Harry Potter and the Heart of Regenesis

Chapter Twenty-seven

Dai the Broom!

The next morning Sirius, Alicia and Arne packed their things, having to magically enlarge their suitcase to fit in all the Diagon Alley shopping - the space saved by not having Harry's presents and Sandy in there was nowhere near enough to compensate for the new robes and other clothes, shoes, potions and gadgets they had bought. Sirius's favourite gadget was a magical fish de-scaler. He hated getting the tough, thick scales off certain species of fish - for some reason they always got under his fingernails and cut the skin where the nail joined the finger, making it sore for days. The alternative, cooking the fish without removing the scales properly, spoilt the meal as, in that case, the scales got between your teeth and could even cut your gums - and a sore mouth was no less irritating than sore fingertips! What was even better, he thought, was the special plastic packets that came with the de-scaler for packaging the magically removed scales of certain species of fish in so they could be sent back to 'Tonicke, Linctus and Sludge' (a sort of wizarding 'Proctor and Gamble') for use in Potions and wizard medicines.

He looked at the list: for an ounce of gurnard scales they would pay two sickles, cod was less - just three knuts an ounce (although they would negotiate for bulk purchases of cod livers). His eyes lit up when he saw they would pay a whole galleon for every pound of shrake scales he could send them - making a quick mental calculation he reckoned that could earn him something like an extra nine hundred galleons a year - for doing virtually nothing. Wizards wouldn't buy shrake that hadn't been de-scaled anyway (the scales were slightly poisonous and often caused a nasty rash). From now on, instead of putting the shrake scales into a waste bin he could save and sell them! No wonder he was enjoying the wizarding fishery business!

He, Arne, Ron and Alicia had a quick game of Quidditch in Ron's back garden, where he had erected two sets of rings - one set at either end of the lawn. Arne was only just learning to fly - plus he had to use Hermione's old broom! It was so old and cheap it was unbranded - 'how daggy' he had complained. She couldn't remember the last time she'd flown and twigs kept falling out of it just getting it out of the garage. There were two spare Cleansweeps there too but they were enough for Sirius and Alicia - in fact Alicia flew so well she made it look as though she were on at least a Firebolt! Harry sat on the lawn below them sipping lemonade (made with real lemons and ice - the Muggle way) from a straw next to Hermione. He asked her about flying again.

"So why do you think you never took to flying, Hermione?" he asked.

She looked a little downcast for a moment then shrugged and smiled.

"Everyone has to be bad at something, don't they?" Harry thought for a few seconds, thinking of the many things he was pretty bad at: organising his belongings - he was always losing things, hiding his emotions from his face...and...riding a pushbike came to mind. He'd never really had much chance to ride a bike anyway - he once borrowed Dudley's without permission and got hurt twice: once when he fell off it and the other when Dudley punched him for stealing his bike. As he related this to Hermione she brightened.

"See? Everyone! When I went to that first flying lesson with Madam Hooch I just knew I was going to have problems even before we started. There was just something about me with a broom. I think it might be that Muggle children always associate broomsticks with wicked old witches - warty old hags with long, pointy noses (at this point Harry wondered if he'd ever told Hermione about the trick Katie had played on him in Knockturn Alley - 'that would give her a laugh', he thought). When I first found out I was a witch, the night McGonagall came to our house, I cried," she continued. "I didn't want to be an ugly old witch - I was my daddy's princess, you know?"

Harry supposed that was quite a natural reaction. When Hagrid had announced to him and the Dursleys that Harry was a wizard the first thing that Harry had imagined was himself in a long, purple gown wearing a pointy hat and sporting a long, white beard. Come to think of it, he'd pretty much imagined Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore!" Harry suddenly said out loud. He hadn't thought about the old wizard for several days now. "Is there any news?"

Hermione shook her head.

"I checked the Ministry records and Dumbledore is a registered animagus. When someone has been involved in magic for as long as he has - and with anywhere near such a high profile - it would be very rare for him or her not to be. I mean, it's not exactly hard to become an animagus is it?

Both Harry and Hermione had achieved the feat in under a year, as had Sirius, James and Peter Pettigrew a few years before - and the three marauders had done it with no professors to train them - so Harry agreed with her that Dumbledore not being an animagus would be unlikely. He winced a little thinking about his beautiful golden griffin form and he closed his eyes for a second and wished he could still transform, leap and fly. The more time he spent back in the Wizarding World the more intensely he missed his magic, it seemed

"So..." Harry asked her, forcing himself out of his mini-reveries. "What's his form?"

