Chapter Summaries

Pomona reflected on her pressure on Neville and her own fear of being rejected, while she spoke with George at Thorn Manor. George warned her that Fred had been killed by a spell from behind and urged her to stop exposing herself; Pomona was left wondering who had betrayed them and why Severus refused to hide as she did.

• Pomona reconsidered pushing Neville to become an Animagus and recalled her own painful transformation and fear of dying.
• At Thorn Manor, Pomona watched Slytherin students clear vines and Neville's group grow pumpkins around the cursed grounds.
• George arrived with a delivery and questioned Pomona about magic, Fred, and Snape's actions during the war.
• George revealed that Fred had been struck from behind when Death Eaters blew open the wall and warned Pomona to watch her back.
• George told Pomona to ask her still-living husband who had betrayed them, then left her questioning why Severus would not hide his identity.

Pomona warned Severus that someone had revealed he was alive and helped him prepare Malfoy Manor for an attack. They agreed to stay and defend the gathering, leaving the coming battle to their allies and themselves.

• Pomona told Severus that Christine was about to disappear, Pomona Sprout had returned, and someone had leaked that he was alive.
• Pomona gave Severus a maze blueprint and explained the defenses she and Neville had prepared around Malfoy Manor.
• Pomona and Severus agreed to stay, plan for the Aurors and Harry's arrival, and use the name Ophiuchus to conceal Severus's identity.
• Severus gave Pomona a potion to put in the children's pumpkin juice if necessary and promised her a surprise in the greenhouse after the danger passed.

At a gathering of former pure-blood families, Pomona spoke with Charlotte Prewett and Hannah Abbott while Aurors prepared for a possible attack. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy hinted that there would be no attack that night and urged Pomona to enjoy her date with Severus.

• Pomona watched the gathering and the Aurors guarding the former Death Eaters, while Harry Potter kept watch on the Bulstrodes.
• Charlotte Prewett introduced herself to Pomona, and Hannah Abbott joined them while looking for someone who was away at a meeting.
• Pomona, Hannah, and Charlotte reminisced about Severus Snape, Harry Potter's first Quidditch match, and Hufflepuff's team.
• Narcissa Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy hinted that Pomona should get ready for Severus, and Lucius said there would be no attack that night.
• Lucius told Pomona to enjoy life and said protecting the godfather was the Malfoys' job, then Narcissa left with Hannah and Charlotte.

Pomona prepared for a secret meeting with Severus at Malfoy Manor, where they celebrated their victory and shared a kiss beneath the mistletoe. The chapter ended with the mistletoe growing more lush as they kissed.

• Pomona transformed back into herself while Narcissa and Hannah helped her choose jewelry and prepare for the evening.
• Narcissa discussed Pomona’s past with Dumbledore, teased Hannah about her engagement to Neville, and warned Pomona to be careful when joining forces with Galvin.
• Pomona followed glowing unicorn horn powder through Malfoy Manor to the greenhouse, where Severus waited for her.
• Severus revealed mistletoe and asked Pomona if he could kiss her, explaining how much her support had meant to him.
• Pomona praised Severus for their victory and kissed him beneath the mistletoe, which grew more lush above them.

Pomona and Severus reminisced about their youth and discussed the dangers facing Hogwarts students during school breaks. Their conversation ended with Severus drawing Pomona back into an intimate embrace, while she wished she could remain forever in their younger days.

• Lily danced to a radio in Greenhouse One while Pomona spoke with young Severus about getting him an unusual pet.
• In Godric's Hollow, adult Severus pressed Pomona onto the sofa, and she warned him that another pregnancy would be dangerous.
• Pomona and Severus worried about students making reckless choices during winter breaks and doubted Slughorn could control pure-blood supremacists.
• They recalled drinking Butterbeer with Lily, prank sweets, and Ron Weasley's slug curse, then discussed Mary's fate at the hands of Death Eaters.
• Pomona suggested going to a movie, but Severus pulled her close again as she reflected on how much they had changed since childhood.

Pomona and Severus grew closer after she admitted she had been marked by him, and he urged her to stop hiding from her feelings. They agreed to stay together as winter’s first snow fell.

• Pomona reflected on Severus’s conflicts with Sirius, the Weasley twins, and Firenze, and on how quickly he was improving through dangerous training.
• Severus asked Pomona why she smelled like him, and she told him he had marked her before kissing him in her office.
• Severus told Pomona he had waited for her and confessed he had considered using a love potion, fearing she would leave him.
• Severus urged Pomona to look at him and be brave, and she responded by embracing him and praising him for beating Lockhart.
• Pomona and Severus discussed Mandrake-scented fragrance, musk, and keeping pets before cuddling together as the first snow fell.

