NABC Chapter 268 The gossipy beetle who distorts the facts is captured in one fell swoop!
Chapter 268 The gossipy beetle who distorts the facts is captured in one fell swoop!
The little beetle had quietly sneaked into Harry's clothes long before he entered the stadium, hiding silently in the lining between his shirt and underwear.
Just now, this little beetle was planning to burrow into Harry's innermost clothes, scratching and biting against his chest, hoping to disrupt Harry's rhythm in chasing the Golden Snitch.
Unexpectedly, Marcus's accidental collision forced the little beetle to postpone its plans.
It must be executed, even if it can be postponed.
Little Beetle, also known as Rita Skeeter, a former journalist who enjoys spreading rumors, has made up her mind.
She wanted to cause an accident for Harry Potter on the field, to see how Dudley, who had caused her so much suffering, would react.
Regardless of Dudley's reaction, after harassing Harry, she would quickly break away from him, fly to a secluded place, transform back into human form, find a good angle, and use her magical camera to film and record all of Dudley's actions.
If Dudley becomes enraged, loses his temper, and uses magic to disrupt the match, there will be photographic and video evidence to prove it. She will then widely publicize that Dudley prioritizes personal matters over public duty, sabotaging the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup for the sake of his family, and that he has severe violent tendencies.
If Dudley remains rational and doesn't act rashly, she will still have pictures and videos to prove it, and spread the word that Dudley is heartless and ruthless, even neglecting her own cousin's accident for the sake of her image and prestige.
No matter how things develop, she will deal a heavy blow to Dali in terms of public opinion.
Moreover, this happened in front of the entire Hogwarts school community, and her planned report was not entirely detached from the facts.
Even if Dudley wanted the Hogwarts students to defend him, he couldn't achieve the same unanimous agreement as before, making everyone believe in Dudley's innocence.
Rita Skeeter's plan was crystal clear: this time, she was determined to smear Dudley and stage a spectacular comeback!
She didn't believe that Dali had the ability to break the deadlock under these circumstances.
As for her own safety, who would care about a little beetle?
She took photos and videos, then turned back into a little beetle and ran away, never giving anyone another chance to beat her up!
Rita Skeeter had been planning this for a long time, and now was the time to put it into practice!
She remained in her Animagus form as a small beetle. Seeing Harry charge at the Golden Snitch again through his collar, she didn't hesitate and climbed directly into Harry's underwear.
It began to use the tiny serrated teeth on its beetle legs to scratch and slash across Harry's chest, then quickly crawled around on his chest, clawing and biting, cutting shallow, minute wounds.
These wounds are not very harmful, but they are extremely bothersome.
Harry felt a stinging and itchy sensation, and he tried to endure the discomfort to continue his charge, but the little beetles in his clothes became increasingly agitated, greatly affecting his performance.
Finally, Harry couldn't resist any longer. He slightly raised his upper body, moved around, and even used one hand to grab the unknown creature inside his clothes.
Upon seeing this, Dudley and his friends in the stands, as well as Draco on the field, all realized that something was wrong.
Draco instinctively assumed it was Marcus's doing again, so he immediately hovered in the air, turned to glare at Marcus, and roared:
"Idiot! What are you doing now? Using a wand to cast a curse on the Quidditch pitch is punishable by a five-year ban according to international practice!"
Upon hearing Draco's words, the entire audience, the referees, and the players on the field all turned to look at Marcus, waiting for his explanation.
Besides Dali.
"It wasn't me! It really wasn't me..."
Marcus felt particularly wronged and tried to defend himself, but he was interrupted by a loud incantation halfway through his sentence.
"Freeze everyone!"
Suddenly, Dudley in the stands channeled his magic, let out a loud shout, and with the magical prowess of a legendary wizard, unleashed an extremely powerful immobilization spell.
In an instant, everything in this vast Quidditch pitch space—500 feet long, 180 feet wide, with an oval base and a height reaching the player at the highest point—fell into a state of stagnation.
The fourteen Quidditch players from the Lions and Snakes houses, some flying rapidly and others hovering, along with the high-speed Quaffle, Runner, and Golden Snitch, and the referee Mrs. Hooch standing in the center of the ground at the bottom of the field, all seemed to have time frozen in place.
This naturally includes Harry in the air and the mischievous little beetle inside Harry's clothes.
Everyone in the stands surrounding the stadium, except for Old Deng, was stunned by the scene and speechless.
"Dali, you mustn't..."
Dumbledore, standing in the faculty and staff stands, couldn't resist using his amplification magic to shout at Dudley from afar.
Dali interrupted him directly and replied, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"
With that, Dali lifted his leg and stepped into the air, flying at high speed without any flying aids, relying solely on himself.
In the blink of an eye, he flew to his cousin's side and hovered in mid-air.
Dudley's gaze locked onto a spot on Harry's chest. With a slight movement of magic, a small round hole was cut in Harry's clothes at that location, revealing the small beetle that had been fixed to Harry's chest.
【Ding--】
[Nice meeting! Unlocking Rita Skeeter's regrettable events in the current timeline!]
[A Talkative Beetle Who Distorts Facts (Grade A)]
[Details of the regrettable incident: Rita Skeeter was a despicable wizard who took pleasure in distorting facts, fabricating rumors, and slandering others. She was a disgrace to the magical world's journalists and a cancer among news media workers.]
In the original story, during the Triwizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter used Animagus magic to transform into a small beetle and sneak into Hogwarts to eavesdrop on a conversation between Hermione, Harry, and Viktor Krum, a student at Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Based on this, they fabricated lies and slandered Hermione.
They also misrepresented the words of the Triwizard Tournament champions, including Harry, in the interviews, and made false reports.
Even after Dumbledore's death in the original story, books were published to elaborate on the relationship between Dumbledore and Harry; after Snape and Voldemort died, books were published to elaborate on Snape's life and deeds. And so on and so forth.
In the original story, she survived to the end, still physically intact, retaining her ability to spread rumors and continue producing toxic junk information for the wizarding world.
"You choose the path to heaven but refuse to take it, and you insist on coming to hell even though there's no way out! Since you've chosen to come here to die, don't blame me for being ruthless later!"
Dudley stared coldly at the vile little beetle on Harry's chest, and used magic to transmit his sinister words to the beetle, so that no one else could hear them.
Then, Dudley reached out and a small breeze suddenly arose, carrying the little beetle that Rita Skeeter had transformed into from Harry's chest to Dudley's hand.
Then, the air around the little beetle automatically transformed into a thick glass bottle, imbued with an impregnable defensive magic, firmly trapping the little beetle inside.