"Well...that's the problem..."Hermione hesitated. "He doesn't have anything listed except that it may be a magical creature. But then there are footnotes suggesting it might be a bumblebee - the old English word for bumblebee is, actually, dumbledore - and, remember, we know his Patronus takes the form of a swarm of bees. So that might be likely too.

"Another Ministry record shows an accusation was made against Dumbledore in 1942 by Grindelwald. It was made to the German Ministry of Magic - remember that the German Ministry of Magic was firmly under the control of Hitler from about 1936 onwards* - and he claimed to have seen Dumbledore take on the form of a Griffin.

"I'm...I'm beginning to suspect that Albus Dumbledore might well have multiple animagus forms. I can only find one vague reference to anyone, ever, being able to do that but, if it were true, it would explain a few things, wouldn't it? I'd suspect that he was a bumblebee animagus first - probably when still quite young - and that he's added other magical creatures to his armoury of spells and abilities since. Nothing would surprise me!"

"Nor me," Harry agreed. "So, if he were a phoenix animagus then Fawkes could possibly have saved his life by lifting his dying body into the burning embers in order to regenerate. Fawkes's tears must have forced Dumbledore to transform before he died. Amazing!

"But no-one knows where he is - or even if our hypotheses are right?"

Hermione nodded, rather grimly.

"I want to fly up there," came a small voice from behind them. Dai had finished his ice-cream cone and had pale-yellow wet splodges all over his face. Hermione pulled him to her and wiped off the mess with a small hankie.

"Aargh! Gerroff!" the little boy whined as he was cleaned up. All little boys were the same, whether Muggle or magical - all hated having their faces washed!

"Alicia," Harry called upwards and his former Head Girl swooped down gracefully and hovered in front of the trio still on the ground.

"Do you think Dai's too young to fly a few feet?" Harry asked, smiling.

Ron, with his acute hearing heard the question and joined them, not using a graceful arc, as Alicia had done, but heading straight for them in a direct line, yanking his stick back rather violently to brake and avoid crashing directly into the others.

"Don't be daft, Harry," he replied. "I was flying before I was his age. Ginny was flying before she was three! We'd play catch with the snitch and mum'd be down below screaming at us to get down before we killed ourselves and warning what our dad would do to us when he got home."

"What did he do?" Dai asked.

Ron laughed.

"Probably he just asked us who'd caught the snitch most often. He knew mum was always a panic merchant. I don't think a Weasley's ever fallen off a broom - it comes naturally to us, like walking!"

Alicia took her wand and transformed her Cleansweep to just under half its original size. Then she waved it again saying something that sounded to Harry like 'radishes' and the handle became a bright red. She took her headband off and tied it to the handle and it became a small Welsh flag, the red dragon breathing fire and smoke in front of the green and white background.

She laid the broom on the floor and told Dai to shout 'Up' at it.

"Up!" he shouted and the broom shot, at once, into his outstretched hand.

Hermione shook her head.

"Now you see why I was so bad at flying! When I did that first my broom just laid there and squirmed like an electrocuted worm!" she laughed and the others joined in. Harry's broom had been the first to leap into his hand in that same lesson - flying had come naturally to him, too and he had needed to use his skills just a few minutes later when Draco Malfoy had wound him up. Harry hadn't been on a broomstick for more than twenty or thirty seconds in his life before he had shown enough skill to make McGonagall appoint him as Gryffindor's seeker.

"Now," Alicia told Dai. "Get on!" Dai put one leg over the broom and sat on it patiently, awaiting further instruction. Then, completely without warning he shot off at an angle of about 45 degrees and within a couple of seconds he was waving at them from a height of at least fifty feet. He then gripped the handle again and dipped it, soaring towards the ground. With only five feet or so to go before an almighty crash he suddenly leant to his right like a motorcyclist and flew horizontally in a circle, like a rider on a 'wall of death' before gradually decelerating and righting himself until upright again. He then flew up to join Sirius who was watching by a set of rings, trying to get his breath back from his own flying exertions earlier and not wanting to do that at ground level where he might be accused of being unfit - or worse, an old man!

"He's flown before!" Ron smiled in admiration.

Hermione and Alicia looked at each other and said, together,

"Ginny!" while nodding their heads, also in unison.

