Leisure

Nice conversation

2008-05-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

There are several men sitting around in the locker room of a golf club after a round, showering and getting change for the 19th hole. Suddenly a mobile phone in one of the benches rings. One of the men picks it up, and the following conversation ensues.
(H-Husband, W-Wife)

H- Hello?
W- Honey. It’s me. Are you at the club?
W- Great! I am at the mall two blocks from where you are. I just saw a beautiful leather coast. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Can I buy it?
H- What is the price?
W- Only $1,000.
H- Well, OK, go ahead and get it, if you like it that much…
W- Ahhh and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the 2002 models. I saw one I really liked. I spoke with the salesman, and he gave me a really good price… and since we need to exchange the BWM that we bought last year…
H- What price did he quote you?
W- Only, $60,000…
H-OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.
W- Great! But before we hang up, something else...
H- What?
W- It might look like a lot, but I was reconciling your bank account and …I stopped by the real estate agent this morning and saw the house we had looked at last year. It’s for sale! Remember? The one with a pool, English garden, acre of parked area, beach front property.
H- How much are they asking?
W- Only $450,000…a magnificent price…and I see that we have that much in the bank to cover…
H- Well, then go ahead and buy it, but just bid up to $420,000. OK?
W- OK, sweetie…Thanks! I will see you later!! I love you!!!
H- Bye…I love you too...

The man hangs up and closes the phone’s flap. The other men are looking at him in astonishment and derision. The husband holding the phone in his hand asks, “Does anyone know who this phone belongs to?”

Gods always have reasons to smile

2008-05-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered the mystery behind that sweet smile hanging on the lips of the photos of the Hindu gods and goddesses? I know you will agree with me that Goddess Kali is far away from this picture. She is best known for her Natraj pose with skull necklace and her red tongue hanging out to scare away the weak hearted. But let us talk about those hundreds of other Gods and Goddesses with that smile that still remains a matter unexplained. After cracking my head in search of an optimum answer I have made quite a small discovery, which I feel is worth the answer to that perfect easy to answer question.
Let me come to the point directly without pulling your legs anymore. Gods smile for two basic reasons. First they find it amusing that why is it that their devotees are praying to them when their wishes, requests or expectations are not going to be fulfilled? Second one is closely related to the first one. Why do they need to pray when their wishes are going to bear fruits? Now it seems the answer to this mystery has only doubled it up rather than solving it.
I think the reader can suggest a better solution. Is there any taker to solve this mystery? Sky is the limit.

God is Faith

2008-05-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

Gary's Diary: God is Faith

INTERESTING CONVERSATION

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.

He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
Student: (Student is silent.)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?
Student: (Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?
Student: (Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No , sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold.
We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.
We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something.
You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it?
In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God.
You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.
Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor.
Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
Prof: (The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir?
Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
Prof: (The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?
Prof: (The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it?.....No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir.. The link between man & God is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation !!

© Guru Sanket Biswal.

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice - Foreword

2008-05-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

So the blog is now complete n we are all ready to start posting ... lemme start with something light ... I'll be posting my own version of the 7th Book of the Harry Potter Stories ... which I think is even better than the one by JK Rowling ... naah I'm just kidding ... nobody can write better than her ... Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows was actually the perfect ending to the series

Have fun reading :)

And so it begins ...

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Prologue

2008-05-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice

Post 2 : Prologue

Prologue

He'd been on the run since less than an hour after he and Snape had disapparated from the borders of Hogwarts. Even though the task that had been set before him had ultimately been achieved, he had not been the one to achieve it. He had failed, and The Dark Lord had called for his head before he'd even escaped the school grounds.

Since then, he'd never stayed in one place for more than a week. He was currently sleeping in an abandoned house in the village of Staining, outside the city of Blackpool. He'd been here for 3 days now, and knew that he must set out again when he awoke.

His only thought was that he must get to Azkaban. If he could get there and free his father, one of two things would happen – either this noble act would allow The Dark Lord to forgive his weakness on the Astronomy Tower, or if it didn't, at least his father would be there to protect him, and they would go on the run together. He knew that at best it was an extremely flimsy plan, with both potential outcomes highly unlikely, but it was the only plan he had.

He had only the vaguest notion of where Azkaban was: somewhere in the North Sea. He wasn't yet comfortable apparating on his own, his Nimbus 2001 was still at Hogwarts, and the Floo network was of course being watched, so his only option was to walk. He'd been walking from Spinner's End ever since Snape had apparated with him there. And he still had a very long way to go.

