Rita Skeeter had always been a pragmatic woman who enjoyed writing; she had discovered great pleasure in making powerful figures tremble by her words. For years, she had forgotten why she had joined the press and got lost in the sensationalism that fame brought. However, everything had changed.
The reason she had joined Harry Potter was because of fear and survival, now though, she could see how rotten her world was. She was an intelligent woman who identified a leader when she saw one and that boy had managed what no other had until the moment. She observed the respect all his employees eyed him with, and dare she say, pure devotion. She saw how respected was that boy amongst the goblins, a feat that no other person in their country could claim.
Being a half-blood, she understood how backwards the magical world was and was surprised when she identified so many muggle devices being used. Harry Potter was the leader of the new generation, of the creatures he respected as people and respected him in return, he was the beginning of a new era for this world and she understood how correct had been her decision of joining him. She recovered her love for the written word and unleashing truths, hence she wrote her next article, ready to go into hiding if necessary.
This was going to be the beginning, people were going to realize the putrid corruption they lived among and many would not like the people thinking on their own. With a decided nod she passed her last article for the prophet, one that would leave her signature in this new era.
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Harry Potter was having breakfast in the castle when Hedwig flew in with the newspaper, with a smirk he relieved her from it and gave her bacon. He opened the paper and almost chuckled at the headlines, it was obvious Rita had planned on leaving with an explosion behind... He would need to find a safe place for her because he was sure she was going to become a target for this alone.
ENEMIES INSIDE THE MINISTRY!
SABOTAGE IN HOGWARTS!
By Rita Skeeter
My dear witches and wizards, with a heavy heart filled with fear, is that I publish this article. Not a long time ago I published another one containing an interview with Madam Bones, who informed us of the deplorable state the DMLE is subjected to. As I promised, I investigated the reason for this but the answers I got have filled me with uncertainty and fear.
During the last decade, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has suffered a cut in their budget of almost 90%, making it the department that receives the least financial support and I am forced to ask, where is that money going? If that was not enough the Wizengamot has taken too much liberty, imposing far too many regulations on our protectors. The most controversial laws that had been approved are the following: no Auror is allowed to cast an unforgivable under any circumstance, no Auror is allowed to cast a dark curse under any circumstance, no Auror is allowed to cast a lethal curse under any circumstance, no Auror is allowed to cast a curse under any circumstance, Aurors must never harm a delinquent under any circumstance, no Auror is allowed to carry potions with them under any circumstance, no Auror is allowed to carry any other weapon than their wands, and so on. I have to ask you, my fellow citizens, don’t you see the pattern? The first regulations were somewhat sound; however, as time went on they have become ridiculous. They are basically ordering our Aurors to protect us with first-year spells when the enemies are firing mortal curses. Before, every Auror needed to carry basic potions in case of an emergency as was carrying another kind of weapon or even a second wand. I wondered why our Aurors were almost ordered not to fight back so I searched for what persons had approved of the new regulations and the findings left me paralyzed in fear.
These regulations were founded, written, supported and voted on by families that during the war swore to be under the imperius. If I wrote names this article would be extended for too long my dear readers; that is the high amount of people who avoided Azkaban saying they were under that terrible curse. I need to ask, why have they bounded our Aurors in such a way? Is it possible that they were not under the imperius and acted on their free will? Perhaps the curses cast on them still remain because only criminals would want Aurors not to fight back in case there was a struggle. Now that so many dangerous criminals have escaped, are the Aurors supposed to fight them with tickling charms? I took the liberty of interviewing Alastor Moody, who has been an Auror for decades and resigned two years ago. I must remind our readers that Mister Moody has given his heart and body for our safety during those dark days, saving uncountable lives.
RS: I must thank you for agreeing to this interview Mister Moody.
AM: Call me Moody, I like your articles and Amelia vouched for you.
RS: Thanks Moody, my first question is why did you retire when no one asked you to?
AM: Because although I love my job and would die to protect my people I don’t tolerate morons nor traitors, during the war, we fought curse for curse, which was the only way so many of us survived. Amelia and I never agreed on the regulations they imposed on us and considering many of the ones I fought during the war are the ones placing them, I have even less desire to follow them. I retired because they are no longer training Aurors, they are raising human shields ready for slaughter, the kids will not survive any death eater and I could not stay to see how many children are going to die because they are not allowed to even defend themselves.
