect and returned to his social circle; Hathor later told Pomona she had made herself difficult to obtain to attract him.
• Hathor said she could bring Napoleon back to life and wondered what he could accomplish in the twenty-first century.
• Severus flew above the Egyptian pillar while Eugene fought the red-eared baboons, discovering that one revived after its head was cut off.
• Severus and Eugene decided to leave the baboons and return to the exhibition hall, while Eugene warned that the creatures might remain a threat.

Severus, Eugene, Gong Saiyi, and Champollion confronted the Rosetau Serpent after Severus struck the last crocodile in a mural, while Pomona and Hathor discussed Napoleon’s politics and planned a prophecy to punish men who demeaned women. The serpent remained before Severus as he prepared to test whether water from the River of Forgetfulness could stop its flames.

• Eugene found the last crocodile hidden in a Nile hunting mural, and Severus stabbed it with Pharaoh Kamose I’s dagger.
• Black liquid flooded the exhibition hall and ignited, summoning the Rosetau Serpent, which Gong Saiyi identified as an underworld guardian that could only be driven back temporarily by a spell.
• Severus applied fire-resistant salve and prepared to test River of Forgetfulness water against the serpent, while Gong Saiyi and Champollion searched for a spell.
• Hathor told Pomona about Napoleon’s political and military decisions and explained the textile association’s ball for Josephine.
• Hathor revealed that men in Napoleon’s circle had spoken contemptuously about women and asked Pomona to use her prophetic reputation to foretell an upheaval as a lesson.

Hathor showed Pomona The Raft of the Medusa and described how she had saved Napoleon from an assassination attempt, then Pomona traveled to Napoleon’s military quarters and warned him against hostility toward Britain and cruelty. After leaving, she entered a mysterious room and the story returned to Severus and Eugene fighting a fire serpent while Gong Saiyi and Champollion worked on a solution.

• Hathor explained the disaster behind The Raft of the Medusa and told Pomona that she had saved Napoleon from an explosive attack by possessing his coachman.
• Pomona appeared in Napoleon’s bedroom at the Lyon military camp and urged him to show mercy and stop being hostile toward Britain, but Napoleon ordered her out.
• Pomona met Josephine in the corridor, then wandered through a strange hallway and slipped into a room after hearing an argument.
• Eugene warned Severus as a monstrous serpent attacked them, and Severus used artificial phoenix tears to lash the serpent with a water whip.
• Severus summoned a Basilisk and ordered it to kill the approaching Bobbies while he continued fighting the fire serpent.

Pomona followed Hortense after she fought with Josephine and Napoleon, then discovered that Hortense resented her engagement to Louis, who was writing love poetry to someone else. Meanwhile, Severus, Gong Saiyi, Nadia, Eugene, and Champollion tried to contain an immortal serpent in the Louvre, and Eugene pursued the silver-furred baboon leading the Bobbies.

• Josephine slapped Hortense and ordered her to leave after Hortense refused to marry Louis.
• Pomona followed Hortense into the garden, where Napoleon tried to comfort her with a pink diamond and discussed her and Louis receiving bankers at a banquet.
• Hortense found Louis writing a love poem to his cousin, then Pomona asked whether she would prefer to become Empress Dowager or have a loving family.
• Hortense accused Pomona of trying to replace Josephine and left, while Pomona realized she did not know how to return to her own time.
• In the Louvre, Nadia, Severus, and Gong Saiyi used a spell and an Egyptian chant to trap the immortal serpent in golden fire as Champollion kept chanting.
• Eugene spotted the silver-furred baboon leading the Bobbies and chased it through the Louvre.

Pomona reflected on Napoleon’s weaknesses and her own desire to distance herself from people before Napoleon cornered her in the Tuileries Garden and asked to speak. Elsewhere, Severus and his companions defeated the southern gate’s guardian and discovered how to kill the Baboons.

• Pomona watched Napoleon drill his soldiers and considered his relationships with Josephine, the soldiers’ devotion, and the different values that separated people.
• As Pomona prepared to Apparate, a black dog resembling Sirius’s Animagus form seized her skirt, and Napoleon’s cavalry surrounded her.
• Napoleon apologized for his earlier behavior, and Pomona asked him to walk with her in the garden to discuss serious matters.
• Severus used a potion and Devil’s Snare to bind the Baboons while he and Gong Saiyi overcame the Basilisk; Nadia explained that the creatures’ ribs could protect a ship.
• Severus dissected the Baboons and found that removing a left rib made one turn to sand, revealing their weakness.

