Triumphant: logs, entries, media.

Death Eaters Strike Again!
Journalist Theodore Tonks killed in own home

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

LONDON - Late last night, just days after the body parts of Minister Bagnold were discovered strewn across the country, the eerie glow of the Dark Mark lit up the sky over the Tonks household, highlighting the death of yet another victim at the hands of the newly-risen Death Eaters.

Theodore 'Ted' Tonks, age 38, was discovered murdered in his residence by his wife, Andromeda. Aurors rushed to the scene after receiving Mrs Tonks's distress call. Though no official reports have yet been made, it was overheard that Ted had not been killed by the usual Killing Curse, but rather through more savage means of a slit throat and possibly poison. Upon examining the scene, officials determined the killer was able to enter the Tonks residence through a weakened point within the wards themselves, a security flaw often found in the newer magical homes favoured by non-pureblooded families.

Mr Tonks was an award-winning journalist and author, who published several long-form articles right here in the Daily Prophet. Though not overtly controversial in nature, his work often tackled humanitarian and social justice causes, particularly for muggle and magical creature rights. Perhaps his most divisive act was to marry Andromeda Black, a member of the wealthy pure-blooded Black family, which resulted in the latter's banishment and disowned status. Many pure bloods believe it was this forbidden love that had started the famous family's implosion.

His only child, daughter Nymphadora Tonks, a first-year Auror trainee at the Ministry, was not spotted at the scene of the crime, though undoubtedly she is in a prime position to hear the gruesome details of her father's murder--perhaps at the hands of her notorious Aunt?

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Learn from Tonks's mistake and keep your perimeter wards up to date! This week's advice column includes several tips on how to create an impenetrable defence for your home and stay safe.

Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news, magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her latest book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted is the #1 bestseller in the Witch Weekly Book List. Look for your copy in all reputable magical bookstores.

Gruesome Slaying of Minister Bagnold Shocks Britain

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

LONDON - Less than one day after Albus Dumbledore's well-received town hall style appearance, citisens of magical Britain awoke to a gruesome sight this morning when the human body parts were discovered at prominent magical landmarks. The body parts were later identified to be those of Minister Millicent Bagnold, who was finishing her final 30 days in office.

Witnesses report finding Bagnold's head in the Ministry's Atrium fountains, arms in the Three Broomsticks, and legs in front of Ollivander's. There are no leads as to what's happened to the rest of her, though.

While details of the gruesome slaying are almost too terrible to discuss (will one ever be able to enjoy a nice beverage in the Three Broomsticks without thinking about where those hacked off limbs had been?), but Ministry officials are taking special interest in the Ollivander's crime scene where the killer left a nefarious fiery message:

DUMBLEDORE LIES. MAGIC LIVES.

More astute readers may recall this message from some weeks ago when our esteemed Daily Prophet issue was crudely vandalised with these exact words. It is safe to say, dear readers, that whomever wrote the damning message is also the Minister's killer.

It is difficult to consider the reasons for why Bagnold killed so brutally. If one were to consider political ambitions...well, it is true Bagnold already had one foot out the door and posed little threat to her political rivals, but could our current and suspected candidates have been motivated to kill Bagnold for other reasons? It is not beyond the realm of possibility to ponder if Rufus Scrimegour, Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement and newly-announced candidate for Minister, could have engineered such a crime to demonstrate his leadership abilities (and to perhaps take some attention away from how poorly the DMLE has been faring against rising Death Eater attacks).

But it cannot be ignored, that stark, terror-inducing message. It suggests that the killer has no great love lost for Albus Dumbledore and will go to dramatic lengths to make sure his message is heard. Make no doubt about it, dear readers, this is the work of a very dangerous extremist, and do we know many of those? Death Eaters? Bellatrix Lestrange? Perhaps. Yet a simple review of recent history would show that this work is simply not the Death Eaters' style.

So, no, my readers, I don't think it could have been the work of Death Eaters at all. Could it be, perhaps, the man who fooled the magical world into thinking he was dead for nearly a decade and then returned with a soapbox speech railing against Dumbledore on a day usually reserved for joyous celebration? Those are not the actions of a sane, reasonable individual, are they?

***

Readers, do you think you know who the killer is? Share your thoughts right here!

Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news, magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her latest book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted is still the #1 bestseller in the Witch Weekly Book List. Look for your copy in all reputable magical bookstores.

'Mystery intruders' end-of-year prank

An end-of-year prank at Hogwarts may have gone slightly too far last night, sparking a security alert that locked the school down for several hours. While such mischief is traditional at the close of exams, staff described the incident as 'in bad taste'.

Groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid first became aware of the situation shortly after dinner when a small group of individuals deliberately set off a perimeter alert. Dressed in concealing black robes, they then headed to Ravenclaw Tower where they caused a ruckus which left younger students distressed and upset. Though they managed to escape through the use of well-timed smoke charms before they could be identified, it is suspected that they may have been sixth and seventh year Ravenclaws due to the smooth execution, if not good sense.

A search was initiated, however, as is standard practice for a security breach. The last such incident took place in 1879.

40 YEARS TRIUMPHANT
Reflections on one of the Ministry’s great heroes as he enters his fourth decade of loyal service

By Barnabas Cuffe, Editor-in-Chief

(  This is a man -- a team -- that tells no secrets. )

Ministry Announces New 'Gelato Socials'
'We have lost our way,' says Minister Bagnold

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

LONDON - In an effort to expand the sense of community among witches and wizards of the United Kingdom, Minister Bagnold today announced the government's new initiative of hosting free 'gelato socials' in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic every Tuesday evening at 18.00.

"The magical community is a small but caring community. We look after our own," said Bagnold in an earlier announcement today. "Lately, we may have lost sight of this fact. Subnationals have threatened not only our collective safety, but the very fabric of our common sense of decency, morality and greater good. Let us defy these efforts of subversion. Let us come together and reignite our bonds of kinship with each other. Let us learn to trust each other once more and show the world what makes us so great."

The gelato offerings will come in 12 flavours to suit every discerning palate and is being specially created by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for the occasion.

The inaugural social will be held tonight and will include a special performance by the critically acclaimed Knights of the Round Table circus troupe.

***

The Ministry's new weekly 'gelato socials' may help promote a greater sense of community, but let's not forget how much it also promotes a greater expansions of our waist lines! Pick up this week's latest issue of Witch Weekly to learn how Rita stays slim and trim.

Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news, magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her latest book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted is the #1 bestseller in the Witch Weekly Book List. Look for your copy in all reputable magical bookstores.

Unicorns Slaughtered and Mutilated in Hogsmeade
Dumbledore saves 3 children from similar fate

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

Hogsmeade - Just one week after several buildings were damaged by an intentional fire, more horror fell upon Hogsmeade when three Hogwarts students unexpectedly stumbled upon the scene of a gruesome crime taking place: a shadowy creature who had killed, drained, and mutilated three unicorns near the woods.

As the offender was about to undoubtedly commit something similar to our young witnesses, rescue came in a form of none other than Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, vanquisher of Dark Lords and recent subject of various burning effigies witnessed in Hogsmeade, Brighton and York at the instigation of the allegedly alive James Potter.

"I don't know what that thing was, but I had never felt so scared in all my life," said Adriadne Vane, Hufflepuff, age 17, one of the students in peril. "It was making these...these slurping sounds, like it was drinking that poor unicorn's blood. Who would do something like that to such beautiful animals? And then when that thing saw us and was going to jump at Terrence [Brown, Hufflepuff, age 17]. I thought we were done for. But Dumbledore saved us! He cast a spell so powerful, there was a bright white light that surrounded that dark thing and trapped it. I don't know what happened next. Professor McGonagall brought us back to Hogwarts. I can't remember much else. We must have been in shock!"

Ministry investigators later reported the unicorns had had their blood entirely drained, and tails and horns removed. Experts say unicorn parts is often an ingredient in many powerful and Dark potions, curses and, of course, wand cores.

The Ministry has yet to say what has happened to this mysterious wraith after capture, what it was exactly and what the creature's intent was for the unicorns.

Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news, magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Are you READY, Skeeter fans? Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted drops on 1 June with a NEW addendum in light of recent events! Did James Potter and Sirius Black conspire to murder Lily Evans and her young son, Harry? Find out all about Rita's deep investigative findings! Reserve your copy today and get a FREE autographed photograph!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her next book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted will be released on 1 June, a scintillating exposé on one of the Black Family's most infamous members who is best known for betraying and murdering his best friend James Potter and his family. Look for it in all reputable magical bookstores.

Bellatrix Lestrange's Secret Bleeding Heart
Is the cruel fugitive Death Eater trying to change her ways -- or just her image?

