Chapter 668: Chapter 668: Message Before Going to Bed (Edited)
Amidst everyone's puzzled looks, Tom bent down and embraced the little unicorn, which seemed quite content.
Faced with this gesture from a stranger, the baby unicorn didn't panic as Professor Grubbly-Plank had predicted. Instead, it shifted in Tom's arms, finding a more comfortable position, and emitted a couple of soft "Baahs."
Professor Grubbly-Plank was amazed. She couldn't understand why the baby unicorn was so affectionate towards a boy.
After all, not even she, as a midwife, had hugged that creature.
She even felt a bit envious of Tom. In her opinion, the boy had an exceptional talent for connecting with magical creatures, which was an extraordinary gift. Over time, he could become another Newt Scamander.
The talents of wizards vary; in the magical world, there are some wizards especially skilled in communicating with animals, and one of the most famous is Newt Scamander. In his presence, the gap between wizards and magical creatures simply vanishes. Nothing is "incurable" with a little love and patience.
Seeing Tom hugging the baby unicorn, Professor Grubbly-Plank saw a glimpse of Newt's spirit.
She sighed softly and told the students around her, "This is an exception, don't imitate it. It's better to increase your affinity level honestly."
At that moment, the students' attention was no longer on the professor. They all gathered around Tom, with bright eyes, watching the little unicorn in his arms.
Due to their excessive excitement, the baby unicorn turned and hid its head in the front of Tom's robe.
"Don't get too excited; you might frighten the little one." Tom gently stroked the fur of the baby unicorn in his arms, enjoying its soft touch. It was a sensation that not even the finest fur in the world could match: delicate, soft, fluffy, and warm, with a refreshing and pleasant aroma.
The baby unicorn was calm in his arms, resembling a little plush toy.
From the looks of the girls, Tom understood one thing clearly: they wanted to touch it!
But what he had in his arms was a baby unicorn, not a kitten, and he couldn't just hand it over to strangers. He wouldn't even give a kitten to anyone. Therefore, Tom ignored those looks and gently stroked the back of the baby unicorn, trying to calm it down.
Professor Grubbly-Plank also recovered from her surprise and, approaching Tom stealthily, spoke quietly to him and the nearby students about some typical behaviors of baby unicorns.
Perhaps due to Tom's warm embrace, the baby unicorn felt secure, so after playing around as if it were a doll for a while, it timidly peeked its head out and observed the world in front of it with its big black eyes.
"Do you want to eat something?" Tom teased the little unicorn, attracting envious glances from the girls around him.
"Baah! (I don't want to)," the unicorn replied.
"It's so small; maybe it hasn't been weaned yet?" Hermione looked at the baby unicorn, pondering. Then, she cast a summoning spell, and a bottle of milk and a spoon appeared.
"Here you go!" Hermione scooped up a bit of milk with the spoon and offered it to the baby unicorn. At first, the baby unicorn was a bit cautious, but it soon realized that Hermione had no ill intentions, so it drank two spoonfuls of milk politely.
"Come on, I'll give it to you." Seeing that Hermione seemed to get along well with the baby unicorn, Tom handed the small golden creature to her. A flash of surprise crossed Hermione's face; she didn't expect her "little dream" to come true so soon.
Although the baby unicorn handed over by Tom was a little restless, seeing Tom nearby and smelling his new uncle's scent on Hermione, it didn't offer much resistance. It simply raised its legs slightly in protest and let out some soft "baaahs."
Hermione carefully cradled the little unicorn in her arms and, in the face of envious looks from the others, began to groom its fur.
"Granger, can I also...?"
"Baah!"
A girl wanted to touch the baby unicorn, but before she could finish her question, the little unicorn protested loudly.
"Well, alright, alright." The girl felt helpless and reluctantly stepped back.
With its "enemy" removed, the baby unicorn felt proud and extended its tender tongue to lick Hermione's earlobe, making her laugh.
The class ended in this harmonious atmosphere.
