"Yeah, I heard you have to watch out for those," Harry said politely.
"You're in luck though," Mr. Lovegood went on with barely a pause. "The treatment for both is similar. Gurklekins hate love and Wrackspurts dislike positive thoughts, so I suggest spending lots of time thinking about the person you love," he said cheerily. "Though I would do so alone unless it explodes and gets all over you," he hastened to add. "The Gurklekin nest, that is. Although for particularly tough cases you'll want to combine it with a kiss."
"I could help you with that, if you like," Luna suggested nebulously.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," Hermione was quick to cut in.
Luna blinked at her a moment before turning back to him.
"You do like tossing pebbles, don't you?" she said with those very large eyes of hers that were somehow still less creepy than Ginny.
Just like that they had gone right back to the beginning again. Luckily her father was there to clarify.
"Tossing pebbles in the pond, changes all of which we're fond," he said in a sing-song voice which made him sound like a grandfather clock.
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, finally coming to the rescue. "It's a saying meaning everything we do causes ripples which changes everything else, like 'You can never step in the same river twice,'" she explained.
"Hm," Luna said thoughtfully. "I don't know if that's precisely true. If you could somehow travel back in time to visit the same moment over again," she said curiously. "Then I suppose you and you could step into the same river at the same time, but at different times and all over again at once. But I don't know how you would do that," she finished with a shake of her head
"I'm sure the Ministry would know," her father said. "They have a secret underground research area deep within the Ministry. They study these mysteries, you know," he said with googly eyes.
"Right," Harry said.
Finally giving up any hope the conversation would bring up the topic on its own, Harry decided he was going to have to do it himself. He still had a wrong to undo.
"Mr. Lovegood, I have a question to ask."
...
'Never go anywhere with a woman, ' Lichfield grumped as he shuffled a bit in his seat. Having been a widower for so long he had forgotten this age old bit of wisdom. 'It always takes three times as long and she'll have to go to the loo twice. '
That second part was certainly true, though he doubted the sincerity of the first trip. Perhaps it had been his recent dealings with Moody but he had suspected the woman of some sort of ploy to double-back and spy on the boy. As soon as she was out of sight he had closed, Locked, and Imperturbed the door to the meeting room and stood vigil outside it with a Supersensory Charm on; nobody was sneaking up on him again.
After several minutes Rita Skeeter finally reappeared looking huffy. Though she agreed to move their meeting somewhere else, she did not look happy about it at all; so much for this being a mutually beneficial and cordial meeting from the get-go. The slimy reporter definitely had the feel of an obstinate renter; she was going to have to get stomped on a bit before she cooperated.
The Three Broomsticks wasn't as lively and boisterous as he would've liked, most who were going about their business in Hogsmeade were ending their midday meals, but it was loud enough and their table off in the corner would insure they had some privacy. Well, they would have privacy once the woman returned from the loo again.
He was pretty sure she was doing it this time out of spite, and to see how much he wanted to talk for his own reasons. She hadn't been gone long enough to make him fear she'd tried to double-back again but if she didn't show up again soon he'd-
Lester spotted her as she finally reappeared.
'Ah, there she is, ' he thought, but of course the woman had to waste even more time picking up a drink for herself before she made her way over. He could have groaned; he could feel himself getting older by the second. 'Hurry up, woman!' Lester wanted to yell.
Before she had gotten halfway to their table she had dug out the Quick-Quotes Quill of hers and stuck it to her lips. For anyone dumb enough to be distracted by the reporter and not to stop things before it started, the quill would write down whatever the reporter wanted so quickly you didn't have a chance to tell what it was until it was too late. This little insect was definitely getting stomped on by both boots.
"So precisely what is your relationship with Harry Potter?" the odious woman asked as she slipped into the opposite side of the booth with a predatory look on her face.
As her quill began to scratch out whatever lie she was going to try peddling next, his hand darted out and pinned it to the table. If he hadn't needed what was in her head and what she could do for the cause he would've been glad to be rid of her.
"You have something against my quill, sir?" Rita asked testily.
"I have something against you," Lester gruffed forcefully.
"Against me?" she asked. "What have I ever done-"
"I would have figured someone in your position would've learned a lesson from Lockhart," he said, overriding her.
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who wrote the article," she reminded him. "What lesson am I supposed to learn?"
"That if you go out of your way to print lies," he said threateningly, "that there's always someone out there ready to tear you down."
He knew that he had hit the mark when she took a quick sip from her greenish drink.
"Surely there's some young reporter out there who'd jump at the chance to make their name by taking down someone as notorious as-"
"I see your point," Rita said quickly, looking around uncomfortably before continuing. "Why did you want to see me?"
"Because, to answer your question," he began as she took a soothing drink. "I'm the bailiff for the Potter Estate."
The woman almost choked as she tried to inhale her beverage into her lungs.
.....
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