Chapter 6: Back at Hogwarts

A/N:I understand some of our readers do not like unperfect writing, I have met people that can't read without stop and be almost in anger if there are some miss-spellings ;(I KNOW it's to be misspellings). If you, my dear readers, are one of them - I'm sorry. Kajsa speak a broken language, of Swedish, sapmi (sami), finnish and norwegian - add in some basic english to that, we left less than 10 percent of it for you to see.

And a WARNING. In the story summary, it says "Non-graphic minor character death". Well the Non-graphic is correct, and so is minor character in my opinion. There are a lot of dementor kissed in this chapter. Some say it's wrong to call them minor characters.

As the translating and the following editing goes on it also being added to this that do not be in at start, some of that is me trying to make myself understood in English, hence all errors and unusual words. And just to be right: In Sweden, sexual interacting below 15 years are no no no. Have a good time.

:-:-:-:

While Sal was on holiday, things happened in England, which he noticed when he came to Gringotts and met with Sikkso for an update. He also met face to face with a sack of mail that included the newspapers he had subscribed to. The wizard had given his goblin friend carte blanche to act on Sal's behalf. The goblin in turn, hired a law firm to conduct a legal action against The Daily Prophet. It was the firm's position that gossip was one thing, but the slander and the false accusations the paper had been printing were something else.

While the returning teen was glancing over the transactions, which were still beyond his comprehension, though he did see that there were more credits than debits, his thoughts were elsewhere. Many scenarios about the conclusion of his plan flew through his head, but Sikkso was remaining silent.

Sal couldn't stand it anymore, he needed to know. "So," he drew out, trying to be causal and failing, "what happened at Number 4? Did my plan work? Please, tell me you have good news, my friend," he asked, looking up from the reports, eager to hear the fallout of what he had done.

"The Dursleys were not implicated in your death. They remain unharmed and free," was the disappointing reply. "Not by the non-magicals at any rate. We found out that Mr. Snape had confronted them before they returned home, and congratulated them on getting rid of you. He berated them for being sloppy after their attempt, and informed them that he had called for a cleanup. That was when he found that they had no clue as to what he was talking about, so he reported to Dumbledore. They then went back and thoroughly cleaned the entire house. There is no trace of any blood, hair or fingerprints left. It is as if you never lived there. That's what our contact reported," he finished with a shrug and raised his hands in a 'what could I do manner'.

"That bloody well sucks," he bit out through grinding teeth, holding onto the parchment harder, and making it wrinkle. "What a waste of my good work, and well-planned revenge. Damn them. I would've loved to have seen Vernon try to slither out of all the evidence I left for the forensic team. I was pretty upset that I couldn't leave my dear uncle's fingerprints with my blood. I figured he could talk his way out with my blood planted, but fingerprints, no way out of that. No, not, fu... well he wouldn't have. No, he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison," Sal said wistfully. "Even without the body, he'd've done some time. And then, the stupid Order had to go and ruin all my hard work," he growled, months of planning all for not. It was beyond frustrating.

"Life is hard, my friend," was the semi-sympathetic response. "I also wanted to let you know that Dumbledore did come here, and he did try to get into your trust vault. He was quite upset when we asked for your Certificate of Death. We know when a customer dies, so by now he must have come to the conclusion that you are still among the living. They just do not know what happened at your former home, or by whom, and we have no reason to tell," Sikkso smirked at that. It was fun to watch them run around and try to find answers.

"He had to try, didn't he?" the teen sighed very much still angry that Vernon was walking free, but glad for the change in subject. Though this wasn't much better. Still, he knew the damned old fool was going to make the effort, but he had hoped he wouldn't. This just solidified what he thought of the ole man.

"Yes, you warn us that he might," Sikkso said blandly, taking the crumbled statements from his client and laid them on the table. "At least you know," he added.

"Yeah, and, now we know, that they know, that I'm alive. At least I got my summer holiday - best summer ever." His face took on a dreamy look as he spent a few moments remembering. He was so glad that he found a way to keep warm on those very chilly nights. He gave a fleeting thought on returning, but disregarded it for now.

"It sounds as if you had fun, good. One day I would enjoy hearing the details. Do you plan on returning?" the goblin asked, echoing the young man's' thought and looking at his vacant expression. Yes, something good must have happened to the boy...perhaps, man? Judging from that look it was entirely possible.

