"Ernie, what do you think?" Richie replied. "Queen Victoria was friends with Evangeline Orpington, who suddenly became Minister of Magic at the end of the nineteenth century. According to Madam Marchbanks, Elizabeth II's grandmother, Mary of Teck, disliked the then Minister of Magic, who introduced a law banning Muggle aid in the First World War. He quietly held the post from 1912 to 1923, then suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving the post of Minister of Magic to be occupied by a lackadaisical eccentric who communicated through smoke released from his wand.
"Oh," Padma sighed dreamily. "I wish I could visit the royal palace."
"That could be arranged," Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Sometimes the Queen gathers industrialists in her palace to establish a close dialogue. However, for some time now she's been treating them with coolness."
"Why?" Patil seemed bursting with curiosity.
"One day, during a reception, it started to rain," Richie continued. "A dozen industrialist guests, who were in the garden at the time, took refuge from the rain under an awning where Her Majesty was drinking tea. And when they left, the servants noticed that the seventeenth-century silverware was missing. Granny was upset-it was her favorite tea set. The spoons were missing, and a bad taste remained."
Padma laughed out loud, a melodic laugh.
"Richie, I promise we won't steal the Queen's cutlery," she said cheerfully.
"Padma, I'll talk to Uncle Charlie over the holidays. I can't promise anything, but maybe you, your sister, and your parents will be invited to one of the receptions this summer."
- Thanks, Richie!
Padma beamed with happiness and, overcome with emotion, hugged Rich. It was in this provocative pose that Hermione, suddenly emerging from around the corner, discovered Richard. The girl, as always, was in a hurry and pushing ahead, but the sight that greeted her stopped her in her tracks. Granger's bag fell from her hands with a clatter. Her lips trembled treacherously.
"Hermione," Richie pulled out of Padma's embrace and gave the Gryffindor student a welcoming smile. "Good afternoon. Nice to see you. Are you upset about something?"
Rich approached Granger and helped her lift the heavy bag.
"Oh, these are heavy," he said. "Do you still prefer to carry all your textbooks with you?"
Hermione silently snatched her bag from Richard's hands. She immediately darted back and disappeared around the corner. Richard noticed tears on her cheeks, which alarmed him.
"That's weird, she didn't even say hello," Richie said worriedly.
"I think she was jealous of you and me," Padma remarked.
"What's wrong with these girls?" Richard muttered quietly. "We're not even a bride and groom to be jealous of hugs... And I wanted to tell Hermione the good news that they'll be learning their first spell in Charms today."
"Don't worry about it," Justin said flippantly. "Girls! Who could understand them..."
"Boys!" Padma snorted. "What do you understand about a woman's vulnerable soul? Richie, you should apologize to your friend."
- Me? - Richard pointed his right index finger at his chest. - Apologize?! For what?
"You idiot!" said Padma. "It doesn't matter why, what matters is that Hermione is upset with you. So you have to apologize, or your friendship could be over."
- This is bad...
Richard was seriously worried about losing such a valuable agent. It was a stupid situation, but maybe Padma was right. It wasn't worth the risk.
"After class, I'll lie in wait for her and talk to her," Richard expressed his decision.
"There's still a gap in my upbringing," he continued silently. "For some reason, no one bothered to explain female psychology to me. In my past life, the HoloNet with its virtual beauties was enough for me to never even consider meeting a real girl. And Hermione's still a little girl. Why the jealousy of another girl? Or is this normal? Gods, give me strength! Wizarding politics and crime weren't enough for me, now I have to puzzle over what goes on in girls' heads..."
After his last lesson, Richie bolted out of the classroom and dashed toward the Charms classroom. Nearby, he found a crowd of first-year Gryffindors. To his surprise, he didn't see Hermione.
"Harry," he picked Potter out of the crowd, "hi. Where's Granger?"
"I don't know," Potter shrugged. "She wasn't in Charms class. Did something happen? Hermione looked upset. I think she was crying. Did you have a fight?"
"Just the usual girly stuff. I saw my Ravenclaw friend hugging me, made up something, and freaked out. And it didn't matter that we were only eleven."
"Girls are strange," Potter noted. "Do you need help looking for Hermione?"