bioinnovel Chapter 244 The Blushing Scarred Boy
Chapter 244 The Blushing Scarred Boy
Chapter 244 The Blushing Scarred Boy
With the Quidditch World Cup in full swing, Rita Skeeter's return to the media is proving to be a great success.
The consecutive losses of the England, Scotland, and Wales regional teams provided her with a platform to showcase her talent.
With her unparalleled news-gathering abilities in the wizarding community, coupled with her outspoken style, special correspondent Rita Skeeter has returned to the public eye.
In her report, the reason why the three teams lost was not due to technical and tactical issues, but rather because of internal conflicts in the locker room, such as discord between coaches and players.
Rita Skeeter's writing provides a detailed account of the post-match locker room, including what the players said in private, their tone of voice, expressions, and body language.
All sorts of details that shouldn't have been known to outsiders were revealed, as if Rita Skeeter had been hiding in the closet in the dressing room at the time.
As soon as the report was published, the three teams immediately became the target of criticism from the wizards of the British Isles. From the head coach to the players, everyone was subjected to a barrage of insults.
Faced with public dissatisfaction and anger, the three teams could only endure the insults and abuse without daring to refute or resist.
After all, being bad at sports is the original sin; who told them to lose all their matches!
The England team, in particular, suffered a humiliating defeat with a score of 10 to 390, losing face for their ancestors.
In addition to directing the public to criticize the players of the three representative teams, Rita Skeeter also targeted the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, giving Ludo Bagman a thorough dressing-down.
As a former Quidditch professional and current Director of Sport, it's understandable that Bagman would be criticized after his three teams lost consecutive games. However, Rita Skeeter deliberately brought up old stories, subtly implying that Bagman was a Death Eater.
If Skeeter simply focuses on the facts, emphasizing that all three teams lost and criticizing the Department of Sport for incompetence, Bagman is almost certain to be criticized.
However, Rita Skeeter brought up the old story, thinking she could use it to attack Bagman, and then use Bagman's case to attack the Ministry of Magic, but things didn't go as planned.
As Belvina said, people would rather believe Ludo Bagman is a fool than believe he would do anything dangerous.
Even the most ardent fans were quite forgiving of Ludo Bagman; who would hold a grudge against a fool?
Although Rita Skeeter's attempt to do too much at once prevented her report from achieving its intended effect, she still managed to get the Ministry of Magic thoroughly smeared.
If you were to ask who the most hated person in the Ministry of Magic is, Rita Skeeter would definitely be at the top of the list; the staff would love to tear her apart.
Belvina's thoughts were the opposite of those of the department's staff. Although Belvina also disliked Rita Skeeter, who was always at odds with the Ministry of Magic, she admired the latter's ability to dig up news. She always managed to get exclusive information that others couldn't get.
With a wildly imaginative mind, Belvina decided to give it a try: she wanted to recruit Rita Skeeter and make her work for her.
Firstly, Rita Skeeter's ability to dig up news is a sharp weapon against political enemies; she seems to be everywhere, and there is no private matter that she doesn't know.
Secondly, if Rita Skeeter still has potential to be explored further, we could try to train her to become a covert spy, specializing in intelligence gathering.
Thinking about this, Rita Skeeter, that mad dog, didn't seem so annoying anymore; in fact, she seemed kind of cute.
In the kitchen of number twelve Grimmauld Place, Belvina was enjoying her breakfast, constantly devising plans to win over Rita Skeeter.
Sirius and Lupin looked on with suspicion, unable to see the reason for Belvina's high spirits. It was just breakfast, why was she so happy?
"Ahem!"
Sirius cleared his throat and asked, "Belvina, are you sure you're mentally sound? Don't you really need to go to St. Mungo's?"
Upon hearing this, Belvina looked up from her bowl of porridge and said, puzzled, "What's wrong with me? I'm perfectly fine! My physical and mental condition is completely normal."
"Just a few minutes ago you were all 'Rita Skeeter, die!' and now you're all smiles—are you really okay?" Lupin asked with concern. "Were you too tired before?"
Even Harry could tell that Belvina was a little too happy, as if she had won the grand prize in the Daily Prophet.
"I can't tell you yet. I'll share the joy with you after it's all over," Belvina said mysteriously, picking up the half-copies of the Daily Prophet from the table and looking at Rita Skeeter's name with delight.
"Alright, we'll talk about it when you're ready," Sirius said. "We're going to Diagon Alley in a bit, are you coming?"
