Two weeks had passed since that interview that shook nearly half the wizarding world.
Yet its impact had yet to fade,
Rita Skeeter's report was an enormous success, propelling her back into the spotlight. After a "veiled" wizarding war, witches and wizards everywhere were eager to learn the truth, and this report catered perfectly to that curiosity.
The name Horace Slughorn quickly became well known thanks to the article… especially the story of his bond with his student, Lily Evans—Harry Potter's mother—which moved many witches to tears.
The term "Order of the Phoenix" also entered public awareness. Most witches and wizards began to develop a sense of respect for this organization, which had secretly protected them over the past two years and made immense sacrifices on their behalf.
Of course, for those "Death Eaters" who had yet to be captured, the report offered new insight into their master's second crushing defeat—but that's a story for another time.
As for the Ministry of Magic, they were initially deeply dissatisfied with The Daily Prophet's new column. Rufus Scrimgeour of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement even openly declared in an interview that such reporting was a direct provocation against the Ministry.
However, The Daily Prophet's editor-in-chief, Barnabas Cuffe, took an uncharacteristically firm stance. Despite the immense pressure from the Ministry, he went ahead and published Rita's second interview in the series.
This time, the subject was no longer a living wizard, but a "hero" who had died more than a decade ago.
Edgar Bones was one of the founders of the Order of the Phoenix and a leading figure among the wizards who stood against You-Know-Who during the First Wizarding War. During his lifetime, he had thwarted a Death Eater plot to sabotage Folkestone Harbor in Kent, and had even confronted You-Know-Who face-to-face at Canterbury Cathedral.
Until November 1979, when Edgar Bones, along with his wife and two daughters, was brutally murdered by Death Eaters in Harrow… Before that, he had been one of the individuals the Death Eaters feared most.
The interview approached his story through the recollections of several of his friends, offering a portrait of the kind of man he had been.
The Bones family is a prominent name in the British wizarding world, with most of its members having come from Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts. The current Minister for Magic, Amelia Bones, is also a member of the family—and the cousin of Edgar Bones, the subject of the report.
With the publication of this second article, the overwhelming opposition that had previously come from within the Ministry began to subside.
Although Rufus Scrimgeour continued to voice his objections and repeatedly spoke out against the column, his protests seemed increasingly powerless in the face of the broader trend.
...
For Jon Hart, this was exactly what he wanted.
It was all going according to plan.
The Ministry of Magic was far from a unified entity. On the contrary, it was highly fragmented internally. Within such a vast government organization, multiple factions coexisted, filled with all kinds of witches and wizards. They often worked at cross purposes, and even when problems were identified, resolving them was slow and inefficient. This, in his previous life, had been the key reason why the seemingly powerful Ministry had collapsed almost overnight under the Death Eaters' assault.
Meanwhile, preparations for the Order of the Phoenix interview series continued steadily. Rita Skeeter had been run off her feet these past few days—though she was clearly enjoying every moment of it.
After the relatively restrained "opening acts" featuring Horace Slughorn and Edgar Bones, Jon's next step was—to have Rita interview veteran members of the Order of the Phoenix, such as Elphias Doge, and produce a feature titled "Remembering Albus Dumbledore."
Such an article, he believed, would give the wizarding world a new understanding of the Order of the Phoenix.
...
Of course, Jon Hart had more on his plate than just the column in The Daily Prophet. Within Hogwarts Castle, another major event was about to begin—the O.W.L. examinations.
This important annual exam had been delayed by about half a month compared to previous years, due to the recent unrest at Hogwarts and the unexpected death of the former headmaster.
But it had only been postponed, not canceled.
When the elderly witches and wizards from the Wizarding Examinations Authority arrived at Hogwarts, Headmaster Jon Hart had no choice but to personally receive them at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Though nominally under the Ministry of Magic, the Wizarding Examinations Authority operated with a high degree of independence.
They were responsible for overseeing major examinations in the wizarding world, including the O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s, and the W.O.M.B.A.T. (Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test).
Because positions within the Authority were essentially lifelong appointments, most of its members were exceptionally old—the youngest among them was already over a hundred.
Having spent decades in education, they maintained deep ties with Hogwarts, but had a rather strained relationship with the Ministry.
For example, over a year ago, when Dolores Umbridge was appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts by then-Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Professor Griselda Marchbanks—the head of the Authority—and Tiberius Ogden, both senior members of the Wizengamot, resigned in protest. Not long after, Marchbanks was accused by The Daily Prophet of secretly colluding with a so-called "Goblin Subversive Group."
At the entrance to the Great Hall, Jon encountered the very witch in question—a short, hunched figure with a face full of wrinkles like a spider's web, yet sharp and alert.
"So you're the new headmaster of Hogwarts?" Professor Marchbanks seemed slightly hard of hearing, but her voice rang out loudly. "Albus Dumbledore's successor…"
"Hello, Professor Marchbanks—yes, I'm Jon Hart," Jon replied promptly.
"The journey went smoothly, very smoothly—everything went perfectly along the way!" Professor Marchbanks clearly hadn't caught his response. As she looked around, a hint of melancholy crossed her face. "I never imagined Dumbledore would leave this world before I did…"