Chapter 201 - 201: The Beetle Woman

Words : 1839 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

"....." The two exchanged a speechless glance. Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Before Edward could even say a word, an old-fashioned wooden door appeared on its own. The moment they stepped inside, Lilith's voice rang out: "Don't even think about escaping!!" She turned into a blur of black shadow—running, leaping, pouncing, biting—as she chased a dark, glistening water beetle that was zigzagging madly through the air in an effort to evade her capture. When the beetle spotted the door opening, it immediately buzzed its wings and shot toward it at top speed. "Animato Revelio!" The next second, a woman in a vivid green outfit with an exaggerated curly hairstyle and a pair of gem-studded spectacles suddenly fell out of the air, landing flat on her face in a most undignified fashion. "Oh my, first time meeting and you're already bowing to me like that?" Rita Skeeter struggled to lift her head, baring a toothy grin full of golden teeth as she forced out a smile. "Hello there, student…May I ask where this is—" "Stupefy! Stupefy!" She suddenly whipped out her wand and cast a spell. The two red Stunning Spells shot out instantly, one targeting each of them. But before she could celebrate, both spells rebounded in an instant. The first one slammed into her, sending her flying backwards. Before her body even hit the ground, the second spell caught her mid-air, sending her into a spinning, mid-air backflip that ended with her crashing down a full six or seven meters away. "Edward!" At that moment, Lilith leapt up and pounced into Edward's arms. She raised a small paw and proudly pointed at the unconscious Rita Skeeter. "We caught a beetle person!" "Impressive~" Edward handed her a small dried fish treat and gave Susie a piece of dried chicken. "Thank you." As Lilith crunched on her fish snack, she mumbled, "Though she was faking unconsciousness earlier, she tried to sneak away from under Miss Lilith's paw. If you'd arrived a minute later, I'd have caught her again myself." Audrey laughed, "Oh dear, then we came too early and stole Lilith's thunder." "Exactly!" Lilith nodded seriously. "Well then, next time we'll make sure not to make the same mistake." She was absolutely delighted. "Okay~!" Edward gave Audrey a big thumbs-up: You're really getting good at this whole "kid talk" thing. The two of them, along with the dog and cat, approached the stunned figure. Edward flicked his wand and cast a Rennervate, then followed up with a quick Aguamenti that splashed cold water onto her face. Rita Skeeter shot up at once. Still dazed, she rubbed her sore limbs and quickly said, "Wait, wait—it's a misunderstanding! I'm a Hogwarts graduate too! I was just here for a visit!" Edward lazily twirled his wand. "Miss Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet's famous journalist. We've heard quite a lot about you. Surely you didn't sneak in just to 'visit,' did you?" "Er…" She pulled a handkerchief from her bag and began drying her face with a smile plastered on. "Really, I swear, it's just a casual visit." She cleared her throat. "Now that you know who I am, why don't we be friends? Once you graduate, I could even get you a spot at the Daily Prophet!" "No thanks, not interested." Rita's eyes flicked left and right, calculating. "Look, I'll admit sneaking into Hogwarts wasn't ideal, but I didn't actually do anything. Even if you report me, I won't really lose much. But I can't guarantee what I might end up writing in the paper if you do." Edward raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Oh? You're threatening me now? Alright then, let's have a little chat…about your status as an unregistered Animagus, shall we?" Rita's expression instantly changed. She quickly pointed at Lilith and Susie. "They…they're unregistered Animagi too, aren't they? If this gets out, it won't be good for anyone!" Lilith tilted her head in curiosity. "You're saying they're Animagi? Hahaha, sure, let's say they are." Edward laughed. "Then do you know who they really are? Even if you blab, how would you prove it? But you, Rita Skeeter—you being an illegal Animagus? That's very easy to prove." "…" Damn it. When did students get so cunning? Her expression cycled through several emotions in quick succession before she finally forced out a strained smile. "You… what do you want? Galleons? Just name your price, and I'll make it happen." "Sorry, I'm not interested in money." Audrey: "….." Somehow, I feel like that's my line… Edward tossed off the remark casually, then said coolly, "Was your ridiculous article slandering Dumbledore entirely your own idea, or did someone put you up to it?" Rita froze—clearly not expecting a student to ask such a pointed question. "I…I was actually…" Edward added in a flat tone, "Don't bother lying. I'm fairly decent at Legilimency." Bloody hell! He can even use Legilimency?! That's advanced magic! No—he's bluffing…he's got to be bluffing! "…Actually, it's both. I had my own motives…but someone else was behind it too." She muttered inwardly for a bit before ultimately deciding to tell the truth, "Dumbledore's sudden decision to run for Minister for Magic is a huge