Having put the book in his bag, Richard approached the Gryffindor table. Along the way, he noted that Lockhart, if he was as powerful a wizard as he claimed, was also under suspicion. He could very well be the one who would destroy the planet. Therefore, an investigation was needed and everything would be determined.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," he said, bowing politely to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins and Percy, who were sitting nearby.
"Richie, hi," Ron waved.
Harry nodded politely to his comrade.
"Good morning, Richie," Hermione looked up from her book.
"Hermione, you're reading Lockhart," Richard remarked. "He writes well. If he'd written his fantasy in the third person, he could easily have published in large print runs among ordinary people. As long as publishing is still profitable, Lockhart has every chance of getting rich."
"Fantasy?!" Hermione said indignantly. "These are textbooks!"
Richard chuckled meaningfully and said ironically:
"Well, well... Textbooks... By the way, did you already know that we'll be paired together for the first time? This week we switched from Slytherin to Hufflepuff in Herbology."
Hermione was delighted.
- Great news, Richie! I suggest we work in pairs.
"Hermione, I'd be delighted," Richard nodded his agreement. "Your company would be very pleasant. Just don't count on my great Herbology skills... I have to admit, digging in the ground isn't my thing."
In herbology, students were replanting young mandrakes. The plant, with roots shaped like a deformed baby, makes eerie sounds when removed from the ground. A mature plant can kill a person. Therefore, all the students wore sound-absorbing headphones.
The mandrakes refused to leave their familiar spot and move to a separate pot. These creatures writhed, kicked, battered the students with their small, sharp fists, and gnashed their teeth.
Richard spent fifteen minutes trying to squeeze a single mandrake into a pot. He was disappointed that even Harry and Ron managed it in ten minutes. To Richie's even greater disappointment, Hermione managed to repot two mandrakes during that time, leaving the girl beaming with superiority.
By the end of the lesson, everyone was covered in dirt up to their ears.
The sweaty and dirty students trudged into the castle. On the way, Harry said wearily:
- This is terrible! I hope I never become a herbologist.
"I'm definitely not in danger of that!" Richard said with relief. "If we have such plant-like creatures in our second year, I dread to think what will happen in our senior years. They'll send us to fertilize some ent or feed a tree dragon..."
Hermione snorted cheerfully and said in a didactic tone:
"There are no ents or tree dragons, I've read reference books on magical plants! Who among us reads fantasy?!" She looked at Richard defiantly.
"Every Hogwarts student is reading fantasy this year," Rich replied calmly. "By the way, Harry, Ron, Hermione, take a closer look at Lockhart. I might be paranoid, but that doesn't mean all is well with the world. If Lockhart is as powerful as he claims to be in the books, he could be another Dark Lord, hiding for the time being."
"Richie!" Hermione's gaze was filled with reproach. "How can you talk about a teacher like that!"
"Hermione has hearts next to DADA on her schedule," Ron told the girl guilelessly.
Granger's cheeks flushed red. She shot Ron an indignant, ominous look.
"Hermione, you don't have to participate..." Richard turned his gaze to Harry and Ron and said suggestively, "Guys, Quirrell seemed like a weakling..."
"Hmm," Ronald drawled meaningfully. "Richie, I get it..."
"Richie, we'll take a closer look at Lockhart," Harry replied seriously.
"Boys, I don't understand you at all," Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're being silly! Professor Lockhart is a wonderful fighter against dark creatures. And anyway, Richie, why shouldn't I help?!" she said indignantly.
"Okay, Hermione," Richard raised his hands in a placating gesture, "you can help, but with something else. Find out all the information you can about animagi."
"Animagi?" Granger's expression was one of confusion. "What does this have to do with Professor Lockhart?"
"No way," Richard remained unperturbed. "It's for an important matter. And forgive me, but you can't be allowed to watch Lockhart. You're prejudiced against him, like a fan, and a sober approach is needed here."
After saying goodbye, the Gryffindors headed to their tower, and the Hufflepuffs to their dorms. After showering, more lessons awaited them.
A/N:Edited at 4 AM because the beta was stuck in Skyrim again.