"Ouch!" Weasley suddenly screamed and started jumping up and down. "Malfoy, you bastard!"
"Ron, what happened?" Potter rushed to his friend with concern.
- The owl... This damn Malfoy owl is pecking me!
Weasley's spacesuit parted, and an owl flew out first, swooping in crooked circles across the ceiling. Ron leaped out of the suit like a meteor. Richard immediately appeared in his path, his robotic armored body blocking the mirror.
"No, not a mirror!" he exclaimed.
Ron stopped and said with an offended expression:
"I didn't mean to break your mirror. And anyway, it's better to pity me, not the glass! By the way, I suffered in a difficult battle."
"With an owl?" Richard asked sarcastically.
"Yes, with an owl!" Ron said emphatically, pouting. "Do you know how painful it is when it pecks? I thought it was going to peck my liver out."
"Don't exaggerate, Ron," said Richard. "You couldn't even cut the fabric of our suits with a knife, let alone peck it with your beak. And anyway, it was your decision to bring an owl with you."
"Guys, stop arguing," Harry said, trying to stop the brewing row. "The Philosopher's Stone is hidden somewhere around here. We need to find it quickly."
"Harry has a point," Richard agreed.
"Exactly," Ron shrugged. "I wouldn't want to get caught stealing."
"To the rescue, Ron!" Harry said.
Weasley waved his hand and replied:
- Whatever you call it, if we get caught, we won't be able to avoid detention.
Potter looked around the empty room and said thoughtfully:
- I wonder where they could hide the stone here?
Weasley's gaze fell on the Mirror of Erised.
"Guys, this is an artifact, right?" he said with a questioning tone.
"Well spotted," Richie said, turning to the mirror.
"Maybe there's a stone inside?" Ron suggested.
"Perhaps," Richard agreed.
"I think we should look into it," Potter suggested.
"For lack of other ideas, I think this is reasonable," Richard said. "But... First, we need to get out of our spacesuits so we don't accidentally break the mirror."
"Okay," Potter agreed.
Richie and Harry moved to the same wall on the right side where Ronald had undressed. Leaving their spacesuits there, they returned to the mirror.
The three boys froze near the artifact. The owl, tired of flying, retreated to a dark corner of the hall, lit by enchanted torches. She glanced warily at the boys, who had stopped paying attention to her.
"Who's first?" Ron asked.
"You go ahead," Harry replied.
Ronald boldly stepped forward, stood directly in front of the mirror, and looked into it. He froze, staring at the mirror's surface in fascination.
"Guys, just look at me!" he exclaimed.
"Have you found a way to get the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked.
"No," Ron shook his head. "Can you imagine, I became a prefect, like Bill, and captain of the Quidditch team, like Charlie. I'm the best student in the school, and I have a ton of money."
"Ron, this is not the result we expected," Richard noted.
"If you're so smart, then try it yourself," Weasley snapped.
Ron tore his gaze away from the mirror surface with difficulty, took a step to the side, and Richard took his place.
At first, nothing happened; Richie saw only his reflection. He thought about how he wanted to get the Philosopher's Stone to save the planet and... Involuntarily, the boy's thoughts slid to immortality, or at least a very long life.
Suddenly, the image shifted, and Richie saw a map of a spiral galaxy, dotted with glowing dots. Richie found himself in a futuristic future setting, and the three-dimensional map was being transmitted by a miniature holographic transmitter, which he controlled with his mind.
Richard noticed that in the mirror he looked about twenty-five years old, had a well-built, athletic figure, and was dressed in a ceremonial white imperial uniform. He was the emperor of a galaxy containing hundreds of thousands of inhabited planets.