On the south street of Diagon Alley, at the office of the Defense Guide, editor-in-chief Remus Lupin was staring at the parchment in his hand with a frown, carefully checking the manuscript for next month's magazine.
"Sirius, are we really going to do this?"
Lupin put down his column on the Triwizard Tournament and looked up at Sirius, who was sitting across from him with his feet up, flipping through the Daily Prophet.
"Why not?" Sirius asked back, "We are telling the truth."
"Dumbledore will definitely be unhappy, you know, and that will bring an indelible stain to the Triwizard Tournament." Lupin knew very well what kind of turmoil would be caused in Britain if the news that Karkaroff was a Death Eater leaked.
"Stain? This tournament has been full of stains for a long time." Sirius sneered, "Ever since the fourth champion appeared in the Triwizard Tournament, and since Karkaroff was driven off the referee's seat by the audience, do we still need to worry about what others say about the entire Triwizard Tournament?"
Lupin remained silent because this was the truth, and the truth was sometimes crueler than lies.
"Dumbledore invited Mad-Eye to teach at the school. I suspect it was to guard against Karkaroff." Sirius did not hide his disgust for Karkaroff at all. It should be said that he hated all Death Eaters. "We all know that Karkaroff is particularly good at acting. He successfully persuaded the Ministry of Magic to release him, and later he inexplicably became the headmaster of Durmstrang. Don't you think that guy is suspicious?"
"So, you plan to use this to focus everyone's attention on Karkaroff and prevent him from privately..." Lupin was interrupted by Sirius before he could finish his words.
"What you said is just one of the reasons." Sirius threw down the Daily Prophet and said to his old friend: "This is the opportunity for the Defense Guide to take off."
Lupin was stunned, not understanding what Sirius meant for a moment.
"Remus, you have to understand that if we want the Defense Guide to be widely respected in the wizarding world, we need to find another way. We need to let everyone know that the knowledge taught in the Defense Guide is useful and the news it tells them is true. No one wants to be deceived. The audience needs the truth, even if the truth is very cruel." Sirius recalled Albert's words.
One day, you will need the Defense Guide to speak for you. Until then, try to get as many people as possible to accept it, identify with it, and believe in it.
As for making money, don't be in a hurry. When the time is right, you will naturally not be afraid of not making money.
Although Sirius didn't understand Albert's weird words, he believed in Albert and was willing to believe in the guy who could predict the future.
"A lot of the content in the Daily Prophet is actually fabricated. It's good enough if it's three-tenths true." Sirius said, "Everyone needs the truth."
"Oh, okay! Since you have decided." Lupin's eyes fell back on the parchment in his hand, and he suddenly asked, "Did Mr. Anderson ask you to do this?"
Before Sirius could answer, Lupin continued, "I always feel like he's planning something."
"To be precise, he should be preparing for the future." Sirius made his own judgment, "He probably predicted some bad future."
"A bad future?" Lupin asked, raising his eyebrows. "Did he tell you anything?"
"He didn't reveal much information, but I think that's what he meant." Sirius carefully sorted out the information he got from Albert and said in a joking tone, "Maybe Anderson wants to tell us that Voldemort will make a comeback."
"That's not funny," Lupin said suddenly.
"If it were in the past, I would definitely not believe it." Sirius didn't finish the rest of his words, but the meaning was already very clear.
"Did Dumbledore know?" Lupin asked again.
"I think he definitely knows." Sirius said, "Dumbledore is more perceptive than us. After learning that Albert can predict the future, do you think he really won't go to Albert to predict the future?"
“That’s right.”
The Defense Guide office fell into silence again.
In fact, before the release of the "Defense Guide" next month, Hogwarts Castle was already in an uproar. No one knew who had quietly brought up the topic of why Karkaroff gave Albert 1 point. Various shocking rumors emerged in Hogwarts Castle one after another, and they all sounded reasonable.
