bacchusnovels Chapter 464 Rita's Agility
Chapter 464 Rita's Agility
Chapter 464 Rita's Agility
The third person Rita called into the small dark room was Fleur Delacour.
Rita used a completely different approach when dealing with Hibiscus than she had with Akiharu.
For pure-blood wizards, the most direct way to break their defenses is to start with their origins.
Families that place particular importance on lineage are more susceptible to this issue.
Rita had interviewed many pure-blood wizards and was well aware of this.
If you want to make these pure-blooded young wizards lose their composure, it's even simpler: just deny their efforts and attribute their success to their family background and bloodline.
Like this, "Miss Delacour".
Rita Skeeter looked Fleur up and down, a "kind" smile playing on her lips.
"As one of the contestants in this Triwizard Tournament, you must be under a lot of pressure, especially since you come from a family that is quite controversial in the magical world."
Furong's expression changed slightly, but she still maintained that elegant smile on her lips.
"My family background was not something I chose," she said calmly, "but I have never let it determine my future."
Rita chuckled softly, shook her head, and waved her hand.
"But in fact, Miss Delacour, many people believe that your family background is not unrelated to your ability to stand out in the Triwizard Tournament."
"After all, Delacour's magical bloodline is considered extraordinary by many."
Before Fleur could say anything, Rita continued to scrutinize her with her critical gaze.
"Miss Delacour, perhaps you're suggesting that you've reached your current position through your own efforts. Do you then believe that all pure-blooded wizards are like you, able to remove the halo of their family through their own strength? Or do you feel that you've completely broken free from the shadow of your family?"
These words made Furong's face blush slightly.
Admittedly, she did want to say, "My own efforts are the reason I'm standing here," but Rita's flower language interrupted her, and her logic and words came to a standstill for a moment.
However, this situation only lasted for a moment.
Soon, Furong came up with a solution.
In other words, being born into poverty is not a disgrace, and being born into nobility should also not be considered a disgrace.
Because in the end, what determines who a person is is never their background.
Those with strong mental fortitude will not let these things become a constraint on them.
In France, where Delacour lived, there was a saying:
La naissance ne fait pas I'homme, c'est ce qu'il en fait. (Birth does not determine a person, but how he shapes himself.)
Therefore, instead of losing her composure, Furong straightened her posture and responded coldly.
"I don't need to get rid of anything. I'm proud of my family, but I don't need to use it to prove myself."
Rita was taken aback by her reaction and glanced at her with considerable surprise.
After several exchanges, Furong raised her head high and walked away with elegant steps.
However, what she didn't know was that on the parchment on Rita's table, it was written:
"Miss Delacour is born noble and incredibly arrogant."
"Her pride stems from her family lineage. She says on the surface that she doesn't need it, but in reality, it is this background that makes her success seem natural."
"On the stage of the Triwizard Tournament, Miss Delacour showed not only respect for her family, but also a blind reliance on her bloodline."
Indeed, as mentioned above.
Rita's skill may lie in dealing with all sorts of interviewees, but her true skill lies in "writing" itself.
Whatever you said?
No matter how excellent your answer is?
Anyway, the pen is in her own hands, not yours.
The last one to enter was Selena. In contrast to the aggressive treatment of the first three people, Selena received completely different treatment when she entered.
Rita not only showed concern for Selena's well-being but also praised her highly in every way.
The questions asked were only about Rita's preferences.
If Selena had grown up in the Muggle world, she would have felt like she was filling out a yearbook.
After the Q&A session, Rita and Selena walked out of the room together.
Her gaze swept around and suddenly stopped on a figure, a sly smile spreading across her face. "Dumbledore!" Rita Skeeter called out, her voice filled with joy.
Selena, who was standing nearby, noticed that her quill pen and parchment suddenly appeared in her hand, and she didn't know where they came from.
Or perhaps this is one of Rita's talents that made her a famous journalist.
"How are you?" Rita asked as she walked over, extending a large, authoritative hand as if greeting a familiar old friend. "Did you read the article I wrote this summer about the International Wizarding Federation Conference?"
Dumbledore smiled. "That's wonderful," he said. "I especially loved the part where you described me as a rigid old madman; it was so vivid."
