Albert's voice almost blew the roof off, scaring Rita so much that her teacup nearly dropped to the floor.
"What?"
Rita blinked, completely bewildered.
"Who could I have offended? I just wrote a small article, didn't I?"
"It's your small article that caused me big trouble!"
Albert sneered, walking over to Rita.
"The Ministry of Magic just sent us a formal warning, saying we fabricated stories, maliciously slandered, and severely damaged the reputation of the parties involved!"
"Do you know how long it's been since the Ministry of Magic bothered us?"
Rita's heart sank, but she maintained a facade of composure.
"Why would the Ministry of Magic pay attention to such a small matter? Someone must be behind this."
She stood up, adjusting her elaborate curls.
"Besides, everything I wrote was based on facts."
"If your article was based on facts..."
"Then why are a large number of students and parents jointly reporting us, demanding that we publicly apologize and compensate for their losses!"
Hearing this, Rita relaxed slightly.
She had seen plenty of reports from students and parents; such matters usually ended up being much ado about nothing, eventually fading away.
"Albert, don't be so nervous."
Rita waved her hand, unconcerned.
"It's just a protest from a group of parents; it's not the first time we've encountered this."
"After a while, when the fuss dies down, they'll naturally forget about it."
"At worst, we'll take the article down, and in a while, everything will be fine."
"The newspaper world has no memory."
"Do you think it's only students' parents?"
Albert sneered, pulling a thick letter from his pocket.
"Look at this yourself!"
He slapped the letter onto the table with a thud, the wax seal on the parchment glowing with an ancient luster.
Rita looked down, her pupils instantly constricting.
The envelope was clearly stamped with the Lupin Family crest, alongside the symbols of several other Pure-blood Family she recognized.
"This is..."
Rita's voice began to tremble.
"A formal letter of inquiry from the Lupin Family, jointly with six other Pure-blood Family!"
Albert said, enunciating each word.
"They are questioning why we published false statements and demanding that we immediately cease our malicious slander against Charlie White!"
"If the Ministry of Magic fails to act, they will take all measures to retaliate!"
Rita felt her legs go a bit weak, and she plopped back into her chair.
She, of course, knew the Lupin Family; they were one of the Twenty-Eight Sacred Pure-blood Family.
Although the family's strength had declined after Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom's incident, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse.
Not to mention, there were now six other Pure-blood Family applying joint pressure.
With such a lineup, even the Ministry of Magic would have to think twice.
"How could the Lupin Family go to such lengths for a Charlie White?"
Rita's voice was trembling.
Albert wanted to slap her.
"The healing potion developed by Charlie White cured Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom."
"They now treat him as their savior, so why wouldn't they?"
"I know about that, but how could a Pure-blood Family go to such extremes for him?"
Rita had also dealt with Pure-blood Family; almost all of them were extremely arrogant, looking down on all half-blood and Muggle Wizards.
Moreover, most were driven by self-interest; if you spoke to them about favors, they would likely ignore you.
But she hadn't expected the Lupin Family to be an exception, willing to go to great lengths for Charlie.
Only then did Rita realize she had kicked a steel plate.
She quickly stood up and walked over to Albert.
"Albert, you have to help me!"
"You approved this article back then; we're in this together!"
"Who's in this with you?"
Albert took a step back, a hint of panic in his eyes.
He knew Rita would fabricate stories when writing articles, but for the sake of traffic, he had always turned a blind eye.
Now that trouble had arisen, he absolutely could not let Rita drag him down.
"How was I to know you would fabricate stories? I thought you had really interviewed some inside information."
"You are deceiving me and betraying my trust!"
Just as the two were bickering, a loud crash suddenly came from the office window.
Bang!
Glass shards flew everywhere, and several dark figures burst in through the window.
"Who's there?"
Albert shrieked, instinctively backing away.
Five masked Wizards had already surrounded the entire office, each wearing a black cloak and a silver mask over their face.
The leader was tall, holding a black wand.
"Rita Skeeter, correct?" The leader's voice was deep and cold.
Rita's face instantly turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
It was already too much; why were so many more people coming?
"Who... who are you? What do you want?"
"Who we are isn't important," the masked man sneered.
"What's important is what you did."
He raised his wand, pointing it at Rita.
"Cruciatus Curse!"
"Ah ah ah ah!"
Rita instantly collapsed to the ground, convulsing and letting out heart-wrenching screams.
The pain came from deep within her bones, every nerve burning.
Albert kept his eyes down, pretending not to know her.
The Crucio stopped after a while.
Rita was drenched in sweat, her hair disheveled, her eyes filled with terror.
"Please... please spare me..."
"Begging for mercy already?" The leader of the masked men walked over and squatted in front of her.
"Didn't think it would come to this when you were writing the article, did you?"
Rita wept hysterically, completely broken.
"I was wrong... I was really wrong... I'm willing to apologize, willing to publicly clarify..."
"Smart move," the masked man stood up.
"Tomorrow's front-page headline must be your apology statement. Admit that the previous report was completely fabricated and publicly apologize to the parties involved."
"I promise... I promise..." Rita nodded repeatedly.
"And," another masked man added.
"If you dare to write such garbage articles again, we will make you experience something more terrifying than the Crucio."
Rita shivered and quickly promised:
"I won't... I won't ever again..."
The leader of the masked men nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Albert.
"What about you? As editor-in-chief, don't you bear any responsibility?"
Albert's legs turned to jelly, and he quickly spoke:
"It was all Rita's idea! I was completely unaware! In the future, I will strictly supervise and never allow such articles to be published again!"
"Sensible," the masked man sneered.
"Remember today's lesson."
With that, the five masked men vanished from the office as suddenly as they had appeared.
Only Rita, still sobbing on the floor, and a pale Albert remained in the office.
For the first time, Rita deeply realized that good people, when threatened, wouldn't act, but bad people would.
-------------------------------
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