Chapter 14: Howlers and Headlines
Evan turned and looked at Fred and George, saying: "I have been thinking, the money earned by the Hogwarts magic newspaper could be used to finance all students studying magic, and it is my honor to inform both of you that you will be my first sponsors so that you can advertise your products in the newspaper and bring joy to people."
"Oh, Evan," Fred and George said as they gazed at him.
"As for you, Hermione, I would like you to be the editor of the newspaper," Evan said as he turned to look at Hermione, who seemed petrified.
"What?" exclaimed Hermione.
"You will be responsible for the final editing of all articles, and if you wish, you can share your task."
"No, Evan!" Evan was surprised to see Hermione shake her head in refusal.
"I can't do that, I mean sharing my task, but I would be delighted to be the editor of Hogwarts Magic; in fact, I think your idea is fantastic!" Hermione said quickly.
"Yes, a newspaper that is entirely ours!" Fred said.
"Evan, you are going to go down in Hogwarts history," George said.
None of the four students returned to their rooms; they all had expressions of excitement on their faces as they discussed the newspaper, identifying the main topics.
Due to the lack of manuscripts and limited manpower, Hogwarts Magic was scheduled to be published once a week. It will be divided into ten sections with news and current affairs covering both basic and in-depth articles about school life, edited by Hermione. As for the news source, Evan will have some people to gather it, but he decided to rely mainly on the castle's ghosts.
The mystery section was assigned to Fred and George, who wished to present various locations, passages, and secrets of the castle.
The magical creatures section of the Forbidden Forest can be assigned to Hagrid, while the Quidditch section can be assigned to Harry, and the History of Hogwarts section can be assigned to Ron.
As for the entertainment section, Evan decided that Lockhart would be the main focus of the school year. He believed that Lockhart should be popular among girls until he was exposed. The exchange of novels and academic section will be open to teachers and students, and as for the advertising section, it will be handled by Evan.
In addition to Fred and George advertising their magical fireworks, Evan intends to take a trip to Hogsmeade; he believes that businesses will be happy to advertise in the newspaper, but first he has to make sure that Hogwarts Magic sells well.
"Hermione, you will be responsible for editing the manuscripts, and if you need help, ask Ginny; I will handle communication with the others, and finally Fred and George will be in charge of advertising the newspaper, so if everything goes well, in a week we can print our first copy," Evan concluded.
When Evan returned to his room, it was almost two o'clock.
Inside the circular room, there were five canopy beds decorated with red velvet surrounded by tall windows.
Evan noticed that his trunk had been moved as he was getting into bed, but then he saw a boy named Colin in the bed next to his.
Now he had a great idea to use Colin as a photographer for the newspaper. And after thinking of some new ideas, he fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, when Evan entered the Great Hall, he saw Harry and Ron sitting at the Gryffindor table with Hermione, looking at a piece of paper.
"Hermione, you've written an article to condemn us," Ron said in surprise.
"Good morning!" Evan said.
Evan was sitting facing the three, opposite.
"Evan, look at what Hermione wrote, it's an article condemning our trip to school citing several rules for the protection of underage wizards, suggesting that the school impose severe punishments on some of us, even calling for the cancellation of the school's Quidditch match," said Ron to Evan.
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione said stiffly, "it's just an article I'm going to send to The Hogwarts Magic, drawing attention to the safety of underage wizards."
"Excuse me, which newspaper?" Harry asked.
"It's The Hogwarts Magic," Evan explained, "I'm going to finish writing," said Hermione as she returned to work.
"The truth is..."
Evan had just explained to Harry and Ron about the newspaper, and they didn't have time to comment before hearing a commotion above their heads.
"Hundreds of owls were flying in circles above the Great Hall, delivering letters and packages, suddenly a big, gray owl landed on Hermione's teapot, causing milk and feathers to spray everywhere.
"Errol!" Ron shouted as he pulled the owl out of the teapot.
This is the Weasley family owl, Evan saw the owl lying on the table with a wet red envelope in its beak.
Immediately, he knew what it was, a Howler.
Ron hesitated for a moment before reaching out with a trembling hand to open the envelope. The next second, Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed screaming a hundred times louder than usual.
Everyone in the Great Hall turned to see who received a Howler, and Ron slumped in his chair.
"WHEN WE RECEIVED DUMBLEDORE'S LETTER LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU, Evan, and HARRY COULD HAVE DIED. STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF YOU HAD BEEN EXPELLED, WAIT UNTIL YOU GET CAUGHT, I DOUBT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE REALIZED YOU WEREN'T THERE"
When Evan heard his name, he pretended not to hear while eating his eggs as if they were the best in the world.
"I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER IS FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S TOTALLY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER FOOT OUT OF LINE WE'LL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT HOME."
Soon Mrs. Weasley's roar subsided.
The red envelope fell from Ron's hand to the ground, it burned and curled into ashes.
Evan looked up and saw Harry and Ron sitting in the same place as if petrified.
In the Great Hall, several people smiled, and the voices resumed.