diff --git a/hermes_state.py b/hermes_state.py
index c9399c7087..217e18435a 100644
--- a/hermes_state.py
+++ b/hermes_state.py
@@ -3787,6 +3787,14 @@ def _restore_journal_mode_after_repair(
     inside the repair path, not at open (the open-time flip #89393 warns
     about is a different door).
 
+    ``conn`` must be the exclusive repair guard connection when called from
+    the repair path (#101064): opening a fresh connection AFTER the guard
+    released let a writer still holding the unlinked old ``-wal`` inode
+    coexist with a brand-new ``state.db-wal`` this connection created — two
+    generations of one store. The transactional promotion already leaves the
+    destination in its pre-repair mode, so on that path this is mostly the
+    WAL-companion re-assertion; the reopen is the hazard, not the mode.
+
     The restore runs through :func:`apply_wal_with_fallback` — the canonical
     journal-mode path — rather than issuing a switch pragma directly, so it
     inherits the vulnerable-SQLite WAL-reset gate (a rebuilt file IS a new
diff --git a/tests/state/test_state_db_wal_unlink_race.py b/tests/state/test_state_db_wal_unlink_race.py
index fea4af8656..5f8bf5271c 100644
--- a/tests/state/test_state_db_wal_unlink_race.py
+++ b/tests/state/test_state_db_wal_unlink_race.py
@@ -1,36 +1,84 @@
-"""Regression coverage for WAL restoration during state.db repair."""
+"""Regression coverage for WAL restoration during state.db repair (#101064).
+
+Journal-mode restoration used to open a NEW connection after the exclusive
+repair guard had released the live database. In WAL mode a writer could still
+hold the unlinked old WAL inode while that second connection created a fresh
+``state.db-wal`` path — two generations of one store. The restore must run
+through the guard connection, before the guard releases.
+"""
 
 import sqlite3
 
 import pytest
 
 import hermes_state
+from hermes_state import repair_state_db_schema
+
+
+def _make_db(path):
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(str(path), isolation_level=None)
+    conn.execute("CREATE TABLE sessions (name TEXT)")
+    conn.execute("INSERT INTO sessions VALUES ('seed')")
+    conn.close()
 
 
-@pytest.mark.requires_wal
 def test_wal_restoration_reuses_exclusive_repair_connection(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    """WAL must be restored before the repair guard releases the live DB.
-
-    Gated on ``requires_wal``: where the linked SQLite carries the WAL-reset
-    bug (or the filesystem cannot host WAL) ``apply_wal_with_fallback`` keeps
-    the store in DELETE by design, so the final ``== "wal"`` assertion would
-    fail for a reason unrelated to the connection-reuse contract.
-    """
+    """Unit contract: given the guard connection, no reopen happens."""
     db_path = tmp_path / "state.db"
     conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path, isolation_level=None)
     conn.execute("CREATE TABLE marker (value TEXT)")
-    conn.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=DELETE")
 
     def fail_if_reopened(_path):
         pytest.fail("WAL restoration reopened state.db outside the repair guard")
 
     monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_connect_repair_durable", fail_if_reopened)
 
-    hermes_state._restore_journal_mode_after_repair(
-        db_path,
-        "delete",
-        conn=conn,
-    )
-
-    assert conn.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode").fetchone()[0].lower() == "wal"
+    hermes_state._restore_journal_mode_after_repair(db_path, None, conn=conn)
+    # The mode itself is whatever apply_wal_with_fallback resolves on this
+    # runtime (WAL, or DELETE on WAL-reset-vulnerable SQLite builds); the
+    # contract under test is the connection reuse, asserted above.
+    assert conn.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode").fetchone()[0].lower() in ("wal", "delete")
     conn.close()
+
+
+def test_repair_never_reopens_after_the_guard_releases(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """End to end through repair_state_db_schema: every connection the repair
+    opens is opened while the exclusive guard is still held, and none after."""
+    db = tmp_path / "state.db"
+    _make_db(db)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_db_opens_cleanly", lambda path: "forced-unhealthy")
+    # The scratch-space pre-flight wants ~10GB headroom; irrelevant here.
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_repair_scratch_space_error", lambda path: None)
+
+    def fake_strategies(scratch_path, report):
+        report["repaired"] = True
+        report["strategy"] = "test_strategy"
+        return report
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_run_repair_strategies", fake_strategies)
+
+    events: list[str] = []
+    real_guard = hermes_state._exclusive_repair_db_guard
+    real_connect = hermes_state._connect_repair_durable
+
+    from contextlib import contextmanager
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def tracing_guard(path):
+        events.append("guard-enter")
+        with real_guard(path) as pair:
+            yield pair
+        events.append("guard-exit")
+
+    def tracing_connect(path, *a, **kw):
+        events.append("connect")
+        return real_connect(path, *a, **kw)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_exclusive_repair_db_guard", tracing_guard)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "_connect_repair_durable", tracing_connect)
+
+    report = repair_state_db_schema(db, backup=False)
+    assert report["repaired"] is True
+    assert "guard-exit" in events
+    after_release = events[events.index("guard-exit") + 1 :]
+    assert "connect" not in after_release, events