Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 207 Hermione's Plan

Life at Hogwarts is becoming increasingly difficult, with both students and professors struggling to make ends meet.

With Dumbledore practically absent, it's fair to say that Umbridge has completely taken control of the school. No one dares to contradict her, and no one tries to stop her. This oppressive atmosphere makes many young wizards feel suffocated.

"You can't come here again," Hagrid said after sneaking into Hagrid's cabin. "If she catches us, we're all done for."

This is true; all of them are Umbridge's top targets, and whoever gets caught will suffer the consequences.

Under these circumstances, the DA gathering became a rare respite for Harry and his friends.

Hermione's creations made their gatherings more discreet, and even though Umbridge knew of the secret society's existence, they were unable to find it.

Perhaps it was the Death Eaters' escape that gave everyone a great sense of urgency, as everyone practiced even harder. Neville, in particular, was astonished by the news of Bella's escape; like Stuart and the others, he barely uttered a word, burying himself in practicing various spells, completely disregarding his own safety.

According to Harry's training plan, each spell required three steps: watching a demonstration, practicing on a target, and sparring in person. Previously, everyone was very careful about their own and their opponent's safety during sparring to avoid injury. But Neville now seemed to care nothing for that, especially after learning the Ironclad Charm.

"This can't go on. Neville will get hurt sooner or later," Hermione said with a worried look after a party. "Revenge is probably all he can think about right now."

“I would have done the same,” Ron said. “If I knew where that snake that hurt Dad was, I would kill it no matter what.”

"This is wrong!" Hermione remained rational. "Those guys are not someone we can handle alone. Acting impulsively will only lead to needless deaths..."

Harry listened quietly to Hermione and Ron's argument, saying nothing and unsure how to begin. He felt they both had valid points, but he didn't want to solve Neville's problem right now; his own issues were also quite serious.

His progress in learning Occlumency was very slow, and Snape could always easily break through his defenses and see the deepest and most unbearable parts of his memory.

It was even worse than before. During the last lesson, Reese saw the scene of "him" attacking Mr. Weasley, which made him very angry.

"You're the dumbest student I've ever taught. If you can't stop me from getting into your dragon-dung-filled brain, one day someone will die because of it!"

Harry knew the seriousness of the situation, of course, but some things couldn't be solved by effort alone. He desperately wanted to learn Occlumency, but made little progress, and things even got worse.

His scars are almost constantly painful now, and he often experiences waves of emotions unrelated to his current actions. Every night, he dreams of walking down the corridor to the Department of Mysteries, filled with longing for what's inside.

“There’s no doubt Snape’s teaching aggravated it,” Harry said. “The scar hurts so much, I hate dreaming about that corridor!”

"You still have to work harder. Dumbledore definitely doesn't want you to keep dreaming about that corridor, otherwise he wouldn't have had Snape teach you Occlumency," Hermione urged sternly.

"Of course I know, but there's nothing I can do. Letting Snape into my head isn't a pleasant thing!"

"Perhaps..." Ron began, "it's not Harry's fault that he can't shut down his brain."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Snape might not really want to help Harry. You know, he's a Death Eater. Maybe he just wants to crack Harry's head open even wider so that God..."

"Enough!" Hermione rudely interrupted Ron. "You've suspected Snape countless times, and you've never been right! Besides, Dumbledore trusts him, and he's a member of the Order of the Phoenix—that's enough!"

Harry watched helplessly as the two started arguing again, and he was becoming somewhat numb to it. This had become commonplace this year; they always seemed to start fighting for various reasons. Harry knew exactly what the reasons were, but he was powerless to do anything about it, which only made him feel worse.

Fortunately, I'll be able to relax soon, because it'll be time for Hogsmeade to open again.

Harry and Ron arrived at the Great Hall early in the morning. They had already planned to go to Zonko's Joke Shop first, then Honeydukes, and finally enjoy a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. They were eager to relax and unwind.

"Can you get three brooms by noon, Harry?" The two were talking when Hermione came running over in a flurry, holding a letter in her hand.

"No problem, that's our original plan." Harry nodded and agreed immediately.

"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed happily, then dashed off again. "See you at the three brooms!"

After finishing breakfast, the two joined the group and headed to Hogsmeade. Along the way, everyone wore smiles, a rare sight indeed; Harry couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen so many smiling faces.

Once they arrived at Hogsmeade, Harry and Ron completely let loose, spending the morning having a blast at Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop. Thankfully, Harry remembered to meet Hermione at the Three Broomsticks at noon, but Ron completely forgot.

"Harry, over here!"

As soon as they entered the bar, Hermione spotted them immediately, waving to them from inside. The two struggled through the crowded area, only to discover upon closer inspection that Hermione wasn't alone; Luna and Rita Starkey were also there.

Harry hadn't seen that annoying reporter for a long time since the Triwizard Tournament, but she didn't look well. Her once meticulously permed hair was now straight, her nail polish had lost its vibrant color, and even her earrings had been replaced with cheap, mass-produced ones.

It was then that Harry realized he hadn't seen Rita's articles in the Daily Prophet for a long time.

"I've got an idea!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly. "The root of the problem is that nobody believes you and Dumbledore. They've got the media under control, and the Daily Prophet is full of what they want the public to know."

"That's normal. The Daily Prophet sells its books; they need to make money, and right now only the Ministry of Magic can meet that need," Rita said expressionlessly, adjusting her glasses. "People love to see the former savior and the great white wizard's reputation ruined. Besides, these kinds of articles are very easy to write; I don't even need to help them."

Then, looking at Harry, she asked, "How do you feel about this? Is it anger at being betrayed, or resentment at being misunderstood?"

