Richard put the ninja suits in his bag. Ron and Harry emerged from the secret passage into the one-eyed witch's corridor.
"How much time is left until the special appearance-altering agent wears off?" Richard asked.
Ron's double glanced at his watch before replying:
- Seven minutes, sir.
"Then let's go to your things and wait for the effect to wear off," Richie began to give orders. He took the bag from his shoulder and handed it to the red-haired man. "You must deliver this special cargo to the Duke of Westminster safe and sound and hand it over to him personally. Do not open or lose the special cargo. You can handle it safely-it's shockproof and fallproof."
"We have a special cargo shipment to deliver, sir," the Weasley lookalike saluted. "What should we relay to command?"
"Can you tell me your operation was a success? We'll discuss the rest with the supervisor personally. I'm pleased with you, boys. I hope the castle atmosphere didn't frighten you too much?"
"It's all right, sir," Potter's doppelganger responded. "We all grew up in wizarding families until we were eleven and dreamed of going to Hogwarts. You could say our dream came true. Though not quite the way we'd hoped."
"Although the ghosts..." Richard's double drawled quietly. "When I saw them, I nearly shit myself."
"That's true," Ron's double agreed with his comrade. "Well, to hell with such meetings..."
The Polyjuice Potion wore off. The boys' doppelgangers began to transform into grown, robust men. Fortunately for them, the soldiers had managed to undress in time, as they had been keeping a close eye on the clock. They quickly donned their uniforms and armed themselves.
Richie opened the passage to Honeydukes' basement and paused in front of the door leading from the basement to the street. Harry Potter usually used the spell to open locks, but Richie hadn't bothered to learn it.
- Sir, may I...
The SWAT officer who had been impersonating Ron realized the boy's predicament and moved him aside. He pulled a set of lock picks from his vest pocket and picked the lock in seconds.
Richard was shocked that it took the military man only slightly longer to break in than it did for Harry to use the charm.
The soldiers held a quiet radio conversation with their colleagues, who were backing them up in the ambush outside. Afterward, they quickly left the basement and seemed to disappear down the alley.
Richie hurried back to Hogwarts.
In the one-eyed witch's hallway, Richie looked around and saw no one. He called Harry on the mikephone.
"Richie, hello," Potter answered immediately.
- Where are you?
- Listen, we're in the Weasley twins' lab. Do you know where it is?
- I know. Harry, did you actually go and beat them?
"What?!" Potter replied, surprised. "No! No, we asked them to brew us a laxative."
- For you?!
"Well, owl..." Harry whispered.
Richard drawled understandingly. "Got it. Then I'll go and play extra. Where and when shall we meet?"
"Fred promised the potion would be ready in twenty minutes. I suggest we meet... Uh..." Harry's voice sounded confused. "I don't even know."
"I suggest we meet on the first floor of the North Tower," Richard said.
"Why there?" Harry asked.
Richard responded to this:
"Firstly, the North Tower is located far from all the dormitories and main routes. It's a full ten-minute walk from the Great Hall, so few people ever go there. Students wouldn't even think of going there. Secondly, there are no living portraits there. Thirdly, the top floor of the tower houses the Divination classroom, from which, according to rumors from older students, the professor almost never leaves. Follow my logic: students only go there for classes, therefore, the teachers and Filch don't patrol, and Trelawney sits in his cubicle all the time. A more secluded place for private meetings would be hard to find."
"Okay," Harry agreed. "Then we'll meet there by the first floor stairwell in about forty minutes."
Richie stepped outside and immediately spotted Justin Finch-Fletchley, who also saw his friend and waved. Justin was in the company of Ernie MacMillan.
"How are things going, Jas?" Richard approached his classmates.
"Compared to you, it's boring," Finch-Fletchley replied. "Ernie already told me about your fight with the Slytherins."
"That was awesome!" Macmillan said admiringly. "I didn't know Ron could fight like that. He knocked out Crabbe and Goyle so skillfully, and then, wow... I was scared when Malfoy pulled out his wand, but you twisted his arm so deftly and knocked it away! Richie, can you teach me that move?"
"I'd love to," Richard smiled apologetically, "but, Ernie, the problem is, I don't know the move myself. It all just happened by instinct. The danger, the adrenaline in my blood... I could show you a few fencing tricks."
"Not bad either," said Macmillan, not at all upset.
"Richie, what did the snakes want from you anyway?" Justin asked.
"I figured they were just looking for a fight," Richard replied calmly. "They approached us, and Malfoy immediately started insulting Ron. We tolerated it for a while, but then Malfoy crossed the line. We had to show those upstarts that their words are worth their salt."
"Right!" Macmillan agreed. "I wanted to help you. I rushed over when I saw there were four Slytherins and three of you, but then I realized my help wasn't needed there."
"Excuse me," Richard said after checking his watch, "I have an important business meeting. I'll meet you at the dorm."
Richard's gaze slid from the watch face and settled on the back of his left hand, close to his forearm. His eyes widened in surprise as he discovered a small burn mark, a horizontal line with two more lines extending from it at a forty-five-degree angle.
Richard immediately recalled the runic alphabet that Madam Marchbanks had drilled into his head over the course of a month while practicing his spells. The burn seemed casual, but it was remarkably similar to the Feo rune.
Before the Philosopher's Stone quest, there was nothing like this on his hand. The only time this burn could have appeared was when Richie used the lightsaber to deflect Avada back at Quirrell. Sparks flew out, and one or more likely hit his left hand.
Come to think of it, Richard took the sparks from the killing spell on his hand. The only person to survive Avada's attack is Harry Potter. He has a scar on his forehead, which, by the way, is very similar to the Sigel rune, aka Soul. Richie was only hit by the sparks from the spell, which is probably why the wound is much smaller and he didn't die.
Due to stress and adrenaline in his blood, Richard still did not feel pain, but as soon as he noticed the wound, he felt an itch and a slight pain.
With difficulty tearing his eyes away from the burn, Richie headed towards the North Tower.
Rich Jr. couldn't shake the burn as he traveled. He couldn't figure out why it was in the form of a rune. Was this a standard magical reaction to a reflected killing spell, or just a coincidence?
Halfway through, Richard's head cleared a bit, and he remembered that any wound, even if it seemed minor, deserves to be treated. He recalled the hygiene lectures at school from his past life, where teachers would scare students with horror stories like, "That guy stepped on a nail and thought it would heal on its own, and then they cut off his leg."