Chapter Summaries

Georgiana met Napoleon’s mother, Letizia, for dinner, where Napoleon insisted that he wanted Georgiana despite refusing to divorce Josephine. Letizia rejected their arrangement, and Georgiana and Napoleon left Petit Trianon together, racing back to Grand Trianon.

• Georgiana struggled through dinner under Letizia’s scrutiny and told her she did not support Napoleon divorcing Josephine or marrying her.
• Letizia confronted Napoleon about bringing Georgiana to meet her, while Napoleon declared that he would keep Josephine and still be with Georgiana.
• Georgiana slapped Napoleon after he claimed she would rather die than betray her husband, and Letizia questioned why Georgiana loved her son.
• Napoleon explained that he sought a companion who shared his ideals for France and said he would give up insisting on children of his own blood.
• Letizia ordered Napoleon and Georgiana to leave, and Napoleon took Georgiana from Petit Trianon.
• Napoleon challenged Georgiana to race back to Grand Trianon, and she chased after him with the Imperial Guard following.

Severus Snape entered the magical world Napoleon had created to rescue Georgiana, but Cassandra warned him that exchanging Napoleon’s mother would not free her and that he was walking into a trap. As Severus headed for the Grand Trianon, a burning Basilisk attacked, and Georgiana was left shackled under the watch of Carolan Lestrange.

• Severus broke into the Petit Trianon, found Camilla, and recognized a vial of Amortentia.
• Cassandra revealed herself as a prophetess and told Severus that Georgiana would not leave the world even if Napoleon released her mother.
• Cassandra warned Severus about a trap laid by France’s pure-blood aristocrats and pointed out a pool that could take him back, but he went toward the Grand Trianon instead.
• Georgiana awoke to an explosion and saw a burning Basilisk crawling toward the Grand Trianon.
• Napoleon dressed, took his saber, and went out to face the Basilisk despite Georgiana’s plea not to hurt Severus.
• Carolan Lestrange arrived to guard Georgiana, refused to undo her shackles, and called her Your Majesty.

Georgiana proposed a fertilizer project to help France’s farmers and grew closer to Napoleon, while worrying about his safety and their future. In the original world, Severus learned the portal had closed and vowed to find another way in as Lyall forced Bocca to accept clothes and threatened its family.

• Georgiana drafted a plan to hire refugee farmers to clear manure for fertilizer, and Napoleon took the proposal for his documents.
• Georgiana asked Napoleon to stop the aristocrats from calling her Queen and warned him that she did not want to become a widow again.
• Napoleon reassured Georgiana that the arsonist had not been caught, then walked with her and kissed her in the garden.
• Back in the original world, Severus whipped Bocca after the portal closed and demanded another way to reach Georgiana.
• Severus blamed Lyall for sending him to Les Invalides and threatened that Lyall would be buried with him if he failed to find the map.
• Lyall made Bocca accept clothes and warned that its family would be exiled if it failed again, then Apparated away with Nadia.

Georgiana and Napoleon discussed a famine-themed banquet at Rambouillet, sugar production, and their complicated relationship, while he continued pressing her to marry him. After Napoleon returned to work, Georgiana spoke with Carolan Lestrange about her amnesty, security, finances, and ankle shackle, then invited her for refreshments.

• Georgiana asked Napoleon about Mozart chocolate and France’s lack of a sugar industry, and he proposed growing sugar beets and building a refinery at Rambouillet.
• Georgiana asked to organize a banquet featuring famine-friendly foods and new musicians, and Napoleon agreed to fund it and award medals.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to marry him, but she refused to promise marriage and reminded him of her prior oath and her identity as a teacher and Herbology professor.
• Georgiana warned Napoleon to remain a clear-headed leader, and he released her and returned to work.
• Carolan Lestrange told Georgiana that her actions had helped secure amnesty and offered to help find a steward, while Georgiana asked about her allowance and discussed supporting French silk makers.
• Georgiana showed Carolan the shackle on her ankle, and Carolan said she would not help remove it because it was the king’s order; Georgiana then invited her for tea and pastries.

At the Grand Trianon, Georgiana considered Napoleon’s political ambitions and her own feelings before learning that a military mutiny had been uncovered. She comforted Napoleon through his despair, agreed to help him obtain horses, and was left to negotiate with her companions after he departed.

• Georgiana declined to push for a religious wedding ceremony, while Carolan hinted that Napoleon had sought a priest and Madame Leoncourt reacted with alarm.
• Napoleon told Georgiana that Fouché had arrested officers plotting a mutiny and that implicated officers had been imprisoned while the Twenty-eighth Legion was sent to Santo Domingo.
• Georgiana suggested Hungarian Thunder Horses for light cavalry, then told Napoleon she wanted no part in war and urged him to find a path through his despair.
• Georgiana comforted Napoleon, admitted that she loved both him and Severus, and listened as he imagined dancing with her beneath a glass roof.
• Napoleon kissed Georgiana, declared her the woman of his dreams, and asked to become her knight; they danced together before he left.
• Georgiana told the returning maids and companions that they had a deal to discuss.