RS: (Hearing the regret on this man’s face convinced me that every word he had said was the harsh truth.) I understand and agree with you. Is there any suggestion you have to avoid that dire outcome and ensure our Aurors protection?
AM: It is simple, people are the ones who decide what laws and regulations are passed, if they react now I believe there won’t be unnecessary deaths. I hope people read this and riot, go to the Ministry and demand those regulations to be abolished, demand for an emergency Wizengamot meeting and they will be forced to comply.
RS: Thank you once again for the interview, Moody. I will heed your advice and hope that the honourable magical citizens do the same.
As you read my fellow citizens, we have the power to abolish those ridiculous laws that will only harm us and our beloved children in the future. I will be in the Ministry, demanding them to ensure our safety!
I wish that was the worse information I was forced to convey, but however perturbing the news I have to tell you, my dear readers, it is my duty. During the same investigation about the DMLE, I found out horrifying news about Hogwarts. Former death eater, Severus Snape, was employed when the war ended, Albus Dumbledore vouched for the man, avoiding him to go to Azkaban for heinous crimes he has committed.
During the last decade the amount of Aurors and Healers has diminished 70%, but why? Looking for information in the Education Results I discovered that students who took potions for their NEWTS lessened each year to the point the last two years were composed on six Slytherins and a two Ravenclaws. Severus Snape has been teaching potions for a decade in the school, is that a coincidence? I have talked with many Hogwarts students belonging to different houses and years and their answers on the man all were similar.
I will not write names in order to protect the children, but I will write general statements. All the Gryffindors I interviewed agreed the man hated their house, to the point of taking house points for breathing too loud or not answering a question when he also takes points for answering. They said he singled them out and always tried to give them detentions and take at least thirty points per class. Hufflepuffs agreed that the man called them dunderheads, which is not only insulting and degrading, but also diminishes students for the smallest mistakes. Ravenclaws said that the man has taken points for answering questions, being know-it-all, being annoying, and so on; they all agreed that they preferred to self-study. Slytherin, the house that Snape serves as the head of, had some interesting information to give as well. His own house deems the man unfair; stating that his treatment of other houses brought them discrimination that they fought hard to show was misplaced. The house agreed that he was no teacher, stating that knowing something did not mean being able to pass the information and if possible they would replace the man. Not a single student had a positive thing to say about Severus Snape.
The man has harmed our society in such a way that it will take years for us to have the number of healers and Aurors that we once did, but now I must question his motivation to do so. Why has professor Snape ensured such a few amounts of children to be allowed to learn potions? Is the man a reformed death eater or a loyal one acting from the shadows? I don’t have the answers for those questions but I know I no longer want him teaching our kids, we pay a small fortune for their education; we do not send them to be insulted or diminished. I will not tolerate the man to continue harming our future and I encourage you to do the same.
My eyes have been opened at the harsh reality that we are forced to confront, this article and the ones in the future make me a target for anyone who wishes the truth to remain hidden. Therefore this is my last article in The Prophet, I met the owner of a new newspaper that will be in circulation soon and it is named the Magic Times Herald. We agree on the fact that only truth should be written, no matter if we endanger ourselves to make it known. It has been a pleasure writing for you and I hope you continue reading my work in the future.
To say he was pleased was not enough to convey his satisfaction. With a smirk on his face he passed the newspaper around, it was good that Rita had decided to keep working for them because he admitted she had a talent for writing and swaying people that he had seen a few times before. He looked at dear Luna, who was eating with that dreamy expression of hers; the girl had given them a weapon that few would be able to counter. Their newspaper was now ready for circulation; the editors had worked overtime to ensure the first publication was perfect. They would wait until Sunday to send it to every household in magical Britain. Setting up the first edition of their newspaper and the different sections to make it entertaining had been easy enough, as was hiring first generations and buying all the necessary equipment. What had been complicated was setting up the owl farms and editorial buildings in different parts of the country, all with the maximum security he could provide. Attorney Blair was excellent redacting magical contracts and his employees had no problems accepting the conditions that ensured their safety. Everything seemed to be going well until Dobby popped Draco in, who was looking alarmed and carried a letter in his hand.
