Chapter 25 Tomorrow Belongs to Me

Thanks and praise to excessivelyperky, whose wit and presence (and inexhaustible store of knowledge) inform this increasingly complex tale. As always, anyone you recognise belongs either to JK Rowling, Arthur Conan Doyle or Laurie R. King. Blessed be!

"All is proceeding as you ordered, my Lord. Jaeger received the materials I sent him and straightaway set about his work."

"You have monitored his progress personally?"

"Yes, my Lord. I visit him every two nights or thereabouts. He is always happy to see me; eager to show me how his work is proceeding. Last night he announced that the serum is ready and he needs test subjects. I told him I would speak to my leader, the Kommandant." The blond wizard smiled; the Third Reich morbidly fascinated Voldemort, and to give him the honorary rank of 'Commander' was most flattering.

"Yesss, my dear, I like that. I have located the ideal subjects. So perfect, my dear, that they shall not only be the subjects of the final test, but shall also deliver our much-needed ethnic cleansing to the impure Wizarding World."

Doktor Jaeger ushered the six visitors into his small, cramped apartment. 'Come in, gentlemen, come in," he said. "I have been expecting you, I am honoured by your presence!" Kapitan Klaus Schlechtglaube smiled hospitably as the scientists seated themselves in Doktor Jaeger's small sitting-room. He introduced himself to the visitors, going around and shaking each one's hand. Humming to himself a little Schubert art song, Stern die Liebe, Glanz Gebilde (Lovely stars of shining vision), he prepared the tea. The visitors accepted refreshments and politely questioned Jaeger about his early research in genetics. They were, after all, geneticists from the University of Meknes, and they had been interested onlookers during the Second War. In particular, Dr Mengele's experiments had been fascinating.

"We have been seeking you for many years, Dr Jaeger," said Dr Abdullah Ibn Fawzi, the celebrated innovator of cloning as it had been practiced in the Middle East for years before a humble cloned sheep had been born in Scotland. "We understand that you have developed a serum that encourages human cells to respond to cloning in the laboratory."

"Yes, yes," replied Dr Jaeger. His eyes sparkled behind his thick glasses. Kapitan Schlechtglaube seated the elderly man as he might a dear father, gave him a cup of tea. The old man fondly patted his hand. "Thank you, Herr Kapitan." He turned to his visitors: 'He treats me as if he were my son. Now, gentlemen, a mere half-milliliter, taken orally, permeates the cells of the entire body with a willingness to participate in cloning. Within a half hour, a paring of the fingernail, a cheek swab or even a strand of hair is imbued with the properties of cooperation. I intend to demonstrate the same to you this very day."

The tea that afternoon was particularly nice, thanks to the Kapitan's generosity. There was cream for the tea, cake and pastries that must have come from Vienna, and a fine set of porcelain cups, saucers and plates. The tea finished, Mrs Alnezadshvili, motivated to serve as maid by the Kapitan's large ruble note pressed into her palm, removed the cups and plates and then left them alone.

"Now," said Dr Jaeger, "here is your chance to participate in the creation of history, gentlemen." He went to his worktable and returned with a rack carrying eight small glass tubes, each with about a quarter inch of clear fluid in the bottom.

"Now, before we begin, Dr Jaeger," said Dr Ezra Hamzawi, "once we have taken the serum, and given you the small sample of tissue, what then? How will we know the results? Surely you don't intend to duplicate all of us!" There was general laughter.

"It's quite simple, gentlemen," Dr Jaeger said mildly. "Your sample will be combined with a culture of stem cells from laboratory mice. Within a few minutes, the cells will begin to mutate, and then -- and then, meine Herren, you shall see mouse stem cells transform into human cells – with your own DNA! What you do with these samples, then, is up to you. I shall provide you with chilled carrying cases, so you can take these little miracles back to your own country." He handed each of the scientists a vial of serum, offered one to Kapitan Schlechtglaube, and took the one remaining vial in his hand. "Oh, I must remind you that no alcohol was used in the preparation of the serum, as I understand that some of you may not take strong drink."

"A toast, gentlemen, to science. Tomorrow belongs to us!" They raised the phials, and as one, drank down the few drops of serum. Dr Jaeger hobbled amongst his visitors, taking pulses, peering into eyes for any signs of distress. Everyone seemed to feel quite well, and after a half hour, he brought over a tray with individual swabs in test-tubes, to collect a tiny bit of epithelial material from the inside of each scientist's mouth. That done, he sat down in his chair, and looked round at his distinguished visitors.

"You can't possibly imagine, gentlemen," he said softly, "how much you have done to save the world." He looked at Dr Hamzawi. The man's eyes looked distant then surprised.

Herr Kapitan Schlechtglaube stood, pulling down his trim uniform jacket. He turned to Jaeger: "It is time for the final steps, Herr Doktor." In one fluid motion, he drew a slender wooden stick from his left sleeve. "Now, Doktor, we must pronounce the charm together." Jaeger withdrew his wand reverently from his sleeve, held it aloft and murmured, "Omnia incantata facta sunt!" The virulent, mutated influenza virus travelled swiftly to the unsuspecting subjects' lungs, where it multiplied at an impossible rate, choking off breath, squeezing bronchial tubes flat. The learned doctors squirmed in their seats, grabbing at their throats, looks of horror upon their faces. In a moment they were dead.

Jaeger hastened over to the first man, probing for a pulse. He turned to the Kapitan: "Something is wrong! They should have felt no ill effects, none at all! They should be awake, awaiting the results of the stem cell procedure! That was the first step of creating a base of purebred clones – the next generation of Aryan children!" Distractedly, he tottered from one to the other, verifying their death, the expressions of pain and terror on their faces.

Kapitan Schlechtglaube put his arm around the old man's shoulder. "Now, now," he soothed, "every experiment carries some risks. It may be that their – ethnic makeup, Middle Eastern descent, has affected the test in some way. It's an unfortunate outcome, but we cannot bring them back. They chose to participate in our effort, and they have paid the ultimate price. I will transport them back to my Headquarters, and officials there will contact the families. Please, sit down and stop worrying," and he put the old man into a chair. A few swishes and flicks of his wand, and the hapless scientists were gone.

Doktor Jaeger put his face into his hands. "What shall I do? They were to be the parents of tomorrow!" He began to weep. Klaus Schlechtglaube crossed his arms and twiddled his snake-headed swagger stick in his fingers. He shook his head. Poor old swot. He sighed. "Avada Kedavra."

A/N: Omnia incantata facta sunt! Let all the spells be cast!