"I'm happy for you," Patil said calmly. "Sister said she was trying to calm you down, Hermione. It's a shame you missed Charms. Professor Flitwick taught Wingardium Leviosa today."
"Stop-stop-stop!" Richard held out his palms. "Wait. Padma, it just dawned on me-what are you doing in our department?"
The Indian woman burst into a loud, melodic laugh.
"Richie, did you just realize this?" Patil asked. "Oh, judging by the surprised look in your eyes, Hermione, it just dawned on you too."
"Yes, and that's strange," Granger noted.
"Nothing strange," Patil replied. "There was a lot of commotion in the Great Hall. I fell behind my group, and by the time I finally got through, our group had already gone far away. Susan noticed my confusion and suggested we go to your dorm."
"That was the right thing to do, a true Hufflepuff," said Richard. "Padma, how do you like our common room?"
"Very nice and cozy," the Indian woman said. "Okay, I'll go see the girls. Hermione, join us."
"Thank you, but the prefect will be coming for me soon," Granger refused in a dry tone.
After Hermione left, Richie returned to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, losing all control. "What just happened?! Where did a troll come from at school?! A FUCKING TROLL!!!"
Ernie and Justin walked into the bedroom. Richie immediately fell silent and assumed a calm expression.
"Richie, did you say something?" Macmillan asked.
"Oh, just..." Richard twirled his wrist in the air. "I'm wondering where a troll could have come from in this school, and is something like that normal? For example, why did the headmaster send all the students to their dorms if Professor Quirrell claimed to have seen a troll in the dungeons? Did Dumbledore deliberately send the Slytherins to their deaths, or is he just insane?"
"I thought it was weird too," Justin said. "Wouldn't it have been easier to leave us in the Great Hall under the supervision of a few teachers and just catch the troll?"
"Surely it's simpler and more reasonable..." Richard drawled thoughtfully. "I believe this is a targeted assassination attempt."
Richard was referring to himself. That is, he didn't rule out the possibility that someone had decided to kill him in such an exotic manner.
Why? It's unclear. But at least the first-year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students knew that Rich Jr. had gone looking for Hermione and wouldn't be at dinner. Assuming the killer knew Richard would find Hermione and Granger's location, he could have smuggled a troll into the school and led the creature to the right place-the girls' restroom on the second floor.
Or is it paranoia? Too many assumptions. But the keys are in the bathroom door... As if someone had planned to let a troll in and lock it in all along. The door wouldn't hold such a giant for long, but it wouldn't have let two first-years escape.
Surely the killer wasn't after Granger?! Who needs an ordinary witch? But the Duke's son...
Or is it a coincidence?!
Richard never came to a firm conclusion. He certainly hadn't expected much from his time at Hogwarts. But until recently, he'd viewed the castle as an unusual school, not a dangerous survival attraction, like a space special forces training ground on a wild planet, where personnel were periodically subjected to surprise inspections and attacks by monsters from the local fauna or saboteurs.
Yet Richard came to one important conclusion: the headmaster was a danger to those around him. He was either insane and incapable of making sound and rational decisions, or Dumbledore was in fact a criminal mastermind, as Ron and Harry suspected. It was even possible that he himself orchestrated the assassination attempt with the troll's help-his administrative resources would allow him to pull off such an operation and chalk up the students' deaths as accidents. If so, Dumbledore surely knew that Richard and Hermione were in the second-floor restroom.
But what could have been the motive for his assassination?! The fact that Richie is the son of a duke, on the contrary, should deter any sane wizard from attempting to assassinate him. After all, it's clear the Crown will be on the lookout. They might not even bother to figure out who's to blame, but rather commit a genocide of wizards to discourage mages from ever again touching members of the royal family and high aristocrats.
So the motive must be quite substantial. Madness? Perhaps. But what extraordinary accomplishment did Richard bring to the magical community? A workshop! Yes, only a workshop and an attempt to advance the use of already known magical techniques, not at the level of Stone Age savages, but at the level of a cosmic civilization.
Power. Dictatorship... Yes, only total dictatorship, the desire for absolute power, could push someone to maintain the Stone Age and the lack of initiative among wizards. It's easier to rule dumb cattle. It turns out that Dumbledore falls under suspicion here too. After all, he holds many important positions in the wizarding world: Chairman of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of the only school of magic in Britain, and President of the International Magical Society. This man is no stranger to a thirst for power. Could he really have decided to eliminate a member of the royal family to maintain the status quo? Then he's definitely insane and exhibits the typical dictatorial tendencies.
***
The next day, Richard sent Darth Vader with one of the Magiphone receivers and instructions for use to Detective Potter. That evening, he spoke with Scott, asking him to dig up all the available information on Dumbledore.
Scott said that he couldn't handle such an investigation in the wizarding world on his own and suggested bringing in professionals, such as wizarding journalists, for which he received full approval and funding in the form of a payment order to Gringotts.
It's amazing-the day after the incident, the teachers pretended nothing had happened. So what, a giant killer monster had entered a school full of children and fought someone! No explanation to the students, no semblance of an investigation, no summoning of wizarding law enforcement. Nothing! The teachers and the Headmaster calmly ate breakfast.
Dumbledore's behavior further reinforced Richard's belief that he was insane and dangerous, whether by action or inaction. It was completely abnormal for a school headmaster to fail to provide even the semblance of security measures after a serious incident.
Richard was also surprised that none of the adults paid any attention to him. Yet, at the site of the battle with the troll, evidence remained in the form of severed steel manipulators, which the boy hadn't managed to retrieve in his haste.
By evening, young Rich had come to the conclusion that it was no longer worth keeping everything a secret. Immediately after dinner, he retired to his bedroom and took out his tape recorder.
"Richie, son, good evening," the Duke of Westminster's calm voice came from the speaker.