Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 970 Big News 6
The air fell into a deathly silence, then froze.

Leila's smile froze on her face. The guests stared in horror at the screen, the few seconds seeming to stretch out, thicker than honey.

All that could be heard in everyone's ears was that chilling word Rita Skeeter had uttered—human trafficking!
After just a few breaths, Leila's ugly face suddenly changed, her expression both absurd and sad, like a warrior who had been wronged and had no way to defend herself.

Her gaze swept rapidly across the audience, landing on her staunchest supporters, her allies. In an instant, her eyes sharpened like a quenched blade, silently proclaiming—

This is war, stand shoulder to shoulder with me!

"Right today, right here!"

Rita Skeeter shouted at the top of her lungs:

"I will expose to everyone the darkest corruption and the most despicable betrayal in the magical world!"

"I ask all American wizards—can you really tolerate such a despicable and evil Speaker of Congress coming to power? Do you really want to be ruled by her?"

In the gradually clearing stream of footage, Rita Skeeter's magnified face almost fills the entire frame, before she abruptly steps back, creating distance and revealing a large amount of evidence at her fingertips.

Today, Rita wasn't dressed like a flamboyant parrot as usual, but rather like a colorful Amazonian warrior about to head into battle:

The long red and black robe had sharp lines, a monocle reflected a cold light, and her hair was tied up high, with each strand tightly bound together to form a tight bun at the back of her head.

She leaned forward, her hands on the table, her face showing the professional excitement of a journalist, but deep down she was filled with genuine anger.

Behind her was an empty, windowless, pure white room, which prevented anyone from pinpointing her location through the view in the camera and physically interrupting the live stream!
"Poor Chairman Hawthorne did nothing wrong, nor did he commit any terrible crimes! His greatest sin was perhaps occupying the seat of Congress Speaker and blocking Leila Picqueli's path to power!"

Rita Skeeter's voice rose, filled with a dramatic vibrato, and gripped everyone's attention:

“My dear, misled American friends, you think this is just political infighting? No, look at this—”

"From the Stonefield family's most secret vault! Records of their financial transactions, intelligence exchanges, and even... cold-blooded agreements with certain officials regarding how to 'dispose' of their fellow wizards who tragically died in experiments!"

"It must be said that these cunning and treacherous Muggles always like to keep gifts from friends and dirt on enemies! It is thanks to this habit of theirs that we are able to expose the true colors of some people today!"

"Next, I will show you this evidence—"

Principal Fontana abruptly stood up and roared, "This is poison!"

The headmaster's robes billowed in the wind as he snatched the wand from an old friend beside him and, to the other's astonishment, drew a complex arc in the air.

A strange buzzing sound immediately drowned out Rita Skeeter's voice.

Fontana tapped his throat with his wand, and a booming voice immediately echoed throughout the courtyard:

"Don't listen! Don't look!"

“Every word she utters is eroding the very foundation of the Secret Service Law!”

"What Chairman Piqueli is fighting against is precisely this kind of crazed thugs who intend to drag us into the abyss!"

"And this—this despicable performance—proves precisely how right and necessary her path is!"

"At this moment, what we need is unity, steadfastness, and unwavering support for the Chairman! Do not be deceived by the enemy's tricks!"

The supporters, realizing what was happening, immediately erupted in a roar:

"This is shameless slander!" "Find that woman! Hang her!"

"We will always support Chairman Piqueli!"

Most of the high-ranking officials in the Magic Congress were supporters of Lyra, and their authoritative pronouncements immediately made those who had been swayed by the live broadcast begin to doubt.

The sound of incantations suddenly rang out from all directions. Some people waved their wands and released colored smoke that interfered with their vision. Some people tried to smash the streaming mirror that was playing. Some impulsive people even released offensive spells directly at the protectors below the streaming mirror.

"Crack!"

A mirror suddenly shattered.

The mirror originally had multiple protective spells, but under the attack of countless spells, it eventually couldn't withstand them and shattered.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the conflict suddenly erupted.

Kingsley Shackler stood firmly in front of Sinkenis, his figure as silent as a mountain. The aura of the Ironclad Charm always managed to block all the spells aimed at him and the Mirror of Flow not far behind.

Moody roared, "You bastards, don't even think about it!"

His limp did not affect the speed of his spellcasting at all; the light of the spell was like a machine gun firing, and in the blink of an eye, he knocked down four or five people with a stun spell.

Many American Aurors, led by their superiors, blindly charged toward these enemies who "attempted to destabilize the American wizarding world," but divisions also emerged within their ranks.

A spell shot out from the crowd and suddenly sent Fontana flying. The moment he landed, the principal was bound by a giant python-like rope, and his sound-masking magic instantly dissipated.

The next second, Rita Skeeter's excited voice burst into everyone's ears:

"...Therefore, at Leila Picqueli's behest, the brave warrior Salina Goldstein was killed in public!"

"Here is a speech manuscript handwritten by Ms. Goldstein before her death, which clearly lists the crimes committed by Leila Picqueli and her gang!"

"She was brutally murdered because she was trying to expose these secrets!"

Enlarged parchments floated past the camera, each one frozen for several seconds. Skeeter selected the most moving parts and read them aloud.

On the paper, Aurora Salina Goldstein wrote her name, her anger and determination, and her resolve to give her life for it.

Those lines of meticulous yet rugged handwriting reflect the final brilliance that the Auror wrote with his life.

Many people's eyes welled up with tears instantly, and many Aurors put down their wands. Some even turned their wands around to protect Liu Jing.

Anderson and Lopez stood back to back, their wands pointed at their former colleague, their faces filled with grief and resolute determination.

“I knew it!” Anderson shouted, tears streaming down his face. “You were the one who killed Salina! Piqueli! She told us that we couldn’t let the American wizarding world fall into the hands of demons!”

His wand trembled with excitement, but the Auror opposite him seemed to have suddenly become much dumber, and none of his spells hit either of them.

Samuel Goldstein went even further, knocking down two officials attacking the Mirror, and then stood in front of one of the Mirrors, shouting sternly:

"Let that reporter finish speaking! If she's innocent, why should she fear the truth?! Leila Picqueli, if you really killed my sister, I will never let you get away with this!"

(End of this chapter)