"Who...who are you?! Why are you doing this to me?!"
Rita shouted, her voice a mix of bravado and fear, her eyes darting around as she tried to assess her current position.
Argus shook his head in disappointment: "I didn't expect you to ask such a question."
"I thought you were a smart person."
"Wait...wait a minute!" Rita panicked completely, racking her brains to recall any information she might have overlooked.
What came into view was a simple one-bedroom apartment.
A desk, a chair, and a bed.
However, the structure of this bed looked a lot like those at Hogwarts.
Was she still at Hogwarts? But when did Hogwarts ever have a single room?
No! Hogwarts did have single rooms!
She suddenly remembered the only name she had heard after being arrested, a name she had kept forgotten.
Argus!
The name she had heard countless times since arriving at Hogwarts: Head of the House in Slytherin, who had gained the support of the entire Slytherin house in just his second year.
He was also one of the witnesses to the petrification incident.
In order to find some clues, she had even followed him for a long time!
"Oh, judging from your expression, you seem to know who I am."
Argus stood up from his seat and looked down at her.
"This is illegal detention, it is..."
"It seems you haven't figured out the situation yet," Argus said with a regretful expression.
The next second, a ghastly green light appeared!
"Heart-piercing and bone-scraping!"
"ah!"
Rita let out a heart-wrenching scream and rolled around on the ground in agony.
After only a few seconds, Argus stopped casting the spell.
Rita would still be useful in the future, and he didn't want her to suffer the same fate as Neville's parents, being left half-dead by the Cruciatus Curse.
His room had already been protected with various spells, so no matter how much Rita screamed, no one would pay attention.
Escaping was out of the question!
Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Rita.
Her whole body was soaked in sweat.
Her eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Argus.
Now that things had come to this, how could she not understand?
She had long been firmly in the grasp of the boy in front of her, and there was only one way out if she wanted to survive.
"What...what do you want me to do?"
"A wise choice." Argus smiled and sat back down in his chair.
"You should be glad you got a satisfactory answer before my patience ran out."
Rita wanted to laugh, but she couldn't manage to.
She scrambled to Argus's feet and tried to kiss his shoes.
Argus frowned and instinctively stepped aside.
Why did wizarding folk always pull stunts like this?
Voldemort had been like that, and so had his Death Eaters!
Now even this reporter felt compelled to kiss shoes!
Did they all share some unusual fetish?
"Stand up and speak. I don't need your formalities."
"Understood, Mr. Grindelwald!" Rita had figured it out by now.
Since the other party was willing to spare her life, it proved that she still had value to him.
She would do anything as long as she could escape!
Whether it was the darkness trapped in the cup or the excruciating pain she had just experienced, she didn't want to go through it again!
In the past, she had always thought that this prefect, who had an excellent reputation at Hogwarts, would be an elegant and upright young man.
Now it seemed... truly worthy of being Grindelwald's bloodline!
"I enjoy dealing with intelligent people, and I especially enjoy dealing with sensible people."
"What do you think, Ms. Skeeter?"
Rita awkwardly looked away.
She had indeed considered finding a chance to escape, but she also understood that if Argus dared to release her, he must have been confident she wouldn't get away.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sitting so openly in the chair.
"Mr. Grindelwald, what do you need me to do?"
"It's simple, continue reporting on the petrification incident at Hogwarts and amplify its impact as much as possible."
Argus did not intend to let Rita smear Dumbledore so soon.
She was not trustworthy now, and even if he was confident that he could control her, he didn't want to take the risk.
There would always be a time when he needed her.
"Yes, Mr. Grindelwald!"
Hearing this, Rita was on the verge of tears.
You've made me suffer like this over something so trivial?
You should have said so earlier!
You could spend some money on this! Spend some, or even... get it for free!
It's better than suffering like this!
At the same time, she felt a sense of relief.
If the other party was willing to make a request, it proved that her life was temporarily safe.
As long as she could escape from here, she could choose whatever she wanted to publish.
She had already decided that once she escaped, she would definitely expose the true face of this seemingly gentle but incredibly dark-hearted boy!
The goal was to let all the wizards in Britain know that this boy was a complete dark wizard!
He was the future Dark Lord!
But Argus had already guessed what she was thinking.
You couldn't be nice to someone like Rita!
He had to hold on tightly with an iron grip at all times!
He raised his wand, and a dark mist rose from the tip of the wand.
Even if Rita didn't know what kind of curse it was, she could tell from its appearance that it was no good.
She turned and ran!
But it was still too late.
Black mist seeped into her body from all sides, carrying intense malice.
"What...what did you do to me?"
Rita fell to the ground with a thud, her hands groping all over her body.
But no changes could be found.
"It seems it's time to teach you a lesson."
Argus snapped his fingers casually.
The next second, Rita's head felt as if it had been filled with countless lead stones.
The pain and swelling made her wish she could cut off her own head!
Although not as painful as the Cruciatus, it was still unbearable.
"Mr. Grindelwald... I was wrong, Mr. Grindelwald!"
Argus showed no mercy, calmly, even with a hint of interest, watching Rita's agonizing expression.
The pain didn't stop until ten minutes later.
"This is just a small lesson. If it happens again, I guarantee your head will explode like fireworks."
"Yes, Mr. Grindelwald!"
Rita's face was so pale that not a trace of blood could be seen.
She stood up, trembling.
"If you have the ability, you can try to find someone to break the curse."
"However, I must warn you that the price of doing this is that your family will suffer a hundred times more than you have in the past few days."
"Don't forget, the acolytes have no shortage of Galleons."
"Those wizards in Knockturn Alley will do anything for the right price, won't they?"
Argus's words sounded like a devil's whisper, which terrified Rita so much that she fell to her knees with a thud.
"I was wrong, Mr. Grindelwald! I'll never do it again!"
"Please, please don't... please don't..."
"I don't like listening to nonsense, I only look at your actions." Argus knew the strategy of giving a slap followed by a sweet treat.
Especially now, he had already reduced Rita's expectations to the lowest possible level.
Don't even mention offering her some benefits; she'd be grateful if you just let her not suffer!
"I want to see your next report by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"If this is done well, perhaps you will no longer be just a reporter for The Daily Prophet."
Not just a journalist?
Could it be that...
Rita's eyes lit up with unprecedented surprise!
A burning ambition blazed in her pupils…
…
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