Pomona tried to persuade Napoleon to make peace with Britain and withdraw from Egypt, but he rejected her proposal and defended his ruthless approach to suppressing revolts. She left after urging him to consider peace, while Napoleon warned that Britain should prepare for war.

• Pomona spotted a scarab amulet in Napoleon's pocket and questioned him about Egypt and the amulet's origins.
• Pomona raised grain prices, Britain's unrest, and the possibility of a truce, urging Napoleon to withdraw from Egypt and conclude a peace treaty.
• Napoleon explained how grain reforms and speculation had contributed to France's crisis, then questioned Pomona about her marriage, children, and teaching career.
• Napoleon accused Pomona of seeking peace so Britain could take Egypt, and said Spain had allied with France and promised six warships.
• Pomona argued that rulers needed support during revolts, but Napoleon defended using cannon fire against rioters and rejected her comparison to Justinian.
• Pomona asked Napoleon to consider peace and departed, looking for the black dog that had bitten her skirt.

Severus and his companions continued toward the Chamber of Secrets after he destroyed the baboons and took their ribs. Pomona wandered into a dreamlike version of a French palace garden, woke in Napoleon’s palace, and argued with him about magic, war, and her identity.

• Severus dissected the baboons with the Pharaoh's dagger, burned the Devil's Snare, and handed Babi's ribs to Gong Saiyi.
• Severus questioned Nadia about her plans and led the group toward the Chamber of Secrets, with Nadia following.
• Pomona entered a vast, wild forest in Tuileries Garden and emerged at a palace, where she watched children race model warships before falling asleep.
• Pomona woke in Napoleon’s palace wearing a nightgown and found her wand beside the bed.
• Napoleon questioned Pomona about her identity and called her Georgiana, while she explained that she was a wizard and discussed his hopes for a war without death.
• Napoleon left after asking whether Pomona’s husband might be responsible for her inability to have children, and Pomona demanded books to read.

Pomona was trapped in Napoleon’s dream world, where Lyall Mayer revealed that Napoleon’s memories had created the realm and helped her wake. Back at the Louvre Museum, Hathor kept Pomona hostage, while Severus confronted the crocodile statue and resumed their game of Senet.

• Pomona discovered an English newspaper announcing William Pitt the Younger’s replacement and recognized that the Treaty of Amiens was approaching.
• Pomona followed a foul smell into Napoleon’s office, where Lyall Mayer killed Maria and searched the room.
• Lyall told Pomona that Saint Luke was part of Napoleon’s dream world and that Napoleon wanted to keep her trapped there, then woke her.
• Pomona awoke in the Louvre Museum beside Hathor, who admitted sending women into Napoleon’s dream and declared that Pomona remained her hostage.
• Severus met Eugene near the rooftop, entered the Chamber of Secrets, and continued his Senet game with the crocodile statue.

Pomona explored Napoleon’s study, discovered and read his private letter to Josephine, then confronted him about peace negotiations and his offer of a kiss. Napoleon threatened to end the talks unless Britain replaced its ambassador, and Pomona suggested using the Church as a messenger instead.

• Pomona kicked Napoleon’s desk, found a hidden compartment, and took out the letters inside.
• Napoleon entered the study with his aides, sent them away, and demanded to know how Pomona could appear in his rooms.
• Napoleon told Pomona that Russia and Austria had withdrawn from the anti-French coalition and argued with her over Britain’s debt and France’s finances.
• Napoleon offered Pomona a kiss in exchange for details of the negotiations, but she refused and urged him to treat women as more than their faces and wombs.
• Napoleon demanded that Britain replace its ambassador or the peace talks would end, and Pomona proposed having the Church serve as messenger.

Pomona discussed religion and Napoleon’s rise during the Siege of Toulon, then faced his increasingly forward advances as he invited her out and challenged her husband to confront him. She left Napoleon’s study embarrassed, wondering if the encounter had been a daydream.

• Napoleon dismissed Pomona’s suggestion about religion and recounted his early military struggles and success at Toulon.
• Napoleon spoke about his disappointment in Josephine and asked Pomona about her faithfulness and fear of fate.
• Napoleon moved close to Pomona, invited her to go out with him, and described his ambition to build an Arc de Triomphe.
• Pomona refused to be displayed as Napoleon’s trophy and pointed her wand at him when he grabbed her hand.
• Napoleon told Pomona that he understood English, then ordered her to bring the people waiting outside into his study.
• Pomona left the study, blushing under the waiting crowd’s gaze, and later thought she might need to wake herself from the outrageous daydream.

