Azkaban break-in. By Jessica Reed

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has done it again. Where he previously arranged the breakout of all of his Death Eaters, yesterday he broke into Azkaban killing two people in the process, though it is believed that one of the deaths was purely bad luck on the part of the deceased.

We are unable to reveal the name of either deceased at this time, though we will keep the families of these poor people in our hearts and minds.

Also among the deceased were three Aurors stationed at the prison as guards, Cecil McKinnen, Leon Hill, and Cristina Vespucci. Their funerals will be held over the coming week with anyone who wishes to pay respects being invited to attend the memorial service for the three, to take place on January Ninth.

For a history of Azkaban turn to page thirteen, or a brief summary of the crimes of each Death Eater that was freed previously turn to page twenty to thirty four.

"That bastard needs to be stopped, he is losing the plot faster than Peeves." Harry muttered darkly after accidentally burning the paper with wandless magic, earning him more than a few odd looks.

"He will be stopped." Neville whispered, having long abandoned sitting at the Hufflepuff bench. "Him and all of his followers."

/_-^_^_-/

"You may notice that the air in here is rather foul, don't worry it isn't toxic or harmful, it is just very helpful when teaching this particular lesson. You see, today we will be learning the bubble-head charm and the smell helps signal to you that you've successfully or unsuccessfully cast the charm. While there is an incantation this serves to be the exception to a rule as casting it non-verbally makes it more powerful. You just have to form a bubble of oxygen over your head, resembling an upside down fish bowl." Professor Flitwick introduced the lesson, following up with a demonstration of said charm.

Harry had already learned the spell during his fourth year and, as was usually the case with Charms, he walked around helping anyone who didn't quite manage the spell.

"Now we can test who has managed to successfully cast the spell." Professor Flitwick said when he noticed everyone had a bubble on their heads. He waved his wand and the air tinted blue in ripples away from him, when nothing happened the professor laughed.

"Everyone has managed it on their first attempt, this is simply fantastic, five points to everyone. There will be no homework today as there were no issues with the casting of the spell."

"Does it have any uses outside of covering bad smells and allowing you to breathe underwater?" Dudley inquired after raising his hand.

"When there was a massive outbreak of Dragon Pox a few decades back it would have been impossible to go anywhere without seeing nearly everyone around you with a bubble on them."

"Can you cast other spells with it in use?" Lavender Brown asked.

"It does have duelling applications, though you have to focus on defending the bubble at all costs. I personally wouldn't rely on a strategy that required the Bubble-head charm."

The questions carried on for the rest of the lesson, with nearly every student asking at least one question.

/^_^-*/

"Hello Mr Potter, how was your Christmas?" Professor Gaunt asked him after a defence lesson.

"Rather dull and uneventful, most of my friends were out of the country celebrating and so we couldn't do anything that we had planned. We were all going to go to the Zabini House but were unable to. How was yours, Professor?"

"It was great, Little Hangleton has grown exponentially and has nearly doubled in population since you were there for the ritual. Almost all of the starting loans I had provided have been paid back, interest free of course, and I've begun to finance some further projects. If you are looking to invest in a village that is soon to become a town, and may well go on to become a City, then the time is now."

"I did have an idea… it isn't worth considering though."

"Do tell, Mr Potter, I would like to hear it."

"My brother Dudley is set on becoming a mind healer, I had considered funding some research into the mental magical arts, though I could theoretically fund a Muggle research station that seeks to look for their own suggestions on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, as well as studying the mind using technology that isn't available to wizards. He could, in theory, send information to the center, which could also theoretically be staffed by Muggle-borns and half-bloods, and get information back on where and how the magical and Muggle treatments overlap. Who knows, maybe Dudley will even be the head doctor there in a decade or so."

"You really have this all thought out, I shall come back to you with estimated prices for the construction of such a research center, as well as the necessary computer technology needed to carry out the research."

"How much do you expect it to set me back, roughly?"

"In Muggle money? Around three hundred thousand pounds or so. Though it could be less than that, or much more, depending on how big you want it to be."

"In the summer I shall come down to see how the building is going."

"So… you want to do it, it's not just an idea?"

"I want to, how soon can we get started on it?"

"t, Mr Potter, I have a construction company that permanently resides in Little Hangleton as a result of my prolonged and extensive expansion projects. It can be started within a month."

"Awesome, come to me with details of expenses and I shall make sure to deal with them."

*-^/_^_^/

After a particularly grueling duelling lesson Dudley made sure to stop Harry and pull him aside.

"Harry, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can. What's up?"

"You're a trained Occlumence and legilimence, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked his brother, confused at the question."

"Would you be able to test my progress? I've been training alone but it's no substitute to having someone to help me."

"You've been learning Legilimency and Occlumency on your own? I don't mind helping you. Do you want to try to get into my mind first, or vice-versa?"

"I'll try to defend first."