Pomona cared for Severus and recalled how his childhood cruelty from others had shaped his guarded nature. As they argued about old loves, prejudice, and their painful past, Severus confessed how jealousy and fear had driven him, and Pomona chose to remain with him.

• Pomona washed Severus’s hair and remembered how his childhood Prickleback had been killed in a cruel prank, leaving him deeply hurt.
• Pomona asked Severus about Dumbledore’s reaction to their relationship, and Severus said he had vanished the sweater she knitted because it reminded him of Neville.
• Severus questioned Pomona about Sirius Black and criticized her hopes for Hermione’s political ambitions and House-elf freedom.
• Severus explained that he had relied on calming draughts while teaching Harry Occlumency, tormented by Harry’s resemblance to James and his jealousy of Sirius.
• Pomona told Severus he could find a younger woman if she could not give him an heir, but Severus said he only wanted her to stay with him.
• Pomona decided not to question Severus’s motives for helping the Order save Harry and accepted that they would remain together.

Pomona visited Hermione in disguise and asked her to help buy Muggle clothes for Severus, while urging her to pursue her fate and become Minister for Magic. They set off for Muggle London together, leaving Severus asleep with a note.

• Pomona reflected on Lucius's past, her fear of Severus sacrificing himself to keep her alive, and her determination to protect the Prince bloodline.
• After Severus resumed training and fell asleep, Pomona left him a note, drank Polyjuice Potion, and disguised herself as Pomona Sprout.
• Pomona Apparated to The Burrow and used a fake DA Galleon to summon Hermione, then asked her to help choose Muggle clothes for Severus.
• Pomona told Hermione about the prophecy tied to Harry and urged her to become Minister for Magic and make more friends.
• Pomona and Hermione discussed Ginny, James Sirius Potter, and Pomona's near chance of becoming Harry's godmother before setting off for Muggle London.

Pomona took Hermione shopping and reminisced about Lily, Voldemort, and her past with Severus. Over ice cream, she recognized Hermione’s frustration with domestic life and urged her to pursue a career in magical politics, offering Severus as a future mentor.

• Pomona and Hermione browsed gentlemen’s clothing, and Pomona recalled how Lily Evans had taught her about Muggle London and shared stories about Lily and Severus at Hogwarts.
• Hermione mentioned Sirius watching Pomona and lamented that Harry had been heartbroken when Sirius left, but Pomona avoided discussing her feelings for him.
• At an ice cream parlor, Hermione complained about housework and doubted her marriage to Ron, prompting Pomona to encourage her to seek work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
• Pomona proposed that Hermione learn politics from the bottom up and said Severus would teach her, while Hermione asked about Cheering Potion and remembered her old greenhouse class.
• Pomona and Hermione agreed to look for a cinema showing old films, and Pomona called Hermione her friend as they finished their ice cream.

Pomona returned to Godric's Hollow furious over how Dumbledore and Severus had kept her uninformed, only to find Narcissa waiting in the house. Their teasing argument turned to Pomona's fears about having a child and her habit of letting others dictate her choices.

• Pomona reflected on how Dumbledore had withheld knowledge and used her to protect Severus, leaving her angry at being kept in the dark.
• Pomona found Narcissa in the house, and Narcissa changed its tablecloth to Slytherin green, claiming her rights as the home's owner.
• Narcissa confronted Pomona about her past Hogwarts pranks and criticized her for never helping Severus restore his family's Potions business.
• Narcissa accused Pomona of doting on Draco and urged her to have a child, while Pomona said she feared the timing and Severus's absence.
• Narcissa told Pomona to do what she wanted instead of obeying others, and Pomona suggested Narcissa needed Honey more than she did.

Pomona recalled her school days and discussed Severus’s past and present with Narcissa, who urged her to stop doubting his love and let him protect her. Pomona asked Severus for comfort and then asked him to stop Lily and James from appearing in the newspapers, leaving him furious at Harry for revealing his memories.