Sirius flew down to join them and said in a phoney - and pretty poor - Welsh accent,

"Well, well, well! Dai the broom - as they'd say down in the 'varlleys'"

Harry simply sat there open-mouthed waving at Dai to 'come back'. Dai did come back but with another sharp and fast descent. Dai was not four for another two months and he had already shown his father twice now that he was shaping up extremely well to becoming every bit as capable a wizard as his mum and dad were (or should that be 'had been' in Harry's case)

"It's going to rain," Sandy announced from Harry's arm. Harry and Dai both looked up into the sky at once to search for clouds. Then Harry jerked his head even quicker to look at Dai. His son's face was set in a concerned and disappointed frown, his palms now pointing upwards and the broomstick lying on the ground, momentarily forgotten.

"But the sun's still shining," he whined as the first drop fell on his upturned hands.

"Bloody hell!" Harry whispered...but he couldn't be sure if he'd just sworn in English or Parseltongue.

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After Sirius, Alicia and Arne had Portkeyed home things quietened down considerably. Hermione attended Della Topley's funeral in London with Arthur (someone else had represented the Ministry at Daniele's funeral over in San Vito, North Italy) and Ron was back at work, leaving Harry and Dai to spend the days together in Stratford. They visited the Shakespeare museum and theatre although they didn't see a play - Dai could barely sit still for ten minutes let alone four hours!

Dai wanted to go fishing, having been encouraged by Sirius and they spent a day at the riverbank. But all they got was a bumper collection of gnat bites and an old shoe although Dai loved watching the dragonflies skimming over the water, the blues, reds and gold of their wings catching the sun.

On another day Harry drove to Alton Towers, one of the largest Theme Parks in England. Although Dai was much too small for many of the rides he enjoyed himself thoroughly and was sick three times! He watched while Harry tried the largest roller coasters and laughed at his whiter-than-white face when he got off, telling his dad he looked like Moaning Myrtle!

That evening Harry tried asking Hermione again about the Hog's Head case. She sighed as if she was about to tell him once again that she couldn't discuss it but then she suddenly took a deep breath and began to talk.

"The puzzling thing is, of course, how Remus died. Fire wouldn't kill him and he would have smelt the smoke in plenty of time to have escaped, anyway - and then he probably would have been able to save others as well. But you were there...when Katie first brought up the magical signature she announced that there were six dead but only five who died in the fire. Remus was dead already and we are pretty sure the fire was just lit to cover the killer's tracks. I think you and I both suspect the same person, Harry."

"I'm sure we do. She was booked into the same room as Remus, wasn't she?" Hermione nodded...

"But we can't find her, Harry. It's as if she just...disappeared..."

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"You looked fantastic tonight. Did you see all those eyes on sticks?"

"Of course!"replied Sheri, smiling sexily. She reached behind her back and undid the small hook that had been holding her meagre dress together all evening. "I think mummy was rather impressed with you," she said, suddenly more serious. As she spoke she let the straps of her dress fall forwards an, her breasts cascaded out of their restraint and jiggled for a few moments before returning to their natural shape and position. She let the dress fall to the floor. As she had been wearing no underwear all evening she was suddenly completely naked and thus was utterly irresistible to Remus Lupin

"I wasn't trying to impress her," Remus said lazily, reaching out his hand to touch the objects of his current infatuation. She arched back out of his reach and giggled. Remus did a sit-up and sprang at her like a predator. She twisted and sidestepped, avoiding his lunges time and time again.

"You'd make a good dueller," he smiled, catching his breath, "if you can dodge curses as well as my advances."

"And you'd make a dreadful cat, if I were a mouse," she teased, twitching her nose as if at a piece of cheese.

"Miaow!" Remus purred; rolling onto his side like a cat waiting to have its tummy tickled.

"Oh, you poor pussy," she played, stroking his hair gently. Then she grabbed his face rather roughly and pulled his lips to hers. He kissed her with an almost ferocious passion - the contrast between the feel of each other's soft lips and the brittle pain of clashing teeth making both of the lovers yet more eager to surrender completely to the wave of lust that now enveloped them. Her tongue thrust powerfully into his willing mouth, in and out, in and out - again and again and he let his body go limp, dropping any pretence of resistance. Sheri crawled all over his body; touching him, stroking him, licking and biting him all over before moving her mouth down to where he needed it most and, once there, he groaned with sensual delight over and over again as she took him to the explosive release and ecstasy his body had craved.

He rolled over, pinning her beneath him and, with the power and endurance of a man half his age Remus made love to her now - driving himself through her and causing her to cry out in that unique amalgam of agony and utter pleasure only unabandoned sex can generate. Her body tensed and released, shook and twitched as he relentlessly used his strength to tantalise and excite her and finally they both clutched each other, her fingernails cutting into his skin hard enough to draw blood, they tensed and released one more time together and collapsed, side by side on the hotel room floor.

