“Get up!” He rushes into the dark room and grabs Rayleigh in his hand.
“My lord, you…”
“Heh heh, have you not always wanted to see your mother Jessica?
I will satisfy you.” As he says this, he opens cell C2 and throws Rayleigh inside.
“You mother and son do not need to thank me.” Paul leaves the cell with a smile.
He still has to go find an owl to send the letter.
‘Damn little Death Eater, really troublesome.’
…
After the war with Voldemort ended, the entire magical world suffered heavy losses and the population sharply declined.
Diagon Alley, once bustling, is now cold and quiet.
If not for the new students coming and going near the start of school, people would suspect that this place is not Diagon Alley at all.
Rita has silky blonde hair and thin, raised eyebrows.
Nearly forty years old, she thinks every day about how to cook up a shocking, anti-mainstream, discussion-provoking report.
She pushes up her gemstone-studded glasses and makes her gorgeous quill move.
The bright green Quick-Quotes Quill flies rapidly across the paper, and soon a new report is freshly produced.
“People have already lost interest in the matter of You-Know-Who!” Rita tears up the draft again.
The wastebasket beside her is even more stuffed with crumpled balls of paper.
She takes her coffee cup and stands by the window, looking at the cold and quiet Diagon Alley while thinking about how to write a sensational news story.
“Cooh, cooh, cooh.” An owl lands on the windowsill.
Rita passes it some snacks and casually picks up the letter.
The sender’s handwriting is crooked and slanted.
She knew it is from some wizard in a gutter again.
Ordinarily, Rita would throw this kind of letter away directly and not give it another glance.
But this letter is very special.
It comes from Azkaban.
A hint of a smile blooms at the corners of Rita’s eyes.
She carefully tears open the wax seal.
‘Azkaban, Death Eaters.’ Before Rita even pulls out the letter, she already thinks of a new idea.
In the entire magical world, wizards more or less have relatives or friends imprisoned in Azkaban.
If she can write one or two articles about them, and then attack the Ministry of Magic and the Dementors…
it will absolutely push her fame and the newspaper’s sales up another level.
While thinking this, Rita absentmindedly scans the letter.
The unbearable handwriting makes her eyes ache, but the contents make Rita involuntarily sit up straight.
‘Azkaban actually imprisoned a baby for eleven whole years!?
Unforgivable!
Absolutely unforgivable!’
Paul exaggerates in his heart.
With clumsy wording and sentence structure, he tells Rita that a child has spent eleven years in Azkaban.
Both inside and outside the letter, he hints that the child is imprisoned in the prison.
…
The next day, an article signed by Rita Skeeter sparks discussion among wizards.
The title of the article is: [The Ministry of Magic’s Secret: Have We Created a New ‘You-Know-Who’?]
[Just as the wand and scales in the Ministry of Magic’s Atrium mural symbolize law and justice, our expectations for the Ministry of Magic have always been that it is a fortress of righteousness and a guardian of truth.
But when the symbols of justice and fairness are marked by a shadow, can we still maintain trust in this belief?]
[According to the latest information I have obtained, during the war, the number of prisoners in Azkaban Castle soared.
Astonishingly, this was not the result of a fair court, but the private punishment of Aurors: they dictatorially threw wizards into cold, damp cells without trial.]
[Through this war, private punishment has been painted as a heroic mural of ‘protecting our magical world’.
But in reality, does this not show that we are merely creating a new ‘You-Know-Who’ for ourselves on the road between prosperity and ruin?]
[Here, I must point out clearly that criminals undoubtedly deserve appropriate punishment, whether their identity is Death Eater or evil dark wizard.
However, let us recall that once, You-Know-Who also used this kind of tyrannical and absolute power to defend the ‘pure-blood’ ideal he saw.
He had no fair trials, and he did not ask, ‘Are they wrong?’]
[You-Know-Who simply stripped away their rights and led the entire magical world into chaos and fear.]
[As our protectors, the Ministry of Magic and the Aurors should respect law and justice while maintaining order.
They should not abuse power, and they should not, in name to protect us, ignore justice and humanity.]