“Harry we have a problem,” the boy began explaining after taking a deep breath. “Rita’s article worked and a Wizengamot session is programmed in two days, however, they want to take advantage of the public eye being on the regulations that will be abolished and pass regulations for all the magical creatures, in especial werewolves,” he said with a shaky voice and all the people in the table understood how dire the situation could become.
“I see... We still have time to ensure it does not happen. Marcus, make your father tell you all about what are they planning though I have an idea. Adrian, tell Tiki to gather all the information necessary and speak with the neutral faction to see which person is in which side. Draco you take care of your father and tell Narcissa to speak with the wives of the ones in the Ministry to convince them how terrible that idea is,” he was ordering when Daphne spoke.
“Harry, my father is the unofficial leader of the neutral faction, if I am unable to convince him it will be time to either place him under the imperius or the draught of the living death,” she said with a serious expression.
“I will leave that to you... Daphne, you already have an idea to what side many families sway, talk with Narcissa about them,” he ordered and she nodded, leaving the room with firm steps.
“Sirius, you have the vote of the House of Black, use it. I will contact Miss Blair, as my proxy in the Wizengamot I need her to speak with many people. I will go and visit Neville, his grandmother will be easy to convince and I am sure she will convince her friends. I wish I could see the meeting in person,” Harry muttered with a scowl.
“We can do that,” Sirius announced, confusing him. “Make sure you attend, I mean. Heirs of the Noble and Ancient houses are allowed to attend since they are thirteen years old in order to introduce them to the political world.”
“Excellent, then I believe most of us should attend, pay special attention to the people who vote for the regulations and the ones pushing it that work inside the Ministry, they will be the first ones to be gone,” he announced and walked out of the room to write all the letters that needed to be sent.
The next two days went by in a blur of activity, each member of the Guild occupied with one thing or another. At last Friday arrived and everything was ready, in the almost impossible case they were unable to ensure the regulations were not passed they would send all the people that wanted to leave to the Asian Empire and thus grant them safety.
Daphne had played with her father as if he was a mere infant, her subtle suggestions on how werewolves would react combined with her charm had her father talking with the neutral faction to reject the regulations that would only bring trouble. Madam Longbottom had been easy to convince when she was reminded of how many innocent children would suffer, in turn, she talked with anyone who would stop to listen. Lucius Malfoy had probed here and there to see the source of the stupid new regulations; it was not surprising that the Minister’s senior undersecretary was the one who wrote them, though what had been was the people who were pushing for it. All belonged to the so-called light faction, whose leader was Dumbledore. Sirius had been furious because the man had offered Remus a job in Hogwarts while behind curtains he approved the almost slavery other magical species would be forced to endure.
He entered the room beside Sirius and saw Draco, Daphne, and Adrian beside their parents. People filled the room little by little and he almost scowled at the headmaster who dared to show with a hideous hot pink robe, he was followed by two people who looked just as ridiculous than him and then Marcus, who much to his relief was wearing decent clothes.
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“The one in green is the Minister and the pink toad is his undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge,” Sirius told him and he nodded, it seemed that this pink monstrosity needed to be gone. Even if she had not written those moronic regulations, her attire was hideous enough to blind innocent people.
“Good morning members of the Wizengamot,” Dumbledore began, far too informal for his tastes. “We are meeting today to speak about the regulations for the DMLE, as we know people are in an uproar so we will try to diminish some of them. The first one, no Auror under any circumstance is allowed to cast unforgivable,” the man said with a cordial tone and Lucius raised his wand signalling his desire to speak.
“Very well Mister Malfoy.”
“They are unforgivable for a reason, however, if the enemy attacks with a crucio you cannot expect our Aurors to respond with simple charms. Answer fire with fire, if they use unforgivable so should we, in that way maybe more lives will be saved,” he stated with authority, most of the hall nodded at his sound reasoning and Dumbledore sighed.
“I suggest that Aurors are allowed their use only if they are attacked with them,” Adrian’s elf impersonating his father suggested and most of the hall nodded in agreement.
