## Chapter 385: Rita Skeeter's Escape Journey, Part 2
Rita Skeeter had never been so grateful for having learned to be an Animagus.
She lay on the ground, resting for a few minutes, vaguely hearing the chaotic footsteps and dog barks. Rita grabbed her Wand, but still couldn't use Magic normally. At the last moment, the world in her vision suddenly expanded hundreds of times over.
She had turned into a beetle.
Animagus, this special form of Magic that allowed transformation without a Wand, was something Rita had previously thought useless except for eavesdropping. Yet, it had saved her life once again.
She trembled, hiding under a leaf, watching over a dozen hounds sniffing around the jungle, growling in their throats, but never finding a trace of her.
The black-clad soldiers, holding dangerous Muggle weapons, searched the woods for a while. Then, one of them pressed a hand to his ear and said, "The woman disappeared."
A moment later, he told the others, "Keep searching. In half an hour, they'll reactivate the magnetic field above."
"Understood!"
Everyone responded, dispersing.
They didn't even spare the tree canopy above or the bushes below, yet no one noticed a tiny beetle.
Rita was terrified, her heart pounding. She forced her six weak legs to move, carefully crawling along the grass for a bit, then flapped her wings and flew up.
A black hound suddenly lifted its head, looking at the chubby beetle, and sniffed.
Rita was so scared she almost fell out of the air. She barely managed to steady herself, frantically flapping her wings to fly forward, but she could only cover about two meters per second. A single pounce from the hound would easily catch her.
Every moment, she felt as if she could sense the presence of death.
Fortunately, a black-clad soldier suddenly tugged the hound. "Alright, buddy, there's nothing fun about bugs. Come this way."
The hound looked back at the beetle, then turned its head and followed its owner in another direction to search. Rita breathed a sigh of relief, redoubling her efforts to escape.
She knew she only had half an hour at most.
However, when she saw the vast, almost sacred-looking white complex of buildings in the sunlight, she despairingly realized she had gone in the wrong direction.
It was too late to turn back now, so Rita steeled herself and flew over the wall.
No matter where, there were always sewer pipes and ventilation ducts.
The beetle squeezed into a dark crevice, ignoring the foul smell around her. She found a dry spot, lay down, and gasped for breath.
Even in Animagus form, such strenuous exertion had drained her of a lot of energy.
Half an hour later, the humming sound arrived as expected. The Magical Power, usually like a part of her body, instantly became agitated. Rita wailed as she transformed back into her original form, then bit her lip, enduring the pain.
She tasted blood.
This time, the humming lasted longer than before, but perhaps the pipes provided some kind of protection, as the pain was slightly less severe.
Then came another escape.
She stumbled forward along the pipe. The enclosed environment around her was quiet and dark, giving her a sense of security.
Rita pulled out her Wand and whispered, "Lumos."
A faint light illuminated the pipe, casting its glow on the disheveled woman.
Rita sighed in relief—thankfully, such a simple Spell could still be used.
She bit her Wand and crawled forward along the pipe—being a beetle was discreet, but she was now tired and hungry. In beetle form, she would only want to obey her instincts and lie still, whereas in her human body, she could still move under the compulsion of her will.
The ground was covered in dust, along with the corpses of some insects and mice.
An ordinary woman might scream at the sight of mice, but for a Wizard who brewed Potions with frog brains and leeches and cockroaches, such things were not worth her distraction.
She crawled along the filthy pipe, having no idea where she was escaping to, but the sense of danger kept her from stopping.
Rita, who knew almost nothing about Muggle technology, also failed to notice what the slight indentation of the pipe meant as she crawled.
...
In the research lab, a row of small green lights illuminated in sequence. On the screen, an area began to sound an alarm.
"The pressure sensor in the ventilation duct is sending a signal—the intensity doesn't seem like a mouse," someone said in a measured voice.
"Send in a scorpion-shaped vehicle," the man with the ponytail said with a smile. "I always see protagonists escaping through ventilation ducts in movies, that's why I installed sensors. Before, it only killed a few stupid mice, but today, it seems we've finally caught something."
The woman in red smiled and said, "Caught a Magical mouse?"
"Hmm, a bold mouse."
...
When the strange "buzzing sound" began, Rita Skeeter's hairs stood on end, almost triggering a panic attack.
But then, she realized this wasn't that strange thing that made Magic go haywire, but a toy car.
The scorpion-shaped toy car, topped with a cylindrical device, drove up to her. Bright light shone from the front of the car.
Rita paused, then pointed her Wand. "*Diffindo!*"
With a "bang," the toy car exploded, parts flying everywhere. The cylinder rolled to Rita's feet and suddenly began to spray white gas.
