When flocks of owls flew into the hall, the young wizards of Hogwarts knew that today's Daily Prophet had arrived. Several professors at the staff table also unconsciously shifted their gazes to the owls flying into the hall.
With the presence of those pure-blood families, the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet would certainly respond to the comments made by the Ravenclaws during lunch yesterday. What these students could think of, they could naturally think of as well.
So they were actually waiting for today's Daily Prophet, whether it was Lin Yue, Hermione, or the young wizards of Ravenclaw. They were still students, and as their professors, it was their duty to protect them, wasn't it?
Whether in terms of physical safety or public opinion, professors bore corresponding responsibilities. As Hermione, Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope reached out to catch the Daily Prophet that the owls dropped, they almost simultaneously opened their copies.
Lin Yue slightly tilted her head to look at the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hand, which had a striking headline: "Instability Factors? A New Crisis in the Wizarding World!"
"Tsk," Cho Chang clicked her tongue, "This writing style doesn't feel like Rita Skeeter's."
"That's because the article she wrote is further back; this initial page should belong to the Ministry of Magic," came a cold, piercing voice. It was clear that Penelope had already found the article written by Rita Skeeter.
To be honest, it was quite easy to find, because aside from this first page, the rest of the content belonged entirely to Rita Skeeter.
Hearing this, Hermione flipped a page back, and the next headline was a bold line: "What Could Possibly Have Led the Smartest to Make the Most Unwise Decisions?"
Lin Yue blinked at this title while quickly scanning the entire report's content.
In the report, Rita Skeeter briefly outlined the support and protection that Lin Yue and Hermione received at Ravenclaw. At the same time, she raised doubts and speculations about why the two of them were able to gain the full support of the Ravenclaws.
"We must speculate on how these two girls, these young and beautiful girls from the Muggle world, managed to conquer the Ravenclaw house."
It was a cleverly guiding method; it seemed to narrate the situation of herself and Hermione, but in reality, it was deliberately steering the readers' thoughts.
Lin Yue quickly analyzed the situation while mentally marking Rita Skeeter with a small red cross.
Slandering girls using underhanded tactics is a common method employed by the media, and Lin Yue was well aware of this.
She was indifferent to Rita Skeeter's slander against her, but she could not tolerate such slander directed at Hermione.
Hermione was equally furious; she shook her head in disbelief, realizing just how shameless Rita Skeeter truly was.
However, it was clear that this article was not the worst, as when she saw the subsequent report, Marietta could no longer contain herself and slammed the newspaper down on the table.
Look at what that woman has written?! How dare she! Isn’t she a student at Hogwarts?
Dumbledore was probably still her professor back then!
"Why does Dumbledore so generously impart his knowledge to the powerful abilities and ambitions of these two young witches?"
Seeing Marietta's reaction, Cho Chang and Penelope stopped reading the first two articles and flipped straight to the last third article, and their expressions immediately darkened.
"What has she written now?"
Hermione looked at the three senior students whose faces were so dark they seemed ready to thunder, and was about to turn the page to read the last report when Cho Chang pressed her hand down.
"Hermione, why don't you just not look at it? Don't dirty your and Lin Yue's eyes."
Hearing Cho Chang's words, Lin Yue also noticed Marietta glancing at the teacher's table from time to time, and immediately deduced the most likely outcome.
"Rita Skeeter is slandering me and Hermione for having an improper relationship with a professor?"
She stated this guess in a flat tone, and Hermione turned to her in disbelief.
"No way, I mean," Hermione was so surprised that her words became jumbled, "she graduated from Hogwarts too, right? How could she slander a Hogwarts professor like that?!"
"Nothing can escape your notice, Lin Yue."
Penelope reached out and ruffled Lin Yue's hair, while taking the Daily Prophet away from Hermione.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
"But what she slanders is not you and the professor, but you and Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Alright, since both of you know now, let's just continue having breakfast. Don't look at the specific reports; they will only affect your mood."
