Chapter Five: The Shocking Report That Rocked the Magical World

At Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall was reviewing the list of new students, as she did every year. Beyond the children from pure-blood and half-blood families, those from Muggle-born backgrounds required a bit of extra assistance.

After all, to Muggles, wizards were nothing more than fairy tales; a letter delivered by an owl might be startling, but it was hardly convincing. To ensure Muggle parents agreed to enroll their children, professors usually had to pay a visit. However, someone like Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin House, was entirely unsuited for such work.

In the Transfiguration classroom, along with Professor McGonagall, were Bathsheda Babbling, the Professor of Ancient Runes; Charity Burbage, the Professor of Muggle Studies; Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, the substitute Professor for Care of Magical Creatures; and Madam Hooch, the flying instructor.

"Professors, here is this year's list of new students. Please take a look and see if there are any issues with the students you have been assigned."

There were fewer than fifty names on the list—shorter than a paper written by a lazy student. Excluding those from wizarding families, each professor was assigned no more than two Muggle-born students.

"Professor McGonagall, could the address for Roger Travis be wrong?" The list had passed to Madam Hooch, who had a habit of reading from the bottom up, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"I recall the Travis family being in the south, but his address is in the North Sea—and it's Azkaban." Madam Hooch read it three or four times; if it weren't for the fact that it was summer break, she would have suspected the address was a prank by the Weasley twins.

"Travis? That name sounds familiar."

"Buck Travis." Professor McGonagall stood up, uttering the name of the Death Eater. She would never forget the man who had murdered members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Perhaps it is just the same surname." They looked at one another, uncertain of this explanation.

"Professor McGonagall, have you seen today’s paper?" Professor Sprout rushed into the Transfiguration classroom, covered in soil and looking furious.

"What is it, Professor Sprout?"

"The Daily Prophet says the Ministry of Magic threw an infant into Azkaban and kept him there for eleven years. The entire wizarding world is talking about it today, and the Headmaster has already gone to the Wizengamot."

"Roger Travis?" Madam Hooch looked at Professor Sprout, her tone somewhere between a confirmation and a plea for verification.

"The report didn't mention the child's name. The Ministry and those Aurors have gone too far—how could they throw a child into Azkaban! That is Azkaban, filled with Dementors. The poor child!" Professor Sprout began to weep as she spoke.

Several professors quickly snatched up the newspaper. A full-page headline dominated the front cover in bold, oversized font: *The Little Star of Azkaban: A New Student at Hogwarts.*

Below it was a magical photograph of a dark, frigid Azkaban cell, with a small figure standing before a Dementor. He used a Patronus Charm to drive the monster away before collapsing into his mother's arms. A line of small text appeared beneath the photo: *A Child Who Has Never Seen the Sun.*

Rita Skeeter was, in some respects, the finest journalist in the British wizarding world. This report was a testament to her literary skill, perhaps even exceeding it.

Ordinary words were transformed by her pen into something dazzling, filled with her distinct, personal flair. If her previous articles could be called fabrications designed to grab attention, this piece, if true, was a rare masterpiece.

Every sentence in the article struck like an Unforgivable Curse against the Ministry of Magic, aimed directly at the current Minister, Cornelius Fudge. After all, only yesterday, the Ministry had issued a formal announcement with great solemnity.

Now, Hogwarts was caught in the crossfire as well. Albus Dumbledore, as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was under heavy attack by Rita.

The entire wizarding world knew that the acceptance letters must bear the signature of the sitting Headmaster. Naturally, the letter sent to Azkaban was no exception, and Rita had already photographed it and plastered it across the paper.

"This is dereliction of duty! This is a crime! This is a contemptuous trampling of the Wizengamot Charter of Rights!" The article berated them without restraint, even comparing the Ministry and Hogwarts to the institutionalization of the Dark Lord.

"In the name of equality, they trample upon law and justice, suppressing any wizard who opposes them. They label these wizards with the stain of pure-blood supremacy, only to cast them into Azkaban to be reduced to idiocy by Dementors—not even sparing an infant.

If the soil is not purified, it can only nourish the flowers of evil... As I looked through the cell door at the shimmering star within, hot tears traced paths down my cheeks."

The Transfiguration classroom had quietly filled with professors; besides Professor Binns and Headmaster Dumbledore, nearly every teacher at Hogwarts was present.

"Professor McGonagall, is this true?" Everyone looked at McGonagall. The new student list lay on the table. Professor McGonagall removed her spectacles and began to wipe them with a handkerchief she had transfigured from a quill.

"Everyone, please do not be agitated. Headmaster Dumbledore has already gone to the Wizengamot to handle this matter. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will protect every one of its students."

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Magic, Fudge was wrecking his office in a rage. He looked like an enraged bull, wishing he could throw the reporter named Rita into Azkaban.

"Damn that witch for setting me up!" Fudge roared at everyone in his office.

The Ministry’s announcement hadn't even been out for twenty-four hours before Rita used this report to slap the entire Ministry across the face. He had every reason to believe this was a conspiracy!

Rita Skeeter—that despicable, treacherous witch! This was a shameless, vile plot she had launched against the Ministry and the Minister himself!

The hallway outside the office was packed with Ministry officials, arguing loudly over whether the content of the paper was true or false. Not a single official, high or low, sought to verify the truth; instead, they racked their brains trying to prove that the Ministry hadn't imprisoned the wrong person.

Percy, the Minister's Junior Assistant, pushed through the crowd and grabbed Dolores. "Dolores, Rita’s report must be false, right?"

"It is not." As the High Inquisitor, Dolores had gone straight to the archives the moment she saw the report to check the records from that year.

"If it’s true, how could an infant survive an Unforgivable Curse? That was the Imperius Curse! If the child was taken into Azkaban by Jessica, how did he grow up?"

"The one who cast it was Barty Crouch Sr.; we all know he wouldn't show mercy to a Death Eater." Percy stared into Dolores's eyes, hoping to find the answer he sought in her gaze.

"Who knows?" Dolores shook her head helplessly. "Merlin help us, our Savior even survived the Killing Curse from the Dark Lord himself."

"But..."

"Enough, Percy. Go stand guard by the fireplace." Janus, the Minister's personal aide, approached, signaling to Dolores to say no more.

"The Minister believes that if former Minister Millicent Bagnold steps forward, things will take a turn. I heard him say that Headmaster Dumbledore and Barty Crouch Sr. also bear unavoidable responsibility." Percy was worried that Minister Fudge would fall from power because of this; they were all on the same ship.

"You're counting on the previous Minister to step forward? Listen to me, Percy!" Janus shook his head, pushed Percy into a corner, and took the documents from her hand.