"Padma, I'll speak to Uncle Charlie over the holidays. I can't promise anything, but perhaps you and your sister—and your parents—might be invited to one of the receptions this summer."
"Thank you, Richie!"
Padma beamed with delight and, carried away by emotion, threw her arms around Grosvenor. It was in precisely such a compromising pose that Hermione, suddenly rounding the corner, discovered Richard.
The girl, as always, had been hurrying headlong—but at the sight before her, she froze as though rooted to the spot. Granger's bag slipped from her hands with a loud thud. Her lips trembled traitorously.
"Hermione," Richie gently extricated himself from Padma's embrace and offered the Gryffindor student a warm smile. "Good afternoon. I'm glad to see you. Is something the matter?"
Grosvenor stepped closer and helped her pick up the heavy bag.
"Good heavens, that's quite a weight," he remarked. "Do you still insist on carrying all your textbooks with you?"
Hermione wordlessly snatched the bag from his hands. Then she turned abruptly and darted back around the corner. Richard caught sight of tears on her cheeks, and it troubled him.
"That's odd—she didn't even say hello," Richie said, frowning with concern.
"I think she was jealous of me," Padma observed.
"What is wrong with these girls?" Richard muttered under his breath. "We're not even engaged to be jealous over a hug… And I wanted to cheer Hermione up with the news that they'd be learning their first proper spell in Charms today."
"Don't worry about it," Justin said lightly. "Girls! Who can understand them…"
"Boys!" Padma huffed. "What would you know about a girl's delicate heart?! Richie, you ought to apologise to your friend."
"I?!" Richard pointed a finger at his own chest. "Apologise?! For what?"
"You idiot!" Padma said. "It doesn't matter what for. What matters is that Hermione is upset with you. That means you should apologise—otherwise your friendship might come to an end."
"That would be… unfortunate."
Richard grew genuinely concerned at the prospect of losing such a valuable ally. It was a foolish situation, but perhaps Padma was right. It was not worth the risk.
"I'll wait for her after lessons and speak to her," Richard declared.
There's clearly a gap in my upbringing, he continued inwardly. No one ever bothered to explain the psychology of women to me. In my previous life, the HoloNet—with all its virtual beauties—was quite enough that I never even considered meeting a real girl. And Hermione is still just a child. Where would this jealousy towards another girl even come from? Or is that normal? Gods, give me strength! As if magical politics and crime weren't enough—now I have to puzzle over what goes on inside the minds of girls as well…
After the final lesson, Richie shot out of the classroom like a bullet and hurried towards the Charms corridor. Not far from it, he found a group of first-year Gryffindors. To his surprise, Hermione was nowhere to be seen.
"Harry," he called, spotting Potter in the crowd. "Hello. Where's Granger?"
"No idea," Potter shrugged. "She wasn't in Charms. Did something happen? Hermione looked upset. I think she'd been crying. Did you have a row?"
"Oh, just the usual girl drama. She saw a Ravenclaw friend hugging me, imagined something, and stormed off. Never mind that we're only eleven."
"Girls are odd," Harry said. "Want me to help you look for her?"
"No need, Harry. If I turn up for a private conversation with company, it'll only make things worse. We'll sort it out ourselves. I just need to find her."
"I can check our common room and ring you," Harry offered. "You can't get into our dormitory, after all."
"Thank you, Harry. If you see Hermione—or find out where she is—let me know. I'll check the library."
Richie headed up to the library, but Granger was not there. As he stood considering where to go next, his wizardphone rang in his pocket.
"Hello?"
"Richie, it's me—Harry. Hermione hasn't come back to the common room. But Lavender Brown said she saw her crying in the girls' toilets on the second floor and refusing to come out, asking to be left alone."
"Thanks, Harry. That helps a lot."
"Richie, are you coming to dinner? It's meant to be all festive today. I saw Professor Flitwick decorating the Great Hall with enchanted bats and floating pumpkins."
"I'll try. Just need to calm a certain young lady first."
"You're going to the girls' toilets?!" Harry sounded horrified.
"And why not?" Richie said with a hint of mischief. "Worried about my reputation? We're not in Japan, so I doubt anyone would call me a pervert."
"Er…" Harry faltered. "That's not what I meant. It's just… odd, a boy going into the girls' toilets."
"Don't worry. I think I can survive the sight of a crying girl."
After ending the call, Richard made his way down to the second floor. Reaching the girls' toilets, he was surprised to find a key left in the lock. That struck him as suspicious. What business did a key have sticking out of the outside of a lavatory door?
Either Filch forgot it there, or someone decided to play a nasty trick on Hermione and lock her in, Richie thought.
He tried the handle and was surprised to find the door unlocked. He decided the caretaker must be growing forgetful, if he had begun leaving his keys about like that. Still, just in case, Richard slipped the key ring into his pocket—just in case it was the work of pranksters...
(End of Chapter)
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