After classes and throughout supper, Richard kept catching Hermione Granger casting impatient glances his way
"Your little Gryffindor girlfriend's going to bore a hole through you with her stare, Richie," Justin Finch-Fletchley remarked.
"Jealousy's an ugly thing, Jas. Maybe one day girls will be chasing after you in droves too."
"As if I could ever compete with His Lordship," Justin replied dryly.
"Let's say you're destined to become a lord as well," Richard said with a smirk. "It's just that I had responsibility thrust upon me much earlier. You, meanwhile, still get to enjoy a carefree childhood… By the way, Justin, I happen to have a rather private meeting planned," he whispered, leaning towards his friend's ear.
"A date?" Finch-Fletchley pulled a face as though he'd been served lime instead of chicken for supper. "Ugh! With a girl!"
"Good heavens, Justin, don't frighten me like that. The Grosvenors have never approved of certain… amusements favoured by some aristocrats."
"What are you talking about?" Justin frowned.
"About dates that aren't with girls," Richard said, waggling his eyebrows with an unmistakable hint.
"I still don't get it," Justin said with a shrug.
"Don't worry, my friend," Richard replied, patting him on the shoulder. "You'll understand when you're older."
Richard rose from the Hufflepuff table and headed calmly towards the exit leading outside. He could practically feel Hermione's gaze burning into his back. The moment the boy stepped into the entrance hall near the proper doorway, he heard the rapid clatter of heels behind him.
Turning around, Richie spotted Hermione hurrying after him. The Gryffindor student caught up to the Hufflepuff. Bracing her hands against her hips, she breathed hoarsely. The short run had left the girl's face flushed pink.
"My dear Hermione," Richard said primly, "I believe we agreed to meet by the greenhouses. There was no need to rush so terribly."
"I decided not to delay things," Granger blurted out in a single breath.
"Hermione, this magnificent castle has ears in far too many places. The greenhouses, certain corridors, and a handful of classrooms are fortunately deprived of the privilege of blessing us with magical artistry."
Granger frowned thoughtfully, but soon her expression cleared.
"You mean the living portraits?"
"As always, your mind is wonderfully sharp, Hermione. Miss Granger, allow me to invite you for a stroll in the fresh air."
Richard gallantly offered her his elbow. Hermione seized Grosvenor's arm with an iron grip, and the boy and girl continued on their way, looking rather like a young couple from the side.
There was not much snow outside, but darkness had already claimed the grounds. Only the faint moonlight provided the barest hint of illumination.
"Well then, Hermione, no one can overhear us here," Richard began. "Tell me everything."
"I spent ages searching the library for the right material, but there was nothing in the general section about creating the Sorting Hat. So I snuck into the Restricted Section."
"Once?"
"No, not just once…" Hermione drew in a deep breath, as though preparing to plunge into icy water. "It took me an entire month of sneaking into the Restricted Section. I went there at night after curfew, so I hardly got any sleep."
"Oh, Hermione, you're a heroine!" Richard exclaimed admiringly. "Such dedication is a rare thing indeed. And judging by the fact you weren't caught, I take it you used the ninja outfit?"
"Yes, I had to," Granger admitted. "It's incredible! ItThe only shame is that the invisibility only lasts for an hour a day."
"Don't regret that. I'd never forgive myself if I knew you were spending your nights in the library because of me. I'm certain that's exactly what would have happened if the invisibility worked constantly."
Hermione blushed.
"In any case, I found the book," she said. "It's an enormous eighteenth-century folio written by Dexter Fortescue. He was Headmaster of Hogwarts at the time and devoted himself to researching the Sorting Hat. Headmaster Fortescue based his work on materials left behind by the founders of the school. He managed to fully recreate the process of enchanting such a hat."
"How curious. Why would a book like that be kept in the Restricted Section?"
"I wondered the same thing," Hermione replied. "Unfortunately,I didn't have time to read the entire book, but from what I did read… I'm not sure…"
"Go on, Hermione. Trust me, nobody's going to pelt you with rotten tomatoes for saying what you think. Certainly not here and now."
"I think that, in the time of the Founders, forms of magic were permitted that are now forbidden," Granger continued more confidently.
"A perfectly reasonable conclusion. Hermione, I completely agree with you. Please continue."
Hermione grew bolder still and continued.
"The Sorting Hat reads the thoughts of whoever wears it through a set of specialised enchantments! It communicates by transmitting thoughts directly, which falls under mental magic—a branch of magic the Ministry of Magic restricted to only a handful of approved spells at the end of the eighteenth century. But originally, the ban was introduced by the International Confederation of Wizards in order to minimise the risk of breaches of the Statute of Secrecy, so that witches and wizards would be less tempted to influence Muggles."
Richard smiled sadly and commented:
"The holy trinity of mental magic: Confundus, Obliviate, and Abigerus."
"Those are spells?"
"Yes, Hermione. They're all mental spells that the Ministry of Magic strongly encourages witches and wizards to use on ordinary people in order to protect the Statute of Secrecy."
"So they aren't banned?" Granger asked. "And what exactly can they do?"
"Confundus disorients a person, wizard, or even an artefact, and allows the caster to plant suggestions rather like hypnotic commands. It's something akin to the Jedi mind trick from the film Star Wars. Obliviate allows memories to be erased or altered.
"The Abigerus is the least harmful of the three, since it's cast either over an area or upon a wizard. It's a Muggle-Repelling Charm — or, more accurately, a form of notice-me-not magic. Anyone entering the field of the spell suddenly remembers urgent business elsewhere and forgets whatever they had intended to see or wherever they had meant to go within the protected area. There's also another variation of the charm—Repello Muggletum. It's a far more powerful and sophisticated version of the same effect.".
(End of Chapter)
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