"Hi Harry!" Harry heard voices chorus.
He turned and saw Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione coming down the stairs.
"Everything upstairs is cleaned, Mum," Ginny said.
"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley responded. "What a mess this has been to clean up! I just feel bad for your father. This is a nightmare for the Ministry. Their work is just beginning. But we should be just about done, once Bill and Charlie finish up outside."
"I need to work on my stuff. I have some things I didn't have time to clean before I left," Harry said.
He grabbed a container of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover and set to work on his Firebolt. Fred and George gasped audibly and started making threats toward Lockhart that made Ron and Ginny laugh and made Mrs. Weasley say "Fred! George!" quite sharply.
Harry was just finishing removing the enormous loopy flourish of the Y when Bill and Charlie came inside to say that the outside of the house was finished.
"Why don't you kids go on and play Quidditch if you want," Mrs. Weasley said. "Harry, if you leave your things out, I'll finish cleaning them for you."
Fred and George dashed upstairs for their brooms. Hermione ran upstairs, too, but Harry didn't know why until she came back carrying a large book.
A few minutes later, they were all in the field near the Weasleys' house. Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Harry were all flying around on brooms. Hermione sat in the grass, dividing her attention between watching the Quidditch and reading her book. When they started to get hungry, they decided to head back to the house for lunch.
"Hermione, what were you reading?" Ron asked as they walked.
"I was reading about the Santa Claus effect," Hermione said. "It's really quite a problem for the Ministry that Lockhart used that spell. There's no way to catch up with him. Even if they did the same spell on someone else, they couldn't catch up with him. They could move as fast, but the spell is designed to make a wizard able to cover as much territory as possible as quickly as possible, so they couldn't choose where to go. The only way to catch him is to be waiting when he shows up someplace. To do that, the Ministry either has to be very lucky or somehow figure out where he'll go before he goes there."
"So, basically you're saying there's no way to stop him," Ron said.
*~*~*~*~
The next day, Harry woke up in Ron's bright orange, Chudley Cannons-themed room. Only the room wasn't just orange. Purple ink clashed horribly with the orange. Once again, everything in sight was covered with Gilderoy Lockhart's flamboyant signature. Harry heard a groan and saw that Ron had just woken up, too.
"C'mon, Harry," Ron said with a sigh. "Let's get some breakfast and then we can get to work."
He turned and saw Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione coming down the stairs.
"Everything upstairs is cleaned, Mum," Ginny said.
"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley responded. "What a mess this has been to clean up! I just feel bad for your father. This is a nightmare for the Ministry. Their work is just beginning. But we should be just about done, once Bill and Charlie finish up outside."
"I need to work on my stuff. I have some things I didn't have time to clean before I left," Harry said.
He grabbed a container of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover and set to work on his Firebolt. Fred and George gasped audibly and started making threats toward Lockhart that made Ron and Ginny laugh and made Mrs. Weasley say "Fred! George!" quite sharply.
Harry was just finishing removing the enormous loopy flourish of the Y when Bill and Charlie came inside to say that the outside of the house was finished.
"Why don't you kids go on and play Quidditch if you want," Mrs. Weasley said. "Harry, if you leave your things out, I'll finish cleaning them for you."
Fred and George dashed upstairs for their brooms. Hermione ran upstairs, too, but Harry didn't know why until she came back carrying a large book.
A few minutes later, they were all in the field near the Weasleys' house. Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Harry were all flying around on brooms. Hermione sat in the grass, dividing her attention between watching the Quidditch and reading her book. When they started to get hungry, they decided to head back to the house for lunch.
"Hermione, what were you reading?" Ron asked as they walked.
"I was reading about the Santa Claus effect," Hermione said. "It's really quite a problem for the Ministry that Lockhart used that spell. There's no way to catch up with him. Even if they did the same spell on someone else, they couldn't catch up with him. They could move as fast, but the spell is designed to make a wizard able to cover as much territory as possible as quickly as possible, so they couldn't choose where to go. The only way to catch him is to be waiting when he shows up someplace. To do that, the Ministry either has to be very lucky or somehow figure out where he'll go before he goes there."
"So, basically you're saying there's no way to stop him," Ron said.
*~*~*~*~
The next day, Harry woke up in Ron's bright orange, Chudley Cannons-themed room. Only the room wasn't just orange. Purple ink clashed horribly with the orange. Once again, everything in sight was covered with Gilderoy Lockhart's flamboyant signature. Harry heard a groan and saw that Ron had just woken up, too.
"C'mon, Harry," Ron said with a sigh. "Let's get some breakfast and then we can get to work."