After returning the baby unicorn to its mother, the students looked at Professor Grubbly-Plank with expectant eyes.
"Professor, will they come back to class next time?" someone couldn't contain their longing and asked.
Professor Grubbly-Plank shook her head. "Unicorns are creatures of nature; they are free. They come when they want to, and no one can stop them."
In the following weeks, Hagrid mysteriously disappeared from the castle. During meals, his chair at the staff table was empty, and on regular days, no one saw him carrying out his ranger duties outside the castle.
Harry and Ron searched for him and, knocking on his door, heard some timid dog barks from his hut, but Hagrid never opened the door. After a while, they didn't even hear the barks.
Seeing Hagrid's attitude, Harry couldn't do anything. This obstacle could only be overcome by Hagrid himself when he wished.
Moreover, Harry had his own problems to solve. After the Christmas holidays, the workload at school became much heavier. In addition, he had to take care of the school newspaper and his special Occlumency training. He was so busy that he barely had time for Hagrid.
The progress of the school newspaper went very smoothly. When Professor McGonagall learned of Harry's needs, she immediately passed the matter on to Dumbledore, and then Harry and Luna were given an empty room and an old printing press for the Hogwarts newspaper. This established the newspaper's headquarters.
"So, what are we going to call our newspaper?" Harry was a bit perplexed when deciding the name. "The Hogwarts Prophet" sounds too obvious...
"The Magical Daily Prophet" Krum suggested.
Harry shook his head. "That name is too grand. We focus on news within Hogwarts, not the entire magical world. Plus, we can't publish daily; it would be exhausting to write."
"So, what's our position?" Krum looked at Harry, curious about the content and theme of the Hogwarts newspaper.
Harry glanced at Tom and Hermione, who had come to congratulate him on the progress. He wasn't quite sure about the newspaper's position.
Tom tilted his head. "How about 'Bedtime Tidings' as the name?"
Chapter 669: Chapter 669: Back and Forth (Edited)
"Bedtime Tidings! That name doesn't seem suitable for a newspaper," Harry said, puzzled.
In his mind, newspaper names should be "The Magical World's Prophet" or "The Magical World Daily"; "Bedtime Tidings" had no relation to a newspaper.
"Exactly, it doesn't have to look like a newspaper," Tom replied with a smile, nodding his head. Then, he looked at the people present in the room and posed a question, "When do you all read newspapers?"
Krum scratched his head. "Before and after Quidditch matches? I like reading news about the teams, analysis, and comments after the games."
Harry felt a bit uncomfortable because he didn't usually read newspapers; he only occasionally glanced at the major news along with his friends.
Unlike the boys, Hermione and Luna used to read the newspaper during breakfast when the Daily Prophet was delivered. It was the most relaxed time of the day.
"So," Tom waved his hand, "you're unlikely to read the school newspaper, right?"
The four present before Tom lowered their heads somewhat embarrassedly. They reflected for a moment and realized that, indeed, they wouldn't read the Hogwarts newspaper.
That was natural. Students were already accustomed to reading the Daily Prophet for important events. Competing directly in the news field with that newspaper wouldn't be a smart decision, as it had been leading for a long time and would be difficult to surpass.
So, what to do? Change direction. It's like a 1000-meter race where the Daily Prophet has already covered 900 meters. So, Tom could step out and shout, "Stop! I'm going to compete in long jump with you!" That way, he could make his leading competitor return to the starting line and compete from there.
"I want to create a newspaper that's not so serious, something easy to digest. It would be great if every student could read it before bedtime, like an entertainment magazine," Tom explained his idea slowly.
People's energy is limited, so the amount of information each individual can absorb daily is also limited. Young wizards had to attend classes during the day and complete their assignments at night. How could they dedicate much time to reading newspapers like retirees did? The only time they could read would be during breakfast. As for the rest of the day, doesn't wizard's chess sound good? Isn't it fun to play cards? Why waste your leisure time reading the newspaper?