Rita wasn't embarrassed at all; on the contrary, she laughed even more triumphantly.
"I just wanted to point out that some of your views are a bit outdated, Dumbledore. After all, your views on the Ministry of Magic have always been very conservative, like that conversation you had with Director Phillips in the Ministry's Great Hall last time, and many wizards outside..." Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Dumbledore's light laugh.
"I'd love to hear the reasoning behind your harsh words, Rita," Dumbledore said with a smile and a polite bow, "but I'm afraid we'll have to leave that for later. The wand testing ceremony is about to begin, and if one of our heroes is hiding in the broom room, the ceremony cannot proceed."
The warriors were already seated in chairs by the door, with five referees sitting on a velvet table in front of them: Professor Karkaroff, Mrs. Maxim, Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and Sean Phillips, who had just arrived from the office.
Rita Skeeter found a corner to sit down and winked at Sean.
Sean returned a polite smile.
Next, Rita placed the parchment she had just taken out on her lap, smacked the tip of her shorthand quill, and placed the pen vertically on the parchment again.
"Please allow me to introduce Ollivander," Dumbledore said, sitting in the referee's box as he introduced the warriors. "He will be responsible for inspecting your wands to make sure they are in good condition before the match."
Many of those present had seen Ollivander before.
This stems from Ollivander's status as the only legitimate "arms dealer" in the UK.
Many people's wands came from Ollivander's hands.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ollivander walked to the open space in the center of the room and extended an invitation to Fleur.
"Miss Delacour, would you please go first?"
Fleur walked gracefully toward Ollivander and handed him her wand.
"Hmm—" Ollivander said softly.
He twirled the wand between his long, slender fingers as if holding a conductor's baton, and the wand immediately burst forth with a series of pink and gold sparks.
Then he brought the wand close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
“Not bad,” he said softly, “nine and a half inches—very strong—made of maple—contains—” Ollivander suddenly stopped, his eyes becoming unusually focused, “Oh, my God—”
"It contains a Veela's hair," Fleur added. "It's my grandmother's hair."
Some people suddenly realized.
“That’s right.” Ollivander nodded. “Of course, I myself have never used Veela hair to make a wand. I think wands made from Veela hair are too sensitive and capricious—but everyone has their own preferences, and if it suits you, then of course there’s no problem.”
He carefully stroked the wand, examining the scratches and dents on it.
Then, he whispered, "Orchids in bloom!" As he spoke, a cluster of colorful flowers bloomed on the wand.
"Very good, very good, you're in good shape." Ollivander smiled as he put away the flowers and handed them, wand and all, to Fleur. "Mr. Diggory, it's your turn."
Furong turned around gracefully and stepped back to her seat.
As she passed Cedric, she raised the corners of her lips and gave him a gentle smile.
Cedric seemed even more excited, and as he handed the wand to Ollivander, his excitement was palpable: "Ah, this is my product, isn't it?"
Ollivander smiled and nodded. "Yes, I remember it very clearly. There was a hair in the wand, about five or six feet long, plucked from the tail of a particularly beautiful male unicorn. When I plucked the unicorn's tail hair, it almost poked a hole in me with its horn." As he spoke, he examined the wand closely. "Twelve and a quarter inches, made of elm wood, very flexible, in excellent condition. Do you take care of it regularly?"
"I just polished it last night." Cedric smiled, revealing his white teeth, proud of the wand's perfect condition.
Harry looked down at his wand and noticed it was covered in fingerprints. He pulled up a corner of his robe from his knees and tried to quietly wipe away the stains.
Suddenly, several golden stars appeared on the wand.
Furong walked past him, glancing at him without saying a word, but the meaning in her eyes was self-evident.
Seeing this, Harry reluctantly stopped what he was doing, lowered his head, and put his wand back into his sleeve.
After Ollivander finished examining Cedric's wand, he suddenly emitted a string of silvery-white smoke rings from the tip of the wand.
The smoke rings swirled in the air and drifted slowly to the other end of the room. Ollivander nodded in satisfaction. "Mr. Krum, it's your turn."
