Dumbledore did not linger in the ward. As he had said, Vaughn needed rest now, and plenty of sleep would help him recover quickly.
Nor did Dumbledore mention the Diary. Perhaps, with so many Horcruxes still undiscovered, he saw no urgency in destroying it.
It was not until the early hours of the following morning that Vaughn woke again. The fog shrouding his mind had vanished completely, and his thoughts were as lively as ever.
When he woke, he found a newspaper beside his pillow-the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore had most likely left it there.
Vaughn needed no light. A faint magical glow settled over his eyes as he scanned the newspaper.
Today's edition had not yet been released, so this copy of the Daily Prophet was clearly from yesterday.
It covered plenty of stories: the attacks on Gringotts and the C Headquarters building, the riot at Azkaban, and incidents of magic being exposed throughout England's Muggle world.
Even the attacks on students at Hogwarts and the Dark Wizards' assault on the Burrow had been reported.
Without question, this newspaper would spread panic throughout Wizarding Britain.
Throughout his time in office, Fudge had worked hard to paint a picture of peace, trying to convince everyone that under his leadership, Wizarding Britain was the safest place in the world.
It was precisely that manufactured peace that made people panic all the more when chaos struck. Interestingly, the Daily Prophet only reported that these incidents had occurred, along with what its journalists considered objective analysis. It gave neither detailed accounts nor the eventual outcomes.
In other words, to ordinary people in England, these terrifying events were still unfolding.
Vaughn smiled and set the newspaper down. He recognized Barty Crouch Sr.'s handiwork. Perhaps Umbridge and Xenophilius had contributed considerably too.
Of course, none of