"Something terrible has happened!"
Harry burst into the meeting room suddenly, holding a newspaper, startling Lorne, who was drinking tea.
" Director Lorne, look at this!" Harry spread the newspaper on the table in front of Lorne.
Before Lorne could even put down his teacup, his eyes were already fixed on the huge headline on the newspaper.
Shocking! Magic Mobile Phone suddenly exploded, causing an eye injury that will leave an adult wizard permanently disabled!
Lorne frowned slightly. As far as he knew, Magic Mobile Phone rarely exploded. Was there some special condition he wasn't aware of? But after reading the entire report, Lorne immediately understood.
Slander! Utter slander.
The entire piece makes no mention of the victim's injuries or current condition, not even their name. It focuses entirely on attacking Lorne and his Magic Mobile Phone shop, accusing them of never having been tested by the Experimental Charms Committee and of being unscrupulous businesses that completely disregard wizard safety.
Lorne realized in a second that this was a propaganda campaign launched against him by Lucius in conjunction with the Pure-blood families.
"Look, Harry, rumors have even become a tool for wizards to attack each other."
Harry probed, "Of course I know the activities last semester were necessary, but Professor, do you have a way to deal with these rumors now?"
"Deal with?" Lorne shook his head. "Don't try to clarify or prove anything—"
"The war of public opinion is all about offense, no defense, only advance, no retreat. First establish a persona, then choose sides; first label, then target."
If we're talking about the hottest buzzword in the Wizarding World lately, it has to be " Magic Mobile Phone." News from the Daily Prophet has spread panic among the public, with many questioning the legality and security of Magic Mobile Phone.
Moreover, most people haven't experienced the Magic Mobile Phone Magic Mobile Phone before and know nothing about it, so they'll naturally be led astray by the official newspaper.
"The situation is not optimistic," Quirrell said. "I went to take the Knight Bus, where it's strictly forbidden to bring Magic Mobile Phone on board. Even elsewhere, the moment I take out my Magic Mobile Phone, people shun me."
Lorne had anticipated this, as he saw in the background that the number of online users on various apps of the Magic Mobile Phone had plummeted.
"It's okay, I've already thought of a solution."
Lorne called an emergency meeting. Sains was not there, and only four people were sitting around the tea table.
" Dobby, please go to the St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and Find out if there are any patients with eye injuries. Ask them what happened, and if it was indeed caused by the exploding Magic Mobile Phone, notify me immediately."
Lorne shifted his gaze to Quirrell and Harry: " The Daily Prophet is an official newspaper controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Openly opposing and clarifying it won't do any good; it will only incite public outrage."
"So the first step is to go along with them, Quirrell. Contact the previous ' The Quibbler ' magazine and have them publish a missing person notice for the victim. They'll offer a generous reward of one hundred Galleon for information leading to the victim's whereabouts. Then tell them that Lorne Myles, the mastermind behind the Magic Mobile Phone Official Flagship Store, will be holding an apology meeting and a security awareness session the day after tomorrow."
Quirrell hesitated. "But they're clearly slandering me..."
Lorne raised his hand to interrupt Quirrell: "They're manipulating the crowd; we can't act rashly now."
" Harry," Lorne looked at Harry with admiration, "This time you might need to sacrifice your disguise."
Harry: "?"
As a grassroots publication, " The Quibbler " often presents opinions that contradict popular views. It is frequently accompanied by hand-drawn, sensational illustrations and jumps out to offer unique perspectives whenever there is major news. Its sales are quite impressive during special periods.
Lorne's missing person ad published in " The Quibbler " caused a huge uproar. At first, the public suspected that he was questioning the authenticity of " The Daily Prophet " and that he was trying to shirk responsibility by publishing the ad. However, their condemnation gradually subsided when they learned that Lorne would be holding an apology meeting the day after tomorrow.
" The Magic Mobile Phone has an explosion risk but wasn't notified in advance. Can we sue them?"
"Yes, make him pay up! A Magic Mobile Phone sells for over eight Galleon, why don't we just rob it!"
"..."
Two days later.
For the first time on a day other than the official launch date, the Magic Mobile Phone Official Flagship Store was packed with people. Wizards who came to watch the spectacle and protest lined up all the way to the end of the alley, and even the entrance to the Borgin and Burkes was crowded with people.
Borgin was delighted with this and even allowed some of his regular customers to watch the show in his shop. He couldn't wait for Lorne to go bankrupt and collapse.
Lorne set up a high platform at the store entrance, and he stood on it amidst a chorus of curses, but the smile on his face remained unchanged.
"First of all, on behalf of Magic Mobile Phone store, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the customers and members of the public who were able to come to the site to supervise the Magic Mobile Phone's work."
"Following this apology meeting, Magic Mobile Phone Store will offer a one-day unconditional refund service. Whatever price you paid, Magic Mobile Phone Store will refund you the original price."
A murmur arose from the audience, with many seeking the opinions of those around them. Suddenly, someone shouted, "That doesn't change the fact that the Magic Mobile Phone can explode!"
The same voices began to rise from all directions of the crowd. Lorne raised his hand to soothe them slightly. "Of course, today is the Magic Mobile Phone Shop's apology meeting. I'm just expressing my sincerity first."
" The Magic Mobile Phone Shop will do its best to compensate customers injured by the Magic Mobile Phone explosion, but unfortunately, I still have no news to this day. Therefore, I am appealing to everyone again to help me find the customers injured by the Magic Mobile Phone explosion. A reward of 100 Galleon will be given to anyone who provides clues."
Customers who had used the Magic Mobile Phone in the audience began to realize something was wrong, and they started whispering among themselves.
"Two or three days have passed without any news of the injured?"
"Isn't anyone going to the hospital? The injured person will surely go to the hospital."
"I've been there, and there haven't been any patients admitted to the hospital for eye injuries in the past ten days."
"Could the news be fake, and someone be trying to ruin Magic Mobile Phone Store?"
"But that's the Daily Prophet. Maybe he's recovering at home?"
Once the crowd had gradually Quiet down, Lorne spoke slowly again, "Regarding the security of the Magic Mobile Phone, I personally led the team to conduct countless tests. Please take a look—"
Lorne stepped back, allowing the crowd to see the Magic Mobile Phone he had placed on the stage.
"We have made the following three guesses regarding the cause of the Magic Mobile Phone's explosion: excessive magic input, excessively long magic input duration, and incorrect magic input method."
"To this end, we conducted the following test, arranging for seven adult Auror to use the Magic Mobile Phone continuously and in various positions for three days, until 3:00 AM this morning."
"But as you can see, it remains perfectly intact."