On Saturday morning,
William and Hermione arrived at Hogsmeade.
Hogsmeade was a purely wizarding village located near Hogwarts.
According to school rules, students below third year weren't allowed to visit... Hermione didn't meet the criteria, but... who cared?
After all, William had snuck her into Hogsmeade plenty of times.
They didn't even need to use the secret passages, Disillusionment Charms were enough.
William's mastery of the Disillusionment Charm was advanced enough to fool most professors.
As for his younger sister, Annie...
Sigh! Since young witches weren't allowed to visit Hogsmeade, she had to stay in the castle, playing jump rope with Luna and Ginny.
That's what children should be doing anyway.
William just needed to bring back some sweets for the three of them, and they'd be happy for half the day.
Those three were so easy to please.
"Hmm... where is she?"
Inside the Three Broomsticks, Hermione looked around for Rita Skeeter.
William took her hand and pointed toward a corner.
In the bar's corner sat a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, her head hidden behind a copy of The Daily Prophet.
"Four pints of Butterbeer and a Sherry-berry Juice with a side of periwinkle slugs, please," William said softly. "Thank you."
After ordering two drinks, William led Hermione to the corner table and took a seat.
"Why are you dressed like that?" William asked, eyeing Rita skeptically.
There was an odd thrill to this secret meeting.
Rita pulled her head out from behind the newspaper. She was wearing a green veil and looked like someone out of an Arabian story.
She pushed her enormous toad-shaped sunglasses down her nose and whispered,
"I'm a public figure, you know. There are loads of my fans here. If they recognize me, it'll cause a commotion."
William and Hermione exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with doubt.
"Here are your drinks." Madam Rosmerta arrived, placing two drinks on the round wooden table.
Madam Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks, wore a pair of elegant teal high heels. She had a stunning figure and was remarkably beautiful.
Despite nearing forty, many Hogwarts students still had a fondness for her.
"Hi, William, Hermione. Just the two of you today? Where are Cedric and Cho?" Madam Rosmerta asked warmly.
Akali's Mystery Shop had a strategic partnership with many shops in Hogsmeade, and the Three Broomsticks was no exception.
William would occasionally help brew potions to add to the drinks.
"Cedric took Cho to explore the bushes," William replied with a grin.
"The Shrieking Shack?" Rosmerta's eyes twinkled, "Boys always bring girls there... I even taught him a trick for that last time."
William chuckled. He was sure Cedric's plan would backfire.
Cho was fearless, this was the girl who practiced balancing acts on her broomstick. A haunted house? Child's play.
Cedric was probably hoping Cho would get scared and throw herself into his arms... Wishful thinking!
"Oh, does this guest need anything to drink?"
Rosmerta turned her gaze to Rita.
Rita had already ducked back behind her newspaper. She rasped, "No, thank you. I have a terrible cold and don't want anything."
Rosmerta walked away but suddenly stopped and squinted at Rita suspiciously.
"You wouldn't happen to be Rita Skeeter, would you?"
Rita shifted uncomfortably in her seat and cleared her throat. "What? Of course not! How could someone as famous as her be me?"
Rosmerta snorted and headed back to the counter.
"Well then," William said quietly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Rita muttered as she peeked out from behind the newspaper again.
William shot Hermione a look.
Hermione immediately caught on and called out sweetly, "Madam Rosmerta—"
"No!" Rita's face twisted as if she'd been forced to drink a glass of Stinksap, "Meeting the two of you must be the worst luck of my life!"
"Spill it," William said, taking a sip of Butterbeer.
"About half a year ago, I seem to recall writing an article for the newspaper…" Rita coughed.
"What kind of article?"
"It was about Fudge... something like: 'Everywhere the Minister of Magic goes, he is met with eager and expectant gazes, even from the charming widow Madam Rosmerta, who remains as radiant as ever...'"
"..."
William believed it now. Everyone in Hogsmeade probably was a Rita Skeeter fan.
—A hate fan.
The kind who's sworn to hate her for life.
"Alright, did you bring the goods?" Rita asked.
"Brought them." William took a folder from his ring and tossed it to her.
Rita flipped through a few pages, her expression shifting as she read. She looked at the documents as if they were the most beautiful thing in the world.
Her head suddenly shot up, her eyes sharp. "William, I know that big oaf Hagrid is your friend, and that Lockhart reported him.
"What I'm asking is... are these documents something you made up just to get revenge on Lockhart?"
"Do you think I'm that kind of person?" William shrugged.
The contents of the documents were all from Dumbledore's investigation.
Over the years, Lockhart had stolen the memories of many wizards, most of which left behind some traces.
After all, for Lockhart to hear those stories in the first place, the events had to be known by someone, even if only faintly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to seek them out.
With the Headmaster's abilities, plenty of details could be uncovered.
The results were shocking... It was no wonder Dumbledore had hired Lockhart as a professor, to expose him on purpose.
"I believe you... but readers…" Rita hesitated.
"Do your readers ever need proof?" William sneered, "Do you even believe half the things you write?"
"Rita, don't try to pry into the source of these documents. I have informants everywhere, not just you." William's tone was firm.
Of course, he didn't really have an army of informants, just two small sparrows, a caged bird with a biting temperament... and one old phoenix named Dumbledore.
But that didn't stop him from bluffing. After all, bluffing didn't cost a single Galleon.
"Got it." Rita stroked the document as if caressing a lover.
"I'll use my mighty quill to reveal Lockhart's true face to the public!"
"Leave mine and Hermione's names out of it," William said.
"Alright then." Rita stood up. "Farewell, Mr. Perfect and Miss Flawless."
Rita walked toward the door. As she opened it, her steps grew frantic, she'd spotted Madam Rosmerta wheeling out a cart of gingerbread men ready to ambush her!
She bolted out of the bar.
"Mr. Perfect and Miss Flawless... What kind of titles are those?" William thought aloud, holding his drink.
"I have no idea," Hermione said with a small smile. "I wrote to her a few times on your behalf, just as you instructed, and she's been calling us that in her letters ever since."
William sometimes handed the correspondence with Rita over to Hermione, it was good practice in handling someone like Rita Skeeter.
"Who knows what she calls us behind our backs," William muttered, sipping his Butterbeer.
"As long as I don't hear it," Hermione replied, taking a sip of her Sherry-berry juice.
"Do you think this will be enough to send Lockhart to Azkaban?"
William gently blew away the frothy foam atop his Butterbeer and shook his head. "Not sure... but it will definitely ruin his reputation."
Hermione nodded and quietly watched the boy beside her.
Suddenly, she said, "By the way, when we go shopping later, remind me to buy Annie some Fizzing Whizzbees."
William gave a soft "Mm" in response, then asked, "Why do you always make me deliver the sweets to her?"
Hermione's lips curved upward. "Don't you know? Every time she gets a gift, she runs straight to me to show off."
"I'm just waiting for the day when, while she's showing off, I can casually tell her that I was the one who bought it in Hogsmeade."
"..."
A vivid image appeared in William's mind, Annie's stunned, embarrassed, and furious expression... He suddenly realized that Hermione could be pretty cunning herself.
"You won't tell her, will you?" Hermione rested her chin in her hand and looked at William, her smile enchanting.
"Of course not!" William answered without hesitation.
Poor Annie... Don't blame your brother, it's out of his hands!
Hermione beamed as she gently took William's right hand and began to sway it softly.
She started singing a Scottish folk song in a sweet, clear voice.
The breeze brushed past them, causing Hermione's long hair to sway gently by her cheeks.