Chapter 253: Contest in front of the newspaper office

At three o'clock in the afternoon, when Rita Skeeter was about to enter the Daily Prophet to report the social draft, she saw a big pink toad appeared in front of her. Rita, who was good at scheming, recognized the other party's identity almost instantly - Dolores Umbridge.

But who is Rita now? She is an important member of Yang Tian's staff; one of the few confidants who have been planted with soul seeds and are completely trustworthy! She is also an indispensable key figure in this operation! It is no exaggeration to say that even at this moment, she is secretly protected by many of Mrs. Zabini's men. She would lie to Umbridge? It's a joke!

So she held her head high and continued walking into the newspaper office as if nothing had happened.

Umbridge, who had already done her homework, naturally recognized Rita Skeeter at the first sight. She hurried forward, put on a cold and superior attitude and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Rita Skeeter, as the Deputy Minister of Magic and the special observer of the Daily Prophet, I think it is necessary for us to have an in-depth exchange. Please come with me."

Hearing this, Rita frowned slightly and thought to herself, "What a powerful official! He is using his power to suppress others right from the start? But the question is, am I afraid of this?"

She then raised a proud smile and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Umbridge, I'm just a special correspondent, or a freelance writer. I have no affiliation with the Daily Prophet. Moreover, my time is very precious. I really don't have time to talk to you about irrelevant things, so please forgive me." After that, Rita turned around and prepared to leave.

Rita's reaction caught Umbridge off guard. She had thought of countless ways that Rita would respond, and even thought that this woman would flatter her and try to get close to her. But she never expected that this annoying woman would choose to confront her head-on!

Umbridge was furious at this moment. She could not help but yell, "Ms. Skeeter, I advise you to stop. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen to you!"

Rita laughed at this, and then she said, "Merlin! Is this what a Deputy Minister of Magic should say? So many people are watching, I'm really curious, what exactly does Madam Umbridge want me to encounter? Or are you threatening the personal safety of a special reporter?"

The surrounding personnel deployed by Mrs. Zabini immediately rushed over after noticing something was wrong; passing wizards who heard the news also gathered to watch the fun.

Then, a whisper came into Umbridge's ears:

"This is a naked threat..."

"Yeah, I never thought that the Ministry of Magic would do such a thing..."

......

Umbridge felt her head buzzing immediately, and she immediately said righteously: "Ms. Skeeter, please don't misunderstand me. I am only questioning you privately on behalf of the Ministry of Magic about what you have done recently. If you refuse, the Ministry of Magic will arrest you."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Umbridge, there's no need for private questioning. I haven't done anything shameful. Please just state the questions you want to ask me in front of everyone. After all, what you said just now was too misleading, and I feel my life is threatened. Is my request not excessive? There shouldn't be anything shameful in the Ministry of Magic that has to be discussed in private, right?"

"You..." Umbridge was about to find an excuse to get away with it, but she heard the discussions around her getting louder:

"That's right, is there anything you have to say behind people's backs?"

"Yeah, why is the Ministry of Magic still so secretive about its actions?"

......

"Okay, very good! Since you are so ungrateful, then, as a special observer of the Daily Prophet, I declare that our newspaper will no longer have any cooperation with you and will not accept any manuscripts from you! Now, you can go home with your tattered manuscripts." Umbridge almost shouted out all the resentment in her heart in a roaring tone.

But her words immediately aroused doubts and dissatisfaction from the people around her:

"Isn't he the Deputy Minister of Magic? How can he represent the Daily Prophet?"

"Didn't you hear that? Special Observer! Are you trying to control public opinion?"

.......

"Please do not hinder the Ministry of Magic from performing its duties here! And please do not hinder the normal operation of the Daily Prophet here." Although there was still a lot of discussion around, and although Rita showed a half-smile and said nothing, Umbridge did not care! She became confident again, and her resentment was swept away. Cut off the source directly at the door of the newspaper, and act first and report later. Let's see what else you can do! At this time, she was already praising her own wit in her heart.

However, a discordant voice soon emerged: "I'm sorry, Ms. Umbridge! The Daily Prophet has received too many letters from readers. Everyone is eager to know more about the truth of the evil organization, and Ms. Rita Skeeter's manuscript is crucial. Therefore, your remarks just now cannot represent the attitude of our newspaper."

"Asshole, what are you..." Umbridge was about to yell, but when she saw the other person's face, she shut up decisively. Because the person was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Barnabas Guffey.

However, after a slight hesitation, she said firmly: "Ms. Skeeter's recent reports have seriously exaggerated the facts, incited the emotions of wizards, and caused very bad effects... Therefore, the reports must stop."

"Excuse me, ma'am. I want to know what part of the story you mean by exaggerating? As long as you can tell me, I don't mind apologizing in the newspaper immediately." Rita said disdainfully, "But if you make false accusations without any evidence, I don't mind suing you to Wizengamot."

"That's right, that's right. What's wrong with the Deputy Minister of Magic? You can't just accuse someone wrongly."

"That's right. Show us the evidence. We also want to know what is untrue about Ms. Skeeter's report."

......

Before Umbridge could retort, the onlookers started to make a fuss, questioning her one after another, fearing that the incident was not big enough.

"You...you guys, very good! But don't think I can't deal with you!" Umbridge became even angrier. She immediately looked at the editor-in-chief and said, "This is an internal matter of the Daily Prophet, so I request an internal meeting of the newspaper immediately!"

She had already thought about it. She would definitely put pressure on these people at the internal meeting. It was just a small newspaper. If they dared to disobey, she would just use thunderous means to arrest all these bastards and put them in Azkaban.

"Of course, ma'am." The editor-in-chief agreed very readily, but just as Umbridge smiled triumphantly, he spoke again...