story I couldn't possibly miss…It's just…how to report it, that was still undecided." "So, the smear campaign against Dumbledore—someone put you up to it, right?" Edward nodded. "Was it Fudge? Or the pure-blood families?" "....." Is this guy really just a student? "…Both." She paused, then broke into a smile. "Actually, you could just pretend you never saw me. I…I could pull some strings to get you a cushy position in the Ministry after graduation. What do you say? Reporting me won't do you any real good." "Well, that's true." Edward nodded in agreement. She brightened. "So—so we have a deal?" "Nope." Edward shook his head and raised a finger. "I'll give you two choices." "First, I go straight to report you. Let you experience the warm welcome of Azkaban's Dementors." "The second one!!" Rita Skeeter shouted without hesitation. "Excellent." Edward raised a second finger. "Second option: from now on, you'll follow my orders. I'll tell you what to report and how to report it, and you'll do it exactly that way." She shrieked in protest, "That's impossible! You're trying to get me killed!" "Oh, then off to Azkaban you go." "…Actually, maybe we can talk this over…" Audrey couldn't stop the twitch at the corner of her eye. Edward lightly tapped his wand against his chin. "Oh, and if you choose to obey me, I'll throw in a little bonus." "What bonus?" "I won't take away your magical abilities." Rita Skeeter: "???" She stared at him blankly. "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean." "I mean…'No Magic is Allowed in This Place.'" (In Ancient Hermes) Rita was stunned at first—then her face went pale. She could feel something change in her body—she had lost the ability to cast spells. "Stupefy!" "Petrificus Totalus!" "Lumos." "Protego!" Nothing happened. She kept waving her wand, in denial, but it was real—she really couldn't use magic anymore. Had she become a Squib? Or a Muggle? In a flash, Rita Skeeter plummeted into despair. Her whole body trembled, and all that remained in her mind was pure terror. "No! No! You can't do this! Don't do this to me!" "Please, I'm begging you—give me my magic back! I'll do anything, anything you want! Just don't take it away!" It was as if her spirit had been drained from her body. Edward had genuinely underestimated just how terrifying it was for a wizard to lose their magic. After decades of magical convenience, it was like a normal person suddenly losing their sight, hearing, and limbs. And worse—she was now something everyone in the wizarding world looked down on: a Squib. It was like falling from heaven into hell. Fear and despair consumed her. "Very good," Edward said calmly. "Next, I want you to dig up every bit of dirt you can find on Fudge, his cronies, and the pure-blood families. Make them the laughingstock of the wizarding world. You slandered Dumbledore? I want you to slander them ten times, a hundred times worse." "Can you do that?" "Yes! Yes! Absolutely!" She nodded frantically. The next second, Rita Skeeter felt her magic return. She immediately cast Lumos, and when the tip of her wand lit up, she finally exhaled in relief. She collapsed to the ground, whispering, "It's back…my magic is back…" Edward gave her a friendly smile. "Well then, Ms. Rita Skeeter. You may go. Remember—I expect to see your report in three days. If not, I'll come find you again." "..." Only now did she realise what she had agreed to. Regret surged in her chest—but there was no way out. That feeling of losing her magic…she never wanted to go through that again. A few minutes later, Rita Skeeter staggered away in a daze. Audrey burst out laughing. "I was wondering what tactic you'd use to threaten her—turns out it was 'No Magic Allowed'. You almost scared her to death!" "I didn't think it'd work so well either," Edward chuckled. "Hopefully the effect lasts long enough. I'm genuinely curious to see what kind of surprise that woman will deliver to Fudge and his friends." Audrey crossed her arms, tapping her chin. "You know, people are such hypocrites. This morning when I read her article smearing Professor Dumbledore, I was so furious—felt like someone like her deserved the harshest punishment. But now? I'm actually excited to see her tear into other people even worse." "Hahahahahaha." Just then, Lilith looked up and asked, "Edward, me and Susie—we helped this time, right? Miss Lilith helped you again, didn't she~?" "Absolutely!" Edward tapped her little nose with his finger. She immediately wagged her tail in delight. "Hehe, yay~!" "Oh, right." Edward suddenly remembered something. "You and Susie ran off to the Headmaster's Office earlier. What exactly were you two planning to do?" "..." Lilith's smile vanished instantly. She twisted around and bolted. "Susie, let's go play with Professor Meowgonagall!" "Okay!" Susie gave Audrey a look, then trotted after her. The young couple exchanged helpless looks. The older the kids got, the more rebellious they became. ——— [Note]: No Extra Chapter since we missed the goal. 385 Powerstones for another one tomorrow. And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~ Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]

Chapter 201 - 201: The Beetle Woman

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