Pomona attended Josephine’s afternoon tea at the Louvre, where she sparred with the French ladies and befriended the Russian ambassador’s wife. In the present, Severus destroyed the signed document and opened the crocodile sculpture, then built a bridge for the undead as monsters emerged from the black water.

• Madame de Rémusat escorted Pomona to Josephine’s afternoon tea, where Pomona introduced herself as the woman in red and traded pointed remarks with Josephine.
• Pomona challenged Josephine’s remarks about women and politics, and the Russian ambassador’s wife defended women’s role in ruling Russia.
• Pomona helped the ambassador’s wife stand and walked through the Louvre with her, agreeing that women lacked freedom.
• Severus tore up and burned Napoleon’s signed document, then stabbed Kamose I’s dagger into the lapis lazuli crocodile.
• Black water poured from the pool as pale hands reached out, and Nadia flew away after warning Severus that he had opened the gates of hell.
• Severus flew back to the courtyard and conjured a bridge so the undead could cross, while bandaged dog-headed monsters climbed from the water on the far bank.

Severus learned that Pomona’s consciousness was trapped in the illusory Tuileries Palace and set out to destroy Napoleon’s heart, while Pomona spoke with the Russian ambassador’s wife about diplomacy, trade, and court politics. Pomona was left behind by the other women but accepted her position and continued through the palace admiring its paintings.

• Lyall Mayer told Severus that Pomona’s body was elsewhere and suggested destroying Napoleon’s heart at Les Invalides, while warning that Napoleon sustained the shared illusory space.
• Severus rejected Lyall Mayer’s warnings and left to try to free Pomona, unconcerned about offending the French.
• Pomona heard the Russian ambassador’s wife describe Russia’s proposed alliance with France and plans involving India, Turkey, and renewed trade.
• The ambassador’s wife warned Pomona that her remarks about peace had been rash and teased her for exploiting Josephine’s weakened position.
• After the ambassador’s wife rejoined the other women, Pomona reflected on her awkward conduct and followed the group, admiring the paintings.

Severus and Gong Saiyi searched Les Invalides for Pomona’s body, then planned to return to the Louvre disguised as Aurors. Meanwhile, Pomona confronted Josephine in a dream before Napoleon trapped her in his dream world and insisted she stay with him.

• Severus went to Napoleon’s tomb after his crystal ball and compass failed to locate Pomona, and Gong Saiyi stopped him from rushing back to the Louvre while Aurors were present.
• Gong Saiyi reasoned that Hathor was hiding Pomona’s body and proposed disguising themselves with Polyjuice Potion to question her; Severus agreed and Apparated away with him.
• Pomona told Josephine she had no wish to replace her and urged her to understand ordinary people’s suffering and repair her marriage to Napoleon.
• Napoleon appeared in the dream, admitted his rule depended on continuing to give his soldiers war, and asked Pomona to help him face his predicament.
• Napoleon revealed that he had been waiting for his chess game with Severus to finish, then used a cursed book and his dream world to claim Pomona as Georgiana and keep her as his companion.

Severus realized the route to the Tuileries Palace had vanished and decided to seek information from the ferryman of the Styx. Meanwhile, Napoleon discussed restoring French manufacturing and encouraging luxury consumption with Pomona, who urged him to consider the consequences of his choices and invite his sisters over.

• Hathor told Severus that the red-dressed woman’s soul had left her body, while Gong Saiyi warned that she might not be truly dead.
• Severus found the cabinet passage to the Tuileries Palace had disappeared and concluded the priest of death had trapped them.
• Gong Saiyi suggested asking the ferryman of the Styx for information, and Severus agreed to go with him.
• Napoleon explained to Pomona that luxury spending and silk production could help revive the economy, while food prices and famine threatened the country.
• Pomona warned Napoleon that lavish balls could invite criticism and that his closeness with her could harm Josephine, then asked him to invite his sisters over.

Gong Saiyi and Severus followed a clue linking the living dead man, Set-Maat, and a possible map hidden in Tuileries Palace, while Pomona prepared for the social season at Saint Luke Palace. The chapter left Severus tracking a bewitched feather and Pomona ready to begin the palace gathering.

• Gong Saiyi and Severus questioned the ferryman on the Styx, who recalled someone asking about Set-Maat and receiving offerings.
• Gong Saiyi suggested that the living dead man sought Napoleon’s map of Egypt, and Severus suspected he had been lured away from Tuileries Palace.
• Severus used a golden feather plucked from the woman who had acted with them to guide him toward their destination, while Gong Saiyi stayed behind with a communication crystal ball.
• Pomona reflected on the politics of the social season, her strained place around Josephine, and her feelings for Severus.
• Pomona turned from the window as the tea, desserts, and Parisian tailors arrived, and prepared for the gathering to begin.