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

LONDON - Yesterday, a muggle hospice found themselves in the presence of a famous figure of sorts -- even if they didn't quite know it. Yes, readers, The Daily Prophet has learned that infamous Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, fresh on the heels of breaking out Great Britain's most wanted Death Eaters, made an anonymous donation to St Agatha's, one of the more decrepit elderly care homes in England, to the tune of thousands of galleons.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, was that her name then? Peculiar, but beautiful, just like her gentle, willowy spirit and wondrous smile!" said Robert Flynn, director of operations for St Agatha's, appearing a bit dreamy-eyed over the Death Eater responsible for the torture and murder of several witches and wizards. "Miss Lestrange's generous gift was only matched by the time and spirit with which she spent with our patients. Why, when good ol' Errol had a bit of an accident -- as these types often do, you know -- she even volunteered to clean it up! If only we had more caring souls like Bella here, our world would be a better place."

Indeed, as these muggle photos depict, Bellatrix spent the afternoon conversing and canoodling with muggle senior men (perhaps it's been a little too long since the death of her hubby) and participating in various card games with the female set.

Readers, is this just another ploy or is Bellatrix turning over a new leaf? What do her fellow Death Eater compatriots think of their leader's secret passion, and will they follow suit? Death Eaters rescuing kittens from trees? Saving goldfish from burning buildings?


Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news, magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her next book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted will be released in June, a scintillating exposé on one of the Black Family's most infamous members who is best known for betraying and murdering his best friend James Potter and his family. Look for it in all reputable magical bookstores.

Hitwizards’ Last Gasps?
As DMU expands, Hitwizard Office’s future in question

By Barnabas Cuffe, Editor-in-Chief

LONDON - The future of the Hitwizard Office was once again brought to the table as Ministry officials convened today to discuss the DMLE’s response following the recent failure to apprehend an infamous werewolf within the Ministry’s own walls and the Azkaban breakout, which was orchestrated by Bellatrix Lestrange in April.

Ministers have called for an estimated date of dissolution as divisional lines continue to be crossed, leading to confusion across departments. With unlicensed use of magic a crime, DMU Regulators are responsible for apprehending perpetrators regardless of the degree of offense, rendering Hitwizards essentially redundant in this area. Since the DMU’s inception, the Regulator Office has been populated by Hitwizard and MLE officers, but as the pool of the former shrinks due to budgetary slashes and a cut in recruitment numbers, and the advent of trainees being accepted straight of Hogwarts this September, the question of the continuing need to fund and maintain the Hitwizard Office has never been more pertinent.

“There’s no point to Hitwizards these days,” explains Undersecretary Wight, who led with a similar line as a panelist on the National News Network debate just a few days ago. “Aurors have highly specialised skills which leave them uniquely able to deal with the few Dark threats left, but the role of the Hitwizard has now been taken over by Regulators, who have far more resources available to them by way of the Monitor Office. MLE officers deal with non-magical offenses. The only thing the Hitwizards are uniquely able to do anymore is capture werewolves.”

With Fenrir Greyback’s recent jaunt in and out of the Ministry of Magic, however, even that task has been called into question. The Werewolf Capture Unit is notorious for the high death rate of its employees, and with this recent blow, the viability of this subdivision of the Hitwizard Office -- already stretched, its numbers diminished by the exodus to the DMU -- is further threatened. While there have been repeated calls to ban magical werewolves from ever owning a wand, Greyback’s presence demands a specialised unit, and excising the WCU and reforming it as a task force in its own right, finally fully regulated by and accountable to the Beast Divison, may be an acceptable alternate, ridding its officers of duties now shouldered by the DMU.

Legislative debate on increased security measures begins in the Wizengamot on Wednesday the 21st of May, and it is expected that the fate of the Hitwizard Office will finally be outlined during these highly anticipated sessions.

* * *
Barnabas Cuffe is the award-winning Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet. He welcomes letters from his readership and is open to vibes every Tuesday and Thursday between 14:00 and 16:00.

(Letters or vibes to the Editor should be sent only by owl post and with a clear mind to The Daily Prophet.)

MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS DISRUPTED

May Morning celebrations in Oxford's wizarding quarter traditionally draw a large and diverse crowd as witches and wizards of all levels of society come out of their homes to recognise the arrival of warm weather. This year was no different. But among the happy festival-goers, games and stalls was a character more colourful than any of these brightly-dressed people expected.

At eleven o'clock this morning, those on Magdalen Bridge were startled by the amplified voice of a man claiming to be James Potter. Readers may recall that Potter was murdered in his home by You-Know-Who himself on Halloween night, 1981, along with his wife Lily and young son Harry. The destruction at the scene was such that Potter's body was not able to be conclusively identified, which may explain his attraction to the mysterious individual on the bridge.

