“A dragon is exceedingly unlikely,” explains Harry Potter, head Auror and lead responder to the scene. “But Muggle witnesses indicate that some fantastical beast or magical entity may well have temporarily escaped secure wizarding boundaries. Most likely the creature is simply a rogue boggart unwittingly set loose in the Muggle streets. We shall catch up to it forthwith, I am certain.”
According to official reports, the appearance of the creature occurred between 1:25 and 1:40 in the morning, where the beast was first observed over Tower Bridge, then soaring over Potters Field Park and vanishing into nearby Shard rail-yard. Ministry oblivators, now working round the clock, were dispatched to the district to alter the memories of nearly three hundred Muggle witnesses. Damage from multiple vehicle accidents was also magically repaired. Ministry officials caution, however, that with sightings of this magnitude, some residual memory and physical evidence is bound to remain.
Wolfram Tryce, Lead Obliviator, warns, “We are reduced to short-term memory extraction rather than full experiential replacement. All it will take is for two or three of the witnesses to encounter each other in their daily lives for their shared memories to resurface.”
As Daily Prophet readers are bound to know, the popular Hokus Brothers Circus, currently performing in wizarding London’s Diagon Alley, feature a Hebridean Black dragon that performs under the stage name of Montague Python. Circus owner and ringmaster Archibald Hokus assured this reporter personally that their dragon was present and accounted for throughout the entire night.
“Montague’s a registered beast, never out of our sight, and tame as a lamb, despite his fearsome size and reputation,” Hokus explained via floo early this morning.
“And for good reason! Trained dragons are right dear, in every sense of the word. I don’t expect there’s another like him in the entire world, much as we might wish there was. And Monty’s been with us for so long now that he’s like a member of my own family.”
When pressed for whether the Ministry of Magic has been in contact with Hokus Brothers Circus to confirm the whereabouts of their dragon during last night’s sightings, Mr. Hokus assured that he is “cooperating in every possible way with the authorities.”
Curtailing suspicions in the non-magical community, the official explanation planted in Muggle news outlets for the sightings involves a runaway weather balloon and swamp gas build-up under the ice of the frozen Thames.
“Oldies are still goodies,” Mr. Tryce explained— somewhat wearily, in this reporter’s tenured estimation.
“Well,” James sighed, overcome with tentative relief, “that’s a stroke of luck, isn’t it?” He pushed the newspaper back toward Rose, who collected and folded it again, looking nowhere near as relieved as James himself.
“Something’s fishy about the whole story,” she said in a harsh whisper, “Norberta is still loose in London, but nobody else has seen her since the middle of last night. How likely is that?”
“Maybe she got scared and found a hiding place,” James shrugged uncertainly.
“That’s possible, actually,” Rose admitted, “Norwegian Ridgebacks, when confronted with the unknown, will usually find a familiar-looking hovel to retreat to, waiting out danger or confusion.
The poor thing’s probably terrified.”
“Now you’re sounding like Hagrid,” James observed, surprised.
“Just because she may still get us all in the worst trouble of our lives,” Rose sniffed, sagging low in her chair, “doesn’t mean I’m heartless. Norberta didn’t ask for any of this. She’s just responding to instinct.”
“It’s Heddlebun who’s to blame,” another voice said, strained to a dense whisper. It was Ralph, sliding into a chair across the table, his eyes wide and serious. “I told you this whole affair was a disaster just waiting to happen!”
“I think it was me what told you all that Heddlebun couldn’t be trusted,” James said, shaking his head. “For whatever good that did.”
Rose adopted her most beatific expression and said, “It’s no use laying blame now. What’s done is done. Now we have to figure out what to do about it.”
“Easy for you to say,” Ralph said, his voice still strained with anxiety. “You’re the one that said nothing would go wrong if we got involved.”
“I never said nothing would go wrong,” Rose commented primly. “I said we wouldn’t get caught.”
“S’not how I remember it,” Ralph groused, folding his arms.
“So,” James said, trying to bring the topic back on point. “If Norberta’s hiding away someplace, like Rose says, what exactly is the problem?” Unwilling to abandon his newfound relief, he tapped the newspaper and added, “Out of sight, out of mind, right?”
Rose turned her impatient glare back on him and rasped, “That was your dad they quoted in the article, if you hadn’t noticed. He’s no Ministry pencil pusher. That would be my dad,” she admitted with another weak slump in her chair, before rallying slightly, “but even he wouldn’t buy this line of tripe about a ‘rogue Boggart’. That’s pure rubbish meant to console stupid people. Nothing more.”
James rolled his eyes in exasperation. “We get a huge break on what could be the worst news in centuries, and you’re complaining about it! We’re off the hook, don’t you see? What’s the problem, Rose?”
“The problem is this isn’t over,” Rose insisted in a firm whisper.
“It can’t be! Norberta is still out there. And no matter what your dad says to the ‘tenured reporter’ at the Daily Prophet, he knows something’s up.”
“I’m with Rose,” Ralph nodded. “Only, not. Because I happen to think the best thing for us to do right now is go to Merlin and tell him the whole bleedin’ thing.”
“It’s fine,” James soothed, glancing back and forth between Ralph and Rose. He gestured at the newspaper again and asked, “Did either of you show Hagrid?”
Rose shook her head and blew out a sigh. “I expect he knows about it already. The poor old bloke was worried sick last night. He would have gotten a newspaper first thing, just to know the extent of the damage. But mark my words. This isn’t over. We set a dragon loose in London! It may be all clear for the moment, what with the Obliviators done with their work and the wrecks all mended. But Norberta’s still out there. We’re going to have to do something about that!”
“And I’m telling you, Rose,” James said, leaning forward and stabbing a finger down onto the folded newspaper. “It’s not our problem anymore! Norberta’s in hiding, and the Ministry is explaining it away with Boggarts and weather balloons and swamp gas. We should be counting our lucky stars for the breaks we got here, not looking for more dark omens to fret about!” he flopped back in his chair again and crossed his arms over his chest before commenting in a different voice, “Zane sure was a dab hand at those visum-ineptio charms though last night, wasn’t he?”
“Well, it’s hard to tell, isn’t it,” Rose sighed, collecting the newspaper and pushing it back into her bag. “Those only work on people who don’t know what they’re really looking at.”