I'm lucky that I got this chapter written today. I've been insanely busy lately. Don't you love when everything happens at one time?
Anyway, I got some nice feedback over my last chapter. I'm glad to see that I surprised most everyone with my addition of Rita Skeeter! I don't like her either but she seemed perfect for letting the cat out of the bag on their relationship. I side-tracked myself for a while on the story. Recently, I remembered that they were supposed to be found out so... enter Rita Skeeter. With a vengence. Lol!
Anyway, here's my new chapter. Of course, I'm not as awesome as JKR, who is the real owner of Harry Potter.
Rita Skeeter turned to his desk and sat down on the posh chair, making herself at home without invitation. "I had my misgivings." She had conjured her bag out of nowhere and started littering the tabletop with parchment and bright green quills. "But you can't really blame me. The last time I muddled in the lives of students here, I was blackmailed by that rat, Granger." The sneer was evident in her voice for the next line, even though Draco couldn't see her red lips. "Now it's time for a little payback."
A little miffed at having his personal space invaded, Draco rolled his eyes. "You didn't say you had a personal vendetta against the Mudblood. I should have suspected it though. You did arrive quickly. Eagerly."
"Of course." She was attempting to balance a green quill on parchment now: A Quick-Quotes Quill. Her next words were distracted. "If you had the chance for revenge you would take it too. You're just as capricious as I am."
"What's stopping Granger from blackmailing you after you publish her love affair?" He sounded doubtful.
"I registered myself as an Animagus with the Ministry. Problem solved. Now, be quiet, will you?"
The blonde haired boy frowned, feeling seriously put off by her attitude in his own room. He bit his tongue though.
Rhinestones glittering in her glasses, she cleared her throat. With any blockage removed, she began to speak her story.
In a few moments, the room was filled with the sound of her voice and the scratching of the quill. Curious, Draco moved forward and read the page.
Home-Wrecking at Hogwarts:
By: Rita Skeeter
With all of the talk about the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Named, I've decided to make my comeback as a reporter, starting with a story of betrayal and heartbreak, disloyalty and disrespect.
As if the Boy-Who-Lived didn't have enough heartache in his life, someone very close to him is tragically doing him dirty.
It's come to light that Hermione Granger, seventh year student at Hogwarts and the betrothed of Harry Potter, is carrying on an inappropriate relationship behind the young man's back with a trusted instructor: Potions Master, Severus Snape.
A student himself years ago at Hogwarts, Snape, 34, has found comfort in the arms of the cleverest student there in these troubled times. Granger, being barely legal at 18, has reciprocated such feelings, tearing apart the relationship that Harry Potter risked everything to build.
Furthermore, it seems that Albus Dumbledore is in the know about these relations and supports them, making us question who is in charge of educating our children.
…The article continued on, bashing Dumbledore for allowing such a relationship to happen, questioning his method of hiring competent staff. It even brought up his hiring of werewolf, Remus Lupin years ago, knowing exactly what he was.
When Rita stopped talking, the Quill poofed and she waited for the ink to dry. "I had those things modified. They actually write what I say now."
Draco was rolling the words over in his thoughts. Though, the article spoke mostly the truth, he was beginning to have second thoughts about such slanderous material being printed in the Daily Prophet. He voiced his concerns out loud before fully considering them.
Rita scoffed, missing the true meaning of his words. "The Daily Prophet? Ha. I wish. I'm still writing bi-lines for the Quibbler. I'll be sending this in to my old publisher and I hope he takes the story but otherwise… I'll have to stick with what I have."
"Oh."
The woman in green was cleaning up her mess now, replacing it in her bag. After everything was clear, the bag poofed into thin air. She stood up and held out her hand for the boy to shake. "The article should be printed in two days. It's been nice doing business with you, Mr. Malfoy. Don't be such a stranger, you know."
When he pulled his hand away, there was a golden Galleon there. He looked up and saw her wink. With that, she was a beetle again, taking off through his window.
Feeling oddly conflicted, he went to close the window. Now that he was alone, the room felt emptier than usual.
He shrugged off the emotions and went to take a shower.
Hermione didn't stay with Severus that night. She left with a small smile on her face, feeling better than she had all day.
Harry wasn't in the common room and she tried her best not to let it bother her. She didn't see Ron, either. With a resolved kind of sigh, she retired to her dormitory for the evening.
The next day went as smoothly as ever, with the exception of her friendship with Harry.
He had returned to class but refused to acknowledge that Hermione existed, let alone speak to her. Ron was doing his best with the feud and trying to talk sense into his male buddy but nothing was working. The bushy haired girl did her best to ignore his immaturity and keep smiling.
However, the events of the next day wiped the smile from her face.
Hermione went down to breakfast with a silent Harry and Ron like she usually did. She ate her oatmeal with a spoon, making casual conversation with Ginny.
When the morning owls arrived, she didn't even look up until a small screech owl dropped a letter into her bowl. Confused, she picked it up and didn't have a chance to look at the name on the parchment before two dozen more dropped on top of her head.
Completely bewildered, she looked up to see Harry and Ron looking at her curiously. Her eyes shifted to the staff table and she saw that Severus and Professor Dumbledore were in the same situation, only their piles seemed to be larger. She watched as the Headmaster reached for a copy of the Daily Prophet. His face disappeared behind the paper for only a brief moment before he stood up, waved his wand, and every scrap of mail in the Great Hall disappeared.