Reporter Rita Skeeter Reporting for You

"Professor Snape said that he was Voldemort's most trusted man," Harry said in a slow, almost chanting tone, his meaning unclear.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Tom is not like us. He does not understand love."

With a wave of his wand, he carefully gathered Yaxley's charred remains, sealed them with a spell, and placed them in a corner of his office.

"I've been wondering what exactly Tom wants from me," Harry sat down, flicked his wand, and summoned a bottle of whiskey. Pouring himself a glass, he continued, "At first, I thought he was after Gryffindor's relics."

At this, both the enchanted motorcycle and a certain painting turned their gazes toward him.

"I didn't expect that what he wanted was me." Harry took a small sip. "It really gives off the feeling of a wicked dragon kidnapping a princess."

"Princess Harry, I don't think you should be drinking Dragon's Blood Whiskey," Dumbledore frowned, the strong scent making him a little uncomfortable.

"Maybe if the dragon finds out the princess is a drunk, it'll lose interest," Harry joked.

Dumbledore sat down and poured himself a cup of thick syrup.

Rita watched them with a complicated expression.

Do all powerful wizards have such strange habits?

One drank pure sugar, and the other drank pure alcohol.

"Why would he want me?" Harry tilted his head back. "Has he found out about the Horcruxes?"

"I don't think so." Dumbledore shook his head. "Horcruxes are not that closely tied to their creators."

"And there's no reason to carry them around."

Harry flicked his wand, setting his glass back on the table. "Then why does he want me?"

Dumbledore fell silent for a long moment before offering a theory.

"Perhaps he wants to study the curse Lily left on you and find a way to break it?"

"Or maybe it has to do with the prophecy."

Harry nodded. "And that child."

"He hasn't even seen the child. He hasn't even seen Voldemort himself."

Dumbledore said nothing.

Rita hesitated. She wanted to cover her ears. She could already tell that what she was about to hear was incredibly dangerous—every extra word she listened to brought her one step closer to death.

But she couldn't help it.

This was a massive scoop.

She had to listen.

"So… that child is his and Barty Crouch Jr.'s?" After a moment of silence, Harry finally spoke.

Dumbledore, caught off guard, choked and coughed violently.

Rita turned green.

She immediately regretted it. Raising her hand, she slapped herself—loud and crisp.

She knew this was going to be something bad.

Why did she listen? Why did she listen?!

No one paid attention to her outburst.

"I remember Professor Snape saying that Tom allowed Barty Crouch Jr. to call him 'father.'" Before Dumbledore could recover, Harry, completely expressionless, added another shocking statement.

First, breaking into the girls' bathroom.

Then seducing an extremely mature woman.

Now, yet another disturbing revelation about Tom Riddle's twisted life.

Rita's eyes bulged. She slapped herself again.

Mr. Potter, you can't do this to me.

Next time, at least give me a warning before dropping bombshells like this so I can cover my ears!

Merlin's beard.

What have my ears just heard?

Dumbledore hesitated, then sighed deeply.

"Harry, what you're saying makes sense—it's very possible," he admitted. "But that child isn't that important."

He paused.

"Actually, I thought of a very old form of Dark Magic."

Harry looked at him.

"A special potion," Dumbledore said softly, "one that requires multiple human lives as its ingredients."

"It creates a temporary body for souls that have not yet fully crossed into death."

"It allows them to escape death's grasp and survive."

"This Dark Magic is extremely vile—the bodies it creates are fragile and require a constant supply of lives to maintain."

Harry suddenly understood and nodded. "So Tom doesn't dare show himself."

Dumbledore nodded in confirmation.

"Then what does that have to do with him wanting me?" Harry pressed.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'll need to go through some books. There's too much Dark Magic out there—even I don't know everything."

Harry stood up and put away his glass.

"Then I'll go get some rest. Ms. Skeeter would like to interview you—she's worried about Death Eater retaliation."

Dumbledore nodded, agreeing without hesitation.

"Of course."

Rita stood up reluctantly. "Before that, I think I need to visit the bathroom—no, actually, I'd better go straight to Madam Pomfrey."

She had been trapped in that water tank for over a month.

There was no way Corban Yaxley had been kind enough to change the water.

Women were fragile creatures.

Some diseases didn't require direct transmission—soaking in dirty water for a month was more than enough to cause an infection.

Hygiene was extremely important.

