The question of safety hasn't been far from anyone's mind with the repeated and continued violence on behalf of the Death Eaters. Many of us have warded our homes against threat and used extra precautions when we leave areas of safety. The reality for most of us is we're one run-in with a Death Eater away from death itself. In no case has this been more acutely demonstrated than that of the crimes committed against Jeremiah Smith, Bradford Howard, Delphia Tyndall, Osa Middleton, Vernice Cattermole and Ludwig Prosser. Or the leadless murders of Hemera Jones and Chad Bostwick in their home in Surrey.
These are crimes that defy explanation. One moment, they were safe at home. The next, they had disappeared. The murders of Jones and Bostwick seem to stand alone. But the connection between the others is their romantic ties to the late Dedalus Diggle, who maintained his innocence throughout the killing spree. The only surviving name from the list, Delphia Tyndall, was last seen attempting to kill him in Diagon Alley. Her whereabouts are currently unknown, but sources confirm her safety and the use of the Imperius Curse in her attempted murder.
But if the events surrounding the brutal, public deaths of Diggle's lovers could be explained by the Imperius Curse, it still begs the question — How? In each case, they were abducted suddenly from their homes. Their captors left no clues. No signs of tampering on the wards. No indication the homes were breached by force. If apparation through fully intact wards weren't an impossibility, it would seem the most likely explanation.
Still, there remains one overlooked method of access to the secure homes of Britain. Consistently underestimated and under-appreciated, the Ministry's Floo Network runs on a system of professionalism and trust. As every Ministry department falls prey to the Death Eaters' slow-moving coup, so the Floo Network must fall under suspicion.
Sources from inside the Ministry confirm strange activity in the Floo Department, run by the daughter and sister of confirmed Death Eaters, Victoria Mulciber. Possible transgressions include unauthorized and poorly documented use of the Floo, the opening and closing of channels long since removed from the network is the most contentious of them. It could be the explanation for why so many witches and wizards have disappeared from their homes without warning, without evidence of the Death Eaters' involvement.
And whether coerced into illicit activity or drawn to it through her family's traditions, Mulciber herself must be regarded as suspect. Her role among the Ministry's Death Eater leadership may be coincidental, as with the various anomalies in the department under her watch. Or it may be devised, with the self-professed black sheep of the family using her strained ties with her mother and sister to distract from the criminal abuse of power she has fully sanctioned.
But for those concerned for their safety, the mere existence of a fireplace in their homes should now be new cause for alarm. Or at least a new area to ward against hostile intruders.