——Although I've never heard of Muggles having a habit of eating owls, maybe those guys have unique preferences?
Muggles are just this barbaric and rude.
Rita Skeeter thought disdainfully, then contemplated how to continue her journey.
It's not that she couldn't Apparate; it's just that Rita Skeeter's skill in Apparating wasn't good enough to carry her across a vast expanse of ocean. She didn't want a catastrophic splinching to happen to her.
Then she heard the conversation of the two Muggles—
"How could there be owls out at sea?"
"Owls are the messengers of wizards; wizards often use them to deliver mail. Pathetic, really—they're so far behind the times."
Rita Skeeter was shocked.
These Muggles knew about the Magic World? Did they intentionally shoot down the owl?
Then she heard heavy footsteps approaching, and she hurriedly squeezed her tiny form further into the gap of the coil rope, peeking out to observe.
A sun-darkened man leaned down to pick up the dead owl and remove the letter.
"What does it say?" The younger fisherman asked curiously.
"Strange…" the older man muttered, "it's a blank sheet of paper."
He flipped the letter around, rubbing it with his coarse fingers, as if suspecting there were hidden mechanisms on it.
Afterward, he folded the blank letter, saying, "Maybe it's written in invisible ink—bring it back for them to check out. Also, investigate this address on it."
"Do you think a wizard lives there?"
The young fisherman licked his lips, eagerly asking.
"Perhaps." The older man chuckled, "If we can really catch a few wizards, we'd make a great achievement!"
"Lev, have you ever seen a wizard? Do they really turn invisible?"
"Never seen one, but I've heard that not only can wizards make themselves invisible, their houses are invisible too—what do you say? Do you want to be a wizard too?"
"Who wouldn't?" The young fisherman said frankly, "If I could turn invisible, I'd rob a bank vault and never worry about money again."
The older man laughed heartily, "No need to envy them; maybe one day, we can have magic too!"
The harsh laughter seemed to echo right in her ears, sending chills down Rita's spine.
Perhaps it's the long-standing vigilance and persistence of the Minister of Magic that made the Confidentiality Law deeply ingrained, even in someone as selfish as Rita Skeeter, she instinctively believed—the Confidentiality Law must not be broken.
At that moment, hearing two Muggles discuss the Magic World so playfully and familiarly, Rita felt incredibly uneasy.
The beetle quivered its antennae, its sixth sense blaring like a tide urging her to leave quickly.
But…
She didn't know how far she was from land at that moment, not daring to Apparate recklessly; combined with confidence in her life-saving tricks, Rita ultimately decided to stay put.
—I'll leave when the ship docks!
She thought to herself.
—As long as I hide in any bush or woods, just a beetle, I'll be easy to overlook, who could find me?
Moreover, after transforming into a beetle, as long as she could restrain her craving for regular food, a little crumb or vegetable leaf was enough to survive.
Not to mention water, a few morning dewdrops on the glass would satisfy a small beetle's need.
The fishing boat sailed for several days, and Rita endured persistently without turning back into human form once.
During that time, she crawled across the boat, hiding and eavesdropping for information, finally scraping together the identities of a few individuals.
They belonged to some Muggle organization called "The Organization," everyone on the ship knew about the existence of the Magic World, considering wizards to be demons that have historically spread plagues, caused chaos, waged wars, and oppressed Muggles.
They loathed the existence of wizards, yet envied their abilities.
Rita overheard several times them eagerly discussing, if they caught wizards, they'd take them to the lab for "slicing," transferring magic ability to the members of the organization.
Although they didn't know how to conduct such a transfer—believing magic ability resided in some body organ—they were unwaveringly convinced that the lab would achieve it.
Even if they haven't accomplished it now, it's only because there aren't enough "research samples," but surely more would solve that!
Just the mere imagination of a "happy life" with magic, ignited their passionate discussions for hours; the seemingly endless sailing seemed far less boring.
Only a beetle crouched in the cracks of the wall, shivering as it listened.
Compared to these Muggles, even Voldemort appeared benignant.
A few days later, the fishing boat docked.
An eager beetle flew off the boat, burrowing into the underbrush at the shore.
Rita Skeeter glanced back at the fishing boat and the people meeting at the dock, secretly marking the place, skirting through the grass, as the joy of freedom and safety echoed in her heart.
After flying a safe distance away, Rita Skeeter transformed back into human form, planning to find someone to figure out where she was before deciding whether to Apparate or use a Muggle transport.
"I need to treat myself to a good meal… I'll order red wine foie gras, French baked escargot, with lobster and oysters, steak, and stew…"
Rita Skeeter muttered to herself, feeling her hungry stomach desperately needed soothing.
She combed her not-so-smooth golden curls with her red-painted nails, feeling a bit troubled—finding a satisfactory hair salon wasn't easy.
Rita Skeeter tried hard not to think about those dangerous things.
"I'm just a reporter," she told herself. "It's better to leave such troubles to Vid Gray—after all, he's also eager to investigate those werewolves' backers."
"But these guys are Muggles… whatever, who says werewolves and Muggles can't be in cahoots? Anyway, that's what my investigation would say!"
"Vid Gray and the Dumbledore behind him, they all love to meddle. Even if I deceive him, there's nothing they can do to me…"
Rita murmured as she walked along the path, looking for a place with human habitation.
But the place was unusually desolate, not even people, rarely any insects were seen.
Seen from high above, this place wasn't the continent Rita Skeeter had in mind, nor any Muggle country, merely a rather large, scarcely populated island.
At the very center of the island, there was a large cluster of buildings.
But being a beetle, she couldn't fly high or far enough, not getting a chance to glimpse the full view of the island; she was still searching within the jungle.
Nearby, a hidden camera atop a tall coconut tree rotated half-circle, its lens firmly locked onto Rita Skeeter's figure.
Soon after, a sharp alarm blared somewhere, accompanied by the angry roar of a man:
"What is this? Who can tell me how this fool of a woman got in?!"
...
"Buzz————"
A few seconds later, a piercing buzz reverberated throughout the entire island, the sound waves spreading from the island's center to all directions.
With the sound waves, myriad hidden electro-resistance coils around the island spun rapidly, forming a powerful and invisible electromagnetic field.
The scarce birds startled and took flight, wild beasts in the jungle began sprinting madly, some even crashing into trees. Even the insects hidden in the grass scrambled in all directions.
In the nearby sea area, fish shoals fled swiftly toward the deep sea. Circular pipes buried by the rock face injected a current of boiling heat into the icy seawater, with no common marine life near the sea bed.
Rita Skeeter, wandering clueless through the jungle, suddenly felt excruciating pain, her whole body felt like it was being pierced by needles, bitten by ants, and she fell screaming and rolling.
"Ahhhh——"
The shrill screams echoed through the jungle.
The hell-like sensation lasted only a minute, but for Rita, it felt like an eternity.
As she regained her senses, Rita Skeeter immediately forced herself through what seemed like a tearing pain, shakily standing and attempting to Apparate.
—Splinching was no longer a concern, even if Umbridge's people found her, she felt it was acceptable.
Compared to this pain, what was Azkaban?
"Thud!"
She spun in place twice, collapsing.
The usually loyal and obedient magic power now betrayed her will.