Severus followed a golden feather to an abandoned manor near Fontainebleau, where Nadia invited him inside. Meanwhile, Pomona faced pressure from Napoleon’s sisters to accept his courtship and learned that royalists were spreading a dangerous rumor through French children; she ended the chapter fearing imprisonment and considering escape.

• Severus confirmed that the golden feather had entered the manor’s main keep, but Nadia opened the gate and invited him inside before he could contact Gong Saiyi.
• Caroline, Maria, and Pauline teased Pomona about Napoleon and urged her to stop waiting for her absent husband and accept Napoleon’s courtship.
• Maria showed Pomona a lavish necklace from Napoleon, and Pomona used Wingardium Leviosa to keep the sisters from forcing it onto her.
• Caroline told Pomona that royalists were spreading a story about de Sombreuil through French schools and nurseries, and Pomona stopped her from saying more.
• Pomona refused to accept the necklace or Napoleon’s advances, while Pauline threatened her and the sisters warned that Napoleon might imprison her.

Severus negotiated with Lyall Mayer for directions to Saint Luke Palace, agreeing to retrieve Sun Gold in exchange for a way to find her. Meanwhile, Pomona reflected on power, marriage, and vulnerability as Napoleon’s sisters tried on dresses, and an officer briefly entered the reception room before leaving.

• Severus learned that she was at Saint Luke Palace and that the Scourers could threaten her there.
• Lyall demanded that Severus retrieve Sun Gold in exchange for revealing how to reach her, and Severus accepted.
• Lyall sent the House-elf Bocca with Severus to open and close the passage to the other world.
• Pomona watched Napoleon’s sisters continue trying on dresses and reflected on the dangers of power, marriage, and dependence.
• An officer briefly opened the reception-room door, looked inside, and left.

Severus left for Set-Maat to search for the map while Pomona confronted Napoleon about his rule and reforms. Napoleon restrained her with an enchanted shackle and offered her a place as his queen, leaving her trapped and furious.

• Severus told Gong Saiyi and Champollion to help find the map, drove off Dementors with a swan Patronus, and entered the passage at Saint Luke Palace.
• Pomona reflected on famine, Napoleon’s political choices, and the future as Napoleon described his marriage to Josephine and his reasons for strengthening marital authority.
• Napoleon declared Pomona’s common-law marriage invalid and claimed she needed a guardian, then an American placed an iron shackle on her ankle that blocked her magic.
• Napoleon challenged Pomona about unequal access to education and proposed that she become his regent queen and help him turn France into a new Rome.
• Napoleon threatened Pomona while she tried to leave, and she cursed him and struggled against the shackle.

Severus infiltrated Saint Luke Palace while Pomona settled into her new role there and Napoleon’s belongings were moved into her rooms. Pauline warned Pomona not to trust Napoleon’s advances, leaving Pomona anxious about sharing a bedroom with him.

• Severus cast a Disillusionment Charm and slipped into Saint Luke Palace to find someone whose clothes he could borrow.
• Pomona gained a new maid, Lia, while Napoleon’s two valets arranged his luggage in the rooms beside hers.
• Pauline helped Pomona unpack Napoleon’s clothes and warned her not to give in to his sweet talk.
• Pauline explained that Napoleon’s move and the rumors surrounding Pomona had political significance, and cautioned her to be careful.
• Pomona placed her nightgown in a separate wardrobe and wondered how she would get through the night with Napoleon.

Severus overheard an American merchant and dockworker discussing a plan to profit from trade between France and America, then followed Black through Saint Luke Palace. Pomona failed to break her ankle shackles and, after Napoleon ordered her to translate a Latin book, confronted his advances and entered the bathroom to help him bathe.

• Severus overheard an American merchant recruit a dockworker to unload grain shipped to the Mississippi region, and recalled Napoleon's plans to sell Louisiana Territory and gain American support.
• Severus heard a dog bark, saw Black in the corridor, and followed him through the palace.
• Pomona searched for a way to break her ankle shackles but found only scissors, which could not cut the metal.
• Napoleon returned to his suite, told Pomona to choose a book and translate it from Latin, and began preparing to bathe.
• Napoleon flirted with Pomona and kissed her neck; she challenged his hypocrisy and refused to scrub his back, but entered the bathroom after he sent the servants away.