Two Pieces of News

"Don't get so agitated."

Seeing Rita Skeeter becoming increasingly agitated, Kyle waved his hand and smiled, "I was just joking, why did you take it so seriously?"

Although she seemed a bit fierce on the outside but weak on the inside, Kyle didn't want to push her too far.

Well, it was a bit unexpected. Kyle didn't expect Rita Skeeter's reaction to be so strong, even saying she'd rather expose her Animagus.

At the same time, she also seemed unable to accept the news of Voldemort's resurrection... or rather, she didn't believe it without substantial evidence.

I should have taken a picture of Voldemort back then.

Kyle remembered that he smiled quite happily after his resurrection; he might even be nominated for the Most Charming Smile Award in Witch Weekly.

Of course, that's assuming he had the time at the time.

You'd better be joking.

Rita Skeeter's expression softened considerably, but she still remained somewhat wary.

"Don't worry," Kyle said, "I actually called you here for something else."

Rita Skeeter, who was about to leave, reluctantly sat back down upon hearing this. She really didn't want to stay a minute longer, but she had no choice; the other party had something on her.

Moreover, she also discovered that Kyle and Dumbledore were completely different kinds of people. Although Kyle seemed harmless, he was much more difficult to deal with than most of the people she had encountered before.

Take the Triwizard Tournament for example. Rita Skeeter still remembers what Kyle said to prevent her from writing about him.

He kept saying he was bound to lose and that he would find a reason to shift the blame, but in the end he won the championship, and without any controversy.

She watched all the matches, Kyle had an absolute advantage in every single one... It felt like the other two were just there to make up the numbers.

Looking back now, Rita Skeeter feels like Troll for believing Kyle's words so readily.

When she got home that day, she even wrote a scathing article condemning Kyle overnight, which she kept at home, waiting to publish it after the Triwizard Tournament.

However, ever since Kyle discovered that she was an Animagus, she tore up the article and threw it away.

"What do you want?" Rita Skeeter asked impatiently.

"About Fudge," Kyle glanced around and lowered his voice, "I admire Minister Fudge a lot and would like to know more about him... well, some things that people don't know."

"You've got the wrong person. Fudge is the Minister for Magic."

Rita Skeeter pushed up her ugly glasses. "Besides, you said it's something no one knows, how could I possibly know? If you really admire Minister Fudge, go read his autobiography."

"Flourish and Blotts has them, fifteen Galleon a copy."

"Fifteen Galleon ... I'm just a student, I can't afford something that expensive," Kyle said casually.

"You just said you weren't short of money."

"Yes, I don't lack any," Kyle said, "But that doesn't mean I can afford a book that costs fifteen Galleon."

Then, Kyle didn't say anything more, but instead slammed a photograph on the table. It showed Rita Skeeter undergoing the entire process of Animagus Transformation.

"Smack!"

In the blink of an eye, the photo was covered by a handbag.

"Damn it, you actually took it out like that? What if someone sees it?!"

"No," Kyle said. "I checked, there's no one around...and no bugs."

"How about this compensation? Want to consider it?"

Rita Skeeter's breathing became much heavier, but Kyle didn't urge her. He simply went to the bar and got her another Butterbeer.

Since Old Tom is treating, why not take advantage of it?

Rita Skeeter downed half a glass in one gulp before saying, "I want another hundred Galleon, and you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"No problem, I guarantee it in Dumbledore's name."

"Why Dumbledore?"

"Then I guarantee it in my own name, do you believe me?"

Subconsciously, Rita Skeeter recalled the scene when Kyle confidently declared that he was destined to lose.

She didn't say anything more, but cautiously glanced around. Kyle immediately understood, took out his wand, and whispered:

"Muffliato!"

"Alright, now the people around won't hear our conversation."

Then Rita Skeeter took out a specially made Sneakoscope, and after seeing that it didn't react, she whispered:

"Do you remember that infamous Fantastic Beasts smuggling scandal a few years ago?"

Kyle nodded. He had been forced to participate in the entire capture of Oren in the Forbidden Forest, so of course he remembered.

"According to insiders, he was involved in this. The reason why the Hit Wizard were so eager to catch the one who slipped through the net was because the other party had evidence."

"That person used magic to write everything down, in a notebook."

Kyle raised an eyebrow.

He remembered that back in the Forbidden Forest, Oren had said Hit Wizard he wanted to get a notebook, but he never expected it was because of this.

No wonder there were only Hit Wizard and not a single Auror when they went to the Forbidden Forest that time; it turns out Fudge was involved too.

Unlike the Auror, who are more Hit Wizard to the Minister for Magic, Fudge wouldn't be able to easily cover up the truth once he saw the contents of the notebook.

Kyle thought for a moment, then took out ten Galleon and placed them on the table.

"Wait, this isn't what we agreed on," Rita Skeeter complained. "Why are there only ten Galleon?!"

"Do you want to hear what you just said...? Does a Minister for Magic need to get involved in smuggling Fantastic Beasts? That's such an outrageous rumor, it's more than ten Galleon. I'm starting to suspect you're trying to scam me."

"I assure you, no," Rita Skeeter said seriously. "Besides, he wasn't even a minister when he got involved."

When it comes to uncovering secrets, Rita Skeeter doesn't allow anyone to question her expertise.

This was something she had heard clearly; at a dance a few years ago, she had used her Animagus to sneak in and eavesdrop, and happened to overhear Fudge and another person secretly discussing this.

"If you can produce the notebook, I'll give you five hundred Galleon," Kyle said. "But you have nothing now, so who knows if it's true or not."

"Ha, if I really had the notebook, it would be worth more than five hundred Galleon," Rita Skeeter muttered, but didn't argue further.

She first carefully tucked the photo into a hidden compartment in her handbag, then took the Galleon from the table.

"And here's another piece of news for you." She clicked her tongue, seemingly addicted to the revelation she had just made, treating Kyle as another form of reporting.

"There's a high-ranking deputy minister in the Ministry of Magic named Dolores Umbridge. Not only does she impersonate a Pure-blood, but she also repeatedly steals credit from her colleagues and claims it for herself..."

Kyle was taken aback at first, then said nonchalantly, "What she does is none of my business."

Umbridge isn't important; once Fudge is dealt with, she's just a side issue.

"Don't be impatient," Rita Skeeter said with a smile. "In fact, these ministers knew too, but not only did they not say anything, they also helped cover up the truth."

"I know someone who got fired because of this and now works on a farm in Cornwall."

After saying that, she looked at Kyle with a smile.

Seeing this, Kyle took out another fifty Galleon and placed them on the table.