HP- Rita Skeeter

Armando Dippet: Master or Moron? Biography of Harry Potter with unknown title (1998) Snape: Scoundrel or Saint? Man or Monster? The TRUTH about Newt Scamander Articles

A piece about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference, describing Albus Dumbledore as an "obsolete dingbat". A piece about Gringotts Curse-Breakers in which she referred to Bill Weasley as a "long-haired pillock." One about the Quidditch World Cup aftermath. One about the mistakes made by the Ministry of Magic concerning the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins as well as the attack on Alastor Moody. One about Harry Potter being a Triwizard Champion who supposedly cried himself to sleep over his late parents. One about Rubeus Hagrid, portraying him as a ferocious half-giant. One about Hermione Granger allegedly dating both Harry Potter and Viktor Krum. One about Harry Potter supposedly being dangerous (before the Third Task). An interview with Harry Potter in which he described Lord Voldemort's return. This was likely Skeeter's most accurate article, since Hermione Granger arranged it and would have informed the Ministry of Skeeter's status as an unregistered Animagus had she lied. One about the reunion of some Dumbledore's Army members at the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, telling what they become along with false insinuations about them

Wand: Rita owned a wand of an unknown length, wand wood, and core material. Quick-Quotes Quill: Rita owned a Quick Quotes Quill, which she used for writing her sensationalist and fabricated newspaper articles. House: Rita owned a house in which she resided, which was described as being cosy. Candles: Rita owned some candles for lighting dark places, which she kept in her handbag. Glasses: Rita wore a pair of spectacles that were adorned with rhinestones, which she wore for daily use

Nonverbal magic: Skeeter lit several candles from her handbag and levitated them into the air, without saying the incantation. This implies she was a powerful witch, given the difficulty of casting nonverbal spells. Dumbledore acknowledged her skills in nonverbal magic as 'ironic' given her irritatingly talkative personality. Journalistic skills: As one of the main editors for the Daily Prophet, she was a very talented journalist and had years of experience in the field, having taken part in assessing the Death Eater trials after the first Wizarding War ended. Her primary work, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, was mostly based on true information, much to the disdain of many, such as Harry Potter, showing her to be a skilled researcher and writer as well.

Animagus: Rita had mastered an incredibly complex branch of Transfiguration, becoming an unregistered beetle Animagus. She did this to get information and gossip without being detected. However, Dumbledore caught her when she, in her Animagus form, was eavesdropping on Dumbledore and Jacob's sibling's conversation. Potions: Being an unregistered Animagus, she would have needed to have successfully brewed an Animagus potion in order to gain the ability to transform, a highly advanced and complex potion which required a high level of skill to concoct correctly. Rita was also likely capable of brewing Veritaserum, which she once used on Bathilda Bagshot. Charms: Rita had the ability to conjure at least a non-corporeal Patronus, a highly advanced and powerful protective charm and a mark of superior magical skill. She could also effortlessly cast simple charms, such as the Fire-Making Spell and Levitation Charm, which she also could cast non-verbally

Rita seemed to have a somewhat low opinion of the intelligence of her average reader based on her style of reporting. In a previous article, she once referred to Hermione Granger as being "stunningly pretty", only to then describe her in an article published just a few months later as "a plain, but ambitious girl". She also stated regarding the Daily Prophet that it "exists to sell itself".

While she had a huge disregard for her interviewees' reputations and journalistic integrity, Rita deeply feared her own status as an unregistered Animagus being revealed to the world. She gave up a year's worth of article writing when blackmailed by Hermione Granger (her main means of making a living), as she knew the alternate consequences would be a sentence in Azkaban. However, while Hermione thought this one year of abstinence would curb Skeeter's ill-habit of writing hurtful articles, she was wrong, as once the deal has reached its end, she swiftly and shamelessly returned to her old ways of writing sensationalist and dishonest articles.

Rita was an unregistered Animagus, taking the form of a beetle, and was able to slip around undetected and spy on unsuspecting company so she could obtain gossip for her articles, which she later exaggerated and exploited to gain the attention of the masses. Her ability to turn into a beetle also reflected how irritating and bothersome she was to other people, particularly Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and it also displayed her dishonest and cunning characteristics. Rita also wrote primarily for the Daily Prophet, though some of her articles also appeared in other sources, such as Witch Weekly and The Quibbler. Skeeter worked closely alongside Bozo, her photographer.

