| Daily Prophet: 8 June 1998 |
[Jun. 8th, 2010|12:21 pm] |
Mystery Shrouds Hogwarts, Ministry, and Daily Prophet
Rolanda Roland
Somethings afoot at Hogwarts! But what? This morning the perimeter of the school was surrounded by Ministry personnel.
No one has been let on the grounds since early this morning and there is an extremely suspicious quiet amongst those guarding the wards.
Claudia Oldsman, 143, Hogsmeade resident of 67 years claims that she woke up around 10pm to the sound of explosions.
“I’m not entirely sure what they were,” she said, “but they were extremely loud and I swear to you there was plenty of screams coming from the castle.”
Other residence claim to have heard the same strange noises coming from the school grounds. Others also witnessed school aged children running amuck in Hogsmeade.
Nicholas Brummy, 32, Hogsmeade resident all his life claimed, “I saw a number of school children running past my window. They were in large groups and very young. When I called after them they scattered. Some side alonged out of site, and others ran into the woods past my house.”
It seems that on top of the suspicious truancy of students late last night there has been an increase of missing persons reports.
A reliable source at the Ministry has informed Prophet staff that about 38 individuals were reported having disappeared over night. What's more, our source reports that the Minister of Magic himself is believed missing, as are many high ranking public officials.
As it stands a number of our writing staff have failed to appear for work as well.
It’s been suggested by an anonymous source that the missing persons are entirely related to the strange noises at Hogwarts. And though we don’t know exactly what – we at The Daily Prophet would like to assure the public that we will get to the bottom of this. |
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| Potterwatch: 8 June 1998, Mid-Afternoon |
[Jun. 8th, 2010|12:25 pm] |
There was no static. The signal was not pirated or hidden between airwaves. There was no white noise, no need for a password. Across England, every wizarding radio station suddenly cut out, and was, just as suddenly, replaced with a voice, familiar to some, clearing his throat quietly and then beginning.
“Last night at approximately eleven in the evening, Harry Potter, hero of our wizarding age, gave his life in the final defeat of Lord Voldemort, ending a battle at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which claimed the lives of far too many.”
There was a pause to let the news sink in. No sounds of celebration, no congratulatory messages, only a grim sort of hope behind the voice as the speaker began again.
“It’s hard to think of what to say now: So many things lost, but the battle won.
There’s a muggle poem, “In Flander’s Field”, from the voices of dead soldiers calling out for their torch to be picked up, for the battle to go on so that they didn’t die in vain. I suspect that there will be a lot of confusion, a lot of regret in the coming weeks and months. If there’s a message to be found in this broadcast, it’s this – Live. Now that we have the chance, now that things have no choice but to change. Live, and forgive, and be happy. “
Another short pause, and then a chorus of quiet voices spoke up, the responding poem like a chant though it was obvious that some of the voices broke away in tears as it went on.
"Rest ye in peace, ye heroes dead
The fight that you so bravely led
We've taken up. And we will keep
True faith with you who lie asleep,
With each a cross to mark his bed,
And poppies blowing overhead,
When once his own life-blood ran red
So let your rest be sweet and deep…
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
The torch ye threw to us, we caught,
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And freedom's light shall never die!
We've learned the lesson that ye taught."
For a moment afterward, there was nothing but silence across the airwaves. Then, regularly scheduled programming, and the promise of a new world. |
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