“No more arguments?” Dumbledore asked, almost begged the light faction that seemed to be ignoring him. “Very well, that rule is abolished. Next, Aurors are not allowed to use any kind of lethal or dark curses,” he announced and Madam Longbottom raised her wand.
“Augusta,” he nodded to the woman looking pleased, but she scowled in return.
“I think we can summarize the next regulations with this one. Lethal curses are defined as curses that are capable of causing mortal damage. Before I would have not approved of their use, however, now we have dangerous criminals on the loose that will no doubt to use them on our people. I vote for not only abolishing this ridiculous imposition but also for abolishing the others. During the last war knowing curses was as much as a requisite as carrying potions and a second wand along with another kind of weapon. We have already lost many families due to death eaters, let’s not hand them our children in silver platters,” she said, it seemed she had touched a sensitive nerve because most of the people in attendance agreed with her, without waiting for the Chief Warlock to ask, one by one raised their lit wands. It was obvious the regulations would be abolished.
“Very well, that concludes the matters with the DMLE,” the man said looking quite serious. “However a new matter was brought to me regarding new regulations for creatures, in especial werewolves and vampires. Madam Umbridge, the floor is yours,” he said giving the pink toad permission to talk.
The grating voice the toad possessed almost made him regret attending, taking a deep sigh and trying to block the noise, looking around the hall. He could see many people approving of her speech, which consisted of hate propaganda and not a single fact was stated. It was time to act, Draco’s father stood up raising his wand and effectively interrupting the spluttering woman.
“I understand your speech is based on your personal beliefs and so are the regulations. But I am forced to ask, in what way will this benefit us? Werewolves already have a hard time getting any kind of jobs and vampires live in seclusion. Though is true there are many werewolf bites I will remind you of Greyback, that man uses each full moon to his advantage and turns as many people as he can... Children, I must also remind you. As far as I am concerned the only dangerous werewolf is Greyback and his group of criminals, the others look for safe places to turn and infect no one. Instead of ordering them to register, forbidding them of working, and ensuring they obtain no education why not simply put wolfsbane available and give them a safe place to turn. Instead of wasting time and resources in frivolous banalities, let’s be practical,” the man stated and the pink toad flushed red.
“Ehm, ehm, I did not know you were such a fanatic supporter of beasts Mister Malfoy,” the woman said with that grating voice of her.
“It is not being a supporter, is being intelligent. If a part of the population is unable to get jobs, thus pay takes or even have access to the basics there is only one possible answer. They will turn against us, I agree with Mister Malfoy, instead let’s make wolfsbane available and save ourselves a possible struggle based on ignorant ideas,” Cygnus Greengrass announced.
“Besides most of the werewolves have been turned as children, is it fair to force them to live the way they do when any of our offspring could suffer the same fate?” Madam Longbottom asked and he could see many in the so-called light faction agreeing with her.
“I believe you should give us the name of the expert you contacted to write that regulations secretary Umbridge,” his godfather announced making her turn puce. “I have brought my own; Vadis Stefano from Italy and Takashi Tomo from the Asian empire they are waiting outside if you wish to ask their opinion, considering in Britain we do not have a specialist for magical cursed species... Well, considering you did not use the correct term I wonder who you contacted secretary Umbridge,” Sirius said in the most patronizing tone possible and he swore the woman was about to have an attack.
“Beasts are beasts that should be controlled! You do not need a specialist to put them down!” the woman exclaimed, losing any semblance of self-control, losing the little support she had managed to obtain and Dumbledore sighed.
“Watch your tone secretary Umbridge, you are directing to Lord Black, I am surprised you were able to write those regulations considering you do not seem to know about or even respect our traditions,” Lucius chastised the woman with such a disapproving tone she shut up looking furious. “I think we should no longer debate when the matter has quite an obvious answer, I vote to reject any regulation on magical creatures,” he announced raising his wand, it was satisfying to watch most of the people raise their wands in agreement and the headmaster looking pained.
“Everyone in for rejecting the regulations?” the Chief Warlock asked looking at his supporters and few of them looked at the ground but did not change their vote. “Very well,” he sighed looking disappointed; he did not miss the people who were looking guilty. “This meeting was shorter than expected; I hope that we can take out time to speak next time. Meeting adjourned,” he announced and people started to chat with each other or leave.
