After about the first half dozen times of doing this, Harry switched to hitting each small stack with a Permanency Charm so that they'd last for at least a couple of days.
After the first couple hundred, they had to stop. Though they were getting much better at drawing in and channelling magic, it still took a lot out of them. Besides, they needed to go to dinner.
However, straight after dinner, they were back in the Room to finish everything up.
Harry packed away his new dicta-quill, bundled the parchment and shrunk it. It all went into his bookbag.
A quick Tempus Charm and they saw they had a little while left before curfew, so decided to visit their friends in the infirmary.
The next morning, after his very early wake up alarm, Harry donned his invisibility cloak, cast a Silencing Charm on himself, and hurried down to the Great Hall. Three quarters of an hour later, he was back in his dorm and in bed.
He waited until his dorm mates were up and moving before he rose again. Pretending he'd only just woken up, he went through his ablutions and took his time getting ready.
Then walked with a couple of other Ravenclaws down to the Great Hall. He was a little early, but that was planned. He didn't want he or his friends to be the first ones down, but he also wanted to ensure he got there early enough to catch if someone tried to collect all the notices.
He'd used a low-powered Sticking Charm to ensure one of the younger students didn't collect them all up, but it wouldn't have been beyond the teaching staff's ability. Walking in, he saw the other three had already beaten him down and were sitting at the Gryffindor table. They were grinning like loons. However, it didn't stand out because that seemed to be the expressions on other faces. Some were scowling while they were reading, some had already finished reading and kept looking up at the head table. Lockhart's seat was vacant as he always liked to have an audience already in the Hall when he made a grand entrance.
Most of the staff were already sitting down, and none of them seemed inclined to gather up all the notices.
However, both Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick noticed him entering. Both were slightly smiling back at him. Harry affected a mien of divine innocence and curiosity that seemed to fool them not in the least. Sitting with his friends, Hannah made a show of showing him the notice. So, he tried to pick it up. When he couldn't he used his wand to cancel the charm on it, picked it up and proceeded to look as if he was avidly reading it.
In all the right places he schooled his expression to show the proper emotions and animatedly talked to his friends about it.
Looking around, he could see some of the students in small groups had their supposed DADA texts on the table before them, and were comparing the information within with what was included in the notice. And they weren't happy. They even started drawing small crowds of people around them, who were reading over their shoulders.
When the woodpecker finally made his entrance, the entire Hall went quiet. Everyone was glaring at him with some level of hostility.
A little worried about the reaction his entrance generated, he quickly took seat with an obvious artificial bonhomie and tried to engage the staff around him, including Professor Snape, in conversation.
Snape merely indicated the notice and offered him one he'd already removed the Sticking Charm from. Then sat looking at him with, scarily enough, a smile.
Harry and the others did not have to mask carefully watching the man as the entire Hall sat there in silence watching him. And some looked ready to kill him on the spot. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Sinistra, Babbage and Vector all had their wands out and in plain sight, and were carefully watching the student body. The warning was obvious. As soon as the fop started reading, he went white. Then passed from white to green.
After reading what looked like only the first couple of paragraphs, he suddenly stood up and bolted from the room out the nearest staff entrance, knocking his chair over in the process; his indigo and gold robes flapping behind him.
One wag, Harry didn't know who, called, "Goodbye, fraud!" just before the man reached the door.
Once he was gone, excited noise returned to the Hall.
Professor McGonagall stood and waited for the Hall to quieten down again. "It appears," she intoned. "Our - Professor Lockhart - has taken ill."
That earned her quite a few snickers. "As such," she continued. "I believe Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, for at least the rest of the day, will be cancelled."
And that earned her a few cheers.
Turning to look at Harry, she said, "Mister Potter; do you know anything about this?"
The other three grinned at him as the entire Hall watched wondering what he'd do.
Harry slowly stood and stepped back over his bench seat before facing the head table. "Professor. I should be shocked and disappointed..."
"But, you're not," said one wag clearly enough from down the Gryffindor table, which earned him a few snickers. And made even Professor McGonagall's lips twitch a bit. "... that you would imply such vile and baseless claims against me," he calmly continued, choosing to ignore the remark. "I would have you know, I suspect I have the alibi of my owndorm mates; who may attest I was abed until after 7.00am, when I rose to attend my ablutions before hurrying down here; at such time arriving after you, yourself."
"Uh-huh!" said the Professor, clearly not believing him. "If it is discovered, by chance, you are responsible for this, I shall be forced to dock Ravenclaw House - One point. That is all." And sat down again.
Harry gave a slight bow before returning to his own seat.
The message was loud and clear to every one. Firstly, that she knew it was Harry who did it. Secondly, that they weren't going to be investigating. And, thirdly, that she was not upset with him for doing it. A few moments later, Professor Flitwick motioned for the Acting Headmistress to draw closer. She leaned over to hear what he had to say.
"You noticed he did not deny it?" he muttered.
"Of course, I did," she muttered back. "The words he used we're quite specific. Should. Would have. May."
The Weasley twins, of course, immediately questioned Harry about how he did it. In response, and as a firm believer that sometimes a good defence is a weak offence, he accused them of doing it and implicating him as their scapegoat.
Outside of meals, on a couple of occasions, Harry went to the scene of the crimes of the other victims, usually taking Neville with him. And since Flophart and most of his personal effects had disappeared since the previous Friday, with clear signs of a hasty departure, they also had the extra time of the two sessions of DADA free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ready to lose yourself in an epic tale? Download the full PDF now and start reading from page one!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/