Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 182, Section 181: Reports of the Shock to the Ministry of Magic
This is news that could cause a stir for the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding community.

For the first time, Rita had an idea: being a journalist who dares to speak the truth might not be so bad.

The thrill of challenging authority, the thrill of reporting government secrets and exposing government mistakes, is really exhilarating.

Wait a minute, thinking about it this way, it seems like it's been a long time since I've tried to fabricate or tamper with any news? I don't need to rack my brains to create stories that readers will like; simply telling the facts in a certain number of times and at a certain pace is enough to cause a sensation in the magical world.

And it all started last year, because of this boy who was once a treasure, now a lightning demon.

The physical pain and mental fear prevented Rita from even harboring resentment in her heart. She stopped thinking about it and felt only gratitude.

After finalizing some details with Harry, Rita quickly took her leave, transforming back into a beetle and departing.

Watching the beautiful green beetle disappear through the window, Harry was somewhat curious whether wizards who transformed into insects like this would be preyed upon by other animals in the wild, such as birds or beetle-eating creatures.

The animal that Animagus transforms into does not possess magic and cannot cast spells in this form. If one dies in this state, it would truly be a pointless death.

Not long after Rita left, Hagrid arrived with his culinary masterpiece—he absolutely loved the feeling. After so many years of living alone, he finally had a neighbor to keep him company, and most importantly, he got along very well with this neighbor.

With some raw, savory roast meat and the strong liquor Harry had prepared, the two of them got completely drunk that night.

The next morning, Harry was awakened by the pain of an owl pecking at the back of his hand. The headache and dizziness from the hangover made him almost crush the owl to death without realizing it. Harry apologized to it many times and even gave it a bag of Gianna's owl nuts, but it still couldn't forgive him.

This was a Daily Prophet's messenger owl. After Harry paid it the subscription fee for the next month, it stormed off... But when Harry turned around, he found Gianna standing on the railing she had left for him at the highest point of the house, coldly watching him.

Now, there's another person who needs to apologize.

It took Harry a great deal of effort to calm the lady owl's anger, while Hagrid was still sleeping like a log, with only deafening snores coming from him. The two of them had slept directly in the living room the night before, with many empty wine bottles scattered on the floor next to them. Harry had eaten a few pieces of cold roast meat for breakfast and then opened today's newspaper.

Rita moved very quickly.

Or rather, having gained Harry's support and believing that Dumbledore would also support them, the Daily Prophet, no longer needing to consider the Ministry of Magic's will, launched an astonishing operation; today's newspaper is even a thicker version.

Unlike previous reports that revealed the existence of elemental magic and its connection to Harry, which were released in installments over time to maintain interest, today's Daily Prophet released everything that happened at Hogwarts yesterday all at once, giving the impression that if it wasn't released quickly, there wouldn't be another chance to release it.

[Honoring the spirits of our ancestors! Farewell to our departed loved ones!]

[In yesterday's first Shaman class at Hogwarts, I witnessed a truly legendary scene with utter shock, disbelief, and disbelief: James Potter, the hero who bravely perished twelve years ago in the battle against Voldemort and was one of the direct causes of the Vanquish's disappearance, appeared once again before my eyes, or rather, before everyone who attended that class...]

The film opens with a bombshell: Rita directly exposes soul magic, a practice that straddles the moral and legal boundaries of wizarding society, without any further build-up.

[Magic that Muggles can use?! There are no more Muggles in the world!]

[Following up from the first edition, this also happened in the Shaman class. We already know that Hogwarts has welcomed its youngest professor in history, and with Professor Potter's permission, I had the privilege of interviewing him.]

Throughout the interview, I was surprised to find that although Professor Potter was no older than the students at Hogwarts, his speech and demeanor were unlike those of a child his age; he was even more mature than many adults.

[...I can't help but sigh, perhaps there really are geniuses in this world who are born with innate knowledge. Their very existence is beyond the imagination of ordinary people like myself. No wonder they were able to discover the existence of elements and create elemental magic, redefining the profession of shaman...]

At the beginning of the second major report, Rita went on a spree of praising Harry, but not in the blatant way that would offend readers. This reporter was very clever in achieving her goal; she described Harry's actions from her own perspective and praised them subtly, making it easier for people to accept.

As a result, many readers do not feel forced to accept certain ideas when they see this, but rather feel that this is my idea and that this is how I think.

[...Professor Potter is not a gifted genius, but a fully-fledged genius. Ordinary logic cannot be applied to such people—just as Professor Potter brought changes to the wizarding world, our past logic no longer holds true, is outdated, and should be eliminated.]

Yes, this amazing shamanic ritual, elemental magic, and ancestral magic mentioned in the first edition can not only be mastered by Squibs, but even by Muggles who are completely unable to use wizarding magic!!

Harry was quite conservative in what he said in class yesterday, but Rita's words made it sound like a Muggle shaman had already appeared.

Perhaps to increase the acceptance among ordinary wizards, Rita did not refer to Harry's spells as soul magic, but instead gave them the name of ancestral magic.