…

Draco Malfoy awoke with a start. The disorientation that came with sleeping somewhere new every few days quickly evaporated, and he looked around to try to find the source of the sound that had awoken him.

"Draco…" a voice whispered from outside the house. "Are you in there?"

"M…mother?!"

"Yes son, it's me. I've come to take you home."

He got up from the cot on the floor that he'd been sleeping on. "Take me home…? I don't understand."

The front door of the house opened and Narcissa Malfoy stood in the entrance. She observed her son silently for a moment. Then, with a hint of sadness in her voice, she said "Your hesitancy has cost us dearly son."

Draco said "That is why I am running of course. How did you find me?"

Narcissa sighed. "That's really not important now is it?"

"It is to me. If you can find me, surely He…"

Her anger flared up. " 'He' has known where you were this whole time, my foolish arrogant son. Don't think for one second that He couldn't have killed you whenever He wished. Where do you think you were going anyway? Where on earth did you think you could escape His gaze?"

"To Azkaban. I'm going to break Father free. If anything can save my life, it is that."

Narcissa's lip quivered, and a single tear spilled down her cheek. "Your father is dead."

Draco stood in shock for a moment. "No… no… I've been reading the Prophet. It would have been mentioned….."

"The Prophet has more important things to report on at the moment. Your father was killed because of your error. And it is time for you to pay the price as well."

As she reached for her wand, 3 more tears spilled down her cheek. Draco's mouth fell open, as he stared back and forth from the wand to her miserable face.

"You… you killed Father." It wasn't a question.

She either didn't hear this, or ignored it. "Forgive me Draco. Another loyalty test from The Dark Lord, you see. It was either this, or he'd kill us both himself."

Draco's mouth slowly closed, and he discovered he had some tears of his own to shed. Under his breath, he muttered "I hope Harry finds him…"

Narcissa's own shock at hearing this was enough to make her wand dip down momentarily. "What did you just say?" she shrieked.

At the end of his life, Draco discovered a well of courage inside of him that he'd heretofore never known existed. "I SAID I HOPE HARRY POTTER FINDS YOUR MASTER AND KILLS HIM! I HOPE HE FINDS YOU SOON AFTERWARDS…"

Narcissa had heard enough. "AVADA KEDAVRA!!"

Draco's last thought before the green light hit him in his chest was "Harry… I'm so sorry…"

...

Narcissa walked slowly out of the house. She felt as if she might faint, but The Dark Lord was waiting for confirmation that his will had been carried out, and she would not keep him waiting. Dazedly, she turned back to look at the house, and pointed her wand up in to the air.

"Morsmordre!"

With the Dark Mark now in place over the house, Narcissa apparated back to The Dark Lord's side.

Minutes later and many miles to the south, Harry Potter awoke with a start. His scar was prickling painfully. Wherever he was, Voldemort was pleased about something, and for the first time in over a year, he had not tried to conceal it from Harry.

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 1

2008-05-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice

Post 3 : The Daily Prophet

CHAPTER 1

The Daily Prophet

Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET

August 7th, 1997 – Front page story

HARRY POTTER STILL MISSING

By Rhiannon Skeeter

It has been over 3 weeks since Harry Potter, better known to the world at large as The Boy Who Lived, or more recently, The Chosen One, has been seen alive. He was last seen attending the Weasley – Delacour wedding in Salisbury, in the first week of July, where it is rumored that several alleged Death Eaters were in attendance in disguise. Ministry officials have declined to comment on this last bit of information, though we were able to get a few words from one of them on the disappearance of Mr. Potter alone, under the condition of anonymnity.

"Master Potter has stated quite clearly on several occasions that he does not enjoy publicity, and never has. It is my opinion that he has simply gone into hiding to enjoy some privacy while he can. He'll be starting school again in the fall I'm sure you know, and we all know how little privacy he gets there."

Owls to Harry's muggle relatives in Little Whinging went unanswered.

Minerva McGonagall, newly appointed headmistress of Hogwarts, had this to say on the matter(continued on page 3)

Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET

September 9th, 1997 – Front page story

HARRY POTTER PRESUMED DEAD

By Rhiannon Skeeter

In a press conference rife with tension this morning, Rufus Scrimgeour, minister of magic, announced that they had received evidence which would suggest that The Boy Who Lived is no longer alive. When pressed to divulge what this evidence was, Scrimgeour would only say that it was compelling enough that they would be calling off all searches in England & Scotland for Potter's whereabouts.

