Chapter 565: A mandatory interview

As Ivan watched Rita Skeeter, she also looked at him intently.

"Come on, let me introduce you. This is the well-known journalist Rita Skeeter. She has written many articles." Bagman said aloud, "Rita, this is Ivan Mason, you must have heard of his name. He is currently the most famous..."

"Of course I've heard of him, Ludo; who hasn't heard of Ivan Mason?!" said Rita Skeeter, staring at him. "Hello, Ivan, can I talk to you a bit and get your opinion on the tournament?"

"I think it's best not to!" Ivan shook his head and said nothing more.

This woman had a reputation for distorting facts and making up stories. He had no intention of giving her a chance.

But, apparently, Ivan underestimated the thickness of Rita Skeeter's skin. Seeing Ivan shake his head, a sudden smile appeared on his face. It was evident that he had three gold teeth in his mouth.

He reached into his crocodile bag and pulled out a long acid green quill and a roll of parchment, which he spread out on the velvet-covered desk.

He popped the tip of the green quill into his mouth and sucked on it for a moment, then placed it upright on the parchment, where it balanced on its tip, quivering slightly.

"This is a Speed Dating Quill. It allows me to speak normally, let me try it out!" said Skeeter, "My name is Rita Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet!"

By the time Rita had spoken, the green quill had begun to scribble, skittering across the parchment. It read, Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose wild pen has pierced many an inflated reputation....

"Lovely!" said Rita Skeeter, and tore off the top piece of parchment, crumpled it up and stuffed it into her bag.

She turned to Ivan and looked ready to ask him questions.

Ivan ignored her. He had already explicitly turned her down. He picked up Colin and turned to Fleur and Gabrielle.

"Ivan, what has prompted you not to participate in the Triwizard Tournament?" asked Rita Skeeter.

It was as if she hadn't seen Ivan's reaction.

Why didn't Ivan show up for the tournament?

Everyone knew it was because he wasn't old enough and wasn't interested in the tournament.

Rita Skeeter repeated it again and Colin tugged Ivan silently.

"I just said I'm not going to give you an interview now!" said Ivan coldly, turning around to look at her.

Hearing his words, the atmosphere in the room was uncomfortable.

Ivan said nothing more. Rita Skeeter looked at him with a smile, looking a little arrogant. Ludo Bagman, Colin, Fleur and Gabrielle stared at the two of them.

After a while, it seemed certain that Ivan would not answer, but Rita Skeeter was not at all embarrassed.

"Darling, will you shut up and refuse to grant me an interview because you haven't become a champion yourself?" said Rita Skeeter, not taking her eyes off Ivan. "Do you think you've been treated unfairly? As we all know, your magical power is very strong. Are any of the four champions selected in this tournament as strong as you? "

Ivan frowned, and though he did not speak, he watched Rita Skeeter's green quill scribble again.

Where the tip of the quill slipped, he could identify: Ivan Mason's handsome, charming eyes twinkled steadily and tenaciously when it came to the murky tournament and its unfair treatment, but he could still be seen forcing tears into her eyes.....

Ivan could be sure he wasn't crying, and there was no firmness or tenacity in his eyes.

Looking at Rita Skeeter's meaning, as she did not answer, it was tacit that there was much darkness in the tournament.

If he fought back, it would naturally give him more opportunities to tell rumors.

This was truly abhorrent, and it was the first time Ivan had ever had a mandatory interview.

If he could, he would very much want to pull out his wand and teach him a hard lesson. But obviously she couldn't do that. Ivan was not an evil dark wizard, who would use the killing curse against people he disagreed with.

The wisest option now was not to talk about this subject any further.

"Miss Skeeter, I am here today as a reporter just like you to interview the champions. Therefore, I do not want my name to appear in this special report on the tournament," Ivan said aloud. "Please cross out the unfounded speculations you just wrote, otherwise I will take the necessary measures. And I assure you that you will definitely regret it!"

He finished, took a deep breath, didn't look at Rita Skeeter's face or the words written on his paper, and pulled Colin straight towards Fleur and Gabrielle.

Ivan didn't expect his threat to frighten. The woman was fearless and dared to say anything.

Even if Fudge and Dumbledore were here, she wouldn't be scared.

As long as it was profitable, it would continue to manufacture fake news. Letting her go on like this was a real nuisance.

Quite simply, Ivan knew she was an illegal animagus. But he couldn't say it. He wouldn't admit it.

If you said it outright, she sure wouldn't, and the other party wouldn't admit it. Instead, it would make her more cautious.

Now Ivan just had to wait for the opportunity to catch her when she snuck into Hogwarts in her animagus form to get information.

Rita Skeeter seemed startled by Ivan's reaction. The green quill stopped writing. Bagman rushed to alleviate the situation.

"Well done, Ivan!" said Gabrielle to Ivan, who had just approached her. "That woman is a nuisance!"

"She's very rude. When the Ministry of Magic official introduced us just now, she didn't even shake my hand!" whispered Fleur, "We were both talking about this; you've treated her as she deserves."

It was obvious that Rita Skeeter was not interested in an unknown young wizard from France like Fleur.

What she needed was a big news story that would attract public attention, the kind that could cause a sensation.

Fleur did not meet this condition, and Rita Skeeter would naturally pay no attention to her. She didn't even have basic etiquette.

"The Daily Prophet didn't interview you, so how would you like to be interviewed by Hogwarts Magic?" said Ivan.

He had discussed it with Hermione this morning, and this feature was mainly focused on the four champions, presenting their basic information and a comparative analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, etc, so that wizards outside Hogwarts could also find out all about the tournament and its participants.

It was a great move in itself, as many people wanted to know about the champions.

Even if it wasn't comparable to the rumors invented by Rita Skeeter, this news should have a lot of people's attention.