Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

The interview officially began, and Rita Skeeter, as a journalist, demonstrated commendable interviewing skills, always managing to ask the right questions.

……

“Mr. Lovegood, with your knowledge of magic, it’s hard to believe you’re only in your second year.” Rita Skeeter stood up, her quill flying back into her bag.

"Perhaps I will have the opportunity to witness... the birth of a second Albus Dumbledore... Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore's statement is that you will only be the first Wizette Lovegood."

“Actually, I have a question.” Vizette took her hand out of her pocket. “Why would you do that… to smear Headmaster Dumbledore?”

“An interesting question.” Rita Skeeter raised an eyebrow. “Many people dislike those who are aloof and superior… and I’m willing to bring them down from their pedestals.”

"Like Gilderoy Lockhart... and Headmaster Dumbledore... the more radiant and towering someone is, the greater the shadow they cast... that's my opinion."

"To be honest, after talking with Headmaster Dumbledore today, I think I've changed my opinion of him a little. He's so powerful, yet so gentle..."

“His current behavior is actually more in line with my thinking… Why did he change, Mr. Lovegood… Is it because of you?”

Before Wizette could answer, an unfamiliar voice came from outside the door, "Mr. Lovegood, are you in there? The awards ceremony is about to begin."

“It was a very pleasant exchange.” Rita Skeeter opened the door for him. “I look forward to our next meeting… I hope that one day I can also uncover some shadows in you.”

“Is that so?” Vizette smiled slightly. “Actually, I also look forward to uncovering some secrets from you.”

"For example, why are you always able to get timely reports... and even some photos that you shouldn't have... I believe this will be an interesting process."

As if remembering something, he said, "Oh, right! Ms. Skeeter, you actually misspelled some academic terms, but it's okay, I've corrected them for you."

"You corrected it for me?" Rita Skeeter's expression changed, and she quickly ran towards the parchment scroll floating in mid-air...

Chapter 69 Illegal Animagus

[Rita Skeeter, a blonde bombshell, is 42 years old and still possesses a captivating charm; even former Hogwarts stars who had conflicts with her couldn't resist her allure.]

Upon seeing the first paragraph, Rita Skeeter felt relieved.

When she heard what Vizet said, she thought that Vizet had used some kind of magic to completely change the content of the article.

"The academic terminology wasn't spelled correctly?" She exhaled, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "It seems... there are differences between different Ravenclaws..."

She was confident that she wouldn't misspell the relevant academic terms; at most, she might have used an older spelling.

After all, when she was practicing Animagus, her main reference books came from the Middle Ages, so it's normal for there to be some differences.

She had forgotten the book's exact title, only remembering that the author was a witch named Cleopatra, an Animagus, and that she had appeared on a Chocolate Frog poster.

And Sophie Cliona, who is present today, is a direct descendant of the author of this book.

"Wait a minute! He just said he helped me correct it? Did he really touch my interview transcript?" Rita Skeeter's expression changed, and she quickly flipped to the back of the interview transcript.

Those academic terms were indeed revised, almost like annotations, with an extra black circle and a short correction and comment.

[Ms. Skeeter, these spellings are very interesting. You can use "From Moon Dew to Full Moon: Animagus Explained" as a reference...]

Before she had even finished reading that line, Rita Skeeter instinctively clenched the parchment, a vague sense of unease rising within her.

This book greatly inspired me when I was writing my thesis. Actually, the spelling in it was corrected by the author's descendants, since the reader is a modern wizard...

[If an article doesn't use modern vocabulary for easy understanding, probably no one will be willing to read it, and they might even doubt your professionalism. Here, the spelling should be like this...]

……

"They even borrowed something I said?" Rita Skeeter adjusted her glasses and turned to the next page, one after another.

In the very first annotation, Wizette wrote a lot of extra explanations, while the later annotations were much briefer.

The more Rita Skeeter read, the more pronounced her unease became.

Her fingers gripped the bottom of the penultimate page, as if she had lost some kind of courage, making it difficult for her to muster the strength to turn to the next page.

Animagus is an extremely difficult form of transformation magic, but Vizet knows it so well, almost as if she were its inventor.

Could it be that he has... discovered my secret?

A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and more and more cold sweat seeped out, covering his forehead.

Wow...

The sound of turning the pages was like thunder. The last page had a large blank area, and a picture was drawn in that area.

It was an insect painting, not very detailed; you could barely make out that it was a beetle.

Most of the details of this beetle are omitted, except for the markings around its antennae, which are depicted in full.

Those markings were very distinctive, like jewel-encrusted glasses, like the glasses Rita Skeeter wore.

"How is this possible!" Rita Skeeter's eyes widened, her body trembled, and sweat dripped onto her glasses, making it difficult for her to see clearly.

