"You're welcome, Miss Granger. We have some time before lessons, so answer one question for me: would you like to return to your own world?"
"Of course! Of course I would! But that's impossible."
"I'm sure you used to think travelling to another world was impossible too, yet somehow you ended up here."
Hermione felt awkward. With all her heart, she wanted to return to her own reality.
"Perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore can help me," she whispered hopefully.
"Miss Granger, you're far too naive. Headmaster Dumbledore is merely an administrator, and not an especially good one at that. Every year, all manner of madness happens at the school under his leadership. How can you place your hopes in a man who left a thirteen-year-old girl to deal with her own fate?"
"But he let me stay at the school!" Hermione protested.
"That is his duty as Headmaster, Miss Granger. You are a witch, therefore you are entitled to attend a school of magic. Hogwarts is the only school of witchcraft and wizardry in Britain, which is where you currently find yourself. Therefore, the Headmaster was obliged to allow you to remain at Hogwarts. A witch or wizard can only be expelled from Hogwarts for serious offences, which you couldn't possibly have committed given how little time you've spent in our world. Or..." He paused. "Do you believe you owe the Headmaster something?"
"Yes, I do!" the displaced girl declared firmly.
"Miss, take off those rose-tinted spectacles! Mr Dumbledore has a habit of doing his job in such a way that other people come away believing they owe him a favour. He has done precisely nothing for you: he hasn't provided you with any financial support, hasn't arranged any documents, hasn't found you guardians. I could go on indefinitely. Look inside the suitcase."
Hermione succumbed to the persuasive power of Richard's voice and opened the suitcase. An enormous space filled with all manner of things appeared before her. Inside, the suitcase was the size of a small room, with a ladder leading down into it.
"All of this was provided to you by a fellow pupil you barely know. Note that it wasn't Headmaster Dumbledore. And you'll need documents in the ordinary world. You'll need somewhere to live. How exactly do you intend to manage all that?"
"I don't know." The displaced girl looked lost.
"But I do. Miss Granger, if you're willing to accept my help..."
"Help?" she repeated, almost as though entranced. "I... I won't refuse..."
"Well, in that case, I'll ask Her Majesty to help arrange your documents and find somewhere for you to stay over the summer—a children's holiday camp, perhaps, or a respectable family."
"Wait." The displaced girl stared at him. "You'll ask the Queen herself?"
"Not necessarily," Richard replied calmly. "I could approach the Minister for Magic or Prince Charles instead. None of them would refuse me. I am a Grosvenor, after all!"
Hermione from the parallel world froze. Her glazed eyes made it abundantly clear that her thoughts were somewhere far removed from this world. It took her a couple of minutes to digest the news and return to reality.
"Mr Grosvenor..."
"Miss Granger," Richard interrupted, "make up your mind. To you, I'm either Richie, your fellow pupil and friend, or Lord Grosvenor, the Earl. Leave the 'Mister' for the teachers. I understand that, unlike my friend, you've never been invited to tea with the Queen and therefore haven't been put through lessons in etiquette, but I would have thought every Briton ought to know such little details. So, decide: would you rather speak to your friend Richie or to Lord Grosvenor?"
Granger's face lengthened.
"Tea with the Queen?!" she squeaked in astonishment. "When I was little, I used to dream of having tea with the Queen, and she... She actually did it! Oh my God!"
"She did." Richard nodded.
Summoning her courage, Hermione from the parallel world blurted out:
"Richie! I choose friendship. Sorry, but earlier you mentioned returning to my world..."
"I did, Miss Granger," Grosvenor agreed. "Are you still hoping that Headmaster Dumbledore will help you?"
"I'd like to hope so, but rationally I understand that he's unlikely to be able to help," the girl replied sadly.
"I'm glad you've retained your good sense, miss." The corners of Richard's mouth lifted.
"I have a research laboratory of my own," he added, giving her a meaningful wink. "They conduct research into quantum physics with a magical twist: particle acceleration, the development of faster-than-light and sublight engines for spacecraft, and much more besides. I imagine my researchers would find the study of travel between parallel universes rather interesting, but there are two problems."
Hermione could scarcely believe that the boy standing before her might represent a possible path to salvation. Anyone would have found it difficult to believe that an ordinary thirteen-year-old boy possessed a laboratory of that calibre. But her counterpart considered Grosvenor a genius, and the other young witches and wizards had spoken highly of Richard as well. Drawing a deep breath, she asked:
"What problems?"
Inwardly, Richard rejoiced, though his face continued to do a passable impression of a silicate brick. The fish had taken the bait; all that remained was to set the hook. He had already managed to read up on Time-Turners. The information he'd found was superficial, but it was enough to give him a basic understanding.
"Firstly, research into Time-Turners is forbidden. All artefacts of that level are kept in the Department of Mysteries, and no witches or wizards are allowed access to them apart from the Unspeakables. Secondly, research of this calibre is extremely expensive and long-term. Your return could take a very long time. But, Miss Granger, for the glory of science and for the sake of helping you, I'm prepared to provide the funding, and my researchers are prepared to conduct the work in secret, but..."
"They don't have a Time-Turner," Hermione realised.
"Exactly."
"But Professor McGonagall has one," Granger continued.
"Precisely." This time Richard couldn't quite suppress a smile. The corners of his mouth twitched. "You're a very quick-witted young lady. Incidentally, I left a couple of presents for you in the suitcase: an invisibility suit that lets you crawl along walls and ceilings—instructions are included—and there's also a basic wrist-mounted AI computer with glasses that serve as its display, thermal imager and a map of the castle showing people's locations."
"But why would you spend a fortune helping me?" the displaced girl asked warily.
"Miss Granger, you're the spitting image of my friend, so refusing to help you would be almost sacrilegious. Besides, I'm personally interested in time travel and parallel worlds. We have the resources, the wizarding researchers and the laboratory. Only one small thing remains, Miss Granger. It's all in your hands. If you want to return home..."
(End of Chapter)
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