"I haven't read about spells like those," Hermione said, sounding disappointed.
"You will if you're interested," Richie replied soothingly. "So, you're saying the book in the Restricted Section is enchanted?"
"Yes," Granger nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid that if I keep copying it out for only forty minutes a day, it'll take forever, and I might get caught."
"Forty minutes in the library and twenty minutes getting there and back?" Richard guessed.
"Exactly."
"Hermione, no single book is worth such sacrifices. Take this."
Granger accepted a small box from Richard's hands. Only after turning it over a few times did she realise what it was. Then she exclaimed in confusion:
"A camera?!"
"A camera."
"A CAMERA?!!!"
"Yes, a camera."
"Richie, are you suggesting I photograph the pages?"
"Hermione," Richard replied, "for as long as I've known you, you've always been quick-witted…"
"But there are only thirty-six exposures on a camera roll," Hermione protested, shaking the miniature device. "And that folio has at least three hundred pages!"
"You needn't worry about that. If you noticed its small size, you ought to have guessed it isn't an ordinary camera."
"Is it a spy camera, alien technology, or something from the future?" Hermione asked.
"You'd recognise a camera from the future immediately," Richard replied, his voice carrying oddly difficult-to-place notes of nostalgia. "There wouldn't be anywhere to insert film. Instead, it would have a tiny slot for a memory card and a compartment for a battery. There'd also be a display for viewing photographs. After all, cameras of the future won't take analogue photographs — they'll take digital ones."
"How do you know that?" Granger asked suspiciously, once again leaning towards the theory that Richie was a time traveller.
"Hermione, I invest in venture projects closely connected to the development of mobile communications, computers, and the internet. It's absolutely vital for me to stay informed about trends in the IT market."
"Ah… I see…" Granger replied, with a faint note of disappointment.
Hermione had hoped for something rather less mundane — perhaps initiation into the secrets of time travel. She had already imagined herself travelling alongside someone like Doctor Who. Yet apparently the explanation was much simpler.
"But in one respect, you were right."
At Richard's words, Hermione gave a sharp intake of breath and looked at the boy expectantly.
Is he about to say he's an alien from Alpha Centauri?
"The camera is actually a spy model. You've no idea how much effort it took to persuade MI6 to so graciously part with it. It uses two-hundred-exposure microfilm, so if you photograph two pages at a time, it should be enough."
"MI6?!"
Hermione looked even more astonished than she would have if Richard had truly turned out to be an alien from outer space.
"So having tea with the Queen didn't surprise you, but the fact I asked Colin McColl for a modest little gift during a royal reception is enough to make your brain crash?"
"McColl?" Hermione echoed in a hollow voice, frozen like a statue. "General McColl, head of MI6? You know him?"
"We're hardly close friends, but we've met a couple of times. Funny old chap. If you like, once we finish school, I could put in a word for you and get you a nice cushy position in the intelligence services."
"Er… I'll think about it, thank you," Granger managed after a moment.
After his memorable conversation with Hermione, Richie already had a roll of film containing photographs of the necessary book's pages in his hands by the very next day. He sent the film home by owl so that his father could pass it on to the intelligence services for development.
In mid-December, Richard awoke one morning to discover the castle buried beneath a thick blanket of snow, while the lake had frozen solid.
It turned out to be a marvellous day.
At last, Richie received a copy of the book describing the method used to create the Sorting Hat. After making another duplicate, he sent it off to Arthur Weasley.
Now the puzzle was complete: they possessed magical technologies for creating artificial intelligences, along with methods of establishing two-way communication with a user through something resembling telepathy. On top of that, Richie had suggested the idea of using Confundus and Obliviate for magical "programming" to the wizards working in the workshop. So only a little remained before they achieved a fully functional artificial intelligence.
The day continued to bring pleasant surprises. After supper, the Weasley twins approached young Grosvenor, both Fred and George wearing distinctly mysterious expressions.
"Lord Grosvenor," Fred began, "would you be so kind as to spare us a little of your precious time?"
"Yes, Fred, of course," Richard replied.
"Then do come along to our laboratory," Fred said. "By the way, may I ask how you knew it was me rather than George?"
"I possess an excellent memory, gentlemen," Richard answered, rising from the table and following the twins. "There are subtle differences in your appearances and the timbre of your voices. I noticed them, and that's how I tell you apart."
"Extraordinary!" George exclaimed with genuine admiration. "Even our mother can't always manage that. If I had a hat, I'd certainly tip it to you, sir."
"Gentlemen, I'm beginning to suspect you've been replaced," Richard remarked, raising an eyebrow while studying the twins carefully. "You haven't joked around or caused any trouble all evening. Hmm… how exactly do you plan to prove that you really are Fred and George Weasley?"
(End of Chapter)
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