By Schrei Bender

As I entered the dank, gloomy, undisclosed
holding place of Jang Ashby, I firstly
noticed the sorry physical state he was in.
Pale and thin, the 18 year old, 7th year at
Hogwarts, stared blankly at me as I started
the interview. Not making an effort to move,
he just stayed comfortably and cockily,
laying on his standard worn cot.

“Lets get this over with.” He said with great
annoyance as I flipped open my notepad.

Jang Ashby is accused of the murder of
Alistair Creevey, a late patient at St. Mungo
Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Throughout the entirety of the interview Ashby
insisted that he was innocient of all charges.
He says that while he was in Knockturn Alley,
a place known for its ‘shady’ customers, he
was buying books for his schoolwork. It was in
Hester’s Hexes, he says, that he was put under
the Imperius Curse, and from then on, was
unable to control his own actions.

There were several things, however, that led this
reporter to think otherwise. Mr. Ashby was fiesty
and rather abrasive throughout the interview. He
did not act remorseful for taking some else’s life,
even if it was the Imperius Curse he was under.
He also said that he would be unwilling to take the
Veritaserum, or commonly known as the ‘truth
serum’, to prove his innocence. I thought this
particularly suspicious but decided to dig deeper
into the mystery that is Jang Ashby.

To Mr. Ashby’s credit, he did seem rather upset as
a sad pensiveness crossed over his pale,
previously stoic face, when the topic of how Hester
would be treated arose. He seemed concerned as
to what the outcome of Hester’s conviction would be.
Also so to Jang’s credit, the 7th year has completed
and passed all 12 O.W.L.s, a rather difficult task.

Mr. Ashby’s past doesn’t convince of his innocence
either. During his younger years at Hogwarts, Ashby
openly admitted to hexing and cursing other students
without a second thought. A family heirloom also
hinders his argument for freedom. Several pieces of
memorabilia that have dark arts origins were found
in his possessions and openly admitted that “[he] isn’t
a perfect little boy-scout.”

Things often escalated and became heated between
the interviewer and interviewee. Mr. Ashby started
to insult the Daily Prophet and it’s employees and
said people like him, give people like myself jobs.
That is when I asked him what sort of people are
your people? He replied: “Those unfortunate enough
to be judged wrongly by the blundering shower of
degenerate morons that you call the Ministry.” I am
not sure what this quote says about this young man.
Actually, yes I am. This reporter sees an immature,
disrespectful young man with no regard for the
authority or the order the Ministry provides.

But sadly, this reporter has no say on the outcome
of the upcoming trial that is to be held this next
weekend. All we can do is hope that this “imperfect
boy-scout” gets his ‘badge’ and is sent to Azkaban
for good. §