Since the end of June, the ministry has had teams of wizards searching some of the more remote areas of the country, in case there was truth to the notion that Potter had simply gone in to hiding. This has been a most controversial decision, as many witches & wizards believe that the ministry could be putting their resources to better use. These teams of wizards will presumably be put back to work on the investigation into You-Know-Who's current location.

We caught up with one of Harry's classmates, Ron Weasley, after the conference.

"We're not giving up," said Ron. "I don't care if I have to search every inch of this planet myself. Until I see his body for myself, I'll not believe he's dead."

Ron's younger sister Ginevra was too distraught to comment. It has long been rumored that she and Potter had been romantically involved at one point. (continued on page 4)

Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET

September 12th, 1997 – Second page story

DRACO MALFOY FOUND DEAD

Draco Malfoy (son of former Hogwarts governor & notorious Death Eater Lucius Malfoy) , who was suspected to have played a major role in the DE break-in at Hogwarts earlier this year, and the subsequent assassination of Albus Dumbledore, was found dead yesterday in a house outside of Blackpool. Aurors had been sent to the house based on a report they had intercepted from the Muggle "police". Though they would not divulge what they had expected to find there, they would say that the body of Malfoy came as a surprise.

"We have no suspects at this time," said Nymphadora Tonks, head of a newly formed squad of Aurors whose sole purpose is to find the location of Severus Snape (see page 6). "Of course we have our suspicions, but as we have very little evidence to go on so early in the investigation, I wouldn't want to voice any of them."

Draco's mother Narcissa could not be reached for comment.

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 2

2008-05-15T03:04:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice

Post 4 : Hermione's Conspiracy

CHAPTER 2

Hermione's Conspiracy

Cup…snake…locket…Gryffindor….Ravenclaw…

These words, even in the haze.

…

On the morning of September 10th, Harry Potter awoke in much the same way as he had for the past 2 months: with the sun shining into his eyelids and his mantra repeating itself into his ear by way of an old tape recorder.

Earlier that year he had discovered his grandparents' abandoned ancestral home in Godric's Hollow, and it was here that he had been hiding. Hermione had helped him to make it unplottable, and they had hesitantly made Dobby their secret keeper.

Harry got up and noticed the copy of the Daily Prophet at his feet. He glanced at the headline and chortled. The plan was working. He reminded himself to ask Hermione who decided he should die, and what the "evidence" was.

He read the article as he was getting dressed, becoming particularly amused at Ron's comments, seeing as how Ron was one of only two people (and one house-elf) who knew for a fact that he was still alive. In fact, Ron had probably been the one to leave the paper for him while he was asleep. He reminded himself to ask Hermione who decided he should die, and what the "evidence" was.

Cup…snake…locket…Gryffindor….Ravenclaw…

Once Harry was dressed, he reached over and shut the tape recorder off. It had done it's job for one more day.

…

It had been Hermione's suggestion that he disappear for a while, and he had agreed almost immediately. However, when she suggested that he use this time to relax and not think about Horcruxes at all, he had briefly thought her quite insane.

At the rehearsal dinner for Fleur & Bill's wedding, she had pulled him aside.

"I am going to keep researching them," she had said. "I want you to use this time to be alone, and not think about them at all. Relax and be irresponsible for the time being. Down time may be a luxury which you may not get for a while once this really begins."

"But…" Harry said.

"Think about it. If you start nosing around and Voldemort gets wind of it, he'll surely figure out what you're up to. Nobody will care what a muggle-born nobody like me is up to. This makes sense Harry."

"And if he figures it out anyway?" Harry asked. "It's no secret that you're my best friend. Voldemort's not stupid."

"I'll take my chances," Hermione said. "This is the best plan for now. Let him think you're off vainly searching for him, and I'll find out as much as I can. Then we'll start searching for them for real."

"And how exactly do I just disappear?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Ron helped me out with that one. You're going to apparate to Godric's Hollow tomorrow after the ceremony. Don't even wait around for the reception. Once you've disappeared, we're going to…" she hesitated.

"What!?"

"We're going to modify a few memories here and there. People will come away from this wedding swearing that they saw Death Eaters leaving it."

Harry looked horrified. "That's…. that's illegal!!"

"And necessary," she said, annoyed. "In one week, the entire world is going to be convinced that you've been kidnapped by Voldemort. You'll be safely stowed away for the time being, and I'll be free to research the remaining Horcruxes with relative freedom."

