Chapter Summaries

Bonaparte’s policies, the hardships facing France’s poor, and his plans for the Saint-Martin Canal and moving the capital to Lyon were discussed. Alessandro revealed that Bonaparte had once placed a bounty on Severus, then shared secret intelligence about the proposed move.

• Napoleon handed out small gifts and promised food and wine to workers before the Saint-Martin Canal ceremony.
• The account described how poverty and distrust drove French crowds to riot, and how Bonaparte’s land policies won peasant support.
• Bonaparte pushed the Saint-Martin Canal project through despite the assembly’s objections and later considered moving the capital to Lyon.
• Alessandro told Severus that Bonaparte had withdrawn a public bounty on him, which had valued his head at the position of director of the Paris Police Prefecture.
• Alessandro shared intelligence about the still-secret plan to move the capital, while Severus asked how he had learned of it.

Alessandro recounted Napoleon and Cook’s policies and scandals, from restoring rural order and promoting industry to their political maneuvering and public controversies. The chapter ended with Lucius, Severus, and Alessandro discussing Portugal, wine tariffs, and Cook’s ambitions.

• Napoleon’s restoration of rural security through the Concordat and special courts raised his prestige, while he pursued expansion into Italy and used railways and road projects to move troops and improve transport.
• Bonaparte used taxes and state control to fund reforms, while Cook promoted agriculture and industry and faced hostility from displaced workers and rumors of an assassination attempt.
• Gabriel Ouvrard bought grain and Spanish silver while establishing a shipping company, prompting Britain and France to move against the trade charters that enabled his venture.
• Cook helped secure pensions for soldiers’ widows and drew political figures into her salon as Napoleon purged republicans from Parliament and explained his approach to ruling different populations.
• Scandals involving Josephine, Hortense, Grassini, and Cook fueled palace rumors; Bonaparte’s public carriage ride with Cook stirred cheers and accusations, while army doctors forcibly vaccinated women after a soldier’s suicide.
• Lucius, Severus, and Alessandro discussed Napoleon’s spending, the Mount Cenis Road, Portugal, and wine tariffs, but Lucius withheld his explanation of why equal tariffs were impossible.

The chapter reflected on political power, religion, war, and cooperation before turning to Bonaparte and Georgiana’s private lives and a fable about a foolish king who sought a magic instructor. It ended with an unnamed man waking from an absurd dream in which a woman slapped him.

• The narrator compared fortified wines and discussed the religious, political, and commercial history surrounding charters, the Salem witch trials, and European trade.
• Bonaparte planned to use saltpeter to freeze seawater near Amsterdam and capture Nelson, while the Prince of Wales feared the consequences of Nelson’s defeat.
• The Prince of Wales and Bonaparte faced limits on their private lives and wore public masks, while Georgiana used her privilege during a famine and later taught servants about plants in her greenhouse.
• Bonaparte’s experiment was canceled, and he and the others returned to their ordinary lives; Georgiana’s garden and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute stood as a peaceful refuge.
• A fable told how a foolish king hired a charlatan as his magic instructor while the real witch Babbitty lived in his court.
• An unnamed dreamer woke alone after dreaming that a woman slapped him, dismissing the dream as absurd.

The chapter explored the Witch-Demon Society’s rituals and the historical forces surrounding immortality, war, and social change, while reflecting on Georgiana’s relationship with Bonaparte. When a church bell rang at night, Severus Apparated to investigate.

• The chapter described unsalted food, blood rites, candle dances, and other customs of the Witch-Demon Society.
• It compared historical rulers, wars, and political upheavals with the Society’s pursuit of supernatural power and the Muggles’ exploitation of it.
• Bonaparte gave Georgiana a manor, a warship, and a magical ring, while she adopted Dermide.
• Lucius remarked that he understood why the White Wizard had locked Georgiana up, and Severus remained silent.
• A church bell rang outside at night, and Severus Apparated to see what was happening.

Severus met an aged priest in the square before Notre-Dame Cathedral, where the priest warned him about a vision of fire and an angry crowd. Severus denied causing the danger and flew away after refusing the priest’s offer of a safe house.

