(no subject)
For the benefit for those of you who were unable to attend this evening's Leaving Feast due to your own injuries or the injuries of others, I will re-post the information here that I shared last evening.
The man who, the evening of Friday last, requested that all students turn in their wands, was not the headmaster. It pains me to say this, please understand. There is absolutely no apology that I can give you for what was ultimately a fatal error on my part. Had I been more vigilant, I would perhaps have noticed that the man posing as Professor Dumbledore was a fraud. I did not, however, and it is too late to turn back time.
Those of you in your seventh year of History of Magic may be familiar with Pellnor Wilkes. For those of you who are not, I will explain. Pellnor Wilkes was a Death Eater during You-Know-Who's reign in the late nineteen-seventies and very early nineteen-eighties. For many years he was believed to be dead at the hands of Aurors. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic was unaware of the fact that Wilkes was a Metamorphmagus. A Metamorphmagus, for those of you who are unaware, is a witch or wizard who can change their physical form entirely.
Thanks to the efforts of some very dedicated Unspeakables, we were able to determine that the man who was killed in 1980 was not, in fact, Pellnor Wilkes, but a wizard called Clyde Bones, whose form Wilkes had been taking for years. Bones, rest his soul, appears to have been an innocent bystander. Aurors were under the impression that Bones's appearance was Wilkes's actual one, we have been told.
For the past eighteen years, Pellnor Wilkes has been in hiding in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department at the Ministry under the name Lowell Perkins. There is no such person as Lowell Perkins. This appears to be an assumed name, an identity created simply for Wilkes to hide within the Ministry.
Late in the hours of Sunday evening, as the Aurors and I were at our wits' end, it was Potter who came to me with the suggestion that I examine the Death Eater trials in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. Please understand that under normal circumstances, it would be considered highly unethical to examine another man's pensieve (and Potter, you are forgiven for doing so years ago), but given the situation it seemed that there was little choice. It was very lucky indeed that I did this. When I reached the headmaster's office and examined his pensieve, the pensieve had ceased moving. The Aurors, fortunately, were able to unlock the pensieve, and I was able to examine the headmaster's memory of Wilkes's trial several times, and this is how I discovered that Wilkes was taking the form of Clyde Bones. I noticed that Wilkes's ear changed shape once, and this was the proof that we needed to confirm that Wilkes was a Metamorphmagus.
Following his trial, Wilkes fled from the Wizengamot. Since the headmaster was not present for these events, they are not entirely clear, but reports from 1980 state that Wilkes was captured and killed by Aurors outside of Lode Gaffle. It is now painfully evident that the man killed was not Wilkes and was, in fact, Clyde Bones, whose home was in Lode Gaffle. Bones was previously assumed missing.
Luckiest of all, this is where I found Headmaster Dumbledore: wandering within his own memories repeatedly. The pensieve was locked to prevent his escape, and had I not broken my own ethics to examine his memories myself, he would likely still be there.
It seemed that he was stuck upon the memory of last Friday afternoon, during his meeting with the Head Boy. I suppose that you all would like to know about the Head Boy. It makes me so angry that I can scarcely say his name. Severus and myself both voted against him, but Albus seemed to feel that he had changed his ways. Thus, he became the Head Boy, and thanks to the pensieve I was able to discover that it was the Head Boy who trapped Albus within his own pensieve.
The Head Boy has been taken to the Ministry of Magic for questioning. Macmillan, if you could please make an appointment with your brother to come to the Ministry over this matter, it would be extremely helpful.
We can confirm that it was, indeed, Wilkes who was seen outside of Hogwarts last Wednesday, though the form he took was that of Clyde Bones and not, in fact, Wilkes's actual appearance. One silver lining in this cloud is that we have discovered that Wilkes was killed in the attack on Wednesday. Thanks to the Unspeakables once again, we were able to discover that one of the unidentified bodies among the Death Eaters was Pellnor Wilkes in his true form.
It is believed that it was Wilkes, in the guise of Perkins, who let Peter Pettigrew out of Azkaban.
There are many 'what ifs' in this situation, not least of which involves Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since 1981. Ms Bones has dedicated her life to this for nearly twenty years, and it is unfortunate to think that she became involved in it due to her brother's disappearance. I wish to strongly remind everyone that there is not a single person in this castle who should fault themselves for our losses.
