Chapter 252: On the Edge of the Storm

“My friend is furious with you and asked me to teach you a lesson—though I didn’t expect to uncover so many surprises.”

“Who is your friend?” Rita Skeeter asked.

“You don’t need to know who my friend is, and I dislike your reporting—I hate seeing what your readers love to read.”

“So, regarding my purpose here...”

“I apologize! I will stop all false statements about your friend!” she said quickly, forcing a flattering smile.

"All false statements about everyone!" the leopard-headed man emphasized, slipping the notebook into his robe. "Otherwise, its contents will appear everywhere."

“Yes, yes, I’ll make sure of it.” Rita Skeeter didn’t hesitate for a moment.

“Thank you, Rita.”

The leopard-headed man stood, bowed with polite formality—though his leopard-headed smile was deeply unnatural—and vanished in a flash of lightning.

After a while, Rita Skeeter slowly rose from the floor. She examined the room carefully; no one was there. She quietly opened the window and door, glanced left and right—nothing outside—then slammed them shut.

A string of venomous curses spilled from her lips; she cursed the man just now with the foulest words she’d ever known.

“I’ll get revenge! Revenge—but who is he?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a brilliant flash of lightning struck her again; her eyes widened in terror as she once more transformed into a human electric bubble.

“That’s a lesson!” A voice suddenly rang in Rita Skeeter’s ear.

Her lips trembled as if to speak, but this time she clamped them shut immediately.

Above Hogwarts Castle.

The storm winds battered the eagle’s body, yet it darted nimbly through the gales, its speed untouched.

He quickly spotted the familiar window, dove straight in, shifted into a butterfly, and glided silently onto his bed, then resumed his human form.

For this punishment, he used his innate Transfiguration to manifest two Pokémon body parts—but both were easy to conceal, and even if discovered, he had ways to explain them away.

Yet today’s gains exceeded expectations: he hadn’t realized there were so many unregistered Animagi—he’d encountered two in just one month. But the greatest prize was Rita Skeeter’s notebook; with this leverage, he no longer feared her stirring up trouble.

The matter had been handled perfectly.

The window rattled as a gust of wind slammed against it; Allen reached out from behind the curtains, waved his wand, and the window slammed shut with a bang, sealing out the storm and darkness.

The next day, Rita Skeeter returned to Hogwarts for another interview with Allen; she had lost all the confidence she’d shown yesterday.

Allen granted her the interview. He knew he couldn’t stop the Ministry’s publicity campaign, so he cooperated—after last night’s lesson, she wouldn’t dare write anything outrageous.

Rita Skeeter looked drained, but she completed the interview. Allen noticed no tricks from her Quick-Quotes Quill this time.

Allen had become famous—more famous than ever.

The next day’s front page of the Daily Prophet reported Minister Fudge’s visit to Hogwarts, highlighting Fudge’s recent support for the Muggle orphan—Allen Finis—and detailing Allen’s achievements: he had improved five spells, assisted Professor Flitwick in rediscovering the long-lost Sensory Charm,

published over a dozen papers, and ranked among the top students each term. The article lauded the Ministry’s support for Hogwarts students and announced new educational initiatives.

Allen remained calm. He had long understood why Fudge had come to Hogwarts and insisted on meeting him: the recent Black scandal had overwhelmed him, forcing him to manufacture news to divert public attention. Allen was merely a tool in this scheme.

But while Allen stayed calm, the other Hogwarts students did not. They knew Allen was talented, but none expected him to be secretly publishing papers—so many of them.

“I owed the Ministry a lot of money, and improving spells brought rewards, so I devoted myself to it—and somehow, I actually made progress,” Allen said modestly.

A group of young wizards surrounded him.

Hogwarts erupted in a wave of spell-improvement enthusiasm. Hermione even carved out time to join—but they all failed. Spells aren’t that easy to improve!

“I see I’m a quick learner, but my creativity still falls short,” Hermione sighed, abandoning spell improvement. She decided to try modifying the Transfiguration Charm instead.

Allen seized the chance to offer to teach her Memory Charms—but to his surprise, Hermione refused.

“I have too many classes this term, and Memory Charms won’t be on the exam. I’ll wait until next year—I won’t take so many classes then,” Hermione said when declining.

This instantly killed any desire Allen had to persuade her.

Yet the Ministry’s strategy succeeded: public attention was indeed drawn to Allen’s deeds. Some marveled at his accomplishments; others doubted their authenticity.

Rita Skeeter’s interview with Allen was published on the next day’s Daily Prophet front page—clearly, the Ministry had prepared a full publicity campaign to shift public focus.

Though some parts were still exaggerated, the article was largely truthful. Allen was satisfied with Rita Skeeter’s change in tone.

As long as no newspaper claimed he and Harry were lovers or that he was climbing the social ladder by associating with pure-blood families, he could accept anything.

But the publicity about Allen sparked a new round of debate: the two most discussed figures now were a pure-blood traitor and a Muggle-orphan prodigy.

People began debating blood purity again...

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