Rita only took one breath before she felt dizzy.
She quickly held her breath and moved away from the area, her hands trembling slightly as she rummaged through her alligator-skin handbag.
When she fled England, she brought many necessities with her, including, of course, detoxifying Potions.
The woman pulled out the stopper and drank the Potion in one gulp. Her mind instantly cleared, and then she pulled the Invisibility Cloak from her bag and draped it over herself.
Rita believed that with Muggle technology, they wouldn't be able to see through a Wizard's invisibility.
But she was too tired to escape any further. She rummaged through her bag, found a few pieces of chocolate, devoured them, and then drank a bottle of mead. Only then did she feel alive again.
How long has that half-hour been over?
Rita was about to check the time when she suddenly heard a "buzzing" sound again.
This time, the sound came from both ends of the pipe. A dozen vehicles began to surround her with clear intent, some with gun barrels adjusting their angles—that was the only Muggle weapon Rita recognized.
Rita was shocked—she was wearing an Invisibility Cloak, so why could these things still find her?
*Boom—*
The sound of the explosion traveled far, far through the pipes, so far that the people in the underground cell heard the commotion and looked up blankly, wondering what had happened.
...
A few minutes later, several items appeared before the man with the ponytail—
A torn, bloodstained coat.
A broken-heeled pair of Dragon-hide women's ankle boots.
And a damaged Invisibility Cloak.
Once the Invisibility Cloak was damaged, its invisibility effect disappeared. Now, it looked like nothing more than a crude cloak made of grey animal hide.
On the large screen, a short video played—
Scorpion vehicles surrounded an empty space. As they waited for the attack command, a bright light suddenly erupted from the center of the encirclement. An invisible force instantly tore apart several scorpion vehicles, and then the screen became a flickering static.
The technicians adjusted the footage. The screen froze on the last frame, where a figure in green clothing could vaguely be seen.
The man with the ponytail laughed in exasperation: "Why can't these Wizards just give up? Why do they have to cling to life like this?"
No one around him responded.
"Turn on the magnetic field," the man with the ponytail said coldly. "I don't believe she can withstand many more hits."
"The magnet cooling isn't complete yet," the man with glasses whispered, reminding him. "It'll probably take another ten minutes or so, or else the equipment might burn out."
The man with the ponytail said angrily, "I told them long ago that the bit chips needed replacing. Those people up top would rather spend money on women than invest more in the longevity project. They'll pay for it sooner or later."
"Don't be angry," the woman in red said indifferently. "That little mouse won't escape. Besides, you can use this as an excuse to apply for more funding."
"You're right." The man's anger came and went quickly. He softened his tone and said, "Then we'll try again in ten minutes."
"No, wait twenty more minutes," the woman in red said. "Wouldn't it be more interesting to hit her hard when she thinks she's safe?"
...
Rita huddled nervously in the pipe, but the expected invisible torment didn't arrive.
She waited another minute, then finally couldn't hold back and scurried out of her hiding place.
Having recovered some of her strength, Rita had transformed back into a beetle. Only in this form did she feel safe.
She crawled along the pipe for a while, sometimes peeking through grates to see where she was.
She saw various strange instruments, owls locked up for research, busy researchers, cluttered storage rooms, and densely packed warehouses.
Upon seeing a pile of counterfeit Book of Friends stacked on shelves in a warehouse, Rita suddenly stopped, pacing back and forth several times, unable to shake a thought from her mind.
If Rita Skeeter were to say what her biggest regret was during this close call, it would definitely be leaving the Book of Friends that connected her to Wade Gray in England.
Before, Rita's reasoning was simple: she couldn't fulfill Wade Gray's request and was worried he would take back the Invisibility Cloak, so she unilaterally cut off contact with him.
She knew some Book of Friends had tracking functions and was worried that the one Wade Gray gave her was one of those tracking ones, so she left it at home when she departed.
In fact, Rita Skeeter had a stack of Book of Friends in her bag, but she had no real friends. The contacts were either people whose secrets she held, or merely superficial colleagues.
She knew very well that these so-called "friends" were effective at gathering information for her, and some could help smooth things over, but no one was willing or able to rescue her.
Wade Gray was still a child, and perhaps couldn't, but he had Dumbledore behind him.
No matter how much Rita Skeeter disparaged and belittled Dumbledore as a muddle-headed old lunatic, she knew in her heart that the only one who would extend a helping hand to strangers, even enemies, and who could save her in this situation, was Albus Dumbledore.
But she had discarded the only possible way to contact Dumbledore.
