After Mr. Ollivander finished his work, Bagman cleared his throat, his face beaming with excitement. "Now that the wands have been inspected, it's time for the final, and of course, the most important part of today's proceedings."
He raised his voice a few decibels.
"A group photo!"
"Where's Rita? Quick, let's get her up here to take a picture of us."
Bagman gestured to a Ministry of Magic staff member. "A photo of the judges and champions would make for a great publicity stunt, I think."
"Mr. Bagman, Ms. Rita has already left."
"What?"
Everyone, including the two headmasters, was taken aback. Only Dumbledore and Lucius seemed unsurprised.
"I believe the Daily Prophet can't be trusted to report the Triwizard Tournament truthfully, as Ms. Rita always likes to add... well... her own made-up things to her articles," Dudley said, glancing at Dumbledore. "I think Professor Dumbledore knows this feeling all too well, especially after that article about the International Confederation of Wizards conference."
"That article was absolutely brilliant," Dumbledore replied, his usual smile in place. "I particularly enjoyed the part that described me as a stiff-minded old lunatic."
"..."
Given Dumbledore's comment, Bagman couldn't very well ask someone to bring Rita Skeeter back. That would surely offend Dumbledore. Just because he said he enjoyed reading it doesn't mean he actually did.
And Dumbledore wasn't the only one he would be offending. As the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Bagman knew more than most. The other Hogwarts champion, Mr. Dursley, was the youngest member of the Wizengamot. He preferred to keep a low profile, so not many people outside of the Ministry knew about it, and it wasn't widely publicized. In a way, he was a colleague of Dudley's.
"But we need someone to take a photo."
Dudley, as if he had anticipated this, continued, "I've already booked a reporter from The Quibbler for publicity."
In terms of readership, The Quibbler is far more popular than the Daily Prophet. Using them for publicity would surely have a better effect. The Daily Prophet often criticizes The Quibbler for its crazy stories, but aren't they just as bad themselves? Someone who tells so many tall tales, like Rita Skeeter, can become the top reporter...
Excluding the few people who blindly believe the Daily Prophet, most people know that her articles are full of inaccuracies. Still, they don't voice their opinions because everyone around them seems to think the Daily Prophet is the absolute truth.
"If Mr. Bagman isn't happy with that, the Potions and Poisons Daily would be more than happy to help. How about a special feature on the Ministry of Magic just for you?"
"The Potions and Poisons Daily?"
"It's under the Witches and Potions Press..."
Bagman's attention was immediately captured by Dudley's words. If you were to ask what was most popular with young people in the European wizarding world right now, it would be the wizarding cards and novels published by Witches and Potions Press.
"They're going to start their own newspaper?"
"Yes, besides some news, it will also feature a new novels section with a serialization of the second part of the Dragonlance Chronicles. And of course, there will be wizarding card tips and character descriptions. By the way, do you like wizarding cards?"
"Who doesn't? Everyone loves wizarding cards!"
Bagman had already forgotten all about the Daily Prophet and was now completely focused on the special feature.
"I'm all right with this. What do you think, Mr. Malfoy?"
As an old pro, Bagman cleverly tossed the question to someone else.
Lucius, in his unique drawl, spoke slowly, giving Dudley a knowing look. "Supporting a new industry is what the Ministry should do. I'm happy to put the Triwizard Tournament's content entirely in the hands of the Potions and Poisons Daily."
Dudley responded with an equally meaningful statement.
"That's excellent, Mr. Malfoy. I send my regards from Mr. Karkaroff. It's a pleasure doing business with you."
"A pleasure."
---
At Hogwarts, during breakfast, a voice filled with fury rang out, startling the young wizards and causing them to nearly drop their spoons. Hermione stormed in, clutching a copy of the day's Daily Prophet. The students along her path, sensing the "roaring Gryffindor lioness," instinctively parted to clear a path for her.
"Thwack!"
Hermione reached the group from the Disciplinary Committee and angrily slammed the newspaper onto the table, her chest heaving. She had never felt such loathing for a person before.
"How can she just make up such false things?"
"How can she talk such nonsense! Doesn't she know she has to take responsibility for what she writes?"
"I'm so angry!!!"
The main page of the Daily Prophet had three large, bold headlines.
"A Rude, Vulgar Boy."
"Shocking: A Triad Love Affair Between Champions."
"The Hogwarts Champion's Unspeakable Secret."
The content of the first headline was full of slander against Dudley, using ridiculously made-up words to criticize him and portray him as a bad seed. The second headline was a bit more dramatic, claiming that Dursley and Potter had finally met their first love at Hogwarts—that they were inseparable from a girl named Hermione Granger... and yes, that both brothers had fallen for the stunning Miss Granger. In a word, it was a messy, made-up love triangle.
As for the third headline, it was completely absurd. It claimed that the crazy, old lunatic Dumbledore had been fooled by the conspirator Dursley into setting up many strange organizations at Hogwarts, causing chaos throughout the school. And that Dursley was planning an even bigger conspiracy for the future...
Well, it was indeed ridiculous, and the details were a bit off, but maybe she was right.
Although the newspaper was supposedly about the Triwizard Tournament, it didn't actually say what the Triwizard Tournament was. The content only mentioned the two Hogwarts champions, Dudley and Harry, with a particular focus on Dudley. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were only mentioned in passing. If you were a reader, you wouldn't even know who the champions from those two schools were.
The newspaper's content was full of subjective and ambiguous words like "possibly," "perhaps," and "for example." There were very few definite statements. Rather than telling a story with facts, it was a collection of bizarre speculations. It was a case of starting with a name and making up the rest...
Rita Skeeter had always done things this way. Even when she publicly disses Fudge, the Ministry of Magic can't do much about her. You can't stop people from having normal assumptions, can you? Are you hiding something? If you're not, why are you so eager to silence everyone?
This is how Rita Skeeter's reputation was built.