Britain's wizarding fraternity must be well aware that, over the past several weeks, there has been an increase in the number of "pranking crimes" committed against Muggles. Attempting to cover up the resulting damages has taken up much of the Ministry's time and resources. Until now, there has been little development as Aurors on the case were at a loss at how to deal with the menace. However, a new lead may soon change all that. But before we get to that, let us recap the events of the case so far.
The first case was reported in Dorset a few weeks back. An older woman was caught unaware when her "new vintage teapot set" that she had gotten from an auction suddenly started moving on its own, biting her hand and spilling tea all over her living room. This incident was followed by another in Durham, in which the members of the Wilson family were nearly scared out of their wits when they got into their family car for a weekend picnic and, instead of moving along the road, the car started flying.
"It could have led to a major breach of the International Statute of Secrecy. But thanks to our team of capable Aurors and Obliviators, the situation was saved," Head Auror Robards informed us.
These were followed by cases in Dundee, Dublin, and Derbyshire, with the crimes ranging from simple pranks like shrinking door keys (so they could not be found when needed) and rubber ducks with revolving heads (can be quite scary, trust me) to more serious crimes like regurgitating toilets (sending flushed contents up instead of down). Although varied, the crimes all showed striking similarities: a brilliant, organised mind, an excellent and meticulously executed plan, and the same malicious intent to hurt Muggles.