Rita Skeeter

Rita Skeeter is a witch who writes tell-all biographies and works as a reporter for the Daily Prophet. Albus Dumbledore described her writing as "enchantingly nasty" after she wrote a not-so-friendly article about him.

Life
Although Rita writes primarily for The Daily Prophet, some of her articles have also appeared in other sources, such as Witch Weekly and The Quibbler. She absolutely loves her job and is often accompanied by her photographer Bozo. Rita is an unregistered Animagus who uses her form of a beetle to slip around unnoticed and spy on people to obtain fodder for her articles.

Triwizard Tournament
In 1994-1995, Rita wrote many nasty articles covering the Triwizard Tournament. Several students, including Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, fed her information, and her Quick-Quotes Quill recorded the words of her subjects in a more sensational, sometimes downright dishonest, way.

Under the guise of interviewing all four champions, she confronted Harry Potter in a broom cupboard where she took his "um"s and "er"s and invented her own quotes. The article painted Harry as a tragic hero who cried himself to sleep over his late parents and who has a relationship with Hermione Granger. The article was mostly taken negatively by Harry's schoolmates, who assumed he was craving attention, although Molly Weasley seemed to take it very seriously.

Rita then interviewed Rubeus Hagrid, asking many questions about Harry that Hagrid refused to answer. Her subsequent article described Hagrid as a ferocious-looking man who used his authority to terrify his students. The article also revealed to the world that Hagrid was actually half-giant, which greatly upset him and subjected him to ridicule and fear.

These activities earned her the wrath of Hermione Granger, a close friend of Harry and Hagrid. After Hermione blasted her for her libel, Rita retaliated by writing an article about "the devious Miss Granger", portraying her as toying with the affections of both Harry and Viktor Krum and using love potions. Although Hermione was more disdainful than upset about the article, she started receiving angry mail from people who believed Rita's lies, and even Molly Weasley was upset with her until Harry set her straight.

Hermione soon figured out that Rita was an unregistered Animagus, catching her in her beetle form and trapping her in a jar. Hermione then offered Rita an ultimatum — stop writing horrible stories about people for a year, or Hermione would expose Rita's unregistered Animagus status to the Ministry of Magic, with serious legal consequences. Rita was forced to comply, and suffered financial strain as a result.

The Quibbler
In 1995, Harry Potter's story that Lord Voldemort had returned was not believed by much of the wizarding world, as the Daily Prophet portrayed him as either a delusional boy or an attention-seeking liar. Hermione had Rita interview Harry and Rita grudgingly accepted with the fear of Hermione telling the Ministry of Magic that Rita was an unregistered animagus, so the truth was printed in The Quibbler. Editor Xenophilius Lovegood sold the article to the Prophet after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, when Voldemort's return became public, and he and his daughter Luna used the money to travel to Sweden in search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

Biographies
Rita attended Albus Dumbledore's funeral in June 1997, and, within four weeks, she wrote a book about him, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Much of the book's content was obtained through an interview Rita conducted with Bathilda Bagshot, a very elderly historian whose words Rita very likely sensationalized. Rita seems to have authored a whole series of hatchet jobs on former headmasters of Hogwarts.

Following Voldemort's death, Skeeter wrote a biography of Harry Potter that was only about one-quarter true, as well as one about Severus Snape titled Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?

Physical appearance
"Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations…"

- Quick-Quotes Quill transcription

Rita has curly, blonde hair that is strangely stiff, suggesting it is styled with the magical equivalent of hairspray. She has a heavy jaw, penciled-on eyebrows, three gold teeth, and large, masculine hands with claw-like, black-painted fingernails. She wears rhinestone glasses, and carries a crocodile-skin handbag, inside of which she keeps her acid green Quick-Quotes Quill.

Articles

 * A piece about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference; Albus Dumbledore described the article as "enchantingly nasty".
 * One about the Quidditch World Cup aftermath.
 * One about the mistakes done by the Ministry concerning the attack on Mad-Eye Moody.
 * One about Harry Potter being a Triwizard Champion who supposedly cried himself to sleep over his late parents.
 * One about Rubeus Hagrid, portraying him as a ferocious half-Giant.
 * One about Hermione Granger allegedly dating both Harry Potter and Viktor Krum.
 * One about Harry Potter being dangerous (before the third task).
 * Harry's story about Lord Voldemort's return. This was most likely Skeeter's most accurate articles due to the fact that, if she did not write it how Harry told her to, Hermione would tell the Ministry of Magic that she (Rita) was a unregistered Animagus.

Books

 * Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?
 * The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore (1997)
 * Biography of Harry Potter with unknown title (1998)
 * Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?

Behind the scenes

 * Rita's last name, Skeeter, is also a slang term for a "mosquito." This could be a referrence to her Animagus form, which is an insect, or to her career in tabloid journalism. The word paparazzi is derived from an Italian word for "mosquito."
 * In the Goblet of Fire film, Rita uses a spiral-bound Muggle legal pad to conduct Harry's "interview." It is established in canon that the wizarding world uses loose parchment and quills.
 * Rita may have been a classmate of Bellatrix Lestrange née Black, as both witches were born in 1951.

Notes and references
Rita Skeeter Рита Скитер