The Daily Prophet had suspended publication.
This came as something of a surprise to the vast majority of young wizards who subscribed to the newspaper.
Before this, the Daily Prophet had only ever put out extra editions, followed by more and more extra editions. Suspending publication had never been a thing.
Yet that day, it had done just that. Without any warning, that day's paper had failed to arrive. Many of the young girls who liked reading gossip over breakfast were very unhappy about it.
Harry also subscribed to the paper, and he too was looking forward to that day's edition.
Because he knew there should have been a major story that day.
Sirius Black, previously considered the most dangerous fugitive in history, had actually been wrongly accused. Peter Pettigrew, the hero who had received the Order of Merlin, First Class and been hailed as the last martyr, had actually been the real traitor.
What explosive news that was.
Before leaving yesterday, Minister for Magic Fudge had contacted the editors-in-chief of the major newspapers right in front of them, telling them he had something important to announce.
By rights, the news should have been in print that day. After all, wizards were very efficient at their work.
But it wasn't.
Not only was there no news, there wasn't even a newspaper.
Had something gone wrong?
Harry had a vague sense of foreboding and looked at those beside him. Hermione looked grim, Neville looked thoughtful, and Ron... Ron was tucking into his food.
Ron "here for the food" Weasley noticed his three friends' odd behavior and, somewhat puzzled, temporarily switched his mouth's function from taking in nutrients to conveying information:
"What's up? Why aren't any of you eating? Saving room for tonight's end-of-term feast? Isn't breakfast a bit early to start?"