"Oh, forgive me, My Lord," George said, switching to a joking tone. "We were hoping to make a lasting impression on you."
"You've succeeded," Richard replied. "I admit, I was expecting your visit a little earlier. Did you have any success?"
"Yes, but seeing is believing," said Fred.
The trio of boys reached the Weasley twins' secret hideout. Fred began performing strange manipulations. He placed a pillow over his head and secured it with a chin strap. Then he pulled out a vial of an acid-green potion and, in the style of a traveling salesman, began to chatter:
"Gentlemen, I present to you the greatest invention of Fred and George Weasley! We've named this remarkable invention the Hop-Bounce Potion. You're probably curious to know what it does?"
Without waiting for an answer, Fred continued:
"It's simple, gentlemen. Just take a small sip of the potion, and your weight will become like a feather. Within the next minute, you'll be able to jump very high and won't get injured upon landing from great heights."
As a curious Richard and a nervous George watched, Fred took a small sip from the vial. Then he began performing feats of acrobatics. It seemed as if gravity had ceased to be equivalent to Earth's for the young wizard, but had become like that of the moon. He leaped toward the high ceiling, some seven meters away. Fred leaped like a mad saiga antelope that had been bitten by a parkour athlete. He bounced off the walls, performing complex acrobatic maneuvers like somersaults-a little clumsily, but still impressive.
During his brother's speech, George held a stopwatch in his hand. At a certain point, he exclaimed:
- Fred, it's time!
Hearing his brother, Fred stopped jumping. His face was sweaty, his pillow was askew, his robe had ridden up. He was breathing heavily, but a wide, happy smile never left his lips.
"Well?" Fred asked.
"Amazing!" Richard honestly voiced his emotions. "It's a useful thing, but... Gentlemen, it's a potion. Unfortunately, potions have a major drawback-they contain rare ingredients from magical animals or plants. This means that mass production of potions is impossible. And disguising a potion as something Muggle is problematic. But I greatly appreciate your efforts and believe the grant was well spent. Gentlemen, I await your detailed description of the potion's composition, its preparation method, and a sample. Here's your next grant."
Under the twins' happy gaze, a small, ringing bag of coins landed on a free section of the table with test tubes.
"We won't let you down, Lord!" Fred saluted playfully, placing his right palm on the pillow that sat on his head like a tricorne.
"Yes, we'll definitely come up with something useful," George nodded.
"I have no doubt, gentlemen," Richard said. "But one thing worries me. You must have been purchasing the ingredients for your research somewhere. Therefore, you must have a way of secretly leaving and returning to Hogwarts."
The brothers exchanged glances. It seemed as if they were engaged in a silent duel, or as if they were communicating with each other telepathically.
"Shall we?" Fred asked.
"I think so," George replied.
"Richard, we do know where the secret passage is," Fred said. "And we're willing to show it, but only if it remains a secret."
"My word is law," Richard indicated with a barely noticeable nod.
After a short conversation, the Weasley twins gave a tour of the castle and showed the starting point of the underground passage that leads to the basement of the house where the Honeydukes candy store is located.
The boys stopped near the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor. Fred glanced around furtively and, seeing no strangers, began to explain:
- To open the passage, you need to you need to use the spell Dissendium.
Fred wasted no time demonstrating the opening of the passage. He hit the statue with a wand and said Dissendium, and the witch statue slid aside. A narrow, dark passage began near her hump, but in the light of the corridor torches, it was clear that the tunnel was wide and high enough for a person to walk through at full height.
It took only ten seconds for the statue to fall into place.
Richard thanked the twins, said goodbye to them, and went to his dorm.
***
On Sunday morning, with only a few days left before the Christmas holidays, terrible weather broke out. Dark blue clouds obscured the sky and blanketed the ground with a thick blanket of snow. Richard didn't feel like going anywhere in such weather. He didn't even go to breakfast, fortunately, the kitchen, with its helpful house elves, was just a stone's throw away.
Lounging in an armchair in front of the fireplace in the common room, Richie read a book on charms and enjoyed hot tea and a meat pie.
Suddenly, the prefect's voice brought Richard out of his pleasant languor:
- Rich, you are called to the Headmaster's office.
- To the Headmaster?
Richard was incredibly surprised. He tried to recall the sins he'd committed that could have landed him in Dumbledore's crosshairs, and it turned out there were many. The battle with the troll came to mind first. It was also possible that the summons was related to Granger's infiltration of the Restricted Section or Potter's plot to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
The young count was overcome with excitement. He asked:
- Gabriel, do you know why they are calling me?
"No," the prefect shook his head. "But the Minister of Magic recently came to see Dumbledore. Perhaps it's somehow connected."
"Minister?" Richard raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Strange."
"Come on, I'll see you out," said the prefect.
"Let's go," Richard agreed reluctantly. "I have a bad feeling about this..."