Last evening, a group of aurors, assisted by a member of the Beast Division, successfully destroyed an acromantula that had been plaguing the outskirts of Irvingly, it is believed, for the better part of a week. In addition to the tragic slaying of young Miss Poesy Tuttle on Monday, the beast was also responsible for slaying Connolly Brennan, 39, of County Galway in Ireland, one of the aurors involved in its apprehension.

Acromantula are massive spiders capable of human speech, but known to eat humans (and one another). They are not native to Britain, and are found in the wild in the forests of Southeast Asia. The Ministry of Magic classifies them as XXXXX: known wizard-killer; impossible to train or domesticate. That they were originally created by humans is, Miss Elinor Goyle of the Beast Division says, "a continued reminder of the dangers of playing God for the sake of convenience."

Unfortunately, acromantula are social creatures, leaving the Ministry concerned that there might be a nest in Hawthorne Hollow—a possibility Miss Goyle reports as, "unlikely, but not unlikely enough to disregard."  As a result, the village of Irvingly will remain on lockdown through the week-end. Those in the village are reminded that:

• Apparition and the Floo Network have been shut down throughout the village.
  
• Leaving home between the hours of seven o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening is strongly discouraged.
  
• Leaving home outside of these hours is forbidden, and may result in your arrest.

The Ministry has not said if they know how the acromantula came to be in Irvingly.

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Editor's Note: This article has been printed using Forsyte's Discretionary Ink to ensure feminine readers are not exposed to the most distressing elements of this story. Feedback on its use may be owled to the offices of the Daily Prophet, Attention: General Manager.