According to accurate information provided by someone, cheating in inter-school competitions is actually a normal thing. Karkaroff's shameless behavior of doing whatever it takes to win is actually very common in inter-school competitions, but he didn't expect to go too far and unfortunately hit the steel plate and flipped over.
Some people also said that Durmstrang's headmaster Karkaroff looked down on Muggle wizards and did not want them to get high scores in the Triwizard Tournament, so he arrogantly gave Albert 1 point.
This statement is far more popular than the previous ones.
It is true that Durmstrang does not recruit Muggle wizards, and it is still widely accepted that they look down on Muggle wizards.
After all, isn't it normal for a guy who can hang out with Slytherin students to think this way
Some people also believe that it was these reasons combined that led Karkaroff to give Albert 1 point.
Soon, even more explosive news spread in the school: Karkaroff was actually a Death Eater.
This explosive news spread like wildfire. As the mysterious man's minions, it was natural for them to hate and despise Muggle wizards.
Then it was reported that Harry Potter had inexplicably become a champion of Hogwarts. It was actually Karkaroff's doing. He used a powerful Confusion Charm to deceive the Goblet of Fire and turned Harry Potter into a champion, intending to use the competition to murder Harry Potter's life.
Before everyone could recover, someone else claimed that he had seen Karkaroff sneaking up to the Goblet of Fire at night during the Warriors registration period, directly confirming that he had registered Harry.
These rumors were like fireworks exploding in the sky. More and more explosive news broke out one after another and became the topic of students' after-dinner conversation.
For example, the Dark Mark at the last Quidditch World Cup was actually created by Karkaroff, who was hiding among the group of evil masked Death Eaters.
These rumors spread quickly, and even the professors at the school heard similar rumors and gathered together to discuss the matter. After all, they were not students who knew nothing, and they knew very well that Karkaroff was once a Death Eater, especially since there was a former Auror Mad-Eye among them who had captured Karkaroff.
Dumbledore did not want this incident to affect the friendship between Hogwarts and Durmstrang, so the professors never told the students that Karkaroff was a Death Eater. Fortunately, Karkaroff has not shown up in Hogwarts since he was kicked out of the referee's seat last time, so this storm should be settled soon.
However, they never thought that the Karkaroff incident was actually caused deliberately by someone in order to divert everyone's attention.
"Is there really no need for me to spread news about Krum?" Lee Jordan has been extremely excited about the Karkaroff incident recently and has been wanting to secretly make another big news.
"No, this incident will last a long time." Albert rejected Lee Jordan's plan. This guy planned to secretly use the flying spell to summon Krum's underwear in the dead of night, destroy it completely with magic, and then spread the news that Krum's underwear was stolen.
"You're sure. Nobody seems to be paying attention to that now," said Lee Jordan rather regretfully. "They're more interested in the Yule Ball now."
"The Yule Ball certainly gives us a chance to relax," said George, imitating Professor McGonagall.
"Everyone is saying that Dumbledore bought eight hundred barrels of flavored mead from Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks?" Fred couldn't help but complain. "Where the hell is Madam Rosmerta going to get eight hundred barrels of flavored mead?"
"I think it's possible that he was booking the Weird Sisters," Lee Jordan speculated. "It wouldn't be the first time this has happened."
To be honest, Albert was not interested in the songs of the Weird Sisters. He thought it would be more reliable to let Yanila from Beauxbatons sing on stage.
"I asked Professor McGonagall for you. She said you could invite Isobel to the ball, but she thinks this is a great opportunity for us to socialize with foreign guests."
The three of them were well aware of Albert's formal style and he would most likely not invite anyone other than his girlfriend to be his dance partner.
"In fact, you can invite the warriors of Beauxbatons. I think she will not refuse you." Fred said without hesitation.
"If the other girls hear you saying this, they will probably beat you into a pig's head," George warned.
"Oh, there's one more thing." Lee Jordan suddenly said, "The Wizard Card Club finals will be held at the beginning of next month."
"Who do you think is most likely to win the Wizard Card Championship?" Albert asked.
