Grindelwald's Gold

"I've also brought you something to read," Luna announced after she'd turned the empty soup bowl into a marble and slipped it into her pocket. She rummaged in her tote bag—a bulky thing with bright exotic patterns stitched on the flap—and pulled out a copy of the Quibbler. Beaming, she handed it to Hermione. "The new editor is running an excellent series: Adventures in wizarding archaeology. You'll love that."

Hermione was about to thank Luna and put it aside for later (fully intending to beg Madam Pomfrey for a discrete Vanishing spell), when a headline caught her attention. She quickly scanned the article:

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GRINDELWALD'S GOLD IN BRITAIN—DOES SNAPE HAVE SECRETS? DOES MALFOY KNOW MORE?

The lost gold of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald may well be in Britain, admits wizarding archaeologist H.W. Jones Jr.

After investigations in Albania, famous Egyptologist and archaeologist John Carnahan has challenged the common assumption that Tom Marvolo Riddle 'Lord Voldemort' only became interested in Gellert Grindelwald in spring 1998, when he started hunting for the so-called 'Elder Wand'.

"What people fail to realise," reveals Carnahan, "is that Grindelwald's holiday home Drachenhorst is not just any old castle in the Albanian forests: it is the very same castle where Voldemort lay hidden until he could strike a deal with Quirrell in 1991 to smuggle him back into Britain."

Gold not Gone, Say Experts

Local legends claim that vast amounts of gold were hidden in the dungeons of Drachenhorst—Grindelwald's Gold. But after Grindelwald's defeat at the wand of Albus Dumbledore in 1945, the gold could not be found. Witnesses later maintained that a conditional Vanishing spell activated the moment Grindelwald lost to Dumbledore.

Experts, however, remain dubious. "You don't just vanish gold," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin, displaying several sets of very pointy teeth. "Especially not a treasure hoard so immense it would have financed Grindelwald's Greater Good campaign in wizarding communities all over the world."

Does Malfoy Know More?

If Voldemort got the gold, two British wizards may know more: famous Severus Snape and infamous Lucius Malfoy.

Successful spy Snape must know most of Riddle's and Dumbledore's secrets. And luscious Lucius Malfoy acted as treasurer of self-styled 'Dark Lord' Riddle. Yet Malfoy's trial never touched the matter of Grindelwald's gold. Neither wizard has been questioned about this, admits Junior Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic, Theodore Nott. And in spite of the Ministry's current financial straits, no official investigations are under consideration at the moment.

Hidden at Hogwarts!

"Rubbish!" cries Bartimaeus Bagshot, younger brother of the late Bathilda Bagshot and formerly neighbour of the Dumbledore family. "Voldemort never got the gold. Dumbledore took it. It's hidden in the dungeons at Hogwarts. If you want the gold, ask Snape, that snake!"

Upon inquiries, a friend of the Snape family…

oooOooo

For a second Hermione just stared, not quite sure if she should laugh or cry. Shaking her head, she looked up at her friend and forced herself to return Luna's smile with one of her own.

"Thank you, Luna," she managed. "That is really… very exciting…"

"Oh yes," Luna agreed happily. "And imagine, I met Mr. Jones when I was in Brazil. He's quite dashing, considering that he's about the same age as Professor McGonagall. And he knows some fascinating spells. For instance, he can turn his wand into a whip—very useful in the jungle…"

oooOooo

"Bertie wants what??" George, who'd been whistling happily over the draft of a new Wheeze, jerked up, mouth agape, eyes round.

"Bertie Botts wants us to sell Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to him," Ron confirmed.

"Is he completely off his broom? Why—ever—should we do that?"

Ron nodded. "That's exactly what I asked him, too. I mean, business is going real well for us. Mkay, apart from them EMU regulations that are driving me barmy. But, the real business—better than ever, I'd say. Especially once Hannah's sweets hit the shelves, that's gonna be big…" He trailed off, frowning. "Do you think he maybe got wind of that, and wants to buy us out before we end up direct competition to his products? I don't see how, though. Hannah's as trustworthy as they come. Maybe someone at the Leaky got a glimpse of her experiments and put two and two together?"

George grimaced. "I just hope we don't have a leak at the factory. Drat those house-elves. Dobby was a good chap. But you never know exactly where the loyalties of hired elves lie." With a sigh, he rolled up the parchment with the draft. "I'd better Apparate over and check up on the little buggers. And then I might as well go and try to find out what's up with Bertie …"

"Do that," Ron agreed, miserably eyeing miles of parchment rolled up on his desk. Hopefully business in the afternoon would be too brisk for him to have the time to deal with this newest bout of EMU non-sense.

oooOooo

In the Great Hall lunch was over. Students left for Quidditch, study groups or club meetings, while others settled down with their homework.

Prue Halleywell waved over to Alina and Gilly, pointing at the empty seats opposite of her, various scrolls, books and quills already spread out, and a paper-bag from Honeydukes to sweeten the ordeal of studying.

Alina (who rather needed some encouragement to face her Arithmancy homework) reached into the bag straight away. What she pulled out looked like a Muggle pencil.

what's that? her quill sketched out. i've never seen that before

A new line of Bertie Botts, Prue wrote her reply to Alina by hand. Great stuff. That's like a sugar quill, just candy-coated. There's also cavity-filling candy.

Geilis grimaced, pressing her lips tightly together. Prue just grinned and added with her quick, sloppy scrawl: And Luminous Lollies. And Hand Fudge—don't need to eat it to taste it, just hold it.

brill, Alina replied. that cavity candy is the perfect gift for Hermione, i'll totally get that next Hogsmeade weekend

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A/N: Everything you recognise from Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" actually belongs to Willy Wonka. Anything you recognise from Indiana Jones also belongs to Indiana Jones. The same goes for "The Mummy".

Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome: if something made you frown or smile, or if there's a line that you really enjoyed ... feel free to drop me a line and let me know.