No wonder people always said you should never offend someone who makes a living with a pen.
Eda finally understood why.
Because they could insult you all they wanted, while you had no way to publicly insult them back.
Rita Skeeter's special report had almost nothing to do with the Triwizard Tournament.
It didn't introduce the competition schedule, nor did it explain anything else about the tournament.
The only connection it had to the Triwizard Tournament was the four champions.
If she had simply introduced the four champions properly, there would have been nothing wrong with that.
After all, that was a reporter's job.
But how could Rita Skeeter possibly write something so boring?
Her readers wanted entertainment.
Harry occupied the largest portion of the article.
Fleur and Krum shared a single line between them, and even their names were misspelled.
As for Eda, she also received a considerable amount of space.
Unfortunately, not a single word about her was positive.
In the fabricated article, Eda was portrayed as an ill-mannered orphan.
A hot-tempered, irritable lunatic.
According to the article, the slightest inconvenience would send Eda into a rage, tearing notebooks apart and throwing violent tantrums.
She was even accused of "verbally abusing teachers and physically assaulting fellow students."
Rita Skeeter then posed a dramatic question:
Why had someone like this become Head Girl?
Why had that senile old lunatic Dumbledore made such a decision?
Was there some unspeakable secret between the two of them?
Rita Skeeter also somehow obtained some completely unfounded gossip.
She outright portrayed Eda as a shameless slut, claiming she toyed with the affections of a pair of innocent twin brothers and had them wrapped around her finger.
The article further claimed this wasn't the first time.
According to Rita, Eda had been playing with the feelings of boys around her ever since her first year, constantly attracting admirers and flirting with them.
And that still wasn't enough.
Near the end of the article, she even subtly brought up Cedric, claiming that Eda was now pursuing Hogwarts' most handsome boy, intending to make the handsome Hufflepuff her latest conquest.
Anyone who finished reading the article would come away with the impression that Eda was a beautiful woman with the heart of a venomous snake.
The sort of wicked temptress who deserved to be burned at the stake.
The article was filled from beginning to end with slander.
Not a single sentence was true.
If Eda's reaction upon reading it was pure fury, then Harry's reaction was humiliation.
Harry occupied a large portion of the article as well.
It quoted countless "terrible things" that he had never actually said, portraying him as a pitiful, miserable little boy who secretly cried into his pillow every night.
Rita Skeeter's choice of words was revolting.
Anyone who knew Harry could immediately tell that he would never speak that way.
To make matters worse, the article introduced Hogwarts' second "slut."
Hermione Granger.
Rita Skeeter claimed that Hermione possessed breathtaking beauty and remarkable manipulative skills.
According to the article, she had confessed her love to Harry while simultaneously attempting to seduce another famous figure, Viktor Krum.
Following in her predecessor's footsteps, she was supposedly two-timing them both.
Not a single sentence in the entire article was true.
Everything had been fabricated by Rita Skeeter.
She also used extremely insulting and vulgar language to describe the two female students.
Strangely enough, however, that issue of the Daily Prophet sold exceptionally well.
It was even reprinted several times to meet demand.
Naturally, the students at Hogwarts had all read the article as well.
They didn't dare point fingers at Eda to her face.
But they certainly dared to point fingers at Harry.
Especially after they realized Eda wasn't stopping people from wearing the "Potter Stinks" badges.
Their courage only grew.
Harry had to endure people quoting lines from the article every time he walked past them, mocking and ridiculing him.
Although the article itself was utterly meaningless, it accidentally accomplished one good thing.
Because of it, Cho Chang unexpectedly accepted Cedric's courtship.
If Harry ever found out about that, he would probably hate Rita Skeeter even more.
He might even want to kill her.
In truth, Cedric Diggory was an exceptionally good choice for a boyfriend.
He had pursued Cho Chang for a long time, remained completely devoted, and the two of them getting together was only a matter of time.
Rita's article had merely sped up the process.
