broom Breaking News

Axes of Evil Back

Waves and Water Make a Man

The Potter Phenomenon

Violet Vainglory, greatest gossip of the Wizarding World, has been so courageous and daring to visit a lecture by famous Doctor Everard Huntingdon on the phenomenon Harry Potter. She has managed to lure the Doctor into an interview, which broom now proudly presents. VV: My dear doctor, I am so delighted to meet you. How are you? EH: Eh… I am not sure what to say, but, well, as I am here… I am fine, I think. VV: Yes. Thinking is your job, dear doctor. And the latest subject of your thoughts was Harry Potter. EH: Ah yes, Harry Potter. A curious boy, that. Yes, a very curious boy… I think. VV: Why is he curious? I mean, we all know that he survived the deadly spell by You-Know-Who (dear Violet, please use his name: Voldemort!), but what else do you think curious? EH: Me? I do not think curiously, no, my lady. Mr Potter has survived the Killing Curse, the only one living who survived it, obviously the other victims of the curse are dead, so nobody can report about the Curse, which is a very curious thing come to think of it… that curse is so deadly, yes, but why did

anyone want to… VV: Doctor, dear, dear Doctor, can we get back to Harry Potter? EH: Oh. Of course, yes, well… Sometimes I do get carried away, you see. Harry Potter is a media phenomenon, don’t you see? VV: Begging your pardon? Did you realise that only after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Violet! He’s got a name: Voldemort!) returned or even earlier? EH: Eh… Well, did he return? That is a very philosophical question is it not, because actually he doesn’t seem to have been away at all… VV: Harry Potter wasn’t away, no, sir. EH: Oh, Mr Potter! Yes, Mr Potter! You see, the media have been rather avid to get news about him lately – and indeed right after the attack on his parents and himself, the boy gained immediate fame. Not that anyone would like to get fame that way, but there you are, it can’t be helped. There’s natural fame such as this, and fame achieved by laborious work in getting into the media, like Gilderoy Lockhart. VV: So you think that Harry Potter is a phenomenon just because he is himself? EH: In a way, yes, I think. He would be a normal boy, of course, if there

hadn’t been the despicable attack. VV: So in the end You-Know-Who (VIOLET!!! It’s Voldemort!) made Potter famous? EH: Yes. That’s the conclusion I arrived at after analysing pages upon pages of articles written about the boy in various printed media. VV: Like what? EH: Like every magazine and newspaper in the wizarding world. VV: Including broom? EH: No, I’m afraid I’ve never even heard of that. VV: Well, you just did an interview for broom. EH: Did I? Eh… Well, surprising, isn’t it? VV: Thank you, doctor, for your enlightening words on the Potter-phenomenon. Violet reports the doctor left through the wrong door, the one leading to the balcony, and climbed down the drainpipe. We are happy to say that, for us, Harry Potter is a celebrity of his own doing, thanks to various deeds like rescuing Miss Ginevra Weasley. We also want to add that there are loads of similar heroes running around. You know who we mean, folks! Kudos!

broom's Best Bad Boy Board

Ramon Vargas, our definitely best bad boy right at the moment, has left deep traces in the lives of his fellow creatures. Of course he is an adept of the rule that only pure-blood wizards and witches are worth knowing, not to speak of living. Please note that we here at broom do not support any such idiocy. Vargas’ ideas, however, made it rather difficult to find any friends or family willing to talk to us and give us their impression of him. Foes we could have found in dozens, but friends? Still, we managed to find someone, let us call him Mr. M. Mr. M wants to stay anonymous, out of obvious reasons. Here’s what he can report about Ramon Vargas: Ramon Vargas is related to me. And my family also likes his ideas. Ramon is the glorious hope of our family, you see. He’s the prince incarnate, the dark, handsome guy who will rule the world eventually. Well, part of the world obviously, as all of my family serve Voldemort. Except of me, that is, which is why I’d rather not reveal my name.

Anyway, Ramon and me were pen-pals at school. I was at a school in another European country, and we were encouraged to keep contact with other wizarding schools. Ramon was my pen-pal, and what he reported from his activities at school, and how he loathed being at school with all those muggle-lovers and mud-bloods made me shudder even back then. However, things got real tough after school, when Ramon completely went over to the Dark Side. He tried to make me follow suit. At first he tried it the family way, you know, coaxing and asking nicely and so on. When I refused to cooperate and even left my hometown, he began to bully me. First he persuaded my dad to cut off my monthly payment. When that did not succeed, I got threats. Threats of being killed in the special family way. Means: poisoning. He did not succeed with that. I am still safe, I am still alive, but the stress lies on ‘still’. We shall see what the future brings, but rest assured: Ramon Vargas will be one of the most avid followers Voldemort has ever had. Resistance Rocks.

Is the Piano Man the Half-Blood Prince?

Our indefatigable news-hunters have already informed you that there has been a mysterious person suddenly appearing at the Kentish coast. His appearance has provoked questions we here at broom cannot avoid making public. The rumours about a Half-Blood Prince have been running high ever since the first bit of information leaked out. Every strange incident has been scrutinized and analyzed concerning its significance for the present situation. In other words, every old gossip has been talking about the tiniest strange thing. Now, a man being found drenched on a beach, looking like a mistreated child

come from his father’s funeral, is definitely worth talking about. Thinking about, too. What if that mysterious man is the Half-Blood Prince? What if some deluded people (a.k.a. Death Eaters) have been meddling with his memory? As we all know, Voldemort did return. With the Dark Lord around, nothing is impossible. Plus, there are rumours that Azkaban is not half as safe as we all thought it was. Just remember Sirius Black – he got out of there, and nobody has managed to catch him so far. Who can predict which felon is going to break out next! There are loads of people in Azkaban willing and capable of joining ranks with Voldemort at the faintest whisper.