The other areas of the festival quickly emptied out as all present headed to Magdalen Bridge to watch and listen as the pretender denounced the Ministry, Albus Dumbledore, and the population at large. He spoke of fear and oppression, painting Dumbledore as a tyrant. He called on the wizarding population to rise up against the Ministry. It was an address that would not have seemed out of place a decade ago, when those with Muggle blood feared for their lives and those of pure blood who were not willing were pressed into service to a terrorist army by any means necessary. Others, such as recent Azkaban escapees Evan Rosier and Rabastan Lestrange, did not require such tactics, participating willingly in the slaughter of fellow citizens and countrymen.

The interruption of the celebrations was so unexpected that the man was able to apparently finish his pre-prepared address before security arrived, too late to prevent him from disappearing into the crowds. It was as though a Silencing spell had been broken as the audience broke into heated discussion of what they had just seen, anxiety and fear painted on many faces as they traded theories back and forth. Was the pretender a Death Eater in disguise, perhaps, returned to sow discord and plant the seed for a repeat of the war that had begun to fade into history? It was a suggestion that was put forward repeatedly, but unfortunately one that cannot be verified.

(for a list of returned and escaped suspected Death Eaters, see A4)
(for reactions from the crowd, see A3)

On Magdalen Bridge in Oxford, and broadcast on all WWN channels

PEOPLE OF BRITAIN, LISTEN TO ME.

... hi. Yes, I'm alive. We still haven't determined exactly how, but there must be some latent magic in Godric's Hollow ... that isn't the point. I'm alive. And because the death of my wife and child cannot go unremembered or unpunished, I stand before you today asking you to make something of their sacrifice. Don't let their deaths be in vain.

Lily Evans - and Harry, our boy - were representative of the hope of what was to come. They were the embodiment of what it meant to be forward-thinking, well-intentioned witches and wizards in a contemporary age. And because sometimes the farsighted are slaughtered by the reactionary ideologues of the age - because we loved, and because we believed in a better Britain - Lord Voldemort moved against us.

And now, I come back. Now I come back to find out that you've allowed yourselves to be cowed by fundamentalist ideology that is no better than the fear we lived within 10 years ago. I find that you, as a British people, have allowed yourselves to be ruled by those whose moral compass does not point true north. YES I AM TALKING ABOUT MY ONE-TIME MENTOR, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. As a strategic influencer of today's government, Albus Dumbledore failed in his oaths to those of us who agreed to fight for the inclusion of all.

Albus Dumbledore doesn't allow you to practice magic, he doesn't allow your children to learn magic, and he utilizes fear and power to keep you oppressed and scared. Albus Dumbledore doesn't believe in Britain.

Because, if I learned one thing, it is when you hide your true self from the world there is nothing to keep your feet on the ground and the lies you spread become so thick that you begin to believe them yourself. I do not believe in Albus Dumbledore, I believe in you.

So I'm calling on you - I'm calling on you to rise up! - I'm calling on you to stand with me and fight those who would oppress you, whether they argue it is because of your safety or your blood. Do not let people tell you what you may do, or who you may love, or how your magic may manifest.

I believe in you. And I believe in Britain.

Werewolf Breaks Into Ministry
Ministry Worker Dead; Fearsome Fenrir Greyback a Suspect

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

LONDON - On Monday morning, the Ministry of Magic experienced a second blow to its security when a man -- or should I say beast? -- suspected to be the terrifying werewolf Fenrir Greyback allegedly broke into the venerable institution and stole the Werewolf Registry Book after killing Ministry Worker Ian Bassenthwaite, aged 33, and using the victim's wand to gain illegitimate access to the department.

When contacted for an official statement, the Ministry has refused to acknowledge my questions, stating that while a possible security breach has occurred, it was still too early in the investigation.

However, my reputable sources inside the Ministry say that the DMLE is treating Bassenthwaite's missing as a status. Why? While Bassenthwaite's body has yet to be found, a bag of human teeth were left at the scene of the crime. Forensics report the teeth as belonging to the victim. Investigators are calling the crime "horrifying" and "absolutely brutal and completely lacking in any humanity whatsoever."

As we all know, Greyback was the leader for You-Know-Who's Dark Army. During the war, Greyback led hundreds of dark magical creatures to attack muggle and magical villages across Great Britain. Men, women, and children were tortured, killed, and even eaten. Worse still were the ones who were turned and converted to the Dark Lord's purposes. Fenrir Greyback was able to evade capture at the end of the war, and until recently, his whereabouts were unknown. As for what Greyback will use the stolen Registry remains to be seen, but doubtless we can all make some very intelligent guesses.