"If I can, yes, but I need to finish my education first," Sal stated with a shake of his head to clear it, and asked, "So do you have more news for me?"

Sikkso picked up a few more papers and shuffled through them. "Shortly after we made the book available, as I said, we took legal action against The Daily Prophet, and a few of the other publishers as well. We also ensnared a few profiteers. Together, they were fined a sum that had never been see in the Wizarding World," he paused for effect, and then sneered, "1,738,894 galleons for the damage they did to the Potter names since you started Hogwarts. You see the figures there," he said as he pointed his gnarly finger on one of the lines.

"That's a big sum," Sal whistled at the figure, but his brow wrinkled as he looked further down the page.

"Plus, an additional half million, well 526,442 galleons, for past royalties on all the books and toys they sold since your parents die. All with interest of course. However, it did not all end up in your vaults," his manager explained, tapping his finger on the table. "The law firm did what they do for a living, and required the standard fee of 5%, when they were done. Since it needed to be formally processed, the judicial body did the same. Government taxes and our fees, cost too. You still got a hefty sum, out of it. Altogether, 1,412,356 galleons," he said as he pointed to one of the lower rows.

"I'd say a job well done. Were there any repercussions?" the dark-haired teen asked, excited at the prospect. Maybe something came from all his plotting.

"The Daily Prophet was also forced to use as much room as they used to slander you to apologize. It was actually a humorous paper, when they followed that order. You see, large areas were completely empty, except a small explanatory text that said; 'The space is reserved for an excuse to Harry Potter,' an admittedly small and short text followed, although their reasoning was lame. The best excuse used was the explanation that the information had come from the Minister himself."

"Good to hear that someone got shafted," Sal said, listening to what had taken place over the two months he had been away. He was still disappointed that his efforts to frame the Dursleys didn't happen. He'd have to think of something else.

"It was the last straw, and it made the situation untenable for the Ministry. Confidence was down below ten percent for Fudge and he was forced out. Just a little after, came the order for us to filter out personal financial reports for some named individuals. They cannot order us to hand over ledgers; however, they can ask us to filter out criminal evidence. The named people are not particularly liked by us, so we helped - for a fee of course. It showed clearly the sequence of transactions had happened from November 1, 1981 to December 31, 1982, which was the time frame that most of the 'Imperiused' Death Eaters walked free," the goblin said with an almost cheery smile on his face.

"I can see you liked the result," the teen asked with an eager smile.

"Yes, very much so, all of the nation was in joy. We really did not like them," Sikkso said gleefully, and pointed to the large headlines in one of the clippings which was attached to a report that was already processed.

After having a good laugh at the plight of the Death Eaters, the two talked more about the happenings, when the investigations were over.

Sal learned that the bank had discovered that along with bribes, there were absences of the interrogations on Malfoy, the rest that were 'controlled', and Snape . Furthermore, the reports showed another lack of interview, for Sirius Black. An old article also referred to the statement of Albus Dumbledore, regarding Severus Snape, in which he said, 'Severus is no more a Death Eater than I am.' With all that was currently being aired to the public, more people realized that the Potions Professor should have known that Sirius Black had never been in Voldemort's service, and he knew Peter Pettigrew was. When they put the knowledge together, one must assume that either Snape was not what Dumbledore claimed he was, or that they were both close to Voldemort.

That put even more fire under the Ministry and the Potions Master was taken in for questioning. They took three day to first cleanse the prisoner of any drugs that may be in his system, and cast other spells to check his memory for adjustments. They found two memory blocks, and the residual effect of a drug that counteracted Veritaserum. He also had two extra wands, which meant he was detained for a month of detention in the Ministry's holding cells. It would give them sufficient time to continue the interrogation.

The greasy-haired man knew about, and approved, the Obliviations, and that Albus Dumbledore had performed them. They never found how what was removed, one theory was about the events during this last school year, the other touched the days immediately after Severus' graduation.

