Chapter 384 Rita Skeeter's Escape

Chapter 384 Rita Skeeter’s Escape

Rita Skeeter didn't know how many times she had regretted being in this predicament today, but she knew in her heart that when she stood at the fork in the road of fate, it was inevitable to make this choice.

No way, curiosity will not only kill the cat, but also a reporter who loves gossip.

Initially, she should have been entrusted by Wade Gray to track a group of suspicious werewolves.

On that ship, Rita Skeeter accidentally discovered that some Ministry of Magic officials were also traveling on this slow Muggle transport. Without thinking, she eavesdropped for a while, hoping to catch some sharp information.

The fierce material is really fierce.

A Ministry of Magic official named Umbridge was very strange from the way she dressed to the way she behaved, which was an eye-opener for the well-informed Rita.

During the dinner, Umbridge talked loudly about how to treat Muggles, Squibs and Mudbloods, and how to get rid of "filthy inhuman monsters"——

"I don't think Muggles deserve to live - of course, they are already in this world and can be useful occasionally. After all, some jobs have to be done."

"So we can be a little more lenient with them - allow those with dirty blood to live."

"I think that if wizards can rule Muggles, they should eliminate those who are disobedient and keep those who can be domesticated and raise them like domestic animals."

"They should not receive an education, nor should they have the power to wield weapons. Muggles only need to learn to work."

"As for those Mudbloods born from Muggles, they cannot be allowed to master wands. This is really too dangerous for wizards."

"I also hope to push the Ministry of Magic to introduce new policies to strengthen the management of non-human creatures."

"For example, expanding the werewolf capture planning team and restarting the operation to clear out vampires - these are all necessary."

"Giants, Veela, goblins, centaurs and mermaids are all subject to strict management by wizards... They must prove their worth of existence."

"Of course... I think it's better to kill all the giants. The purpose of such creatures is to prove to us that the creator is not perfect..."

Because the people sitting next to her were all officials from the Ministry of Magic with a lower rank than herself. They usually supported the theory of pure blood and hoped that wizards would have greater power, so Umbridge spoke a little unscrupulously.

She really didn't think there was anything wrong with her remarks. Umbridge believed from the bottom of her heart that this was correct and just. Even if others didn't understand her, she only felt that she was being arrogant and aloof.

It is precisely because of this belief in herself that Umbridge, who is considered "terribly evil" by many people, can even cast the Patronus Charm, which further strengthens her confidence in herself.

She didn't notice that even the wizards she regarded as "similar" had uncomfortable expressions on their faces when they heard about Umbridge's various cold-blooded and cruel measures.

She also didn't notice that there was a small beetle parked on the Roman rod hanging the curtains in the corner of the room.

Rita Skeeter had written down all of Umbridge's remarks - she had a lot of dirty information like this, just waiting for when the other party lost power to break the big news.

How to become a successful gossip reporter? Naturally, it depends on the daily accumulation of bits and pieces.

In the remaining time, Rita almost forgot Vader's instructions and concentrated on collecting Umbridge's black information. The more she followed, the more she felt that it was a treasure.

However, the position of the other party's Deputy Minister of Magic made Rita Skeeter very scrupulous, so she could only suppress it temporarily like other information.

Unexpectedly, when she returned to England, she suddenly discovered that Umbridge's position was not as stable as she had shown -

Minister Fudge deliberately found trouble twice, handing over Umbridge's very important work to others, and instead asked her to check the quality of the import and export crucibles.

This is basically the work that only interns are responsible for.

Rita Skeeter confirmed that this person had been abandoned by the center of power, and immediately geared up to reveal the dirt. However, considering that the position of deputy minister had not really been eliminated, Rita first made some sexy news. Test the waters.

However, this time, although Rita Skeeter, who was accustomed to exaggerating, did not lie, she kicked an iron plate beyond her imagination.

Umbridge behaves like a dog in front of the Minister of Magic, wanting to bark twice to show her loyalty; but in the Ministry of Magic, she actually holds a lot of power and controls many low-level employees.

Rita Skeeter was soon retaliated against and had to flee England in a hurry.

