Having been granted an exclusive interview, the pair sat down in an uninterrupted interview room.
Rita Skeeter eagerly took a roll of parchment and a shorthand quill from her crocodile-skin handbag. She set them aside and looked at Ivan with a sweet smile.
"I'm used to making notes with a shorthand quill. You won't object, will you? So that I can talk to you without being distracted."
"No, I object!" Ivan said without hesitation.
"That's good…" Rita Skeeter replied automatically, then realised what Ivan was talking about and her smile froze.
She never expected the person being interviewed to say that…
"Objection? Why?" Rita managed to keep a professional smile on her face as she enunciated each word.
Ivan looked at her suspiciously, tapping his fingers on the table as he spoke.
"Mrs. Skeeter, this is so unethical that I have to wonder if you have to rely on this bewitched quill to write a decent article…"
"Perhaps I could report this to the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet and have them hire your quill as a reporter!" Yvonne said, not giving Rita any face.
When Ivan saw her take out her shorthand quill, he knew that this interview would not be a peaceful one.
This was because the pen was Rita Skeeter's most important "magical treasure". It was most adept at embellishing the words of the interviewee into various explosive content. It was even better than Rita Skeeter herself!
Rita Skeeter was so furious that, under Ivan's suspicious gaze, she was forced to retrieve a new quill from her bag.
No one could question her professionalism!
Rita took a few deep breaths to calm herself and smiled. "Shall we begin now, Mr. Harls?"
"Of course, there's no problem with that!" Ivan nodded, thinking that Rita probably didn't have a second shorthand quill.
"So the first question is, how did you come up with the idea of researching wolf venom?" Rita asked.
"The Knockturn Alley is a place where werewolf wizards and witches gather. I've been in contact with them often and understood their predicament, which led me to come up with the idea of developing a wolf venom potion…" Ivan carefully weighed his words, trying to make them as clear as possible in short sentences so that the other party would not catch on.
"You've been around werewolves a lot? Why? What would put you at such risk?"
Rita Skeeter immediately found her interest in Ivan's words, and her eyes lit up as her heavily made-up face moved closer to his.
"Is this about your little werewolf girlfriend?"
Within a short period of time, Rita Skeeter had conjured up a poignant love story, and her hands were shaking as she held her quill pen and desperately wanted to write something.
"I don't have any female werewolves among my friends!" Ivan interrupted, rolling his eyes.
Rita Skeeter was disappointed. She had a story in mind, but she could not write it.
"Did you have any other romantic experiences at school?"
Ivan shook his head without hesitation, trying to put an end to the last of Rita Skeeter's nonsense.
However, Ivan severely underestimated Rita Skeeter's ability to bullshit, as she did not care what anyone said, and was able to piece together the sentences she wanted with only a few words.
The eagle-eyed Ivan clearly saw Rita Skeeter scribbling on the parchment with her quill.
[Ivan Hals was very concerned about male werewolves, and was ashamed to mention his love history, as if he had something to hide…]
When she was finished, Rita Skeeter smiled kindly at Ivan.
The veins on Ivan's forehead bulged, and he regretted not learning the Memory Charm. Otherwise, he could have beaten up this old woman and used the Memory Charm to erase her memories…
"Mrs. Skeeter, I must remind you that I'm only in my second year next year, and I'm afraid you don't have much credibility with your love history," Yvonne retorted, trying to contain her anger.
"Like this?" Rita nodded thoughtfully, crossing out the sentences she had written.
Ivan was relieved when Rita continued writing.
[The potion genius Ivan Hals was desperate for love, but his young age caused him to suffer setbacks in his quest for love, and he ended up with a werewolf…]
Ivan was left completely speechless, so whatever questions Rita Skeeter asked next, Ivan refused to answer.
However, this was apparently not a problem for the old woman. She was busy examining Ivan's expression and adding paragraphs of dissection to the parchment, which depicted Ivan as an arrogant, indifferent potion genius with many quirks.
Rita Skeeter felt that such an image would surely attract the attention of the general public, while Ivan looked coldly at the increasing contents of the parchment.
"Okay, that's it for today's interview?" Rita Skeeter asked, nodding in satisfaction at the parchment she had brought with her.
As Rita Skeeter was packing her crocodile-skin handbag and standing up to leave, Ivan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.
"Mrs. Skeeter, please wait a moment…"
Rita Skeeter paused and looked away, but then Ivan continued.
"Or should I call you the illegal Animagus Transfiguration, Madam Beetle!"
Rita Skeeter shuddered and stared at Ivan in disbelief, but then her lips curled into a fake smile.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Harls…" Rita Skeeter said, feigning calm.
"Really? As long as I understand!" Ivan said casually, raising his eyebrows and looking at her playfully.
Rita Skeeter was unsure if Ivan was trying to trick her, but when she thought about it, it seemed impossible, as Ivan had correctly identified her Animagus transformation as a beetle.
But no one should know this secret…
"There's no such thing as an absolute secret, is there?" said Ivan, changing his expression and indicating the seat in front of him. "I think we can sit down and talk about this now…"