**In the center of the article, there is large photograph of Sirius and Remus. It is a real photograph, taken from their school days. Goodness knows where Skeeter got it**
Howling Mad: Why Sirius Black is Out and Proud Rita Skeeter 01/04/1982
For those of us asking, “Why does Sirius Black care about Werewolf Rights?” We now have an answer---
In the form of 21-year-old Remus Lupin.
If you attended school at Hogwarts between the years 1971 and 1977, it may surprise you to know that you were taking classes with a werewolf.
"It was kept quiet," said Lupin.
Headmaster Dumbledore had an agreement with the ministry. Lupin could attend school and the school would ensure he spent his transformations locked up and far away from other students.
Where did they lock the boy up, you ask?
The Hogsmeade Shrieking Shack is hardly haunted. According to Black, "Remus transformed in the Shrieking Shack under heavy wards. The only living being that wasn't safe was Remus himself. Every month he tore himself to shreds."
All of the tortured weeping, crazed shrieks, and long heart-wrenching moans all belonged to one small and unassuming boy.
Of course, Lupin feels that 'haunted' is still an apt description for the rickety old house.
James Potter (reported to be Sirius Black's 'best mate') informed me that Lupin's transformations were like a "living Hell". "I hated the full moons," he said. "Remus would go away and I would wonder if I'd ever see him again."
It stunned me that three boys could remain such close friends for so many years, especially when one of them is a werewolf, but the most shocking news was still to come.
**The Old Photograph of Sirius and Remus on the motorbike is printed here**
As it turns out, the mysterious boy on the motorbike, was Remus Lupin.
During our interview Black confessed to me that he and Lupin were and are lovers.
"You see, Remus and I are a couple. We've been together since, oh, a little while after the war ended." It was then that I noticed how closely they sat, the way their legs brushed together... There was an obvious chemistry between them. How had I, how had anyone, failed to see it before?
I was absolutely gobsmacked. Sirius Black, the single most eligible bachelor in the wizarding world, was not only queer, but in love with a werewolf.
Yes, in love.
"Starting around sixth year I could barely take my eyes off him. It was utter hell." Black's smile had been ridiculously large and stupid. "I simply can't narrow my favorite thing about Remus to a single aspect. My list is virtually endless."
Virtually endless?
Ladies, if you still hope to nab Black you'd have virtually endless selling qualities. It doesn't help that Lupin is very pretty. With soft features, light brown hair, and the most exotic amber eyes I have ever seen- the competition is high, girls, very high.
Could this be the end of the Moste Noble and Ancient House of Black?
It might just be.
I witnessed, first hand, Black's passion for his very male werewolf lover. There's no denying why he has taken his hereditary seat on the Wizengamot. "I've watched how this disease has affected Remus' life since I was eleven years old," said Black, with an arm protectively wrapped around Lupin. "I don't want anyone to have to suffer from lycanthropy." He went on to say, "Lycanthropy needs to be viewed as what it is, a disease, a disability. Werewolves like Remus don't deserve fear and mistrust. Currently James and I are working on setting up a charitable foundation to fund Damocles Belby's work on a potion that controls the dementia a werewolf experiences while transformed. It would allow the afflicted person to keep their own mind while transformed, but that is a long term goal."
With Black and Potter's generous donations, Belby might create the closest thing to a Lycanthropy cure the world will ever see.
Black is truly Lupin's knight in shining armor, but Lupin isn't a waiting damsel in distress. No. He is joining the fight.
Black's last big announcement was this: "As a M.W. I am allowed an assistant. As my assistant, Remus is helping me examine the werewolf regulations in America, Australia, and Namibia which are some of the most progressive in the world. We are also looking closely at the Siberian Werewolf Preserve and how it is run. We intend on having counter legislation that actually helps werewolves transform in safety for them and for the public."
That's right, England! Change is on the horizon, lead by three of the youngest wizards the wizengamot has seen in well over a century! Two of them are queer. One of is a werewolf.
Ministry Watch: Who Is Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf? Delia Ictum and Rita Skeeter 01/04/1982
Who is afraid of the big bad wolf? According to Sirius Black, the Department for Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold are. In an interview with Rita Skeeter, one of the Wizengamot's two newest chair holders had a lot to say about the way the MLE is keeping the public safe. Or isn't, as is more to the point.
"The Minister would like to draw positive attention to her administration, to make it look like she's doing something to make the wizarding world safer, but it's all a ruse. Werewolves [who] comply with the law, aren't the problem. The problem is werewolves like Fenrir Greyback. Since the end of the war, werewolf attacks have increased and what is the Ministry doing to contain the actual problem? Nothing. If these new regulations are implemented the attacks will still continue," said Black.
To understand the very serious accusation Black is leveling at the Minister and the MLE, run by Bartemious Crouch Sr, this reporter took a closer look at the current regulations werewolves must abide by to keep in compliance with the law.