And breakfast time was already occupied by the Daily Prophet. To compete, Harry's newspaper needed to find another suitable time.
Bedtime was a perfect choice. At Hogwarts, without mobile phones, that bedtime was quite "empty." At most, students chatted with their roommates. Tom was aiming for that time.
And since it was something to read before bed, it obviously shouldn't be too serious. It would be ideal if it had a touch of entertainment, and that was the essence of "Bedtime Tidings" – light and humorous.
"Oh," they all nodded in unison, feeling that Tom's idea made sense.
"Alright, we'll call our newspaper 'Bedtime Tidings'," Harry agreed with Tom's idea.
Then, after some discussion, they decided to publish a weekly edition of the newspaper, placing it in the common rooms of each house for students to pick up. Regarding the content of the newspaper, it would consist of five sections: Internal Notices, Internal News, Political Affairs Commentary, Free Contributions, and Advertising. Yes, they decided to include advertisements on the last page of the newspaper.
The first two sections served the purpose of the school newspaper. In them, the editorial team would publish notices from the school, the house, and even comments about the teaching and administrative staff at Hogwarts. Teachers could also publicly praise or reprimand someone through these sections.
The "Free Contributions" section was the place where young wizards at Hogwarts could submit their articles. Tom believed that many of them would have something to say before or after Quidditch matches. By involving them in the newspaper, not only would the content be enriched, but also their sense of belonging would be strengthened, thus attracting more students to read "Bedtime Tidings." The advertising revenue on the bulletin board would be converted into fees for contributors, further incentivizing them to submit more articles.
The "Political Affairs Commentary" section was the space Tom left for Harry to express his personal opinions. For example, to change the impression many had of Hagrid, Harry could write an article like "Are Half-Giants Really Cruel? Where Does That Claim Come From?" or "Do You Like Big Creatures? Start with the Three-Headed Dog." This way, he could challenge stereotypes and change perceptions.
Once a consensus was reached, preparations for the first issue of "Bedtime Tidings" began. With Luna's help, the newspaper planning proceeded smoothly, and overall, there weren't many mistakes. But what pleasantly surprised them was that both Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout expressed their support in unique ways. Professor McGonagall advanced the next Hogsmeade opening to Harry so that he could obtain some exclusive information for the "Internal News" section. Professor Sprout wrote an informative article teaching students how to distinguish poisonous mushrooms. Even Professor Flitwick, who accidentally learned what they were doing, contributed a short article about the use and method for casting the Expulso spell.
When the caretaker, Filch, heard the news, he was even happier and wrote a lengthy article of several thousand words about the dire consequences of breaking school rules, along with providing an extremely long list of banned items that he hoped Harry could publish in his newspaper. Seeing Filch's long and stinking contribution, Harry resolutely decided to place it on the last page of the newspaper, just before the advertisements.
As for the advertisements, Fred and George became the exclusive sponsors of "Bedtime Tidings," and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products filled the entire last page. However, they had a small request: in the version that the professors would read, they needed to remove those ads.
Harry readily agreed.
The Hogwarts newspaper, "Bedtime Tidings," gradually headed toward success, and now they only had to wait until the weekend to see the reaction.
However, perhaps Harry had used up all his luck in organizing the newspaper because his Occlumency training with Snape was terrible.
After two long hours of training, the only conclusion Harry and Snape reached was that the other was a fool. The lesson was utterly useless.
"You're the least talented student I've ever met. If it weren't for Dumbledore's order, I wouldn't allow you to take a single step in here," Snape said, pointing to the door of his office, "You may go! I hope that the next time you come, you have improved even a little, though I have my doubts about that."
Harry's face turned pale with anger. He was convinced Snape was the worst teacher; even a troll would be more competent than him. During those two hours, Snape had repeatedly invaded his mind, leading him to suspect that Snape had a personal vendetta against him.
In any case, he didn't feel like he had made any progress at all, and that seemed to be a conclusion that both Harry and Snape had arrived at.
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