Dumbledore, being quite considerate, personally escorted her to Madam Pomfrey. She was an expert at handling such issues.

Young people often underestimated the importance of cleanliness. Even with house-elves doing the cleaning, it was difficult to maintain true hygiene.

Harry returned to the common room.

The Gryffindor students were as noisy as ever—his absence today hadn't affected them in the slightest.

Ron was curled up with Crookshanks, engrossed in Powerful Potions.

Hermione looked exhausted, her cheeks unnaturally flushed.

"Harry, you're back. How's Sirius?" Hermione lowered her voice, concerned as she approached.

"He's fine. A little roughed up, but alive." Harry sat beside her. "I grounded him for six months—Remus is keeping an eye on him."

Ron looked up and scooted closer. "Sirius doesn't seem like the type to stay put for six months."

"He needs to calm down." Harry shook his head. "He's putting too much pressure on himself."

He paused, then turned to Hermione.

"Hermione, what's wrong with you today?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hermione asked blankly.

"How many times did you use the Time-Turner?" Harry asked directly.

A flicker of panic crossed Hermione's face. "There were no overlapping classes today, so of course, I didn't use it."

"Last year, you told me not to overuse it." Harry's face was stern. "And now you've completely ignored your own advice?"

Hermione lowered her head, looking pitiful.

"I know you're pushing yourself too hard," Harry sighed, trying to reassure her. "But don't rush. You're an incredible witch—you don't need to force it."

Hermione lifted her head, wanting to say something.

"Take it slow. I'll be right here with you," Harry cut her off, speaking gently.

Ron sighed and returned to his book.

I shouldn't have joined this conversation.

—

Rita Skeeter had not published an article in months.

Many of her loyal readers had sent letters to The Daily Prophet, asking why.

And just as they anxiously awaited her return—

The top reporter of The Daily Prophet finally came back.

Bringing with her several explosive reports.

The front page featured an exclusive interview with Albus Dumbledore—which shocked everyone.

As the greatest white wizard of the century, Dumbledore had always avoided the press.

No journalist had ever managed to interview him.

But Rita Skeeter did.

In this article, Dumbledore spoke about his years at Hogwarts and his time as headmaster.

Though he omitted details of his early career, the article still satisfied the curiosity of many.

So this is the man behind the legend.

But the third page carried something nearly as important—an interview with Harry Potter.

As a Triwizard Champion, this was his first media interview.

The article contained little direct conversation between Harry and Rita.

Instead, it quoted many Hogwarts professors and students praising him.

Many wizards who had never attended Hogwarts were shocked to learn—

Harry Potter was the heir of Gryffindor.

And that, in Godric's Hollow, a goblin-run forge was now selling Gryffindor Sword replicas.

However, neither of these stories could compare to what Rita published in a tiny corner of the paper.

She revealed the true cause of Barty Crouch Sr.'s death—

He had not died of natural causes.

He had been murdered.

By his own son.

This revelation caused an uproar.

Rita had almost completely reproduced Corban Yaxley's words in the newspaper.

This gave Cornelius Fudge a massive headache.

Even the Aurors didn't know about this—so where had Rita Skeeter learned such information?

And it didn't seem like a fabricated report.

She had described in extreme detail the events of the night Barty Crouch Sr. died—how Dumbledore had informed the Ministry, how Scrimgeour had been dispatched to find Crouch, how he had ended up at Hogwarts, where a battle had broken out, resulting in the deaths of Crouch and his house-elf.

These details had never been publicly disclosed.

Rita had just filled in the gaps for the Auror Office.

The Ministry was thrown into chaos.

Some even called for Rita to be arrested and sent to Azkaban.

But that was only talk—no one had the guts to actually do it.

After all, her interview with Dumbledore was printed right on the front page.

Who knew what kind of relationship they had?

—

Outside of Hogwarts, everything was a mess.

Inside, things remained relatively calm.

Rita had not exposed the fact that Moody had been replaced, though some sharp students could make an educated guess.

But the matter was quickly forgotten, buried in a few days of gossip.

Time passed bit by bit, and the school year gradually approached its end.

The younger students were overwhelmed with exams, and the only thing keeping them going was the upcoming final task of the Triwizard Tournament.

And then, in early June—

On June 7th—

Harry finally got the thunderstorm he had been waiting for half a year.

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Powerstones?

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