I left St Mungo’s at twenty past six. Healer Smith from the Artefacts Floor apparated me side along to Kensington Gardens. I was due to meet Mary Vane, my neighbour, for an early morning walk with her dog, a golden labrador. We met at about twenty-five past six and began to walk through the gardens with her dog off the lead.

As we walked through the Italian gardens, Mary’s dog barked. We thought she had spotted a squirrel or something else to corner. Mary called her but she refused to come back. When we saw her, she had squared up to the front of one of the buildings like there was a threat.

We could see what looked like a person sitting on the bench inside. At first we thought it was just someone homeless, and asleep. They did not move. We both went over and Mary put her dog back on the lead. I approached the person on the bench. He was a big man, not dressed for the cold. I wondered if he had been out to a party and got drunk. Fallen asleep there.

I touched him by the shoulder to try and shake him awake. He was a bit stiff and his neck flopped sideways. I realised he must have passed and I saw the bite. I recognised it to be a vampire or a creature.

Mary works in the squib network, so raised the alarm. We did not touch the body once we realised it was dead. We saw nobody else at the scene or nothing out of the ordinary. We moved no objects, clothes or materials from the scene.

I swear upon this account as true.

Cyril Lancaster