05-14-2017, 02:10 PM
MAY 14TH 1887
MAYHEM IN DIAGON ALLEY
Invisible Pranksters Torment Shoppers |
Shoppers in Diagon Alley yesterday afternoon found themselves in quite a predicament as several pranks--or perhaps one very elaborate prank?--was perpetrated at precisely fourteen minutes past noon. The pranksters are as yet unknown, but appear to have been invisible at the time, as none of the many witnesses to the chaos that ensued could recall seeing anyone casting any spells. “It could have been nonverbal magic, or someone working from a distance,” admitted a Ministry employee tasked with investigating the disturbance. “But we rather doubt it. Nonverbal magic is very complicated, and it would had to have been a large group of people doing it at once, since there was no time lapse between the pranks. These spells were also a bit too detailed to have been comfortably cast from a rooftop, or anything.” Victims of the pranksters suffered a number of relatively minor complaints, from hair changing colors, growing new facial hair, or in one instance, antlers. _____________________________________________________________ |
A few things seem to have been stolen, as well--one young woman was missing her fur, and several others reported items had gotten away from them at exactly twelve-fourteen. “If this was the work of one person, or even two, it would have to have been planned for weeks,” said the investigator, “In order to have gotten this all to go off at the same time. It could have all been connected, but then these victims would have needed to have been picked out long before--and there was no way they could know all these different people would be in the same spot at once,” he said. “We believe the most likely scenario is that a group of tricksters got their hands on three or four invisibility cloaks, and all cast their spells at the same time, without being seen.” A Ministry spokesperson said there would be a crackdown on any potential sites of black market sales as a result of the incident, as well as more careful tracking of legal ways to acquire invisibility cloaks. There was also some minor damage to the sidewalk, and some sort of dead creature that appeared as if from nowhere and could not be identified--though given that it was in two pieces this is perhaps unsurprising. The Ministry does not currently have any leads. AUTHOR: GULLIVER DORAN |