A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 578 Rita's Intelligence

Gringotts desperately wants William to become a shopaholic, but they're reluctant to bring out the good stuff.

The fairies are all stingy; in their value system:

You only have the right to use the things you sell. After you die, they must be returned and cannot be given away.

Therefore, we certainly can't bring out all the good stuff like the Gryffindor sword.

After taking out a few treasures, there were mostly silver candlesticks, stemmed wine glasses, and even 15th-century silver tableware.

What does William need this thing for? To use it to light candles?

My lord, times have changed!

Is it okay for William to only use electricity in his house? Aren't electric lights better than waxed paper? Isn't central heating more comfortable than a fireplace?

And silver plates? What normal person would use such a thing at home?

William said he preferred porcelain.

These things, which have little value but look ostentatious, are attractive to wizards, but William is completely unmoved.

He only bought some weapons, armor, and some jewelry and ornaments so beautiful that even Hermione couldn't take her eyes off them.

This cost one million Galleons.

This is unimaginable for a normal wizard, but it's a piece of cake for William.

Since it's not my own money, I don't feel bad spending it.

The fairy still owes more than three million... William decides to collect the debt slowly.

Those good things... we have to squeeze them dry little by little.

We don't need too many Galon. Once we've crafted the Philosopher's Stone, no amount of gold will matter... Magical items are more important.

After leaving Gringotts, William and Hermione prepared to retrieve their dresses.

There will be a Christmas ball during the Triwizard Tournament, and the school has already notified everyone to bring their own formal attire.

To everyone's surprise, the entrance to Gringotts was already surrounded by wizard reporters.

I don't know who spread the rumor, but Stark and Granger are here.

"Mr. Stark, what are your thoughts on the Ministry of Magic's press conference this morning?"

"Mr. Stark, why are you absent? Are you dissatisfied with Minister Fudge?"

"Miss Granger, has the Ministry of Magic invited you? Are they unhappy with the witches?"

"..."

He sounds like a seasoned boxer, the kind with superb boxing skills.

Neither William nor Hermione spoke.

Last time at the camp, I casually answered a reporter's question and said:

The attackers were Death Eaters who had escaped trial.

The next day, the newspapers spread rumors that Mr. Stark believed that the Ministry of Magic had made a major blunder by deliberately letting many Death Eaters go free back then.

"You've remained silent. Have you been threatened by the Ministry of Magic?" a reporter shouted.

"Don't be afraid, we've got your back! Just tell us what's on your mind! We won't tell anyone!"

William grabbed Hermione's arm and Apparated right before everyone's eyes.

Nobody cares about the rule that "minors cannot use magic outside of school".

One thing that everyone deliberately overlooked was what the two of them did.

If we really go by that logic, should we still kill the lake monster, and should we still rescue the kidnapped wizard?

Everyone was quite excited. As long as the photos were taken, that was enough; now they could go back and write the article.

Shocking! The Ministry of Magic is forcing the Starks to shut up.

Without uttering a word! Stark and Granger were probably already dissatisfied with Minister Fudge.

William appeared on the street corner, and Hermione suddenly reached out and picked up a beetle from his shoulder.

The beetle adopted a fawning expression and nodded incessantly.

"Let's go, let's find a secluded place." William glanced at Rita and Apparated again.

……

……

Inside a room at the Leaky Cauldron bar.

The three of them sat down at the table.

"How was my report? Not bad, right?" Rita tugged at her crocodile skin bag.

"Didn't I tell you? No reports about me and Hermione are allowed," William said coldly.

"But... the whole incident is inextricably linked to the two of you."

Besides, most of what I wrote was factual; only a small portion was artistically embellished.

Rita stared at William, straightened her curly hair, and then took out parchment and a quill pen from her crocodile skin handbag.

However, seeing William's expression, he put it back on the table and raised his hands in surrender:

"If I don't write it, someone will twist the story and report it. Just wait and see... Tomorrow morning, the newspapers will be reporting that Fudge and the two of you are at odds."

If they're really going to stop me from reporting the truth, then I'm practically a breath of fresh air in the industry...

