From the compartment, Richie grabbed his cane, which he'd taken from Kiddell during his robes-buying expedition to Diagon Alley. The cane had been quickly modified by the magical engineers at Rich Workshop.
Striding sedately, he made his way around the carriage. Walking through the second carriage, Richard met all his classmates from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. He greeted each of them, exchanged a few words, complimented the girls, and politely inquired of the boys about their summer. He treated everyone to sweets, which he pulled from the oversized pocket of his brand-new robe. Richie spent the most time with Hermione Granger, the Patil sisters, and Justin Finch-Fletchley.
Hermione talked about her trip to France with her parents. Padma and Parvati thanked Richard for inviting them to a meeting of industrialists with the Queen. They enthusiastically shared their positive emotions and conveyed their father's invitation to visit. Justin boasted about the wonderful vacation he had with his parents in Mallorca.
As a result, after a long struggle with tea and sweets in the company of friends and acquaintances, Richard reached the last carriage four hours later.
The senior students were completely uninterested in interacting with the first-years who were in the last carriage. First-years hadn't met anyone yet; they were going to Hogwarts for the first time. To an outside observer, it might have seemed odd that Richie had chosen the "little ones," but Rich Jr. had a good reason to keep an eye on the first-years. Among them, he could spot useful connections and potential future talent.
Richard calmly peered into each compartment, smiling charmingly, greeting everyone, introducing himself, treating all his new acquaintances to candy, and exchanging a few words. The children accepted the visit of a senior student calmly and even joyfully, peppering Richard with questions about school, which he answered thoroughly.
So, in just an hour, Richie reached the fifth compartment. There, he was surprised to find himself staring at by one of the boys. It was a brown-eyed boy with mouse-colored hair. The boy stared at Richie, wide-eyed, as if fascinated. In his hand, he clutched an ordinary-looking camera. Catching Richard's gaze, he blushed as red as a lobster.
"Sir!" the fair-haired boy jumped up from his seat and blocked the other passengers' view. "How glad I am to see you! You are Mr. Rich, aren't you?"
Richard found the boy's appearance unexpectedly familiar. Having possessed an excellent memory in this life, he immediately recognized who he resembled.
"Mr. Creevy, I presume?" he asked good-naturedly. "Call me Richie. We'll be going to the same school soon, after all."
"Yes, I'm Colin Creevey, sir," the boy replied, beaming with delight. "Daddy was telling me how cleverly you dealt with the brownie, sir. It was fantastic!"
"Just Richie, Colin," Rich said. "Nothing special, I just took your brownie."
"It's still awesome!" Colin said, beaming happily. "Richie, I saw your interview on TV-it was incredible! Is your company really going to launch the first private spacecraft soon?"
"Without a doubt, Colin," Richie replied.
Richard briefly saw a view past Creevy. Colin's three fellow travelers sat silently, their expressions equally astonished. They peered behind their companion, trying to catch a glimpse of the man Creevy was speaking so enthusiastically about.
"Richie, can I take a picture with you?" Colin looked at Richard with pleading eyes. "I'll show your photos to my father. If I told him I went to school with Rich himself, he'd never believe it!"
"Colin, no problem," Richard agreed. "I think it would be better if we took a photo together. We'll ask one of your comrades to take it. Just wait a bit, we should take off our robes so you can put the photo up in a prominent place, and it won't be a violation of the Statute of Secrecy."
"The Hogwarts crest?" Colin seemed to understand.
"Exactly," Richard nodded in agreement. "Hogwarts crest."
A plump, black-haired boy rose from the sofa.
"Jack Dawson," he introduced himself. "My dad's not a wizard, and I grew up in Manchester, so I know how to handle a camera."
"Great, Jack," Richard replied. "Nice to meet you."
Dawson looked at Richard with admiration. He asked:
- Are you really that same Richard Rich who invented the clippies?
"Yes, Jack," Rich nodded graciously.
"Cool!" Jack's eyes sparkled with happiness, as if he had seen a superstar.
The two boys remaining in the compartment looked at the other boys in confusion, unable to figure out who Richie was. One of them, a thin guy with shoulder-length brown hair, asked:
- What are clippies?
"Edward, don't you know?!" Jack looked at him with huge eyes. "The clippy! Everyone knows them."
"Um..." said the fourth tall, thin boy with red hair. "I don't know what this is either..."
"And you, Sean?" Jack turned his surprised gaze to him.
"Well, yeah," Sean shrugged. "I grew up with a witch mom in a wizarding world..."
"Jack, you can explain this to the guys later," Richard said. "Let's take a picture already."
Richie stood in the aisle, hugging Colin. Jack took their photo. Colin reverently picked up his camera and clutched it to his chest like the greatest treasure. But he soon came to his senses and snapped a few shots of Jack and Richard.
"Dad will be delighted when he finds out that we go to the same school," Creevy said.