Lockhart was back in class the following day and the smell was gone from his room. He looked very cheerful. “All right class. I’m asking everyone who has an Owl to step forward.”
“What do you need an owl for?” Gretchen asked looking at Lockhart strangely.
“What are we doing now?” Ron asked.
“To be used to send permission slips to your parents. Today, I’m taking you on a field trip!” smiled Lockhart.
“Where will we be going?” Draco asked.
“My owl is sick with a cold.” Longbottom said.
“Where are we going?” Another student asked.
“A field trip that everyone will enjoy. Now I want those owls here and ready to fly,” spoke Lockhart.
“First tell us where are you going?” one of the Slytherin students demanded.
“Diagon Alley,” spoke Lockhart.
“But sir, we been there,” said Ron, shocked that they were heading there.
“Yes, there’s a store there that is good,” spoke Lockhart. “Now, where are those owls?”
Harry whistled for Hedwig, a few moments later, she showed up. Harry turned to Lockhart and got the slip of paper from him. He wrapped it up and placed it in her beak and told her to go to his father Sirius and return with the answer immediately.
Lockhart spoke, “We will require your Owls to go through the floo network. So bring them over here.”
Harry carried Hedwig to the fireplace and watched as Lockhart reached for the floo powder. “Uh, sir, maybe it should be done by someone else?”
“Don't be silly I know what I'm doing,” Lockhart said.
“Uh, sir, she happens to be my first birthday present from Hagrid. I don’t want her to be hurt,” spoke Harry, looking at Hedwig.
“Very well, Mr. Weasley, you can throw the floo powder in,” spoke Lockhart.
“No,” said Ron.
“No?” asked Lockhart. “Why not?”
“I don’t trust you,” Ron said.
“Harry, you can grab a pinch of the floo powder and in a clear voice yell out, your father’s place,” spoke Lockhart. “Ron shall throw Hedwig into the green flame.”
“I will not!” Ron snapped.
Gretchen snickered as she realized what was going to happen in the next minute or so. She nudged Morrigan and Draco.
“You will be having detention with me tonight, Mr. Weasley,” spoke Lockhart. “Seamus, you shall throw the floo powder into the fire and Harry shall throw Hedwig into the flames.”
“I'm tired of going to Diagon Alley,” Morrigan complained.
“Like hell I will you idiot,” spoke Seamus.
“Very well, since I had figured you would be this resistant to sending your owls through the floo network. I’ve sent letters to your parents or grandparents before you came into class. Everyone is allowed to go to Diagon Alley.” Lockhart said, as he smiled cheerfully at all the students. “Seamus and Ron will be having detention with me tonight after dinner.”
Harry and Gretchen both looked with sorrow written in their eyes at the two students. They, both know that they will not be wanting to get detention again with Lockhart after tonight is over.
“Drop dead barfhart,” a Ravenclaw student said.
“And I hear another student calling for detention with me tonight,” said Lockhart.
Another student jabbed another in the stomach before another word is spoken. Everyone went silent as they watched Lockhart place the papers on the desk.
“To those who summoned their owls here, please send them back to the Owlery as they are not needed now,” spoke Lockhart.
“Forget it you’d probably kill my owl,” Morrigan replied.
“I am not the one who’ll be sending the owls back, you will be,” said Lockhart, turning towards Morrigan, flashing her one of his famous smiles. “Now hurry up and send them back to the Owlery, we can then leave.”
The ones with the Owls just rolled their eyes as they sent their Owls back to the Owlery as Lockhart walked over to his chair and picked up his gold cloak. With a flare of a Spanish matador, he wrapped it around his shoulders and strode out of the classroom with the students behind him.
~~~~~
The group of students led by Gilderoy Lockhart walked towards Diagon Alley’s bookstore Flourish and Blotts. Lockhart walked in and went up the stairs to where the defense books were located at. He motioned them to gather around as he cleared his throat. “Class, I want you to read the defense books that are on this wall. There are at least twenty books and some of them are mine so you do not have to read them. I have to deal with the manager of the store about an appearance. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
They watched as he walked down the stairs and soon vanished into the back room. They turned back to the book racks and picked up one of the many books there. The students all started to read the various books on how to defend themselves against the dark arts. The books they read was more informational than the books that Lockhart wrote and made them read in his class. Hermione talked with some of the Gryffindor students and got them to discuss what they learned from the books. Some of the others did the same with their fellow students.
About three hours later, their voices were now being drowned out by many female voices down below.
“Hey what’s going on?” Laurie Branchgen a Ravenclaw student asked looking up from her book.
“I don’t know, but I’ll check it out,” said Morrigan, as she stood up and walked towards the railing and gazed down to see a huge line of women holding books in their arms. She headed downstairs with Ron by her side. Once at the bottom of the stairs, they saw the poster of their teacher. It said autograph session. They looked at each other and knew that they been tricked into coming so Lockhart could do an autograph session. They both hurried up the stairs.
“You are not going to believe this!” Ron said.
Draco walked by the banister and looked down. “Oh no!” Several students looked down as they saw a long line of witches holding Lockhart books in hand.