With a multitude of past tortures, and other curses found on Snape, the interrogators pieced together a picture of the said spy's double life. The misuse of powers he had been doing at the school was considered a school affair, but not completely discounted. That, along with the fact that he had taken the service of Voldemort voluntarily, and what he had done in that service, he was sentenced to twelve years, plus life in Azkaban. The first twelve years were for his indifference in not telling the truth about Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. The rest were for his own actions in Voldemort's favor, including giving You-Know-Who the prophecy.

That bit of information almost had Sal bring down the bank. Sikkso calmed him and continued on.

After the judgment had become known, The Daily Prophet repeated that Albus had said that Snape was not more Death Eater he was. The Headmaster now found fit to take back that statement.

Unfortunately, it didn't do anything about the old verdicts. The law existed and could not be changed. Like the one on Malfoy, and a few more of the acquitted, on the grounds that he had been under mental control, despite Snape's testimony claiming that it was Lucius who had encouraged him to join Voldemort in the first place. So even though there was new evidence, those judgments stood.

However, many were imprisoned on new charges, because of the DOM incident, therefore it was easy to act against them. Along with Snape and the recently arrested, the interrogation built a new chain of evidence. One thing became clear; Azkaban was no longer the safe storage it had been believed to be for many years.

Lucius Malfoy along with Avery, Rookwood, Nott, Rodolphus and Rabastan LeStrange, Crabbe, Jugson, Dolohov, Macnair and Mulciber were all found guilty of involvement with Voldemort. Bellatrix LeStrange was also at the DOM, but had managed to get away with Voldemort.

After they were interrogated for a little more than a month, a summary trial was held, and judgment was delivered. They were all executed within 48 hours after the verdict. Each received a Dementor's Kiss, and were then thrown to the Veil of Death, despite Dumbledore's pleas to save their lives. Even Snape was among those who had been executed. Someone hinted at the evidence of where Harry Potter lived, and the fact Severus Snape had been at that location 00:06 the day the boy had disappeared. This new evidence went against him and he was given the death sentence. No one stood up for him, bar Dumbledore, most thinking he was garbage in the closet.

It also had come up at the hearings that there were internal and external groups of Death Eaters. Each of the inner circle had a number in his or her group. It meant that Snape had been in Malfoy's group for a long time. That was until Voldemort lifted him into the inner circle, and slimy bastard started recruiting. It had been his 'contribution' to You-Know-Who's forces that had been the final blow.

They were Kissed, and any wealth, in the form of cash, real estate and stocks in companies, was seized, and based on the testimonies were distributed to a large reparation to the families that had been looted of life and property. This gave Molly Weasley 4,450,000 galleons, as the only remaining heir for her family, though Bill or Charlie would be next. Many others also became nouveau riche.

Draco and Narcissa, and other families of You-Know-Who's minions, were allocated small monthly alms. That was only after they took an oath that they were not, nor would ever be, in He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's service. The rest of the funds were for the possible emergence of relatives to those who had been plundered.

Sal had gone through all the clippings that Sikkso had given him when he heard; "Do you intend to return to Hogwarts? There are a couple of letters from them, I held them separated from the rest, since you were undecided when you left. Now, it's time to decide." Sikkso held up said letters, and handed them over.

Sal took the two envelopes, one of which was the results of his OWLs, which caused him to morph back into his Harry Potter appearance. For a mere second he felt like a normal schoolkid, just happy to know that his test results were good. Then he realized that he'd never be normal, and he gave the letter less interest. Nevertheless, he opened it to see if he could move forward in his studies from here.

OWL results for Harry James Potter

Student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: 1996

Astronomy, A, note 1. 'Not good, but ok,' he thought.

Charms, E, 'I could have been better, however it's satisfactory.'

Defense Against the Dark Arts, O Note 2, 'I did pretty good, though it was expected.'

Transfiguration, E, 'That was expected.'

History, T, 'Expected'.

Care of magical Creatures, E, 'Better than expected'.

Divination, A. 'Not worth my time.'

Potions, A, 'Worse than I thought.'

Note 1: External interference affected the results, and the scores have been modified in relation to the condition.

Note 2: Results exceeding our measuring scale, therefore the score is now counted as double the value.

Thus, you have received 8 approved OWLs, and are now registered as the basic trained Magician.

Continued studies to the next level are possible in the subjects of;

Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures.

Since there are four topics, you may select a further three electives.

