A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 984 "The Life and Lies of Tom Riddle!"

After chatting with Cedric for a while, William entered the shop's secret room.

Upon entering the room, he saw a woman already sitting there, waiting for him and Hermione.

This is the advantage of having your own store.

At least when you come to Hogsmeade, you don't have to go to the Three Broomsticks, which have very poor privacy; and you don't have to go to Aberforth, who likes to bang bamboo sticks.

We have our own base!

The only drawback is that there is no secret passage.

William believed that:

A secret passage leading to Hogwarts must be dug inside the shop to serve as an emergency communication method.

As for those secret passages from before, too many people knew about them, so they could all be sealed off.

Ideally, the exit of this secret passage would be in the Room of Requirement—perfect!

Wait a minute... Is this what Aberforth was doing when he opened the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade?

On the surface, it's a bar, and it even sells strong liquor to Hogwarts students; but in reality, it's Dumbledore's secret communication hub.

After all, any smart person would do that; William could think of opening a secret passage inside the store, and so could Dumbledore.

William remembered that Aberforth was a hidden member of the Order of the Phoenix, the kind who never attended a meeting.

Good heavens... Could it be that these two are putting on a show of brotherhood on the surface, but actually have a secret... deep brotherly affection?

Just like those tobacco companies, on the surface they are harming people's health, but in reality they are collecting funds to support the country's military industry.

Therefore, don't try to outsmart Dumbledore with secrets.

His secrets are far more numerous than any you have discovered!

Rita was fixing her makeup. Having not gone shopping in a long time, she had cut her hair short.

However, she still wore those jeweled glasses, her eyebrows were heavily drawn, and she had a row of gold teeth, making her look like a nouveau riche.

Upon seeing William and Hermione arrive, her face immediately lit up with a fawning smile.

During this time, Rita was carrying out the tasks assigned by William, transforming into a beetle to monitor the Death Eaters.

This is an important source of intelligence.

Voldemort wouldn't tell Snape everything; Rita was needed to fill in the gaps in his information.

William's generous salary and benefits allowed Rita to live a very comfortable life.

However, this money is not enough for her to achieve financial freedom for the rest of her life.

At least it's not enough to squander money recklessly; I still have to continue serving William.

Rita even changed how she addressed her major benefactor.

They used to be "Mr. Perfect" and "Ms. Flawless", but now they've become "the rich and powerful boss and his wife".

"Boss, who are you spying on this time?" Rita asked curiously.

For the past year, a house-elf has been keeping in touch with William, and he won't let her risk going out.

Rita was incredibly curious about being suddenly summoned to Hogsmeade.

William sat down in the chair, took the coffee Hermione had made for him, and smiled:

"I don't need you to spy on anyone for now, I need you to write something."

"What are you writing about? Your love story with the landlady?" Rita teased.

Hermione glared at her and said coldly, "It's about writing someone's autobiography."

"He's dying and needs a biography. That's what you do best." William took a sip of coffee.

"I'm dying..." Rita clenched her fists and exclaimed excitedly.

"I've heard that the boss was a student of Nicolas Flamel, and since he destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, he probably won't live much longer."

What, are you preparing to write about Nicolas Flamel's absurd six-hundred-year life?!

If you had firsthand information about Nicolas Flamel, you could definitely achieve financial freedom with this book.

Rita was very excited.

"Not Nico." William shook his head.

"Could it be Dumbledore?" Rita looked at him warily.

She has indeed collected a lot of information about Dumbledore over the years, preparing to write a biography of Albus Dumbledore after his death.

Rita also plans to narrate the man's life from the opposite perspective.

Everyone called him a great man, but Rita insisted on taking a different approach, calling him a fraud and saying he had a chaotic private life.

Whether it's true or false, as long as it's sensational enough, that's fine.

Of course, that idea was abandoned a few years ago.

Since these two are still alive, there's no way she's going to write a biography of Dumbledore.

But aside from Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore, Rita really didn't know of any other heavyweight wizards that William would specifically ask her to write about.

Is Scamander dying? Or is the boy who survived the ordeal gone?

William didn't keep them in suspense any longer. He stared at Rita and said seriously:

"I want you to write a biography of Tom Riddle."

"Tom Riddle?" Rita frowned; the name was somewhat unfamiliar to her.

Especially the ubiquitous Tom… her first thought was the owner of the Leaky Cauldron.

What's there to write about that old geezer!

"That is, the mysterious man everyone often talks about—Voldemort," Hermione explained.

"Who?!" Rita's voice was shrill as she slammed her hand on the table, spilling coffee all over it.

"I think you heard me very clearly," William said calmly.

"William, do you know that's the Dark Lord?!" Rita's expression turned somewhat ferocious.

"What, you're afraid to write?" William tapped the table, and the water on the table began to evaporate, emitting white smoke.

"You've written so many articles for me, you're already on the Death Eaters' kill list, are you scared now?"

"Boss, you've misunderstood." Rita suddenly smiled, exhaled a breath of stale air, and grinned:

"This person is the most terrifying demon king in history, a ruthless killer. Write his autobiography..."

"You need to pay more!!"

"That's easy." William leaned back in his chair with satisfaction. He noticed for the first time that Rita was quite voluptuous.

"But I have no information about the mysterious man's past, and I know nothing about his past."

Adaptation is not the same as making things up... She's writing an autobiography, so she has to be logical and well-founded, right?

"I can provide detailed information, including an interview with his former teacher, for your reference."

The portraits and ghosts of Hogwarts all have memories of Tom; they are the best of friends.

"Then I will definitely write a biography that will satisfy you, Boss," Rita said confidently.

"How long will it take for the book to be published?" Hermione had already started urging for the manuscript to be completed.

"Boss lady, I need to polish it up properly." Although Rita was on the kill list and was covered in lice, she still wanted to keep an eye on the wind direction.

Ideally, the biography should be published after the Dark Lord is defeated and killed, as that would greatly reduce the danger.

"I need you to have the manuscript finished before Christmas. Aren't you a quick writer?" William's tone left no room for argument.

"Okay," Rita shrugged. "But just between you and me, it's not certain any publisher will dare to publish this masterpiece."

"Don't worry, I'll help you find a suitable publisher," William said.

Rita grabbed her crocodile bag, transformed into a beetle, and flew away joyfully.

She has already decided on the title for the book.

—From *The Life and Lies of Tom Riddle!*

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(End of this chapter)