fishbulb

For my 10th grade chemistry science fair report (it doesn't have to be about chemistry), i chose to determine the Curie temperature, or temperature at which a material loses its ability to be magnetized, of different materials using the magnetic heat engine. http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/magnets.html#curie_effect Sounds easy right? Well, my dad and i made a rare earth magnet be pulled by another magnet so it is in the candle flame. When the pendulum magnet is resting at the bottom of its swing, the bigger magnet pulls it until it is suspended. Then once it heats up from the candle, it falls back and never returns. We had no idea why that happened. Then we touched the two magnets together and then put the bigger one back where it was and the smaller magnet was attracted to it again, like it magnetized it. Finally, my question, once a material is above its curie point, does it need to be magnetized before it can gain back all of its magnetic properties? Any help on magnets would also be helpful.