Viktor Krum stood up, somewhat languidly.
With his round shoulders drooping and his toes pointing outwards, he walked listlessly toward Ollivander.
Krum handed the wand to Ollivander, stood there with a frown, hands in his robe pockets, seemingly not very interested in it all.
"Hmm," Ollivander said softly, "if I'm not mistaken, this should be Grigorovich's product."
He is an excellent wandmaker, though I am not entirely sure of his style—but—" He held up the wand, examining it closely, turning it over and over in his hand.
“That’s right, hornbeam, containing the heartstrings of a dragon, isn’t it?” He glanced at Krum, who nodded. “Much thicker than people usually see, very stiff. Ten and a quarter inches—a flock of birds!” Before he finished speaking, a loud bang came from the wand head, like a pistol firing, and a flock of small birds flapped their wings and flew out of the wand head, disappearing into the sunlight outside the open window.
Everyone watched in astonishment, completely unprepared for the wand to unleash such vivid magic.
Next up were Eileen, Cho Chang, and others, and finally Harry successfully completed the wand testing.
However, just when everyone thought the wand testing process would end there, Ollivander did something no one expected.
He walked straight up to Sean and extended his hand.
"Professor Phillips, it seems you were not involved in the wand testing process."
Before Sean could speak, Ludo Bagman stepped forward first.
"Professor Phillips is not involved in the Triwizard Tournament, Ollivander. He shouldn't be included in this round." Ludo Bagman didn't intend to cause any more trouble for his Ministry of Magic colleague. "We've already discussed it. Professor Phillips is only one of the referees and cannot participate in the competition."
The atmosphere in the room instantly became subtle, with almost all eyes focused on Ollivander and Sean.
Sean's expression remained unchanged; he continued to sit quietly, watching the conversation between Ollivander and Bagman.
"Mr. Bagman," Ollivander glanced at Bagman and replied casually, "Although Professor Phillips does not participate in the Triwizard Tournament as a contestant, he is still one of the champions chosen by the Goblet of Fire. He is still part of the competition, and as is customary, every champion has the obligation to undergo wand testing, which cannot be waived."
Then he turned to Sean and nodded slightly. "So, Professor Phillips, please."
As Ollivander finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Almost everyone knows why Ollivander did this.
The story goes back to last year's high-profile hearing, where Sean pulled out a second wand in public—many people were present at that hearing—so it's not hard to connect the dots.
It seems that Ollivander is not satisfied with the results of the last examination.
Faced with Ollivander's challenge, Sean simply smiled faintly, then took out his wand from his inner robe and slowly handed it to Ollivander.
"Alright," he finally spoke, his tone relaxed, "in that case, let's do the wand test."
For some reason, despite the tone being one of compromise or rather relaxed, everyone present felt a sense of pressure.
Why? Perhaps it's because this action completely surprised everyone present.
Ollivander did not hesitate for a moment, took the wand, and examined it carefully for a while.
Time passed silently, and Ollivander's fingers gently caressed the surface of his wand.
All eyes were fixed on his movements, and no one dared to look away easily.
Sean remained seated.
This scene was exactly the same as what happened a year ago, even giving some people a sense of disbelief—it turns out that more than a year has passed since that incident.
Finally, the silence was broken.
Ollivander sighed softly and looked at Sean with a complicated expression.
The next second, the wand was back in Sean's hand.
"Professor Phillips, your wand..." He paused, "...is in good condition, the magic flows smoothly, it's full of spirit, and it seems to be very well cared for."
Sean nodded politely without saying anything more.
As for what he was thinking, who among those present could possibly know?
Harry, who was closer to him, didn't know, nor did Cho Chang, and perhaps only Selena vaguely sensed some of the implications contained within.
Yes, she remembered the time she used the anti-magic stone to get revenge on Sean.
What happened to her that time?
Only Selena herself knows the truth, anyway... it's not a good thing.
On the other side, Rita's pen was constantly scribbling and drawing on the parchment, and she looked extremely busy.
Although only she herself knew what she was busy with, Cho Chang, Fleur, and Harry, who had previously visited her room, all believed from the bottom of their hearts that it was... not a good thing.