[The Ministry of Magic and the Aurors must remind themselves that there exists something more terrifying than You-Know-Who, and that is a society that has lost justice and dignity.
Therefore, I call on us to work together to stop history from repeating.
Let us treat justice as our shield, not our sword.
Only in this way can our magical world truly walk out of the darkness, only then can it have the strength to defeat threats like You-Know-Who, and only then can it truly provide protection for wizards.
Otherwise, we may merely be paving the way for another ‘You-Know-Who’.]
In this sharply satirical article, Rita uses a seasoned and sensational style of writing to expose that the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot bypassed trials and privately threw wizards into Azkaban.
When officials from the two departments see Rita’s article, they are not angry but laugh instead.
This matter was already settled several years ago.
That sharp-tongued woman using this point to attack them is truly wishful thinking.
Under Minister Fudge’s order, the Minister’s office quickly produces a notice and publishes it that same day.
[Dear wizards:]
[The Ministry of Magic has recently received doubts from some members of the public regarding Death Eaters and dark wizards being thrown into Azkaban Prison without trial.
Upon review, some Aurors did indeed skip proper trial procedures during the war and directly carried out imprisonment measures.]
[In view of the fact that this matter touches upon the principle of legal justice, the Ministry of Magic has decided to explain the relevant circumstances.]
[1.
The personnel directly imprisoned all belonged to important members of the Death Eater organization, and there is conclusive evidence proving that they participated in multiple serious illegal and criminal activities that endangered the social order of wizards.
Their illegal criminal facts are clear, and there is a high risk of escape and retaliation.]
[2.
In view of the complexity and harmfulness of Death Eater criminal activities, and out of urgent consideration for maintaining social security, the Ministry of Magic carried out special procedures for some core personnel and directly threw them into Azkaban Prison in order to avoid greater harm.]
[3.
After the war ended, the Ministry of Magic has already strictly reviewed the above personnel in accordance with the law, completed trials according to procedure, and ensured that every case received fair handling.]
[We will continue to uphold the justice of the rule of law and effectively protect the basic rights and interests of every wizard.
Any violator of the law will be dealt with as they deserve.
We thank all sectors for their attention to this matter, and we welcome you to continue supervising our work.
Let us work together to build a more fair and just society for the wizarding world!]
[Joint Statement by the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot, July 2, 1991.]
Rita, sitting on the flying carpet, laughs.
It can be seen that the mood of the person who drafted the announcement is quite good.
Their counterattack is well-founded and convincing.
“It’s just temporary.” Rita waves her wand, and the tea set beside her moves.
The teapot flies into the air and pours the brewed black tea.
The white porcelain teacup with gold patterns jumps into Rita’s hand and lets the woman print a bright red lipstick mark on it.
She puts the Ministry of Magic’s announcement into a small cowhide folder.
The Azkaban Castle on the distant island amid the waves is faintly visible.
“Dear Miss Rita, welcome.” Paul eagerly awaits at the high tower of Azkaban, looking at the beautiful woman before him and welcoming her with extreme enthusiasm.
“Hello, Mr.
Paul!” Rita takes off her gloves.
Inwardly full of disgust, she shakes hands with this slovenly wizard in front of her.
When Paul turns around to introduce Azkaban to her, Rita hurriedly uses Aguamenti to wash her right hand.
“To be frank, Mr.
Paul, this morning, the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot jointly issued an announcement.”
“Announcement?” Paul touches his bald head.
Azkaban is truly too remote.
Even owls are unwilling to fly here.
He never knows what has happened in the magical world.
“Yes.
In the announcement, they already explained those Death Eaters.
Yes, the people you wrote about in your letter who were thrown into Azkaban Prison without trial.” Rita covers her nose and walks closer to Paul’s office.
The Dementor that flew past in the corridor just now scared her legs weak.
She really does not like this place.
“Very sorry.
The Ministry of Magic conducted a new review according to Fudge’s requirements.
After their strict investigative work, the Ministry of Magic says the situation in your letter will not occur.”
“They are lying!” Paul rudely curses.
From the drawer he takes out the acceptance letter that belongs to Rayleigh.
He waves the envelope in the air, and the Hogwarts school crest shines with a unique light under the lamp and candle.