The Daily Prophet

17 June, 1999

DRACO MALFOY DECLARED DECEASED FOLLOWING SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Former Death Eater and Malfoy heir Draco Malfoy was found early this morning in the cellar of his good friend Blaise Zabini's cottage, by Zabini's wife Daphne. He was rushed to St. Mungo's and discovered to have consumed an unidentified poison and to have inflicted substantial puncture wounds in multiple areas of his body. He fell unconscious soon after he was found; After nearly an hour at the hospital, his heart collapsed beyond repair, and he was taken to the hospital morgue immediately.

The Zabini family will be the only people present for Malfoy's burial tomorrow. However, they refuse to plan a memorial ceremony without the consent and input of Draco's mother, Narcissa, who currently is in Ministry custody and awaiting her upcoming trial. Draco's father, Lucius, is also in Ministry custody but has not made any effort to communicate with his son. Draco's trial had been planned for 20 June. While originally it was popular belief that he would be pardoned, incriminating information was attained during the Ministry's investigation of his activities which shed light on him and established him as a criminal and perpetrator rather than a victim.

The consensus among the Aurors who are conducting the current investigation is that his impending trial was a main factor in his suicide. Following the War he reported a change of heart, but this was outweighed by the severity of the atrocities he was found to have committed. The Ministry has disallowed further disclosure regarding this. Recently Malfoy had been in better spirits, however, recount many of Malfoy's contemporaries, including Zabini, who considers himself to be Malfoy's closest consort. Zabini divulged knowledge of Malfoy's love interest, although, he says, Malfoy 'evaded any attempt for further detail.' One of the Aurors agrees that evidence of romantic involvement was ample in Draco's belongings. As of yet, there have been almost no identifying features by which to search for her, and the dearth appears intentional.

ABUNDANCE OF SUSPICIOUS MATERIALS FOUND IN MALFOY'S POSSESSION; POINT IN INTERESTING DIRECTION

For the past month, Malfoy has been staying with the Zabinis (Blaise, Daphne, and their two children) while on temporary release from Ministry custody. Among his belongings in Zabini's home Malfoy had hidden files and memorabilia. Some of the files were classified Ministry property, primarily related to his case, although there were others as well. Among his other belongings, as aforementioned, were many items which imply a romantic connection. Some of these would also serve to argue that Malfoy had great hope in being pardoned; many were definitively related to marriage and married life. Curiously, some of these appear to have been obtained from Muggle sources, as do some other things, including Muggle books and a Muggle newspaper from May 1997. The origins of these items have been disputed, as they suggest that his hatred for Muggles and Muggleborns was an act that he had as a boy, not his actual beliefs; one theory is that they were planted by someone else. The trouble with this theory is that there are few people who have been with Malfoy in the past few months, none of whom could be suspected of doing so, further implying that Malfoy was not the man he made himself out to be.

I, for one, yearn to know the purpose of the Muggle books on marriage. The sheer presence of such material presents the opportunity to answer even a deeper question about Draco Malfoy's true identity. Was his suicide a reaction to a forbidden love interest? Will the world ever know her name?

Aurors are currently examining these print materials for pertinent information, but so far have not found anything of use. The Ministry has prohibited the disclosure of any further information on Malfoy's case until its official release.

- Rita Skeeter