## Rita Skeeter's Escape Journey
Rita Skeeter didn't know how many times she'd regretted her current predicament, but she knew in her heart that when she stood at the crossroads of fate, this choice was inevitable.
There was nothing she could do; curiosity didn't just kill the cat, it also killed a journalist who loved gossip.
It all began when she was commissioned by Wade Gray to track a suspicious group of 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 juicy scoop.
And juicy it was.
A Ministry of Magic official named Umbridge was so peculiar in her dress, demeanor, and speech that even the well-traveled Rita was astonished.
During dinner, Umbridge spoke at length about how Muggles, Squibs, and Mudbloods should be treated, and how to eliminate "filthy non-human monsters"—
"I believe Muggles don't deserve to exist—of course, they're already in this world, and occasionally they can be useful, after all, some jobs need to be done by someone."
"So we can be slightly lenient with them—allowing those of impure blood to live."
"I believe that if Wizards can rule Muggles, the disobedient ones should be eliminated, and the tameable ones kept, like livestock in an enclosure."
"They shouldn't receive education, nor should they have the right to wield weapons. Muggles only need to learn to work."
"As for those Mudbloods born from Muggles, they shouldn't be allowed to wield Wands either, that's far 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 Squad and restarting operations to clear out Vampires—these are all very necessary."
"Giants, Veela, Goblins, Centaurs, and Mermaids must all be strictly managed by Wizards... they must prove their worth."
"Of course... I think it's better to kill all Giants. The purpose of these creatures' existence is to show us that the Creator isn't perfect either..."
Because the Ministry of Magic officials sitting next to her were all of lower rank and usually openly or subtly supported Pure-blood theory, hoping Wizards would gain greater power, Umbridge spoke without restraint.
She truly didn't believe there was anything wrong with her statements. Umbridge genuinely felt this was correct and righteous, and even if she wasn't understood, she only felt that her views were too sophisticated for others.
It was this self-belief that allowed Umbridge, whom many considered "horribly evil," to even cast a Patronus Charm, which further strengthened her self-confidence.
She didn't notice that even these Wizards she considered "her kind" showed discomfort on their faces when listening to Umbridge's cold and cruel measures.
She also didn't notice that a tiny beetle was perched on the curtain rod in the corner of the room.
Rita Skeeter recorded all of Umbridge's statements—she had a pile of such incriminating material, just waiting for the day the other party lost power so she could drop a huge bombshell.
How to become a successful gossip journalist? Naturally, it comes down to accumulating information bit by bit.
For the rest of the time, Rita almost forgot Wade's commission and focused wholeheartedly on collecting dirt on Umbridge, and the more she tracked, the more she felt she had found a treasure trove.
But the other party's position as Undersecretary to the Ministry of Magic made Rita Skeeter very cautious, so she could only temporarily suppress the information like other files.
Who knew that upon returning to Britain, she suddenly discovered that Umbridge's position wasn't as solid as she made it out to be—
Minister Fudge deliberately found fault twice, reassigning Umbridge's very important work to others and instead having her inspect the quality of imported cauldrons.
This was basically work that only interns were responsible for.
Rita Skeeter confirmed that this person had been cast out of the center of power and immediately prepared to expose the dirt, but considering that the Undersecretary position hadn't actually been eliminated, Rita decided to test the waters with a scandal first.
However, this time, despite Rita Skeeter's habit of exaggeration, she wasn't lying, yet she hit an unexpectedly formidable obstacle.
Umbridge was as obedient as a dog in front of the Minister of Magic, practically barking to show her loyalty; but within the Ministry of Magic, she actually held significant power and controlled many lower-level staff.
Soon, Rita Skeeter faced retaliation and even had to flee Britain in a hurry.
Fortunately, her Animagus form had never been exposed, and she had the Invisibility Cloak "lent" to her by Wade, which made Rita's escape relatively smooth.
