Treasure Boy

"How are you here?"

Albert had just left Hagrid and was on his way back to the castle when he ran into an acquaintance who should not have been at Hogwarts.

"Someone invited me here."

Rita Skeeter's gaze drifted downward and settled on the suitcase swaying slightly in Albert's hand. Curious, she asked, "What's in your suitcase?"

"How many Galleons did Old Malfoy give you?" Albert suddenly asked.

"He was very generous," Rita Skeeter said with a smile.

"That man certainly has plenty of money." Albert sneered. "Who knows how many Galleons he's already spent trying to kill Hagrid's Hippogriff."

"Do you think that Hippogriff is innocent?" Rita Skeeter seemed interested and wanted to interview Albert about his views on the matter.

"This is actually very simple," Albert said calmly. "Someone deliberately grabbed a dog by the tail, got bitten by it, then blamed the dog and decided to beat it to death."

"You do understand it well." Rita Skeeter had naturally looked into the matter, and the actual circumstances were indeed more or less like that.

But what the truth was had nothing to do with her.

She was a journalist.

She was only responsible for newspaper sales.

So-called truth was not that important in the face of a bestseller.

"Who do you think will win this time?" Rita Skeeter pressed.

"Hagrid never had any chance of winning from the start. As for why? Because he has neither money nor influence. He can't bribe Ministry of Magic officials, so naturally he can't win."

"Do you think the Ministry of Magic is corrupt?" Rita Skeeter continued pressing.

"At the very least, it has never been fair." Albert stopped and said to Rita Skeeter, "I can let you in on something. In a little while, you'll understand what I mean."

"What