2097

After months of methodical effort (led by interim Minister for Magic, January Bones) during the shutdown that followed the impeachment of former Minister for Magic Morgan P. Nickles, the Ministry of Magic was finally deemed ready for reopening. This four month period also saw the appointment of Charles Hollingberry as the new Minister for Magic who in turn selected three new department heads: Cole Kennedy for Magical Creatures, Ryder McCullough for Law Enforcement, and Olly Emmons-Clarke for DERP. The new era at the Ministry of Magic was officially started off on March 31 with an informal Cocktail Hour held in the refurbished Ministry Food Court.

With the Ministry reopened and fully operational, it was back to business as usual around the wizarding government, including the Minister's Office's continued efforts to fill the holes left by the previous administration, and the Department of Magical Games & Sports announcing its plans for a Ministry-wide Wellness Program. Previously alluded to at the Cocktail Hour between the department heads for Magical Accidents & Castarophes and Mysteries, a team consisting of department head Airey Flamsteed, Unspeakables Adam Gerulf, Sam Forrester, Laurel Vance, Dylan Chambers, Tahnia Romanos, Valeray McLeod, and PART Urgent Response Officer Megan Baines was assembled to tackle a situation in the Thought Chamber. The bolts on the tank housing the Encephalons had become loose due to the gravitational pull from the black hole that had appeared in the Department of Mysteries a few years prior; combined with the overall neglect in the Ministry under Nickles. Consequently, the solution filling these tanks was found to not be providing substantial nutrition and a new treatment to it as well as the Encephalons themselves required. Already known for their ability in telekinesis (everything in the Thought Chamber is bolted down as a precaution against this), the Encephalons had also over the years become particularly proficient in their own brand of telepathy due to the research and experimentation in Legilimency performed upon them.

With a plan in place, the lid on the tank was lifted and what happened next was something none of the Ministry personnel had anticipated. Seizing their opportunity to execute a plan the Encephalons had been concocting for some time now, these mysterious brains launched themselves free of their confinements and hurtled themselves at the humans - though not for the sake of attacking. Using whatever means necessary (including creating the illusion inside the mind of Forrester of making itself take on the appearance of a smart looking hat), the Encephalons sought to get themselves placed upon the heads of one of the humans and their tendrils coiled around them. Once accomplished, the consciousness of the Encephalon began to seep in, turning the person into their host so that they could be where other people were. A total of six Encephalons (known by their collective respectively as Reil, Galen, Templeton, Ponce, Sylvian, and Willis) managed to turn Unspeakables Adam Gerulf, Sam Forrester, Laurel Vance, Tahnia Romanos, and Valeray McLeod along with Megan Baines of the Department of Magical Accidents & Catastrophes into host bodies. However, when all the chaos and dust had settled...not even a thorough examination by healers was able to reveal this transition, though physical injuries were treated effectively.

Meanwhile, Senior Undersecretary January Bones revealed to Minister Hollingberry that she had been receiving anonymous death threats using the slogans of the Cult of Walpurgis as a sign off as well as the symbol of a crow ever since the news went public regarding former Minister Nickles. Bones had taken it upon herself to enlist the private protection and investigation of Aurors Angelo Toussaint and Evangeline Shacklebolt in wake of these developments and it was concluded to keep the affair between the four of them for the time being. Likewise, with the Quidditch World Cup on the horizon, an attempt to repair the negative global image the previous administration left on foreign Ministries, a meeting was held on Level 5 by Department of International Magical Cooperation department head Conley Phora and Minister Hollingberry with ambassadors to answer questions and respond to concerns.

With the ability to turn off their human host's consciousness as they pleased, the entire personality and actions of each human changed into that similar of a toddler discovering everything in the world for the first time. However, moving into December, these Ministry employees taken host by the Encephalons were becoming overstimulated with all the new experiences, now having six senses at their disposal. Having never experienced the sense of taste before, a trio of hosts made a real mess of things in the Food Court which then prompted Ministry personnel to wonder if the food had once again been compromised and the area was consequently shut down for investigation and the three employees taken into custody by the Department of Magical Accidents & Catastrophes. Another began ransacking the Level 6 break room, while yet another became impassioned with the senses of smell and touch in the Level 4 greenhouses and began causing quite the scene. Another curious body found its way to the Fitness Room on Level 7 and nearly destroyed valuable equipment but was interrupted by the start of a Zumba lesson (part of the department's Wellness Program), tickling their sense of smell in the worst possible way with employee body odor.

While all this human world stimulus began to pleasantly overpower Encephalons in their host bodies, the actual physical forms of the Encephalons began to deteriorate in their inactive state within the tank in the Thought Chamber. Sensing this, those Encephalons still inside the tank plugged into their hive-like mind and reached out in the hope of alerting their companions, located elsewhere in the Ministry on their human host joy ride, to return and reverse the transfer of consciousness before their physical form was inhabitable.

Meanwhile, tensions flared in the office of department head Airey Flamsteed where the Encephalon Reil (in the body of Unspeakable Adam Gerulf) destroyed the cleanliness of the sterile interior and attempted to consume Flamsteed's pet rock, Pebbles. Conjuring a cage to trap the man, Flamsteed sent an urgent (and highly exaggerated) Patronus to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement where Head Auror Alexa Cambridge Auror Benzi Rider, YATI Ronan Carter, and Head of Security Simon Bennett answered the call. During the impromptu meeting that followed, the previous peculiar activity of Ministry personnel was brought to light and speculation resulted in the decision to escort Gerulf to the Thought Chamber.

Upon arrival, the group discovered that Forrester and Baines were already present and soon the Encephalons within the tank began 'speaking' to the minds of everyone in the room to 'hurry' and 'embrace your true self'. Clearly communicating with those who had been taken as hosts, Flamsteed had the lid removed and once each human had came in contact with the cerebrums by sticking their hands into the tank, the Encephalons released their hold on each human and returned to their original bodies. With the mystery solved and an end in sight, Flamsteed instructed Carter and Bennett to search for the remaining three Encephalon hosts (Romanos, Vance, and McLeod) to ensure their safe arrival to the Thought Chamber.

With their bodies returned, Baines and Gerulf were then able to properly assess the inadequacies of the solution housing the Encephalons as originally intended. Content to leave the experience of being a human to the humans, the Encephalons vowed to never again attempt to hijack another human being and were infallible consultants as the process of adjusting the solution proceeded.

As Madam Pomfrey once said, "thoughts can leave deep scars" but at least no one died?