Rita used a public owl from the post office to send a blank letter abroad, then transformed into a beetle and perched on the owl's back, flying out of Great Britain with the owl.
She was supposed to arrive in inclusive Denmark, but while the owl was flying over the sea, it was accidentally shot down by a Muggle ship.
Rita crashed onto the ship's deck with the owl; the poor owl died instantly, but the beetle flapped its wings a few times just before impact and landed steadily among a pile of ropes on the deck.
At that time, Rita thought it was just an unfortunate accident.
—Although she hadn't heard of Muggles having a habit of eating owls, perhaps these people had peculiar tastes?
Muggles were just that barbaric and crude.
Rita Skeeter thought disdainfully, then pondered how she would continue her journey.
It wasn't that she couldn't Apparate, but Rita Skeeter's Apparition skills weren't good enough to cross a vast sea. She certainly didn't want the tragedy of splinching to happen to her.
Then, she heard the conversation between the two Muggles—
"How can there be an owl on the open sea?"
"Owls are messengers for Wizards. Wizards almost always use owls to send mail—pathetic lot, they're far behind the times."
Rita Skeeter's heart skipped a beat.
These Muggles knew about the Wizarding World? Did they intentionally shoot down the owl?
Then, she heard heavy footsteps approaching and quickly squeezed her tiny body further into the ropes, peeking out.
A dark-skinned man bent down, picked up the dead owl, and removed the letter.
"What does it say?" another younger fisherman asked curiously.
"Strange…" the older man muttered. "It's a blank sheet."
He turned the letter over and over, even rubbing it with his rough fingers, as if suspecting some hidden mechanism.
Then, he folded the blank sheet and said, "Maybe it's written in invisible ink—take it back and let them have a look. And that address on it, that needs to be investigated too."
"Will there be wizards living there?" the young fisherman asked with a hungry look, licking his lips.
"Perhaps." The older man chuckled. "If we can catch one or two wizards, we'll have made a great contribution this time!"
"Lev, have you ever seen a wizard? Can they really turn invisible?"
"Never seen one, but I heard wizards can not only turn invisible themselves, but their houses are invisible too—what do you say? Do you want to be a wizard too?"
"Who wouldn't?" the young fisherman said plainly. "If I could turn invisible, I'd go steal from bank vaults and never be short on money again."
The older man burst into laughter. "Don't envy them. Maybe one day, we'll have magic too!"
The rough laughter seemed to echo in her ears, sending shivers down Rita's spine.
Perhaps it was the Ministry of Magic's long-standing vigilance and persistence that had ingrained the Statute of Secrecy so deeply that even a self-serving person like Rita Skeeter subconsciously believed that the Statute of Secrecy absolutely must not be violated.
Hearing two Muggles discussing the Wizarding World in such a mocking, familiar tone made Rita feel extremely uneasy.
The beetle's antennae twitched, and her sixth sense screamed at her like a raging sea, urging her to leave quickly.
But…
She didn't know how far she was from land at the moment and dared not Apparate casually. Coupled with her confidence in her own life-saving abilities, Rita ultimately stayed.
—I'll leave as soon as the boat docks! she thought.
—Just find some bushes or woods to burrow into. It's just a beetle; it's easy to hide anywhere. Who could find her then?
And after transforming into a beetle, as long as she could control her craving for normal food, she would only need a few breadcrumbs or vegetable leaves to survive.
Water was even less of an issue; a few dewdrops condensed on the glass in the morning would satisfy the needs of a tiny beetle.
The fishing boat sailed for several days, and Rita endured, not transforming back into human form even once.
During this time, she crawled around the boat, stealthily gathering information, and finally managed to piece together the identities of the few people.
They belonged to a Muggle organization called The Organization. Everyone on the boat knew of the Wizarding World's existence and believed that wizards had, since ancient times, been demons who spread plagues, caused chaos, started wars, and tormented Muggles.
