It's Kingsley, bitch.

( Now the Shack is REALLY back. )

Warded to Auror Moody

Just out of curiosity, are you running a fever at all?

Placeheld for Aurors (minus trainees) talking about the Wiblin situation. Will be filled in later, after the IC/OOC log is finished.

Details so far:
-- Wiblin's body was found by the visitor's entrance to the Ministry. Cause of death?
-- He is covered in blood and clearly was victim to Dark magic.
-- Also covered in green, purple, and silver crepe party streamers. A purple helium balloon has been tied around his right wrist with a piece of string. The air inside the balloon is presumed safe.
-- The Dark Mark was cast over the Ministry.

Warded to the Auror Office, minus trainees

All right. So Blenheim Stalk was indeed murdered in his hospital bed, but fortunately he was the only one. They really did a number on him, though. Stalk suffered slicing hexes to the face and arms, a Blood Draining curse, and a Bone Twisting Curse to the legs. He does not appear to have lost enough blood to die, and presumed cause of death is Avada Kedavra. He may also have suffered the Cruciatus Curse. I would not be surprised.

The wards in the hospital appear to have been tampered with, and they reportedly flickered shortly after the estimated time of attack, just before the Dark Mark was spotted. They were gone before we got there.

To me, this really only confirms that they have a Healer.

Warded to Clementine Shacklebolt

If you must know, everyone in quarantine thinks you're perfectly charming. Except for that one old witch who thought you were my girlfriend. She told me to ditch you. She might've been a bit further along in the delusions, though.

While we're on the subject, got yourself any new boyfriends while I was sick?

Not that I had much opportunity to do so before the Tinworth Plague, but I will never take a full night's sleep for granted again.

Warded to Quarantine Crew

I never found the idea of taking Draught of Living Death appealing until now.

Warded to Aurors and Hitwizards, minus trainees and secretaries

I looked over the texts from my grandparents on West African magic, and there's nothing in there that fits the current situation. There's a section on controlling Inferi (called 'zombi' in the text), which I've duplicated and forwarded to the office in case it might be useful in another outbreak of affected Muggles. Since these are not traditional Inferi, it may not work, but it's worth looking at. I loaned the original copy to my Healer.

Healers here are all now using the Bubble-Head Charm. Symptoms show no sign of abetting for myself or any other patient.

Warded to the DMLE, minus trainees and secretaries

I've got the rash, so I'll be keeping out of the office/the streets until the fine fellows at St Mungo's get this sorted out. Any interviews with patients, I can take that.

There's also some tingling in the joints, but that might be psychosomatic.

Warded to Barty Crouch, Sr., Rufus Scrimgeour, Gawain Robards, the Longbottoms, and Moody

I've already talked this over with some of you, but I was advised to bring this discussion into a single ward. For now, I plan to treat it as a given that tonight's crime scene was a building affiliated with the Order of the Phoenix. There is always a chance that the Death Eaters could be setting us both up somehow, but I highly doubt it.

Anyway, given that, we come across the following points of interest.

1. There were no wards on the house when we arrived at the scene and no indication of when they might have been removed. I find it impossible to believe that the Order of the Phoenix (or, in fact, anyone) would not have any wards on their buildings. This leads me to conclude that the taboo must have been involved.
   
2. The damage sustained to the Order house was far more extensive than that to our trap house on Sunday and, obviously, there are at least two casualties here where we had none. If this is indeed an attack based on taboo, could they now be sending more experienced Death Eaters? Would the younger ones have called for back up, upon realising that they've stumbled upon the Order of the Phoenix, specifically the Prewetts? This is, of course, assuming that the Prewetts were ever members in the first place. It is likely, but by no means guaranteed.
   
3. The only physical evidence that can be traced to a specific source we've discovered thus far belongs to the Prewetts. Obviously, there was at least one Death Eater present, and he apparently did not bleed or lose hair. Do we have any reason to believe that there would also have been additional Order members?
   
4. We did, however, discover a Death Eater's mask in the kitchen, rather far from the bodies.
   
5. Did anyone else feel judged by the unicorn drawing? It wasn't moving, but I felt its disapproving eyes on me.

[Warded to Rufus Scrimgeour and Gawain Robards]

I went by the Selwyn shop earlier today to let Miss Selwyn down lightly on her offer of a lunch date. Dawlish trailed me, just in case. He checked the outside and I the inside for traces of Dark magic. The wards on the shop are completely benign, and there were no Dark artifacts on the presences at the time I visited.

That said, this only applies to the time I visited, after being both invited and urged away. Tristan Selwyn's behavior still strikes me as suspicious. If the Selwyns are doing anything illegal, they've had time to clear the evidence.

Criminals are just as dangerous on Saturdays and Sundays as the rest of the week.

Warded to the Ministry -- FAILED due to taboo

Do we have an ETA on when the atmospheric charms will go back up? I don't mean to be a bother, I just think we'll have an easier time tracking down Voldemort when we're not distracted by the sweat stains pooling on our shirts. I've figured out my own solution to that for the time being (desperate times call for desperate measures), but if there's anything I can do to help that won't take too much time out of my other work, I'll be glad to lend a hand.

( Warded Private )

[Warded to Clementine Shacklebolt]

I think we should take Mum and Dad out to dinner some time this week.

Warded to Clementine Shacklebolt

Hello there! I just wanted to check in with my favourite little sister and reassure you that, despite giant attacks and other occurrences, we are still looking into the source of the threatening owl you received. I'm not at liberty to disclose specifics, but if it's any comfort, you're not the only person being harassed by criminals. You could even see some evidence of it just by opening your journal.

