"Very well, gentlemen. This is the advance payment." The bag containing three hundred gold coins passed from hand to hand, after which Richie bowed again. "I dare not waste your precious time, gentlemen. Goodbye. I sincerely hope everything works out for you. The rest of the money will be due after the 'joke' is over."
***
Time was ticking by. Richard immersed himself in the study of magic. He once again focused on practicing Transfiguration spells, perfecting them. He also continued to devote a little time, as before, to copying precious metals, as earning money was otherwise difficult while at Hogwarts. His assets were gradually growing, of course, but they sometimes offered surprises. For example, in the fall, Nokia shares fell by almost half, but by the end of December they had almost returned to their previous level. Naturally, this upset Richard. If he had known Nokia shares would fall so much in October, he wouldn't have bought them in September. It seemed like he hadn't lost anything, but he could have made something like ten million dollars.
Spring arrived, but the snow continued to lie outside. It wasn't until April that it began to melt and nature began to come alive. The castle windows offered a view of budding trees and grass pushing its way toward the sun.
On April 3rd, Richie was returning from dinner in the Great Hall to the Hufflepuff dorm with Justin. They spotted a lone Gryffindor girl near the barrels.
"Hermione, hi," Justin waved his hand in greeting.
"Good evening, Hermione," said Richard. "Are you waiting for me?"
"Hey, Justin, Richie," Granger said. "Richie, I found what you were asking about."
"Magical," Rich Jr.'s lips curved into a happy smile.
"What did you find?" Finch-Fletchley asked curiously.
"Justin, Hermione was studying historical records," Richard replied. "If you're interested in the history of magic, you could come with us and hear what my good friend has discovered on the subject."
"History of magic?" Justin said it as if he were talking about something terrible. He shrugged and said, "No, let's do it without me. Binns is more than enough for me."
"Professor Binns!" Granger corrected.
"Exactly," Justin replied, "a boring ghost professor. I'd rather play Explosive Snap with the boys."
"Have a good game," Richard said to his friend. "Hermione, the weather is wonderful today. How about a walk in the fresh air? They say the lake has incredible charm at this time of year."
"With pleasure," Granger smiled in a very adult manner.
On the way out, Hermione was bursting with the urge to speak. She kept up the conversation about her studies, but somehow it didn't seem to be very lively, even though she usually talks endlessly about her studies.
As soon as a couple of first years stepped out into the fresh air and found themselves in an open space where no one was nearby, Granger blurted out:
- Richie, I found everything!
- All?
- Yes, everything! Both the image of the philosopher's stone and the recipe for its creation.
Richard froze in his tracks. He slowly turned his head toward Hermione, and at that moment, the boy's neck seemed carved from wood and creaked like an unoiled cartwheel. A mask of incomprehensible amazement froze on Richard's face: his eyes bulging, his mouth slightly open, his eyebrows raised.
"The recipe for creating the Philosopher's Stone?!" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, yes," Hermione nodded vigorously. "The book was written by Nicholas Flamel himself in the seventeenth century. It's called Mutus Liber."
"A RECIPE FOR CREATING A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?!" Richard repeated, stunned, louder, his eyes widening even more than they seemed. "IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY?!"
"But this is a school of magic," Hermione replied. "Aa ...
- AND?
- There is one small problem...
"What is it?" Richard asked.
- Flamel's book is encrypted in the form of engravings, and in the research of other wizards on this book it is said that not a single magician in three hundred years has been able to decipher the "Mutus Liber."