- Sir, Donkey will not allow magicians to steal from the master.
"No, no, Donkey. You have a different job-to monitor and report to me. You're a scout. Lots of people steal, so the main thing is that mages steal sparingly and don't cross the line. As long as they produce decent results, I'll turn a blind eye and gather incriminating evidence."
"Donkey understands, sir. Donkey will discreetly monitor the wizards and report everything to the master."
- Written reports once a month. Personal reports only in emergency situations. Donkey, I don't have time to listen to reports every day. I hope you can read and write?
- Yes, sir. Donkey was taught science so that he could teach reading and writing to the masters' children.
"Wonderful! One less problem. And also, Donkey, your main job is to make sure the wizards don't harm me. Crooked spells, carelessly placed on artifacts, or, conversely, deliberately embedded curses. Do you understand? Can you keep an eye on something like that?"
"Sir, Donkey can sense magic. Donkey will be able to warn his master of impending danger."
"Wonderful. Donkey, officially you'll be listed as a free house elf, working as a caretaker. For the British wizards, this will be highly unusual, but it will explain your clothing and clear you of any suspicions of spying for me."
"Donkey understands, sir. Donkey will pretend to be a free house elf, if that's what the Lord desires."
"To keep your legend from crumbling like a house of cards, you'll receive a salary of two hundred Galleons a month. You can spend the money as you see fit."
"Donkey will be paid," the elf said phlegmatically. "If his kin find out about this, they'll think Donkey has gone mad. But neither they nor anyone else will know that Donkey is actually a scout. Donkey is happy to serve the Lord and be of use."
"You make me happy with your perfect behavior and self-control, Donkey. Make yourself at home-this is all your domain now. Perhaps in the future, my house will be nearby."
Harry and Richie had a great time. They fished in the lake and then cooked their catch over the coals.
Everyone spent the night in the house; there were enough bedrooms to accommodate several people.
That morning, Richard and Harry reached the hangar and discovered three planes there. While young Harry, with boyish curiosity, climbed around the planes, examining them inside and out, Richie gazed thoughtfully at the flying machines. He got the hint-Alex Blade had overheard and passed on the proposal to his superiors at MI6, and they had agreed, providing a generator, planes, and a military vehicle, which is essentially a portable radar unit with a control panel in a booth.
Speaking of aircraft, the first was the Shadow P1, a reconnaissance aircraft based on the Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop. The second was the Britten-Norman Islander, a twin-engine transport aircraft in the military version known as the Defender. It can accommodate up to nine passengers, carry nearly one and a half tons of cargo, and be used for parachute jumps. The third aircraft was the Lancair 4, a civilian four-seat monoplane.
And no, Richard didn't immediately become versed in ancient flying technology; it's just that each aircraft came with accompanying documentation. And on the documentation for the last, smallest plane, there was a signature:
Lost and Found
It was impossible not to understand such a bold hint. MI6 practically openly stated that they were giving a civilian aircraft to Richard, as evidenced by the documents registering the aircraft in the young Rich's name. At the same time, the intelligence services wanted to get the enchanted military aircraft back.
The picnic and the vacation overall were wonderful. The hardest part was the return.
***
Richie was in a busy time. He needed to oversee the stock sale, negotiate with Arthur Weasley about starting the enchantment, convey instructions to Gringotts for the monthly payment of funds from the safe to Mr. Weasley, call Alex Blade, and arrange for specialists to visit the wizards. Basically, Richard was running around like a squirrel in a wheel until the end of June.
Richie earned four million, seven hundred thousand dollars selling Pepsi shares. Altria Group securities brought the young businessman another nine million, seventy thousand dollars. As a result, the boy's net worth, including the funds he would need to deposit into an account upon reaching adulthood, surpassed one hundred million dollars. One hundred and three million, seven hundred and seventy thousand, to be precise. The entire remaining amount went into a bank account for current expenses, leaving the remaining sum waiting for further investments.
By mid-June, Arthur Weasley and a group of ten talented young wizards had begun work on creating cutting-edge technology for the future, replacing outdated technology with magic. Richard hoped the wizards would gain experience, and then he would expand his staff and begin developing space technology. The boy tried not to even think about why he needed all this, lest he ruin his luck.
The first report from the house-elf spy arrived at the end of June: a thick folder detailing all the misdeeds and missteps of the wizarding enterprise's employees. Richard mentally felt his fist tightening around the bells of all the wizards working for him. A few more such reports, and the young Lord would have a firm grip on all the employees' bells, a reliable source of incriminating evidence, so he wasn't particularly worried about the wizards defecting to competitors-Richard would have ways to deter them or suppress them if necessary. And competitors will always emerge. They're gone now, but that's temporary.
The whole of July flew by for Richard in an instant.
In early July, Richie visited the United States in the company of Harry Potter, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Prince William, Prince Harry, and numerous entourages, including Gerald Rich, Scott Potter, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Justin's parents, and a large VIP security detail. The royal jet was used for the flight to America.
The kids had a great time at Disneyland and visited some of the sights in and around Los Angeles.
Disneyland is such a magical place that both children and adults will love to visit. No Diagon Alley can compare to the magic of this amusement park, which stretches across two hundred hectares of land. Positive energy, meeting favorite cartoon characters, and an adrenaline rush-visitors to the amusement park get all of this in abundance.
Every adult dreams, even if only for a moment, of being a child or returning to childhood. Richard remained a child only in appearance, though he tried to live up to his father's expectations. But it was during his visit to Disneyland that he truly became a child.
No one remained indifferent: both adults and children were immersed in a fairy tale for several days. Harry Potter had recently thought that moving out of the Dursleys' and living with Uncle Scott was the best thing that could have happened to him. But when he found himself at Disneyland, the boy realized what it truly meant to be happy. He was filled with delight until the end of July. He had never expected such a rich summer. A picnic in Scotland, meeting the heirs to the British crown, a trip to California, and hikes in the woods and mountains with his uncle. The boy had a lot to remember.
Richard's birthday coincided with Harry Potter's. When this fact was discovered, the boys agreed to celebrate together at Eaton Hall. It was a low-key affair: five entertainers, a table laden with delicacies, and only about a dozen guests-the same people who had gone to Disneyland, plus Queen Elizabeth II.