#rita 1

THE BEETLE & BAT

Hogwarts closing early...Severus wasn't sure what to make of this new predicament. Surely, Dumbledore wouldn't have stood by without a word if he knew. Thus, Snape concluded that he didn't. And he also concluded that this new reality was pushing exponentially towards war compared to the first. Concerned, Severus then took to all he could do at the moment: prepare. As the cauldron bubbled away for a fresh batch of dittany, Snape let the soft noise calm the room as he read over Slughorn's notes for the final exams.  All was relatively peaceful for their times and Snape took the opportunity to relax while he could.

Rita was a little angry that she hadn't somehow gotten the first scoop on Hogwarts closing early. Nonetheless, she'd written up something about it, and then made her way to Hogwarts to try and talk to Dumbledore and some of the teachers about it, if allowed. Luckily for her, Dumbledore had easily spoken to her, and had told her that she could go and speak to some of the others. She'd gone looking for Slughorn, but as she entered the room and saw Severus Snape instead, she had to grin and quickly moved over to talk to him. "Ah, Severus Snape," she hummed out, "What are you preparing there? Something to do with final exams? Mind if I ask you a few questions? About the closing, of course, not about the exams."

Of course, the little bit of peace was just as fleeting as it came. When Rita Skeeter entered the room, Severus sighed as he stood. This couldn't end well. Nothing she ever wrote did, "Miss Skeeter..." he replied and put the parchment down to fold his hands in front of himself, "Indeed," Snape paused to look over the cauldron, "Although, Professor Slughorn would be more equipped for any interviews concerning the latest news."

Rita couldn't help but chuckle at that, already pulling out her notebook and quill. "He would, of course, but I can interview you both, can't I? You will be just as affected by this as he will be and all. Unless you are just here helping and were planning to leave at the end of the year anyway, but how could that be a good job?" She tilted her head, then added, "You have to have at least some opinion about it, don't you?"

The chuckle from Rita did nothing to set Snape at ease. There was a fine line he had to tread, not wanting to give information that could allude to either side he was playing at. Not that he thought she would pick up on any of it, but perhaps some of her 'little bugs' would, "If you must," Severus drawled and sat down at the head of the table in front of the room, pushing the robes away from himself, "My opinion is that I will do what I can to help the students pass with this abrupt halt to their education."

Grinning, Rita moved to sit down at the table as well, sitting her notepad down and clearing her throat, starting to take quick notes. "And why do you think there was an abrupt halt? Why do you think the Ministry decided to shorten the school year for the children? What are your thoughts about our new Minister? Did you vote for him?" She rapid fired the questions at him, watching him carefully.

With a keen eye, Severus watched Rita's movements - lingering on the notepad. He wondered briefly how much she needed it, considering her abilities and, presumably, a trained memory recall. Hearing her question, Snape hummed before stating, "Why? I could never say for certain. With the state of the world, perhaps the halt was deemed necessary so that the children could return to their loved ones," he remained calm and deflected slightly, "Unfortunately, Miss Skeeter, I was caught up in the chaos of Diagon Alley before I could cast any vote." 

Rita hummed a little, listening to Severus and nodding her head. "And what do you think about the state of the world, Severus?" She asked, "What about all the rumors that are going around? Do you think they have any merit to them? Is there anything that the people should be worrying about, so much so that the children should return home? Do you think it has something to do with who killed Rabastian?" She watched him, as if taking in how calm he was, then asked, "And since you didn't get to cast a vote, who were you prepared to vote for?"

Severus sighed as Rita began spouting off more and more questions. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with, but was willing to do his part, "That question is best suited for people individually. In my world, other than the attacks and this abrupt halt, has been quiet," he paused, "Off the record, Rita...what do you think of the state of the world? Of these rumors?" he countered to deflect once more before stating, "Frankly, my vote is no one's business but my own."

"Other than the attacks and this abrupt halt..." Rita quoted thoughtfully, "And what about the rumors that are going around, Severus? Do you think there are people who can remember things that haven't even happened yet? Do you think the Ministry is trying to cover that up? Do you believe in any of it, or have any understanding of what people might be talking about?" She paused, then chuckled faintly, "Not even willing to share your thoughts on the candidates then, hm?"

Snape didn't mind her quoting of him. It made him think over the words. He hoped she wouldn't manipulate them to be incriminating in some way. With the barrage of repeated questions, Severus looked her in the eye, "What I believe doesn't matter. If anything, Mrs. Malfoy's arrest spoke volumes," and to Severus, it meant that whatever was against the grain, no matter who was in charge, would be punished. Shaking his head, he replied, "Not in the slightest."

Rita watched Severus, looking more curious than anything. "But you have an opinion, don't you? What about it could speak such volumes? Was it about Mrs. Malfoy herself?" She chuckled lightly when the man said he didn't want to talk about the candidates. "Alright, well, what do you think the students are going to think about having to do their exams so quickly and be leaving so soon?"

"Certainly," Severus agreed, "as does everyone," he said pointedly. The way Rita kept circling back to the same questions made Severus contemplate her tactic. Was she trying to wear him down until she got an answer she could twist. If so, Snape could easily continue to deflect and the pair would dance around the subjects all day,"You're a smart woman, Rita. I'm sure your 'little bugs' are as well..." he then thought about the students. How difficult this was for them and, without a word, opened the door as wide as it could with wandless magic, "That," Severus drawled as he stood, "would be a question for them, Miss Skeeter," and lifted his arm to signify the doorway, "I'm sure you'll be able to find one studying in the corridors or Great Hall."

Rita raised an eyebrow, almost impressed by the way Severus ignored answering her. “I am, yes,” She agreed, “As are all of my dear little bugs. Do you read my articles, Severus?” She watched as the door was opened, and chuckled softy at his words. “Of course. I’m sure you have more important matters to attend to, what with helping these poor students.” She stood then, grinning at him, “I’ll see you again soon, I’m sure.”

James was in Diagon Alley getting some last minute things, when he spotted a witch acting strange. He watched for a while, as she watched another couple. He couldn’t help but come up next to her and ask, “What’d they do?”