Chapter 198: Ethan, A Dangerous and Charming Villain
The interview began under rather unpleasant circumstances.
Rita leaned awkwardly over the desk, scribbling the opening line of the interview onto the unrolled parchment: the reason for the invention.
After jotting down the opening line, Rita straightened up and adjusted her glasses, which were adorned with fake jewels.
Though they appeared convincing from a distance, up close the jewels were clearly fake. Despite their realistic appearance, the flaws were obvious to Ethan, who had seen countless jewels.
Rita glanced at George, then at Fred, and asked, "What prompted you to invent the alchemy wand? And why did you think they might be suitable for Squibs to use?"
Fred considered the question carefully before answering. "Probably because it's fun. We'd been wondering if there was an alchemy item that could cast a single spell, helping young wizards who hadn't learned a particular spell yet get some practice with it beforehand.
"That's how we invented the alchemy wand. At first, our target audience was young wizards who hadn't learned many spells yet. But because the spells involved were mostly quite simple, they picked them up quickly after trying them out. So the wands didn't sell well.
"Later, Ethan and Dumbledore discovered that Squibs actually do have magic. They just can't use their meager magical reserves to cast any spells. That's when we realized the people who needed these alchemy wands most were the Squib community, which had always been ignored. So we published the refinement method in an alchemy magazine."
Fred had spoken at considerable length. Rita wrote down just two sentences on her paper: "Invented alchemy wands to swindle young wizards' money, accidentally discovered they work for Squibs."
Rita looked up at Fred, who was staring at the parchment. "You don't need to concern yourself with what I wrote."
Fred and George flushed with embarrassment. Though they had indeed had such thoughts when they first invented it, seeing them written down so starkly was still mortifying.
The witch continued with related questions, including failures during the invention process, magazine reviews, and other topics.
Since this was primarily the twins' invention, Ethan spoke little and listened patiently.
But this gave Rita plenty to work with. She scrawled a long string of text across the parchment.
"As one of the interviewees, Ethan, perhaps because he was the only Slytherin among the three, was excluded by the two Gryffindors."
When asked, the blond boy said little, sitting quietly. But tears seemed to form in his black eyes.
The witch grew increasingly excited as she wrote. She no longer listened to Fred and George, just hunched over her parchment, scribbling away.
Ethan clenched his fists, debating whether to play his trump card.
"We didn't exclude Ethan!" Fred and George protested.
"It's just a writing technique. Readers love this kind of conflicted dynamic." Rita brushed them off, continuing to write:
"After I, as a reporter, pointed out this dynamic, the two Gryffindor boys scrambled to defend themselves in a panic."
*This perfectly illustrates my point. The two of them are clearly staging protests merely to keep up appearances and preserve their friendship.*
"And that boy's silent performance only confirmed it."
Seeing the twins already furious, Ethan decided to have a little chat with this fabricator of falsehoods.
"Enough, Miss Rita," Ethan called out, trying to stop her.
But obviously, the witch wasn't about to listen.
If anything, Rita only grew more delighted. Her quill flew across the parchment, words appearing in rapid succession:
"The bullied boy finally seemed to find his courage. He raised his voice in protest, apparently seeking help from the charming blonde Rita.
"Speaking of this boy, I hear he comes from the Shafiq family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, though his parents died when he was young. He wandered aimlessly, was adopted by Muggles, and his family only found him after he enrolled at Hogwarts."
This experience might well explain his timid personality.
"But with the help of award-winning reporter Rita Skeeter, he will emerge from the darkness."
The witch's face flushed with excitement. Her hand moved so fast it was a blur.
Ethan, his expression darkening with anger, stood up and turned to Fred and George beside him. "You two should step out for a bit. I need to have a chat with Madam Rita."
Noticing Ethan's expression, the two pulled him aside and whispered, "What are you planning to say to her? That woman's nothing but lies. Our dad mentioned her before."
"We just didn't expect her act to be even worse than Dad described."
"Yeah, Dad said a lot of people at the Ministry of Magic were embarrassed because of her reports. Her articles are full of false information, and she's infuriated everyone she's interviewed."
"Plenty of people want to see her taken down, but no one's managed it. You'd be better off not talking to her. You probably can't outsmart her. If we'd known she was the one coming to do the interview, we never would have agreed," George urged, looking regretful.
"It's fine. I've got this. You two head out first." Ethan clapped them both on the shoulders, looking confident.
Meanwhile, Rita was still scribbling away excitedly, completely oblivious to their conversation and not taking Ethan's desire to speak with her seriously at all.
"She's grown far too comfortable hiding behind powerful connections," Ethan sighed to himself.
Fred and George left with worried expressions, but the wizard from the paper still stood there without moving.
Ethan addressed the man directly. "I'd like you to step out for a moment."
As if he hadn't heard a word, the wizard remained where he was, fiddling with his camera.
Just as the red light in Ethan's eyes began to flicker, the witch who had been writing looked up and said to the plump wizard:
"You head out first, Bozo."
Only after Rita spoke did he walk out the door with heavy steps.
Once they were alone, Ethan drew his wand.
Rita nervously rested her hand on her wand, her tone sharp with attempted sarcasm. "What? Is Mr. Jones planning to get rough with me?"
"Get rough? With you?" Ethan glanced at her disdainfully and started casting a spell.
Rita didn't dare let her guard down for a moment, watching his every move.
