Luna delivered her message and quickly left, she had to continue riding her "little donkey" backward to distribute Christmas gifts door-to-door.
William and Hermione walked her to the street and watched her disappear into the swirling snowstorm.
The unicorn gradually faded from sight, and Luna's ethereal singing voice echoed from afar, as heavenly as a song from above.
Wow... William couldn't help but feel that Luna had an air of mysticism about her. If she ever pretended to be a seer, she might even outshine Professor Trelawney in authenticity.
Holding Hermione's hand, William crossed the small bridge and returned to the house.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, William?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"There's a wizard here!" William pulled out his wand.
He scanned the surroundings but saw nothing out of place.
Strange. He was sure that the protective charms he had placed around the house had detected the presence of a wizard approaching.
Most importantly, he had cast the Fidelius Charm, without explicit permission, no unfamiliar wizard could enter!
Mrs. Norris, who had been squatting by the window like a decorative statue, suddenly crouched low, baring her teeth at William's back and growling menacingly.
"A beetle!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
She quickly pointed her wand at the beetle and gave it a little poke. The beetle flew into the air, trying to escape.
William froze for a moment. A beetle in the middle of winter? A thought flashed through his mind, and he pointed his wand at the insect.
"Homenum Revelio!"
A flash of blue-white light shot out from his wand, hitting the beetle midair.
The beetle froze, its green body twitching wildly before it fell to the ground.
A dazzling burst of light followed. It was like watching a time-lapse of a tree growing:
A head appeared on the floor, followed by limbs extending outward. In a few moments, a fully grown woman had appeared.
She had meticulously styled, voluminous hair with elegant waves. Her bejeweled glasses gleamed. Clutching a crocodile-skin handbag in her chubby hand, she sported long, bright-red nails, nearly two inches long, making her look somewhat like the Bride of Frankenstein.
Rita Skeeter!
William recognized her immediately.
His eyebrows shot up as he chuckled.
Interesting. Very interesting…
According to the Ministry of Magic's Animagus registry, there were only eight registered Animagi in the entire 20th century, including William himself.
That was a pitifully low number. William knew that many illegal Animagi likely existed.
If Professor McGonagall hadn't insisted on reporting his progress, William wouldn't have registered either.
But one thing was clear: Rita Skeeter was not one of the registered Animagi.
This meant only one thing, Rita was an unregistered Animagus.
No wonder she always managed to obtain valuable insider information. So she was an Animagus, and a beetle, no less. As expected of a former Ravenclaw.
Brilliant...
Pfft!
William suddenly felt awkward. The three consecutive Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had been from Ravenclaw... and now Rita too...?
Was the whole world conspiring against Ravenclaw's reputation?
Ravenclaw was supposed to be a house of exceptional individuals. Why did it feel like it was producing all the shady characters?
Maybe it was time to clean up Slytherin's reputation and balance the narrative a little?
William sighed.
"Where am I? How did I get here?"
Rita's instincts as a journalist were impeccable.
Even after illegally breaking into someone's home, she adopted an innocent, bewildered expression, as if she'd stumbled through some bizarre time-space anomaly.
Being an unregistered Animagus was a serious offense. If discovered, it meant a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Naturally, she was doing everything she could to feign ignorance and mislead them.
Rita suddenly acted as if she'd just noticed William and exclaimed with delight:
"Oh, Mr. Stark! Finally, I meet you! How did I end up here?"
"Is this your home?"
She swung her crocodile-skin handbag around and casually wandered through the room.
"Wonderful, simply wonderful, this is perfect," Rita Skeeter murmured. "Now, let me think…"
"How about an interview? I've written to you several times requesting one, but I never received a reply.
"This is the perfect chance! I guarantee that by tomorrow evening, you'll be on the front page of every major newspaper. Your fame will reach new heights!"I'll use a Quick-Quotes Quill to record everything. Surely, you won't mind? That way, I can keep my hands free, and we can have a proper conversation."
Rita reached into her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out a long, vividly green quill and a roll of parchment.
She stuck the quill's tip into her mouth and licked it indulgently, curling her tongue around it for a few seconds.
Then, she placed the quill upright on the parchment. The quill trembled slightly before spurting out a thick stream of ink that splattered onto the pristine paper.
"Come now, do you have a private room where it's just you and me for a one-on-one exclusive interview... so we can enjoy a delightful Christmas together?"
In just a few minutes, Rita had completely flipped the situation, acting as if she had never been a beetle at all and was merely an ordinary journalist conducting an unremarkable interview.
"No need for a private room. The living room will do just fine," William said as he sat down on the sofa, flashing a harmless smile.
"I know you, Rita Skeeter. Auntie Rita, since you're here as a guest, what would you like to drink?"
"Auntie…!" Rita silently took a deep breath, feeling like she'd just taken internal damage.
This was the first time someone had called her "Auntie."
"Firewhisky. Neat, please."
"Hmm, alright then. One cappuccino for Auntie."
William waved his wand, and the teapot on the table poured a fresh cup of coffee, which floated over into Rita's hands.
"..." Rita told herself: Stay calm. Don't get angry.
Her eyes landed on Hermione, clearly drawn to the cat tail swaying behind her. Her expression lit up with excitement.
What a scoop!
This is big!
Her Quick-Quotes Quill began furiously scribbling notes.
William snapped his fingers, and the quill abruptly stopped.
Rita blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected William to perform wandless magic so casually.
The rumors are true! Stark really is powerful, different from ordinary young wizards.
"Rita, I've heard about you from Grandpa Newt," William said softly.
"Oh, that article?" Rita frowned. Scamander had definitely not said anything good about her.
This was bad. Preconceived opinions would severely affect the success of her interview.
"I know you're skilled at twisting the truth, always looking to create sensational news," William said, adjusting imaginary glasses on his nose.
"Oh, William, I think you've misunderstood me regarding that. I merely report the facts as they are.
"You can't let that old scoundrel Scamander fool you. Picquery still holds a torch for him, you know."
"Having fond memories and having an affair are two different things."
William's smile gradually faded, and his expression turned cold. "Besides, I'm not here to discuss that with you."
"You turned into a beetle Animagus and snuck into my house. What's the meaning of this?!"
"Child, I didn't sneak into your house. I was outside, and somehow, I ended up here."
"And you've misunderstood, I wasn't using Animagus. I drank Polyjuice Potion."
"Rita, don't you forget. I'm an Animagus. I can easily tell the difference between the two."
William's gaze briefly shifted to Hermione. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of Veritaserum.
He swirled it slowly, dragging out his words like Snape as he said:
"Still won't admit it? Just one drop, and you'll spill all your secrets. Care to taste it? It has no additives, and is completely pure."
"This is illegal!" Rita immediately reached for her wand.
But William was faster. With a flick of his wand, the cushions on the sofa transformed into ropes that wrapped around Rita's arms and then bound her entire body, suspending her from the ceiling.
"You turned into a beetle and sneaked into my house. If my magic flares out of control, it's understandable, considering..." William's voice softened.
"I'm still just a kid!"
"Professor Dumbledore and Minister Fudge will understand me. But you? You're different. You're a liar who spreads nothing but falsehoods and an unregistered Animagus... isn't that right?"
Rita inhaled sharply, she realized she'd hit a hard wall.
Hard.
So hard!
Even harder than Scamander!
...