Regret gnawed at her heart like a worm. Rita Skeeter hesitated for a moment, then suddenly took out a very precious Potion from her handbag—just a small mouthful.
Its color was like molten gold, shimmering as it flowed, very attractive.
This was Felix Felicis, a luck Potion that brought good fortune to the drinker. It was very peculiar and very expensive.
Rita had only obtained this small amount by chance. Its effects lasted only about an hour, and she had always been reluctant to drink it.
At that moment, Rita tilted her head back and drank the Potion. Then, she closed her eyes. A feeling of immense exhilaration flowed through her body, making her thoughts incredibly clear, her Magical Power smooth and powerful, as if she could do anything.
No... not everything is possible...
Rita opened her eyes, her gaze incredibly calm, devoid of any panic or fatigue.
She clearly realized that she couldn't escape this place within an hour—she didn't even know what the surrounding environment was like, or if there were any ordinary homes nearby.
—But it wasn't without a solution.
A strange confidence and intuition urged her to act immediately.
She instantly transformed into a beetle, slipped through the fence, and landed inside the warehouse.
The warehouse manager happened to turn his head, then turned back to organize items on the shelves, completely unaware of the uninvited guest in his territory.
Rita quickly snatched two counterfeit Book of Friends, then hid her crocodile-skin handbag in the bottom corner of the shelves, only stuffing a few Potions into her pockets.
—The remaining contents of her handbag were useless to her at the moment, but the interview notes inside were precious treasures Rita had accumulated over many years; she would be heartbroken if she lost them.
Next, Rita used a small Levitation Charm to send the counterfeit Book of Friends through the fence and into the ventilation duct. Before the manager turned back, she transformed into a beetle again and flew away.
This time, carrying the Book of Friends, she returned to the room where the owls were imprisoned.
Fortunately, there was no one inside.
"Of course," Rita thought confidently. "Luck is on my side now!"
Management was much looser for these animals; the owls were kept in ordinary cages, and an Alohomora spell could easily free them.
Intuition led Rita to choose the scrawniest-looking owl. She rolled up a Book of Friends and tied it to its claw. The owl quietly watched her.
Rita wrote down Wade Gray's name and address, then leaned down and touched the owl's head with her forehead.
"Please… you must deliver the letter."
The owl hooted twice, as if agreeing.
"*Alohomora!*"
A dozen owls fluttered up, squeezed through the narrow window, and flew out of the room, returning to the free sky.
A commotion immediately broke out outside.
Rita Skeeter transformed into a beetle, landing just in time on the back of a feathered owl, and flew with it through the window.
*"Bang!"*
A gunshot rang out, and the owl cried out as it plummeted, hitting the ground heavily. Amidst the splashing blood and feathers, a beetle quickly scurried towards a crack in the wall.
Just as it found a hiding spot, the buzzing sound started again.
Struggling silently, Rita's eyes were wide open, watching as the scattered owls were hit by bullets and fell like rain.
But the scrawniest owl moved nimbly, carrying Rita Skeeter's hope of survival, flying into the distance.
The buzzing sound had no effect on it, but if Rita had been clinging to its back trying to escape earlier, both she and the bird would have fallen like kites with cut strings.
Amidst the painful torment, she revealed a twisted smile.
Once this difficult period ended, Rita didn't hesitate to jump up again, following the guidance of the Potions and crawling deeper underground.
The air gradually became foul. She saw narrow cells, and many very young-looking children inside them…
A small explanation:
There was no boiling of the sea; that was discharged cooling water, as mentioned in the text there were pipes.
Water-cooled magnets were the earliest type of magnets used by scientists. In 1996, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in the United States increased the magnetic field level of water-cooled magnets to 33T. The text doesn't actually require such a strong magnetic field.
Nor is it a large magnetic field covering the entire island; instead, it's distributed in a dot matrix, like sesame seeds scattered on a cake, resonating at the same frequency.
Additionally, water-cooled magnetic fields can actually be maintained at high intensity for a long time. In this text, to increase the coverage area, the duration was shortened, allowing it to be activated for only one to three minutes at a time.
The author's physics knowledge is insufficient to provide more detailed settings. If there are errors, please consider it a difference in the rules of the Wizarding World.
Finally, was the Muggle government involved in this? If the Muggle government knew clearly, why didn't the Ministry of Magic know?
Firstly, in peacetime, there isn't a close connection between the Ministry of Magic and Muggle governments. It's more like Fudge occasionally popping up to say, "We have a Dragon entering the country, prepare yourselves."
Secondly, not every Muggle government has strong control over its own country; don't apply China's situation to other countries.
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