Fortunately, her Animagus form has not been exposed, and Vader "lent" her the invisibility cloak, which made Rita's escape relatively smooth.

Rita used the post office's public owl to send a blank letter to be sent abroad, then turned into a beetle and lay on the owl's back, and flew out of the British island with the owl.

Originally she was supposed to arrive in Denmark, an open and tolerant country, but when the owl was flying over the sea, she was accidentally shot down by a Muggle ship.

Rita followed the owl as it hit the ship's deck, and the poor owl fell directly to death. However, the beetle flapped its wings a few times when it was about to land, and landed steadily in a pile of hemp ropes on the deck.

At the time, Rita thought it was just an unlucky accident.

——Although I have never heard of Muggles having the habit of eating owls, maybe these guys have a special hobby?

Muggles are just so savage and rude.

Rita Skeeter thought disdainfully, then wondered how she should continue sailing.

It's not that she can't disapparate, it's just that Rita Skeeter's disapparition level is not enough to support her across the long sea, and she doesn't want the tragedy of being separated to happen to her.

Then, she heard the conversation between the two Muggles——

"Why are there owls in the sea?"

"Owls are messengers for wizards. Wizards almost always use owls to deliver messages - sad guys, they are far behind the times."

Rita Skeeter was startled.

Do these Muggles know about the wizarding world? Did they shoot the owl down on purpose?

Then, she heard heavy footsteps coming this way, and hurriedly squeezed her tiny body into the gap between the hemp ropes, and looked over.

The tanned man leaned over to pick up the dead owl and removed the letter.

"What's written on it?" Another younger fisherman asked curiously.

"Strange..." the older man muttered, "It's a blank piece of paper."

He turned the letter over and over and rubbed it with his rough fingers, as if he suspected there was some mechanism hidden on it.

Then, he folded up the blank letter and said, "Maybe it was written with invisible ink - take it back and let them see it. We also need to investigate the address above."

"Could there be wizards living there?"

The young fisherman licked his lips and asked longingly.

"Maybe." The older man chuckled: "If we can really catch one or two wizards, then we will have achieved great success this time!"

"Lev, have you seen wizards? Are they really invisible?"

"I've never seen it, but I heard that not only are wizards themselves invisible, but their houses are also invisible - what do you think? Do you also want to become a wizard?"

"Who wouldn't want to?" the young fisherman said bluntly: "If I could become invisible, I would steal the bank's vault, and then I would never be short of money again."

The older man burst out laughing: "Don't envy them, maybe one day we can have magic too!"

The hoarse laughter seemed to be ringing in her ears, making Rita's whole body shiver.

Perhaps it is the long-term vigilance and persistence of the Minister of Magic that has made the Statute of Secrecy deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even a selfish person like Rita Skeeter subconsciously believes that the Statute of Secrecy must never be violated.

At this time, hearing two Muggles talking about the wizarding world in a joking and familiar tone made Rita feel very uneasy.

The beetle trembled its antennae, and its sixth sense made a roaring sound, urging her to leave quickly.

but……

She didn't know how far away she was from the land at the moment, so she didn't dare to apparate casually; coupled with her confidence in her ability to save her life, Rita finally stayed.

——I will leave as soon as the boat docks!

she thought to herself.

——As long as she finds a bush or a forest and burrows into it, it’s just a beetle. It’s easy to hide anywhere. Who can find her?

And after transforming into a beetle, as long as she can restrain her desire for normal food, she only needs a little bread crumbs or vegetable leaves to survive.

Not to mention water, a few dewdrops condensed on the glass in the morning can satisfy the needs of a small beetle.

The fishing boat sailed on the sea for several days, but Rita couldn't bear it and never changed back to human form.

During this period, she crawled around the ship, hiding and gathering information, and finally managed to piece together the identities of several people.

They belong to a certain Muggle organization called "The Organization". Everyone on the ship knows about the existence of the wizarding world and believes that wizards have been a group of demons that spread plagues, create chaos, start wars, and abuse Muggles since ancient times.