"Miss Skeeter, I think we should have a little chat." Once Ethan finished casting Muffliato, he sat down in the chair across from her, regarding her with a faint smile as her expression shifted.
"What are you talking about? What beetle? I have no idea what you mean."
Although Rita tried her best to appear calm, Ethan could see her expression change the moment she heard the word "beetle."
"Is that so? You don't understand, Miss Rita? You'll understand soon enough."
Seeing that she was playing dumb, Ethan didn't expose her directly but said slowly, "I'm actually quite familiar with you. Famous author and reporter.
"When our Wizarding Cards shop opened and we wanted to advertise in the paper, someone suggested you for an interview.
"But after we looked into your background, that idea got shot down fast."
Ethan was bluffing.
In truth, he hadn't known much about Rita before this, only from an advertisement for a shop opening. He hadn't needed a reporter like her.
No one had recommended Rita to him. But that didn't stop him from using this fabrication to lend weight to his words.
"A reporter famous for making up stories and prying into wizards' private lives. Tsk, tsk. We don't want any part of that." Ethan shook his head.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Rita was indignant at being accused to her face of fabricating news. She stood up.
Ethan held up a hand, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Don't be in such a rush, Madam Rita. The interesting stuff is still to come."
"When we looked into your various reports, we found some very interesting things."
"You always seem to have access to exclusive news that other reporters can't get."
"And some of this information is extremely private, the sort of thing only discussed behind closed doors."
"Besides, these stories aren't entirely true. If anything, they're one part fact, three parts fabrication."
"And yet you built your reputation by sensationalizing events and spreading false information."
"But that got me curious."
"I happened to have some free time over the holidays. So I tracked down some of the wizards your stories hurt."
"And they all claimed they never fed you that information. They don't even know how you got it."
"This is quite fascinating, don't you think, Miss Rita?" Ethan settled back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, fingers interlaced, thumbs circling each other lazily as he spoke in a deliberately light tone.
When Ethan mentioned he'd done his research on her, the witch felt a chill run through her. Her face went pale as she scrambled to mount a defense.
"That...that simply means my sources are well-established. My informants provided that information in confidence."
*Is that so?*
Ethan's slight smile widened as he pressed on. "I understand you graduated from Ravenclaw, correct? So you must be quite intelligent and well-read."
Rita opened her mouth, but Ethan cut in before she could respond. "Then you must be familiar with a form of Transfiguration: Animagus transformation."
"Professor McGonagall is one of the registered Animagi. I recall Dumbledore mentioning that she had practiced very hard to perfect this branch of Transfiguration for her teaching, eventually mastering it."
"Then she should have demonstrated it back in your school days, right?"
"An Animagus? I don't know anything about that!" Rita's face grew even paler. She felt a hint of danger. She sensed that Ethan might actually know some of her secrets.
"Is that so? That's truly regrettable. A well-read Ravenclaw like yourself doesn't know what an Animagus is."
Ethan feigned regret with a sigh.
He glanced at Rita, who was so nervous she kept adjusting her glasses.
"Among all the accounts I've read, I found a small but common detail. Something that appeared every time someone shared their secrets. Madam Rita, do you know what it is?"
"What?" The witch's heart leaped into her throat. Her pulse hammered.
"All these people saw a creature. A flying creature."
But this creature was seasonal. It shouldn't have appeared out of season, yet it showed up alongside them.
"What do you think is going on here? Strange, isn't it?"
"Very strange indeed." Rita swallowed nervously, forcing a smile.
"Right. You feel it too, don't you? How could insects appear in all four seasons?" Ethan smiled. He didn't expose Rita as an unregistered Animagus.
But the information he'd revealed was enough. He knew her secret.
"Indeed, indeed." Under Ethan's continued pressure, Rita slumped back in the chair, barely managing a response.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "So, Madam Rita. If you don't want to end up in Azkaban like a certain professor from Ravenclaw, you know what to do, don't you?"
"I understand." Realizing Ethan wasn't going to expose her directly, Rita relaxed slightly.
A punishment, then a reward. Now that the blow had been dealt, he should offer something to soften it.
Glancing at those glasses set with fake jewels, Ethan fumbled in his bag. He pulled out about twenty Galleons from what remained of his budget for the year and set them on the chair she was using as a desk.
"Write it properly. Just consider this your payment."
"No, no need." She glanced at the golden Galleons and struggled to look away.
Although she was an award-winning reporter who had written several best-selling biographies, her life could hardly be called wealthy.
After all, she had to spend considerable amounts of money on dressing up and maintaining appearances. Otherwise, her glasses wouldn't even be set with fake jewels.
"Take it." Ethan really didn't care about such a small sum. Besides, while he already had leverage over her, sweetening the deal with some gold would likely make Rita more cooperative.
Though he hadn't yet figured out what benefits this arrangement might bring him, having a reporter who could speak up for him couldn't hurt.
Stealing a glance at Ethan, Rita carefully slipped the Galleons into her handbag.
Seeing that Ethan had no further demands, she relaxed considerably. She'd found a way to make herself useful to him. At least for now, she wouldn't be sent to Azkaban.
Color returned to the witch's face. She dug a handkerchief out of her bag and dabbed at the beads of sweat that had formed from her earlier nervousness.
After touching up her makeup, Rita said tentatively, "Shall we call them in to continue the interview?"
"Sure, why not." Ethan had no objections. After all, he wasn't the one who had lost his composure.
"Did I really look like a major villain up there?" As he recalled his performance, Ethan shook his head and laughed softly.
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