Weekly Update, <closed>

[Seamus Finnigan]

Newly appointed Minister of Magic Aldous Conor has been busy, writes Seamus Finnigan, special correspondent. In a statement issued to the Prophet two days after he took over the office, Minister Conor made clear his intention to make a formal declaration of war on France. The promised rounding up of Death Eaters has also begun; Adam Gilmour, a Death Eater suspected of being involved in the recent attack on Azkaban, was killed while resisting arrest by the Director of the new Wizarding Intelligence Agency, Andrew Frost. Albert Runcorn, formerly of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and believed to have been a Death Eater spy within the Ministry, was also killed last week, although nobody has claimed responsibility for the grisly act. His severed head was left impaled on a spike in Knockturn Alley, presumably as a warning.

In other news, former Hogwarts Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge has been fired from her job at the Ministry, and subsequently suffered a relapse of her post-traumatic stress syndrome, a result of an unfortunate run-in with a herd of centaurs three years ago. She was checked in to St. Mungo's and moved to the Closed Ward, where she is now a permanent resident. Kelvin Hornbuckle, a Healer who works the Closed Ward, said that she "has not spoken a single word since arriving at the hospital". The Minister could not be reached for comment regarding Umbridge, and Ministry spokesperson Miranda Frost only had this to say: "Sod off, you annoying git. The Minister's busy, and so am I."

Public approval for Conor still seems to be at astronomically high levels, although even some within the Ministry continue to have doubts about his trustworthiness, according to an anonymous source within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Only time will tell whether he can both win over the naysayers and keep his current supporters happy.

(OOC: Yes, Runcorn was Jason's kill, although we can assume that Kieran suggested the psychological warfare element of leaving his head lying around in a crowded street. Yes, Umbridge is manipulating the system in order to screw St. Mungo's out of a bed and three square meals a day -- and her presence at St. Mungo's is setting up a future thread. Yes, Miranda's comments are more for entertainment value than anything else, although I also wanted her to be in character more... on her profile it says she's a bitch, so she's been acting too nice lately.)

[Seamus Finnigan]

The last of the Ministry's wounded from the recent surprise raid on Duchess Palace in France were finally released from St. Mungo's this week, writes Seamus Finnigan, special correspondent. The raid resulted in the death or injury of several Death Eaters, and quite a few giants as well, as well as the rescue of Unspeakable Anya Warbeck, who had been captured by the Death Eaters and was being held prisoner at the palace. It is believed that the location was the headquarters of the Death Eaters, making the success of the Ministry's intrusion force even more important. However, though he was involved in the skirmish, Death Eater leader Rabastan Lestrange managed to escape capture, and the palace is still uninhabitable by normal wizards because of the presence of a dark poltergeist believed to be the disembodied soul of fallen Death Eater Walter Zotermeer.

In other news, the wedding of Hogwarts students Jason Frost and Madeline Pairis will occur next week, and several important people from the Ministry and the Hogwarts board of governors are expected to attend. In fact, Minister Conor himself was invited, though it is unclear whether his busy schedule will allow him to put in an appearance.

Former Ministry employee Dolores Umbridge is still inhabiting the closed ward at St. Mungo's and, according to Healer Tonia Fiedor, "making little to no progress". Crowding on the closed ward is becoming an issue, as the war causes more injured to trickle into the hospital... several patients have been there for a year or more, and former Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom have resided there for considerably longer.

Preparations for the upcoming Triwizard Tournament are in full swing in all three countries involved... according to an anonymous source in the American wizarding government, the biggest concern for them is that outspoken Zephyrwit Headmistress Theresa Cannaday will instigate a "political shitstorm" with her anti-Muggle views.

Public support for Minister Conor, though still higher than it was for any of the three previous Ministers, has reached more believable levels according to opinion polls taken by Prophet reporters. The fact that the Ministry completely lost track of the Death Eaters who escaped capture at Duchess Palace may have something to do with this, though several who were captured during the recent attack on Hogwarts are scheduled to be executed next week, which may cause support for the Minister to fluctuate up or down depending upon the public's views on the death penalty at the time.

(OOC: I didn't put the attack on the Ministry in there because the thread hasn't ended yet. We'll see Seamus' comments on it in a future update.)

[Seamus Finnigan]

A surprise attack on the Ministry resulted in the escape of several high-profile prisoners yesterday, writes Seamus Finnigan, special correspondent.