• Severus arrived at the square before Notre-Dame Cathedral and reflected on authority, French history, and Pomona’s place in Napoleon’s world.
• An aged priest approached Severus and asked whether he planned to destroy Paris.
• Severus said he would leave once he found the treasure he had lost.
• The priest described a vision of flames and an angry crowd and said Severus reminded him of an earlier devil.
• The priest offered Severus a card to a safe house left by an old friend, but Severus refused it and flew away as black smoke.

Severus reflected on authority, revolution, family, and the dangers of integrating the wizarding and Muggle worlds as he considered how to establish his own influence. Near Saint James's Tower, he heard a voice behind him and followed it through the bushes.

• Severus considered how uniforms and established authority shaped people's loyalty, and questioned how he could lead without titles, clothing, or superior strength.
• Severus thought about Pomona's pregnancy, their lost first child, and the dangers a witch and child could face in a world shared with Muggles.
• Severus condemned Sirius Black for failing to use his circumstances to his advantage and compared the problem of building authority to Napoleon's political struggles.
• Severus reached Saint James's Tower, realized the church linked to Nicolas Flamel had been demolished, and followed a voice through the bushes.

Severus collected the red liquid from the cork oak after Dumbledore urged him to use it, then confronted Dumbledore over his choices and the fate of young wizards. After Severus attacked Dumbledore’s apparent image and collapsed, Lucius helped him up and Severus began planning a signal to summon others to another world.

• Severus met Dumbledore by Pascal’s statue, where Dumbledore told him to collect the red liquid and empty his container of artificial Phoenix tears.
• Dumbledore explained that he had entrusted Severus with teaching young wizards because he believed in him, and Severus accused him of betraying someone and abandoning their goal.
• Severus attacked Dumbledore’s image with stones and earth, but the figure crumbled into dust and Severus fell to his knees.
• Lucius Malfoy offered Severus his cane, gave him a rose, and asked whether he regretted becoming a Slytherin; Severus answered, “Always.”
• Severus said he was considering a signal to assemble people for a journey to another world, and Lucius advised him to make it suit Slytherin’s style.

Pomona reflected on Draco’s past injury, the Napoleonic system, and the different ways French and British societies shaped women’s lives and choices. She compared her devotion to Severus with women who chose freely, then wondered where the next move should be played.

• Pomona recalled how Harry Potter accidentally injured Draco with Sectumsempra and how Severus saved him.
• Pomona used Alibaba’s tale and Napoleon’s war machine to reflect on secrecy, ambition, and the cost of power.
• Pomona considered how religion, education, and social customs shaped women’s lives in France and Britain.
• Pomona contrasted her belief that Severus was her only choice with Fleur Delacour’s freedom to choose her partners.
• Pomona compared the French Revolution’s administrative reforms to rebuilding a state and wondered where the next move should be played.

Georgiana reflected on justice, utilitarianism, economic power, and the persecution of Artemisia while political tensions and rumors surrounding Napoleon continued to unfold. The chapter ended with a reference to the Qixi Festival and an unfinished remark about jealousy.

• Georgiana demanded that Tassi's paintings and works by similarly disreputable artists be removed from the Louvre and returned to Italy.
• Georgiana traded several famous paintings for Artemisia's Judith Beheading Holofernes.
• The chapter examined how laws and markets could enforce slavery, poverty, and punishment, from Britain's enclosures and colonial trade policies to prison labor in America.
• French troops moved through Italy, and the Turin Fort Incident led to the unit's disbandment and Governor Jourdan facing dismissal.
• A cavalryman suspected of plotting against Bonaparte fled after police discovered pamphlets at his residence.
• Georgiana rode through the Champs-Élysées as people at the Paris Opera watched her masked husband attend the victory celebration.

Georgiana’s position among Bonaparte and European politics was set against the power struggles, art, commerce, and private lives surrounding her. The chapter ended with the Sons of Liberty raising rum and proclaiming their cause.

