Reform
The Houses competition:
House: Gryffindor
Year: Seventh
(Round 4) Prompts:
1, bad guy turning good (trope)
2, Minerva McGonagall
3, 'You're going to be trouble, aren't you?'
The golden snitch:
Dream catchers:
Spider webs: write about someone becoming trapped.
Ollivander's wand shop:
9 inch, write about a Gryffindor
Through the Universe:
204, colour, bleach.
Centaurus, Aurora.
Words: 1621
AU alert, and thank you for the help CK.
The war was over; Harry Potter had triumphed. Everyone was still celebrating and partying, even if it had been a few months since the war had ended. Not everything was good though; soon after everyone had gotten over the fuzz of the war, rumours started to go around, because people were people.
People started deserving the title of, "You're going to be trouble, aren't you?" And they brought rumours about everyone out into the woodwork. The more major ones started with the Patils, then the Malfoys, then the Goldsteins, then the Longbottoms, and finally the golden trio: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.
There were two rumours going around. One was they had been in league with Voldemort. The other was that the war could have been ended earlier, and they wanted it to go on for more time, for whatever reason.
As soon as these rumours started, Minerva McGonagall knew there was something she had to do. With the rumours starting up, Minerva knew the truce Skeeter and Miss Granger had made would probably be broken, as Skeeter could not be able to resist. So, she had to stop Skeeter, at all costs.
She had one trick up her sleeve to try and stop Skeeter with; she was almost certain Skeeter is an Animagus. At school, Skeeter, (though she loathed to admit it,) had been a Slytherin girl who was good at Transfiguration, so it would make sense. And Skeeter had shown a lot of interest in Animagus studies, so Minerva had been surprised when the girl never asked about it.
So, now Minerva had to trap Skeeter and force her to change her ways. That was why she was now Disapparating to the Three Broomsticks, the place Skeeter usually liked to hang out.
Minerva swiftly walked into the pub, and then she approached Madam Rosmerta. "Is Rita Skeeter here?"
"Yes, she just went to the restroom, Minerva," Rosmerta nodded in that direction.
"Thank you," Minerva said, striding toward the bathrooms.
Just as Minerva got there, Rita Skeeter came out, croc-skin bag and all, though it was looking a bit bleached. "You," Skeeter greeted Minerva.
"Come with me," Minerva said sternly, grabbing Skeeter's arm and dragging her into the nearby meeting room, before locking the door.
"What is this about?! How dare you grab me like that!" Skeeter cried, brushing Minerva's arm off and turning to glare directly at Minerva for grabbing her and 'trapping' her.
Both women had a long-standing hate for each other, even as a teacher and student. Minerva found Skeeter's rumour spreading as a student unforgivable, and Skeeter never liked her.
"You fully well know why I am here, and I am not going to let you do it," Minerva said, referring to the article Skeeter was probably writing.
"You're going to be trouble, aren't you, McGonagall?" Skeeter said sighing and crossing her arms; her croc-skin bag in perfect view for Minerva.
Minerva, who thought the bag was the most horrid thing she had ever seen, was slightly puzzled about the age of the bag. She did not know how old the bag was, but it must have been fairly old considering the sun-bleaching it had gone through. Minerva just realised Skeeter must have been a journalist for a long time.
"You have put them through enough already. How could you even think of it?! And if it was not for Harry, you would not be here! Both of us would have been hunted down and killed, you first considering you are not loyal to anyone," Minerva cried, getting quite distraught.
"Maybe so, but I am a reporter: I have to post what the readers want to read," Skeeter said coyly, flicking her obviously bleached hair back.
Every part of Skeeter looked bleached: Minerva did not know if that was actually the case or if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"How dare you play coy with me! Miss Granger told me everything. And who will the Ministry believe, if I say you're an unregistered Animagus?! You, the journalist with questionable morals, or me?!" Minerva exclaimed.
"I repeat from before, you're going to be trouble, aren't you?" Skeeter huffed.
"At least I am being trouble for a good reason! You, on the other hand, are not!" Minerva cried, almost screeching at Skeeter.
