Rita Skeeter is a reporter who lives to stir up trouble. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she wrote several articles that created many problems for Harry and his friends. Here's what Rita Skeeter reports:
An insert from her article about the Quidditch World Cup:
"If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected rassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry offical emerged some time after the appearence of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether the statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed the woods an hour later, remains to be seen."
Further Mistakes at the Ministry of Magic
It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's trouble are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Corresondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unale to account for the disappearence of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.
Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly disruptive dustpins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprsingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify a couple of memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.
Excerpt from an "interview" just before the Weighing of the Wands:
"I supposse I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be proud of me of they could see me now ... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them. I'm not ashamed to admit it... I know nothing will hurt me during the Tournament, because they're watching over me ...."
Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarly seen out of the company of one Hermionie Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top stuents at the school.
Dumbledore's Giant Mistake
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anyone who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified canidates.
An alarmingly large and ferocious looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care to a succesion of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening."
"I was attacked by a hippogriff last year and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're too scared to say anything."
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of creatures is, of course, an activity usually closely monitered by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.
"I was just havin' some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject.
As if this weren't enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure-blood human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
Bloothirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amonst themselves the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass of Muggle killings of his reign and terror.
While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still exsisting in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.
In a bizzare twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power - thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the truth about his large friend - but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.
Harry Potter's Secret Heartache
A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen year old Harry Potter thought that he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.
Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last Quidditch World Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to stay with him in Bulgaria over the summer holiays and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl."
However, it may not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate young boys' interests.
"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth year student, "but she'd be well-up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."
Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier canidate.
Harry Potter, Disturbed and Dangerous
The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Corresponent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubt about his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regulary collapses at school and is often heard to complain about the pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Malidies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and the insistance that is scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.
"He might even be pretending," said one specailist. "This could be a plea for attention."
The Daily Prophet has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Potter can speak Parseltongue," says Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago and most people thought that Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants, too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power."
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Arts Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would reguard any wizard who can speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who can converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarily, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter may resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.
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