Good Luck, and Best Regards,

Griselda Marchbanks

Wizarding Examinations Authority

Department of Magical Education

Before Harry took a closer look at the second letter, he pondered a while. After a bit of thinking he came to a decision, he would continue to study, but not at Hogwarts.

"Sikkso," he said, putting down the letter with his test results, "I don't think that I'll return to Hogwarts, at least not now. Perhaps, in the spring a year or two from now, pending on how fast I learn abroad, I can take the NEWTs there."

"What will you do until then, besides study?" the goblin asked, already reaching for the research he had done..

"Actually, I don't know," the teen said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "For awhile I thought I'd go back to where I was this summer, but when I think more about it, I doubt it. No, I think I need to move around, or something. However, I still need to complete my schooling. What other schools can I go to besides Hogwarts?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"Is a high cost acceptable?" his account manager asked, laying the pamphlets on the table.

"Yes."

"Then I recommend The Centre de Magic, it is a little outside of Toronto, Canada. They have high school, which takes students on a private basis. You look for, or actually request, to be admitted. They have room for you, I have seen to that," he said, giving the teen a knowing nod, like he knew all along that Harry wouldn't go back to Hogwarts.

"You sly goblin," was the comeback. "Right, tell me more."

"There, you will get your very own supervisor, someone who only have you to take care of. Along with that, you can plan and implement your studies. Sometimes, it can mean attending classes with others, but mostly it is individual studies. It all depends on the student's wishes," the goblin explained.

"That's much different than Hogwarts, and sound more like something that will work for me," Sal stated, hanging on every word.

"Yes, I thought as much. Now, the basic cost is about ten times the costs at Hogwarts, there will be a fee for each course you want, along with the cost of food and accommodation. All students live in a student hotel, which is a room with a small kitchenette, study and sleeping area. You can buy food vouchers and eat in the dining room, or buy food at the nearby town, and cook your own meals. Lunch is the only meal included in the basic fee, making sure the students have at least one meal a day. Then there are some courses that cost extra, such as the Practical Part of the Magic Potion course, it is considering the preparation of ingredients."

"Sounds great, set it up," the green-eyed teen said excitedly.

"For some reason I suspected what you wanted, here are application forms. Sit still, read thoroughly, and fill them out. We will send them via our internal delivery service. We have already spoken to our office in Toronto. They are ready to open a vault on your behalf, and we can transfer a tidy sum of money to that vault. Then you will have the resources you need on the spot. You can also take the final test there, which will irritate some to the people at Hogwarts, especially if you do better there," his manager said, handing over a stack of paper.

The boy groaned, and got to work. It took hours until he was done, but when he signed the final line, he felt accomplished. He had a good feeling that he was doing the right thing.

Of course, Harry was accepted, he had attached a note that he used the name Sal Stern, as he was going incognito. They replied they had no issue with that, but his NEWTs would have to be done in his birth name. Three days later, he received a Portkey that would bring him to his new temporary home.

The first problem was the language, when he was in Sweden on holiday almost everyone there spoke English; however, here it was French, and only French. It was school policy that had passed down for ages.

Jauk Milgard, who met Sal, explained to him that he was his advisor, which was a cross between counselor and teacher. The first thing that needed to be done was acquire the language knowledge. There was an easy way, and a hard way. The latter was to be out in the community for a few weeks and learn it, which didn't always work well. The first was to buy copy of a memory and absorb it.

"Memory… copy?" Sal asked, having never heard of that method of learning before.

"Well, all of our courses are that way," was the casual answer. "It is based on the same principle as the pensieve. They are copies of memories that are relevant to the lesson. Here, this is the copy for English to French, which is a set of 55 crystal bottles, at 100 Galleons each. But after that, and very little environment training, you will understand and speak French fluently."

"Okay, so, five or six thousand?" Sal said, doing the calculations in his head. "I'm ok with that." He was told it was expensive, now he was starting to see how pricey this school was going to be. He truly hoped it was worth it. And he found out it was. Jauk explained that all the memories came from Professors that spoke French, mostly because it was easier to keep to one language, hence the need to learn the language right at the start.