She clumsily wiped her glasses, clumsily opened her crocodile skin handbag, and clumsily took out the shorthand quill pen.

"How could he know? How could he know so clearly?" She quickly looked up, trying to find something.

She finally found Vizette, but felt it wasn't a human figure, but a Dementor in a tattered cloak, leading her toward Azkaban...

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Compared to Gilderoy Lockhart, Rita Skeeter is a more qualified Ravenclaw.

However, they actually have one thing in common: they both like male peacocks, showing off their abilities.

During the interview, Rita Skeeter's professionalism regarding Animagus did not resemble that of a journalist focused on manipulating public opinion.

During this time, Rita Skeeter's questions were always incredibly sharp and insightful, and they could also spark Wizette's imagination and help him advance his paper on "Animagus Second Form".

This also aroused Vizette's suspicion.

Because Rita Skeeter knows Animagus so well;

When he previously instructed Luna Animagus, Rita Skeeter understood the parts that required special explanation without any difficulty.

So... could Rita Skeeter... be an illegal Animagus?

After all, he knew that James Potter, Sirius Black, and that Peter were all illegal Animagus, so the appearance of another illegal Animagus wasn't that unusual.

Since such a conjecture has been made, it should be investigated and verified to determine whether the conjecture is true or false.

Rita Skeeter once boasted about the shorthand quill, saying it was so well-trained that it could communicate with her mind.

A shorthand quill is a common magical tool containing magic similar to Legilimency, capable of writing words based on what the user hears and thinks.

However, under normal circumstances, the text written with a quill pen is rather dry and does not achieve the effect of Rita Skeeter's quill pen.

This situation implies that the shorthand quill pen understands Rita Skeeter very well in order to master her unique writing style.

In this way, the advantages of this shorthand quill pen became a breakthrough, allowing Wizette to explore Rita Skeeter's secrets.

……

Although Lockhart, as Rita Skeeter said, was an absolute scoundrel, Wizette had to admit that he learned a lot from Lockhart.

The "pivot theory," an extension of the Oblivion Charm, allowed Vizet to go further in mental magic and also enabled him to leverage the shorthand quill pen through the "pivot theory."

To determine whether Rita Skeeter is an illegal Animagus, the key factor to consider is naturally the Animagus.

Vizette didn't even need to do much; he just needed to continue the interview, using the Animagus as a "fulcrum" to slowly pry things open, and eventually the stenographer's quill pen would give him the answer he wanted.

His guess turned out to be correct; Rita Skeeter was indeed an illegal Animagus.

The Animagus's shape is also very appealing. Beetles are highly camouflaged and can be seen everywhere, making them very difficult to spot, which is perfect for Rita Skeeter's profession.

Vizette shook her head slightly. "The ability to provide timely reporting... to obtain photos that shouldn't be there... so it was because of 'eavesdropping'... the answer is right there in the mystery."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Just then, Rita Skeeter's voice rang out from behind.

Although she tried to keep her voice calm, it inevitably trembled, indicating that she was anything but calm inside...

-------------------------------------

The “bugging” mentioned here not only means “to eavesdrop”, but also “to turn into a beetle”.

Chapter 70 Thank you YaYa for not digging out my potion

The bottom line in the magical world is the International Wizarding Union's Secrecy Act. Above this, the Ministry of Magic is much more flexible in enforcing various laws.

Under normal circumstances, unless there are extremely strict explicit regulations, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is free to weigh which types of cases should be allocated more law enforcement resources.

Some cases where the resources invested are not matched by the returns are often neglected or even abandoned during the execution process...

Unless concrete evidence is obtained, and the suspect possesses sufficient value, the Ministry of Magic will naturally enforce the law strictly to ensure that the suspect pays a sufficient price and provides adequate compensation...

Just like the illegal Animagus Rita Skeeter, this situation applies perfectly, which is why she would be so panicked.

In order to obtain exclusive and exciting news, she often uses special methods, taking advantage of the convenience of the animagus beetle, to conduct more covert investigations and obtain secret information.

Once her Animagus identity is revealed, fines and imprisonment are merely the visible punishments. What she fears most is that the exposure of her Animagus form will prevent her from working as a journalist anymore.

……

“What exactly are you planning to do?” Rita Skeeter asked again, her tone becoming urgent.

"So, you've accomplished your previous goal? To uncover some secrets about you..." Vizet began, "As for what needs to be done, there are only three things for now..."

“Speak quickly!” Rita Skeeter’s eyes flashed, somewhat rudely interrupting Vizet.

Vizette said slowly, "First, reconsider that interview transcript, those sentences about 'irresistible charm'... I don't want anyone to misunderstand, and you shouldn't fool yourself either."