That morning, Eda and the twins were on their way to Hogsmeade to meet Charlie, the second son of the Weasley family.
As they passed through the Entrance Hall, they ran into an overjoyed Cedric.
Hogwarts' most handsome boy immediately stopped the three of them.
"Hogwarts' most handsome boy, have you come to fall beneath Eda's beauty?" Fred teased.
"You handsome Hufflepuff," George added, "if you become one of Eda's admirers, what will happen to Cho Chang? I hear quite a few people have been trying to pursue her lately!"
Eda laughed and scolded them.
"You two, get lost!"
The twins had been getting a little too full of themselves these past couple of days.
It was about time she loosened up their bones.
Good news put people in high spirits.
The twins' teasing earned nothing more than Cedric's hearty laughter.
After laughing, Cedric immediately turned serious.
"I'm here to thank you, Eda. Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart."
His words left Eda and the twins completely confused. All three of them looked at Cedric with puzzled expressions.
Cedric looked completely serious, without the slightest hint of joking.
"Cho read Rita Skeeter's article," he explained, "and then she accepted my invitation for a date. We're going to Hogsmeade together today! Cho, Cho Chang accepted my invitation. She agreed to be with me! Guys, I'm finally in a relationship! I'm officially walking upright now!"
With that, Cedric bounced away before he had even finished explaining himself, humming an unknown tune under his breath. Eda suddenly felt a toothache coming on. The tune Cedric was humming was just far too sweet.
"What just happened?" Fred watched Cedric's disappearing figure, but only grew more confused. "What does that article have to do with Cho Chang?"
"I have no idea. Maybe she was trying to comfort Ced. After all, Ced didn't become a champion. He lost to Eda, and then he even lost to Harry," George scratched his head, equally baffled. "Eda, you're a girl too. You should understand what Cho Chang was thinking, right?"
Eda scratched her head as well, unable to figure out what Cho Chang had to do with that article.
"I've only exchanged a few words with Cho Chang altogether. How would I know what she's thinking?"
After standing there thinking for a while without coming up with an answer, Eda and the twins headed to Hogsmeade with question marks still hanging over their heads.
The streets and alleys of Hogsmeade were packed with Hogwarts students. After finally making it out of Honeydukes, Eda felt like she had been squeezed a size smaller. She swore that more than five people had stepped on her shoes just now.
Just as Eda and the twins were about to head to the Three Broomsticks to meet Charlie, they spotted the newly formed couple, Cedric and Cho Chang.
Cedric waved enthusiastically at the three of them, but Cho Chang subtly held him back, preventing him from approaching Eda.
Watching Cho Chang drag Cedric into Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, Eda and the twins finally understood. They had finally figured out why Cho Chang had suddenly agreed to go out with Cedric.
Cedric often spent time with Eda and the twins after class. He also shared many of the same classes as Eda. Combined with Rita Skeeter's fabricated article, the three factors together had given Cho Chang a strong sense of crisis.
Cho Chang naturally knew the article about Eda wasn't trustworthy, but people always had a tendency to scare themselves. She worried that Eda and Cedric would gradually become attracted to each other after spending so much time together, fall in love over time, and then there would be no place left for her.
So, when Cedric invited Cho Chang to spend another Hogsmeade weekend together, she agreed immediately, without taking even a second to think about it.
"They say lovers eventually end up together, but why can't I feel happy about it at all?" Eda sighed. "Why do you think that is?"
"I can't feel happy either. I wish I had a day like that," Fred said.
"Need some help? I could help you kidnap Madam Rosmerta," Eda suggested. "Didn't you used to like her?"
George flicked Eda on the forehead.
"Enough wild ideas. Charlie's waiting for us. Are you going to break your no-alcohol rule today and drown your sorrows?"
"No. Absolutely not." Eda shook her head like a rattle. "I'm afraid if I get drunk, I'll end up setting the headquarters of the Daily Prophet on fire."
...
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