All you need to know about the Latest Ministry Scandal:
Early Monday morning, several witches and wizards witnessed a delay in their arrival to work. It seemed that the entire Floo Network of Britain had been closed down. The bizarre closure lasted for only five minutes, but several Ministry of Magic employees said that something seemed fishy.
“There’s always a flurry of activity in the morning, but there were aurors everywhere and far more memos than normal. Considering that most of us were only just arriving, it seemed as if the higher ups were trying to hide something,” stated one young witch who asked to remain anonymous.
We reached out to Head Auror Harry Potter, who declined to comment at this time. Per usual, we here at the Daily Prophet are dedicated to bringing you the breaking news. Thus, we did some digging of our own.
“It’s the Committee for Experimental Charms,” secretary Romilda Vane told us. “They want to keep it quiet, but word is already spreading. Apparently some members were caught testing dark magic on muggles Friday night. The aurors have been working overtime; they’ve been on the case all weekend.”
One would have thought that we, as a community, left our blood supremacy in the past as a core value of Voldemort’s regime and the beliefs of his Death Eaters. Unfortunately, it seems that some are unable to learn from the mistakes of our fellows. Two Muggles remain in critical condition at St. Mungo’s as our medi-witches are searching for a way to reverse the experimental charms used on them.
“It’s a shame, truly. I can’t give you the details; it would infringe upon their privacy. But these two young people… Even if they pull through, they will never be the same again,” resident Medi-Witch Frieda LaMarque divulged. It seems that the muggles are facing quite grim circumstances at the hands of our society.
Millicent Bulstrode, Matthew Selwyn and Lisa Turpin of the Committee of Experimental Charms have been arrested for Torture and Abuse of Muggles, Infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, and Misuse of Station. As Head of the Committee, Bulstrode assigned herself and her cohorts as the committee representatives for the Wizengamot. The trio was known for making disparaging remarks about muggle-borns, but no one seemed to understand the depth of their prejudice. They are currently being held within the Ministry itself under close watch of the aurors and unspeakables. Aurors were unable to find any connections between the three inmates aside from their position within the Ministry. All remaining details of the case have been kept under wraps, but we will continue to bring you updates as the situation unfolds.
This is not the first incident of spell misuse within the committee, either. Six years ago, then-committee member Terrence Higgs was charged and plead guilty to Domestic Violence against his house elves. Higgs was denied funding for his experimental charm as it was deemed “too violent and unpredictable.” Soon after, Higgs tested the spell on his own house elves, leaving four without a trace of their magic. The elves perished just days later.
These new developments certainly leave us with many questions for the Ministry. Why were these employees able to act with such autonomy? How would an experiment for such heinous charms get to a testing point without being caught? Are proper background checks being run within the Committee? With these recent violations, is it perhaps time to bring the loose-canon committee under the direct control of an established Department?
More importantly, the question on the minds of those like Secretary Vane is who will replace the perpetrators on the Committee and within the Wizengamot. “We simply can’t afford to have anyone in that position who holds bias or prejudice against muggles or creatures. There is too much power in the position, and there is too much room for negligence. I only hope that whoever takes on these roles can return the committee to its proper glory, and that they can contribute to the growth of the Wizengamot.”
One excellent candidate is charms theorist and accomplished author Benjamin Copper. Though quiet and soft-spoken, his brilliant mind has gifted us with many charms entirely of his own making. In a proper setting, he could easily rebuild the committee if he were willing to join.
Another stellar option would be Susan Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Currently she serves as the substitute speaker for the Wizengamot, but proved to be quite skillful in her youth as a member of the infamous student rebel group known as “Dumbledore’s Army.” Perhaps her obvious talents are underutilized in her current position, and her friendship with Minister Granger-Weasley and Head Auror Potter may allow her to better unify the committee and the Ministry values.
No matter who joins the committee or how the Ministry chooses to run it, we here at the Prophet sincerely hope that incidences like these will be prevented in the future. We send our best wishes to the injured Muggles, and hope that our readers do the same.
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