"Diggory, Granger, Lovegood and Shanna are running for the championship," Lee Jordan said without hesitation. "Granger and Lovegood are the two backup candidates, but I don't think Granger is very enthusiastic about wizard cards. She probably won't put too much thought into wizard cards. She will definitely become a prefect, and she also has a "vomit" club."
"As for Lovegood, she's passionate about wizard cards, but I'm a little worried about her organizational skills." Lee Jordan continued, "I heard that she's called a crazy girl and doesn't get along well with others."
"Is there anyone else?" Albert asked again.
“Although we have quite a few clubs, it’s not easy to pick the right one.”
"Let's wait until the wizard card game is over." Albert thought for a moment and said, "If Luna wins, I'm afraid someone will have to invite her to the dance."
Fred and George both turned to look at Lee Jordan.
"Anyway, you haven't found a dance partner yet. If she wins, just tell her clearly. She probably won't refuse." Albert reached out and patted Lee Jordan's shoulder, with an expression that said, "Please help me."
"Fred and George haven't found a partner yet, and maybe she doesn't want to dance with Albert," Lee Jordan said in his last desperate struggle. "Well, if she really wins, whoever hasn't found a partner will invite her."
"No problem, we will definitely find a dance partner before you." Fred and George were very confident in themselves.
As the four entered the common room, they heard the girls talking about the Yule Ball.
Fred and George looked at each other, then walked towards the girls together, and after a while they came back.
"Okay, now you're the only one without a partner," said Fred, patting Lee Jordan on the shoulder.
"Who did you invite, Angelina?"
"Yes," Fred said without hesitation, "she agreed."
"What about you?" Albert asked George. "Alia?"
"After all, being Quidditch teammates for so many years always gives us some advantages in this regard," George said with a smile.
"Of course, it could also be that we are handsome enough." Fred stroked his chin and said narcissistically, "Girls like handsome boys, just like boys like pretty girls."
Several girls over there couldn't help but burst out laughing, obviously amused by what Fred said.
"These two bastards are really quick," Lee Jordan said through gritted teeth. "No, I really want to hit someone and do something big right now."
"No rush. In a couple of days, when the Defense Guide comes out, something big will happen." Albert said meaningfully.
"Damn it, you didn't take me with you."
The release of the "Defense Guide" poured gasoline on the dying Death Eater crisis, completely detonating the Karkaroff incident that was about to be forgotten by the students.
The Defense Guide mentions Mr. "1 Point" in its Triwizard Tournament column.
Yes, Lupin did not directly point out Karkaroff, but everyone knew who this "1 point" gentleman was, and analyzed the reason why Mr. 1 point gave 1 point. The crimes of using any means to achieve Durmstrang's victory and looking down on Muggle wizards were pinned on him, and the reason was also stated: Karkaroff used to be a Death Eater.
Karkaroff was captured by Mad-Eye, and was pardoned by the Ministry of Magic because he betrayed a large number of his companions.
Now it explodes right on the spot!
The news that the headmaster of Durmstrang was actually a Death Eater quickly spread throughout the British wizarding community, and the sales of the "Defense Guide" continued to rise. Many wizards suddenly discovered that there was such a magazine around them, and they were very willing to buy a copy of the "Defense Guide" to see what the Triwizard Tournament was all about.
Because the "Defense Guide" explains the entire game and the magic used by the warriors in detail and fairly.
Of course, this matter is not over yet. Many people sent letters to Karkaroff, curses, and even shouting letters. Recently, many students have said that they often hear the sound of shouting letters around Durmstrang's ships.
Dumbledore also suffered bad luck. Parents believed that the appearance of a Death Eater in Hogwarts might threaten the lives of students, and they unanimously demanded that Karkaroff should be asked to leave the school.
In fact, after this incident was exposed, Karkaroff could no longer stay in Britain. No one in Britain, which was deeply persecuted by Voldemort, would welcome a Death Eater.