AN: Hi guys, two updates basically in one. The next one will take some time, work and such stuff but as this is a short one it didn't take too long to write. Thanks to my beta for looking through it for me, I hope you all like it as much as she did.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Rita

Rita Skeeter hadn't been able to stop smiling. The Ministry Hag had lapped up everything she had to say about the skeletal and his brat of a partner. It had gone just as he said it would. Fudge had been desperate to be rid of the skeleton, there was little he could do about Cain, the girl still had to compete, but the skeleton was a different matter. The Ministry did not like sorcerers, Rita had discovered. Pleasant, it turned out, had a reputation for being trouble. As soon as Fudge had been aware of his involvement he had wanted him gone. It hadn't taken much to convince Fudge to arrest him, all she had had to do was inform him of Mrs Malfoy's arrest. The report had been hidden, so as to save Lady Malfoy's face, but it hadn't taken long for Rita to twist it so as it sounded like Pleasant had buried the report on purpose.

Rita would have loved to have waited, to have seen the girl's face, but the girl was already aware she was there. He had been right. They couldn't risk her being discovered. Not now. Not when his plan was finally coming to a head. Cain was going to suffer for what she had done, he had promised her that much.

Rita dug out the muggle phone from her purse. It felt foreign in her hand. Almost wrong. But, he had insisted that she use it, for unlike an owl it could not be traced or the letter be stolen. It wasn't that she hated muggles it was just that she didn't particularly like them. Magic should be kept separate from the muggle world. It was safer for everyone.

She stepped into the alleyway and dialled the number, making sure that she was away from any prying ears. People liked to hear other people's news more than their own, it was why she had been popular as a writer and she would be again. It would take time, she knew that. People had to forget that she had lied. But the public was fickle, they would soon move their hatred onto someone else and then she would be able to go back.

"Hello," she said, whispering quietly into the phone as she walked deeper down the alley.

"Is it done?" the man asked, his voice as calm and quiet as ever. He had that demeanour, quiet and collected, as though nothing could rattle him and he had everything under control. Rita had been more than a little taken aback at first. But that was a long time ago. Now she liked it. It was professional, direct. He had been the only one looking for her. All her supposed friends and colleagues had dropped her like a quaffle. But not him. He had helped her. Given her a means for revenge.

"Yes. Umbridge went in this morning. I got out before I was discovered like you said."

"Good." The man said. "Very good. You have done well."

"Thank you." Rita smiled.

"You have proven invaluable." The man told her as she came to a stop, her heels clicking against the dank pavement. "But it is time that you leave Hogwarts for good. The girl knows of your presence. I cannot risk you being discovered."

"I would never talk."

"I have to be sure." The man said. "Goodbye Rita."

Rita frowned. The phone was dead in her hand. She pulled it away from her ear, intent on re-dialling. But just as her finger reached for the green button there was a splash behind her. She whirled, eyes wide, heart pounding, the phone dropping from her hand. She didn't even have chance to cry out. There was an explosion of sound, like a cannon blast and she was on her knees. The man stood above her, dressed in a dark suit, his hands gloved.

Blood, hot and wet trickled between her fingers. She stared up at him, her mouth hanging open, unable to speak. Something metal and hard pressed against her forehead. It was cold. Her legs were numb. She couldn't feel anything under her stomach. Not the puddle she had landed in, nor the shards of glasses cutting into her legs. Nothing.

"Please..." Rita begged as the man looked down at her. But her words were ignored. The plea for her life denied as the man squeezed the trigger.