"Of course they are. But will they believe that? I think not." Daniel said. "Oh, and did I forget to mention that this list was placed on Amelia Bones' desk an hour ago? How silly of me, it must have slipped my mind."
"How dare you!" Rita angrily yelled. "You've ruined my life!"
"We aren't done here, not by a long shot." Daniel practically growled. "Bring in Ms Skeeter's things!" In a flash house elves began dropping suitcases and clothes on the floor.
"You broke into my home and stole my clothes?" Rita said with a look of confusion. "Why?"
"I'm sorry to say that my elves were a bit careless." Daniel said with a nod. "Your apartment is quite a mess. Why, it looks like someone was trying to leave in hurry for some reason. As if, maybe, they expected to be arrested if they stayed much longer"
"I won't run!" Rita said. "I'll explain everything, whatever punishment they give me won't be too bad. And then I will make you pay for this."
"Maybe so, but you're forgetting about the potion I slipped into your drink." Daniel commented. "Curious about what it does?"
"You've poisoned me?!" Rita said in shock.
"No, no, certainly not." Daniel answered with a shake of his head. "The potion merely traps you in your Animagus form. Judging from how much you drank, I would guess you will remain a beetle for almost a year once the potion takes effect. That should be any moment now, by the way. It took me months to finally brew that potion correctly; I do hope you enjoy the fruit of my labors."
"You've made your point." Rita said finally, lowering her head in defeat. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing. You turned down my offer, remember? Like I said, that was the last chance you had." Daniel replied. "The last part of your punishment is this." Daniel reached down beside him and brought up a large glass jar.
"Are you going to imprison me in that?" Rita asked, the fear beginning to show in her voice.
"No. Well, yes but not for long. This is actually a portkey which will take you somewhere that you might feel a little more at home in your animagus form. There must be billions of insects in the Amazon rainforest, wouldn't you think? Although I must ask you to be careful, some of them probably eat beetles."
"You wouldn't!" Rita yelled, although she clearly wasn't convinced of it.
"I would and I will." Daniel yelled back. "Did you really think you could attack my family and get no response from me? If so you are a fool. If you do live through this I suggest you stay out of England and try to forget you ever heard of me or my family. Cross me again and my next response will not be so lenient."
Rita tried to respond, but her words were cut off as she began to make a choking noise. Her hands flew to her throat as she gasped for air, but then she very slowly began to change into her beetle form. It was clear she was fighting te change, but she stood no chance against the powerful potion. Once she had become a beetle she attempted to flee but a simple Accio charm was enough to send her flying into the glass jar which was then capped shut. Daniel set it on the table and looked towards Harry and Daphne who had silently watched the scene in shock.
"Are you really going to do all that?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Daniel answered. "She deserves it. Sometimes it isn't enough simply to win, Harry. You must crush your enemies and see them driven before you. If that bothers you, then take comfort in knowing I am not doing this for you. I am doing it for myself and to protect my family." Harry nodded and then noticed the glass jar containing Rita Skeeter had begun to glow. A moment later it disappeared, apparently headed for a South American jungle full of creatures just waiting for a tasty beetle to eat for lunch.
"Do you think she'll live?" Harry asked once it was gone.
"Maybe. Her chances will dramatically increase if she's able to make it back to civilization." Daniel commented. "I guess we'll find out in a year."
"That may have been a little harsh, dad." Daphne said. "Even for a vile piece of trash like Skeeter."
"Her attacks on Harry and Dumbledore served no purpose but to help the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters." Daniel answered. "She may not have officially been on their side, but she may as well have been. Make no mistake, this is a victory for the war effort." Harry could see the man's point and felt it would be silly to argue with him about it now. Daphne shrugged at the answer but did not say anything else about it.
"Come on Harry, let's go outside and I'll introduce you to our hippogriff." Daphne finally said, to which Harry happily agreed. They spent the rest of the day together, and after a while Harry even stopped wondering if Rita Skeeter had been eaten by a frog or trapped in a spiderweb somewhere on the other side of the world.
...
When Harry returned to 12 Grimmauld Place through the floo later on he was in an excellent mood. That, however, quickly changed when he saw that Professor Dumbledore was sitting down waiting for him. Harry considered walking out the door, but his curiosity on what the old man wanted got the better of him.
"Hello, Professor." Harry said.
"It's good to see you again, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "Why don't you have a seat for a while. I'd like to talk to you."
"Fine." Harry said as he sat down on the couch across from Dumbledore. "Why don't we start with why you tried to keep me at the Dursley's." Dumbledore sighed as if he would rather not discuss it, but began to answer anyway.
....
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