Bab 99: 99: Apparition and the Daily Prophet
"The most important thing to remember are the three 'Ds': destination, determination, and deliberation.
When performing it, focus your attention on your destination, be determined to occupy the space you envision, and act with deliberation."
Tommy Shelby was a master of Apparition, and John estimated his level to be about 5.
In this desolate forest, John was learning the spell of Apparition.
To be precise, this spell was divided into two parts:
Disapparition and Apparition.
The difference between the two was that one was disappearing at the starting point, and the other was appearing at the destination.
You need to master both steps carefully, otherwise, you might end up with a Splinching situation.
Just like now, John stared blankly at his missing ring finger.
"You're doing quite well, actually. Some people have even managed to decapitate themselves while attempting Apparition."
Tommy was treating John with Dittany. The boss's secret mission turned out to be remedial lessons.
Tommy thought that if he hadn't become an Auror back then, he might have been able to teach at Hogwarts.
With his finger reattached, John wiggled it a bit.
"This Splinching doesn't feel like being cut apart, more like being separated."
Aside from its convenience, Apparition is actually quite an uncomfortable experience.
It's like being forcefully stuffed into a narrow pipe and then squeezed out at the other end.
After many attempts, John finally got Apparition to appear on his spell list.
At the thought of having to continue leveling up while risking getting splinched, John decisively used his skill points to upgrade.
At level 2, Apparition felt completely different.
John immediately decided to give it a try.
"Apparition should not be rushed. It took me several weeks to succeed for the first time. Remember the three D's: destination, determination, and... what the fuc-!"
Tommy was still mumbling on when suddenly, a loud crack echoed in his ears.
He stared in a daze as John appeared 100 meters away, his body perfectly intact.
John felt a bit dizzy when he landed, but it was within an acceptable range.
His body also didn't show any signs of splinching, which meant he had successfully mastered the spell.
Trying again, he appeared next to Tommy. Although his position was slightly off, it wasn't too far off the mark.
Seeing Tommy's dumbfounded expression, John smiled and asked, "What were you just saying?"
"Uh... just pretend I never said anything."
This was the first time Tommy realized the gap between ordinary people and those favored by the heavens.
Back in the day, he had experienced splitting at least a dozen times, and the worst one almost cost him a leg.
But when it came to John, he only experienced a minor Splinching once, and within a day, he had already mastered Apparition.
This truly made Tommy envious.
Now that John had learned Apparition, he no longer needed to take a car back and forth every day.
The Floo Network in the nearby house where Mundungus used to stay had been cut off, probably due to overdue payments.
That guy was incredibly stingy. Even though he was now earning 300 Galleons, he still made himself look like a beggar.
Well, you could say wizards always had a unique sense of style, so John wouldn't interfere too much.
Glancing at Tommy beside him, John thought he might as well give him a change of clothes.
Judging by the looks of it, Tommy had been wearing his current outfit for quite some time. The patches didn't quite fit the style of the Silver Hand Johnny's specialty shop.
You could only say Tommy had been terrified of poverty. The year he became a werewolf, he often couldn't even afford to eat.
John found a place to get Tommy a new set of clothes, and he also sent some to the security team.
The original gathering that looked like a beggars' convention instantly turned into a supermodel runway.
Even the soon-to-be-retired Remus Lupin wasn't left out; John treated everyone equally.
This made Lupin very touched.
In fact, Lupin had already received an invitation before Lockhart resigned, but he chose to delay his departure just to get an extra bottle of Wolfsbane Potion.
The Wolfsbane Potion available on the market couldn't compare to the one from within Silverhand Johnny's, and Lupin was doing everything he could to maintain his sanity while teaching students at Hogwarts.
He saved the one bottle of Wolfsbane Potion he received each month and used his own money to buy the cheapest version to get through the full moon.
Tommy turned a blind eye to his actions. After all, being a fellow werewolf, he knew Lupin was a good person and chose to wish him well.
"Thank you, Lord Silverhand."
The security team members, dressed in new clothes and equipped with protective amulets and magical rings, all had a different aura about them.
"Remus, you're always welcome back here."
John knew that werewolves don't last long in other places of employment. He instructed Mundungus, "Prepare three bottles of the best Wolfsbane Potion for him."
These three bottles were a farewell gift, and John didn't ask where Lupin was heading.
Anyone who leaves me, I'll give a million.
