"Well..." Harry thought for a moment. "I think so. One time, Aunt Petunia shaved my head. I was afraid to show up at school like that, everyone would laugh at me. The next morning, I woke up with my normal hair. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were really angry with me about it. And then one time, I was running away from Dudley and his friends. They cornered me. I really wanted to get as far away from them as possible. In the end, I didn't understand how I ended up on the roof of the school annex. A fire engine rescued me from there, and Uncle got angry with me again and didn't feed me for several days.
"Wow!" the elder Potter marveled. "Apparation at such a young age! Harry, now I have no doubt that you're a wizard."
"Um..." Harry drawled. "Richie, are you... Are you a wizard or not?"
"Harry, I'm a wizard just like you," Richard smiled disarmingly. "In a year and a half, you and I will be going to the same school. How cool is that?"
"I guess," Harry shrugged uncertainly. "No, I mean, I'd be happy to study with you, but I don't think I'm a wizard. I'm just a boy."
"Simple or not, it doesn't matter," Richard said. "The main thing is to take care of yourself and your loved ones!"
"By the way, Richie," the detective began, "it seems you had some other task besides Weasley."
"Yes, sir. I need mage bodyguards or at least one skilled wizard who can ensure my safety during my visits to the mages."
"We'll think of something," Scott muttered. "Boys, what are your plans?"
"Play something," Richard said. "I thought Harry was staying overnight. You, Mr. Potter, can sleep in the guest bedroom. It's a long way to London for you."
The detective thought for a moment and asked:
- Harry, how do you feel about a sleepover?
- With pleasure, uncle!
"Then let's do it this way. I'll go to London and visit the wizarding shopping district. And tomorrow afternoon I'll pick up Harry."
"I have tutoring tomorrow morning until evening," Richard remarked. "If Harry doesn't mind waiting for you, sir, that's perfectly acceptable. But I suggest we do things a little differently: Steve will drive Harry home tomorrow. And as for you, Mr. Potter, take your time. I don't think you'll be able to find all the information you need in one evening."
"Okay, I'm even more comfortable this way," said the detective. "Harry, you don't mind, do you?"
"No, Uncle Scott," young Potter shook his head.
- Then take the keys to the apartment, and I'll go. Don't be bored, kids!
Scott got up from the couch, handed his nephew a bunch of keys and headed towards the exit.
Richard turned to the guest:
- Harry, I have an interesting proposal.
- Which?
- Let's go to Chester to the bookstore and buy all the comics there!
"Comics?!" Harry's green eyes lit up with delight. "Dudley wouldn't let me read his comics. And I wanted them so much..."
- Harry, I'll give you a whole collection of comics.
"Let's go!" young Potter jumped up happily.
Richard reached the wall, picked up the telephone, and pressed the intercom button. Almost immediately, the maid's voice answered:
- Yes, sir?
"Lucy, tell Steve to bring the car to the entrance. My friend and I are going to Chester."
- Okay, Mr. Richie, I'll pass your order on to Steve.
Richard didn't just buy comic books. He intended to use ideas from superhero stories to create various useful devices. Sure, the transmigrator knew about many devices from the future, but how could he explain what he wanted to, say, a wizard who would bring his ideas to life? He could draw a diagram of the device and list its technical specifications, but the easiest way was to show a picture from a comic book and say, "I want that."
Why is it easier? Richard is a kid, after all. No one would be surprised by a boy's desire to own a super-cool comic book thing.
And now an opportunity arose to combine several useful tasks at once: to establish a relationship with the future hero, the savior of humanity, and at the same time to buy the necessary literature.
An hour and a half later, the two boys were settling into the huge bed in Richard's room. Stacks of comic books lay around them. They leafed through the magazines with genuine curiosity. But each had their own interests. For the first time, Harry could do what any boy his age could. He felt like the luckiest boy in the world. Richard, meanwhile, was scouring the children's magazines for ideas for magical gadgets. He even armed himself with a notebook and pen, jotting down worthwhile ideas.
- Harry, who are you reading about?
- Spider-Man. It turns out he has special devices on his hands from which he shoots webs.
- Yeah... Spider web from hands... It's cool and useful.
Richard wrote down the first point in his notebook:
1) Ejector for shooting web.
- What are you writing?