bioinnovel Chapter 311 A Series of Dirty Tactics
Chapter 311 A Series of Dirty Tactics
Chapter 311 A Series of Dirty Tactics
Normally, when people see a strange beetle, they don't associate it with the Animagus.
But Belvina is no ordinary person; her brother happens to be an Animagus, and one that the Ministry of Magic had never recorded before.
Therefore, there is precedent for illegal Animagus acts in Belvina.
Besides Sirius, Belvina also knew another Animagus, Minerva McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall's Animagus form is a tabby cat, and when she transforms into a cat, the markings around her eyes are exactly the same as the square glasses she usually wears.
Coincidentally, the unscrupulous journalist Rita Skeeter also had a habit of wearing glasses, and the markings on the antennae of the beetle outside the window looked exactly like Skeeter's glasses inlaid with fake jewels.
The beetle's strange behavior, the familiar markings on its antennae, the déjà vu—it's hard for Belvina not to make some kind of connection.
If Rita Skeeter is indeed an Animagus not recorded by the Ministry of Magic, then her unsubstantiated firsthand information makes sense.
First, he transforms into Animagus form, then he eavesdrops and spyes, then he embellishes the story and writes it into an article, which is then published in the Daily Prophet.
Others might not care about a strange beetle, but Rita Skeeter just happened to run into Belvina, which can only be described as courting death and walking into the line of fire.
In the Three Broomsticks tavern, the group of people sitting around the table listened to Belvina's analysis and all agreed that what she said made a lot of sense; Rita Skeeter was most likely an illegal Animagus.
If this gets out, Rita Skeeter's life is basically over.
She'll lose her job at the Daily Prophet, face punishment from the Ministry of Magic, and might even get a ticket to Azkaban.
Everyone makes mistakes, big or small. As long as they go unnoticed, even the biggest mistakes don't matter. But once discovered, even a small mistake can become a huge one.
Moreover, Rita Skeeter's mistake was no small one.
Illegal Animagus, spying on others, spreading rumors and slander—every mistake she makes is enough to get her into serious trouble.
Belvina grew happier the more she thought about it. She had been waiting for this opportunity for so long, and now she finally had a chance to get her hands on Rita Skeeter. The fate of this unscrupulous reporter was entirely in her hands.
In high spirits, Belvina couldn't help but smile, preoccupied with how to handle Rita Skeeter, to the point that she looked completely out of place with the three brooms.
For the next half hour, Belvina remained all smiles, as warm as a spring breeze.
While everyone gossiped about Hagrid's pursuit of Madam Maxime, she smiled and didn't take the opportunity to tease Harry.
While everyone was concerned about Dumbledore's love life, this centenarian, she was still smiling and did not take the opportunity to make fun of him.
Even when Sirius said she looked like a fool, she didn't get angry and continued to look at Sirius with a smile, which made Sirius feel uneasy.
The small symposium, which took place amidst Belvina's gentle and perfunctory manner, came to an end, and everyone dispersed.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to stay in Hogsmeade to explore further; they rarely had a chance to relax, so they naturally wouldn't return to school immediately.
Sirius Black and Lupin did not go to see Dumbledore; after leaving the Three Broomsticks, they returned to London.
The British Isles are currently rife with undercurrents, and the two unemployed men naturally have to shoulder heavy responsibilities and make preparations in advance.
Therefore, on the path connecting Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, only Professors Belvina and Bassheda strolled leisurely back to the school.
"So what if you find out Rita Skeeter is an Animagus? Why are you so happy?" Bassheda asked, puzzled.
Belvina was unusually happy, overly so, and Bassheda suspected she had other ulterior motives.
"A month ago, I wouldn't have been this happy," Belvina said with a smile. "Right now, I just need someone to discreetly gather information for me, and Rita Skeeter is the perfect fit."
What a coincidence! Just as Belvina was about to take a nap, Rita Skeeter handed her a pillow.
Bassheda thought for a moment and said, "What you're asking her to do must be very dangerous. Do you think she'll agree?"
"That's not up to her," Belvina said confidently. "Although it's dangerous, the terms I offered are hard for her to refuse."
Taking advantage of someone's misfortune or looting a fire—these kinds of phrases were prepared for Belvina today.
"While freedom and career are important, I think Skeeter probably still wants to live," Bassheda said. "Live well, even if it's poor."
"No, no, no." Belvina shook her finger. "The conditions I offered are dangerous, but if she can complete them successfully, her career will reach new heights. She might even be able to replace that old man, Gufe."