Section 1, Article A of the Ministry's Code of Conduct for Werewolves requires that within 48 hours of receiving a werewolf bite, the victim must present themselves for registration. According to the Ministry's own records, no such werewolf going by the name Fenrir Greyback has ever been registered. Conversely, in 53 cases of werewolf bites where the victim did not survive, the rogue werewolf named was Greyback. Further, the individual who named Greyback as the perpetrator of the killing has always been an Auror. Even more interesting, no survivor has ever named Greyback as the rogue werewolf. These findings bring up more questions than they answer and put Black's accusations in very credible light. Why has no survivor ever named Greyback as the werewolf who bit them? Why is it that only Aurors name Greyback as the culprit and yet he is not listed as a registered werewolf?
Clearly, the Ministry is well aware of this very real threat. If the Ministry cannot capture and control a werewolf intent on biting humans with current regulations, how do they intend to do so with new ones?
The proposed new regulations pertain to reproduction, wand usage, and Ministry run containment facilities for the purpose of transformation.
The first of these strikes this reporter as excessive to the point of being draconian. The Bill is written in very specific language making it illegal for werewolves to have families. Lycanthropy is not passed from parent to child via reproduction. Why is the Minister concerning herself with such measures which would only put a burden on tax paying wizards and witches. If a werewolf did reproduce, the child would then be taken from its parents and made a ward of the state. This in no way addresses the current threat posed by rogue werewolves.
The second proposal would remove the right of a witch or wizard who was also a werewolf from carrying or using a wand. Once again the Minister is side-stepping the real issue. Instead of allocating funds for Aurors to strip werewolves of their wands, why isn't she putting gold toward capturing and containing existing rogue werewolves?
Sirius Black had some very chilling words to say aboit the proposed containment facilities.
"[Werewolves will] be forced to transform in Ministry facilities. Can you imagine how they'll be treated or what the Ministry could carry out to make it look like overall werewolf numbers are coming down? Meanwhile, more lives are ruined as attacks continue."
It is clear that what Black is suggesting is Ministry sanctioned culling of werewolves who are in compliance with regulations so overall increases in werewolf numbers can be masked. There is no proof that any such plan is in place or under consideration, but the current regulation regarding where werewolves transform is specific and stringent. What is the purpose of spending your tax money on such an endeavor?
Black had this to say in parting with Rita Skeeter.
"[Minister Bagnold is] the one trying to make life more difficult for all werewolves and it is her administration that isn't keeping people safe from the likes of Greyback."
The Ministry's own facts corroborate Black's assertions. Essentially useless new legislation will do nothing to control the very clear menace that has been kept a hush hush Ministry secret.
The Moaning Magus: Most Impotent Potions
By Clare Voyant 01/04/1982
As the premier institution for producing some of the most gifted potioneers and indeed Potions Masters that wizard-kind has known, the Potions and Plant Poisonings Center of St. Mungo's has long enjoyed a reputation for producing only the highest quality of potions. This prestige is owed in part to the PPPC's department chief, Vinius Dram. Dram is a Potion Master Class 5 and has earned St. Mungo's several awards for its quality and innovation in potion production. Therefore, the sheer volume of complaints sent in to the Daily Prophet regarding potions administered by the PPPC came as some surprise.
Doris Dillingsworth of Lewes reported that a boil-cure potion administered in the hospital provided only temporary relief. When Doris returned home the boils had returned as well, accompanied by a foul stench like rotted eggs and a burning sensation when exposed to water.
We spoke with Doris and she had this to say, "That St. Mungo's used to be first rate, but I'd sooner try my luck with them Muggle healers."
Oooh, strong words against the once pristine PPPC. Sadly, Doris isn't alone. Ernest Fenthorp of Wadhurst took his daughter Eurydice to the hospital for a case of hysteria brought on when her younger brother Orestes' magic spiked. Eurydice was sent home with a PPPC brewed Calming Draught and after taking the recommended dose, couldn't stop giggling for six hours straight. Stanley Finkle of Hastings was given a Hiccoughing Solution and now every time he smells cabbage cooking he begins to belch uncontrollably.
The list of complaints kept pouring in and so I paid a visit to the hospital and spoke with some of the PPPC staff. None agreed to go on record but over and over again I heard the same thing. Recently the PPPC lost vital members of their staff who were quickly and quietly moved over to the Center for Creature-Induced Injuries which is most well-known for the Dai Llewelyn ward where werewolf bites are treated. Additionally, a budget shortfall has forced Dram to purchase ingredients that do not meet the PPPC's usual high standards and a few staff members even reported that substitutions were being made in several common potions.
The PPPC's lack of funds had me curious. The Hogwarts board of governors make a sizable annual contribution as many of the potions used by Healer Poppy Pomfrey are produced at the hospital and there is always the occasional bite of a Venomous Tentacula that is more severe than a simple school infirmary can handle. According to the records kept by the board of governors, the usual contribution was made. Further investigation shows there hasn't been a noticeable increase in the volume of patients that the PPPC treats, so where is all the money going?
Neither Vinius Dram nor St. Mungo's chief of staff River Mersey were available for comment. The hospital has a lot to answer for and a standard to uphold. You can be sure I'll be keeping a close eye on the situation.