A sketch of the Fwooper as seen in Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

Luckily, no Obliviation was needed. Ministry officials assured Ms. Llywarch’s neighbors that the sparks and lights were merely Muggle fireworks. Meanwhile, the screaming witch was taken to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Upon further questioning by the attending Healers, it was discovered that Ms. Llywarch kept several Fwoopers as pets. What’s more, she hadn’t cast the required Silencing Charm on the Fwoopers in about three months.

For the readers out there who slept through their Care of Magical Creatures classes (as dangerous as that may be), the Fwooper is a bird from Africa whose colors are extremely colorful and bright. They are magical creatures that are highly popular as pets but, while their song is at first pleasant, it will soon drive the listener to madness. It is for precisely this reason that all Fwooper owners must have a license and must be prepared to reinforce a simple Silencing Charm every month.

Since the incident of last week and since being kept away from the song of her three Fwoopers, Ms. Llywarch has begun to return to her normal self. Healers tell us that she was very fortunate. Listening to the Fwooper song for an extended period of time, like she did, can easily result in permanent brain damage.

“Everyone reacts differently to Fwoopers,” said Augustus Pye, a Healer on the Creature-Induced Injuries floor at St. Mungo’s. “But absolutely no one is immune to their affects. Ms. Llywarch is one of the lucky ones who has a good chance for a full recovery.”

Despite the fact that she wasn’t in her right mind at the time, Adora Llywarch is still being charged for breaking the Statute of Secrecy. She has been ordered to pay a heavy fine, and her license permitting her to own Fwoopers has been revoked.

The first-year student (who will remain unnamed) was dueling another student (who will also remain unnamed) two years his senior. The third-year student cast a Stinging Hex on his younger opponent, which hit the boy squarely in the eyes and resulted in almost instant blindness. He was taken straight to the hospital wing and the school nurse, Madam Poppy Pomfrey, was able to restore the boy’s sight after a few hours of intense treatment.

The anonymous first-year was rushed to the hospital wing at Hogwarts after sustaining a serious injury to his eyes.

But this incident has sparked controversy and doubt in the prestigious school’s policy regarding the Dueling Club. Parents and school governors have been asking whether it is prudent to allow the younger students to join the Dueling Club at all.

“Certainly, students should only be allowed to duel students from their own year, if they are allowed in the club at all!” said one of the school governors, Herus Warbler. “And the use of offensive spells that can seriously hurt a student should be banned from use during these duels.”

Most people who have lent their opinions on this issue seem to agree and Headmistress Minerva McGonagall tells us that she is seriously considering whether to simply change the rules of the dueling club or simply ban first-years, and perhaps second-years as well, from the club.

Of course, all of the younger students who belong to the club are outraged and wish to remain in the club, even the first-year who was injured this week.

“Honestly, I’d be fine with them changing the rules a bit,” second-year student Tabitha Mills tells us. “But I like the Dueling Club and I want to stay in it! As long as we just duel students from our own year, we won’t be in any more danger than the older students, will we? It wouldn’t be fair if we were kicked out for being too young!”

Readers, what do you think? Should the younger students be allowed to remain in the club, as long as certain changes are made to its rules? Or do you think that only older students should be allowed to learn how to duel? Let us know what you think in the comments and stay tuned for more developments.