Chapter 405: News
Chapter 405: News
Voldemort also opened the newspaper in his hands.
The incident on the island a few days ago finally made the news, but the newspaper downplayed the event in a light-hearted tone.
【Ministry's Heroic Operation: Saving Muggle Children!】
【Special Report by Daily Prophet correspondent Rita Skeeter: On December 12th, the British Ministry of Magic, together with civilian wizards, successfully rescued 82 abducted children from an unnamed island near Iceland. Among them, seven were from the UK. Four of the rescued children possessed magical abilities but were beyond school age.】
【It is understood that the majority of these children came from North America, Asia, and Africa, with over half from the Middle East. Due to the prolonged state of war in their home countries, orphaned children also became commodities for sale.】
【The investigation revealed that some children had suffered varying degrees of abuse, and most were malnourished due to insufficient food. After treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital, these children's health has significantly improved.】
【The Ministry's spokesperson disclosed that the Ministry has contacted Muggle governments, and these Muggle children will be sent to Muggle orphanages to find reliable families for adoption. Children with magical abilities will be funded by the Ministry to study basic magic correspondence courses.】
【In recent years, with frequent cases of missing children in the Muggle community, Muggle governments will establish a more comprehensive system to prevent more children from going missing.】
【The author learned that there is a rumor that one child, due to abuse and harm suffered on the island, gave birth to a Silent One and escaped, although this information has not been confirmed yet.】
【The Head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour, stated, "There is indeed such a rumor, and we are still investigating the specific situation."】
【It is common knowledge that the Silent One is an extremely dangerous and unstable dark magic force, very difficult to control. If there is indeed a Silent One rampaging on British soil, how can we protect our safety?】
【Here, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge also appealed to the broad wizarding families to strengthen the guardianship of their children. We need to work together to create a safe and healthy environment for their growth.】
This report, until the end, did not mention the names of Dumbledore or the Hogwarts professors at all, merely generalizing them as "civilian wizards."
—As if this incident was discovered and the children were heroically rescued by the Ministry.
Even throughout the article, there was no mention of the identities of the criminals, as if they had emerged from the ground.
However, most readers who read the report would naturally assume that the criminals had been punished and that the matter was concluded.
Yes—just like Harry at this moment.
He quickly read the newspaper while biting into his bread, and said vaguely, "The Ministry is quite impressive... I hope to become an Auror after I graduate."
Michael stared at him with wide eyes, seeing that Harry seemed sincere, and was astonished.
—Even without knowing the deeper inside story, didn't Harry forget what Percy Weasley had said during the meeting that day?
Harry didn't think that much, as he also received a newspaper, but didn't have time to read it in detail—but since the incident had only been reported after so many days, the Ministry must have resolved the subsequent issues, right? At this moment, Harry had not yet been slandered by the fabricated newspaper, and like most ordinary people, he trusted official institutions.
He did not realize that the Ministry was also composed of wizards with personal interests, but regarded it as an authoritative and impartial whole.
Harry quickly finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth, casually tucked the newspaper under his arm, and hurriedly said, "I have to go... I need to tell Ron and Hermione not to sign the detention list..."
Harry rushed off, and Michael pointed at his back, then looked at Voldemort, incredulous. "Doesn't Harry have any doubts at all?"
Voldemort said without looking up, "He's not a Ravenclaw."
This wasn't much of a reason, but Michael was immediately convinced.
"...I guess so." Michael said helplessly, "One day he will realize that you can only trust half of what you read in the news, especially when the article is written by Rita Skeeter, the rumor mill."
He flipped through the newspaper and said curiously, "It's strange, this article doesn't seem to match Skeeter's usual style."
"What style is that?"
Voldemort turned the page, continuing his reading.
"She would probably write something like this..." Michael mused, clearing his throat. "We must deeply reflect on what caused this tragedy. Is it because of the Ministry's inaction that the Silent One escaped? I've heard some rumors, and behind it all lies a terrifying truth..."
Voldemort couldn't help but laugh as Michael perfectly imitated Rita Skeeter's sensationalist tone.
At just thirteen, Michael could discern Rita Skeeter's style from the newspaper, unlike Mrs. Weasley in the original story, who was often deceived by various hypocritical statements, leading to deep misunderstandings about Hermione.
"Perhaps this time, she truly uncovered the terrifying truth... She knows a lot of inside information, which is why she dared not write it," Michael added, flipping to the next page.
Voldemort continued reading, skimming through the lengthy introduction of the Silent One, who had been dead for decades. Cedric Barebone (Aurelius Dumbledore) was once again brought up, and the journalist exaggeratedly described the destruction he had caused.
The journalist of this article clearly hadn't done their research. They used conspiracy theories to falsely attribute the fire in Paris started by Grindelwald to Cedric as well. However, if one were to read it as a regular novel, it would be quite enjoyable.
Voldemort put down the newspaper and casually observed his surroundings.
There weren't many students reading the newspaper, and even fewer continued to follow the story after finishing it.
The students, who had been tense due to Percy Weasley's assembly, now felt like Harry, believing the matter had come to a close—except for the Silent One, whose whereabouts remained unknown, possibly still in Great Britain.
Voldemort could understand this.
In his previous life, even when he heard about fires, earthquakes, and floods in certain places, causing extremely adverse events, as long as they weren't close to him, most people remained indifferent.
They neither participated, discussed, nor cared. At most, they would give a thumbs-up when they scrolled past the news. That was it.
However, Voldemort felt a sense of helplessness towards the apathy of the crowd, perhaps because there were too few people in the magical world, or perhaps because he himself was personally involved.