Penelope casually tossed the two newspapers she was holding onto the long table, trying not to show the burning anger inside her.
"I'm not going to look at it either; it's complete nonsense, even worse than gossip."
After saying that, she waved her wand, and the two newspapers on the long table instantly caught fire. Cho Chang and Marietta also threw the Daily Prophet into the flames without any hesitation.
Any hesitation would be a form of self-harm; looking at this stuff could make them so angry that it would make them sick.
This wasn't just happening among the few of them; at the Ravenclaw table, the Gryffindor table, and the Hufflepuff table, hundreds of young wizards were angrily cursing in unison.
Lin Yue even saw Harry and Ron so furious that they forgot their magic and tore the Daily Prophet to shreds with their bare hands.
By the end, because the paper was too thick, both of them turned red in the face.
Even the Slytherin young wizards found it hard to believe what they were reading in those three articles.
The first article, about Headmaster Dumbledore's ambition, which the Ministry of Magic often secretly promoted, was not surprising; Headmaster Dumbledore didn't care at all, so it was nothing.
But starting from the second article, what was Rita Skeeter writing?
Has she gone mad?!
Slandering Lin Yue and Granger was one thing, but why did she have to drag the entire Ravenclaw and even Headmaster Dumbledore into it?
And it was slander of that nature! Merlin above, Headmaster Dumbledore is still alive and well!
Is she really not afraid of provoking Headmaster Dumbledore to turn against her?
If she isn't afraid, they are; the pure-blood families behind them are afraid.
They had Rita Skeeter slander and attack those two little wizards, Lin Yue and Granger.
But it was only limited to those two little wizards from the Muggle world, with no background at all.
Why would she actively provoke the entire Ravenclaw and Headmaster Dumbledore?
Does she think the pure-blood families are dying off too slowly?
In the eyes of the Ravenclaws and Headmaster Dumbledore, could these reports have been written by her alone?
In their eyes, these reports were all commissioned by those pure-blood families!
In the end, the bill would all be settled with them!
The Slytherins were completely panicked; the schadenfreude they felt yesterday while waiting to watch the drama had completely vanished. Everyone cautiously looked up at the unusually somber Great Hall, particularly at the Ravenclaws, who were the most gloomy among the three houses.
When there is no risk of completely angering the other party, some may feel schadenfreude at the thought of provoking them. But when the conditions are such that it will definitely infuriate the other side, people will become fearful; this is an unavoidable aspect of human nature.
At the staff table, the professors had cold expressions as they put down their newspapers, and Professor McGonagall was so angry that her lips were trembling.
"Shameless, shameless, this is absolutely shameless!"
"How dare she, how dare she slander Albus!"
Professor McGonagall turned to look at Headmaster Dumbledore, who remained "calm." There was not a trace of anger on his face. However, if one looked closely, it was clear that there was no warmth left in his eyes.
"It seems our magical world's official newspaper is not quite aware of what it is writing," he remarked.
Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head and set aside the Daily Prophet in his hand.
Slowly turning his head, even from a few seats away, Professor Snape could still feel the chill emanating from Headmaster Dumbledore.
That bone-chilling coldness.
"As an old man, I don't pay much attention to such news anymore, but Miss Lin and Miss Granger cannot be casually slandered."
Headmaster Dumbledore slowly stroked his white beard, "I will have a good talk with Cornelius about this. He can doubt me all he wants, but he cannot harm the reputation of my students."
"This is very necessary! Albus!"
Professor Flitwick's voice was sharp, "Leave the discussion with the Daily Prophet to me; Miss Lin is a student of my house."
His hand had already slipped into his robe pocket, clearly gripping his wand.
"I would be more than willing to go as well; Miss Granger is my student," Professor McGonagall said fiercely.