- time skip -

Sal was fascinated. In this school the entire Hogwarts seven-year education could be bought by the bottle, and learn it in months. Plus, he learned more, because he was given training along with the pensieve learning, unlike some courses in his old school. There was also a limit on how many one could manage by themselves. The first catch was ten classes a day, although the recommended number was no more than eight. In addition, every third day must be free.

Provided one's consciousness is given time to receive the knowledge, and assimilating it gently, there is no problem. Otherwise there was an imminent risk of overdose, which could lead to a variety of psychological disorders. One of which was that for a short time the person who had left the memories might imprint on the person learning them. This could lead to temporary schizophrenia, which is a form of double personality disorder.

It was here Jauk Milgard came in as his personal advisor, it was he who leveled out the memory vessels. It was his responsibility to his client not let him over do it. Each memory would be followed up with practical use. Now Sal started to understand how it all happened. Everything - absolutely everything he could learn had a cost.

He dashed off a list on which subjects he wanted to buy and their prices. In order, not to miss any of the grounding, it was recommended that he start each course from scratch. He chose to 'read' what he had already knew, including the OWLs, despite having spent five years at Hogwarts. It would be at 150 memories, and he would build on Runes and Arithmancy. Altogether, he was up to 210 storage bottle. He did eight a day, pausing every third. He'd finish in a few months instead of years. The cost was 21,000 galleons, obviously more expensive, and it was not included the basic cost.

He finished it all by the end of October, which for once nothing happened. Much to Sal's relief. He had been on pins and needles all day waiting for the anvil to drop. When he got good scores, and made it through the day, he wondered if it had something to do with Hogwarts, and not him.

After that, he built on to the next level in all subjects. Even though it was only two years to the five, it was more memories, at only 315 pieces, and then he could build on; Animagus 39 others, Magical Transport 81, more knowledge of magical protection was another course, which covered only 96 bottles of which 88 were bodywork.

Time passed quickly as he studied, most of the other students only saw him in passing. During the Christmas and New Year holidays, the school was closed. The Student Hotel entrance to the school was locked, but the hotel part was in operation and had an outside entrance. It was one of the major differences from Hogwarts, the Student Hotel was considered an Annex and was not part of the school itself. Anyone who wanted to, could go out in the normal society whenever they felt the need. However, it would be quiet and calm after nine o'clock at night. Rest was really needed.

It had become the month of March, and there were only days left of his scheduled memories. His Animagus form was what he had hoped for, a falcon.

A Peregrine. He could passably create a flying broom with a good piece of wood. Though it couldn't really be called a broom. However, it could take him, or someone else, across rivers or rough ground if there was and could create Portkeys - but he need to know the point of arrival. He could Apparate and Teleport. The difference was actually both small and infinite.

Apparation created a tube in the sky with a point of arrival in mind, because going by coordinates was a gamble. Teleporting was trans-dimensional, because the transfer required the force which was equal between the amount of matter and the distance squared. So, double the distance required four times more power. Teleportation however demanded to open two ports, the step between them was not tied to the physical distance, if he did not know the point of arrival, he do it by first opening the first gate - then at POA he find a place for the output gate. The two step was ten times more interesting, as it also admitted the possibility to step back - the limitation of time to search the output stage was dependent on the personal strength. Thus, to look for the outgate give the opportunity for a limited time to see and hear the supposed POA, to spy for short. But as it was in another dimension hence one was open for inhabitants living there, and as long you stay with open doors - who know what can pass behind your back.

He was done with all scheduled courses by March 4. There were ten days before the tests to practice the practical's, during that time no one was to use memory transfer.

After those ten days, the weeks' long testing started, which finished on April 1. Making him done with all the studies, which at times felt like cramming. The subtotal -in addition to the 20,000 galleons it cost to be there - was nearly 90,000. An immense sum, but now he had all the knowledge. He felt it was well worth it. It would have cost less had he not started at the beginning, but he felt the grounding studies were important.

After the tests, he had one month left, which he was going to devote to the advanced combat skills. Those last 155 memories made the grand total 100,000 galleons. This school had been much tougher than Hogwarts. Besides, all the memories, and custom practices his advisor had with him, he had had dueling technology, and fighting. The latter was a cruder form of duels. To even be able to do it, he had had a pretty hard physical training by running around in a hall, climbing the hanging rope, weightlifting, a variety of body movements, which enabled both the back and abdominal muscles. Pistol Shooting, which was included in the defense course had taught him that the strength in the arms, combined with a meditation technique that significantly enhanced performance.

