Summary: Skeeter is at it again!

A/N: Thanks to dragoon811 for the great beta work. Hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 11

Dark Wizard and Harlot to Wed

Severus slammed the paper down, not even bothering to read what else Skeeter had written. Minerva cleared her throat next to him.

"We're happy for you," she told him. "Anyone who is important is happy for you. Just ignore that wench."

"She is a harridan, and I am tired of her besmirching Hermione."

"She besmirched you even more!" Minerva countered.

"Yes, but I don't care about me. Everyone hates me anyway." He changed his argument when he saw the furious look from his counterpart.

"I mean… those who don't know me. And I don't care about them. But it's unfair that they will think these things about my future wife!"

"Anyone who believes that tripe isn't worth associating with. I'm sure Hermione is used to this."

"Yes, but she shouldn't have to be used to it. It shouldn't happen!"

"Of course, that's true. But…"

At that moment an Owl swept into the Great Hall and deposited a parchment in Severus' lap. He unrolled it and read the message from his fiancée.

Don't bother reading the paper today, love. Skeeter is at it again. She is absolutely horrid! I'm sorry she is so horrible about you.

Him? What about what Skeeter had written about her?

He rose and nodded at Minerva.

"Can you cover my first class? I will be back shortly."

"Now Severus, don't go off all crazy. Think about the repercussions of doing something to Skeeter."

"I have no intention to visit Skeeter. Right now, my fiancée needs me."

"Well, then," Minerva said in relief, "By all means, go! I'll cover all your classes if necessary."

"Thank you, Minerva," he replied with a nod and quickly left the Hall.

In no time at all, he was entering Hermione's office. He smirked as he watched her flick her wand repeatedly, sending spells to destroy interoffice memos as they zoomed around the room. She didn't notice him right away, but he noticed the anger on her face. He hurried up to her and took her in his arms, enveloping her within his strong embrace.

"She's a cow," he muttered to her.

Hermione's arms came around him, and she clung to him.

"I could hex her for a million years for what she said about you."

He leaned back so he could see her face. "Hermione, I don't care what she said about me. I didn't get past the headline, but I was infuriated about what she called you."

"It's probably for the best you didn't read the whole article then," Hermione advised.

"How could you get through it?"

She blushed. "I had a hard time, actually. The paper kept mysteriously bursting into flames. I went through four copies before I got to the end."

Severus chuckled. "I see."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "How are you here? Don't you have classes?"

"Minerva is covering for me. She agreed that I should be here with you."

Hermione's face expressed her gratitude for his appearance. She hugged him and buried her head into his chest.

"Tell her thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed you here until you walked through the door."

He kissed the top of her head as his arms surrounded her.

"What can I do?" he murmured.

"I don't know. She hates me, Severus, and I think that you are getting slammed because she does."

"You forget she wrote an exposé book about me."

"Oh, that's true. So, she hates both of us."

"We must do something about this, Hermione. The woman is out of control," Severus demanded.

"What can we do, Severus? We retaliate and the public thinks that what was written was true. We say nothing, and the public thinks that what was written was true. She knows what she can get away with."

Severus thought about that. "Perhaps something more subtle?" he remarked.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Something devious, of course," he replied with a smirk. "I'll talk to a couple of people… see what they know."

Hermione kissed him. "Thank you, love."

oooo

Severus appeared in Hermione's flat and gazed at her with a serious look. Suddenly, his eyebrows arched and he grinned. "Ex-Minister Fudge," he said.

Hermione gave him a curious look. "What about him?"

"Skeeter is sleeping with him."

"What?"

Severus nodded. "And with several members of the Wizengamot and a couple of Ministry officials, and perhaps an Auror or two. My contact said that she gives sexual favors for story exclusives."

Hermione's eyes widened. "And she called me a harlot!" she cried.

She patted the sofa next to her for Severus to sit. He made himself comfortable.

"Who told you about this? Are they reliable?"

Severus frowned slightly. "It's someone you don't know, Hermione," he revealed. "When it comes to rumors, though, if he says something is so, then it is."

Hermione regarded him with skepticism. "You're sure?"

Severus huffed. "Yes." He replied tersely.

"Sorry. That's just a huge secret. How could she not have been found out before? And if she's so covert, how does your friend know about it?"

"I cannot say anything about my contact, but she's a beetle Animagus. She goes where she wants to unnoticed."

Hermione nodded. "So, what do we do with this information?"

"I think perhaps a list of names sent to the editor of The Prophet would suffice. Let them sort it out. It will be front-page news when they unearth it."

"You have all the names?" Hermione asked.

"I do."

In a matter of minutes, they had crafted a letter and anonymously sent it off by owl.

"And now we wait," Severus remarked offhandedly.

oooo

Three weeks later, the front page of The Prophet said it all.

Reporter Sleeping Her Way to the Top

It has been discovered that our own Rita Skeeter has spent years trading sexual favors for Ministry secrets. An anonymous tip sent to our editor prompted The Prophet to ask for help from Head Detective and Auror Harry Potter. He set out on a secret mission to uncover the truth. To his and our horror, he found that our illustrious Top Reporter has been schmoozing several Ministry officials.

The suspects have been charged with collusion and taken into custody and our illustrious reporter had been terminated. She is now sitting in a cell in Azkaban awaiting trial for extortion and collusion like her cohorts. We sincerely apologize to anyone who has been harmed by her reporting in the years she has been here with us. May justice prevail!

oooo

Hermione put the paper down and hugged her fiancée.

"Well done, love. Hopefully, that will be the last we ever hear from her."

"Hopefully," Severus agreed. "I would think she'll never find work in the Wizarding World as a reporter again at least."

"Looks like she may get worse than that."

Severus kissed her head. "She deserves it if she does."

Hermione leaned up and kissed him thoroughly. "Yes, and I'm glad you finally were able to take her down."

Severus smirked at her. "Being a spy has its advantages."

oooo

A/N: This one was a short one, but we didn't want to dwell too much on Rita. (Just long enough to see her get her just desserts.)