"Thank you so much, you should be awarded a Pulitzer Prize," William said sarcastically.

"How's the Ministry of Magic doing?" Hermione poured a cup of tea for William and herself.

"It's a complete mess."

Seeing that Hermione hadn't poured it for her, Rita could only purse her lips and do it herself.

She actually preferred to drink Flaming Whisky.

"For a whole week, everyone kept sending out shouting letters, complaining about the security issues at the World Cup."

They hope the Ministry of Magic will compensate them for the damaged property.

Rita grinned mischievously, "I also wrote a letter saying I lost something, not much, just a wish list of about ten pages."

"If you two need anything, just place an order quickly. Who knows, the Ministry of Magic might compensate you."

Mundungus Fletcher filed a claim, saying he lost a tent with twelve bedrooms and a jacuzzi…

Neither William nor Hermione spoke, but instead raised their cups simultaneously and took a sip of tea.

Their movements and expressions were remarkably consistent, almost as if they were about to let out a disdainful snort.

How well do you two know each other to make the same movements?

Rita, who was unwittingly fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), couldn't help but say sourly:

"Alright, Mr. Rich and Billionaire and Ms. Peaceful and Affluent, they don't lack Galleons at all..."

She draped her arm over William's shoulder, and her lips were practically touching his cheek.

She blew a puff of warm air on her face and asked affectionately, "Tell me a little something, how many Galleons did you guys earn in this World Cup?"

A quill pen and parchment floated in mid-air.

Hermione waved her wands, and they burst into flames.

Rita immediately stopped smiling and shut up.

After dealing with them for so long, she had figured out William and Hermione's bottom line.

They didn't mind Rita reporting on some trivial or roughly true situations.

For example, when she was exchanging words with the United States, she wrote a fairly detailed report in Venice and was not warned.

But if they make things up or pry into each other's privacy, they will both get angry.

"Is there anything else strange happening at the Ministry of Magic?" William asked, putting down his cup.

"Yes... Crouch and Bagman didn't attend today's press conference." Rita quickly pulled out photos of the press conference from her bag.

Crouch said he was sick...

"Is he sick?" William frowned.

On the night of the kidnapping, he saw Crouch's name appear on the map with his own eyes.

But after rushing inside, a fire broke out. He was busy rescuing people and only went to look for Crouch at the very end, but he couldn't find him.

It seems... he must have escaped in the chaos. After all, being captured by the Death Eaters was a huge loss of face.

At this point, he was probably faking illness.

"What's wrong with Ludo?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He's sick too," Rita mocked.

"But it's definitely fake. He's a seasoned liar. If he wants to talk to you about something, be sure to stay far away from him."

You don't know him, this World Cup...

"I owe the goblins two hundred and fifty thousand Galleons," Hermione said. "And I'll pay it back with goblin gold."

"...Alright, Miss Well-Informed already knows." Rita said, somewhat disappointed.

"Any other interesting tidbits?" Hermione grinned. "Otherwise, we won't pay."

Using beetles as leverage is not a reliable method and can easily breed resentment.

Since William has asked Rita to work hard to gather information, he will pay her a salary as appropriate.

Rita thought for a moment and said, "The Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts..."

"understood."

"...Mad-Eye Moody has become your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Professor McGonagall mentioned it."

"Well..." Rita racked her brains, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Bagman got beaten up."

"Hmm?" William looked up.

Rita perked up and immediately said, "He actually owes money not only to fairies, but also secretly runs a gambling den, owing money to many wizards."

"Someone broke into his house, trying to force him to pay back the money..." Rita said gleefully.

"The yard was completely destroyed. Eventually, the Ministry of Magic arrived, but they failed to capture the attackers."

According to Bagman, fairies may also be involved.

William narrowed his eyes. This information really wasn't anything special.

He owes so much money and still wants to be a deadbeat. It's normal for him to be chased for debts.

William even suspected that Ludo had orchestrated this whole thing... with the aim of getting the Aurors to protect him.

But as Rita said... Ludo doesn't deserve sympathy.

……

……

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(End of this chapter)