Georgiana reflected on her loneliness and her uncertain bond with Napoleon while a troubling vision connected Lyall, a black horse, and a possible bargain involving a soul. She woke unable to move in the garden, called for a mirror, and was carried back to the palace by Leon.

• Georgiana considered Napoleon's political alliances and military plans while hosting a gathering for women.
• After her guests left, Georgiana brooded over Severus, her loneliness, and the security Napoleon offered her.
• Georgiana dreamed of Severus crying and heard Lyall discuss bargaining with someone to bring back the soul of a woman he loved.
• Georgiana recalled the myth of Theseus and Pirithous and feared that Severus might accept a dangerous bargain.
• Georgiana woke weak and unable to sit up, called for Pomona and a mirror, and was carried to the palace by one of Leon's guards.

Severus explained to Gong Saiyi that Napoleon might possess a Mirror of Erised and prepared to search for it, while Georgiana confronted Napoleon about his war crimes and their relationship. Napoleon embraced her after she challenged him, but she refused to let him abandon his political duties and sent him off to bathe.

• Severus told Gong Saiyi that a Mirror of Erised could open into a world shaped by human desires and suspected Napoleon had obtained one.
• Gong Saiyi asked Severus for a half-blood Veela, and Severus warned him that love could drive people mad.
• Severus spoke to the unconscious Sleeping Beauty about Napoleon, promised to protect Britain, and fell asleep beside her.
• Napoleon recounted his campaigns to Georgiana and explained that his soldiers and political troubles had left him isolated.
• Georgiana condemned Napoleon's war crimes, and he told her they could not continue unless she accepted him completely.
• Napoleon comforted Georgiana as she cried, but she refused his suggestion to go to Rambouillet and ordered him to pay the soldiers before seeking rest.

Georgiana wrestled with Napoleon’s need for revenue and the dangers of taxing a resentful public, then began considering historical Venetian taxes and ways to ease food shortages. She left the First Consul’s hall determined to find work of her own rather than wait for him.

• Georgiana considered Napoleon’s financial troubles, the army’s discontent, and the consequences of sending a legion to Saint-Domingue to suppress a colonial revolt.
• Georgiana decided to study how Venice had collected taxes and reflected that any new tax needed to be clearly explained to the public.
• Napoleon gave Georgiana a list of people from whom she could withdraw funds, explaining that they served as employees of the Bonaparte family’s “Royal Bank.”
• Georgiana questioned Napoleon’s plan to hold a grand banquet and proposed explaining the food to citizens, promoting edible wild plants, and producing illustrated pamphlets with an artist’s help.
• Leon asked Georgiana to leave so he could concentrate, and she later urged Napoleon to separate his personal emotions from his duties as Severus had done.
• Napoleon told Georgiana that feeding the people mattered more than satisfying the army; she left sarcastically and resolved to find something to do for herself.

Georgiana considered Napoleon’s plans to use Parisian waste and transit taxes to address famine, while worrying that centralization and political ambition would destabilize France. After fleeing the Grand Trianon for the King’s Library, she reunited with Leon Sterndale, who flirted with her and persuaded her to read with him.

• Georgiana reflected that Napoleon could force the provinces to buy human-manure fertilizer with transit taxes, strengthening Paris while helping farmers survive famine.
• Napoleon tried Georgiana’s locked door, so she left the Grand Trianon and began organizing an illustrated handbook of edible plants at the King’s Library.
• Georgiana considered Napoleon’s likely rise to emperor, the Church’s demands to restore religious processions, and the risk of further unrest.
• Georgiana visited the books seized from the Venice library and thought of Cecilia and her own memories of Britain.
• Leon Sterndale found Georgiana in the library, embraced and kissed her, then asked her to read with him about Venetian trade.
• Leon lifted the back of Georgiana’s skirt, and she scolded him before leaving the book room with him.

Georgiana observed Bonaparte’s plans for the King’s Library and learned that the French expeditionary force in Egypt had surrendered and would return home. Her guardian, Monsieur Leoncourt, urged her to move back and enlist her help with agricultural reform, while she remained wary of Bonaparte’s power and influence.

