Her promotion would not be an unexpected event; she had seen it coming for quite some time, ever since she was impregnated by Sinistra, got involved with terrorists, and nearly had her career destroyed due to the maniacal power grabbing of Edward Garrow. Now that she was back on her feet and in top writing condition--there were simply too many fantastically slanderous articles to write these days, where did the time go?--it was high time she got the recognition she deserved. Not only did she break the fourth unforgivable story and write extensively on the muggle disappearances before that, she had practically been running the publication behind the boss' back for two years. Editor-in-chief wasn't quite the CEO position she was looking for, but it was a step in the right direction.
Total control of the press would be a sweet, sweet thing when the Snidge rose to the top.
It was with her promotion in mind that Carmen wrapped a cloak tightly around her and apparated with the smallest of pops! into the alley where the private door to the Editor-in-Chief's office was. Light spilled into the alley from a lamp; she could see his shadow gesticulating in the golden light. Carmen had asked a favor of one of her connections and they were keeping the boss late at work via a massive failure of the Prophet's printing press.
With her was another connection, a man that Kosa worked with, who was willing to take out the editor and put a terrorist associate in place for a small fee. What were a hundred galleons in the grand scheme of things? One day Carmen would be obscenely rich. With her miserly habits, "ailing" grandmother, and promising career, that day would probably be sooner rather than later.
"I'm ready. I will need to remove the spell on the door, follow close behind me and make no noise."
The two slipped without a noise up the stairwell. Carmen used her wand to sign her name on the door. It opened with a click.
Inside his somewhat shabby and dusty office, the Editor-in-Chief was bending over a newspaper, examining the garble of ink and letters that was supposed to be a copy of the next day's paper. Across from him was a frazzled looking wizard who looked like they were on the losing side of a fight with the presses.
"Are you sure you're using the proper duplication process? This shouldn't be happening if you use the neverending inkwell. Did one of the interns replace it with a--AAH!!!"
The Editor-in-Chief whipped around as Carmen's face slowly moved into his line of sight.
"Dumbledore's beard, Snidgeton. How do you do that?"
"Sorry to startle you sir. I heard there was trouble and thought I should come by to check up on things. But since you're here, I suppose I can go now?"
"Ah--" the Editor wiped his face and shook some scraggly hair out of his eyes. "--It doesn't matter either way. The damn presses simply won't work. I think the Magic Mirror may have jinxed them."
"Oh no!" she cried in an alarmed voice which reflected none of her stone cold expression, "I would never expect another reporter to sink so low."
"No. You wouldn't."
She smiled as he blinked his eyes.
"Actually, I would like to speak with you. In private. I think I may have a lead for the Potter case."
His demeanor changed entirely. He snapped the ruined paper shut and shoved it at the other wizard.
"You're dismissed now, Lugwing. Snidgeton and I need to discuss a few things."
Ludwing walked away slowly, clearly disappointed that he wouldn't get to hear the juicy tidbits the two editors were about to share. The Editor sat down in his well-worn chair and leaned forward, gesturing at Carmen to take a seat.
"No thank you, I think I'd rather stand. There's been..." She paused, her demeanor changing as quickly as that of the other editor's. "...Well, I'm afraid that I may have taken a huge risk following this lead up. I think that the people who took Potter are very dangerous. More dangerous than we realized. So dangerous that I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I feel like I should, in case...in case things don't work out." She leaned down over the Editor's desk, her eyes glinting. "Terrorists. Potter was taken by terrorists. They're part of the Syndicate. Garrow was working in conjunction with these people to secure a place of power for himself. It's all tied together! The sudden rise in crime, the disappearances, the upset at the Ministry...it all comes back to someone in the shadows, who wants nothing more than to take power and see the wizarding world burn."
"That's...entirely pessimistic. What I don't understand is how you could know all of this. How did you find the connections? What are the connections?"
"Well..." And here she smiled, a smile that could have chilled Frosty, and she leaned back.
At that moment the terrorist threw off his invisibility spell. In a flash of a moment, barely enough time to register what had happened, he waved his wand at the Editor and the two men disappeared.
Carmen screamed.