Although Professor Lupin had a frosty expression, he couldn't help but feel astonished when he saw the two professors beside him who were openly showing their desire to take action. The last time professors had such an urge to act was probably over a decade ago with the arrogant Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Congratulations to Rita Skeeter for elevating the Daily Prophet to the same level as them all by herself. However, the reality was that the Daily Prophet wouldn't wait for the professors to take action.
Watching Hermione angrily chewing on her fried egg, Lin Yue blinked without a hint of warmth in his eyes.
In the next moment, five metallic spheres surrounding the Daily Prophet shot out red beams of light.
Boom!
A violent tremor shook the building where the Daily Prophet was located, causing Rita Skeeter, who was leisurely sipping her coffee, to spill the cup all over herself.
At the same time, the area around the Daily Prophet building was being continuously destroyed by the red beams. The beams encircled the building, causing the ground around it to erupt violently, clearly intending to scare everyone inside out.
Lin Yue had not forgotten that there were seniors working at the Daily Prophet in Ravenclaw House. Moreover, Hermione had previously emphasized to her the importance of valuing life—both others' and her own. Therefore, she had no intention from the start of directly attacking the Daily Prophet building and causing a tragedy with no survivors.
"Quick, notify the Aurors! Hurry! There's a dark wizard attack!" The staff inside the Daily Prophet shouted as they ran outside.
Wizards on the same street rushed out, staring in shock at the chaotic scene before them. The red beams of attack had temporarily ceased, waiting for the people inside the Daily Prophet to reach a safe position.
Gasping for breath, the staff of the Daily Prophet struggled to climb over the "deep trench" created by the red beam attack at the entrance and exerted all their strength to get as far away from there as possible.
The onlookers kept looking up and around, but they could not find the dark wizard who should have been there. No dark wizard? Then who was responsible for the earlier attack?
No one failed to glance at the spot where the red beams had just shot out. However, the five small metal balls that Lin Yue had transformed were simply too small; they were flying in the air, and they could not see them at all.
The red light flickered again, and five beams of light accurately struck the Daily Prophet building. Boom! Bang!
Under the relentless attack, the Daily Prophet building almost instantly collapsed, with every brick shattering and every piece of rubble turning to dust. The red beams kept moving, "taking care" of every part of the Daily Prophet building, ensuring that no matter how many people or who tried to restore it, it would never return to its original state.
The red beam attack lasted a full half minute. At first, the onlooking wizards could still see the Daily Prophet building continuously collapsing and rapidly disappearing. But as time passed, the building completely vanished in the dust.
When the dust settled, there was no trace of the Daily Prophet building left. All that remained was a bottomless pit and countless other deep pits created by the red beams in the surrounding area.
"Merlin's beard..." a wizard whispered, "What kind of magic is this?"
"What kind of magic can do something like this?"
Rita Skeeter clutched the news manuscripts in her hands, her face smeared with dirt and ash. This was the manuscript she had risked her life to bring out of the Daily Prophet building. It was supposed to be published in tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet, but now, looking at the ruins that remained of the building, she deeply doubted whether the Daily Prophet could still be printed and distributed tomorrow.
Before she had time to think further, a much thinner red beam shot straight at the manuscript in her arms.
"Ah!!!"
Rita Skeeter screamed in terror, throwing her manuscript to the ground and falling back, scrambling away on her hands and feet.
Boom!
The manuscript she had dropped exploded under the attack of the red beam, taking the ground beneath it with it, completely vanishing.
In the distant Hogwarts Great Hall, Lin Yue stood up to catch up with Hermione, who had just finished breakfast. They were supposed to go to Potions class.
Casting a cold glance back at the Slytherins who were too afraid to lift their heads and look at the others in the hall, Lin Yue walked straight out of the Great Hall.
People must take responsibility for their actions, right? They had indeed informed their families, and their families had indeed slandered Hermione, slandered the Ravenclaw community, and slandered Professor Dumbledore.
So, they must take responsibility for themselves and their families' actions. The current gloomy atmosphere was what they deserved.