• Bonaparte visited the King’s Library and planned an expansion to house artifacts, books, and manuscripts from Egypt.
• The French forces in Egypt agreed to return to France under terms based on the Convention of El Arish, while Belliard secretly returned to spread the news and Bonaparte had him arrested.
• Georgiana learned from Monsieur Leoncourt that Lance was working on the general staff and that Bonaparte was organizing a baggage battalion.
• Leoncourt asked Georgiana to move back and invited her to his house, but she refused if Bonaparte would be there.
• Leoncourt proposed an agricultural revolution at Rambouillet, and Georgiana discussed land use, sugar production, and her bandage workshop with him.

Georgiana weighed Leoncourt’s agricultural proposals and discussed France’s grain and finances with Napoleon while they grew more intimate at the Grand Trianon. Napoleon asked her to become his wife, and she left the encounter surrendering to their attraction.

• Georgiana considered how France’s farming practices and land reforms affected crop yields and military supplies.
• Napoleon joined Georgiana in the bath, questioned her about Leoncourt, and asked whether she wanted anything from him.
• Napoleon explained that France had little grain in reserve and was considering selling grain to a British buyer for gold.
• Georgiana criticized Napoleon’s trade of fertilizer for local gold coins and urged him to send agronomists to teach better soil management; he agreed to meet Leoncourt.
• Napoleon flirted with Georgiana, asked her to become his wife, and held her as she stopped resisting him.

Georgiana reflected on Britain's grain crisis and managed the Rambouillet kitchen while struggling with her feelings about Severus and Napoleon. When Napoleon summoned her, he showed her designs for France's Legion of Honour and demanded that she choose between him and Severus, leaving her to lead him outside rather than answer.

• Georgiana considered how Napoleon's grain-buying scheme and Britain's panic had worsened the food crisis, while she controlled the chefs and expensive spices at Rambouillet.
• Napoleon's valet summoned Georgiana from the kitchen, and she followed him to the study after hearing gunfire from the hunting grounds.
• Napoleon showed Georgiana medal designs for the Legion of Honour and asked her to choose one.
• Napoleon pressed Georgiana to choose between him and Severus, while she refused to accept his demand and reminded him that he could not marry her while Josephine lived.
• Georgiana took Napoleon by the hand and led him out of the castle, deciding she would not be intimate with him in Josephine's home.

Severus left the sleeping Pomona in Fiona Yang’s care while Gong Saiyi investigated Napoleon’s estate at Rambouillet. There, Georgiana discussed Napoleon’s plans and political problems before hearing a voice urge her to wake, leaving her dreamlike connection to him unresolved.

• Severus brought the unconscious Pomona to the Malfoy family winery, then told Gong Saiyi that Napoleon had used Amortentia on her.
• Gong Saiyi agreed to investigate Rambouillet and Apparated away from the winery.
• Georgiana gathered wild vegetables with Napoleon, challenged his plans to keep her from bathing, and advised him about the horses his trade and military plans would require.
• Napoleon asked Georgiana to manage his sugar factory and technical school and help care for Josephine at Rambouillet.
• Georgiana learned that Napoleon wanted her and Josephine to help retain Chaptal, despite his refusal of the Legion of Honour and his unsuitability for politics.
• A voice told Georgiana that she had slept too long, while Napoleon asked what she was thinking.

Severus ordered Kreacher to learn magic at Champigny and asked Draco to guard the estate while he left for Britain, leaving Felix to choose whether to stay or follow him. At Rambouillet, Georgiana comforted Napoleon about his fears and responsibilities, then confessed her longing for exclusive love before embracing him.

• Severus told Felix and Kreacher to choose whether to stay or accompany him, and Kreacher agreed to go with Severus to learn magic from Bocca.
• Severus received a summons from the Messenger of Death, asked Draco to guard his wife at the estate, and Apparated away with Kreacher.
• Georgiana urged Bonaparte to share his burdens and asked how Lucien was trying to help him.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte discussed the school, his fears of Severus, and his jealousy as they walked through Rambouillet.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte that she wanted someone to love only her, then kissed him and accepted him as a possible father of her children.

Severus rejected Lyall’s warnings and continued pursuing the map, while Lyall reflected on his own past after Kreacher was taken away. In France, Georgiana revised her edible-plants booklet and discussed beet-sugar plans with Chaptal before Bonaparte summoned her with a gift.

• Severus refused to abandon the chance to bring Lily back, despite Lyall explaining the time difference between worlds and warning that the offer was a trap.
• Severus ordered Kreacher to learn magic from Bocca and told Lyall he would still help find the map, then left after Lyall insulted the Veela half-blood.
• Lyall sent Kreacher downstairs, warned Nadia against becoming attached to Severus, and read a letter bearing Grindelwald’s symbol.
• Chaptal criticized Georgiana’s edible-plants booklet for failing to note dietary restrictions, then discussed beet-sugar production and factory plans with her.
• Bonaparte found Georgiana at work, flirted with her, and persuaded her to follow him to see a gift.