They loathed the existence of wizards yet envied their abilities.
Several times, Rita heard them discussing excitedly that if they caught wizards, they would send them to the lab to be "sliced" and have their Magical Power transplanted to members of The Organization.
Although they didn't know how to transplant it—as if Magical Power resided in some bodily organ—everyone firmly believed that the lab would be able to do it.
Even if they hadn't succeeded yet, it was only because there weren't enough "research samples"; they would definitely succeed in the future!
Just imagining the "happy life" after gaining magic could keep them passionately discussing for hours, making the voyage across the vast sea no longer boring.
Only one beetle huddled in a crack in the wall, trembling with fear.
Compared to these Muggles, Voldemort suddenly 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 waiting on the dock, secretly noting the location. She flew along the grass, the joy of freedom and safety echoing in her heart.
After flying a sufficient distance, Rita Skeeter transformed back into human form, ready to ask someone where she was before deciding whether to Apparate or find Muggle transportation.
"I need a good meal… I want a red wine foie gras and French baked snails, with lobster and oysters, and steak, and stew…"
Rita Skeeter muttered to herself, feeling that her hungry and thirsty stomach needed to be appeased.
She ran her red-nail-polished fingers through her somewhat unruly blonde curls, feeling a bit annoyed—a good hair salon was hard to find.
Rita Skeeter tried hard not to think about dangerous things.
"I'm just a reporter," she told herself. "It's better to leave this kind of trouble to Wade Gray—he wants to investigate the manipulators behind those Werewolves anyway."
"But these guys are Muggles… Never mind, who says Werewolves and Muggles can't be in cahoots? Anyway, that's what my investigation concludes!"
"Wade Gray and Dumbledore behind him are both busybodies. Even if they find out I tricked him, there's nothing they can do to me…"
Rita mumbled to herself as she walked along the path, looking for signs of human habitation.
But the area was unusually desolate; not to mention people, even insects were rarely seen.
From high in the sky, this was not the continent Rita Skeeter thought it was, nor was it some Muggle country; it was merely a larger, sparsely populated island.
In the very center of the island, there was a vast complex of buildings.
But the beetle didn't fly high enough or far enough, so Rita Skeeter didn't get a chance to see the full view of the island from above. She was still searching through the jungle.
On a tall palm tree nearby, a hidden camera mounted on it rotated halfway, its lens constantly fixed on Rita Skeeter's figure.
Soon after, a sharp alarm sounded somewhere, followed by a man's angry roar:
"What is this? Who can tell me how this idiotic woman got in?!"
...
*BZZZZZZZT—*
Seconds later, a piercing hum echoed across the entire island, sound waves radiating outwards from its center.
Along with the sound waves, countless hidden resistance coils around the island spun at high speed, creating a powerful, invisible electromagnetic field.
Scarce birds took flight in alarm, and wild beasts in the jungle began to stampede, some even crashing into trees. Even insects hidden in the grass scattered in a panic.
In the waters near the island, schools of fish rapidly fled to the deep sea. Circular pipes were buried along the rock face, and streams of scalding hot fluid injected into the icy seawater. There wasn't a single common marine creature on the seabed nearby.
Rita Skeeter, walking unknowingly through the jungle, suddenly felt immense pain. Her entire body felt as if it were being pricked by needles and gnawed by ants. She screamed and fell, rolling on the ground.
"AAAAAHHHH—"
Her shrill screams ripped through the jungle.
The hellish sensation actually lasted only a minute, but to Rita, it felt as long as a year.
When she regained her senses, Rita Skeeter immediately endured the pain that seemed to be tearing her apart, shakily stood up, and attempted Apparition.
—She couldn't even worry about Splinching; she felt it would be acceptable even if Umbridge's people found her.
Compared to this pain, what was Azkaban?
*THUD!*
She spun around twice in place and fell.
Her usually docile and loyal Magical Power had betrayed her will.
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