• Pomona remembered Slytherin’s poisoned-food retaliation against Hufflepuff and how Severus’s antidotes earned him Slughorn’s invitation.
• Narcissa told Pomona that Severus had risked everything for her, not Lily, and challenged her to stop hiding her appearance and fearing that she would burden him.
• Pomona asked Narcissa to watch for women approaching Severus, then admitted that she feared losing him and agreed to let him come comfort her.
• Severus arrived through the fireplace, and Pomona embraced him while calling him brave and clumsy like Ron Weasley.
• Pomona explained that Harry had revealed Severus’s memories to clear his name, and Severus angrily complained about Harry and the Potter men.

Pomona asked Severus to share his lifespan and help train Neville, while they discussed Veela inheritance, half-bloods, and the dangers of political interference in education. Severus agreed to train Neville and retire with her, then carried Pomona toward the bedroom as they considered having a child.

• Pomona asked Severus to teach her the forbidden life-sharing spell, but he refused because it would curse her.
• Pomona asked Severus to train Neville, pass Herbology on to him, and retire with her; Severus agreed.
• Pomona asked Severus to protect Fleur Delacour from Grindelwald's people and discussed her own Veela awakening and the risks of hybridization.
• Pomona and Severus discussed half-bloods, Fleur's beauty, and how Hagrid's actions and politics had harmed magical education.
• Severus wondered whether their child might inherit Fleur's traits, and he carried Pomona toward the bedroom.

Severus and Pomona discussed Cedric’s fairness, Harry’s shortcomings, and Severus’s painful history with Dumbledore, including the time they were trapped by a Yeti. They ended the conversation by planning a movie outing, while Pomona reflected on Cedric’s dragon strategy and her own trust in dark magic.

• Severus moved Myrtle to the Prefects' Bathroom so she could help him discover the golden egg’s clue, and Cedric shared the second-task information with Harry.
• Pomona and Severus discussed Cedric’s kindness to Cho and Fleur, and Severus complained that Dumbledore had favored Harry and Draco over him.
• Pomona comforted Severus as he recalled Dumbledore’s expectations, his desire to escape Britain, and the ordeal in the valley where they faced a Yeti.
• Severus and Pomona remembered how they had survived the Yeti and discussed his pure-blood family name, his growing power, and the need for him to control himself.
• Severus and Pomona agreed to go see a movie, and Pomona thought that Cedric could handle the Swedish Short-Snout by putting it to sleep and slipping away.
• Pomona considered the danger of the Chinese Fireball, regretted that Hermione had not chosen Viktor, and privately admitted that she liked dark magic.

Pomona reflected on the compromises and losses that had bound Severus to protecting Harry, then shared an intimate Christmas moment with him. She left her bedroom to join Severus, still resolved to help him despite fearing what love might make of her.

• Pomona remembered how Dumbledore had protected Severus from trial and how Severus had been forced to protect Harry Potter, whom he resented.
• Severus gave Pomona an antidote to the Grewd family's beauty potion, and she drank it despite its suspicious appearance.
• Pomona reassured Severus that George would recover from his anger over Fred's death and suggested work for Arthur, George, Ron, and Harry.
• Pomona recalled Sirius's suffering, questioned Dumbledore's choices, and wondered whether Severus had participated in the Bones family's murders.
• Pomona questioned her own growing attraction to dark magic, then left her bedroom to meet Severus waiting outside.

Pomona and Severus met the mermaids at the Black Lake so Lucia could learn the song clue for the Triwizard Tournament’s second task, but their encounter stirred Pomona’s feelings for him. Later, at a cinema, Severus admitted he had accepted being used as bait and feared for Pomona, and she urged him to choose how he would fight back; he then considered the kind of man she wanted him to become.

• Pomona explained that mermaids watched the Slytherin common room through its windows, and Severus angrily resolved to seal them.
• Pomona met Lucia by the Black Lake and asked her to learn the song for the second task while Severus provided the lyrics.
• Pomona entered the lake with Lucia and the Fwooper after telling Severus not to look.
• At the cinema, Severus told Pomona he had been used as bait to identify the person responsible for the McKinnon family’s deaths and confessed he dreamed of her instead of having nightmares.
• Pomona told Severus to choose whether to strike back or let others manipulate him, and he said he wanted her to be safe.
• Severus asked which character Pomona wanted him to become, and she described Vito Corleone before falling asleep against his shoulder.

Pomona recalled her history with Severus and considered whether he had betrayed the McKinnons to gain the Death Eaters’ trust. After they shopped for crystal jewelry, she asked whether he had avenged Gigi, and his answer left her fearing that he might hurt her as he had hurt Eileen.