Belvina looked at Bassheda and said solemnly, "For someone like Rita Skeeter, profit is everything. If she backs down because of danger, it only means that the profit isn't enough."
"What do you want her to do?" Bassheda asked. "It can't be—"
"Shh!" Belvina held up one finger, gesturing for silence. "Tell me, are the conditions I offered tempting enough?"
"It's tempting, but it's still too dangerous," Bassheda said. "I don't think Rita Skeeter would risk her life to track down the Death Eaters."
"What if she didn't know her target was a Death Eater?" Belvina said dismissively. "What if she thought she was just investigating a high-ranking official, investigating corruption within the Ministry of Magic?"
In short, it was all about concealment.
First threaten them, then lure them in with bribes, and then we'll talk.
Once Rita Skeeter begins her investigation, everything will be out of her control.
"Aren't you worried that she'll betray you after she finds out the truth?" Bassheda was still somewhat worried.
But then I thought about it again, and Rita Skeeter's biggest trump card was the Animagus. With her hand already revealed, her trump card was useless.
"What could she possibly betray me for?" Belvina said nonchalantly. "Crouch already knew I was secretly investigating him."
Bassheda thought for a moment, then asked, "So what do you plan to do with Skeeter? Are you going to catch her red-handed, or confront her directly?"
"With the first competition just around the corner, Rita won't miss this big news," Belvina said. "But Dumbledore forbids her from going near the school. Guess what she'll do?"
It's obvious that Rita Skeeter will transform into a beetle and infiltrate the school, just like she has done countless times before.
"If she felt isolated and wanted to choose an ally, who would she choose?"
"Slytherin," Bathsheda said firmly.
Belvina snapped her fingers and said, "Slytherins don't heed Dumbledore's orders; they'd be happy to help Rita."
As is well known, Slytherin House is a pure-blood stronghold and the stronghold of Death Eaters. As long as it can cause Dumbledore trouble, they would not mind providing Rita Skeeter with assistance.
Even if Dumbledore finds out, given the headmaster's past treatment of Slytherins, he won't make things too difficult for these brats; he'll most likely let them off easily.
It would both annoy Dumbledore and avoid too much risk, so why not?
As long as Belvina keeps an eye on the Slytherin who intends to cause trouble and guards the area around the playing field, she can catch Rita Skeeter, the beetle.
Then she can coerce or entice Rita Skeeter to investigate Barty Crouch, using her most effective methods to uncover the secrets hidden by the Crouch father and son.
After a fruitful weekend at Hogsmeade, time suddenly sped up, as if someone were fiddling with the hands of a clock, fast-forwarding to November 24th.
That morning, Belvina woke up early and, as usual, took out her hazel wand and fiddled with it for a while.
Ever since Sirius brought her the hazel wand, Belvina has been holding it in her hand every morning and evening, trying to cast spells.
As expected, the hazel wand remained in a "withered" state, refusing to cast spells, and even the most basic wand illumination charm could not be cast.
However, this time Belvina did not give up easily. She tried to reconnect with the hazel wand, cultivate a compatibility, and strive to awaken the wand that had been withered for many years.
The same thing happened this morning.
After several failed spellcasting attempts, Belvina remained calm and took out her wand care tools to clean and care for her hazel wand little by little.
Belvina showed no favoritism; the acacia wand received the same meticulous care as Harry's, and the situation of the wand being covered with fingerprints never occurred on Belvina.
After doing all this, Belvina went out to the auditorium for breakfast.
The auditorium was filled with a tense atmosphere today, and most people became uneasy, as if they were the ones about to participate in the first activity.
At the long table in Hufflepuff, a group of people were gathered around Cedric, some offering words of comfort and others encouraging him.
Belvina watched from afar, feeling a little regretful; there were too many people around Cedric, leaving no room for Cho Chang.
Shortly after, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared together in the Great Hall.
Compared to Cedric, who received all sorts of blessings, Harry, also a warrior, was not so lucky.
The Gryffindor students cheered Harry on, while the Slytherin students mocked him and gave him a coin to prevent him from crying during the competition.
The Hufflepuff students didn't mock Harry; they just gave him a cold look and then turned away, as if Harry had never existed at Hogwarts.
Time seemed to fly by on the day of the competition, as if someone had stolen it.
One second they were enjoying breakfast in the auditorium, and the next they were braving the November wind to head to the competition venue.
The Triwizard Tournament, which the Hogwarts students had been eagerly anticipating since the opening banquet, finally began on this chilly afternoon.