The last month's course included protection against mental reading of one's thoughts and memories. What Snape taught him wasn't even close to the correct way. But now, now he could defend himself against Occlumens, even against Snape, who he felt he had out mastered the art.

Due to the fact that he did so well, he was encouraged to return, if they had any advisor vacancies. There were even courses left to choose from. With the final bodywork, he had permission to be a teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

At the beginning of May, Sal Stern began packing his books and notes. Yes, even with the pensieve like training there were books. He wanted to take his NEWTs at Hogwarts, so he packed and was ready to go.

-Back in London-

Upon his return to England, Sikkso warned Hogwarts that there was a student that was homeschooled and want to graduate with the current class. No name had been mentioned. Harry did not want to reveal that he had the name of Black, plus the NEWTs only counted in his birth name, besides he didn't want anyone to know about his metamorph ability. Maybe he'd have to reveal before the summer came. But it was time for the first test, he was going to sit for the OWLs in Runes and Arithmancy the next day, so he went to the midday meal in the Great Hall.

"Harry?" He heard Hermione's voice and soon there was an absolute silence, then it broke into murmurs, and a bunch of questions came his way simultaneously. Instead of turning to one of them, he went up to the Staff Table. Albus Dumbledore sat there, a little surprised for it was Harry Potter.

"Headmaster, Harry Potter here to take the OWLs in Runes and Arithmancy, then take the NEWT for Potions, Runes, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, History, Astronomy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said, ignoring the Student Body as a whole.

"Harry, where have you been, my boy?" came the irrelevant question. "We thought something terrible had happened to you, and you did not answer our letters," said the Headmaster in his most disappointed voice as he stared into Harry's eyes. To say he was shocked that he could get no surface thoughts from the teen was an understatement.

"That doesn't concern you, or anyone else for that matter," Harry said with a shrug. "What I do in my spare time is my own business." he stared right back, not the least bit concerned that the old man would see anything.

"Harry, my boy, we, the staff and your friends, have been worried ... for you," Albus repeated, hoping that he could guilt the boy into opening up if he showed genuine concern.

"Look, old man, I'm only here to take the exams. Does your old head not comprehend that little bit of info?" the green-eyed teen snapped. "I'm not here to discuss what I've been doing when I'm not here. Are your ear canals too waxed for hear normal speech?" he sneered, then looked to McGonagall. "Perhaps I should address your second."

"Mr. Potter, address the headmaster with respect, and use his title of headmaster," all but bellowed the old Scot in a harsh voice.

"Mc_Gon_a_gall," Harry said, with a voice that was colder than a Dementor's, "While he speaks to me under the premise of epithets, and with disparaging emphases, I will do the same. He has now twice appealed to me on first name basis. I'm taking it to mean that we're at level with each other. Moreover, I'm no longer a student here. I'm just here to take my exams. I've already paid the fee."

"Mr. Potter, we assumed you would have been here when school started. We have not heard from you since you went home for summer vacation last year," Minerva announced her dissatisfaction with whom she now realized was a former student.

"Two errors in that sentence. First, he," Harry pointed with his thumb towards Albus and kept talking, "said 'came home', no, you, or someone else, possibly saw was that I went to the Dursleys, not home. That hellhole has never been a home to me," he spat out, a look of anger crossed his face."Second is, how could you see it? Were you there, and if so, why? Do you make sure that all your students make it home? When I left this place the last year, I had lost all confidence that I may have had for this school, its staff and the Ministry. You," he waved to encompass all of the staff, "are not in charge of who I see, where I go, or what I do. Letters, you say? I haven't seen any. Who knows where they are, perhaps in some secret storeroom, like all my letters through the years. According to my bank, I have a guest room reserved for me, I prefer to take my meals there. I don't seem to be welcome here."

Despite all the cries for him to stop, he left without looking back, he was going to ignore them altogether. He had made his point. He noted as he left that there were enormous gaps at the Slytherin table.

He had just remembered what he had asked Hogwarts to do. Perhaps, more that he got a reminder of the castle itself, it seemed to speak to him. He had been here before; he knew exactly where he was going.

End of chapter

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