It was the first time Remus had 'let go' while making love for a very long time. His mind was filled with horrible images of having hurt previous lovers causing dislocations and even a broken femur and he had learned to exercise a certain degree of restraint over the years - and had got very good at it - but, just now with Sheri, he had let go completely and he felt both drained and elated as he climbed back onto the bed and lay beside her- now on top of the crisp, white sheets again. He took her hand and squeezed it as gently as he could. She squeezed his hand back and words seemed to be of no significance at all as they lay there together, the curtains open and the room now lit only by a bright half moon and the dim-yellow streetlights of Hogsmeade.

After a very long time they both rolled over as one until they were facing each other. She stretched her neck forward to kiss his cheek and he smiled, wrinkling his nose at her like a love-struck teenager.

"Oh, I love you, Sherilyn Salt," he sighed, lying back once more and smiling. "I love you as much and more than anyone I've ever loved before," he confirmed feeling not in the slightest bit guilty about the comparisons with Lily, Emil and Alex (who were the only three other real contenders).

"Will you marry me?"

Sherilyn gasped in what sounded like real shock. Her body, had Remus seen it, reacted with just the slightest display of instinctive recoil.

"Marry me?" she repeated. "Now...why would I want to do that?" she teased, regaining her composure almost immediately. "I'm having such a lovely time!"

It was not the reaction he really wanted but it was more or less what he'd expected. Although he'd not proposed before he'd never expected anyone to agree to marry a werewolf. Hermione had, of course, but she had already loved Ron when he was bitten. Plus, she was a wolf animagus - and that thought had put all sorts of erotic images into his mind that even he felt uncomfortable with!

"Of course...I could marry you," she suddenly said after what seemed like at least five minutes silence, and with an alluring, tantalising tone in her voice. Once more she rolled over, placed her face inches from his and said, in a low, almost threatening voice, "Why don't you screw me again while I think about it!"

He pulled her onto his stomach at once and took a breast in each hand. She leant forward and let her hair fall over his face, lightly brushing it. He took her shoulders now and pulled her closer, taking a nipple into his mouth and caressing it with his tongue. She very obviously loved it and another series of noises came from her throat and mouth as he flicked and bit and sucked her. Then, once more she lowered her body down his and he slid into her, every nerve ending tingling as they made love this time much more slowly and sensually. With her on top he was able to thrust deeper and she swayed and rocked in the languid rhythm. When Remus looked at her he noticed he could only see the whites of her eyes as her irises rolled inside her head as she soaked in the pleasure he was giving her.

This time they finished more gently and she collapsed onto his chest, wet and exhausted.

Although, when he looked at her face a few moments later he could see beads of perspiration on her forehead and a sheen on her cheeks, which were flushed from their shared exertions, he also thought he could see the track of a tear there. As he looked at her more closely, a slightly concerned expression on his face, he thought he heard her choke back a sob.

"What's the matter?" he asked, hurting inside for her suddenly.

She shook her head and tried to make out it was nothing. Then she breathed in deeply and said,

"You told me you'd never proposed before. Well...I've never - ever - told anyone I loved them and meant it before. Remus...I do love you - with all my heart...and if I'd known this was going to happen I'd never have agreed to be part of all this."

Something inside Remus stirred to attention.

"What has happened, Sheri? Part of all what?"

"I fancied you for years, you know, Remus. I first saw you in Diagon Alley about three-and-a-half years ago. I was looking out of my window and saw this handsome, rugged man walking along. I'm not going to hide the fact that this was something I did rather often but I ran down to Old Belcher in 'QQS' downstairs and asked him who you were. 'Another victim, eh?' he asked and I smiled - he usually told me who everyone was and I'd look them out later if I still fancied seducing them! Sorry..." she sort of apologised - as if her sexual behaviour before she met him was any of his business, anyway.

"I can't remember why now, but I never went to seek you out...but I kept an eye out for your name. One day, while reading the paper a year or so back, I saw your name again - and a picture - the nice one of you with the ¾ moon behind you..." Remus smiled - he liked that picture as well. "...And I decided to try to get to meet you. I think I'd fallen in love even then."

She smiled a very sad, hopeless smile at him; tears now welling in her eyes and no longer making any attempt to disguise them.