So how much could those who stay and work earn? Wouldn't it be a billion?
Applause from those who understood!
Lupin was full of gratitude; out of all the jobs he had encountered, John was the only one who truly treated werewolves as colleagues.
A copy of the Daily Prophet was delivered by an owl. John picked it up, and the headline was about a new ruler in Diagon Alley.
Of course, things like this usually weren't supposed to be mentioned.
The editor, named Rita Skeeter, was notorious for being provocative. In her article, she referred to Johnny Silverhand as the "Second King," comparing him to a second ruler beneath the Ministry of Magic.
"She does write a good article, though."
John saw things in there that he had never done before, like chopping people up to feed to dragons or using Nifflers to steal from Gringotts.
He marveled, "She's practically another great writer like Lockhart."
Reading with great interest, John even started to feel as if he were ruling the magical world.
"Oh? There's an exclusive news preview?"
John noticed that Rita Skeeter had even more exclusive news.
"Unveiling the true face of the Second King, Johnny Silverhand: Is he a faceless man or an undead? Stay tuned."
Reading out the preview, John was a bit dumbfounded himself.
"Exclusive interview? Unveiling? How come I didn't know about this?"
A string of three questions, and John himself had no idea he had accepted an exclusive interview.
He figured this was probably just Rita Skeeter making things up again, so he didn't pay much attention.
He fed some fish snacks to Riddle, who was perched on the table with its round eyes wide open. Meanwhile, a beetle silently landed on the windowsill. (Riddle is the black cat from the previous chapter)
John stroked Riddle's head, musing, "Public opinion is also a powerful force. Controlling it could come in handy one day."
Never underestimate public opinion, especially in an era when the internet isn't yet widespread.
Most people get their information from newspapers and television, particularly in the magical world, where ordinary wizards rely solely on newspapers and magazines to learn about what's happening in the world.
As the undisputed leader, the *Daily Prophet* controls more than 90% of public opinion.
There's also *The Quibbler*, which has decent sales, but unfortunately, most people treat it as a joke magazine.
John scratched Riddle's head, making it narrow its eyes comfortably.
The beetle at the window flew a bit further into the room, and a candle with eyes on the table lit up.
John noticed this and waved his hand, causing the window to slam shut instantly.
The pupils in the eyes enlarged until they nearly took up the entire space, and John scanned the room.
He quickly detected the beetle.
The beetle tried to crawl out through a crack in the window. John picked up a brass paperweight from the table, transformed it into a bottle, and swiftly caught the escaping beetle, stuffing it into the bottle.
John stared at the bottle; he "saw" that the beetle had magic within it.
"An Animagus?"
Thinking of Transfiguration, John opened the bottle. As the beetle flew out, he immediately used his wand.
"Revelio."
The beetle flying through the air transformed into a woman wearing green clothes.
Her strange curly golden hair, paired with a long, sharp chin, gave her face an awkward appearance.
Her glasses, extravagantly encrusted with jewels, sat crookedly on her face, which was painted bright red.
Rita Skeeter.
John looked at her in surprise, a sense of unease creeping over him.
Good thing he hadn't taken off his mask, or tomorrow's Daily Prophet headline might have been: "Shocking: Silver Hand Johnny Is Actually a Hogwarts Student."
Animagi are incredibly hard to guard against. If not for John's enhanced perception and his Eye of Dragon, which was even more sensitive than a Sneakoscope, he might have been completely fooled.
Revealed, Rita Skeeter was filled with fear, her eyes behind the silver mask unnaturally dark.
John pointed his wand at Rita and said in a low voice, "Give me a reason not to feed you to a dragon."
"Honorable Johnny Silverhand, this is all just a misunderstanding," Rita replied, rubbing her hands awkwardly, as if trying to talk her way out of it.
John looked at her with a faint smile, and his wand shot out a white light that exploded near Rita's feet.
"Ouch!"
"An unregistered Animagus... If the Ministry of Magic were to find out about this, it could be quite an interesting development."
"I-I was wrong, Lord Silverhand Johnny, please have mercy on me," Rita pleaded, filled with terror. She had relied on her Animagus form to dig up a lot of juicy stories over the years.
If the Ministry found out, the high-ranking officials she had offended would certainly send her to Azkaban.
She begged for mercy, and a strange glint flashed in John's eyes.
Kekeke
Talk about a stroke of luck~
This was the perfect person to control public opinion.
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