Harry grinned. "Breaking the law for the good of mankind. We really have been a horrible influence on you." He sighed and kissed her cheek. "You're the best."

She blushed. "Don't thank me yet. You do know that you can't use magic while you're away…"

Harry started to protest, than nodded. "It'll be detected. The ministry will find me within minutes."

She grinned. "Glad you understand. You're pretty much going to have to be a Muggle for a few months."

He nodded again. "I can do that."

…

Looking back, he had agreed rather hastily. Immersing himself back into Muggle society meant using Muggle money, something he had very little of.

He gave himself one final look in the mirror, trying in vain to fix his hair, and left for his job at a local bookstore, where nobody knew he was famous. Being a nobody was the best part of Hermione's little experiment, and he knew he'd be sorry when it was over.

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 3

2008-05-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice

Post 5 : A Long Expected Revelation

CHAPTER 3

A Long-Expected Revelation

Harry returned home that evening to find Hermione waiting for him in the cavernous Potter dining room. She had brought three books with her, and had laid them all out on the table.

"Hi!" he said. "I thought Ron would be with you."

"Molly.." she started, then blushed and caught herself. "I mean Mrs. Weasley is starting to suspect something. His visits are going to have to be less frequent for now."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her…" Or Ginny, he thought.

"No it wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't help either." She said sternly. "If there was any way to keep it from him I wouldn't have even told Ron. He's a horrible liar, in case you haven't noticed." She studied his face. "The less people that know, the better. Mrs. Weasley would agree with me."

"Ok, fine. What did you bring for me?"

"Maybe nothing. Two of them are actually Muggle books, but something in each of them caught my eye. The third is… well I'll let you see for yourself."

Harry's eyes skimmed over the first two titles without much interest. His eyes came to rest on the third and he let out a small gasp.

The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black – A History & Genealogy

"Where did you get this?" he exclaimed.

She hesitated, then said "It was in the Shrieking Shack. I'm thinking somebody didn't want it to be found."

Harry gaped at her. "Just what the hell were you doing in the Shrieking Shack?" he asked, stunned.

"It was pure luck, actually. I was in Hogsmeade to pick up something from Dervish & Banges, and it dawned on me that it would be a brilliant place to stash a Horcrux. Voldemort wouldn't even have to try that hard to set up magical protection; the place's reputation was enough to keep people out."

Harry knew the answer already, but he asked "And did you find anything?"

Hermione sighed. "Of course not; I would have told you already. I did find a library on the second floor though, and it's definitely something I will want to investigate further. That's where I found that book."

"Ok… so have you read any of it yet?"

"Yes. Before I show you what I've found, I want to ask you: do you know what the names Sirius & Regulus have in common?"

"Umm.. they both end in 'us' ?"

Hermione looked annoyed. "It appears you've been paying as much attention in Astronomy as you have in History. They're both stars Harry."

"Ok, so they're both stars. So?"

"So….. Sirius is considered by many to be the brightest star in the sky…"

"This will eventually have a point, right?" Harry asked, sounding even more annoyed than Hermione looked.

"Do you want to hear what I found or not?!"

"Yes, ok, fine."

"Regulus is considered one of the brightest as well… but the third brightest is called Arcturus. Look up Arcturus Canopus Black in the index."

Harry grabbed the book and opened it, receiving a large amount of dust in his face as a reward. He thumbed through the index and found it – Arcturus Black, pages 456-457,460-472

"Skip 456 and 457," Hermione said. "Go straight to 460."

Harry found the page and saw that it was the beginning of a chapter – Notable Blacks of the 1700s. He began to read.

The Black family was one of the few pureblood familys to end the 17th century with most of their records (dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. at least) completely intact. Muggle persecution of wizardkind had been going on for centuries, and while most wizarding families knew how to protect themselves by the time 1600 came around, much of their ancient history and bloodline information had been destroyed by Muggle fanaticism before then. The Black family was one of a very few exceptions, due to the extreme measures that most Black patriarchs took throughout the centuries to inundate their homes with Muggle repelling charms.

Because of this, Blacks throughout the ages were considered the authority on protection from Muggles…

Harry stopped here. "Protection from Muggles? What's so difficult about that?"

"If you had paid attention in your history class, you'd know that until about 800-900 years ago, Muggles co-existed peacefully with our kind, fully aware of our existence. Between the first and fifth centuries though, a rift began to grow, and Muggles began to view our kind with unfounded mistrust. By the end of the 1400s, the majority of Muggles outright hated us, and many of them tried to have us wiped out. But even though this happened over a long period, it took a while for it to sink in with many wizard families, so for years our world had it's collective guard down. It's one of the reasons the ministry exists. Keep reading!"

