Ron looked at Richard as though he were the Messiah. There was so much gratitude in his eyes that one could easily believe the red-haired boy saw an angel standing in Richie's place.
"Finally, someone agrees with me," he muttered. "Thanks, Richie! What are we waiting for? They'll eat all the sweets without us!"
Just as everyone was about to head back to the Great Hall, Hermione, after a moment's thought, suddenly blurted out in a rush,
"Boys, I could follow Professors Snape and McGonagall. I don't eat sweets, so it's no trouble!"
Ron shot Hermione an irritated glare. He looked as though he were only moments away from telling her exactly what he thought of her.
"And how are you going to do that?" Fred asked curiously.
Granger glanced at Richard and suddenly realized she was clutching his robes. She released them at once, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"I have my ways," she replied evasively.
"Hermione, my dear," Richard said, his gaze seeming to peer right through her robes, "you're wearing that outfit underneath, aren't you?"
"Yes!"
Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet, and almost every boy present—Harry being the sole exception—jumped to entirely the wrong conclusion about what Richard meant. Judging by the girl's reaction, they assumed he was referring to something rather intimate.
"Oh, Gred, we've learned quite a lot about our little ones today..." George drawled cheerfully.
"You can say that again, Forge." Fred's own cheeks coloured slightly. "The younger generation doesn't waste any time!"
Hermione realised what the boys were thinking. Her face immediately turned the colour of a ripe tomato, and it looked as though steam might start pouring from her ears at any moment.
"That's... not what you think..." she mumbled quietly, only convincing the boys even more that they had guessed correctly. Even Ron flushed faintly and hastily averted his eyes.
"So, what exactly are you wearing under those robes?" Fred asked with undisguised curiosity.
"I can't say," Hermione replied, red as a beetroot, glancing at Richard. "But... he knows."
Richie could endure the assault on his sanity no longer. He closed his eyes and covered his face with his right hand.
"Hermione, please stop talking," he whispered. "Let's just go and have dessert. We'll do without any spying today."
"Ooooh!" Ron drawled, looking like a man who had finally put two and two together. "I get it! Hermione, Richie gave you one of those outfits too?"
Fred and George stared at their younger brother with enormous, horrified eyes.
"Ron... don't tell me you..." Fred whispered.
"Good Lord, Richard... so you..." George eyed Grosvenor warily.
Richie merely shook his head.
But Ron simply couldn't leave it there. He cheerfully tossed another log onto the blazing fire of the twins' imagination.
"Er... I can't actually tell you what we're talking about..."
"Gred, forget these weird little perverts," George whispered into his twin's ear. "Let's get out of here."
"Yeah..." was all the utterly dumbfounded Fred could manage.
The twins hurried back towards the Great Hall. Harry watched them leave with a puzzled expression.
"What's got into them?" he asked. "Haven't they ever heard of invisible ninja suits? Ron, didn't your dad make those for all your brothers?"
"No," Ron replied. "He told everyone in the family not to tell the twins about them, in case they tried something in Hogwarts."
"Hermione," Harry said, turning to the girl, "so Richie gave you the same suit he gave me?"
"Yes." Hermione nodded, her face gradually returning to its normal colour.
"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed. "Granger, do you seriously wear that ninja suit under your robes all the time?"
"Of course," Hermione replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You never know—someone might attack the school again, or we might suddenly need to sneak into the Restricted Section. Besides, it's incredibly comfortable. It's much nicer to wear than ordinary clothes."
"Blimey!" Ron cried. "I always thought you were just a swot, Granger, but you're practically Catwoman!"
Potter stared at Hermione in admiration.
"No way!" he let out a low whistle. "You're brilliant!"
"DESSERT!" Ron reminded everyone urgently.
"Right, right, we're coming," Harry replied.
When Harry, Ron, Richard, and Hermione returned to the Great Hall, they once again had to pass the staff table. Just then, an exasperated Minerva McGonagall marched up to Headmaster Dumbledore.
"Albus, this is completely beyond the pale!" she declared loudly.
"Minerva, whatever has happened?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"Some pranksters brought a vicious dog into the castle. We found it on the staircase leading to Gryffindor Tower!"
"My dear Minerva, it's only a prank," Dumbledore replied with his usual good humour. "Perhaps the children simply felt sorry for the poor dog and let it in to warm itself."
"Warm itself?!" McGonagall gasped in outrage. "That dog is clearly rabid! The moment it saw us, it bared its teeth and started growling. Then it charged straight at Severus!"
The Headmaster asked, sounding mildly concerned,
"I trust Severus wasn't hurt?"
"No." McGonagall gave a sharp shake of her head. "We're witches and wizards, after all. Severus bound the dog and went off to levitate it out of the castle. But it's outrageous! What if someone had been hurt? That rabid dog could have bitten the children!"
"But it didn't," the Headmaster replied, once again perfectly calm.
"Oh, a dog!" Lockhart exclaimed delightedly. "Pity I didn't go with you. I'd have dealt with it in no time."
As soon as the students had moved a little way from the staff table, Harry, looking deeply worried and agitated, whispered,
"That had to be Black! We have to warn him... Tell him he's been cleared, and that the real criminal has been punished."
"Harry, he's a grown wizard," Ron whispered back loudly. "He ought to be able to think for himself."
"Yes, Harry," Richard agreed in the same subdued tone. "Seriously, are you planning to help a madman who chose revenge instead of making sure his friends' child was safe? What, do you think you're some kind of Messiah? Harry, you don't have to help every stranger you come across just because he happened to be friends with your parents. Forget about him."
Potter said nothing.
Richie still had plenty more he wanted to tell the boy, but at that point their paths diverged. Richie headed back to the Hufflepuff table, while Ron—overjoyed that he hadn't missed dessert—together with a dejected Harry and an excited, cheerful Hermione, returned to the Gryffindors.
(End of Chapter)
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