Percy Jackson and the Department of Mysteries

128) Bad News From The Newspaper

I figured that was what Voldemort had been happy about.

I excused myself to the Gryffindor table, slipping easily beside Harry.

"Did you see the article?" I asked, noting the bummed expressions they wore.

"Yeah," Harry snarled. "I don't believe this, Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?"

"What other options does he have?" Hermione said sourly. "He can hardly say, 'Sorry, everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort' — stop whimpering, Ron — 'and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out too.' I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you two and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I've been the poor boy with the sad past that truly believes in my trauma addled memories," I said. "Like, I'm just a victim broski. Tricked into believing in some nightmare."

Hermione gave me a dead-inside look, then tore her copy of the paper open, reading the report. I glanced around the Great Hall. Most of the students did get a daily copy of the Prophet, so they were talking about Quidditch and homework and whatnot, unaware that ten dangerous criminals were now free. The staff table was a different story. Dumbledore and McGonagall were deep in conversation, Professor Sprout read the article with such deep concentration she didn't notice the egg dripping onto her legs, and Umbridge, for once, wasn't looking for misbehaving students.

"Oh my —" Hermione stared wonderingly at the paper.

"What now?" I asked, worried there was another ten people who broke out but were conveniently left out of the first page.

"It's... horrible," Hermione continued to read the page aloud.

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER
St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a potted-plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death.
Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr. Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been suspended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokes-wizard for the hospital said in a statement, "St. Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr. Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident.
"We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr. Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr. Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare, which, when touched by the convalescent Mr. Bode, throttled him instantly.
"St. Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward."

"Bode," I mused. "We saw him in St. Mungo's, right?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "He was in the bed opposite Lockhart's, just lying there, staring at the ceiling. And we saw the Devil's Snare arrive. She — the Healer — said it was a Christmas present..."

Harry stared at the paper with wide eyes, "How come we didn't recognize Devil's Snare...? We've seen it before... we could've stopped this from happening..."

"Who expects Devil's Snare to turn up in a hospital disguised as a potted plant?" I raised an eyebrow at Harry. "It wasn't our fault."

"Yeah!" Ron said. "Whoever sent it is the bloke to blame! They must be a real prat, why didn't they check what they were buying."