Chapter 215
Albert gripped his magic wand tightly and forced his way toward Rita Skeeter with angry strides.
At that moment, Hermione was observing the situation, she realized the escalating danger and quickly ran to cut off Albert's path, shouting: "Don't do it, Albert! Please, calm down!" But her words fell on deaf ears; rage had completely taken over Albert.
Albert approached Rita with heavy steps, which made her turn towards him, but before she could utter a word, he raised his wand and cast a powerful spell that violently slammed her against the wall. Rita fell to the ground, stunned and her face filled with pain.
The photographer who was with her stepped forward and aimed his wand at Albert with a quick movement, but Albert did not give him a chance to attack. With a decisive and fast movement, he cast a spell that knocked the photographer's wand away, and then he cast a Stupefy spell on him, which left him fallen on the ground, unconscious.
Albert turned his gaze back to Rita, who was still on the ground, and advanced towards her with hesitant steps and his anger intensifying. He grabbed her hair with a harsh grip and leaned towards her, saying in an angry voice: "Didn't I tell you before not to challenge me?! I warned you repeatedly not to write anything about me, my family, or my friends! Didn't you hear my warning?!"
His words were like a thunderbolt that struck Rita, who was trying to muster her courage but to no avail. As for Hermione, she was still trying to calm Albert, shouting: "Stop, Albert, that's enough! Don't let your anger make you lose yourself!"
Albert Black came closer to Rita Skeeter, who was still lying on the ground, groaning in pain after hitting the wall due to his spell. With eyes blazing with anger and resentment, he raised his wand again and cast a powerful spell that hit her directly, causing blood to flow from her nose. Rita trembled as she tried to wipe the blood with a shaking hand, while Albert stared at her with a stern and terrifying look.
He said in a low but anger-charged voice: "This is just a little of what you will see if you think about challenging me again. I warned you before, but you did not listen. Now, you will pay the price!"
Rita raised her head with difficulty to look at Albert, but she only saw a face overflowing with anger and a black aura as if evil energy was leaking from him.
She felt real fear for the first time in her life, even her usual words that hurt others choked in her throat. His face was terrifying, and his aura overwhelmed the entire place, even Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were watching the scene from afar, felt the weight of that energy.
Amidst this tense scene, Hermione stepped forward with quick and firm steps, trying to stop Albert before he crossed the line. She shouted in a trembling but steady voice: "Albert! Stop immediately! Everyone is looking at what is happening here! Don't you see? There are goblins from the Ministry of Magic!! If they report what you have done, you will be in very big trouble! This is not what you want, is it?"
When Rita heard Hermione's words, she realized the opportunity was ripe to save herself. With a weak smile mixed with fear, she said in a faint but sarcastic voice: "She's right, Albert, the goblins here won't remain silent. No doubt they will report to the Ministry, and you won't get away with what you did, maybe you should think before you double your trouble!"
Her words were a desperate attempt to regain control, but Albert did not seem affected. He remained standing there, looking at her with eyes blazing with hatred.
The situation was about to explode, and everyone knew that any wrong step could lead to a disaster.
After Rita Skeeter heard Hermione's threat and her warning to Albert about the presence of the goblins from the Ministry of Magic, a weak smile, full of confidence, appeared on her face. She looked at Albert, who seemed to be thinking about the matter for a moment, and she imagined that things were turning in her favor.
She thought that the mere presence of witnesses meant that Albert was already convicted, and that this incident would be the most prominent event in the upcoming newspapers, and why not? He would not escape punishment, and she would win the grand prize when she published the story in her exaggerated style.
But that false confidence was quickly shattered when she noticed a strange smile appear on Albert's face. It was a calm smile, but it carried a hidden threat behind it.
Albert sighed lightly, lowered his wand slightly, then looked at her with eyes filled with devastating confidence. He approached her with slow steps, and said in a low voice, but full of power: "Oh, Rita... do you know what makes me different from the likes of you? That I don't leave any trace behind."
Rita, who was preparing to respond with something sharp, felt the words freeze on her lips when Albert completed his speech, saying: "You think the presence of the goblins here means I will fall? This is a wrong assumption, because I will simply use the Legilimency spell on all of them. I will remove all their memories of this incident, as if it never happened. No witnesses, no evidence, nothing. Even you, Rita... you won't remember anything."
When Rita heard these words, she felt as if the ground was shaking beneath her. She slowly backed away, her eyes wide with terror. She realized that Albert was not only powerful in his spells, but he was capable of erasing every trace of his crime, which made her completely helpless. Even the goblins, whom she thought would resolve the situation in her favor, would not remember anything.
She glanced quickly at the goblins who were closely watching the situation and felt a sense of panic creeping into her depths. She knew that Albert was serious about his threat and that he did not back down from his words. They were not just terrifying words, but a clear promise to erase every piece of evidence that could implicate him.
Albert continued to look at her with the same calm smile, and added in a low voice but clearly audible: "So, Rita... do you still think you will get your story?"
Rita Skeeter screamed in a trembling voice full of panic, turning towards the goblins standing in the corner of the room, which only contained goods for other shops: "Run away! You must inform the Ministry of what happened here! Go before it's too late!"
Her only hope was that one of them would succeed in escaping to convey the truth of what had happened, but Albert Black, who was watching everything with terrifying calmness, raised his wand high and said in a stern voice: "Rubeus!"
Immediately, a bright white light appeared on the tip of his wand, followed by a heavy crash as the shop's doors and windows were tightly sealed.
The goblins who were about to move found themselves trapped, unable to escape. The room was now like a prison, and there was no way out. Rita, who saw her hope vanish before her eyes, felt a terror she had never known before. Her hands trembled as she tried to think quickly, but nothing came to mind except one fact: Albert Black was in control of everything.
