The next morning, when Elijah, still disguised as John Dolores, arrived for work at the Ministry of Magic, reporters from The Daily Prophet had already surrounded the entrance so tightly that it was nearly impossible to pass through.
Armed with their Quick-Quotes Quills, they grabbed every Ministry employee they saw entering the building, bombarding them with questions about the attack on the Ministry the previous night. Their voices were sharp and relentless as they asked whether the incident reflected a serious failure on the part of Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.
Among the crowd, Elijah noticed one particularly conspicuous woman.
She was dressed flamboyantly, with elaborate curls piled high on her head. The hairstyle itself wasn't unusual, but combined with her large chin and exaggerated features, it looked rather awkward.
She was draped in jewelry. Even her glasses were gold-rimmed, with a delicate chain hanging from the frame. Her lips were painted redder than roses, and her fingernails looked like they had been drained of blood from someone else's veins.
Rita Skeeter.
Elijah recognized her immediately.
She was troublesome. Not dangerous, just… revolting.
He slipped into the crowd, intending to avoid Rita Skeeter entirely and circle around to enter the Ministry through another route. But the woman's eyes, sharp and restless like those of an insect, immediately locked onto him.
"John! John Dolores!"
Rita Skeeter shrieked in a high, excited voice, flashing a broad smile that she clearly believed to be charming.
"John, wait! Wait!"
She forced her way through the crowd with her long nails, as if greeting an old friend, and reached Elijah in just a few steps. A heavy, pungent perfume followed her, strong enough to make anyone dizzy.
By age, John Dolores and Rita Skeeter had indeed attended school at the same time. In reality, however, they had barely interacted. People like Rita Skeeter were similar to Lockhart in many ways.
They were cut from the same cloth.
The difference was that Lockhart loved to bask in the spotlight himself, while Skeeter preferred inventing outrageous stories about others.
Elijah instinctively leaned back in disgust. Out of politeness, he refrained from pinching his nose.
"And you are…?"
"How heartless!" Rita exclaimed, pointing a plump finger at him as though she were being flirtatious.
She had clearly prepared before coming here.
News from the Ministry of Magic was hard to obtain. The moment she heard about the incident, she had already begun planning her angle. Interviewing a former classmate was the perfect starting point, especially when that classmate happened to be an Auror.
"Well then, John, why don't we step aside and catch up? And while we're at it, I'd love to hear your thoughts about what happened last night."
Her exaggerated enthusiasm made Elijah feel slightly nauseous.
"Please step aside, Miss Skeeter," Elijah said politely. "I still need to report for work. Otherwise, I might have to invite you to spend a few days in Azkaban."
He walked past her without waiting for a reply.
Rita Skeeter watched his retreating figure without the slightest hint of anger. Instead, her lips curled upward.
Beside her, the enchanted Quick-Quotes Quill was already scribbling furiously across the parchment.
~~~
Regarding last night's attack on the Ministry of Magic, active Auror John Dolores refused to provide any information. However, from his expression alone, it is clear he is deeply dissatisfied with Minister Cornelius Fudge's foolish arrangements. When I interviewed him, his face displayed twelve parts disdain and unwillingness toward the defeated Aurors…
He believes that if he had personally been guarding the Ministry last night, Tom Riddle would never have been able to walk in and leave so brazenly. Given John Dolores's outstanding performance during his school years, I, Rita Skeeter, find myself inclined to agree.
John Dolores also appears to believe that sending a large number of Aurors to hunt two fugitives is completely absurd. When asked about Fudge's decision to deploy Dementors, he sneered with clear contempt. Evidently, while Dementors may be unpleasant, he considers them far more reliable than certain other Aurors…
~~~
Elijah stopped walking.
To be honest, he didn't care if Rita Skeeter damaged the Ministry's reputation. Nor did he care if she invented stories using the identity of John Dolores.
After all, he wasn't John Dolores.
But for the foreseeable future, he needed this identity to search for the key to Vault 12. If that article were published, "John Dolores" would become a celebrity inside the Ministry.
"Miss Rita Skeeter," Elijah said calmly, turning back, "I believe you should remove a few inaccurate statements."
"Oh? Really?" Rita replied sweetly.
Her quill did not pause for even a second.
~~~
As I recorded these truthful remarks, John Dolores angrily demanded that I delete them, calling them 'inaccurate statements.' Clearly, under pressure from the Minister for Magic, all Ministry employees are being tightly controlled…
~~~
Elijah felt a flicker of irritation.
He turned around and stepped forward, but before he could speak, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Wait, John. Don't do anything impulsive."
Tonks had appeared out of nowhere. She had apparently assumed Elijah was about to punch someone and looked extremely nervous.
In reality, Elijah had only intended to reason with Rita Skeeter.
Or perhaps threaten her.
Rita Skeeter, however, seemed completely fearless.
"What do you suppose would happen," she said loudly, "if an Auror attacked a perfectly innocent, law-abiding citizen right here outside the Ministry of Magic?"
"She's trying to provoke you," Tonks muttered urgently.
"Oh dear. A young girl… an affair outside marriage?"
"What did you say?"
Tonks exploded instantly. The same person who had just been urging Elijah to stay calm now lunged forward, ready to claw Rita Skeeter's gossiping mouth apart.
"No need to explain," Rita continued smugly. "I already understand. This is clearly something that can't stand the light of day. Nymphadora Tonks—just like her name suggests—a scandalous—"
Crack.
Rita Skeeter's words ended abruptly.
The floating Quick-Quotes Quill exploded midair. The parchment covered in frantic scribbles disintegrated along with it, crumbling into fine powder.
Rita staggered backward in shock. Her high heels wobbled under her weight. The narrow shoes, already strained by her thick ankles, snapped instantly.
The one who had acted was Elijah.
The sudden commotion drew the attention of everyone gathered outside the Ministry. Even the furious Tonks froze in confusion.
"Mr. Dolores, how could you—"
Rita Skeeter's first reaction was fear.
Her second was calculation.
Unlike Lockhart, the peacock who craved attention, she preferred manipulating public opinion from behind the scenes to gain fame and wealth.
If she could turn this into a scandal about an Auror publicly attacking a civilian, even Fudge might be forced to offer her a hefty sum of Galleons to suppress the story.
Of course, a few Galleons would not satisfy her now.
When that moment came, she would make John Dolores kneel before her and kiss her shoe as an apology.
So she immediately adopted a fragile, pitiful expression, though the attempt at elegance only made her ugliness more obvious.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" she cried dramatically. "A dignified Auror of the Ministry of Magic has just attacked a law-abiding wizard in broad daylight! Is this how our Aurors protect us? Is this the kind of official the Ministry employs?"
"Do you think intimidation will make me retreat? Let me tell you—never!"
"As a respected reporter, my sense of responsibility demands that I never bow to pressure!"
Rita Skeeter spoke with theatrical passion, portraying herself as a fearless champion of justice standing up to powerful forces.
By the time she finished, many of the surrounding reporters and bystanders were already staring at Elijah and Tonks as if they were villains abusing their authority.
"I can't help but wonder," Rita declared loudly, "who exactly stands before me now—an Auror… or a brutal Death Eater?!"
___
I'm sorry, I'm just so fed up with this cold that isn't going away no matter what.. ugh.