"Miss Reporter? Miss Skeeter?"

Before Rita Skeeter could fully register it, a deep, resonant voice reached her ears.

Kingsley, the middle-aged Auror, looked at her with a puzzled expression. He moved slowly, his imposing frame deliberately obscuring most of Rita's view. To his right was a partially open office, the sign on the door reading "Auror Reception."

Rita snapped out of her reverie, retracting her gaze and smiling as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I may have been a bit absentminded, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Considering certain factors—you know, Aurors always have their secrets, especially Mr. Scrimgeour. His office might not be the most suitable place for—well, media personnel to enter. After careful consideration, we've decided to temporarily move today's meeting to here."

Kingsley replied with an unwavering smile, gesturing toward the sign on the door as he spoke.

Rita glanced at the Aurors sitting in the "back area" and asked hesitantly.

"Forgive me for asking, but the gentlemen sitting over there seem to be…"

"A bit tense? That's normal."

Kingsley shrugged, seizing Rita's words.

"As you may know, the Ministry of Magic recently opened up a batch of Auror positions to the public. After slightly relaxing the academic requirements, we've recruited a group of wizards with extensive life experience. Some of them have even worked as bounty hunters. Naturally, it will take some time to adapt to this change in role. But you can rest assured, we are all law enforcement officers fighting for the peace and order of the wizarding world."

After a slight pause, Kingsley looked at Rita Skeeter with curiosity.

"Is something the matter? Do you recognize any of the Aurors over there?"

"No, I was just looking around."

Rita Skeeter smiled politely, suppressing her confusion, and followed Kingsley into the office.

The office was sparse, containing only a round table and a few chairs, without even a proper cabinet.

Kingsley led Rita into the room and left, and the door to the reception room closed, completely isolating the Auror headquarters' sights and sounds. Rita Skeeter sat alone in the empty reception room, internally steeling herself for what was to come.

In the mission briefing before her departure, "the organization" had made it clear that someone at the Ministry of Magic would be protecting her covertly.

However, aside from Tonks, Rita had not detected a second "organization" member.

What unsettled her even more was…

Compared to the tight security over the past few months, so strict that not even a fly could infiltrate, the security measures for her trip to the Ministry of Magic and her exposé of Lockhart's misdeeds were far too lax. Or, to put it another way, the level of trust placed in her was too high.

In the worst-case scenario, directly denouncing "the organization" during this conversation could be devastating to the subsequent plan.

After all, according to what Rita had gleaned, the Ministry of Magic secretly using Veritaserum was not unheard of.

Unless…

Rita Skeeter struggled to recall the wizards she had encountered along the way and the mission details.

Obviously, Tonks could not be the only "organization" member in the Ministry of Magic, and she was unlikely to be one of the official members "covertly protecting" her in this operation – if those big shots weren't bluffing. Therefore, in the upcoming confidential talks, among the Ministry of Magic employees accompanying Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour, there must be a high-ranking "organization" member.

Yes, that must be it!

Rita calculated several times in her mind, nodding with certainty.

Only in this way could "the organization" immediately make amends if she "said the wrong thing."

As for who the mole lurking in the Ministry of Magic was, she only needed to look at which wizard appeared with Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour for a reason that was not entirely justified, and pay attention to the numbers, to roughly guess the names of those "covert" members.

Just then, the door to the Auror Reception room was pushed open.

Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour strode in.

Then…

The door to the room closed again.

"Well, Miss Rita Skeeter, let's get straight to the point."

Rufus Scrimgeour's gaze swept over Rita, looking like an old lion scrutinizing its prey.

His sandy hair and thick eyebrows were streaked with gray, and behind his gold-rimmed spectacles were sharp eyes. Though he had a slight limp, he walked with a dashing stride, immediately giving the impression that he was an astute, tough individual.

"What is the material you possess about that well-known wizard? You should know the consequences of fooling an Auror, right?"

"I…"

Rita Skeeter, still staring at the door in a daze, paused for a half-second.

If she remembered correctly, at the werewolf roundup press conference, the Auror Office Director's statement was the only one that had a chance of weathering the ensuing storm of condemnation. In the *Daily Prophet* reporters' casual discussions about the next Minister, many believed that unless a third wizarding war broke out, Scrimgeour, as the Auror Office Director, could never be elected as the Minister for Magic.

But if conflict did break out, and the Ministry of Magic entered a state of tension, the biggest beneficiary would be…

Just then, the sentence Tonks had said this morning suddenly flashed through her mind.

"Rufus Scrimgeour, he's all right."

Rita's pupils constricted slightly, and a chill ran through her heart.

She suddenly realized where she had seen that uncomfortable feeling from the "new Aurors" before.

