His stomach hurt, still feeling the hook-like pull of the portkey. He gently rubbed at it. Even Flitwick, who came to a stop next to him, looked queasy.


    "No point in reacting," Filius said. "Not in a good position to defend our rights here. As much as we''re half-bloods in Britain, here we are something even worse." A dark look passed over his eyes. "We''re British."


    Flitwick shot him an odd look. "It''s a constitutional monarchy, much like muggle Britain. The Habsburgs, if I remember correctly. They only survived so long because they''ve been coasting off the good-will of betraying Grindelwald in the end, even if they covertly supported him for the longest time," he said, this time in English, presumably not to get involved in a political debate with any natives.


    -/-


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    He would have preferred the muggle version.


    "You seem to have something on your mind," Flitwick said.


    "Does that imply that not everyone loves duelling?"


    The two of them had moved towards a golden elevator where a house elf with a horrible German dialect (seemingly Appenzeller Swiss), dressed in the outfit of a ''60s American lift operator, asked them which floor they wanted to go to.


    The two duellists took a break from their conversation to tell the elf that they wanted to go to the 17th floor, at which the servant was happy to press the appropriate button.


    Most recent wars and conflicts have been purely ideological, such as Grindelwald''s refusal to allow magicals to bow down to muggles in the context of the statute of secrecy.


    In a way, the statute had done much to advance the cause of magical research. While schools had existed before, the need to suddenly centralise created a unified system and allowed research and excellence to occur much more efficiently.


    However, Harry had to admit that the statute chafed something fierce on a purely ideological and philosophical level. Why did they have to hide?


    "And who would be fighting against who in this reproduction?" Harry asked curiously.


    "The blood war has taken its toll on people and their enthusiasm for violence. But, we are in Europe now, and Grindelwald''s War is much further in the past than our national conflict is."


    -/-


    "They won''t know what hit them," the charms master said with a delighted laugh.


    Harry smiled back tiredly, with a small smile. "No, they won''t. nobody will."