Hello and welcome to this little one-shot about Rita Skeeter.
I got an idea for this one-shot several years ago from a contest I entered. Details below.
Rated T: Some Sexual references.
Summary: Ever wonder why Rita Skeeter is the way she is? This one-shot tells you all about her past, and a certain article written about her that now stands as a beacon of inspiration.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rita Skeeter, nor do I wish to. Any recognizable character from the series belongs to J.K Rowling, whereas any other character is mine :D
"Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, whose savage quill has puntured many inflated reputations-"
Rita Skeeter threw the parchment down in disgust. With a wave of her hand she made it vanish. She needed to write a report on Harry Potter and the defeat of the dark lord, but she was coming up with nothing.
Damn the editor of the Daily Prophet. Why was she required to write this article? Surely no one cares for such rubbish.
She looked over the copies of other reports on him for inspiration. The reports were sprawled on her dining room table. One of her favorite pieces was the one she wrote at the start of the triwizard tournament several years ago.
She smirked as he recalled the reception she had received from the public after her article had been released. Another reputation became further diminished by her writing prowess.
Rita Skeeter had ruined many people's reputations― Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Hermione Granger, and of course Harry Potter (Her favorite to write about).
As she mused over her wonderful work, she had a sudden urge to read the one about Hagrid and his giantess mother. Surely that would give her some inspiration.
She got up and walked to her Daily Prophet section of the wall. As she did so, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She wrinkled her nose. She often looked at herself in disgust. She wasn't particularly ugly.
No, on the contrary, she was rather attractive. Her blonde hair was always in place, never astray, her nails were always neatly trimmed. She always wore a neat set of robes that accentuated her curves, causing many wizards to stare at the way the robes hugged her body. Her eyes were a lovely emerald green, her favourite colour, which were brought out by her neat eyeliner and mascara.
What caused her to look at herself in disgust is actually her demeanor.
She had started out as a regular reporter, writing the truth, and quite frankly the boring stuff. She simply went for a new angle.
"People don't want the truth." Rita would simply state, and those words justified her actions, or so she thought. Behind her vicious and outward personality lies an insecure soul.
Despite the fact that she like to pretend she was confident ―as well as a tad bit conceited ― someone had ruined her reputation in the past.
She shuddered violently as she tried to recall that dreaded time. It was a report that had diminished her confidence. It was a while before she showed her face in public again.
Rita gazed at her wall of shame. This wall was covered with reports she wrote that were either too gossipy to be believable or too truthful and hadn't gotten many positive reviews. In the middle of all these shameful reports was one that was brilliantly written. In fact it had received plenty of feedback. Rita despised it. This was the report that had ruined her reputation a while ago. It was written by another journalist who took a strange dislike to Rita from the moment they laid eyes upon each other.
This dreaded report now stands a beacon of inspiration― a reminder of why she must 'burst' people's bubbles. Painfully, she headed over to the article. She needed some reminding right about now.
"Rita Skeeter: Wannabe Reporter
Ambitious Rita Skeeter arrived eagerly into the world of journalism when the ministry had an open slot in journalism, writes Agatha Mullen, daily prophet reporter. After showing Winston Butler, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, a copy of her mediocre work she was accepted. How Rita managed such a feat was unknown until Reporter Agatha Mullen managed to land an interview with one of the editors.
"I managed to read her report as I was filing it," Claims Jonathon Saunders, editor of the Daily Prophet. "It was quite dreadful. I have seen better reports written by my five year old niece." So how did she make it in? The Daily Prophet dug deeper to find out. "Rita asked for a private interview, said she was nervous and would prefer no onlookers." Saunders explained. "I was suspicious. I hid using one of those invisibility cloaks the ministry has and watched the interview. She hoodwinked the poor editor-in-chief, that woman did. She is very licentious."
Rita managed to get into journalism through a simple deed. That's right, you heard it from the editor himself. Rita Skeeter had sexual intercourse with the editor-in-chief in order to land herself a job as a journalist.
Rita's vivacious and ambitious personality suited journalism perfectly; however Rita Skeeter was lacking an important factor: Talent (where it counts, that is, because it was clear that she had talent when it comes to promiscuity).
After a report she wrote earlier this year, the Daily Prophet has seen a decrease in readers.
'That reporter is quite awful.' An avid reader, who wished to remain anonymous, stated. 'I actually asked my husband to burn it. It was the worst report I have ever read. I have since then turned to the Quibbler."
Add insult to injury, the Daily Prophet can exclusively report: It has been rumored that Rita Skeeter may be stealing from the ministry. Valuable documents valued at over sixteen thousand galleons have been reported missing. On night of March Twenty-Seventh, a sensory charm had been triggered leading to the vault. Raids at Rita's house yielded no results, however Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody confirms a match on finger prints. No charges have been filed, however, one can hope that these documents are recovered and that the perpetrator is caught.
Perhaps next time this mediocre reporter will be more careful and control her sticky fingers. Furthermore, we hope that jobs are filled by adequate employees, not people who lack morals. Readers are also begging Rita to be less bigheaded and write a decent report for once. Until next time, Farewell readers."
Rita scowled. She had learned through Agatha Mullen that a good reporter always lies. These claims Agatha made were false. Rita personally went up to Jonathon Saunders but he claims he was vacationing in Germany for two months during the time of the release of the paper.
A wanton! Indeed. She may be a seductress, but she would not have sexual relationships just to get a job.
And she would never steal. There has been no robbery at the ministry, surely something of that magnitude would have been brought to the Aurors' attention. Seeing as no raids have been made, one can surely tell that Rita Skeeter is not a thief.
Rita was humiliated for months before it slowly died out and less people treated her like a criminal. Rita pulled out a quill and began her report.
"Harry Potter: Hero? Or the next Dark Lord?
"Only a powerful dark lord could have survived a powerful curse that left none alive. And certainly only a powerful Dark Lord could have defeated the greatest Dark Lord of all times…"
An hour later she dipped her quill in ink once more and wrote: "Until we know for sure, the Daily Prophet is warning people to be cautious around Harry Potter." Proud of her report, she sent her report to the Ministry, ignoring the guilt she felt for trying to ruin someone's reputation, after all it was only fair.
Contest rules: Come up with a One-shot that exceeds 1000 words. Must involve an ambiguous character. Write about the character and details of ther lives that are not mentioned in the story. Must include one line from any Harry Potter book that will serve as the opener for the one-shot.
So, I chose Rita Skeeter. And if you couldn't tell, my opener was from GoF when she is in the broom closet with Harry :D
Tell me what you think, and don't forget to review :)
-Cadi