"My potion," she said to him, looking him directly in the eyes. "It would have worked, you know. I'm a very talented potion maker - possibly the very best there is - I'm not only good at sex!" She tried to make a joke of it but was clearly seriously distressed by now. She lay by his side and took his hand, crying openly just as the door to the room opened.

"Well what have we got here?" a new voice mocked. "The lovers entwined." The laughter was hollow and emanated evil. " She's right, you know? It does work! Last full moon I tried it! I went to your werewolf pub in Whitby - vampire country, ironically! - and waited until morning. When a lycanthrope returned from his night's prowls I made him try the potion. He was under Imperius at the time but he seemed quite willing!" More sick laughter.

"A few moments later and he was merely a normal Muggle again. And an hour later he was dead Muggle. He celebrated his release from 'wolfdom' by letting me throw him off a cliff near Scarborough. Poor little Muggle-wuggle!

"Well done, big sister!" Grendel Chambers smiled at his distraught sibling. "It's time for the world to wake to Nocensformida!"

"No, NO!" she cried, throwing herself at the tall, robed figure in the doorway, his wand poised.

"Stupefy!" he screamed and she fell to the floor in a crumpled, beautiful heap immediately the red bolt of light hit her. He kicked her hard in the midriff as he stepped further into the room. Remus remained totally naked on the bed, his wand still in the belt attached to his discarded trousers - on the other side of the room.

He didn't have a chance, and he knew it. Having come to terms with this he calmly stood and walked over to Sheri lying, oblivious to all around her, on the floor. He knelt beside her body, stroking her hair and trying to make reassuring noises.

"Oh, fucking hell!" Grendel Chambers sneered in genuine amazement. "You two...had it for real, didn't you? Ha!" He revelled in this new amusement then scowled viciously and pointed his wand towards Sherilyn. "Stupid bitch! Ennervate! CRUCIO!"

She woke and looked around for the briefest of moments before the second curse hit her. Then she writhed in agony on the ground as the ultimate in excruciation seared through her. She lay on her side and pulled legs towards her, forcing her naked body into a foetal shape, crying out in pain and horror.

"Stop it!" Remus shouted at Chambers, taking advantage of the boy's wand being trained on his sister to make a dash for his own. At least he had made Chambers release her from Cruciatus, he thought as he found himself flying through the air himself and crashing into a heavy mahogany chest-of-drawers.

"Don't even THINK about it, Wolfgang!" Chambers threatened as Remus made to get back to his feet. "God...it STINKS of sex in here, you pair of filthy..."

"Please, Grendel..." Sheri tried, standing and grabbing his arm - cutting him off mid-insult. "I love him! I've never loved anyone before...I didn't know it could be like..." but she trailed off as her younger brother pushed her away.

Grendel Chambers transferred his wand from his right hand to his left, keeping it aimed squarely at Remus. He pulled from the pocket of his robe a small, long box. He waved the still closed box in front of Remus's face, taunting him.

"Guess what I've got, Wolfgang?"

"Is that the best you can do to wind me up, Chambers? Think I haven't had that one before? Come on, that's twice you've used that one now - I haven't heard it since Amadeus won the Oscars!"

Chambers kicked him now, hard and in the stomach, winding him and doubling him over.

"It's time for MY little potion, Lupin! Time for a new start for you and a new era for the Wizarding World." He opened the box, revealing a pen-like syringe of clear liquid, rather like a Muggle insulin injection for diabetics. Before Sheri could get across the room to stop him he stabbed the needle into Remus's arm and depressed the plunger, sending the solution directly into the stricken werewolf's bloodstream. As Chambers returned the pen to its box Remus could clearly read the letters etched into the box's lid - AgNO4.

Instantly, Remus felt a burning sensation spread down his left arm and he clutched it as Chambers backed away from him as if to get a better view of the show to come. Within half a minute Remus's entire body felt as if it were on fire, sweat once again broke out on his brow but now so much it ran down his face as though someone had poured water over him.

He was aware of Sherilyn screaming and trying to reach him and of her brother once more kicking her away. He tried to reach out to her but there was a roaring in his ears by now and tremors spread throughout his body, making him spasm and twitch uncontrollably as the silver nitrate solution slowly killed him. The last thing he knew was Chamber's leering face just a few inches from is own mouthing the words 'Die, you werewolf scum!' at him.

Only when Remus's eyes finally closed for the last time and all movement had stopped did Grendel allow Sheri to move to him. Her own pain, she had broken ribs from the first kick and a large red mark on her thigh from the second, was of no concern to her at all as she cradled Remus's head in her lap, wiping away the cold sweat from his face and sobbing continuously whilst holding her dead lover.