• Georgiana mediated a dispute between Britons in the settlement and residents of Sèvres Town over grave robbing, and the chamber of commerce compensated a grieving mother.
• The chapter described how British kings retained practical political power despite Parliament’s laws, and how George III’s interference affected ministers including Pitt, Addington, and Fawkes.
• Bonaparte indulged Georgiana’s requests for famous artworks, while her misunderstanding of a tapestry nearly caused a diplomatic incident.
• Addington and Pitt prioritized different territories, as Britain and France negotiated tariff-free steel and Malta remained a point Bonaparte would not yield.
• The chapter contrasted Georgiana’s constrained romantic life with ordinary people’s hopes for fidelity, then recalled the Sons of Liberty gathering around rum and calling for their cause to endure.

Severus and Lucius discussed rum, law, and Napoleon-era France while Severus collected the red liquid from a tree. The chapter ended with Severus dismissing Lucius’s account of Lucien’s dreamlike love, insisting that reality was better because the woman’s body was still with him.

• The narrator explained how rum became popular among sailors and pirates, while Spain and France restricted its imports.
• The narrator discussed oaths, legal systems, and the conflicts between written law and common law, including Bentham’s efforts to codify law.
• Georgiana used the Sackley Law to address grave robbing and protect a baker’s daughter from a staff officer.
• The narrator described Milan’s welcome for Napoleon and the women who sought his attention, including Grassini.
• Severus collected the red liquid from the tree as Lucius told him Lucien had described the woman as “Dreamlike.”
• Severus told Lucius that he did not need beautiful dreams because the woman’s body remained with him.

Severus and Lucius returned to the mine party beside Montsouris Reservoir with the real Alessandro, while reflections on revolution, hunger, and political violence framed the danger of recognizing and disguising people. The chapter left Alessandro dejected after his brief time away from his sisters.

• The narrator contrasted Georgiana with the women Bonaparte favored and described how her faction’s emerald olive-branch brooches marked its political allegiance.
• The narrator examined how shipping costs, unreliable information, food shortages, and unequal access to grain shaped commerce and political unrest.
• The narrator recounted revolutionary violence, including the mutilation and murder of Father Chanlaire by Paris volunteers.
• The narrator recalled Bonaparte escaping a mob by shouting, “Long live the nation!” and considered how Severus’s appearance and accent limited his disguises.
• Severus and Lucius brought the real Alessandro back to the mine party beside Montsouris Reservoir, where Alessandro appeared thoroughly dejected.

Severus and his companions hid the Incense Boat in Monceau Park and prepared to search for buildings connected to their mission. After sending the others to separate destinations, Severus assigned Felix to gather intelligence and anticipated interference.

• Severus placed the Incense Boat inside a weather shelter in Monceau Park and concealed it with magic.
• The group discussed the hardships of revolutionary-era France and how hunger and unemployment fueled public anger.
• Severus said they would split up to search Paris, while Monica questioned whether the others could manage without his abilities.
• Narcissa ambushed Bruny with Obliviate, and Lucius told her to make him believe he had come into a fortune.
• Severus distributed the remaining items to Monica, Haji, and Alessandro, then assigned Felix to gather intelligence and watched the sky for an aurora.

Monica searched Monceau Park at night for a marker connected to Napoleon while reflecting on the dangers of the past and the people entangled in it. After Gianluca warned her about the park’s pyramid, she found it and prepared to leave the object there, ending with a question about the identity of the East’s sleeping lion.

• Monica spoke with Gianluca by phone as she searched Monceau Park, and he told her there was an old pyramid in the park.
• Monica asked Gianluca what she meant to him, but he warned her that Paris was dangerous at night and hung up.
• Monica found the small pyramid hidden in the bushes and called Alessandro to report her discovery.
• Alessandro told Monica to leave the object and return immediately, while Monica urged caution and said they should spend less time with these people.
• Monica wondered whether Napoleon’s sleeping lion of the East referred to St. Mark’s lion.

Alessandro listened to Carbonari discuss Bonaparte and offered them intelligence about a Briton who would never compromise with him. He then went to the castle in Vincennes Forest, where memories of Georgiana and Napoleon led him to question whether Napoleon might give up power for Linda.