"Let's go," Michael said, putting on his backpack and urging Voldemort. "It's time for class."
Voldemort remained silent.
The morning of the week began with three overlapping elective classes.
He rolled up the newspaper and stuffed it into his backpack, then touched the Time Converter hanging from his neck and stood up.
...
Despite the approaching Christmas holidays, the difficulty of each subject did not decrease but increased. After a morning of classes, even Voldemort was busy and couldn't spare time to think about other things.
It wasn't until after lunch that he turned the Time Converter back and finally had time to contact the people he wanted to reach.
[Ferdinand: Are you coming back for the holidays? Of course, if you want to stay at school and celebrate with your friends, that's fine too. It's just that your mother saw the news and really wants to see you.]
[Fiona: Your dad wants to see you too; he's just too shy to say it!]
There was also a mischievous smiley face drawn at the end.
Voldemort smiled and put away his friend's account, inserting the Communicating Pea into his ear.
The Communicating Pea, enhanced with various functions, had naturally been sent to his parents, friends, and several important contacts.
Voldemort leaned against the window and pressed the pea, "Connect to Fiona Grey and Ferdinand Grey."
The phone rang twice and was immediately answered.
"Hey, Voldemort!" Fiona's cheerful voice sounded. "Are you off class?"
"Yeah," Voldemort replied, unable to suppress the smile that tugged at his lips. "I'm free now."
Then Ferdinand's voice came through, "You saw today's newspaper, Voldemort?"
"I did."
"This is today's hottest news!" Fiona continued, "It's all over the Daily Prophet! Even the Muggle news—Reuters, Associated Press, and The Telegraph are all talking about it."
Voldemort gazed at the distant gloomy sky and said, "There are also some rumors in school—for example, the number of abducted children is not just 82."
"I can imagine," Ferdinand said. "Those are just the ones rescued this time... I was just thinking, perhaps the Johnson family was also..."
"Dad," Voldemort paused. "Carrow is here... at Hogwarts."
He originally didn't plan to bring this up, but Vold was also worried. What if one day, Kariel "accidentally" ran into the Grey couple on the street and then used the previous relationship between the two families to deceive them into trusting him? If the parents didn't understand the situation, it would be difficult to guard against such a scheme.
He didn't want his original intention of protecting his family to eventually become the push that put them in danger.
"What?"
Ferdinand exclaimed, and Fiona also gasped.
After a long period of silence in the Communicating Pea, Vold finally heard Ferdinand's somewhat strained voice, "How... how is he doing now?"
"He's fine," said Vold. "He's lively and learning magic well."
"Then... does he know... does he know that Mrs. Johnson has..." Fiona couldn't continue, overcome with emotion.
"I don't know," Vold replied, lowering his eyes. "After the reunion, he has never mentioned his parents. I suspect he might have forgotten about them—you know, magic can easily do that."
"And Kariel... I'm certain that during his disappearance, he was influenced by some bad elements. I just want to tell you—if you ever run into him... don't trust him."
"I understand," said Ferdinand.
Vold thought he heard a very soft sigh, like an illusion.
"Poor Anne..." Fiona murmured.
Anne Johnson, Kariel's mother, was first affected by the Forgetfulness Charm and later strangled by a magical necklace in the hospital.
Fiona didn't like that lady much before, but now that she's passed away, Fiona could only remember the good things about her.
"Do you remember, Vold? Anne's cookies were delicious. Every time we visited, she would bring some for us. No matter how busy she was, she never forgot..."
Fiona's voice choked with emotion.
Vold remained silent, waiting for her to compose herself, or rather, for his father to comfort his mother. Then he changed the subject.
"In a couple of days, when the holiday starts, I want to invite some friends over. Is that okay?"
"Of course," Fiona quickly replied. "I'll help you tidy up the room."
"This house is too small, and with us here, the kids won't have as much fun," said Ferdinand. "Vold, you can bring your friends to stay at the Westminster house. It will also be more convenient for participating in the Christmas activities."
"Okay," Vold agreed naturally.
In truth, he understood that his father was concerned about the destructive power of a group of boys and didn't want his mother to be too exhausted.
"We can't have the Christmas dinner outside, either," said Fiona. "I'll buy the best turkey in advance... Who's coming, Vold?"
"Harry and Michael... I'll ask the others later," said Vold.
"Harry? The Hero of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter?" Fiona exclaimed in surprise. "Is he the same child who fought the basilisk in the Daily Prophet?"
"Yes... yes, it's him," said Vold.
"Oh my! Oh my! Harry Potter is coming to our house..." Fiona exclaimed. "I never imagined... He must possess extraordinary power to have saved the world as an infant..."
Vold asked, "Have you been watching superhero movies lately?"
"What?" Fiona didn't catch what he said.
Vold said, "It's nothing..."
...
After chatting with his parents for a while, Vold ended the call just before an hour passed.
One advantage of the Communicating Pea is that no matter how long it's used, it won't overheat.
Vold pressed the Pea again, "Connect to Rita Skeeter."
"Buzz—"
"Oh, I knew you'd contact me."
Rita's voice sounded hurried, with a lot of chaotic background noise.
She quickly walked somewhere with a "clack-clack" sound, and with a "bang," the surroundings finally became quiet.
"The newspaper has been busy these days. Let me tell you first, the report in that ghostly form was not my intention. But if I didn't write it like that, someone else would have replaced me. I had no choice."
Rita Skeeter explained quickly.
"I understand," said Vold. "I want to ask you, what are the plans after the Ministry of Magic? Do you have any news about Mabel?"
(End of Chapter)
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