bookbashuk Chapter 268 Gu Fei's Struggle Fails
Chapter 268 Gu Fei's Struggle Fails
Chapter 268 Gu Fei's Struggle Fails
Today, at the headquarters of the Daily Prophet, the current editor-in-chief, Barnabas Guffey, continues his peaceful life as always: identifying breaking news, assigning staff, collecting articles, and publishing the newspaper.
Two days ago, he submitted an application to Ms. Minerva McGonagall, the vice-principal of Hogwarts, hoping to conduct an interview about the exchange students at Beauxbatons.
After all, it was an unprecedented student exchange activity between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, two world-renowned magic schools. This was undoubtedly a hot news story, a dream opportunity for every reporter hoping to gain fame as soon as possible, and a feast for every newspaper.
"I was born in Hogwarts and work for the Daily Prophet. How can other newspapers compete with me?" He picked up a copy of The Quibbler on the table. As always, the newspaper published fictitious things like "Curved-Horned Snoring Beast" and "Airship Lee," as well as some attacks on the Ministry of Magic—the more pointed kind.
Suddenly, a violent tremor accompanied by a loud bang came, and he lost his balance and fell heavily into the pile of newspapers on his desk.
"What happened?"
Before he could even stand up, the door to his editor-in-chief's office on the third floor was pushed open, and a group of people filed in, along with two human-shaped objects being carried.
"Mr. Goughfe, are you aware of the matter concerning reporters Rita and Aslot's trip to Hogwarts to distort the truth and spread misinformation?"
A young-sounding voice rang out, instantly igniting Guffey's fury—when did a mere youth dare to cause trouble in the Daily Prophet's editor-in-chief's office! And dare to question his decisions! It was clearly a Hogwarts student dissatisfied with Rita's wording, but those were just exchange students! Did they all think they were Ryan Welsh?!
"The Daily Prophet's actions are all normal journalistic practices, and have been approved by the Hogwarts administration! Rita is a well-known journalist, and her articles are very popular! Everything is in accordance with procedure, so what right do you students have to object!"
He was furious: "Your actions have severely violated wizarding law! Just you wait! I will get the Aurors to arrest you all! I'll send you all to Azkaban! And you'll never be able to return to Beauxbatons!"
However, he did not hear the fear and commotion he had expected, but rather faintly heard some suppressed laughter.
Gu Fei frowned as he stood up, determined to carefully identify the students who had come to cause trouble. He made up his mind that he would not let any of them go.
The next second, the anger vanished, and the original thought was deeply hidden in the depths of his mind, for fear that even the slightest thought might leak out and be discovered by "Mind Control".
"Mr. Ryan Wales, what brings you here in person?" He bowed slightly, led Ryan to the head seat, and poured him warm tea.
Ryan sat down and tapped the table lightly. Invisible ripples spread out, extending everything in their path. The space continued to expand, transforming what was originally the size of an office into a large classroom that could accommodate a hundred or so people.
He pushed the pile of newspapers off the table, and the newspapers fluttered like falling leaves, continuing to flutter until they reached the open space in the room. As they slowly descended, they transformed into high-backed chairs, each inlaid with magnificent jewels.
The students from Beauxbatons threw the two unconscious reporters in front of Guffer and then sat down in their own high-backed chairs.
neat and tidy.
Gu Fei, who was sitting on the sofa, hunched over even lower.
"Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei, you just said that everything you did was authorized by Hogwarts? Then let me ask you, when did Hogwarts ever allow you to arrange for a reporter like Rita to undermine wizarding unity, hinder exchanges between the schools, and damage the relationship between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts?"
"Also, call the Aurors over now. I'll ask them, as a member of the Wizengamots, what kind of punishment should be given to organizations and their leaders who spread rumors and cause trouble with the intention of subverting the peace of the wizarding world?"
Gu Fei never expected that the person who came would actually be Ryan!
How could such a trivial matter have alarmed someone like him...? He was puzzled, but time did not allow him to continue his doubts: "Mr. Ryan, it's all a misunderstanding. It was a mistake made by a temporary worker when conveying my instructions, leading to the current situation. My intention was to arrange for the most reliable reporters to interview the distinguished guests from Beauxbatons. It was the temporary workers' lack of understanding of the newspaper's work processes that caused this misunderstanding. Rest assured, I will definitely rectify this situation and resolutely remove these bad apples from the ranks of reporters to ensure the impartiality of the Daily Prophet."
"Please believe that the Daily Prophet, established for over two centuries, has weathered countless storms and overcome numerous challenges, always maintaining a vibrant and upward-moving vitality to create great achievements and stride into the future. This is all thanks to the impartiality of its team. Therefore, we have zero tolerance for unprofessional temporary workers in our team and will deal with them seriously and precisely!"
Gu Fei's fluent English gentlemanly and bureaucratic manner demonstrated excellent professionalism and regional expertise. His strategy of shifting blame by making grand promises, highlighting achievements, and talking about the future was remarkably effective.
"There's no need for such platitudes. Your people have already damaged the stability of the wizarding world. If saying such things were effective, why would Fudge have stepped down?" Ryan remained unmoved.
Faced with the current situation, Gu Fei resorted to delaying tactics, hoping to postpone the matter and consult with friends to brainstorm and overcome the difficulties. After all, he was once a student of Slughorn and a member of the "Slug Club," with friends in all walks of life and a wide network of connections.
In particular, his mentor was the former Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts and the former Potions Professor, a relationship that would definitely come in handy.
They played the emotional card, saying that since everyone was a student of Hogwarts, it wouldn't damage Hogwarts' reputation.
"I've inquired, and Mr. Slughorn is your teacher. Mr. Slughorn is currently at Hogwarts. If you wish, you can go to Hogwarts now and ask him to judge your actions. I just don't know if you dare?"
Upon hearing Ryan's certainty, Gufie immediately backed down. He was absolutely certain that if his story reached Mr. Slughorn's ears, he would not receive any support and might even be scorned by all the members of the Slug Club—someone who could gain popularity and money by smearing his alma mater and creating conflict. No one would want to be friends with such a person, even if most members of the Slug Club shared similar thoughts. But they couldn't put them into practice, and if they did, they couldn't afford to get caught red-handed.
"Mr. Ryan has come all this way with so many people; he must have something important to discuss. I am all ears and will certainly comply."
When the two sides clashed over a matter, and one side had absolute power, Gu Fei finally gave up trying to argue after two attempts.
Because the positions of both sides need to be equal in a debate.
An eloquent stance requires one side to be strong.
The weaker party is simply ignored.