Sirius and he were walking towards the exit when they were intercepted by the man in question. He wore his typical grandfather persona that made all his defences go up, the way he was looking at Sirius was a dead giveaway of his anger. He looked to the side and saw his friends approaching, he shook his head slightly and they nodded in understanding.
“Ah, Sirius, I was not expecting on seeing you here,” he greeted in a cordial tone.
“Why not Albus? It is my duty,” the man answered with a familiarity that almost made him smile at the face of the headmaster.
“Of course, Harry I see you came too. I was hoping you would not follow those archaic traditions Sirius, children should be given time to be children,” the man admonished.
“And after the life my godson has lived, I couldn’t agree more, but he is the last of his line, in less than five years he will become Lord of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter,” he told the man making him retract.
“And do you agree with this, Harry? After all, most of the time you are in your room when we visit, you should have fun with children your age.”
“Of course I am sure, my father never assumed his title because of the war and personal matters and I do not plan on following his steps. I dislike seeing strangers in my home, so I rather stay in my room, besides no one that I wish to talk with comes,” he said in a nonchalant tone. “Sirius we have to get going, Miss Blair is waiting for us,” he said signalling the woman at the door.
“We have to leave, see you, Albus,” his godfather nodded at the man and he followed his example.
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“We have to do something about that woman,” Hestia said when they told what happened during the meeting of the Wizengamot.
“I agree, she may not be a big threat now but she is in a position of power,” Flora agreed.
“Marcus, do you think you could be ascended?” Blaise asked the older boy.
“I do, but not at the moment, I need to be at least twenty to assume the position of senior undersecretary. Besides I have access to all the information she does and after this stunt, the Minister will rely on me even more,” he explained and they nodded. “Is the newspaper ready?”
“It is, Sunday we will send it and Monday we will publish a fascinating article about how low education standards have fallen in Hogwarts, it will be humiliating slap for the Ministry and our dear headmaster,” Luna informed Marcus, who was still annoyed at having too much work to collaborate in an active way.
“You are crucial for our plans Marcus, one way or another you help the Guild,” Harry reassured the older boy.
“Let’s change topics, I don’t want to talk about the Ministry any longer,” Theo complained.
“Mother and Astoria are enchanted with the new sweets shop, especially with all the varieties of chocolate,” Daphne said with a smirk.
“Yeah, mother is too, she and Kreacher go every time they can,” Draco groaned.
“Never mind that, mother had always needed to get her purses from the muggle world, I think she has bought at least half of your store,” Blaise commented with a slight pout.
“Business is indeed going well, especially because it is the perfect cover. Madam Bones accepted twenty-nine new recruits, all werewolves. She is ecstatic about the donations she received and is currently talking with the head of St. Mungus to see if they would accept recruits, until the moment everything is going well,” Harry informed then satisfied.
“I am sure that the millionaire donation you made last year after suing Lockhart is aiding too, St. Mungus would accept a dementor if you told them it was trustworthy,” Fred teased him and he smiled in return.
“Professor Flitwick is amazing while duelling, even though he says he was getting rusty. All the werewolves are learning and they love working at what they like... We really are changing things,” Terrence muttered with a smile of pure happiness.
“Of course we are,” Luna said, “and we still have much to do.”
“Has Voldemort summoned anyone yet?” George asked looking around.
“Only the ones who have escaped, he is waiting to summon the others. Father heard them saying he is weak and will need months to recover, that is if he recovers. They will wait a year and if there are no changes he will get a new body,” Marcus told them looking perturbed.
“I will ask aunt Eleadora, most rituals require some kind of blood sacrifice. She will tell us what we need to look for and protect ourselves just in case,” Elizabeth told them looking pensive. “Sirius brought all the books from the Black Library, let’s search for rituals there. Maybe we will even find a few spells that have been forgotten,” she suggested and everyone nodded.
The addition of Elizabeth to the Guild was not something he had planned for; however, few plans regarding his sister were effective. He remembered her suspicious glances every time his friends came and he remembered Hwasa’s advice, she was naive but nowhere near stupid. Therefore he decided to tell her about the Guild and she demanded to be in, seeing no reason not to agree he accepted. In that strange turn of events, his dear sister became part of the Guild, being fascinated with the idea of the newspaper she had used many muggle publications as a source of inspiration.
