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[alt_frank]

Minerva, Poppy, I know you lot are probably up to your ears in it

but Al is pretty insistent that we get an update.

and I am too.

what happened to Dennis? what can you tell us?

Comments

[alt_kingsley]

Dorcas and I have been wracking our brains, but we can't think of any spell that would cause long-term petrification like that. And I really don't know of any spell that affects the victim differently depending on their blood status. So as to why Dennis was killed and the Olivander boy was petrified, I'm afraid we don't have a clue. We've checked our miniaturised library of auror-training textbooks, too.

Dorcas remembered that the Hogwarts library has some books in the Restricted section which you might try: take a look at Speed and Silence: Effective Defensive Spells for Combat Situations by Featherstone and When Seconds Count: Hexes, Counters and Jinxes for the Professional Auror, by Haisley. Both have extensive lists of pretty obscure spells in the glossaries. Maybe you'll find something there.

[alt_poppy]

Thank you, Kingsley. I will speak to Irma about those volumes straightaway.

[alt_frank]

if he wasn't touched and there wasn't any obvious magical trace that probably means a passive cursed object that paralyzes you if you touch it or something rather than a spell. Dennis could have touched it too long, or gotten too much of it at once or something, which killed him. cursed stuff leaves a slightly different sort of trace -- bill would be better at that than I would. but it'd be tricky to sort out what the object actually was to begin with -- you might narrow it down, but it's hard to tell from a trace, which makes it difficult to use location spells. and it's next to impossible to tell who used it to begin with based on a simple trace cause it wasn't the caster that did the magic, it was the object.

maybe the person had to use special gloves so they wouldn't be cursed too. I'd bet they have a special place to store it too -- heavily protected.

[alt_poppy]

Thank you, Frank. I believe that Minerva has asked Dawlish to oversee a thorough investigation, including a search of student and staff possessions and accommodations if he deems that necessary. I feel certain they discussed the possibility you raise here; I know that Minerva feels it's a strong theory.

[alt_mcgonagall]

Quite a clever thought, Frank.

I've had to ask Dawlish to look into things, as Poppy said - he isn't my first choice for an investigator, but I can hardly do it myself and choosing him seems to please the Board of Governors and the Death Eaters well enough, and I have no reason to believe he won't do his best, such as it is.