https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-283-Come-on-Tom-Let-s-Hurt-Each-Other/12538401/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-285-Ancient-Runes-and-Professor-Babbling/12538403/
Chapter 284: The Daily Prophet
Chapter 284: The Daily Prophet
After asking several times in a row and receiving no response, Kyle reluctantly put his diary back into the box.
Was that it? He had more explosive content to fabricate...er, I mean, reveal.
Such poor mental fortitude.
Kyle placed the box, along with the ink bottle, back under his bed and then tidied up the parchment on his desk.
After a careful inspection, he found two more mistakes, both of which were minor details that could easily be overlooked if one wasn't paying attention.
One of them could have been a coincidence, but three in a row? It was obviously intentional.
Riddle was definitely not an honest kid. In just a few days, he was already plotting something.
Kyle shook his head and, using The Book of Magic Runes as a reference, began to peruse the rest of the parchment.
...
"Kyle, where have you been all day?"
As dusk fell, Kyle had just left the Room of Requirement when Fred and George rushed over and pulled him to sit at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
"I was reading," Kyle replied. "What's up?"
"Reading...all day?" Fred sounded incredulous.
"And you even missed lunch!" George exclaimed. "We waited for you in the Great Hall for two hours."
"I got too absorbed in my book and lost track of time," Kyle explained calmly.
"Why are you looking for me?"
"No wonder you got full marks..." Fred muttered, but didn't press the issue further.
He pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet.
"I know why Lucius Malfoy was so angry. Take a look at this!"
Kyle glanced at the familiar photo of the flying car on the front page of The Daily Prophet and paused for a moment.
"Why are you guys holding on to a newspaper from a few days ago?"
"It's today's paper; they just used the same photo," George replied.
He pointed to the eye-catching headline above the photo: "Conspiracy at King's Cross Station, Savior's Life Hanging by a Thread."
Once again, it was an article by Rita Skeeter.
But unlike the previous article that had condemned Mr. Weasley, this time, he was portrayed as a thoughtful and cautious hero.
Although it was just a single sentence of praise...it was still a rare occurrence in Rita Skeeter's articles, which were usually filled with criticism and scandal.
However, the rest of the content was not so friendly.
"We have learned that on the first day of the Hogwarts term, the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was suddenly closed early, resulting in two students being unable to enter the platform.
An insider has revealed that one of these students was none other than Harry Potter, the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..."
The article went on to describe the scene in great detail, as if Rita Skeeter had been present herself.
"Closing the platform entrance early would require an extremely advanced Confundus Charm, something even an Auror might struggle to achieve...
But according to a student's parent, they spotted a figure in black robes at King's Cross Station, resembling the infamous Death Eaters of the past.
The Ministry of Magic official responsible for guarding the platform also stated that he was erasing the memories of a Muggle family when he was drawn by the sound of owls. They inadvertently witnessed a wizard entering the platform."
...
Kyle turned to Fred and George and asked, "Were you seen by Muggles?"
The Weasley family were the only ones who had entered the platform before the entrance was closed.
Kyle nodded and continued reading.
"Is this a coincidence? Or was the platform closure a carefully planned conspiracy, with someone aiming to kill Harry Potter and take revenge for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?
And that person might be hiding among the parents sending off their children..."
"We received a letter from home this morning." Fred's voice held a hint of pleasure. "Dad's investigation is over."
"Thanks to you, Kyle," George said, patting him on the shoulder.
Kyle shook his head. In fact, even without his intervention, Dumbledore wouldn't have stood idly by while Mr. Weasley lost his job; it just wouldn't have happened this quickly.
"Looks like Lucius Malfoy probably got wind of the news that Mr. Weasley was in the clear."
Kyle smiled and said, "No wonder he said 'the Weasleys' instead of 'you' yesterday when he said they wouldn't always be so lucky..."
"That's right."
Fred couldn't help but laugh. "And there's more. Look at this!"
He turned the newspaper to the next page, where there was another paragraph.
"The Ministry official guarding the platform said that he saw a total of six wizards at King's Cross Station, including Lucius Malfoy..."
Upon seeing this name, Kyle immediately understood what Fred and George meant.
Lucius, already bearing the label of a "suspected Death Eater," would likely have been investigated by Fudge upon learning of this incident.
"Rita Skeeter... she's incredible."
Fred smacked his lips. "We prepared three letters, but only sent one."
"The other two letters were thrown away," George said with a shrug. "Her article was much more detailed than ours."
"Maybe someone else wrote to her as well," Kyle suggested.
At that moment, Harry, who was sitting nearby, spoke up thoughtfully. "Look here... only people at school know that I crashed into the Whomping Willow, but she also seems to know about it."
"That's right, we thought so too," George laughed.
Although the development of events was a bit beyond their expectations, as long as Mr. Weasley passed the investigation safely, who wrote the letter didn't matter.
...
In the wizarding world, any topic related to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or Death Eaters would instantly become a hot topic of discussion.
Even though a day had passed, students in the Great Hall still stole glances at Harry from time to time during dinner.
At the head table, Lockhart was also chatting with the other professors about the incident, boasting that if he had been at the station, he would have surely captured the Death Eater.
As for Harry... he didn't pay much mind to these gazes.
Mainly, after such a long time, he had already grown accustomed to it... and it was better than how it had been when he first started school last year.
Moreover, he had other things on his mind.
To be honest, after reading the Daily Prophet that day, even Harry himself was starting to doubt if everything was true.
It all seemed too coincidental.
He couldn't help but think again of Dobby, the house-elf who had intercepted his letters during the holidays and caused him to receive a warning from the Ministry of Magic.
That creature also didn't want him to return to Hogwarts.
Why was it doing this? Was it involved in what happened at the platform? Was there a connection between it and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named... or the Death Eaters?
Harry was perplexed.
...
(End of Chapter)
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