Albert slowly approached her, and his cold gaze made her feel as if she were under a killer's microscope.
He raised his wand again and pointed it at her head, saying in a calm but threatening tone: "If you think this ends here, you are wrong." He cast the Legilimency spell on her, and her eyes widened in a state of absolute terror as she felt his mind infiltrate her deepest thoughts and memories.
Inside her mind, Albert began to browse her past as if reading an open book. He saw actions he had not imagined, such as her use of the Obliviate charm on innocent people to obtain secret information from them. He suddenly realized where she was getting her exciting and detailed reports. This discovery angered him more, but he did not show it on his face. As for her ability to transform into a beetle, which was another one of her secrets, it did not surprise him; he was prepared for such surprises.
After he finished browsing her mind, he raised his wand slightly and said quietly: "It's time for you to forget everything." He cast a spell to completely erase her memories of the incident, including the moment he attacked her. He erased all mental evidence that could incriminate Albert in case the Ministry investigated her.
This was not just a precaution; it was a foolproof plan. Albert knew well that the Ministry might resort to examining Rita's memories if she filed a complaint against him, and by erasing her memories of the incident, they would find nothing to indicate that he attacked her.
This was his decisive step to ensure he remained far from the hands of magical justice.
After Albert cast the Legilimency spell on Rita Skeeter and made sure to erase everything related to the incident that had just occurred from her mind, he backed away slightly and took a deep breath, looking at her as she sat on the floor in a semi-coma. He seemed to be deep in thought, but he was not thinking of simply ending the matter.
Erasing memories was not enough for him; he knew that Rita would not stop stirring up chaos and harm, and that she would continue to fabricate lies that destroy the lives of others.
While he was watching her with his cold eyes, an interesting idea began to form in his mind. An idea that would make Rita face what she deserved and make her drown in problems with no way out.
He smiled a small smile full of cunning and raised his wand again towards her head. He said in a low voice to himself: "If Rita Skeeter likes to mess with the lives of others, it is fair for me to put her in a situation that makes her pay a high price."
Albert began to add false memories to her mind, memories she had never lived. Initially, he planted in her mind that she was the one who attacked him during one of the Triwizard Tournament interviews in front of everyone.
He made the memory seem as if she had been present at a press conference that brought the champions together and tried to use dangerous spells against him, causing a state of chaos.
But he did not stop there, a more destructive idea occurred to him. He added to her mind memories that made her seem as if she was secretly dealing with Peter Pettigrew, the fugitive criminal from Azkaban and one of Voldemort's loyal followers.
He made the memory seem as if she was providing him with sensitive information in exchange for special privileges, which made her seem implicated in the crimes Pettigrew committed during his escape.
Initially, Albert hesitated to do this. The idea of manipulating someone else's mind to this extent was heavy even for someone like him, but he regained his composure when he remembered her dark past and what she had done against others. He remembered the lies she would write in the future about the Weasley family, who had always defended him in difficult times. He remembered that if he did not intervene now, Rita would continue to destroy the lives of more people, and perhaps even reach the point of helping Voldemort himself in the future.
He remembered an article she wrote in the future that he had seen when he was still in his previous life, where Rita wrote about the hiding place of Harry and his friends when they were fleeing from Voldemort and his followers, which led to exposing them to great danger. At this point, he did not think twice.
He knew that if he let Rita go her way, she would never stop causing harm. Therefore, he completed planting the false memories carefully and accurately, ensuring that everything looked very real if she were examined by the Ministry.
When he finished, Albert lowered his wand and looked at her as she lay on the floor. She was now just a tool in his plan. Anyone who tries to investigate her will see these memories and realize that she was involved in serious crimes. He smiled to himself a cold smile, and said in a low voice: "Now, Rita... you will only be a shadow of what you once were. Goodbye to your perfect world."
A few minutes later, Albert Black stood firmly in the middle of the room, surrounded by the nine goblins who were still in a state of astonishment, unaware of what was happening around them.
Albert raised his magic wand again and cast the Legilimency spell on each one of them carefully and accurately, erasing their memories of the incident that occurred between him and Rita.
He saw the scenes that had just occurred in their minds and used his magic to completely remove them, leaving their minds devoid of any evidence of what had transpired.
When he finished, the goblins began to slowly wake up, staring around them with clear confusion on their faces. They had no idea why they were in this place or what they were doing moments before.
Memories of the attack vanished as if they had never happened, and they became unaware of what happened between them, Albert, or Rita.
As for Rita Skeeter, she began to regain consciousness as well. She felt severe pain in her body, as if she had been run over. Nevertheless, she gathered her strength with difficulty and advanced towards Albert, trying to control herself. With stumbling steps and a pale face, she approached him and began to try to flatter him, saying in a hoarse voice: "Ah, dear Albert... I think you like your life at school, don't you? You must enjoy being the center of attention... Tell me, how does it feel to be one of the champions?"
But Albert did not pay any attention to her words. He looked at her for a moment with cold eyes, as if she meant nothing to him, then turned his back and left the room without uttering a word. He left her standing there, feeling a mixture of insult, pain, and confusion.
At the same time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing at the corner, watching everything that had happened in utter confusion. They were unable to understand what had happened. They watched Albert control the situation in a mysterious way, then erase the goblins' memories and leave as if nothing had happened. They exchanged glances charged with questions before deciding to move.
"We have to follow him!" Ron said, trying to break the state of hesitation that had overcome them. "What was he doing here? And why is he acting like this?"
Hermione nodded in agreement, her eyes still wide with shock. "Something very strange is happening with him... we have to know the truth."
With quick steps, the three followed Albert, who was walking with steady strides, heading away from the room. They were determined to get answers, even if those answers carried dangerous secrets with them.
To be continued....