Did Rita see Sirius transform?

[Anne <urbana@charter.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52635

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z <lupinesque at y...>" 
<lupinesque at y...> wrote:
> Devika wrote:
> 
> >I don't know if Hermione will 
> > be the one to tell her, but if only someone could make Rita aware 
> of 
> > the truth and guarantee that she would write accurately about it, 
> > then it could definitely help Sirius eventually clear his name.  
Of 
> > course, I don't particularly trust Rita Skeeter, so this whole 
idea 
> > does seem pretty risky to me.  
> 
> Yes, a major obstacle is that Rita seems to have it in for 
> Dumbledore.  The fact that he and Sirius are on the same side would 
> not dispose her kindly toward Sirius, even though his story is a 
> journalist's dream.
> 
> I don't think she'd write a positive piece on Sirius without being 
> bribed or coerced.
> 
> Amy Z

I have to agree with Amy. I have great difficulty imagining Rita 
Skeeter writing anything positive about Sirius, though bribery or 
coercion might do the trick. For one thing, Rita has been extremely 
quick to take Draco's word about Harry over Harry's own words. As a 
journalist she would probably love to be a "fly on the wall"... but 
flies are soooo ugly and dirty ;-) so she turns herself into a beetle 
so she can spy on him!! So far Rita hasn't given us any indication 
that she has even a tiny bit of integrity, AND she seems to be in the 
pocket of the MOM, if not Lucius Malfoy and the DEs (and who knows, 
maybe they're pulling her strings too). So I can't see her having the 
guts necessary to write the truth rather than what those folks want 
or expect to see. 

Anne U
(journalism graduate who figures Daily Prophet reporters learn their 
trade on-the-job ...*unless* there's a school newspaper at Hogwarts 
we haven't heard about yet...:-)