The Owl Gazette
By Tasha
Rating: PG-13/T
Pairing: Blaise/Hermione
Genre: Romance/Humor
Summary: After quitting her job in the Prophet, Hermione Granger has decided to create her own newspaper company. The problem is; someone from the Prophet was sent to try and shut it down…
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
PROLOGUE
The clock ticked slower than usual, as the long hand pointed twelve and the short hand to eleven. I sat on a chair opposite to Jaclyn's desk, the secretary to the chief editor of the Prophet. I clutched today's copy of the Prophet in my right hand, and my original article.
A man in a suit walked out of the door next to Jaclyn's desk, and out the door. I sat still, knowing it would be my turn next.
"Miss Granger, you may see Mr. Malfoy now." Jaclyn said.
I nodded and headed for the door. I opened it slowly and peeked my head inside the room. I felt pathetic, really, like a dog peeking out it's dog house and worried of the dangers that lie ahead.
"Ah, Hermione, come in, come in." Draco said.
Ever since Hogwarts, not to mention the war, pure-bloods and muggle-borns have set away their differences and lived in harmony. That is, not every pure-blood. Those who still believe in the Death Eater way of life were found to be psychologically abnormal and sent to the loony bin. Maybe it was because those who were sent to the loony bin were the ones sent to Azkaban in the first place.
During the war, I was one of the reporters whose job was to help update the situation to the wizarding community. The war didn't end peacefully, with Harry and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in their final showdown, but just like any fairy tale, good wins over evil and the hero gets the girl.
In this tale, the girl is Ginny Weasley.
As for Ron, he joined Charlie in Romania to work with dragons.
Me? I'm a reporter for the Prophet, sharing a two room apartment with my friend, Vivian Carr, also a reporter for the Prophet.
I went in the office and sat on the chair opposite of Draco's desk. I looked around; on the left side were shelves filled with various books, on the right were shelves stacked with old Prophet issues, the floor was decorated by a green carpet, his desk was neat, with a globe of the world, an office lamp and folders on top. Right behind his desk was a huge window, decked with green curtains and looking over London.
Draco, who sat on a big, plush, swivel chair, turned round once and rested his elbows on his desk.
"What's on your mind?" He said calmly.
"This." I said, as I threw today's copy of the Prophet. The headline was 'Rufus Scrimgeour: Portrait of our Minister'.
Draco merely picked the paper up and scanned through it quickly. "Yes, this… Might I say that this is one of your best articles?"
"Don't you mean 'yours'?" I said. I threw the original copy of my article on the desk.
Draco kept a straight face, pretending as if he didn't know what was going on.
"You rewrote the whole article!" I cried.
"What do you mean?" Draco said, still pretending to be confused.
"I wrote an article criticizing about how Scrimgeour is making the English wizarding community worse than when Fudge was in power and how he might be corrupt." I said. "But when I saw it in the Prophet, you changed everything! You wrote about how great a leader he is!"
"Look," Draco finally got down to business. "The Prophet is the official wizarding community's newspaper. Everyone reads it, even Scrimgeour. So if I published that," he eyed my paper. "He could easily bring the Prophet down with a swish. Don't you want your job?"
"See! That's the reason I wrote that article, so everyone knows the truth about our horrid leader and get rid of him, because he won't accept the fact that he is bringing the wizarding community down!"
"But the truth hurts, don't you think?"
"That's what my job is as a reporter, and your job as an editor to publish my article for the whole world to know what is wrong!"
"Still, you didn't answer my question: the truth hurts, right?"
"And the truth is what will set you free. It's better than living in a world of lies."
"But lies are what makes the world as it is today."
"… A corrupt and troubled world. You mean."
"Don't be a cynic, Hermione…"
"I am NOT. A. CYNIC." I said in frustration. "I'm just being realistic, and if we tell them the truth, we could get rid of the corruption and troubles!"
"But a perfect world… It just doesn't seem as good as it sounds…"
"Says who? You're one of Scrimgeour's puppets. You're the one who approves all the articles the Prophet publishes, and Scrimgeour is paying you to disapprove those that might hurt his ego!"
"Now, that's harsh…" Draco said, pretending to be hurt.
"IT'S REALITY." I yelled.
Draco paused and said in a calm voice, "Look, we can't just put your article on the paper. I might get fired, you might get fired, and we'll die remembered as nothing. You see, I had to change your article not just to save my neck, but yours and the others as well."
I stood up, angry.
"This is an outrage! Why won't you publish the truth?"
"Like I said…"
"I won't hear any of it! You're just a mere puppet of his, and you know what, I'm sick of all the lies."
I turned around and walked towards the door.
"I quit."
Draco mock-gasped.
"If the Prophet won't publish the truth, I guess I'll have to find a newspaper that will." I said, firmly.
"Ooh, I'm scared…" He said, mockingly.
"You better be." I opened the door and found the other reporters leaning against it, Vivian among them.
I heard her say: "If she goes, I go."
They backed away, and I slammed the door close.
I walked out, receiving many stares from my co-workers. Or might I say, EX co-workers.
Vivian walked faster to catch up with me.
"What do you mean that you'll find another newspaper?" She asked, confused.
"I have no idea…" I said, trying to keep a straight face.
"I quit my job for nothing? Hold on a sec, I need to…" She said, turning around, trying to head for Draco's office. But I caught her by the hand.
"Wait, I have an idea." I said.
Vivian stopped, and wondered. "What is it?"
"We'll make our own paper."
A/N: Well, that's the prologue, don't worry, I'll try to update as soon as possible.