Thanks for those answers. I'm usually loathe to ask questions that might cause any spoilers, but my curiosity knows no bounds (particularly on the political intrigue level of this novel). I don't remember the particulars regarding the rights of wizards to refuse veritaserum. Of course, it seems like a Fifth Amendment kind of situation against self incrimination, but given the intrinsic backwardness of the Wizarding World and the fact the England was notorious for torturing confessions not so long ago, I could imagine a situation where they information could be obtained that way. Not to mention how many times rules are broken within Canon, in the name of expediency, or whatever ;-}

I apologize if my concerns, regarding those lines I referred to, was in any way perceived (by you) as insulting. I may not have been clear in that I didn't think they were necessarily grammatically incorrect, merely different than what I was used to reading. It was meant in a constructive criticism vein and now that you mention the archaic diction angle, I can see where it came from. I had not seen you use this type of particular diction when writing dialogu before (at least that I remember) and was clearly out of my element. I guess that's what happens when I leave comments at ludicrous AM times ;-}