Chambers couldn't watch.

"Come on, you stupid cow. Let's get out of here!" he shouted, turning to face her just as she threw a lead crystal vase at his head. It shattered against his cheek, knocking him sideways and she jumped up, picking up a shard of the glass as she did, grappling with him and screaming,

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you evil, insufferable bastard! Leave me here to die with him." His face was cut badly - a gash on his cheek would be beyond even wizard repair - that would leave a scar.

Grendel was seething with rage. He flung open the door of the room again ready to leave and found himself face to face with a very pretty brunette with large dark eyes. Sherilyn screamed at her,

"Run! Go get help!" but Chambers gripped the girl's arm firmly. He looked her up and down. She was wearing a very thin lace negligee and the firm body beneath it was barely hidden from his eyes. He looked back into the room at the bruised and bloodied mess that was his older sister. She had betrayed him - and his Dark Lord! She should pay!

Without letting go of Della Topley, Grendel Chambers walked back into the bedroom.

"Wrap a sheet around yourself!" he barked at Sheri. "NOW!"

Slowly she dragged herself upright and pulled a sheet off the bed and draped it around her shoulders, wincing as she raised her arms from the sharp pains in her ribs. As she went through the bedroom door Grendel pulled her across the corridor towards Della's open door. Inside, a blond man was fast asleep. Grendel spat in his sister's face and, as she looked back at him she had never seen such hatred in an expression.

Letting go of her with his hand he swung it round in one continuous movement and slapped her face, once more knocking her over. The next kick to her head rendered Sheri unconscious. Grendel turned to the other terrified girl whose right arm he was hurting by holding it so tightly.

"Name!" he yelled at her.

"D-della," she stammered in reply.

Chambers turned back to his prostrate sister.

"Good night, DELLA! Have a nice death!" He grimaced at her before firmly closing the bedroom door, shouting "Colloportus!" to seal it and dragging the real Della with him down the old staircase and through the front door.

He immediately turned to face the inn, took a few steps back and, pointing his wand, shouted,

"Incendio Totalis!" In an instant every wooden beam, every door and all other combustible elements used in the Hog's Head Inn's construction spontaneously burst into flame. The yellow and orange tongues of fire reached up and licked the sky and Grendel Chambers licked his lips as he watched he first act of the new era - the era of Nocensformida!

Right on cue he heard the crack. Turning around there stood the new Dark Lord in all her finery. A hood covered her entire head and all he could see were the shining yellow slits - like basilisk eyes - that now shone in the darkness.

"Well done, my son, my faithful servant." Then she added, slyly. "And WHAT, exactly, is THAT?"

Grendel faced her, smiled and announced,

"This is...a souvenir. My new...plaything." The Dark Lord nodded.

Then she strode forward purposefully, lifted her head and wand together and cried,

"Nocensformida!"

The new Dark Mark appeared in the sky over the now smouldering ruins of 'The Hog's Head' and Gretchen Krum Disapparated back to her island off Skye; to once more masquerade as the dutiful wife of the Deputy Minister of Magic - who had no more inkling of his wife's activities than a grain of basmati knew the history of the Raj.

By the time Professor Dumbledore arrived - less than a minute later - there was no trace of any of them...

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"You'll find her, Hermione," Harry reassured his best friend.

But, of course, that could not be...

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* the shrake is a magical fish found in Atlantic waters. Sales of shrake meat accounted for 9.3% of Sirius's sales in 2004, a tally of over 30,000lbs of fish. Sirius's profits just rose by approximately 937 galleons a year. Little wonder he was happy.

**Hitler always showed great interest in magic and the supernatural. He was known to regularly visit psychics, for example. Rumours abound that Hitler's father was a squib and his grandfather a rather dismal wizard who had worked for the German Ministry of Magic under the famous Abram Schultz, author of 'Magic and Judaism: Pulling the Rabbi out of the Hat', still a standard textbook in Israeli Wizarding Schools. In 1936 the German Ministry of Magic was forcibly taken over by Hitler and a new Minister of Magic appointed. He was Eirich von Straβen, a wizard and Roman Catholic priest who also had an ear to the Pope via his cousin Uwe Schwartzertod. Eirich von Straβen's son, Gottfluch (for von Straβen left the priesthood after the war and fled to Albania, married and had children) became headmaster of Durmstrang after the death of Igor Karkaroff, where he remains 'in situ' today.

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