Rita was extremely nosy and willing to do anything for a good story — from spying on people in her Animagus form to sensationalising or outright inventing stories. She also took advantage of the elderly Bathilda Bagshot's possibly fragile state of mind (even giving her Veritaserum)[31] in order to dig up dirt on the late Albus Dumbledore for her extremely critical biography. She did this despite the use of such a powerful truth serum being heavily controlled by the Ministry. Rita tended to portray the people she wrote about poorly, presumably because it sold more stories.

Rita also appeared to be highly prejudiced against half-giants and wizards who spoke Parseltongue. She had no qualms in writing a hurtful and slanderous article about Rubeus Hagrid just because he was a half-giant,[24] and another similarly slanderous article about Harry just because of his ability to speak Parseltongue, even though he was not a Dark wizard.[26] Rita seemed to take great pleasure in writing malicious articles about those she wished to slander and ridicule.

Despite her inaccuracies and biased articles, Rita seemed to be a fast writer and researcher, as she managed to finish a nine-hundred-page book in four weeks.

Skeeter was described as having blonde hair set in elaborate curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jewelled spectacles studded with rhinestones and had thick fingers ending in two-inch nails, painted crimson. Her blonde curls were curiously rigid, suggesting they were styled with the magical equivalent of hairspray. In addition, she had pencilled-on eyebrows and three gold teeth, as well as large, masculine hands. Her bright scarlet painted fingernails and toenails were usually likened to claws or talons.

She was known to carry with her a crocodile-skin handbag, inside of which she carried her acid green Quick-Quotes Quill. She usually wore magenta-coloured robes, but also wore clothes of green leather with maroon furs at the collar and sleeves.

In her unregistered Animagus beetle form, her antennas were curled to resemble the curls in her hair and she had markings around her antennas resembling her jewelled glasses.

Skeeter attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in her youth. She held resentment towards Bilton Bilmes for a prank he pulled on her which prevented her joining the Slug Club, which involved putting Bulbadox powder in Horace Slughorn's tea. She had spent time currying favour with Slughorn and had gained acceptance to one of his parties, only for Bilmes' prank to end the meeting early and finish her chances of joining for good. Rita, a journalist after her graduation, would take revenge by publishing a scathing review of Hogsmeade, specifically targeting Zonko's Joke Shop, Bilmes's shop, and forcing Bilmes to temporarily close it. Bilmes retaliated by spiking her Butterbeer with Belch Powder.

Skeeter spent time training to become an Animagus and, at some point prior to 1986, she was finally able to transform into a beetle at will. Skeeter aspired to be a journalist and an author, using this ability to spy and eavesdrop as a beetle for her articles.

During her early days as an author, Skeeter wrote a biography on Armando Dippet entitled Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?. Based on many of her later books, it was presumably also an exaggerated history of him to gain controversy and, by extension, popularity and fame. This book turned out to be a best-seller, with numerous copies sold. Sometime in her early career, Skeeter also provided a quote for the critical acclaim for Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, when she wrote "I've read worse." as a review.

Skeeter was a journalist by the time of the First Wizarding War when Lord Voldemort was in power. In 1981, after the fall of Voldemort and the end of the War, Skeeter reported on the Death Eater trials before the Council of Magical Law, including the trials of people such as Igor Karkaroff and Ludovic Bagman.

Rita Skeeter (b. 1951) was a British witch and journalist who specialised in writing poison-pen stories. These stories tended to be based on false information and misreported interviews. She wrote articles as a Gossip Correspondent for the Daily Prophet, as well as a few 'tell-all' biographies. She occasionally worked as a Quidditch commentator for World Cup games. Skeeter preferred writing for the sake of publicity and wrote what she thought people would "like to read" and what was lies rather than what they "ought to read" and which was the truth.

Notable stories Rita covered included the trials of various Death Eaters after the First Wizarding War, the Triwizard Tournament, and (albeit reluctantly) Harry Potter's account of Lord Voldemort's return to power in 1995 for The Quibbler. She also wrote biographies of Armando Dippet, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Harry Potter.

Rita's writing tended to be sensationalist and sometimes outright dishonest, paralleling her beliefs about writing what people "like to read". Her biography of Harry Potter, for instance, was described as being only one-quarter factual, with the remaining three-quarters being pure fabrication and general dislike for Harry Potter being made into fake stories. Her ability to acquire information was assisted by her status as an unregistered beetle Animagus