In 1721, it was decided by the wizarding community at large that an official organization should exist for the sole purpose of keeping our existence guarded from Muggle-kind. This organization, known then as the Wizarding Heritage Protection Society, would eventually usurp the obsolete Wizard's Council and evolve into the first Ministry of Magic.

The first elected head of the WHPS, by a unanimous vote, was Arcturus Canopus Black (b. 1693)

Harry looked up again, but Hermione shushed him and urged him to keep reading.

Arcturus proved to be a worthy leader, as he was stern but fair, and well liked by all who knew him. But many of his ideas concerning the handling of Muggles, though well-intentioned, were considered too extreme in the eyes of many. For example, his introductory proposition to the society was to allow the extermination of Muggles to the brink of extinction, in order to indoctrinate the survivors and raise them as subservients to Wizards, much like house-elves. As many wizards considered this too ludicrous to be anything but a joke, it was almost unanimously voted down. Arcturus was not to be deterred, though.

In his three years as head of the WHPS, his proposed bills included: worldwide Muggle sterilization, feeding Muggle criminals to dragons, Wizard regulation of Muggle religions (especially those that had led the persecution of Wizards in the past), and the infamous final bill of his career, his proposition to grant selected Pureblood families the right of Jus Primae Noctis over the Muggles in their vicinity…

"Jus Primae Noctis?" Harry asked.

"It would basically mean that Muggles would be bred out of existence." Hermione said cryptically. "Have you read enough?"

"I suppose… I still don't know where this is going though."

Hermione sighed, amused and exasperated at the same time. "Harry, doesn't Arcturus sound like the exact kind of Wizard that Sirius' parents would admire…. perhaps enough to name a son after?"

"Yeah… but they didn't…"

"No. No they didn't. But maybe one of them had Arcturus for a middle name…"

Hermione paused and hid a smile as Harry worked it out in his head.

"Regulus…. Holy…"

"Look at the genealogy in the back. It's complete all the way through Draco Malfoy." Harry looked puzzled. "His mother, Harry! His mother was a Black."

"Oh… oh yeah."

Harry turned to the end of the book. There, staring him in the face in bold letters, right next to Sirius' name:

Regulus Arcturus Black (b. 1963)

R.A.B.

Harry sighed and collapsed into a chair. "O.k…. you found him. Now what?"

Hermione paused. "Well, that's something we're going to need to work out together, all three of us. But this is the best lead we've had; I expected you to be excited."

Harry chuckled. "Oh, I am. But knowing who R.A.B. is is barely scratching the surface. We've still got a long way to go; this just reminded me of that. I mean, how much does this really tell us?"

"It gives us a starting point at any rate. Plus, for what it's worth, it proves that Sirius' nobility was not a fluke. Even though he didn't know who you were, Regulus died to help you out…"

Harry became angry at this last bit. "Yeah, and in doing so he helped weaken Dumbledore enough to be killed as well. You'll pardon me if I don't feel particularly forgiving of him just yet."

"He had no way of knowing that would happen."

"I know. I still am not ready to let this particular bygone be bygone. Ask me again once Voldemort is dead."

"Fair enough."

Harry looked over at the other two books Hermione had brought with her. These two were brand new.

"Great Britain's 100 Most Haunted Places? And Unexplained Mysteries of the British Isles? Going ghost hunting are we?" Harry asked, confused again.

"Well, I started thinking. What would happen if a Muggle stumbled upon the cave with the fake Horcrux? Hypothetically of course, how would they react to the Inferi or to the mysterious green glow in the center of a lake?"

"They would probably think the cave was…" Harry grinned. "Haunted?"

Hermione beamed. "Precisely. Now, you said that the protection that was set up around the cave was meant only to keep out wizards…."

"But Voldemort probably wouldn't have bothered setting up any Muggle protection…"

"So maybe over the years some Horcruxes have already been found… by Muggles," she finished for him.

Harry was silent for a while as he thought about this. "Wouldn't it be so perfect…"

Again, Hermione finished for him. "If Voldemort's underestimation of Muggles proved to be his downfall. I was just thinking the same thing."

Harry smiled his first real smile in weeks. "Let's get reading."

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 4

2008-05-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice

Post 6 : A Long Expected Revelation

CHAPTER 4