They hate the existence of wizards and envy their abilities.

Rita heard them discussing enthusiastically several times that if the wizard was caught, they would be sent to the research laboratory for "slicing" and transplanting magical abilities to members of the organization.

Although they don't know how to transplant it - as if the magical ability is stored in a certain body organ - everyone firmly believes that the laboratory can do it.

Even if it hasn’t been done yet, it’s because there aren’t enough “research samples”. It will definitely be possible in the future!

Just imagining the "happy life" after obtaining magic, everyone can discuss it enthusiastically for hours, and sailing on the vast sea no longer seems boring.

There was only one beetle huddled in the gap in the wall, shivering.

Compared with these Muggles, Voldemort actually seemed kind.

A few days later, the fishing boat docked.

The beetle eagerly flew off the boat and burrowed into the deciduous bushes on the shore.

Rita Skeeter looked back at the fishing boat and the few people on the dock, secretly noted this place, and flew away close to the grass, the joy of freedom and safety echoing in her heart.

After flying far enough, Rita Skeeter returned to her human form and was ready to find someone to find out where this place was before deciding whether to apparate or find Muggle transportation.

"I want to have a big meal...I want a red wine foie gras and French baked escargots, with lobster and oysters, steak, and stew..."

Rita Skeeter muttered to herself, feeling that her hungry stomach needed some soothing.

She used her red-finished fingernails to fiddle with her not-so-smooth golden curls, feeling a little annoyed—it’s not easy to find a satisfactory barbershop.

Rita Skeeter tried not to let herself think about things that were too dangerous.

“I’m just a reporter.” She said to herself: “It’s better to leave this kind of troublesome matter to Weed Grey—he also wants to investigate the manipulators behind the werewolves anyway.”

“But these guys are Muggles… Forget it, who says werewolves and Muggles can’t be in the same group? Anyway, this is what my investigation found out!”

“Weed Grey and Dumbledore behind him are both nosy guys. Even if they find out that I lied to him, they can’t do anything to me…”

Rita muttered to herself as she walked along the path to find a place where people lived.

But this place was extremely desolate, not to mention people, even insects were rarely seen.

Looking down from the distant sky, this was not the continent that Rita Skeeter thought, nor was it a Muggle country, but just a large, sparsely populated island.

In the middle of the island, there was a large-scale building complex.

But the beetle didn't fly high enough or far enough, so Rita Skeeter didn't have a chance to get a glimpse of the island from above. She was still searching in the jungle.

On a tall palm tree nearby, the hidden camera installed on it turned half a circle, and the lens was always aimed at Rita Skeeter's figure.

Soon after, a sharp alarm sounded somewhere, and a man's angry roar:

"What is this? Can anyone tell me how this foolish woman got in?!"

...

"Buzz————"

A few seconds later, a shrill buzzing sound rang out across the island, and the sound waves spread from the center of the island to all directions.

Along with the sound waves, countless resistance coils hidden around the island rotated at high speed, forming a powerful and invisible electromagnetic field.

The rare birds flew up in fright, and the beasts in the jungle began to run wildly, and some even crashed into the trees. Even the insects hidden in the grass fled in panic.

In the waters near the island, the fish quickly fled to the deep sea. The circular pipe was buried beside the rock wall, and the cold sea water was injected with hot currents. There were no common marine creatures on the seabed nearby.

Rita Skeeter, who was walking in the jungle without knowing anything, suddenly felt great pain. Her whole body felt like being pricked by needles and bitten by ants. She screamed and fell to the ground, rolling on the ground.

"Ahhhhhh——"

The shrill screams echoed through the jungle.

The feeling of hell actually lasted only one minute, but it seemed as long as a year for Rita.

When she regained her consciousness, Rita Skeeter immediately endured the pain that seemed to tear her apart, stood up shakily, and performed Apparition.

—— She didn't care about the split body, even if she was found by Umbridge's people, she felt it was acceptable.

Compared with this kind of pain, what is Azkaban?

"Plop!"

She turned around twice on the spot and fell.

The usually docile and loyal magic betrayed her will at this moment.