Dwelling upon the past and your own memories is a very dangerous business indeed. The headmaster is extremely confused, but the best mental Healers at St Mungo's are working on him around the clock.
The man who, the evening of Friday last, requested that all students turn in their wands, was not the headmaster. It pains me to say this, please understand. There is absolutely no apology that I can give you for what was ultimately a fatal error on my part. Had I been more vigilant, I would perhaps have noticed that the man posing as Professor Dumbledore was a fraud. I did not, however, and it is too late to turn back time.
Those of you in your seventh year of History of Magic may be familiar with Pellnor Wilkes. For those of you who are not, I will explain. Pellnor Wilkes was a Death Eater during You-Know-Who's reign in the late nineteen-seventies and very early nineteen-eighties. For many years he was believed to be dead at the hands of Aurors. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic was unaware of the fact that Wilkes was a Metamorphmagus. A Metamorphmagus, for those of you who are unaware, is a witch or wizard who can change their physical form entirely.
Thanks to the efforts of some very dedicated Unspeakables, we were able to determine that the man who was killed in 1980 was not, in fact, Pellnor Wilkes, but a wizard called Clyde Bones, whose form Wilkes had been taking for years. Bones, rest his soul, appears to have been an innocent bystander. Aurors were under the impression that Bones's appearance was Wilkes's actual one, we have been told.
For the past eighteen years, Pellnor Wilkes has been in hiding in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department at the Ministry under the name Lowell Perkins. There is no such person as Lowell Perkins. This appears to be an assumed name, an identity created simply for Wilkes to hide within the Ministry.
Late in the hours of Sunday evening, as the Aurors and I were at our wits' end, it was Potter who came to me with the suggestion that I examine the Death Eater trials in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. Please understand that under normal circumstances, it would be considered highly unethical to examine another man's pensieve (and Potter, you are forgiven for doing so years ago), but given the situation it seemed that there was little choice. It was very lucky indeed that I did this. When I reached the headmaster's office and examined his pensieve, the pensieve had ceased moving. The Aurors, fortunately, were able to unlock the pensieve, and I was able to examine the headmaster's memory of Wilkes's trial several times, and this is how I discovered that Wilkes was taking the form of Clyde Bones. I noticed that Wilkes's ear changed shape once, and this was the proof that we needed to confirm that Wilkes was a Metamorphmagus.
Following his trial, Wilkes fled from the Wizengamot. Since the headmaster was not present for these events, they are not entirely clear, but reports from 1980 state that Wilkes was captured and killed by Aurors outside of Lode Gaffle. It is now painfully evident that the man killed was not Wilkes and was, in fact, Clyde Bones, whose home was in Lode Gaffle. Bones was previously assumed missing.
Luckiest of all, this is where I found Headmaster Dumbledore: wandering within his own memories repeatedly. The pensieve was locked to prevent his escape, and had I not broken my own ethics to examine his memories myself, he would likely still be there.
It seemed that he was stuck upon the memory of last Friday afternoon, during his meeting with the Head Boy. I suppose that you all would like to know about the Head Boy. It makes me so angry that I can scarcely say his name. Severus and myself both voted against him, but Albus seemed to feel that he had changed his ways. Thus, he became the Head Boy, and thanks to the pensieve I was able to discover that it was the Head Boy who trapped Albus within his own pensieve.
The Head Boy has been taken to the Ministry of Magic for questioning. Macmillan, if you could please make an appointment with your brother to come to the Ministry over this matter, it would be extremely helpful.
We can confirm that it was, indeed, Wilkes who was seen outside of Hogwarts last Wednesday, though the form he took was that of Clyde Bones and not, in fact, Wilkes's actual appearance. One silver lining in this cloud is that we have discovered that Wilkes was killed in the attack on Wednesday. Thanks to the Unspeakables once again, we were able to discover that one of the unidentified bodies among the Death Eaters was Pellnor Wilkes in his true form.
It is believed that it was Wilkes, in the guise of Perkins, who let Peter Pettigrew out of Azkaban.
There are many 'what ifs' in this situation, not least of which involves Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since 1981. Ms Bones has dedicated her life to this for nearly twenty years, and it is unfortunate to think that she became involved in it due to her brother's disappearance. I wish to strongly remind everyone that there is not a single person in this castle who should fault themselves for our losses.
Dwelling upon the past and your own memories is a very dangerous business indeed. The headmaster is extremely confused, but the best mental Healers at St Mungo's are working on him around the clock.