Harry stuffed the paper in his pocket, and he and Ron went inside to get
Harry's things. Harry started lugging his trunk down the stairs, and Ron
grabbed the Firebolt and Hedwig's cage.
"Not your Firebolt!" Ron groaned when he saw the autograph on the side.
"Yeah. And all my other stuff, too," Harry said. "I'll have to clean everything when we get to your house."
Harry and Ron loaded the things onto the Knight Bus, paid their fare and found seats. Harry pulled The Daily Prophet out of his pocket and unrolled it on his lap. There was a large photo of Diagon Alley on the front page. Gilderoy Lockhart's signature was flashing on every door, window and sign. Witches and wizards were bustling about trying to clean the ink off storefronts. Above the picture, a large headline said "Gilderoy Lockhart Escapes, Goes On Bizarre Spree."
Harry started laughing out loud when he saw the article itself.
"Gilderoy Lockhart, the former celebrated author, escaped last night from St. Mun- GILDEROY LOCKHART- from St. Mungo's. Since his escape, he has- TO A GREAT WIZARDING PAPER- Gilderoy, get out of here! Since his escape, he has traveled throughout wizarding Britain and signed- GILDEROY LOCKHART- everything. Ministry officials are making their way to the offices of The Daily Prophet, where Mr. Lockhart is currently pestering- GILDEROY LOCKHART- Oh, I give up!!!"
Just below that, Harry read:
"Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Gilderoy Lockhart disapparated before ministry officials arrived. We apologize to our readers for Mr. Lockhart's interference with the respected, trusted, venerable institution that is The Daily Prophet."
"So, how are things at your house?" Harry asked, turning toward Ron.
"Well, you know," Ron said. "Mum's kind of going crazy trying to get everything cleaned up. And, of course, Dad's been called in to work. Real nightmare."
"There's something I don't understand," Harry said. "How was Lockhart able to sign everything in one night? Nobody can move that fast."
"Dad and Bill were talking about that at breakfast," Ron said. "There's some charm you can do, called the Santa Claus effect, that can make you able to move really fast. It also automatically moves you to the next place you need to go, so you don't miss anywhere. The only thing is, it's a really complicated spell. There's no way Lockhart could've done it by himself. Somebody had to help him. But nobody knows who . . . or why."
The Knight Bus lurched to a stop and Harry and Ron grabbed Harry's things and got off the bus. "Gilderoy Lockhart" was emblazoned several times on the outside of The Burrow. Bill and Charlie were on ladders and scrubbing at the ink, so that one signature now read "oy Lockhart." They climbed down the ladders when they saw Ron and Harry.
"'Bout time for a break," Charlie said. "I wish we could use magic, but we don't want to attract attention from the neighbors."
"Well, mum'll probably send us out to help you as soon as we take Harry's things in," Ron said.
Harry grabbed his trunk and went inside. Mrs. Weasley spotted him, ran over to give him a quick hug and then went back to work cleaning the family's owl.
"Lockhart signed Errol?" Harry asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"Yeah, well, he doesn't move much, does he?" Ron said.
"Not your Firebolt!" Ron groaned when he saw the autograph on the side.
"Yeah. And all my other stuff, too," Harry said. "I'll have to clean everything when we get to your house."
Harry and Ron loaded the things onto the Knight Bus, paid their fare and found seats. Harry pulled The Daily Prophet out of his pocket and unrolled it on his lap. There was a large photo of Diagon Alley on the front page. Gilderoy Lockhart's signature was flashing on every door, window and sign. Witches and wizards were bustling about trying to clean the ink off storefronts. Above the picture, a large headline said "Gilderoy Lockhart Escapes, Goes On Bizarre Spree."
Harry started laughing out loud when he saw the article itself.
"Gilderoy Lockhart, the former celebrated author, escaped last night from St. Mun- GILDEROY LOCKHART- from St. Mungo's. Since his escape, he has- TO A GREAT WIZARDING PAPER- Gilderoy, get out of here! Since his escape, he has traveled throughout wizarding Britain and signed- GILDEROY LOCKHART- everything. Ministry officials are making their way to the offices of The Daily Prophet, where Mr. Lockhart is currently pestering- GILDEROY LOCKHART- Oh, I give up!!!"
Just below that, Harry read:
"Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Gilderoy Lockhart disapparated before ministry officials arrived. We apologize to our readers for Mr. Lockhart's interference with the respected, trusted, venerable institution that is The Daily Prophet."
"So, how are things at your house?" Harry asked, turning toward Ron.
"Well, you know," Ron said. "Mum's kind of going crazy trying to get everything cleaned up. And, of course, Dad's been called in to work. Real nightmare."
"There's something I don't understand," Harry said. "How was Lockhart able to sign everything in one night? Nobody can move that fast."
"Dad and Bill were talking about that at breakfast," Ron said. "There's some charm you can do, called the Santa Claus effect, that can make you able to move really fast. It also automatically moves you to the next place you need to go, so you don't miss anywhere. The only thing is, it's a really complicated spell. There's no way Lockhart could've done it by himself. Somebody had to help him. But nobody knows who . . . or why."
The Knight Bus lurched to a stop and Harry and Ron grabbed Harry's things and got off the bus. "Gilderoy Lockhart" was emblazoned several times on the outside of The Burrow. Bill and Charlie were on ladders and scrubbing at the ink, so that one signature now read "oy Lockhart." They climbed down the ladders when they saw Ron and Harry.
"'Bout time for a break," Charlie said. "I wish we could use magic, but we don't want to attract attention from the neighbors."
"Well, mum'll probably send us out to help you as soon as we take Harry's things in," Ron said.
Harry grabbed his trunk and went inside. Mrs. Weasley spotted him, ran over to give him a quick hug and then went back to work cleaning the family's owl.
"Lockhart signed Errol?" Harry asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"Yeah, well, he doesn't move much, does he?" Ron said.