• Alessandro, disguised in civilian clothes, attended a Carbonari meeting in a tavern and heard the speaker condemn Bonaparte’s ambitions.
• Alessandro offered the Carbonari intelligence about a Briton who would never compromise with Bonaparte.
• Alessandro arrived at the castle in Vincennes Forest and recalled Georgiana’s interpretation of the Pietà and Napoleon taking her to see the Crown of Thorns.
• Alessandro heard people speculate that Napoleon might give up the Iron Crown for a woman’s smile and thought of Linda.
• Alessandro shouted that the speculation was ridiculous and strode into the castle.

Haji searched Paris for the meaning of the marker he and Alessandro had lost, while the chapter recounted the corruption and violence of the French Revolution. A mysterious man appeared and asked whether Haji and his friend had found what they were looking for.

• The narration described how indulgences, inherited wealth, and religious authority shaped people's choices and grievances.
• The narration recounted how Marseille's Jacobins seized power and sent troops against Arles, while rioters and bandits took control of Avignon.
• Bonaparte relied on family alliances and revolutionary forces, with Murat hauling cannons from Avignon and Nice for the Battle of Toulon.
• Haji wandered through Paris at night, unsure where to find the marker he and Alessandro had lost.
• A man in evening wear greeted Haji and asked whether he and his friend had found what they were looking for.
• Haji asked why the man was there, and the man replied that he was passing by.

Alessandro searched Château de Vincennes for a mark, but a nightmare brought two headless Dullahans after him. He escaped the first charge and tried to warn Monica that something was wrong.

• Gaetano explained Bonaparte’s use of religion and authority in Egypt as Alessandro watched a boat emerge from the fog.
• Alessandro searched the castle at night while thinking about Bonaparte, Linda, and the danger of being controlled by a powerful man.
• A headless rider appeared and charged Alessandro with a medieval flail.
• Alessandro recognized the creature as a Dullahan, fled through the castle, and used a broken table leg to knock one horse down.
• Alessandro escaped through another exit as the second Dullahan pursued him, then tried to call Monica to warn her.

The Traveler told Haji a story about Bartolomea choosing the pirate Paganino over her feeble husband, Riccardo, then led Haji to the Shakespeare Theatre, where four mysterious swordsmen attacked them. Haji killed one attacker and resisted the Traveler’s offer to become like them, but the remaining three surrounded him.

• The Traveler recounted how Bartolomea rejected Riccardo and stayed with Paganino, who married her after Riccardo died.
• The Traveler led Haji to the Shakespeare Theatre, where four pale men in theatrical costumes blocked Haji’s retreat.
• The Traveler said the men were adversaries and suggested Haji would become like them, while Haji drew his dagger and demanded to know whether they intended to kill him.
• Haji fought the attackers, escaped their encirclement, and killed one by throwing a spare dagger into his throat.
• Haji declared that he would not become a monster, but the three surviving men surrounded him again.

Alessandro searched for a way to reach Linda and negotiated with a German-accented contact who wanted Mr. Smith’s whereabouts. He left Château de Vincennes without entering the guarded barracks, convinced that Linda should return home and stop interfering in Bonaparte’s life.

• Alessandro called Monica, learned that the landmark was a pyramid, and warned her to go back and lock the door.
• Alessandro spotted a pyramid-like structure inside a guarded French Army barracks and decided not to risk breaking in.
• A bald middle-aged contact asked Alessandro about Mrs. Smith and offered money for a way to reach Mr. Smith, but Alessandro said only he could provide it.
• Alessandro reflected on Linda’s influence over Bonaparte, Napoleon’s actions toward another man’s wife, and the consequences of those choices.
• Alessandro cursed the disregard for basic ethics and left the castle wall.

Haji reflected on his family, his past, and the strange magical world as he fought three vampires in a forest theater. After hearing what Felix was doing for the Professor, Haji chose to act despite the danger, believing Fiona or Felix might need him.

• Haji recalled how he had joined a local gang to survive while trying to keep Fiona and Felix out of danger.
• Felix told Haji about his work for the Professor while they rode the Ferris wheel, and Haji learned that Napoleon Bonaparte was involved.
• Haji fought three vampires while watching a mysterious passerby and trying to understand the Kabbalah symbol on George Washington's map.
• Haji considered his family and his promise not to abandon Fiona or Felix if they were in danger.
• Haji reflected that the half-blood Veela's power could drive men mad as he faced the violence surrounding her.