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YOUNG SON CLAIMS PARENTS WERE INVOLVED IN UNKNOWN ORGANISATIONS AFTER THEIR DISAPPEARANCE.

A recent development was made last week concerning links between the past two cases that have caused quite a stir in the media, the attack on Angus Kern and his house elf and the murder of the Fishers, an innocent wizarding family from Tinworth. Last Sunday, a Mr John Brooke approached the Ministry of Magic with supposed information on links between the cases and the recent disappearance of his parents, Marcus and Veronica Brooke.

John Brooke, aged sixteen and a student of Eaglesclaw Academy, having travelled over from America a fortnight ago with his father, told the ministry that his father was linked to the Fishers, and, in turn, to Angus Kern. Confusing officials, Brooke was asked to elaborate on the subject and stated this:

“My father certainly knew the Fishers, for sure – my mother was Debra Fisher’s half sister, though the connection isn’t mentioned much, and they were linked through the mystery organisation is going on about. And Kern definitely knew him – they were always discussing business over the post and through muggle telecfons.”

Detectives immediately questioned the boy on the organisation as they had done with several others, and he certainly revealed more, though, like Jennifer Fisher, he had not been told anything by his parents and it had been very secretive:

“The organisation’s called ‘Hellflare’, that’s for sure, and it’s definitely something shady. When I stayed with my Dad we always had people around – though not in a friendly way. As I gather, he was threatened by quite few of them but he wouldn’t tell me why – in fact, he wouldn’t tell me anything and even tried to get me to make an unbreakable vow not to tell anyone the tiny details I knew of. Apparently the organisation involved Magical Artefacts but if it did there wasn’t your typical history club.”

John Brooke and his father, Marcus, travelled to England two weeks ago, supposedly to drop off John with his mother Veronica Brooke and for Marcus to deal with some business problems. However, John reports his father headed to Upper Flagley to visit Angus Kern on matters concerning this ‘Hellflare Organisation. However, Angus Kern denies this:

“I do know Marcus Brooke but only few some connections in America and he never came to visit me, I can confirm that.”

However, John was adamant the two are connected, as is this organisation to the disappearances of both his parents.

“Before they divorced two years ago, my Mum and Dad were definitely involved in Hellflare, together.  And when Mum moved back to England, she joined a branch there that is surely connected to the one in the USA. I picked up more information when I was with her.”

This information, however, was quickly being ruled out as false as detectives have investigated further and questioned friends and family of the two. So far they have gathered no evidence of the two being involved in organisations, or any verification that ‘Hellflare’ existed. In fact, further interviews and investigations have all pointed towards John’s statements being false and somewhat ludicrous.

Following up on the fact that Veronica Brooke was the half sister of Debra Fisher, private and ministry detectives interviewed the couple again, who had been most shocked by John’s claims:

“Veronica is Debra’s sister by blood, but they didn’t grow up together and barely saw one another. Neither got along, as far as I knew.” Daniel Fisher, Veronica’s father, stated. “Even I didn’t see her often – myself and her mother divorced and they moved to America when I remarried. The sister’s did not have any connections and would not have joined any shady organisation together, I know that for sure.”

Many of the interviews stated the same thing – that the sisters had no connections and besides, they weren’t the sort to be involved in unauthorised and shady organisations. A friend of Veronica’s, Winona Hayes, from Ottawa, Canada, stated:

“Veronica would never be involved in something like that – she’s a clever, rule-abiding person who always sticks to the rules and keeps out of trouble. Perhaps she did belong to an organisation, but it wouldn’t be anything like what John describes. I believe the boy is unstable after the disappearance of Veronica and Marcus and is making false claims that cannot be trusted.”

John, after hearing of this, did nothing for himself by passionately declaring that Hayes was lying to cover up and that she was also involved. However, his claims are now believed to false by the ministry and the case has been closed again. Even the private detectives working for Daniel and Viola Fisher who are still investigating are coming to the conclusion that the cases are not linked. However the boy does have supporters – unofficial believers, of course, but still people who think his statements are true. Among these is detective Dorian Cartwright, who was the one to claim the Fisher Murder and Kern Assault were linked in the first place and has been following the crimes and trying to prove himself correct since then. He told the daily prophet this when questioned on the matter:

“As I stated before, it is clear that the latest criminal events are linked and I am sure John speaks the truth. He is obviously being honest and as for being ‘unstable’, he is simply angry about being patronised and believed wrong. I am now looking further into the case for his sake and to prove these foolish nitwits wrong. The truth must be uncovered and I am determined to succeed in doing so.”

However, John has continued to be shunned and has now been moved to board at St. Mungo’s for the time being, until his parents are found. It is believed he is suffering from anxiety, which may be the cause of his outbursts and he has received much humiliation since moving into the hospital. As soon as the case is closed, he will be sent back to America.

So – what will happen? Will Veronica and Markus Brooke be found? They have disappeared of their own free will, it seems, and we can only wait until they make an appearance or the ministry tracks them down (read the most recent edition of The Daily Prophet for more information on their disappearances). There are so many questions still in the air – was the Fisher murder connected to the Kern attack? Is Veronica Brooke actually linked to her half-sister? Does ‘Hellflare’ truly exist? Any updates will be contained in the following issue, so be sure to come back here next month to find out.

<pre style="text-align: right;">-Lilia Le Fay</pre>