Months ago, when she was dragged out of a magical trap by the Destiny Group's field wizards, the unsmiling field personnel gave her that same oppressive atmosphere, a suffocating pressure that came from long-term coordinated training.

"Oh, Rufus, don't be so impatient… Miss Skeeter is not a criminal awaiting interrogation."

Cornelius Fudge shook his head, looking at Rita expectantly and said, "If I remember correctly, you said in your previous letters that this information concerns the reputation of a renowned wizard in the wizarding world, a wizard who works at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

"Yes, yes. But it concerns the safety of the students and justice…"

Rita quickly made up her mind, nodding with utmost seriousness under Cornelius Fudge's gaze.

"Minister, Mr. Scrimgeour, I have reliable evidence that Gilderoy Lockhart, who currently works at Hogwarts, the previously famous hero of the wizarding world, is actually a fraud who uses memory charms to impersonate others."

"And even more shockingly, Professor Dumbledore seems to know some of the truth…"

"Oh! Miss Skeeter, that's a rather serious accusation."

Cornelius Fudge said softly, his expression grave, but a hint of irrepressible excitement flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"You should know what this means. Even if only one of them is true, it would be enough to open a formal wizarding court case. The two people you mentioned are both honorary members of the Anti-Dark Arts League and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Oh, Rufus, we're safe talking here, aren't we? Not that I don't trust the Aurors, but this matter may require extra… extra caution and seriousness…"

"Of course, it's even safer here than in my office."

Rufus Scrimgeour frowned, his face as dark as if it were about to drip water.

"Gilderoy Lockhart? I remember he was recently elected as an honorary member of the 'International Anti-Dark Arts League', enjoying the same freedom of travel as Aurors from various countries in the global wizarding world, as well as the right to assist in law enforcement in the event of serious incidents… Do you have any evidence for your accusations?"

"That's right, this is no small matter, do you have any evidence?" Fudge said.

"The evidence is conclusive," Rita said firmly.

"Do you have witnesses and physical evidence? We can't convict someone based on letters alone."

"Yes, I have all of those," Rita said.

"What do you think? Scrimgeour, what do you plan to do now?"

Cornelius Fudge frowned heavily, turning to look at Scrimgeour.

"There's no need to hesitate, verify the evidence, arrest, and trial."

"But, this may involve accusations against Albus Dumbledore…"

"Not yet. Besides, I always have doubts about descriptions after 'shocking'."

Scrimgeour said without hesitation, his gaze thoughtfully sweeping over Rita for a few seconds before continuing.

"As for Professor Dumbledore's subsequent issues, they can only be discussed after Gilderoy Lockhart's crimes are established. If Miss Skeeter's evidence is clear and accurate enough, we may be able to reach a conclusion in the next few days. Of course, the specific handling and coordination will naturally be decided by you, Minister, since the scope of our Auror work does not include those complex communication matters…"

"Hmm, that's true…"

Cornelius Fudge nodded in agreement, his eyes shining with excitement.

"In short, once the Aurors have preliminarily determined the facts, I will immediately convene a ministerial meeting."

"Professor Dumbledore is old and inevitably deceived by a few scheming individuals. As the Ministry of Magic, which maintains the order of wizarding society, we still have a responsibility to help Hogwarts root out the black sheep and fill the loopholes… So, Miss Skeeter, shall we begin?"

"Certainly, Minister…"

Rita Skeeter replied calmly, smiling slightly.

She took out a piece of parchment from her handbag, and the magical quill hovered over the paper.

"First of all, the book *Wanderings with Werewolves*. Due to the Ministry of Magic's recent actions, I intend to write a story about fighting werewolves from the side, but in the process of gathering material, I discovered that the story in this book is actually taken from an old American wizard. He is the real 'hero' who freed a village from the scourge of werewolves, and this is just the first victim…"

In the initial preparations, "the organization" provided Rita with five complete chains of evidence.

However, she only intends to tell the Ministry of Magic about three of them for now.

As a journalist, she is well aware of the pressure of timeliness and urgency. If the Ministry of Magic receives all the information at the beginning, they will undoubtedly invest a lot of time and energy in identifying, discussing, and planning.

But if…

…

The next day at noon.

Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge's office.

Bang!

Cornelius Fudge slammed his fist heavily on the table, rattling the coffee cups.

"Investigate! Who leaked the information?"

On the desk in front of him was today's *Daily Prophet*, spread open, with the huge headline that caught his eye:

[Shocking! Gilderoy Lockhart Publicly Admits *Wanderings with Werewolves* Protagonist is Based on Another Person!]

———

———

Yay!