Georgiana saw the swans Napoleon had arranged as a gift from the King of Britain and learned that Britain’s wheat purchase had secured funding for the Saint-Martin Canal. As Napoleon pressed her about Severus and discussed his plans for Rome and Egypt, Georgiana left him by the pond in anger.

• Napoleon led Georgiana, blindfolded, to a pond and revealed the swans he had obtained from the King of Britain.
• Georgiana told Napoleon her Patronus was a swan, and he explained that Britain’s purchase of French wheat had funded the Saint-Martin Canal project.
• Georgiana and Napoleon discussed what to build in Rome, and she warned him against spending on an Arc de Triomphe before winning a battle.
• Napoleon accused Severus of exploiting Georgiana’s sympathy and jealously asked about her spy husband.
• Napoleon described the extensive work and funding needed for his plans in Egypt, including the Suez Canal.
• Georgiana waded into the pond to touch the swans, then walked away barefoot after Napoleon ordered her not to mention Severus when speaking of Venice.

Severus returned to London and told Lucius that Pomona had been affected by a potion from Napoleon Bonaparte’s ghost, while news of Napoleon’s economic troubles spread. At Rambouillet, Napoleon isolated Miss Georgiana from the other guests until she admitted her mistake, but she decided to endure the cold shoulder and listen to the concert.

• Severus watched Harry Potter and Ron Weasley leave Grimmauld Place, then argued with Lucius about Pomona and Napoleon Bonaparte’s ghost.
• Severus asked Lucius for money, agreed to give Draco the patent fees, and warned that France and possibly all of Europe were nearing chaos.
• Miss Georgiana reflected on Napoleon’s grain and sugar policies and the financial troubles caused by his plans.
• At the garden concert, Miss Georgiana realized Napoleon had made the other guests avoid her until she admitted her mistake.
• Miss Georgiana refused to socialize and decided to listen to the music rather than give in to Napoleon.

Napoleon pressed Georgiana to help secure France’s interests in the peace negotiations and asked her to go with him to Venice, but she refused to be treated as a political instrument. They reconciled enough for her to move into his rooms, while Gong Saiyi later searched the château for a passage to another world.

• Napoleon showed Georgiana a draft of the peace negotiations and urged her to make peace profitable for France by helping him secure a diplomatic advantage.
• Napoleon offered to lift the blockade on Britain and govern Venice with Georgiana, but she said she could not sacrifice herself for her country.
• Napoleon threatened to support an Irish uprising, then admitted he was jealous and wanted Georgiana to stay with him.
• Georgiana asked Napoleon to display a copy of Girl with a Pearl Earring in the Louvre and urged him to return paintings to their original owners.
• Georgiana told Napoleon she would not be used to take revenge on Josephine, and Napoleon brought her to a bedroom in the château.
• Gong Saiyi toured the château and searched a mirror for a possible entrance into another world.

Severus gathered British archival records about Napoleon’s era while weighing how to end Napoleon’s torment and refusing to keep rescuing Harry Potter. Georgiana struggled with the obligations created by her changing partnership and prepared to meet her guests.

• Severus used Horace Slughorn’s connections and money to access the Royal Archives, where he had staff copy records about Napoleon’s rise and fall.
• Severus considered Napoleon’s prolonged suffering, then decided Harry Potter would have to find the remaining Horcrux without his help.
• Severus reflected on his duty to protect Draco and his family, and had an archives employee’s memory erased after collecting the copied documents.
• Georgiana read about social contracts and worried that she had hurt her former partner by changing partners, before apologizing to Sophie for shouting at her.
• Georgiana warned Sophie to marry someone simpler, then went to receive the visiting guests in the grand drawing room.

Georgiana attended a gathering with British merchants and poets, then confronted Napoleon about his jealousy and his plans to use enslaved labor to build a road to Milan. Napoleon left after hinting that he had enjoyed their night together, and Georgiana went for a walk with Sophie.

• Georgiana welcomed British merchants and young gentlemen, declined their wool gifts, and served them tea and desserts with Joseph.
• Joseph questioned William Wordsworth about his occupation, and Georgiana noticed the poet resembled Severus.
• Napoleon told Georgiana that the Pope's envoy had been kidnapped and accused her of staring at Wordsworth; she explained that he reminded her of Severus.
• Georgiana defended her loyalty to Severus and spoke with Napoleon about love, death, and their complicated relationship.
• Napoleon described his plans to build a road through the Alps to Milan and said he needed slaves, while Georgiana urged him to find the Pope's envoy.
• Napoleon left after saying he had enjoyed the previous night, and Georgiana chose to walk with Sophie.