And there are loads of people out here who have already joined Voldemort. Willing and capable of attacking a poor young man who looks cute and a bit as if his memory has been modified. Bless the Muggles, they will never think of such a possibility. What if that poor dear piano-player is the Half-Blood Prince, caught before he could act according to his title and defy Voldemort? We here at broom warn you yet again and want you to keep your eyes open. Should any rumours occur in your neighbourhood, please contact us immediately. We can coordinate defence measures for you should you feel threatened. RESISTANCE ROCKS! (MF & BC)

Crossword

7 


 


1 
 
8 XIII


1 
 I
 
 
 
 
 
 
3 
 
 
 
 
 
 XII


 
 
 


 
5 
6 
 
 


2 
 
 
 
 
 VIII
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4 
 
 III

 
 
 
 XIV
 


 
 IV
 
 
 


5 
 
2 
 
 
 
 
 
3 
 VI
 
 VII
 X


 
 
 


 
 


 
 


6 
 XI
 
 
 
7 
 
4 
 


 II
 
 


 
 
 


 
 


 
 


 V
 


 IX

Across
1 a common ingredient in potions, a flower of the family of lilies
2 cuddly little fellows - but with dangerous fangs
3 want to get rid of your mother-in-law? Use this and put on old lace
4 dried grass
5 a medieval remedy, supposedly complied by a king of Pontus (Caesar had trouble with that guy)
6 squeezed fruit or vegetables
7 you should not go any further when you reached this - unless you're a lemming

Down
1 used in many remedies and potions as leaves, powder, berries and smoke
2 either something sweet and sticky or a remedy against every ailment you can think of
3 covers your table nicely
4 a noble animal, especially when made of gold
5 not north
6 teachers should never be too much of this
7 Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim
8 if you want to blow your house up, brew your potions in there

The looked for phrase:

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____  ____ ____ ____ ____ ____!
I    II   III  IV   V    VI   VII  VIII IX    X    XI   XII  XIII XIV   

Three Guesses Who Will Be The Half-Blood Prince

(Book 6) Again we here at broom would like to think about, discuss and speculate on the identity of the long awaited half-blood prince. In an earlier edition we had stated that Justin Finch Fletchley and Hengist Alret were two likely candidates, now we want to change our opinion: Hengist, sorry, but you will never count as a half, rather two. Guess number one is still Justin Finch Fletchley. As we have said earlier he was about to go to a posh school and is half wizard, half muggle. And he is hated by Voldemort! Never forget that or why else should the snake have attacked him? Guess number two is Neville Longbottom. He was thought to be a squib. Are you sure he is a pure blood? We’re not. Might be that his mum or dad had a little adventure and out came little Neville. Prince Neville, that sounds very convincing to us.

Guess number three is Dean Thomas. He was said to have half-brothers and half-sisters. That would fit in very neatly into the scheme of half-blood. Then again if you add those up you will have 1 and a half… Guess number four is the proof that we cannot count to three and you should therefore forget about what we have said under guess three. Remus Lupin seems to be an appropriate choice. He is a werewolf and for all we know has been so all his life. He is the prince of the werewolves. Iahoo! Guess number five is Crookshanks. Who is that curious cat-creature anyway? We don’t know anything about him. The prince of the cats or whatever animal/animagus he might be. That would certainly be very interesting. Guess number six is Trevor the toad. We don’t know too much of our little

reptile friend, except that he tends to go out on his own to discover his kingdom – or should that be princedom? We here at broom are not sure about that. Guess number seven is professor Snape. Yes, you have read correctly. He could be a vampire prince who prefers the nightlife to the hard strivings of the day – or maybe not…it would certainly be a task to endure his Snapeship in fact it already is so now, so nothing would change really. We here at broom hope you liked our little quest on the topic of the identity of the half-blood prince. Please do not take any of these serious for all we know we don’t know. If you happen to be one of the people mentioned above or if you happen to be the half-blood prince and are not mentioned above, please send us an owl! (anon.)

Editors' Corner

Will the Axes of Evil Be Back? Resistance rocks, dear readers, but will it be enough? Our sources tell us Voldemort is back, but we do not yet know whether he has gathered all his followers again. Do you remember the death Eaters? Yes? Well, there is something even more dreadful than them: the Faithful Six, the Slaying Hands – the Axes of Evil. Voldemort’s group of elite murderers. Is resistance enough to keep them at bay?

Maybe not - BUT THAT’S NO REASON TO GIVE UP. Don’t let yourself being bullied into subservience to known Death Eaters! We are more than them, and our strength is unison, believe me. So, even if the Axes of Evil will come back, their axes will meet harder wood than ever before. Keep your heads up, preferably on your shoulders! Yours in fellowship, Brian Cullen

---

Disclaimer: All names, characters and places are property of J.K. Rowling and Warner bros., except of those not found in the "Harry Potter" books and movies which belong to Ulrike Friedrich and Kirsten Seelbach. No financial and/or commercial gain is intended.