"You do not have any proof, even if Granger, Potter and Weasley stand up as witnesses. I cannot be forced to show myself as an Animagus after all, the spells are only for the people who are magically talented, and they are illegal to use. So if I deny it, there is no solid proof. Sure, I printed those articles, but who says it was me who first found them out? Who says they were in a spot where I needed to be an Animagus to overhear? I know my rights, and citizen rules," Skeeter said smugly.
"Augh," Minerva grumbled knowing she was right. Then Minerva remembered something Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley were saying, after they had brought the Daily Prophet and The Quidditch Magazine, allowing them to own three different newspapers.
-line break-
"This is something you'll be interested in, Professor! We did a survey on which journalists people prefer to read, and if Skeeter does not reform and stop posting her horrible and untrue trash we will be forced to stop putting her articles in the paper," Ginny Weasley said, trying to sound a bit upset but failing terribly. She just sounded gleeful instead.
"You do not sound terribly upset about it," Minerva commented, trying not to sound too cheerful about it.
"Come on. If Skeeter is sacked as a reporter no one's going to be upset," Rolf Scamander cried, being expressive with his arms.
"I do not know, some people with a lot of Nargles in their head might," Luna Lovegood said in her signature fashion.
-line break-
"If you continue on the path you going on, no one is going to like you. Everyone will see you as the bad guy: then you will be kicked out of The Daily Prophet and have to stop being a journalist, and you will have nothing to go on with," Minerva said as Skeeter turned to leave.
"That is low, even for your standards, McGonagall. Where ever did you hear that rumour?" Skeeter said, turning around with a smug grin.
"I heard it from the owners of the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. You're in deep trouble, Skeeter," Minerva said— it was her turn to be smug now.
"You're lying! How dare you make up such horrible lies!" Skeeter cried, looking actually worried it might be true.
"I am sorry, it is true. I am not lying. As much as I dislike you, I am willing to give you a chance. Even if it is for Potter, Granger and Weasley's sakes, I would rather not see you being hated by everyone! We have seen too much of that. Everyone needs to fit in, and if you do post that article, it will end your career!" Minerva cried, realising as much as she would like to see Skeeter get what she deserves, she thought it was a bit cruel for her to be tortured like that.
"No one likes reading what I write?" Skeeter asked, looking upset.
"After the war, people have realised it was wrong and they have started to hate you. Please, Skeeter, this is your last chance to turn good before it is too late," Minerva said, getting desperate. If Skeeter did not give in, she was going to break down.
"Alright, I'll try. But how will I remember not to spread the trash and rumours?" Skeeter said, realising she had only one option: to do what McGonagall said.
"How about I be your proofreader?" Minerva suggested.
"Good idea! This could work after all. And you never know, we might come to like each other!" Skeeter said brightly.
"And that would be a tragedy," Minerva said with some humour.
"First, I should burn this," Skeeter said, pulling a large file of paper so white it was bleached, with the "golden trio scandal" written on the front. "Read."
"Yep, this is what I was afraid of," Minerva said handing it back after a quick glance through.
As Skeeter took it, she stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "Incendio!" Skeeter cried, pulling her wand out and lighting a fire. Then Skeeter threw the file on the fire, and the two woman watched it burn.
Six months later…
"You know what Skeeter said to me? She said, 'You're going to be trouble, aren't you? How dare she!" Minerva said. She had been telling Mr Potter about the whole encounter she had had with Skeeter that day.
"Well, it turned out well in the end. She seems to have reformed truly now, I have not seen one article bagging someone off over just a tiny rumour since. Rita Skeeter seems to be a 'bad guy turned good.' That's a good title actually! Maybe I'll suggest it to Ginny as a filler one day, and she can write this down: Minerva McGonagall reforms Rita Skeeter!" Mr Potter said brightly.
"No, no! I do not want any credit. I was just doing what any good person would do: I am glad she had brought a new, unbleached handbag though," Minerva said quickly.
"And you have proven you're a much better person than I am when dealing with Skeeter: I could not have done that," Mr Potter said smiling.
"I suppose so," Minerva said, begrudgingly agreeing. Maybe she did deserve some credit: she had trapped Skeeter in a web, so to speak, where the only way out was to try and reform.