Belvina shook her head and said, "No, I'm going upstairs to continue sleeping later. I don't have much time to rest, so I have to make the most of every moment."
With that, Belvina reluctantly put down her newspaper and asked, "What are you going to Diagon Alley for?"
"Go buy the stuff we need for the new school year," Harry said. "Standard Spells, Level 4, quills, parchment, and some potion ingredients." He said, pointing with his fingers.
Then, Harry looked at Belvina with a puzzled expression and asked, "Also, why are there dress robes on this year's list? They've never been there before."
As soon as the words were spoken, Belvina, Sirius, and Lupin exchanged glances. They all knew that Hogwarts would be holding the Triwizard Tournament, but none of them intended to tell Harry the truth.
"You'll find out when school starts," Lupin said. "And you'll also find out why Belvina was so busy recently."
Sirius blinked and said, "Work hard, Harry, show off your style in your formal robes and flair, and display your masculine charm!"
What on earth is all this?!
Harry was even more confused; he still couldn't figure out the purpose of the formal robe.
"Hogwarts will have a ball at Christmas," Belvina said. "Don't tell me you don't know what a ball is."
During the foggy time, the scarred boy, who had just turned fourteen, blushed deeply. He understood Sirius's teasing and also grasped Belvina's implication.
"Young man, why are you blushing?" Belvina swallowed the last piece of bread and teased, "Do you already have someone you like? Which academy are they from?"
Sirius Black chimed in, "If you see a girl you like, you'd better hurry. When James was your age, he was already pursuing Lily, and they got married not long after graduation."
Faced with the teasing of his godfather and professor, Harry blushed all the way to his ears, making him look like a crab in a steamer.
He looked to Lupin for help, seemingly hoping that another professor would step forward and end the banter between Belvina and Sirius.
However, Harry's expectations were destined to be dashed. How could someone who could play with James and Sirius be a good boy?
"Now I have to say a few words to you two," Lupin said, seemingly righteously. "How can you two, as elders, interfere in Harry's love life! I think Harry is fine; he will definitely inherit James's perseverance!"
To put it nicely, it's perseverance; to put it bluntly, it's being shameless. Even the most virtuous woman can be won over by persistent pursuit.
At first, Lily didn't like James, and even disliked him somewhat, but James's persistent pursuit and willingness to change eventually led to them getting together.
Hearing his parents' love story, Harry's already flushed face turned even redder, like a red-hot iron, as if it could drip blood.
However, Harry's torment was far from over.
The object of their teasing remained silent, but the enthusiasm of the three of them, including Belvina, remained high. They not only began to discuss the style of the dress and robe, but even planned to open a training class to teach Harry how to woo girls.
"Sirius, how did you woo girls back in your school days? Teach Harry a couple of tricks," Belvina said. "Otherwise, Harry might end up a lonely bachelor forever."
Upon hearing this, Sirius Black looked troubled and said quietly, "I've never pursued a girl; I was always the one being pursued. Back then, all I thought about was having fun; I never considered these things!"
Before Belvina could turn her gaze away, Lupin quickly said, "Don't look at me, I had no experience either. I couldn't even take care of myself back then, how could I possibly pursue a girl!"
After saying that, Sirius and Lupin both turned their gazes to Belvina.
"Belvina, you see, you're a girl, so you definitely understand girls' feelings better than us stinky men—" Sirius said, "Therefore, the important task of guiding Harry is entrusted to you!"
Belvina pointed incredulously at herself.
"I can't, definitely not," Belvina said, unusually modest. "I don't know either!"
She could teach Harry how to fight without any problem; but if you asked her to teach Harry how to woo girls, she really couldn't do it.
"How about I write to Bassheda? She's definitely better than the three of us," Belvina suggested. "But that doesn't seem like a good idea either, she's been single all along—"
"That's enough!"
At this point, Harry, who was about to be driven crazy, finally stood up and said, "I'll go upstairs to pack my things and then see what else I need to buy."
As Harry spoke, he scurried out of the kitchen, not daring to linger for a moment.
Seeing Harry run away, the three of them were stunned for a moment, and then began to discuss the matter of starting a class.
"How about we buy a few books while we're at it? Diagon Alley must have books on that topic!" Lupin suggested. "Reading more books is never a bad thing."
"Is it reliable?" Belvina asked. "We need to analyze specific situations specifically. Will reading books be helpful?"
Sirius slammed his hand on the table and said, "Buy! Buy a few more! Just for reference!"