Yay! A new chapter! What a great surprise after the day I've had! Many thanks, and here's hoping that Dumbles Halloween leads onward and upward to a worse November and terrible Christmas.....and a miserable New Year! I loved seeing Marge and Ripper get their just reward; and hope dear Snape gets something just right for him..... To bad, so sad for Dumbles, missing that new prophecy is just another instance of his well deserved and miserable luck! Here's hoping that Voldy and company have lots of bad dances coming to them courtesy of Harry's plots! I bet Mack enjoyed that roast, wish my dinner had included one just like it! Many thanks for the chapter! :)
Author's response
Heya Teresa!
Glad to know my words lifted your spirits, and you are quite welcome.
Dumbledore: His year has started off bad, and is only gonna get worse. While the major blows are over (for the time being) I’ve arranged for a few potsots courtesy of our favorite gossip columnist between now and December.
Snape: Funny you should mention him. His Christmas gift will be closely tied to Dumbledore’s and those for the other Deez who bought their way free.
Ripper: I really hated to do that, unfortunately under Marge Dursley’s ‘Tutalage’, Ripper has become a dangerous animal. I believe strongly that it’s not the breed, it’s the breeder. In canon, there is a strong parallel between Dudley and Ripper (and Draco, for that matter). They had been taught there would be no consequences for their actions, and as a result, they were undisciplined animals. Personally, think Marge should have shared his fate, but perhaps the legal system can punish her appropriately. My usual punishment for her is fifteen years in prison, a £25,000 (US$45,000.oo) fine, and her breeders license revoked for the rest of her life.
Prophecy: The funny thing is no one will ever hear it. Depending on how a prophecy gets to the DoM, it might well be fulfilled before it’s ever recorded…if it ever is. Since Sybill doesn’t remember it, and there was nobody around to hear it, the tree made no noise.
You may insert an evil chuckle here.
Voldy’s fate is nearly sealed. There are only three soul jars left and in figurative January, the Diary will be gone. After that, it’s only Tom and Harry. (Sorry.) As for his morons…erm minions, see ‘Christmas gift’, above.
The roast: I greatly enjoy cooking, which is why I usually include something edible in my stories. While I’ve made crown roasts a handful of times, usually for a holiday meal, and they taste wonderful, quite honestly, they’re expensive and usually more trouble than they’re worth.
Until next time…
Alorkin