Chapter 284: The Daily Prophet

After calling out several times to no response, Kyle gave up and put the diary back in his suitcase. Is it broken? he wondered. A bit disappointing, since he still had a few more exciting fabrications he'd been planning to share. But, well… not everyone had the mental stamina to keep up.

With a smirk, he stashed the suitcase and inkwell back under his bed, then began tidying up the parchments on his desk. After a careful inspection, he found two more small mistakes on the symbols Riddle had provided—minor details, but still noticeable to a trained eye. Once might have been coincidence, but three in a row… Clearly deliberate, Kyle thought with a shake of his head.

Riddle really wasn't an honest boy, he mused. Just a few days, and he's already plotting little sabotage.

Kyle resumed sorting through the parchments, comparing each against the guide to Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms for any other inconsistencies.

...

"Kyle, where've you been all day?"

It was nearly dark when he finally left the Room of Requirement and arrived at the Great Hall, where Fred and George intercepted him and pulled him over to the Gryffindor table.

"I was reading," Kyle said simply. "What's the matter?"

"Reading... all day?" Fred asked, incredulous.

"And you didn't even come for lunch!" George added. "We waited for you in the Great Hall for two hours at noon."

"I got so caught up in it that I forgot," Kyle replied calmly. "What did you want to see me about?"

"No wonder you get straight O's…" Fred muttered, though he let the subject drop. He reached into his bag and pulled out a fresh copy of The Daily Prophet.

"I know why Lucius Malfoy was so furious. Look at this!"

Kyle froze slightly, recognizing the familiar picture of the enchanted flying car splashed across the front page.

"Why are you looking at a newspaper from a few days ago?"

"This is today's paper. They just reused the same photo."

George pointed at the bold headline above the photo:

"Conspiracy at King's Cross Station: The Boy Who Lived's Life in Danger."

It was another article by Rita Skeeter. Unlike her previous piece, which had thoroughly condemned Mr. Weasley, this article curiously painted him in a surprisingly positive light, portraying him as a careful and responsible figure—quite a rarity for Skeeter. But beyond that one compliment, the rest of the article was as scathing as ever.

"Sources indicate that on the day of the Hogwarts Express departure, the entrance to Platform 9¾ closed early, preventing two students from accessing the platform. An informed source claims that one of those students was none other than Harry Potter, the young wizard who defeated You-Know-Who…"

The article went on to detail the scene as though Rita had been there herself.

"It would take an extremely advanced Confundus Charm to seal the platform, something even most Aurors wouldn't be able to accomplish with ease… However, a student's parent claims to have seen a person in black robes at King's Cross Station that day… robes very similar to those of the notorious Death Eaters of years past."

The article finished with a quote from the Ministry of Magic's platform guard, who admitted that he had been performing a memory charm on a muggle family when the entrance mysteriously closed. Apparently, they'd been drawn to the area by the hoot of an owl and accidentally witnessed a wizard entering the platform.

...

Kyle turned to Fred and George, asking, "You were seen by muggles?"

The only wizards who had entered the platform before the entrance was closed were the Weasley family.

"No… I don't think so," George replied, though he sounded uncertain.

"But we didn't hear any owls when we were at King's Cross."

Kyle nodded thoughtfully and continued reading aloud. "Is this just a coincidence? Or is the platform closure a carefully planned scheme—someone trying to kill Harry Potter to avenge You-Know-Who? And that person might even be hiding among the parents sending their children to school…"

"We got a letter from home this morning," Fred said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Dad's investigation is over."

"Thanks to you, Kyle." George stepped forward, giving Kyle a hearty slap on the shoulder.

Kyle shook his head. In truth, even without his help, Dumbledore wouldn't have let Mr. Weasley lose his job; it just would have taken a little longer.

"It seems that Lucius Malfoy got wind of it ahead of time and knew Mr. Weasley would come out fine." Kyle laughed. "No wonder he said yesterday that 'Weasley' wouldn't always be so lucky—not 'you'…"

"That's right," Fred chimed in, laughing. "And there's more. Look at this!"

He turned the page, revealing a paragraph on the back.

"The Ministry member stationed at the platform said he'd seen six witches and wizards at King's Cross, including Lucius Malfoy…"

Upon seeing the name, Kyle immediately understood what Fred and George were getting at. Lucius had always been suspected of being a Death Eater, and with Fudge's typical paranoia, he'd likely launch an investigation after hearing about the incident.

"Rita Skeeter… she's something else," said Fred, smacking his lips. "We drafted three letters, but we only sent one."

"The other two we tossed out," George added, spreading his hands. "She still wrote far more in detail than we did."

"Maybe someone else wrote to her too," Harry mused, joining in. "Look here… only people at school knew I ran into the Whomping Willow, but she knew about that as well."

"Exactly what we thought," George chuckled.

Though things hadn't quite gone as they'd expected, as long as Mr. Weasley passed the investigation, it didn't matter who had tipped her off.

...

In the wizarding world, any topic even remotely related to You-Know-Who or the Death Eaters would spark immediate buzz. Even though a day had passed, during dinner in the Great Hall, people continued to sneak glances at Harry.

In the VIP section, Lockhart was chatting animatedly with the other professors, claiming that had he been at the station, he'd have easily apprehended any Death Eater.

As for Harry… he didn't pay much attention to the stares. He'd long grown used to them—thankfully, since it had been even worse when he'd first started at Hogwarts the previous year.

Besides, something else was occupying his mind.

To be honest, after reading that day's issue of The Daily Prophet, even Harry was beginning to doubt if it was all true. It seemed too much of a coincidence. His thoughts drifted back to the House-elf named Dobby he'd encountered over the summer, the one who had stolen his letters and caused the Ministry of Magic to send him a warning.

Dobby, too, had tried to prevent him from returning to Hogwarts.

Why had it gone to such lengths? Was it connected to the platform incident? And did it have anything to do with Voldemort… or the Death Eaters?

Harry couldn't figure it out.