Chapter 237: Rita

The Alchemy World welcomed its Hermes.

Rumors spread this way. According to “insiders,” this was the biggest story in the Daily Prophet in ten years, an exclusive obtained at great risk by reporter Rita Skeeter.

But given her habit of distorting people’s words and embellishing details, young wizards didn’t fully believe the facts—yet they were utterly curious.

The story spread like wildfire, some versions wildly fantastical—so fantastical that even En, after days of effort, had failed to replicate the cleaning broom sent by the Weasley twins.

En rarely encountered such problems in alchemy; he could barely piece together the faintest clues.

These days brought more rain, and En didn’t delve deeply into research—instead, one morning he arrived at the caretaker’s office door.

A biting door handle hung on the door; after students had been bitten, they no longer loitered around the caretaker’s office.

Mr. Filch hurried from inside the room; as he opened the door, he saw En studying the door handle.

For days since the broom had been taken, Mr. Filch had asked En no questions—only spoke in his usual tone:

“Green, would you like some breakfast?”

“Thank you, could I have a bowl of beef bone soup?”

En handed the broom to Mr. Filch; Mrs. Norris leapt onto En’s shoulder as usual.

“The cleaning broom’s precision has been improved—it can perfectly eliminate dirt. But I’m sorry, since I couldn’t replicate its function, I could only reinforce it slightly. By the way, you might try its Summoning ability.”

Mr. Filch held the broom, curious yet faintly fearful.

En knew Mr. Filch had always felt this way about magic—he longed for it, yet when it truly came into his hands, he felt uneasy.

So En would help.

“May I come in, sir?”

En asked softly; as Mr. Filch fumbled for a reply, En simultaneously removed the door handle.

Soon after, Mr. Filch watched the broom fly toward him from afar; his entire silhouette trembled slightly.

The beef bone soup was delicious; for Mr. Filch, who knew no culinary magic, preparing such a pot required tremendous effort.

As En drank the soup, he effortlessly endowed the biting door handle with the ability to recognize its owner using his portable tools.

Now Mr. Filch wouldn’t need to wear gloves.

He also casually carved a small door into the wall for Mrs. Norris.

…

The Great Hall remained lively.

A hundred owls flew in through the open windows, delivering morning mail. En instinctively looked up; many owls circled above the tables, searching for recipients of letters and packages. Amid a sea of browns and grays, En spotted a white shadow.

“White Owl” landed on En’s shoulder and nuzzled his cheek; En waved his wand, offering her a plate with meat and toast.

She began eating with elegant poise.

“White Owl” is a girl. When Hagrid told En this, En’s eyes widened. This made “White Owl” angry for the first time—she refused to deliver letters properly to En for a week, instead trying to drop them on his head.

“Look at this—”

Jia Jia Siting snatched a letter from an owl’s leg and suddenly gasped quietly.

“The Daily Prophet’s Ten-Year Impact Edition.”

Everyone leaned in; Jia Jia Siting often read the Daily Prophet, but rarely did anything make him exclaim like this and share it with others.

“The ‘Triple-Great Hermes’ has arrived at the Uda Alchemy Assembly! The International Alchemy Assembly reveals a stunning revelation!”

Rita Skeeter—our special correspondent, quill trembling—reports: The youngest alchemist ever! Now the brightest alchemical comet of the century!

The sincere author writes—alchemists have universally recognized his immortal status in the alchemy world! Rumor has it the Chocolate Frog Card Committee is preparing his biography…

Regrettably, the author could not uncover his true identity (though possibly linked to Hogwarts). For further coverage, please follow the Daily Prophet’s Ten-Year Impact Edition.

(Note: His alchemical creations prompted Dumbledore to purchase three crates in a frenzy.)

“If it’s an improved Lemon Drop—”

“I think the Headmaster would do that.”

The Weasley twins passed by, holding the Daily Prophet, and exaggerated their facial expressions toward En.

At the long table, everyone stopped eating and gathered around the article.

“Special edition this morning? I remember En attended some assembly…”

Luo En stared at the phrase “Ten-Year Impact,” then suddenly seemed to realize something.

“En—do you know if this is true—”

Hemin also voiced her question.

All eyes turned back to En.

Looking at the photograph in the paper—the reporter with jeweled spectacles, her golden hair styled into elaborate curls, teeth bared in what she clearly thought was a charming smile—En shook his head helplessly.

“No.”

Wizarding news was always exaggerated, especially in this reporter’s hands.

En vaguely understood why she flattered him so—every bolded English word in the article revealed it.

“Rita Skeeter,” “extremely,” “regrettably.”

Hmm, probably afraid he’d report her illegal Animagus status, especially since a legal Animagus stood right beside him at the time.

“Too overblown, and mostly useless information… Aside from the mention of youth and Dumbledore’s unverified praise, ‘universally recognized,’ ‘brightest comet,’ and ‘rumored Chocolate Frog biography’ are all vague…”

Jia Jia Siting analyzed.

His and En’s responses dampened the crowd’s heightened excitement.

“Alright, so you think this is just another fake report?”

Hemin wrinkled her nose; she’d always thought this reporter’s articles were unreliable.

“I think it’s too lowbrow.”

Jia Jia Siting suddenly said.

“Huh?!”

Hemin was momentarily stunned.

…

The Great Hall buzzed with shouts and exclamations; Rita understood young wizards’ minds—what kind of alchemical creation could make Headmaster Dumbledore buy three crates in a frenzy?

And this wizard was connected to Hogwarts, too.

They didn’t know about hormones or anything else, but everyone knew Chocolate Frog cards—those figures stood alongside Headmaster Dumbledore.

So who could this youngest alchemist be?

En assumed the rumor would end here; after all, such an anonymous, exaggerated report probably wouldn’t convince many wizards.

But as he ate quietly, he saw a group of Hufflepuffs huddled together, discussing for a moment, then excitedly joining others from different houses and heading toward En and his friends.

There were two chapters at noon.