The Magic Times Herald was divided into different sections: news, entertainment (that contained crosswords, curious facts, among others), household (that contained tips on house and garden decoration, ideas on simple recipes, and tips about how to deal with different family situations), education (that contained parts of history that were forgotten, information about other countries, and old spells), sports, and a special section for the opinion of people. Quite simple but innovative for the magical population.
Sunday arrived at last and he inspected their newspaper with great satisfaction, his dear aunt had managed to create a way for moving pictures to be printed in colour, thing that added to the attractive of their publication.
THE MAGIC TIMES HERALD:
THE NEW NEWSPAPER FOR THE BRITISH MAGICAL COMMUNITY
Fellow citizens, we introduce ourselves as people who strive to communicate the truth through the written word. We are the newspaper for the everyday witch and wizard who desire to know what events are taking place in our world. We created this for the people, thus we created a special section designated for the worries of our population. No matter whether you are a first-year student or the Minister of magic themselves, our purpose is to listen to your worries and research about any topic that troubles you. That said we invite you to read our articles and may Mother Magic bless you!
GENEROUS DONATION FROM HARRY POTTER AND SIRIUS BLACK TO THE DMLE
By Rita Skeeter
It is a pleasure to write to you again from this new newspaper my dear readers! If you remember a few days ago I reported about the restrictions the DMLE had been subjected to, thanks to our prompt response, those ridiculous regulations were abolished. However, no one made a single move to give them resources. Our young hero took matters on his own hands and, along with his godfather, donated quite a fortune to ensure our protection. In the following interview, I was able to speak with them and Madam Bones, head of the DMLE.
RS: Thank you for agreeing to this interview Harry, Lord Black, Madam Bones.
HP: It is good to speak with you Rita (our humble hero greeted me with a warm smile).
RS: And it is a pleasure to meet with upstanding citizens. My first question is for you Harry, why did you donate to the DMLE?
HP: That is quite simple, our protection is something we are unable to put a price on. When we read your article we were horrified and my godfather was among the people of the Wizengamot who fought to have those regulations abolished.
RS: I thank you for thinking on our protection, most of the children your age are more concerned on buying the fastest broom on the market (I congratulated our selfless hero, let me also remind you that last year he also donated a fortune to St. Mungus). My next question is for Mister Black, how much money you donated?
SB: We donated five million galleons (I must admit my dear readers that at this moment I was unable to hide my astonishment). However, we did it under the condition that Only Madam Bones and her alone is able to withdraw money and use it as she sees it convenient. The money was not given for frivolities, but to equip our Aurors with necessary materials and give them proper training so that if any emergency takes places they will be able to react the appropriate way.
AB: This donation has helped in ways that you are unable to imagine and I thank them once again, we have been receiving recruits who are more than capable and in less than seven years we will be able to regain our strength. I have to thank Mister Potter once again because he also recommended us a magnificent potions mistress that is giving our recruits remedial training and a duellist champion that is putting them to shape. I thank you, Rita, and the people who reacted in time, because our department had never been stronger and even Auror Moody returned to active duty and to train our recruits.
RS: I am glad I was able to help and the situation has bettered Madam Bones, though I have to ask you if any escaped prisoners had been sighted.
AB: We have been receiving some reports that we were unable to confirm, but we will be ready to act and apprehend those criminals.
RS: Thank you all for the interview and for the protection you are giving us.
My dear readers, I was pleased to see that now our Aurors will be receiving the necessary equipment, but let’s not forget that we can help them and at the same time protect ourselves by always carrying our wand and walking in groups of three or more. I hope you enjoyed this article and may Mother Magic keep flowing!
Harry read the article with a rare smile adorning his face, the traditional farewells would not go unnoticed by the traditional families, but would pass by as a non-conventional one by the ones who did not know of or remembered the old ways. It was the beginning of re-introducing their traditions into society and eventually make them part of everyday life in the future. He was pleased to see that on the subscriptions lists many names were appearing in dark ink, he would make sure that the Prophet was forgotten and that the Magic Times Herald became the newspaper every household were subscribed to.