It was ten in the morning, and Rita Skeeter could hear her heartbeat hammering in her chest as the time of the appointment drew near. Just the previous evening, she had created a fake scandal about a politician and was about to send it to The Daily Prophet for her fans, who were waiting for another interesting article to read.
But at that moment, an owl came in—not just any owl; this one seemed to be trained for battle instead of just domestic use. This surprised her a bit, but she had received letters from this kind of owl before, usually when she tarnished the social standing of someone who was high in the ladder of society. But with her pride, she ignored the threats and wrote even more incriminating things about the people who dared to threaten her.
She had the skill to turn pure lies into truth, and she was proud of it. But as she read the letter from her supposed next victim, she paused, and the letter fell from her hand. Her hands trembled as she contemplated the single sentence in the letter, followed by an address at the end:
"If you don't want the whole world to start killing the blue beetle, come to the address below."
Right now, Rita Skeeter was standing in front of the gate one hour before the specified time written in the letter. Her biggest strength was that she could not be harmed by the people she tarnished with her writings. This was due to her sparkling clear record of not breaking a single rule created by the Ministry of Magic. But if the fact that she was an illegal Animagus came out, every single person she had offended would come rushing to put her in the gallows.
Even though the biggest punishment she could get was being sentenced to Azkaban, she had heard rumours during her reporting career about Dementors going rogue and sucking out the souls of prisoners. It was often mentioned as an accident, but she knew these were deliberate acts of revenge by people with influence over the few human guards in Azkaban assigned by the Ministry. The Ministry also turned a blind eye to this.
The moment she was found out as an Animagus would be the moment of her death. That's why she had arrived early at this place—to avoid angering the person who had called her. She then waited for an entire hour, but until the personal watch she carried struck 11, the gate remained closed. But at exactly 11, the gate automatically opened, and Rita rushed inside, making sure to behave respectfully. As she reached the door and was about to knock, she saw the owl that had delivered the letter sitting nearby. It was indicating for her to follow it as it moved toward the back of the house.
As she moved toward the back, she found an 11-year-old child tending to a plant in the garden. The owl she had seen before was perched right on his shoulder. The humongous owl, which was bigger than the child's head, did not seem to interfere with the child's movements.
"It is nice to see you treat my letter with the seriousness it deserves, Miss Rita," Auden said while continuing to tend to the plant.
Skeeter was shocked as she realized the person who had sent her the letter was the child. She immediately used her senses to see whether anyone else was nearby. Surprisingly, she did not find any anti-detection wards around the house, and at the same time, she was unable to detect any life signs.
Her eyes widened as she realized this was her best chance. She immediately pulled out her wand and began to cast a spell.
"Bombar—" Before she could even finish the incantation, she suddenly lost her balance as her legs locked together and she fell down.
As she did, she felt her wand being pulled from her hand and float through the air until it gently reached Auden's palm.
While the failure of her attack at the hands of a child shocked her deeply, what shocked her more was the way he had done it.
Silent casting, at such a young age, and simultaneous use of two spells at the same time...
Auden came near her while holding her wand.
"Well, it seems like negotiations are over," he muttered and took out a parchment and a small knife from his ring. But to Skeeter, it looked as if he had taken it from the air itself.
He then gently placed the parchment in front of Rita while handing her the small knife.
"Sign. That's the only option you have other than dying in Azkaban."
Rita looked at the parchment. Reading it quickly, she realized it was essentially an enslavement contract. And looking at her current condition, she knew she had no choice. Her incomplete Bombarda, clearly aimed at killing him, had destroyed any chance of negotiation.
She made a small cut on her finger and pressed it to the parchment while speaking a few incantations. From that moment onward, she became the servant of Auden H, who now held power over her life.
Auden gently rolled up the parchment and smiled.
"All right then. As part of our new path toward success, we will have our first target before the start of Hogwarts this year," he said as he removed the leg-locking charm currently holding her.
As she got up, she had a defeated look in her eyes, but she still asked,
"As per the agreement, I will have to listen to you, but you still haven't told me who you are or what we are doing."
Auden smiled at that.
"Well, since the contract ensures that you won't speak, I guess I can tell you. My full name is Auden H—or to be more exact, Auden Hogwarts. I am the heir and successor of the four founders of Hogwarts."
Skeeter's eyes widened in shock as she absorbed the information.
"What we are doing is simple. We are going to turn the ideologies of the wizarding world upside down."
A/N- hope you like it.