The Legacy of Salazar

ARREST OF HOGWARTS PROFESSOR SHOCKS PARENTS

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry may not be the safest place for your child, after all, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Professor Quirinus Quirrell, who took over the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts at the beginning of the last school year, has been charged with assault and attempted murder by none other than Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself. Although the man was not available for comment, anonymous sources have come forward claiming that the now ex-professor had attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone and attacked a first-year student who got in his way.

"This is an outrage," says Lucius Malfoy, the Chairman of Hogwarts Board of Governors. "The stone should never have been placed at Hogwarts in the first place."

The stone, the prophet can exclusively reveal, belonged to Nicolas Flamel a good personal friend of the headmaster. "An item like that should have been at Gringotts," said Lucius Malfoy. "What Dumbledore was thinking when he put it in a school full of children is beyond me." Many parents have issued complaints to both the school and the ministry, wondering why a dangerous and highly coveted object like that was placed near children.

Quirinus Quirrell had previously been a professor of Muggle Studies, and many came forward expressing their utter shock to his change in personality. "He had been my favourite professor!" Says Haley Martin. "He was always so nice." Apparently, the professor took a year off in order to travel the world and when he returned came into his new position. Some speculate that he became obsessed with the dark arts during that time and when he came back to the school the temptation of the Philosophers Stone lying under his feet was just too good to pass up.

Near the end of the school year, the professor finally gained the courage to attempt the theft and encountered first-year student Merlin Evans in the corridor. Quirrell pushed Mr Evans down several flights of stairs, in order to stop him from telling anyone what he was up to. However, sources say that Merlin Evans then went on to expose the professor for what he was and attempted to stop him by personally following him after the stone.

"It's absolutely unbelievable," says one Pansy Parkinson, a friend of Merlin Evans. "Merlin never liked Quirrell. At first, we all thought that he just didn't like the class, but I think he always suspected Quirrell of being up to something."

Sources say that Merlin Evans caught up with the professor before he could reach the stone, however, the specifics are unknown. "I'm looking forward to the trial," said Lucius Malfoy. "The boy managed to defeat Quirrell on his own, which is an impossible feat for an eleven-year-old."

Quirinus Quirrell was recently released from critical care at St. Mungo's Hospital and has been placed in the custody of the Dementors until his trial date.