"Outrageous! Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "He told the minister the truth, but nobody believed him!"

"So, you really believe that person, whose name can't even be mentioned, has returned?" Rita asked. "Do you believe Dumbledore's nonsense?"

"Yes, that's true, I saw it with my own eyes!" Harry roared. "I was there. He came back to life and summoned his servants, more than a dozen of them!"

Do you want to know their names?

“Of course, this is big news.” Rita took out her quill and quickly scribbled in her notebook. “A headline: Potter Accuses, with a subheading like: Harry Potter Points Out Death Eaters Among Us. Put a big picture of you on the front page, and below it: Survivor of the Mysterious Man Attack—Fifteen-Year-Old Harry Potter Accuses a Prominent Figure in the Wizarding World of Death Eaters…”

"Tsk tsk tsk, excellent subject matter!" Rita exclaimed, her face beaming with delight, but then she glared at Hermione, who was laughing heartily beside her. "However, you certainly don't want this article published, do you?"

"No, no, no, in fact I hope it's in the paper!" Hermione smiled sweetly, looking very charming.

Rita suddenly froze, her face filled with disbelief.

"Really? Are you sure? You really want me to report on that person whose name I can't reveal?"

“That’s right!” Hermione said. “Just like I said, the Ministry of Magic controls public opinion, and nobody believes what we’re saying is the biggest problem!”

"And, without a doubt, everything they're saying now has flaws. Look at that article about Azkaban... could that guy really get Death Eaters to follow him? Could he really gather that group together?" Hermione slammed her hand on the table. "It's flawed from the start, and what we need to do is expose the inconsistencies in their statements!"

"Snap, snap, snap."

Rita clapped her hands, but her face was full of disapproval.

"Very good idea, but I have to tell you, The Daily Prophet won't publish these things."

"Like I said, the most important thing for them is to sell the newspaper, but the general public doesn't like this kind of content."

"No, no, no, it's the Ministry of Magic that thinks the public doesn't like this kind of content, but in fact, nobody knows what people like," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"Do you think people would like to see this news that terrifies them?" Rita asked with a look of utter contempt.

"Of course!" Hermione said decisively. "Like I said, their claims have flaws and don't stand up to scrutiny. I'm sure some people want to see a new interpretation."

"But the Daily Prophet won't publish it."

"I didn't intend for it to appear in the Daily Prophet."

"Where do you want it published?" Rita asked. "In those low-brow tabloids? Believe me, nobody cares about what's in those."

"We can publish it in *The Quibbler*," Hermione said. "It sells very well, and we have a lot of subscribers. And..."

As she spoke, Hermione glanced at Luna, who had been sitting quietly beside her. Luna nodded and said, "Yes, my dad is the editor-in-chief of 'The Quibbler,' so getting this article published is easy."

"Sing the Quibbles? Ha!" Rita's face was full of sarcasm, as if saying, "Are you kidding me?"

Rita stared intently at the determined Hermione for a while, then suddenly asked, "Okay, assuming I agree to write it, how much will you pay me?"

"I don't think my dad would pay someone to write articles." Luna held her cup, seemingly lost in thought. "Besides, it seems like The Quibbler has never paid anyone for their work. They write because they want to, so their names will appear in the newspaper."

"What?" Rita looked at Hermione in disbelief and asked, "You want me to write all this for nothing?"

“That’s right.” Hermione took a sip of her butterbeer and nodded calmly. “You know perfectly well that if we didn’t do this, I would report you as an unregistered Animagus. Perhaps the Daily Prophet would pay you a lot of money to write about your life in Azkaban…”

Hermione remained calm, trusting that Rita would obey, as she had no other choice.

And that was indeed the case; even though Rita wanted nothing more than to scratch Hermione's face with her nails, she had no choice but to agree.

"It seems I have no choice but to agree." With that, she picked up her notebook and shorthand quill.

"Very good. So, Harry, are you ready to tell the people the truth?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry.

"certainly."

"Well then, start asking, Rita," Hermione said calmly, winking at Rita.

Although this scene infuriated Rita, she had no chance to resist as she was being manipulated. After taking several deep breaths and suppressing the urge to overturn the table, a sweet smile returned to Rita's face, and she began the interview methodically.

The interview went very quickly; even Rita had to admit it was the easiest interview of her career. She didn't even need to ask questions; Harry recounted everything himself—the details, the sequence of events—which only required simple organization to produce a draft. But aside from that, it was also the worst interview of her career. She couldn't wait to leave as soon as it ended; if she stayed any longer, she was afraid she might actually scratch the face of that wretched little witch next to her.

"Is this... really going to work?" Ron, who had been sitting quietly to the side like a ghost, asked after Rita left.

"It should have some effect, but we can't put our hopes on that," Hermione said calmly. "Our goal is simply to let more people know the truth. Whether they believe it or not, they'll get an impression."

"There are many fools in this world, and there are many smart people too. All we need to do is give people a choice..."

"Believe me, we will have achieved our goal when people begin to question even the slightest aspect of the Ministry of Magic's claims."

"Okay, hopefully it will work." Harry nodded. It felt great to have spoken the truth, and that was enough for him. He didn't think about anything else.

"Of course it will work," Hermione said, turning to Luna beside her. "Do you know when this article will be published?"

"I don't know." Luna shook her head. "We'll probably have to wait until the next issue. Dad usually finishes the draft by this time."

"Next issue..." Hermione muttered, but quickly dismissed it. "It doesn't matter, as long as it gets published, that's enough!"

"Yes, that can be guaranteed," Luna replied.

(End of this chapter)