Secrets to Keep 23
Title: Secrets to Keep 23
Author: enchanted_jae
Character(s): Rita Skeeter
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Um...Rita Skeeter
Word count: 650
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This was written for fun, not for profit.
Author's note: Twenty-fourth installment of an arc that began with Pixie Pox. Dedicated to nenne, in thanks for the Tornado Relief charity VGift, with her prompt of enlightenment.
Summary: Rita will use whatever means necessary to uncover a scandal.
Almost a month had passed since the Greengrass-Thomas nuptials, and Rita Skeeter had been unable to find any evidence of an affair between Harry Potter and Astoria Malfoy. There were times she questioned her own instincts, but all Rita needed to do was call to mind the sight of Lily Potter and Carina Malfoy together. The girls were so obviously sisters that it was a wonder no one else had remarked on it.
Now that the whirlwind of holiday social engagements had died away, Rita's gossip column was losing readers. She was anxious to reclaim her fan base and to reestablish herself as the Diva of Dish. There was only one place to discover the truth behind Carina Malfoy's parentage--the Ministry's Hall of Records. No one was allowed in there but a select few, and each of them had been spelled with a geas that prevented them from speaking of anything in the records.
Once a witch or wizard was born, the child's entire ancestry was magically inscribed on a scroll, which the Hall's scribes then filed away. Anyone could petition the Hall of Records for the information contained in the scrolls, but not without dire circumstances surrounding the petition.
To Rita's knowledge, only two such petitions had been granted in the past fifty years. Should she petition the Hall for Carina Malfoy's record of birth, Rita knew she would be turned away. Some people simply didn't understand the value of a juicy scandal. No, the only way in which she would be able to view the Malfoy girl's ancestry would be to break into the Hall of Records. Rita faced a stay in Azkaban if she were to get caught, but she was desperate enough to risk it. The rewards of enlightenment were too great to pass up.
~*~
The scribe closed the door behind her and sealed it with a spell. She never noticed the small beetle that had scurried under her feet as she exited the Hall of Records.
~*~
Rita waited a full hour in the silent darkness of the Hall before resuming her human form. She cast a quiet Lumos and made her stealthy way into the confusing array of records. After some searching, Rita was able to ascertain that the records were filed alphabetically by year. On a lark, she pulled the birth records of Nicholas and Patrick Potter, as they were the first Potter offspring she came across. Rita was mildly disappointed, but not surprised, to note that the twins' parents were listed as Ginevra Molly Weasley-Potter and Harry James Potter.
Moving on, Rita found the records for the year of Carina Malfoy's birth. She located Carina's scroll and unrolled it. Rita was almost giddy with excitement. If her theory proved correct, the scroll would proclaim that Carina Malfoy was the daughter of Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy and Harry Potter.
Rita held her breath as she unrolled the scroll...
"Damn," she hissed as she saw the name Draco Lucius Malfoy in bold script. "I could have sworn...oh, my, what have we here?"
Rita cackled in glee as she beheld the name of Carina Malfoy's other parent:
Harry James Potter
Wizard pregnancies were rare, yet Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had not only managed it, they had also been able to keep it a secret.
Rita quivered in delight. This information was priceless. Releasing the story would catapult her to fame and glory, and Rita couldn't wait to go to press with it. She carefully replaced Carina Malfoy's scroll and immediately began dictating the story via her Quick-Quotes Quill.
As she spoke, Rita strode down the aisles in search of Lily Potter's scroll. With luck, Rita would learn that Draco Malfoy was Lily's parent, in addition to Harry Potter.
She never imagined the scandal she was about to uncover.
~tbc~
Secrets to Keep 24
Author: enchanted_jae
Character(s): Rita Skeeter
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Um...Rita Skeeter
Word count: 650
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This was written for fun, not for profit.
Author's note: Twenty-fourth installment of an arc that began with Pixie Pox. Dedicated to nenne, in thanks for the Tornado Relief charity VGift, with her prompt of enlightenment.
Summary: Rita will use whatever means necessary to uncover a scandal.
Almost a month had passed since the Greengrass-Thomas nuptials, and Rita Skeeter had been unable to find any evidence of an affair between Harry Potter and Astoria Malfoy. There were times she questioned her own instincts, but all Rita needed to do was call to mind the sight of Lily Potter and Carina Malfoy together. The girls were so obviously sisters that it was a wonder no one else had remarked on it.
Now that the whirlwind of holiday social engagements had died away, Rita's gossip column was losing readers. She was anxious to reclaim her fan base and to reestablish herself as the Diva of Dish. There was only one place to discover the truth behind Carina Malfoy's parentage--the Ministry's Hall of Records. No one was allowed in there but a select few, and each of them had been spelled with a geas that prevented them from speaking of anything in the records.
Once a witch or wizard was born, the child's entire ancestry was magically inscribed on a scroll, which the Hall's scribes then filed away. Anyone could petition the Hall of Records for the information contained in the scrolls, but not without dire circumstances surrounding the petition.
To Rita's knowledge, only two such petitions had been granted in the past fifty years. Should she petition the Hall for Carina Malfoy's record of birth, Rita knew she would be turned away. Some people simply didn't understand the value of a juicy scandal. No, the only way in which she would be able to view the Malfoy girl's ancestry would be to break into the Hall of Records. Rita faced a stay in Azkaban if she were to get caught, but she was desperate enough to risk it. The rewards of enlightenment were too great to pass up.
~*~
The scribe closed the door behind her and sealed it with a spell. She never noticed the small beetle that had scurried under her feet as she exited the Hall of Records.
~*~
Rita waited a full hour in the silent darkness of the Hall before resuming her human form. She cast a quiet Lumos and made her stealthy way into the confusing array of records. After some searching, Rita was able to ascertain that the records were filed alphabetically by year. On a lark, she pulled the birth records of Nicholas and Patrick Potter, as they were the first Potter offspring she came across. Rita was mildly disappointed, but not surprised, to note that the twins' parents were listed as Ginevra Molly Weasley-Potter and Harry James Potter.
Moving on, Rita found the records for the year of Carina Malfoy's birth. She located Carina's scroll and unrolled it. Rita was almost giddy with excitement. If her theory proved correct, the scroll would proclaim that Carina Malfoy was the daughter of Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy and Harry Potter.
Rita held her breath as she unrolled the scroll...
"Damn," she hissed as she saw the name Draco Lucius Malfoy in bold script. "I could have sworn...oh, my, what have we here?"
Rita cackled in glee as she beheld the name of Carina Malfoy's other parent:
Harry James Potter
Wizard pregnancies were rare, yet Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had not only managed it, they had also been able to keep it a secret.
Rita quivered in delight. This information was priceless. Releasing the story would catapult her to fame and glory, and Rita couldn't wait to go to press with it. She carefully replaced Carina Malfoy's scroll and immediately began dictating the story via her Quick-Quotes Quill.
As she spoke, Rita strode down the aisles in search of Lily Potter's scroll. With luck, Rita would learn that Draco Malfoy was Lily's parent, in addition to Harry Potter.
She never imagined the scandal she was about to uncover.
~tbc~
Secrets to Keep 24