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Chapter 33 - Chapter 33 – Elisa

The woman entered the room and bent over to kiss the forehead of the dazed man.

"My dear, I'm back," she murmured, smoothing the blanket across him. Suddenly, she flicked her wand toward where Dana stood:

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!" Dana responded, a thin beam of magic deflected by a blue shield. He countered with "Expelliarmus!"

Caught off guard, the German woman had no time to dodge. She flew backward, crashing into the wall. Her wand spun out of her hand and landed neatly in Dana's grasp.

Recovering instantly, she charged at Dana with ferocious intent, her face twisted in anger. "Why won't you leave Natasha alone?!"

She leapt toward Dana, her red-painted nails aimed for his face––but were intercepted by a Restraining Charm that bound her tightly.

Restrained, she thrashed and spat a torrent of curses in her native German. Dana recognized the switch; English curses had lost their satisfaction for her.

He placed her wand at the foot of the bed and said calmly, "Madam, I'm investigating a matter. I won't harm Natasha."

His perfect Chinese startled her—well, in this version, German. Her cheeks reddened; she hadn't expected him to understand her curses.

Dana had already confirmed the identity of the man in bed: Natasha. Mr. Borgin had not misled him.

Elisa relaxed as Dana released her restraints. "If you'd said you'd pay for the information, I would have welcomed you properly," she said, crossing her arms.

Dana blinked. "Pay? Of course I'll pay."

She sighed. "Then why sneak around?"

"I knocked, but you didn't answer."

Elisa glanced toward Natasha. "I was at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, buying nutritional tonics."

She led Dana downstairs. They sat across from each other on the living room sofa.

"Madam, I'm Dark Dentis," Dana introduced himself. "How shall I address you?"

"Elisa."

"Are you German originally?"

"No," she replied. "I grew up here in Britain. I'm a third-generation immigrant."

Dana nodded. "That explains the accent. How did you know where I was?"

Elisa smiled. "I'm meticulous about cleanliness. Even faint footprints looked like a Lumos Charm at night."

Dana accepted her explanation. He pressed on: "Four years ago, while Natasha worked at the Ministry of Magic, a woman named Anna Avery came seeking help to release her son from Azkaban—he'd been wrongly—well, mistakenly—replaced using Polyjuice Potion. That ruined Natasha's career at the Ministry. Who ordered his dismissal?"

Elisa paused, then said, "I don't know the exact person. But I remember the day. We lived in Godric's Hollow then. Natasha came home panicked—told me we had to leave immediately, though he wouldn't explain why."

They fled to her grandfather's old house—unregistered by the Ministry. But as they packed, black‑clad men burst in.

"They Memory‑Charmed him," she recalled softly. "He was so out of it afterward. I was hidden in the wardrobe, so they didn't find me. I brought him here, and he's been like this ever since."

Dana asked, "Aurors?"

She nodded. "Yes—Aurors and Hit Wizards acting together."

"Can you name anyone?"

Elisa shook her head. "No—but only three people could mobilize both Aurors and Hit Wizards: the Minister of Magic, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, or the Head of the Auror Office. The head of the Auror Office probably wouldn't have that level of authority."

Dana thought quietly. "In 1987, the Minister was Millicent Bagnold. The Head of Magical Law Enforcement was Barty Crouch Sr."

Elisa listened, puzzled.

"Crouch Sr. famously once swapped his dying wife with his son Barty Jr. using Polyjuice. There might be a personal connection here—maybe he saw a chance to enact his own twisted ideas."

Dana scattered a handful of Galleons on the coffee table. "Thank you, Elisa. Consider this your information fee—though I'd gladly pay more if you remembered anything else."

She hesitated.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I'm principled—really need the money, but I can't lie. That's all I know."

Dana stood to leave. As he turned, Elisa began unbuttoning her cheongsam.

"Sir… I… though I have no more intel, I still have myself… Please––pity us. Those tonics are expensive."

Dana rubbed his nose and stepped back. "Madam, I must respectfully decline…"

Just then, the door opened. A young man with red-dyed hair swaggered in.

"Elisa, you've finally come to your senses!" he teased. "I've been telling you: Natasha's useless now. You've supported him long enough over these four years. It's time to remarry!"

He looked Dana up and down. "Not bad—he's good‑looking. Carry on, you two. I'll go grab something to eat—there's a place around the corner I like."

Tom winked at Elisa before slipping out. Elisa sank onto the sofa, exasperated.

Dana gave her one last nod and left the house.

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