Hogwarts: Third Dark Lord

Late at night, Rita Skeeter returned to her home, her face still lit with excitement. Her recent article about Albus Dumbledore had stirred up significant controversy in the wizarding world, leading to an explosive increase in sales for The Daily Prophet. Along with this surge came a hefty reward for herself.

Although both she and the newspaper had received numerous complaints from readers, Rita couldn't care less. After all, tangible profits were what truly mattered—hate readers were still readers, and negative attention was still attention.

Even though it was already late, Rita, still in high spirits, opened the wine cabinet by her door, pulled out a bottle of red wine, and poured herself a glass. With a casual flick of her wand, the lights in the room brightened instantly.

But with the illumination came a shocking discovery—sitting on the sofa in her living room was an older wizard, his head lowered as he silently toyed with his wand.

Behind him stood a younger wizard, wand in hand, his gaze fixed squarely on her.

The two wizards were none other than Abernathy and Auston Greengrass, who had been waiting for her.

Caught off guard, Rita was so startled that her wine glass slipped from her hand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Before the glass could hit the ground, Auston Greengrass waved his wand, casting a Levitation Charm with pinpoint precision. Not a single drop of red wine spilled.

As a seasoned reporter for The Daily Prophet, Rita prided herself on being well-traveled and knowledgeable. If this scene had occurred under different circumstances, she might have even admired the young wizard's flawless control of his magic.

However, finding two uninvited wizards in her home in the dead of night was enough to send a chill down her spine.

Especially now, as they simply stared at her in silence, seemingly assessing her. Rita found herself too petrified to breathe deeply, let alone speak.

An eerie silence settled over the room.

After what felt like an eternity, the older wizard sitting on her sofa finally spoke in a low, deliberate tone:

"Rita Skeeter? Did you write that article about Albus Dumbledore in The Daily Prophet?"

Hearing the question, Rita instantly understood their purpose in breaking into her home.

"Yes, yes, I wrote it," she blurted out hurriedly. "But that was just to boost the paper's sales! If the headmaster is unhappy, I can issue a correction right away!"

Rita assumed Abernathy was someone sent by Dumbledore, so she immediately tried to play the sympathy card.

As a former Hogwarts graduate, referring to Dumbledore as "headmaster" was second nature to her.

But to her surprise, Abernathy chuckled disdainfully and said, "Whether Dumbledore lives or dies has nothing to do with me. However, your article has greatly displeased our young master."

Confused by his response, Rita froze. He wasn't one of Dumbledore's people? And who was this "young master" he mentioned?

Abernathy gestured toward an empty sofa nearby, signaling her to sit down.

Not daring to defy him, Rita quickly obeyed. Under Auston Greengrass's watchful eye, the wine glass floated back to her side.

Rita thanked them profusely, trying to mask her fear, though it felt as if she were the guest and Abernathy the host.

Once she was seated, Abernathy cut to the chase. From within his robes, he pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to her.

The parchment bore a news article, carefully written by Rosier under specific instructions from Wentworth.

"Publish the content of this parchment in The Daily Prophet under your name. Is that clear?" Abernathy asked.

Rita accepted the parchment with trembling hands and began to read.

As she finished, her face twisted in dismay. Shaking her head repeatedly, she said bitterly, "Sir, there's no way an article like this could make it into The Daily Prophet, even if it's under my name!"

Abernathy frowned, his displeasure evident. Rita swallowed hard and hastened to explain:

"Sir, it's not that I don't want to help, but I'm just a small-time reporter. There are editors and chief editors above me! This article is practically a love letter to that Hogwarts student, full of praise and admiration. Based on this, Dumbledore would seem like nothing more than his bodyguard!"

"The problem is, that student is a complete nobody in the wizarding world! Spending so much ink on someone with no reputation? The editor-in-chief would never approve it!"

"Unless, of course," she added cautiously, "this student has some unique identity, like... being Dumbledore's illegitimate child?"

Abernathy's face darkened at her suggestion, and he snapped, "Nonsense! Dumbledore? He's not worthy!"

Startled by his outburst, Rita stammered, "Then there's no way this will work! And besides, this article portrays Dumbledore as a caring, protective headmaster. It's a complete 180 from the article I just published! The Daily Prophet wouldn't risk contradicting itself so soon."

She leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "Plus, from what I know, there are people in the Ministry who are wary of Dumbledore. The Daily Prophet has close ties to the Ministry—that's why I dared to write the first article in the first place."

"But this article," she continued, "paints Dumbledore in a much more favorable light. There are people in the Ministry who wouldn't want to see this published, which means the editor-in-chief definitely won't allow it."

Abernathy listened, his expression growing more severe as he realized just how tangled the politics behind a single article could be.

"So," he said coldly, "you're saying you're useless to us?"

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