"Enjoy a starting salary of 700 Galleons per month, a Ministry of Magic broomstick and your own, regular bed at Saint Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries"
-- recruitment advertisement appearing in the Daily Prophet (DP2)
Alastor Gumboil is an employee at the Ministry of Magic, recruiting for new members for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He placed an ad in the Daily Prophet looking for applicants for the position of “Hit-Witch” or “Hit-Wizard”. Mr Gumboil’s office is located in Room 919 at the Ministry (DP2).
Commentary
Etymology
Alastor is a Greek name (Ἀλάστωρ) and means "avenger". It is one of the descriptions of the god Zeus (Wikipedia). The word also means "an avenging demon or god" (Oxford English Dictionary).
A gum-boil is "a type of dental abscess or mouth infection" and can be very painful. The name may also be related to:
- gumshoe - a slang term for a detective
- hard-boiled - term used to describe a detective or police officer who is particularly tough and no-nonsense.
Notes
While the date printed on DP2 is 8 February 1999, the timeframe for these events is 1992-1993.
Pensieve (Comments)
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