Quite the intense chapter, but it gives a lot of needed background. 'Twould seem that the first Dumbles' refusal to consider aught but his own ideas and concepts straightjacketed him into a losing postion and Britain, and likely much of the world, lost because of his tunnel vision. At least Nicolas Flamel won't be as fixiated and we can hope that -this- Dumbles won't be in a position to cause trouble. Now, the earlier returned Tommy-boy will be a bit more of a headache, though I rather suspect that he's going to find Barone/Potter to be even more of one. The relationship 'tween Harry, Hermione, and Blaise should get quite interesting as they mature; if they ever all get interested in each other, a multiple marriage like that could definitely go a long way toward ending the bad blood 'tween the two families.