“What happen?” Longbottom asked.
“We been conned into coming here. It’s a publicity event for Lockhart’s new book, ‘Dancing with Demons’. He’s down there signing autographs for them,” Morrigan snapped, angrily.
“You got to be joking, Morrigan! He couldn’t be doing that! He said that he was going to go talk to the store manager!” said one of the Gryffindors.
“For three hours! I don’t think so!” yelled Draco.
“Take a look downstairs.” Morrigan stated, pointing towards the staircase.
The students all looked downstairs and saw the long line of witches standing there all chattering about Lockhart. Hermione was shocked had she been wrong about Lockhart just wanting to talk to the manager about them being up there. She had to find out now. She headed down the stairs and made her way to Lockhart’s side.
”Oh good, you’re here. You can help him hand out the books, Hermione,” Lockhart said.
“Uh sir, we’re late for our next class,” Hermione said, pointing towards the other students.
“What do you mean?” Lockhart said, as he glanced up to the students who were looking down at him and then he glanced over at the clock. “Merlin’s beard, I made you all late! Sorry, my dear ladies! But I must get my class back to school! Class, grab your bags and get down here now! We’re heading back to Hogwarts!”
They went rushing down the stairs and started to head back to the station where they headed for Hogwarts. Once, at the station house in Hogsmeade, they all rushed back to Hogwarts and got to their last class of the day.
~~~~~~~~
Every single one of their teachers was not really happy but what could they do but mentally grouch about Gilderoy Lockhart. Meanwhile, dinner was being held in the Great Hall, the Gryffindors realized that someone was missing in their ranks.
“Uh, guys, have you seen Neville? Neville Longbottom?” asked Seamus, as he realized that he was not with them.
Ron looked up and down the table. “Uh, where is he? I didn’t see him since the bookstore in Diagon Alley?”
Hermione looked around, then got out of her seat and rushed to the staff table. “McGonagall, Neville Longbottom is missing!”
McGonagall asked, “Did you check the hospital wing?”
“No,”
“Did you check the library?”
“No,”
“Did you check the Owlery?”
“No,”
“Well, then, go check the rooms out and if he isn’t in any of the rooms, return here and tell me,” McGonagall said.
Five minutes later, Hermione, Ron and Harry returned out of breath to the staff table.
“Did you find Mr. Longbottom?” asked Dumbledore.
“No, sir,” spoke Ron. “We didn’t find him.”
Dumbledore breathed in and sighed, “Hagrid, Snape, I need you two to go to Knockturn Alley. Search the Alley till you find him. I will alert the Aurors to the fact that Mr. Longbottom is missing somewhere in Diagon Alley.”
“Yes, Professor Dumbledore,” spoke Hagrid and Snape at the same time.
Dumbledore, Snape and Hagrid all quickly stood up from their chairs and headed out on their respective missions.
Lockhart was still eating his meal as the two teachers and the groundskeeper left the staff table. When a loud voice shocked him into dropping his fork onto the plate with a loud clang.
“Gilderoy Lockhart! How could you misplace a student? Where in the magical world did you take them?” snapped McGonagall, hands firmly on her hips.
Lockhart reached for his tea cup and tried to take a sip of tea when the cup transformed into a dove. Lockhart turned towards McGonagall and said, “He’s in his common room.”
Seamus came up. “No, he’s not, sir. I just came from the common room before dinner and Neville was not there.”
Lockhart looked embarrassed. “Well, he’s probably in the Forbidden Forest…I guess.”
“You guess!” roared Ron. “Neville doesn’t go into the Forbidden Forest.”
“Well, he could be in the stables.” Lockhart said.
“I don’t think so!” snapped Ron.
“I don’t know where he’s at, then,” Lockhart said, as he shrugged his shoulders and began to eat his meal again.
Ron in his anger swiped the plate of food from in front of Lockhart and the plate made a huge clanging noise on the floor. Ron grabbed Lockhart by the robes and was about to either punch or snarl at him when McGonagall removed his hands from Lockhart’s robes.
“Mr. Weasley, return to your seat. I shall take care of this,” spoke McGonagall.
“But ma’am, he lost Neville Longbottom and he’s sitting here like he doesn’t care!” Ron yelled looking at McGonagall. He then turned his glare towards Lockhart. “What kind of teacher are you?”
“I think I am a very good teacher,” Lockhart said rather proudly.
McGonagall replied, “Mr. Weasley, return to your seat. I will take care of this.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ron said, as he walked back to his seat, glaring towards Lockhart.
McGonagall turned to Lockhart. At first she spoke but then her temper was let loose. The Great Hall was filled with McGonagall’s voice as she yelled at Lockhart, who was not even hearing what she was doing. Lockhart didn’t even bat an eyelash as he was getting a vocal berating from a fellow Professor. He didn’t even seem to be upset with her. He just flashed one of his smiles at her and continued on eating. McGonagall just fumed as this Professor just sat there obvious to the students who he was teaching or his fellow Professor berating his teaching ability.
© Copyright 2003 Beth Brownell