Making Trouble

"Sir?" Truman took a deep breath and said loudly, "You're just leaving like this?"

"Is there a problem?" Nott looked at Truman in confusion.

"So that means I'm fine?" Truman was deeply dissatisfied with the Ministry of Magic's attitude.

"Yes, this was entirely a mistake." Nott's tone was highly formulaic.

Truman glanced at Albert beside him and said coldly, "I need an apology, sir. Do you know how much this letter affected me? Do you know how angry I was when I discovered I'd been expelled for no reason? And now you're saying everything's fine, as if you can just brush me off. Do you think a child is easy to bully, sir?"

Truman's tone grew even firmer. The Ministry of Magic actually intended to simply dust themselves off and leave, which truly angered him. Thanks to Albert's earlier coaching, his slightly trembling voice gradually became forceful. "I need an apology from the Ministry of Magic. This whole matter was caused entirely by your mistake and had nothing to do with me. Also, the Ministry must compensate me for emotional distress."

"What? I didn't hear that clearly." Nott's expression stiffened, and even Dumbledore's face became quite a sight.

"Sorry, and compensation for emotional distress, sir." Truman clenched his fists. "One hundred Galleons."

"Sorry, child. I regret the trouble this has caused you, but compensation for emotional distress... there has never been any precedent for that." Nott could not help raising an eyebrow.

"I don't accept your apology, sir. You have no sincerity at all." Truman said angrily, "Do you think you can bully me just because I'm a child?"

Nott and Dumbledore exchanged looks.

"I think that's perfectly reasonable, gentlemen. I was there at the time. When Truman lunged at me after reading that letter, I even thought he'd gone mad. It took me a long time to calm him down, and I suggested that he write a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore." Albert calmly looked at the two men before him without the slightest fear. To be honest, he did not like the Ministry of Magic, at least not when he had read the novels. After seeing how the Ministry handled things, he liked them even less.

After making such a huge mistake, they should at least offer a sincere apology, damn it. What kind of attitude was that, just dusting themselves off and leaving?

To put it bluntly, they were merely a bunch of people abusing their authority. No wonder Voldemort had turned them into such a sorry state.

"Also, I think your apology is completely insincere." Albert narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "I've met adults like you before. One of my former teachers was just like that."

Nott's face immediately darkened.

"Of course, you can just treat us as children." Albert suddenly smiled and patted Truman on the shoulder. "Some people are simply like that. Don't take it too seriously. Let's go back. I'll contact you by Owl; perhaps we can talk about studying."

Nott left, his face dark as he went. He had no idea what he would soon be facing.

"Then goodbye, Headmaster." Albert gave Dumbledore a slight nod. "Thank you for helping Truman solve this trouble. If he had been expelled because of me, I would have felt guilty about it."

"Goodbye, Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Truman." Headmaster Dumbledore left as well.

"Those people are awful." Truman clenched his fist. "What kind of attitude was that? So awful. I really wanted to punch him hard."

"So, do you want to write to the Daily Prophet?" After Dumbledore had left, Albert looked at Truman with a smile.

Just then, he had triggered a task called Truman's Discontent.

"Yes, we have to expose this."

"Remember, you'll have to split half the reward with me." Albert was not afraid of stirring things up at all. The task's rewards were generous: three thousand experience points, along with an additional twenty-five Galleons.

"Fine, you write it. By the way, are your family really lawyers?" Truman could not help asking.

"Of course. They're all lawyers, so I'm actually quite good at this sort of thing. Besides, we did nothing wrong. Society sympathizes with the weak, and people will surely enjoy seeing a Ministry of Magic scandal in the Daily Prophet. When the time comes, we can discuss it with the reporter and make sure our names and photographs don't appear in the paper. Also, keep that letter from the Ministry safe."

Albert knew someone who was perfect for this job.

England, London, Daily Prophet headquarters. Rita Skeeter was pondering today's special edition. There had been no major news lately, which was giving her a headache.

People liked big news. Whether it was true or exaggerated, as long as a newspaper could capture readers' attention, Rita Skeeter considered it a successful paper.

She was questioning her assistant, trying to find some news that would spark discussion.

Not long afterward, several letters were placed on Rita Skeeter's desk. She opened the envelopes. Some insulted her, while others revealed bits of gossip, but one letter successfully caught Rita Skeeter's attention. After reading it, she knew it was exactly the news she wanted, because a photograph was attached as well.

A few days later, the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement became famous. In the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter portrayed it as a department that constantly made blunders and refused to apologize for its mistakes, with an extremely terrible attitude toward handling problems.

Nott was singled out as well. The unlucky man became the target of countless verbal attacks.

At the end of the article, Rita Skeeter wrote that the victim doubted whether the Ministry of Magic was still worthy of trust. He had exposed the matter to the Daily Prophet and demanded fifty Galleons in compensation for emotional distress, which the Ministry had been unwilling to pay. That sum should originally have been paid by the Ministry, and they still owed the child a sincere apology.

When Nott saw the newspaper, he suddenly felt that his earlier decision had been truly terrible. He remembered what the boy had said: "Do you think a child is easy to bully, sir?"

However, the other party had proved with facts that he was not easy to bully.

Not long after the paper was published, it immediately caused a sensation.

Nott was forced to take temporary unpaid leave because the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had suffered for it. Many people sent letters there.

With her pen, Rita Skeeter showed everyone the destructive power of words. After obtaining the accounts and descriptions of the two boys, the reporter skillfully used those words to fabricate the content she wanted, while conveniently throwing the Ministry of Magic into complete chaos.

She was not worried in the slightest that the content would seem unreliable, because the article also included the contents of the letter from the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There was no way they could deny it.

Truman was in an excellent mood. He received twenty-five Galleons as compensation for emotional distress, a sum that was simply unimaginable wealth to him.

Moreover, the female reporter had not revealed either his or Albert's name. Just as Albert had predicted, the Daily Prophet used the matter as its headline, fiercely criticizing the Ministry of Magic and conveniently bringing misfortune upon those people.

Albert was in a good mood too. His task was complete, and he had also gained Truman's friendship. They often kept in touch by Owl during the summer holiday, and Truman could offer him some help with magic.

As for the Galleons he had received, Albert used them to subscribe to the Daily Prophet.