Richard carried himself with the dignity of a lord. Smiling, he began shaking hands with the members of the Weasley family and offering polite compliments:
"Lovely dress, Mrs. Weasley. Wonderful hairstyle, Ginny. You look great, Ron. You have an original and very cozy home—one can clearly see the touch of diligent owners. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. And allow me—these are for you."
Richard presented gifts to each of the four members of the Weasley family. Arthur curiously examined the bottle of wine and the tea. Molly sniffed the perfume and seemed quite pleased with the fragrance; her face lit up with a happy smile. Ron, embarrassed by his outfit, straightened proudly after receiving the compliment. When a bright box of Monopoly ended up in his hands, he began inspecting it with delight and could barely restrain himself from tearing it open. With no less interest, Ginny turned over the box containing the board game Alias (Say It Differently).
"Thank you. We're delighted to welcome a Lord into our home," Mrs. Weasley said warmly, gazing at Richard with fondness.
"Are you really a Lord?" Ron blurted out.
"Undoubtedly."
"It must be awesome to be a lord, right?" Ron asked enviously.
"Not bad, though I wouldn't call it simple. One has to work hard and live up to the status. Ron, since we're the same age and future classmates, you and Ginny may call me Richie."
"Do you fly a broom?" Ron asked.
"I prefer to travel by automobile," Richard replied smoothly, having felt an irrational aversion to flying brooms ever since he had learned about that mode of transportation.
"Please, come into the living room," Mrs. Weasley invited everyone.
For a while, in proper English fashion, Richard complimented the hosts on their beautiful furniture, how well everything was arranged in the house, what a lovely garden they had, and what wonderful clocks displayed the names of the family members. The clock had nine hands labeled with the names of the Weasley family. The hands marked "Arthur," "Molly," "Ron," and "Ginny" rested at "Home." Those labeled "Charlie," "Percy," "Fred," and "George" pointed to "School." The hand marked "Bill" stood at "Work." On the clock face one could also see sections labeled "Traveling," "Lost," "Prison," "Hospital," and, where twelve o'clock would normally be, "Mortal Peril."
From time to time, Richard added remarks about how such perfection could be achieved by ordinary wizards. Though the magi were British, they were clearly unaccustomed to such polished courtesy and melted under the stream of formal compliments.
"You have a wonderful neighborhood," Richard continued. "Judging by what I noticed on the way here, everything is improving before one's very eyes. Soon this will be, if not paradise on Earth, then a very comfortable area indeed."
"We have marvelous neighbors," Mr. Weasley said proudly. "The Lovegoods, the Fawcetts, and the Diggorys live nearby. Mr. Lovegood publishes his own magazine. His daughter will be going to Hogwarts with Ginny. Diggory works at the Ministry of Magic, and his son is a year older than our twins, Fred and George—though he's in Hufflepuff rather than Gryffindor."
"Richie, which house do you want to be sorted into?" Ron asked.
"Every house is good in its own way," Richard replied diplomatically, knowing only of one house and hearing about a second for the first time. "Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are fine, but I can't say anything bad about the others either."
"I'll definitely be in Gryffindor!" Ron declared confidently. "My parents were there, and Bill—and my older brothers are there now."
"A worthy choice."
"Oh dear, we've been sitting around too long," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Dinner's getting cold. Please, Lord, let's go to the kitchen."
The kitchen was small and rather cramped. In the center stood a scrubbed wooden table surrounded by chairs. Richard sat in the chair offered by the hostess and looked around casually. He had never before visited the homes of other wizards, with the exception of Madam Marchbanks. On the opposite wall hung another clock, this time with only a single hand. Instead of numbers, it bore inscriptions such as "Tea Time," "Feed the Chickens," "Running Late," and the like. On the mantelpiece stood stacks of books. Richie read the titles on the spines: Conjure Yourself Some Cheese!, Charms Used in Baking, How to Prepare a Feast in One Second. Miraculous Magic! An old radio hung on the wall above the sink.
The table groaned under the weight of food. Not delicacies, but quite a decent spread: a meat pie, fried beef cutlets, mashed potatoes, and a homemade cake topped with a generous crown of cream. Ron eyed the main dessert greedily.
"Ronald," Molly shot her son a stern look, "cake is for dessert!"
The red-haired boy reluctantly tore his gaze away from the cake and hurriedly attacked his meal. He handled his fork skillfully but did not use a knife and ate rather quickly, which Richie attributed to growing up in a large family where one couldn't afford to dawdle.
Richard, on the other hand, displayed impeccable manners and leisurely consumed the simple but very tasty food with both fork and knife.
About half an hour later, when everyone had eaten their fill, the most interesting part began—the very reason Richard had paid a visit to the wizards.
"Lord Grosvenor, if you're interested, we could take a look at the flying car," Mr. Weasley said.
"Most intriguing. I'd be delighted, Mr. Weasley."
Accompanied by Arthur, Richard stepped out onto a small patch of the backyard. A garage stood nearby, and next to it was an old Ford Anglia.
Ron and Ginny trailed after Richard and Arthur.
"There she is!" Mr. Weasley presented the car proudly.
Richard examined the vehicle with immense curiosity. At first glance, it was impossible to spot any difference from an ordinary Ford of that model. Even upon closer inspection, it was difficult to find anything unusual. Except perhaps that the car's condition was immaculate—even excessively so for a vehicle of such age. That immediately suggested the use of a repair charm.
"May we try flying it, sir?"
"Of course!"
(End of Chapter)
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