• Pomona remembered Harry’s first awakening at the zoo and how her work erasing memories had grown during the Death Eaters’ attacks.
• Pomona and Severus visited a Swarovski shop, where she chose matching swan pendants and a pearl brooch for him.
• Pomona found a Phoenix-shaped brooch and thought about Marlene McKinnon’s death, Severus’s double-agent role, and the possibility that he had betrayed the McKinnons.
• Pomona asked Severus whether he had avenged Gigi, and he said he had held Evan Rosier responsible for the prank that killed the Prickleback.
• Pomona pleaded with Severus not to hurt her or make her a second Eileen, and he took her hand as they left the shop.

Pomona and Severus discussed Rabbit’s disappearance and Theodore Nott’s possible role as a witness to Barty Crouch’s murder, then turned to their students and their own relationship. Severus asked Pomona not to use Obliviate on him, and left after urging her to reconsider Sirius Black’s imprisonment.

• Pomona explained that Rabbit had brewed Polyjuice Potion for Old Nott, whose grandfather had killed Barty Crouch, and that Rabbit had witnessed the murder.
• Pomona wondered whether Theodore Nott might become involved with Luna Lovegood, and Severus corrected her about Luna’s past relationship with Neville and her coming marriage to Rolf Scamander.
• Severus told Pomona that he wanted her to promise never to use Obliviate on him, citing the harm Hermione Granger’s parents had suffered after their memories were erased.
• Severus argued that Sirius Black’s twelve years in Azkaban deserved closer scrutiny and suggested Pomona consider why the Chief Warlock had not secured him a trial.
• Severus kissed Pomona on the cheek and left, while Pomona considered buying Amortentia to see whether her favorite scent had changed.

Pomona met Hermione to discuss Neville and Luna, but their conversation turned to Hermione’s burdens, her parents’ safety, and Pomona’s guilt over Cedric. Pomona resolved not to spare Wormtail again and began considering whether Hermione could help identify the master in Sybill’s prophecy.

• Pomona met Hermione in a village pub and asked how Neville and Luna had broken up; Hermione explained that Luna’s travels had brought her together with Scamander.
• Pomona urged Hermione to take charge of her relationship with Ron and warned her to protect her Muggle parents from Dementors, explaining how she had secretly protected Harry’s aunt Marge.
• Hermione asked Pomona not to hurt Luna, saying Luna had not betrayed Neville and had simply been unsuited to him.
• Pomona broke down over her years away and Cedric’s death, then remembered that Wormtail had later repaid her mercy by casting the Cruciatus Curse and causing Lily’s death.
• Pomona decided she would not spare Wormtail again and considered working with Hermione to determine who the master in Sybill’s prophecy was.

Pomona and Hermione discussed the Fidelius leak, their own shortcomings, and whether Harry carried Voldemort’s soul or shared his life through the blood Voldemort used to rebuild his body. Pomona left Hermione with plans to protect her parents and train Ron as an Animagus, then asked Hermione for Amortentia to discover which scent she truly liked.

• Pomona recalled how Hermione bringing Yaxley into Number 12 Grimmauld Place exposed the Order’s refuge, and reflected on her secret relationship with Severus and her lost years of distraction.
• Pomona and Hermione met at George’s shop, where Hermione explained that she felt she had fallen behind Harry in strength and achievement.
• Pomona questioned whether Harry was a Horcrux and proposed that he and Voldemort shared life because Voldemort had used Harry’s blood to regain his body.
• Pomona told Hermione that she had helped Sirius and the others become Animagi and suggested Hermione make a magical way to summon help for her Muggle parents and teach Ron to become an Animagus.
• Pomona asked Hermione for Amortentia so she could discover her favorite scent, and Hermione offered to get a bottle from the storeroom.

Hermione and Pomona grew closer while discussing their relationships and secrets, until Hermione deduced that Pomona had once been impersonated. Pomona realized St Mungo’s might be unsafe for Draco and left to find Severus, with Hermione insisting on coming along.

• Hermione and Pomona discussed their romantic concerns, including Viktor, Harry, Ginny, and the risks of loving someone pursued by others.
• Pomona asked Hermione whether Hannah could be trusted with secrets, and Hermione advised against using Obliviate on her.
• Hermione pieced together clues about a Ministry employee’s death and recognized that Pomona had been unusually attentive to her, then thanked her with a tearful embrace.
• Pomona remembered a Devil’s Snare disguised as a Christmas cactus at St Mungo’s and feared Draco was in danger there.
• Pomona decided to find Severus, and Hermione insisted on accompanying her so she could finally meet him.