Setting off on the trip immediately proved impossible. Harry Potter's final exam at school was on June 12th. Harry eagerly awaited the day and tried to finish it as quickly as possible. After all, he had already arranged a round-the-world trip with Richie a couple of weeks ago.
And then came June 13th. A white plane rose into the air from the long, straight road of the Eaton Hall estate. At an altitude of about five hundred meters, the plane disappeared. To an outside observer, it seemed as if the aircraft was obscured by the glare of the sun, but in fact, the plane had become invisible.
Stephen's hand hovered over the lever marked "afterburner."
"Sir, are you sure this thing works?" he half-turned to Richard.
- Steve, I've checked everything a hundred times. Press!
His lips began to move, and he whispered something very quietly. Richard thought he heard the pilot praying. But when Steve crossed himself, Richie realized he wasn't imagining it.
- Amen!
Steve slammed the afterburner lever, and everyone on the plane was pressed back into their seats. The sky suddenly leaped forward. The ground below raced past the plane's belly at incredible speed. The speedometer needle hovered at 5,000 miles per hour.
"My ears are popping!" Harry exclaimed with delight. "Are we really flying like a rocket?!"
"Almost seven Machs!" Steve muttered in amazement.
Scott Potter was as pale as chalk. He sat in the front seat next to the pilot, his eyes closed, his hands gripping the armrests tightly.
"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" Richard asked sympathetically.
"Yes... Yes-yes..." he muttered, not very truthfully.
"Uncle Scott?!" Harry turned his attention to his relative with concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Everything's just fine, Satan lift up Thatcher's skirt!" Mr. Potter said, gritting his teeth. "Except for one little thing-my fear of heights."
"Mr. Potter, I think you should have some whiskey or cognac," Richie remarked with a connoisseur's air. "It will make you feel better, and we won't have to worry about how pale you look."
"A good idea," Mr. Potter said hoarsely. "Got anything to drink, boy?"
- Just a second!
Richard pulled a small briefcase from his bag, shaped like a book with numerous pockets. Each pocket had a photograph on one side. After flipping through several pages of the strange book, Richard stopped at an image of small bottles of alcohol. He unzipped it and pulled out a long box containing miniature bottles of various spirits from a flat pocket. Each bottle held only fifty milliliters. These bottles are usually found in hotel room bars.
- Sir, cognac, brandy, tequila, whiskey, gin, vodka?
The detective examined the bottles with skepticism.
- Come on, man. I can't get drunk with just one bottle of this.
- Sir, these are just samples. Just choose one drink.
- Okay, give me some cognac.
Richie nodded, took his wand out of his inside jacket pocket, took a half-liter mug from his bag and dropped a drop of cognac from the bottle onto the bottom.
"Richie, what are you doing?" Harry asked, watching his friend's actions with curiosity.
- Look. Engorgio!
Before the eyes of the astonished spectators, a drop of cognac turned into a full mug of a drink with an alcoholic smell.
"Cool!" Mr. Potter said, snatching the vessel from Richard's hands.
"Wow!" Harry exclaimed. "That's a spell from the standard second-year spellbook! I didn't know you could use it like that."
- Doesn't the textbook say anything about this?
"No, Richie," Harry shook his head. "It only says that you can use this spell to enlarge objects."
"My mentor told me that these spells can increase the amount of drink or food. They can actually enlarge animals and plant fruits to produce more meat or harvest. So, I've prepared an emergency supply, just in case."
Richard shook the book-bag in the air, then stuffed the bottles of alcohol back.
"Is that a bag?!" Harry asked. "Is it bigger on the inside than on the outside?"
- You guessed it. Just like the suitcase. I keep food and drink samples in my briefcase.