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Revision as of 23:12, 11 August 2006 by Renamed user abcedarium (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Template:HP character Rita Skeeter (born c. 1951) is a fictional character from the Harry Potter series. She works as a reporter for the Daily Prophet and a correspondent for the Witch Weekly, who specialises in yellow journalism. As a reporter who fabricated information in order to write an appealing story, she was an antagonist to Harry and his friends throughout Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Rita Skeeter is played by Miranda Richardson in the film version of the fourth novel, released in 2005.
History
Rita Skeeter's attempts at stirring up controversy were first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and included instances that occurred before Harry returned to Hogwarts for his fourth year. When Rita wrote about the Dark Mark appearing at the Quidditch World Cup, she said that there were rumours that several bodies had been removed from the forest an hour after the attack; Arthur Weasley commented that this report would likely create those rumours, even if they hadn't existed before. She also reported on Ludo Bagman's trial many years previous to when the story takes place, which Harry witnessed in Dumbledore's Pensieve. Dumbledore also mentions that she referred to him as an "obsolete dingbat" in a piece about the International Confederation of Wizards.
The Goblet of Fire
Harry first encountered Rita when she was planning to write an article about the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She took him into a broom cupboard to interview him, and Harry saw her Quick-Quotes Quill misquoting him as he spoke. The article about the tournament turned out to be mostly about Harry. A picture of Harry's face took up the front page, and she replaced Harry's answers in her interview with those of her own invention. The two foreign Triwizard champions' names were misspelled and did not appear until the end of the article, and Cedric Diggory (the other Hogwarts champion) wasn't mentioned at all.
Harry endured much ridicule for her story. Not long afterwards, Dumbledore banned her from the Hogwarts grounds. Rita interviewed Hagrid, but rather than talking to him about his creatures, which he had been led to believe she would be interested in, she asked for information about Harry. Hagrid commented after the interview that she seemed disappointed when he said that he'd never had to tell Harry off.
Animagus form
Rita Skeeter, who was an unregistered Animagus capable of transforming into a beetle, did so during the Yule Ball and found Hagrid on the grounds talking to Madame Maxime. She overheard Hagrid tell Madame Maxime that he was half-giant, and printed a story about it, which prompted letters from parents questioning the safety of allowing him to teach due to the ferocious nature of giants. With the addition of Malfoy's hippogriff incident, during which Malfoy was slashed by a hippogriff he had offended, she made Hagrid out to be dangerous. Hagrid became severely depressed and tried to resign; however, Dumbledore refused to accept it, eventually persuading Hagrid to remain in his job.
When she encountered Harry, Ron and Hermione in Hogsmeade, Hermione insulted her, and Skeeter wrote a story about Hermione, making her out to be an ugly but conniving witch who used illegal love potions to "satisfy her taste for celebrity wizards," including Harry Potter and Viktor Krum. The article prompted more ridicule of Harry by other Hogwarts students.
Rita's last defaming article stated that Harry was "disturbed and dangerous", using comments made about him by Draco Malfoy and Malfoy's cronies (who knew the secret of Skeeter’s animagical form and provided her with information by speaking to her when she was transformed). She also cited Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue (the ability to speak with serpents), and pains in the scar inflicted on him by Lord Voldemort, as additional material for her article.
Since Rita had defamed her and because of her treatment of her friends, Hermione had been bent on finding out how Rita was spying on private conversations. She discovered that Skeeter was an Animagus, and trapped her as a beetle in a jar. She made Rita swear to "keep her quill to herself for a full year" or she would tell the authorities she was an unregistered Animagus and Rita would be sent to Azkaban.
The Order of the Phoenix
About a year later (in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Hermione forced her to interview Harry about Lord Voldemort returning and to submit the story to The Quibbler.
Until then, almost nobody in the general wizarding public believed that Voldemort had risen again, since he and Dumbledore had been heavily smeared in The Daily Prophet. The article helped Harry's cause greatly; Dolores Umbridge, a Ministry employee who had been sent to Hogwarts to assume the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, banned the magazine from Hogwarts, in an attempt to stop the information in the article from spreading. The attempt backfired, and many of the students at Hogwarts found ways to read it to see why it was banned.
The Half-Blood Prince
At the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Skeeter is spotted amongst the mourners, making notes at Dumbledore's funeral. Her role in the book was minor.
Book Seven (currently untitled)
At the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2004, JK Rowling revealed that there is more to come on Rita.
Behind the Name
"Skeeter" is slang for mosquito, which some find comparable to Rita Skeeter's annoying nature.
Character Background
J. K. Rowling considered putting Rita, who was then called Bridget, in the first book for the scene where Harry enters the Leaky Cauldron on his way to Diagon Alley. Rowling cut the character and decided to move her to the fourth book. She said part of the reason for this was to fill the role of a character named Mafalda who was cut out (see Weasley family).
However, Rowling notes she was reluctant to write the character when the time came, fearing people would believe it to be a response to her own fame. However, she did write the character and has noted that meeting with real journalists did make it more fun.
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