An unusual study was published in the spring edition of New Research for Wizardkind, which was available to subscribers on April 9th and in bookstores the following week-end. Titled simply On The Habits of Werewolves, Professor Marlowe Forfang's research consists of a longitudinal study conducted over the period of nearly six years, with over a dozen research subjects, all of whom are afflicted with lycanthropy.

"A project of this sort has never been attempted before," said Pyramus Howard, academic and author of The Origins of English Beasts. "Certainly not on this scale. There are some fairly obvious limitations if you want to study werewolves, since so many of them are living double lives." Many in the academic community have expressed an eager interest in seeing what else Professor Forfang publishes in the near future, as the current article only details one very specific aspect of the habits of werewolves: how those who participated in his study prepared for the full moon. The responses range from very low levels of preparation, such as finding a relatively secluded area of the woods, to elaborate magical contraptions intended to keep the werewolf contained and pacified during their transformations.

"With so much data having been collected, though, there's bound to be a lot more in the findings," said Howard. The editors of New Research for Wizardkind noted that they intended to extend an invitation to Professor Forfang to publish again in their fall edition, due to the reception the first article received.

Not all of the feedback has been positive. Elinor Goyle, Head of the Beast Division in the Ministry's Department for the  Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, worried that publishing this information "might give werewolves, particularly those who have been recently bitten, a false sense of confidence that they can manage this themselves. Even fewer will use the Ministry's registry than currently do, and we'll see an explosion of new cases crop up if this research is widely publicized."

Percival Adlard, the Assistant Head of the same Department, was not as concerned when he was responded to our request for comments. "Most of those who are bitten don't come forward already," he pointed out. "So the worst this might do is give those who already aren't coming forward a resource to try and manage the condition better. If anything, publicizing this paper more widely may lead to fewer cases in the coming years."

Professor Forfang himself was not available for comment.