Readers, this latest werewolf attack is one of the more brutal ones we've seen yet in an alarming trend of escalating werewolf violence. The fact that these events occurred in broad daylight -- forget the full moon -- begs the question: are werewolves really just murderous beasts camouflaged in human skin? Does the full moon merely reveal what these creatures truly are? Werewolf Rights activists would heartily protest such insinuations, but the fact of the matter is this: rarely have we seen this level of brutality in intelligent, morally conscious witches and wizards.

Furthermore, why isn't the Ministry doing more to protect us from these dangerous creatures?

A secretary at the Ministry who wished to remain anonymous reports that Werewolf sympathies may be originating from within. More specifically, this source points some of the blame at Aurors such as Benjamin Fenwick, a senior Auror whose kill rate would suggest a parallel affinity with the more violent werewolf methods. Fenwick is rumoured to be psychologically unstable and an alcoholic. Rumours also suggest Fenwick was heavily engaged in acts of uncondoned vigilantism and has had known associations with other werewolves such as Remus Lupin (a former associate of convicted murderer Sirius Black).

There are only two days left until the full moon, readers, and the wolves are howling at our door.

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Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for all the latest breaking news you need to know (and what no one else will tell you!), magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips, and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author, and icon. Her next book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted will be released in June, a scintillating exposé on one of the Black Family's most infamous members who is best known for betraying and murdering his best friend James Potter and his family. Look for it in all reputable magical bookstores.

Does the DMLE Have a Drink Problem?
A certain loudmouthed Auror has been frequently spotted at downscale pubs consuming frankly alarming amounts of poor quality alcohol. "Oi, that [name redacted] Ministry tosser's a regular," says one eyewitness. "Prolly keepin' em solely in business at this point. Also, they water down their ale!" A pending investigation into whether or not pubs have correct liquor licences. This isn't the first time we've heard about Aurors imbibing more than they should. Do we, readers, feel pity for this dwindling department whose stubborn remaining members are becoming increasingly irrelevant, an existential problem that is clearly driving the more weak-willed to substance abuse? Or do we feel outrage that we fund these irresponsible Ministry workers? Chime in with your opinions!

Back at it Again
Our favourite convicted murderer reveals more about his childhood of torturing magical creatures. While word has it he still converses and even takes tea with his equally infamous cousin, a certain feared Death Eater at large! With our gentleman murderer's intimate familiarity with the prison and our terrifying Death Eater's fugitive status and brazen loyalty to You-Know-Who, these names are sure to top the Ministry's list of suspects in the recent Azkaban breakout. Who do you think is responsible behind the breakout, readers?

Where's the Exterminator?
The uptick in werewolf animal attacks amongst rural Britain has culminated in the brutal slaughter of a foal said to be valued at 50.000 galleons, the spawn of famous winged racers Wind Beneath My Wings and Luck Be A Lady. Witnesses say owner Madsen Grapplehorn is positively fuming over the loss of his massive investment and infuriated by the incompetent protections provided by the ranch at which the foal was being raised. Werewolves are required to ingest Wolfsbane Potion for every full moon, but there is hardly much enforcement of the law, action is only taken after a crime has occurred, and more often than not, the beast gets away with it due to the time elapsed between the crime and its discovery. Is the Ministry doing enough to protect her citisens against this beastly blight? As we all know, prevention is the KEY to reducing criminal activity. Do you have any werewolf stories to share?

Hogwarts: Smuggling Source?
You'd think education wouldn't be so controversial, but a recent scandal has rocked Hogwarts with the revelation of a certain professor who was caught reselling valuable ingredients (grown in Hogwarts' very own greenhouse!) to underground potions brewers. Said professor has been sacked and then swiftly arrested, with a full investigation pending into what promises to be an extensive underground black market. What an embarrassing turn of events for the school and its staff! How many of them were complicit, do you think, readers? Parents across the nation are said to be absolutely outraged.

Attack on Azkaban!
2 Prisoners Escape; 2 Aurors Dead

By Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent

( Rita Skeeter's on it )

Subscribe to Rita Skeeter's magical journal for continuing coverage of these dastardly events as they unfold, as well as the latest magical gossip, hot style trends, decorating tips and relationship advice!

Rita Skeeter is an award-winning journalist, author and icon. Her next book Sirius Black: From Black to Blacklisted will be released in June, a scintillating exposé on one of the Black Family's most infamous members who is best known for betraying and murdering his best friend James Potter and his family. Look for it in all reputable magical bookstores.