I don't know if you've seen her notice yet, but Professor McGonagall will be hosting a number of healing and self-defense classes in Hogsmeade this coming summer. I know you are a very capable witch, but with everything happening lately and the fact that you've already been targeted, I think it might be worthwhile for you to look into them.

Just out of curiosity, are you still dating that Quidditch player? Tarquin? Torquil?

As the weather warms up for the summer, remember to stay hydrated! Drinking plenty of water is vital for your health, especially when you're sweating it out at the same time.

It does seem arbitrary that we choose the New Year as a time for self-reflection, but I think that most people could use a bit of prompting. If it were any other time of the year, it would be easy to forget, but who can forget the new year? Admittedly, I catch myself slipping up and writing the past year's date until perhaps March, but I still remember.

Granted, the designation of January 1 as the "beginning" of the New Year is also a bit arbitrary. The day itself has no inherent significance that makes it a logical choice for the turning point, but it became significant when it was given that designation.

All that said, I can't think of anything that I would like to change about my life, and it's only a few hours until midnight.

Again, a public service announcement: please remember to watch your champagne flutes, or whatever container you use for whatever alcoholic beverage, at your parties tonight. Champagne is the most common, but regardless, count your drinks. Don't Apparate drunk. Have fun.

Hello again and happy holidays! I don't think I've written in a while -- not since I was sick and hadn't much better to do -- but the holidays are upon us, and I think the time is right for another unofficial safety announcement. While most of us may be taking a nice break from work, if not relaxing as such, we all must remember that evil has no holiday.

In Auror Moody's words, every wizard should remember to keep vigilant, even when celebrating the birth of baby Jesus or what have you. I don't mean to say that people should refrain from partaking of the holiday eggnog, but in times like these, it's important to have one's wits about oneself.

And please remember not to drink and Apparate, or else risk some nasty splinching. Side-Along with a sober friend, or use the Floo if you're collected enough to form the name of where you want to go (and it's not down -- sometimes the Floo gets overloaded on these heavy travelling seasons). Flying a broom while intoxicated is, of course, illegal.

Cheers!

WARDED TO CLEMENTINE SHACKLEBOLT

I'm going to Mum and Dad's for Christmas Eve. Will you be there? I haven't seen you in a while. You should bring your boyfriend.

It's my fourth day of being sick, and I've run out of things to do to keep myself occupied in my recovery. I've already read all the books in my flat. I would order more from the store, but I'm afraid I might have burnt the catalogue when I set fire to a stack of my post on the first day, and I don't think I want to deal with owls in this state anyway. I've been reduced to lying about listening to the wireless, even when all that's on during working hours seems to be ladies' radio dramas. I'm almost inspired to take up knitting, and whatever I'd end up making would be pre-flameproofed.

I think I may finally no longer be contagious, if anybody would like to spend a few moments helping a verdant invalid feel a little less lonely.

My apologies for my coworkers for being absent without advance warning yesterday. It would appear that I too have come down with the dreaded pox. I don't know who or what to blame, but I think I'll go with the owls.

Anyone have any advice for dealing with the dragon pox? I'm afraid I skimmed over most of earlier because it didn't apply to me at the time. I've tried using a Flame-Freezing charm on my nose to keep my sneezing from being too destructive, but the problem with that is that it tickles, causing me to sneeze even more.

Hello again. I know it might be a bit strange for me to be addressing the journals like this again so soon on the heels of my last public service announcement, but with Halloween festivities and trick or treating coming up this evening, I thought a few, simple safety reminders could go a long way towards making sure the night goes well for everyone involved (except for law breakers, of course).

First, a reminder that, though Hag Week is over, hags are and will always be a present threat to young children, and I highly recommend that they be accompanied by a parent as they go from door to door.

Second, always be careful to keep yourselves well lit and visible. If you are travelling in pairs or a group, at least one person should have their wand lit with Lumos at all times. This greatly reduces your chances of being attacked, as well as numerous other safety benefits. For wizards living in more rural areas, Lumos sometimes helps to ward of bears, and staying visible greatly reduces the risk of being hit by a moving vehicle. Last week, there was an incident wherein the Knight Bus was believed to have run over a nine year old girl. Thankfully, she managed to get out of the way via accidental apparation (and her parents, naturally, very proud), but more well-trained wizards like you or I can't count on accidental magic to save us in situations like that.

Finally, for potential trick or treaters in Hogsmeade, the Shrieking Shack does not give away candy, and it never has. Don't bother trying.

Nevertheless, I hope everyone enjoys their Halloween evenings.

A word of advice to all concerned citizens. I make this statement personally, after having already dealt with a hag-related incident as an Auror, and not on behalf of the Auror Office itself:

While many of us might not find Hag Week the most enjoyable week of the year, it is a perfectly legal and Ministry-sanctioned event. Simply being a hag is not a punishable offense, and hags have the right to assemble just as you or I might. While hags might openly discuss the consumption of wizard children, often in disgusting and grammatically incorrect ways, incidents of child-eating are easily preventable. I advise all concerned parents to keep their children especially close during Hag Week, preferably indoors.

However, that being said, because hags are listed as Beings, they are held to the same code of law as any wizard. Kidnapping and cannibalism are both punishable offenses, and I urge anyone who suspects that their child might have been kidnapped by hags to contact the DMLE immediately.

I cannot claim to speak for anyone in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but I am sure that the Hag Support and Services office will be more than happy to take all owls with non-urgent concerns and questions regarding this special week.

Thank you, and take care.

Warded to the DMLE, Obliviator, and Mediwizard Offices

We need backup in Tinworth, stat.

And an Obliviator team.