"We thought for sure these people would be thrown under the bus," said an anonymous source in the Ministry. "We never expected such loyalty from Death Eaters."

The attack resulted in the deaths of several Ministry personnel, including Cursebreaker Katie Bell, who was a close personal friend of this reporter's. Many Death Eaters were also killed during the battle.

The escaped prisoners included Ando Saeki, a suspect in the murder of Rita Skeeter; Atreya Mourant, a French Death Eater with a talent for torture; Jonah Gallowbraid, who worked as a Death Eater spy in the Ministry; and Mishra Flutergork, who was the leader of the Russian Death Eaters at the time of his capture.

(pictures included)

These are extremely dangerous and unpredictable individuals, and should not be approached except by trained professionals. If you see one of them, contact the Ministry immediately.

With the escape, confidence in the current regime has waned, and Minister Conor's approval rating has dropped slightly, the third such drop in a row in our weekly poll. Though 53% is still a decent approval rating for a Minister of Magic, the fact that it was 79% just a couple of months ago shows that the people are beginning to lose faith in him.

On a personal note, I would like to ask all the members of the Hogwarts student group known as Dumbledore's Army to attend Katie Bell's funeral next week. She was a dedicated member of the group during her last two years at Hogwarts, and stayed in touch with many of us after leaving school. We should be there to remember her. Send me an owl if you want to be there.

[Seamus Finnigan]

It was yet another busy week for Minister of Magic Aldous Conor, writes Seamus Finnigan, special correspondent. After the breaking of the International Statute of Secrecy, his approval rating is up to 61% (an increase of eight points). Conor had this to say about his radical new policy:

"The Statute of Secrecy was an antiquated policy that kept only for the fear of change. Voldemort created an army and gained so much ground because he could hide from Muggle eyes, he waged a war from Muggle Hate and they were left vulnerable to his rage because the Ministry was unprepared to break such a foolish tradition. They say that knowledge is power, but letting the Muggles know that we exist gives them no power over us. It allows us to walk free. It allows us to stop hiding in the shadows of our own creation and walk proud amongst our Muggle counterparts. Change is never easy - but it is rarely wrong."

In an effort to ease Wizard-Muggle relations and give Muggle readers a greater understanding of modern Wizarding culture and lore (as well as some important recent history), Muggle author J.K. Rowling has been tapped to write the biography of Harry Potter. Rowling could not be reached for comment in time for printing, but expect a quote from her next week.

The Death Eaters' recent attack on St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries resulted in another major blow to Dumbledore's Army... Raina Avalon, who was one of the group's original members in her second year at Hogwarts and remained a member all the way up until her death, was horribly murdered by Death Eater Ando Saeki, a recent escapee from Ministry custody. The whereabouts of the three other escaped prisoners are still unknown, and Saeki managed to evade attempts to kill or capture him during the Battle of St. Mungo's.

There is some good news, however... Sashenka Grigorovich, another of the most feared members of the latest generation of Death Eaters, was brought to justice during an attempt to infiltrate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Apparently she was there to kill student Trowa Marshall, a member of Dumbledore's Army who had previously fought and defeated her. Hogwarts Transfiguration professor Boris Vladamir killed her during the ensuing skirmish, saving Trowa's life. It was announced yesterday that Professor Vladamir will be awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class for his heroic actions. When asked to comment, the professor had this to say:

"An Order of Merlin?! Chyort voz'mi! I do not deserve this reward... leave me alone."

One of the Wizarding world's preeminent photographers, Duncan Hines, mysteriously disappeared four days ago. The Ministry currently has no leads regarding his whereabouts, according to an anonymous source in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Hines is, of course, well known in England as the personal photographer of supermodel Kyleigh Grace, who could not be reached for comment as her whereabouts are also unknown after her very public row with her parents (which this reporter personally witnessed).

And finally, the Triwizard Tournament started out with a bang when potential Hogwarts Champion Jason Frost sent Zephyrwit Headmistress Theresa Cannaday to the hospital wing with a broken nose and arm. Frost had this to say on the matter:

"She assaulted another Hogwarts student right in front of me. I did what I had to do. And no, I won't apologize."

The Tournament was further marred by the mysterious disappearance of Ministry employee Tyrael Taven last night. Mr. Taven, a member of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, was in America to work with American authorities to ensure the Tournament went smoothly. The aforementioned American authorities are launching an investigation into his disappearance, according to a source in the American Wizarding government.