Lily Potter And The Secret Bewitchment

Chapter Nineteen - A Normal Term

Three weeks after the article about Jayla, Lily and Hugo, another article took up the entire of the front page of the Daily Prophet. Lily came down to breakfast with Oli and George one Wednesday near the end of January and entered the Great Hall at the same moment as the owls. As Lily went to sit down, Harmony swooped down and sat on the table, dropping a letter and nibbling at some toast. Another owl delivered the daily prophet. Lily gave him a knut, and then looked at the paper.

"Hey, guys look at this." Lily said, showing them the page. Two pictures headed an article titled 'RITA SKEETER JAILED FOR LIFE.'

On the left was a photograph of Rita Skeeter, looking ragged and leering at the camera. On the right was a photo of Lily's Auntie Hermione with Jayla's mother, standing side-by-side outside the ministry. The caption read, 'Left: Rita Skeeter at the end of the trial. Right: The Minister for Magic with Cadreliese Berryfield, who was named as a descendant of Voldemort by Rita Skeeter.'

"What does it say, Lily?" George asked her, and she read aloud in answer.

"Rita Skeeter has been jailed for life after our minister brought out new evidence against her famously rabid work." Lily read, as George and Oli looked over her shoulder. "Skeeter last week caused new controversy over an article she wrote where she penalised an eleven year old Hogwarts student and accused her of dark magic, simply for being a descendant of Voldemort. The mother of the girl, Cadreliese Berryfield, pictured above, said that she found this targeting 'Disgraceful behaviour.' In a statement made by the minister herself, Skeeter was openly criticised. 'We at the Ministry are against direct targeting by journalists. In my youth Rita Skeeter wrote about me and my friends. She is ferocious, and we can confirm, an unregistered animagus.' At trial yesterday, the minister attended, as did Cadreliese Berryfield, to witness Skeeter receive a life sentence." Lily stopped reading, and looked up in amazement.

"Well. She did deserve it!" Oli said. "Where will she be sent?"

"Azkaban, it's the only wizard prison that people go to in this country. It's in the middle of the north sea and has guards all the time." George said.

"Let's show this to Jayla and Hugo!" Lily said, getting up and running out of the hall. The boys followed her.

"Aren't you supposed to be sitting down at meals?" Oli asked, and Lily shrugged.

"Yes, but this is more important." Lily ran upstairs to the common room where she saw Jayla and Hugo sitting at a table. Jayla was reading a book and Hugo was finishing his homework, as both had already eaten.

"Jayla, Hugo!" Lily called. The few people in the common room stared as Lily tumbled through the portrait hole and towards the table where Jayla and Hugo sat.

"Lily?" Hugo said, as they both looked up from their work.

"Look at this, both of you." Lily said, breathless as she slapped the paper down on the wooden table. Jayla smiled as she reached the bottom of the page.

"Isn't it weird seeing our mums together?" Jayla said to Hugo.

"It is!" Hugo said, laughing. "But it's also really nice."

"Isn't it." Jayla said.

"Guys, I um, hate to burst your bubble but we have to go to History of Magic." Oli said, awkwardly. Everyone groaned. Since the article, everyone had towed the line, worried about what might happen. They had been studying how 'Evil' giants were since the first lesson, and today was going to be no different. When Lily returned to the common room after a gruelling day of lessons, she was too tired to do anymore research. In the time the contract would allow, Lily and Jayla had been looking up ways of placing a massive reversal spell on a building. So far they had been largely unsuccessful; the library was often full of seventh and fifth years, and they didn't always take well to first years taking up tables and space while they were studying.