"I know you have no experience in this area, so if you ever need advice, you can come to me," Rennala continued earnestly.
"After all, I gave birth to all three of you siblings—I do have some experience."
Seeing her mother show no sign of stopping—and the topic only growing more and more embarrassing—Ranni grabbed Arthur by the hand and turned to leave.
"Mother, if there's nothing else, we'll be going now. My king still has many matters to attend to."
"You're leaving already?" Rennala said with a hint of reluctance.
"When you have time, remember to come back and visit your mother."
Ranni didn't reply. She merely lifted a hand and waved.
At least for the near future, she had no intention of coming back—
and if she did, she'd make sure to come alone.
She absolutely did not want her mother bringing up that mortifying topic again in front of Arthur.
"Pfft—hahahahaha!"
The moment they stepped out of the Grand Library, Arthur finally burst into laughter.
He truly hadn't expected the dignified Full Moon Queen Rennala to have such a side—
actually urging her own daughter to hurry up and have children.
And Ranni—his composed, aloof Lunar Princess—wearing that awkward, flustered expression…
Arthur was seeing that for the first time.
Ranni cast him a quiet, warning look, hoping he'd stop.
Unfortunately, Arthur laughed for a solid five minutes without any intention of slowing down.
Finally, Ranni sighed helplessly.
"Have you laughed enough, my king?"
Arthur immediately straightened himself.
"Ahem—yes. I'm done."
Ranni shot him a mildly resentful look.
"You really didn't help me back there at all."
Arthur waved his hand.
"Well, that is your mother—my mother-in-law. It wouldn't have been appropriate for me to argue with her."
Ranni rolled her eyes. She didn't believe that for a second.
After spending so much time with Arthur, she knew perfectly well—
he'd simply wanted to see her embarrassed.
That was her king: occasionally mischievous, with a touch of dark humor.
Not wanting to dwell on it, Ranni changed the subject.
"My king… what do you think about what my mother said?"
"What, about having children?" Arthur asked.
Ranni nodded.
"Not anytime soon," Arthur replied without hesitation.
"You know we still have many places left to explore, and even broader worlds waiting for us. If we had children now, a lot of things would become inconvenient."
Ranni nodded in firm agreement.
She shared the same view. With the long lifespan of demigods, there was no rush at all.
Right now, she was still young—and had no desire to think about such matters.
Hearing that Arthur's thoughts aligned perfectly with her own, Ranni finally let out a breath of relief.
At least she didn't have to worry about him wanting something different.
Hogwarts — The Reception Room
Rita Skeeter had returned.
After the group photos, it was time for the one-on-one interviews.
At first, Rita had been delighted to accept this assignment from the Daily Prophet—
after all, it meant fresh gossip and sensational headlines.
That enthusiasm vanished the moment she laid eyes on Hermione, one of the four champions.
As a special correspondent for the Daily Prophet, Rita's information network was exceptional.
Ever since her disastrous interview with Hermione last year—
and the threat she received from Arthur afterward—
she had quietly begun investigating Arthur and everyone around him.
Through a certain pure-blood wizard, she learned that Arthur was the heir of an ancient family from a mysterious Eastern nation.
She also uncovered the truth about Arthur eliminating Dementors at Hogwarts.
Arthur had deliberately written to the Daily Prophet to expose the Ministry's failure in handling the Dementor incident—but he never mentioned that he had destroyed them.
Naturally, the Ministry didn't want the public knowing their Dementors had been wiped out by a student, so the truth was suppressed.
Even though every Hogwarts student had witnessed it.
How Rita managed to learn of it anyway was anyone's guess.
But once she did, Arthur—and those close to him—were immediately placed on her absolute do-not-provoke list.
The moment she saw Hermione, Rita knew one thing for certain:
This time, she could not write recklessly.
At the very least, she absolutely could not fabricate anything about Hermione.
Otherwise, she might end up just like those Dementors last year—
eradicated.
So Rita shifted her focus.
To Harry Potter.
A fourth champion appearing out of nowhere?
Perfect material.
She dragged Harry into a broom closet and interrogated him mercilessly.
To amplify the drama, she even altered his age—
turning him into a twelve-year-old champion.
Harry stormed out of the broom closet, furious, and left the reception room altogether.
Outside, he ran into Arthur, who was waiting for Hermione.
"That reporter is outrageous," Harry complained.
"My eyes don't have any 'ghostly shadows of past sorrows' in them!"
Arthur patted him on the shoulder.
"You'll get used to it. The entire wizarding world knows she never tells the full truth."
Harry frowned.
"Then why doesn't the Daily Prophet fire her?"
"Because people love news that's three parts true and seven parts fake," Arthur replied calmly.
"Wizarding entertainment is scarce. Gossip fills the gap."
Harry understood the appeal—but he didn't want to become the center of it.
"Isn't there any way to deal with her?"
Arthur shrugged.
"Unless you find leverage on her… or defeat her with strength and scare her into silence. Other than that, no."
Harry pressed on.
"Do you know any dirt on her?"
Arthur shook his head.
Of course, he knew exactly what Rita's secret was.
But he'd promised not to reveal it—in exchange, she would work for him when needed.
In truth, Harry could accomplish either method Arthur mentioned.
In terms of strength, Harry—with his spirit companion—had no reason to lose to a newspaper journalist.
As for leverage?
All Harry needed to do was have Lily tail Rita for a while.
He'd soon uncover proof that Rita was an illegal Animagus.
A spirit companion that could alter form, pass through walls, and remain unseen was the perfect infiltrator.
As long as Lily was careful, discovery was impossible.
Whether Harry realized this… depended on him.
Judging by the thoughtful look on his face as he left, he probably had an idea already.
Which method he'd choose—no one knew.
Either way, it wouldn't be good news for Rita.
Rita soon finished interviewing all four champions.
As she exited the reception room, she spotted Arthur.
"Is there… something you need?" she asked respectfully.
She knew better than anyone—
this was a man she absolutely could not afford to offend.
In Rita's internal danger ranking, Arthur was even above Dumbledore.
Fabricate rumors about Dumbledore, and he'd merely demand a public clarification.
Fabricate rumors about Arthur?
She might not live to see the next sunrise.
After all, this was someone who'd wiped out Ministry Dementors—and faced zero consequences.
Arthur spoke calmly.
"For this Triwizard Tournament, help Hermione build momentum."
Rita nodded, then asked curiously,
"May I ask why?"
Arthur replied without hesitation.
"Hermione plans to run for Minister for Magic in the future. Building her reputation early will make things easier later."
Rita slapped a hand to her chest confidently.
"Leave it to me. I'll make it flawless."
Setting aside her tendency to embellish, Rita's writing skills were genuinely top-tier.
In a sense, she was already working for the future Minister for Magic.
As for the possibility that Hermione wouldn't become Minister?
Rita never even considered it.
With this man paving the way,
becoming Minister—or even unifying the wizarding world—was hardly impossible.
Harry, meanwhile, was in a terrible mood.
His best friend Ron had suddenly stopped believing him—
refusing to accept that Harry hadn't put his name into the Goblet of Fire.
They'd been arguing for over a week without speaking.
Harry suspected the Daily Prophet was partly to blame.
And sure enough—
After Rita rushed back to write her article, Harry never got the chance to warn her.
The next day, he saw himself in print as a twelve-year-old, "suspicious" Triwizard champion.
Rita not only included the line about "ghostly shadows of the past"—
She even added:
"He fought back tears…"
Harry couldn't bring himself to read any further.
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