This is similar to Dumbledore's thinking when he was communicating with many wizards in Wizengamot. He did not intend to promote Harry's soul magic, but instead focused on the summoned ancestral spirits—the magic was cast by the ancestors, my deceased grandfather wanted to help me, so what, do you have a problem with that?

That's pretty much the feeling, a sudden shift in perspective.

For wizards who have accepted the existence of ghosts and are extremely superstitious about magic and destiny, and who are also very conservative and traditional, ancestral spirits are simply ghosts capable of casting spells. It doesn't seem like a big deal—this is precisely the kind of thinking Rita emphasized in her report.

It's impossible to change the wizarding public's preconceived notions about soul magic all at once, because this kind of magic inevitably comes with a price from the very beginning of its research process, and it's impossible for it not to be evil... So the only thing to do is to try to differentiate between them.

Our ancestors couldn't have been evil, could they?

Everyone has regrets, especially when a close relative passes away. Unless there is a twisted being like Voldemort, who wouldn't feel sad?
Not all wizards can return to this world as ghosts after death, but now there is a kind of magic that allows one to see deceased relatives again, even if they can only exist in the world temporarily, unlike ghosts.

It won't affect anything; it's just talking and chatting to ease the pain of longing.

What could possibly happen? It won't affect the world of the living.

For wizards, who are naturally prone to chaos, they are already accustomed to magical wonders, and will naturally adapt to this new kind of magic as well.

It's hard to say what the mindset of all the wizards who saw the newspapers this morning was when they read these two reports—perhaps they had wild thoughts, or perhaps they felt resentful.

But they were undoubtedly excited because of these new things that disrupted their past world—Rita didn't dare to lead the wizards' thinking in the direction of breaking the secrecy laws.

After all, it's somewhat difficult to determine the outcome of this matter when it comes to calculations.

Wizards possess magical abilities, while Muggles do not. If someone without magical abilities is born into a wizarding family, they are a Squib.

So here's the question: if a Muggle can learn magic, is he still a Muggle?
Shouldn't he be considered a wizard?
Because they already possess magical abilities.

Even the judgment of the secrecy law has become ambiguous... But in any case, those are things for later. Rita believes in the wisdom of future generations, and she also believes in the wisdom of that person.

Anyway, it's not something a reporter should worry about; all I need to do is tell the truth.

As long as you tell the truth.

The news that ancestral magic and Muggles could become wizards was already shocking enough. However, when the wizards, who were eating breakfast, turned to the other side of the newspaper to read some less sensational news and calm their excitement, many of them spat out the water or milk in their mouths.

A large, bold, and black headline reads: "[Twelve Years of Wrongful Conviction, Sirius Black—A Hero in the Dark?!]"

As I mentioned in my previous two reports, I witnessed Professor Potter summoning the spirit of his ancestor in his class yesterday. Undoubtedly, as someone who also survived that dark age, I have seen James Potter, the hero who saved the wizarding world, several times.

That was James Potter, just as spirited as ever, as optimistic, lively, and kind as he was in life. With Professor Potter's permission, I conducted a detailed interview with James Potter, and it was through this interview that I was shocked to learn a secret that had been buried for twelve years!

We all know the Fidelity Charm. During those dark times, it was this magic that protected many families from the persecution of the Death Eaters, and the Potters naturally used this magic as well.

[But as we all know, an accident happened. Sirius Black was the Potters' secret keeper, but he betrayed them. As a result, Voldemort found the Potters and killed them. He was eventually defeated by Harry Potter and disappeared from the world. Peace was restored to the wizarding world.]

Yes, what I've said above is what we've known for the past twelve years, but is that really the truth?

[I personally heard James Potter's spirit reveal this shocking secret: Sirius Black was actually just the covert Keeper of the Secrets. Everyone knew he was bold and fearless and deeply trusted by the Potters, so he was used as a smokescreen—the real Keeper of the Secrets was that unassuming, and, I'm sorry, many people think he was incompetent and weak—Peter Pettigrew.]

[I wrote this with trembling handwriting, for this buried history, this unknown truth. Merlin, I really don't want to believe it's all true. The man we all consider a martyr, whose name is engraved on the monument commemorating the heroes who fought against dark magic, Peter—he was actually the real traitor?!]

[Unbelievable, unimaginable, yet I must admit this is the truth—because it was said by James Porter himself. Is there anyone in this world who knows the truth better than the deceased himself?]

After accepting this fact, I went to look up all the records about Sirius Black's imprisonment back then, and then found that the whole case was full of doubts.

First, Sirius Black did not resist when he was captured; he was just laughing wildly and did not harm anyone.

Secondly, the trial that sent Sirius Black to Azkaban in that case didn't even follow due process by Wizengamor. The then-Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, now the Director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation, Barty Crouch, sent Sirius Black to Azkaban without any trial or verification!

[This is where I find it strange. According to the records, Sirius Black remained silent after his arrest. He did not defend himself, nor did he cry out that he was innocent. He did not reveal the secret replacement of the Secret Service, nor did he even apply for a truth serum to confess.]

All of this was completely different from the reactions of other Death Eaters after their capture, which in a sense proved his innocence. He was sent to Azkaban entirely voluntarily, and the speed of the process was astonishing.

(End of this chapter)