"Let's talk business shall we?"
Bang
'Heh' Richard batted the red spell almost lazily. " Now that was pathetic. Even for someone like you." That was the most obvious action he had anticipated. He didnt even need observation to deduce Black's actions.
"Care to give it another go?"
Swish
Swish
Swish
Spells flew and so did Richards wand, each spell neatly intercepted before they had the chance to even touch Richard.
'He has ferocity.' Richard acknowledged . But their difference in ability made all that only seem like an angry child's flailings.
How very weak.
Richard could track every motion of the man as he struggled to wave his wand properly. A little more and he might fall onto the ground in exhaustion. And that means more time outside the castle walls. More time outside means more chance of misunderstandings forming.
Swish
Swish
Richard swiped his wand twice and twirled it upwards. Alteration channeled through the auxiliary circuit made chanting useless.
Rip
Crackle
The wooden floor under Black's feet transformed, coming to life as blue lines guided them in ways that seemed to be alive.
"What!"
Sirius didnt even have a chance.
The wood wrapped around him tightly, binding him tight enough to make his lungs feel squeezed.
"Expelliarmus"
And with another lazy flick of Richard's wand, Sirius was disarmed and restricted.
"Don't bother turning into a dog, Sirius." Richard warned. "You don't have a wand in your hand. So the second you start transforming, you're going to have to use your own body to block the spells."
Richard flicked his wand, the way one would wave their umbrella to remove excess water and a new hole appeared on the creaky wooden floor right in front of Sirius who froze.
"My spells can kill you before you even turn into your animagus form."
Richard waved his wand, and the wooden floor moved again, this time weaving itself into a wooden chair and a table while the bindings drew Sirius closer to the other end of the table.
"After so many days of running around looking for that rat bastard, I reckon you hadn't had your dinner yet ?"
Richard ignored the glare that snapped onto him, and placed the heavy bag full of food and began pulling the tubs and containers of food outside.
"Why don't we discuss business over dinner. Because you and me, I believe we can become partners over the common interest we both have."
He placed a bowl in front of Sirius and released most of his bindings.
"So, pea soup?"
....
Richard returned to the castle at dawn, their discussions proving fruitful., unaware that someone had been waiting for him hidden in the common hall.
The next morning, Hermione followed Richard again , trailing him from distance. And she found something.
Hermione observed Richard walking outside from the window, making sure she was not visible even though she stood very far away.
This was the third day Richard was taking an after dinner walk and the direction had always been the same.
The whomping willow.
She kept her eyes trained on the shadow of Richard who was walking towards the violent tree.
And the tree twisted, as if warming up.
Hermione didnt see exactly what he did. She could only make out the shadow of Richard raising and flicking the wand. And the next moment the tree stopped mid twist.
The shadow moved , and Hermione quickly shifted away from the window for a second, then returned to peaking through the the window.
Then the shadow of Richard moved its head and then walked towards the tree before vanishing.
She immediately rushed down the stairs and towards the tree, but not even a single trace of Richard was left. It was as if he had simply been swallowed by the shadows.
Countless theories worked in her head. For a moment she wondered if there was a floo powder connection or a protkey there. Under the whomping willow , anything was as safe as they could be. And no one could suspect it, because it was right there, under everyone's nose completely out in the open.
Hermione knew that she had to do something.Yet..the uncertainty was there.
Could he really be involved with Sirius Black? Because while some of the things made sense when it came together, it created a massive amount of new questions.
In the end, she decided to finally talk to Harry and Ron.
....
Richard was unaware of Hermione's attempts to see through him.
He was too busy to notice her anyway.
His mind was working like a tireless machine as he tried to find a way to properly manifest a patronus.
Happiness of that level didnt exist. That was Richard's conclusion. A level of happiness that made him feel full and content?
He had never been content. He had been a demon. There was no content in a life like that. All he had was the sins.
But he had relatively happy memories....
And he was wondering, just wondering if it was enough.
Maybe not alone, but together, they should be.
That was why Richard's recent training was a lot more unorthodox than what he usually did. And it involved a book called pride and prejudice.
He read the book every day, when he woke up. And everyday, between his breaks and every day at night, right after meeting Sirius and before bed.
Richard read through the pages slowly, investing himself into the story completely.
At first, he had been too dismissive. What could love and happiness do for him other than to tie him down into a fake world?
But he wanted to cast the patronus.
And so, he continued to read it. Immersing himself deeper into the the story.
He had never read the book till he had picked up from a vendor. But he had heard about it in his past lives. Just from the edge of his hearing range.
As the night got darker, and everyone ended asleep,Richard finally closed the book and placed it aside and blew the candle.
He pulled the bedsheets over him while thoughts and emotions ran amok.
Why did Darcy arrange the marriage for Wickham?
Why would he even care about Elizabeth? That woman rejected him. Is he a simp? Doesn't he have a pride?
He knew that Elizabeth was a good person. But hadnt she rejected Darcy?
Despite knowing that if he put himself to his shoes, the outcome might be very different, Richard leaned towards Darcy all the same.
He knew why Darcy did that.
'He loves her..'
In the midnight, under that bed sheet Richard stifled his smile while thinking of grand visionary thoughts.
'Those who truly love, care what happens to their beloved, than what happens to them.'
'Love..such a selfish emotion that gives the most selfless outcomes'
The warm feeling was there. He liked both of them, and it would make him more than happy to see them together.
He felt the magic responding to his emotion, almost making his bed sheet float, and he grabbed it before anything happened, then tucked himself under, gripping the edges with his feet and hands, completely cocooning himself.
And for the fifth time, Richard slept peacefully and happily, his mind resting on a sea of clouds that shielded him from the sins and regrets that tried to haunt him.