Classes went on as usual. The next day, after breakfast, Hermione Granger approached Richard.
- Good morning, Richie.
"Hermione," Richard greeted the girl with a polite nod.
The boy and girl moved aside and stood on the landing near the window between the first and second floors.
- Hermione, you look worried. Did something happen?
- Professor Lockhart... He started the lesson yesterday with a quiz about his textbooks. I hope you read them?
"I started one book," Richard shrugged. "Is Lockhart really as stern as Snape that he starts a lesson with a quiz on his subject?"
Hermione hesitated and answered sheepishly:
- Well... There were questions that weren't really on the subject. Professor Lockhart asked mostly about himself.
Richard's eyebrows rose in surprise.
- About yourself? Teacher? In class?
- Well, yes... Favorite color, desired gift, and so on.
It seemed impossible for a human's eyebrows to rise as high as Richie's. He stared at Hermione in surprise.
"The gift you wanted?!" Richard's voice was laced with sarcasm. "Magical! Delightful! He's hinting at a bribe in the very first lesson... I'm thrilled! This man came to school to make money... Oh, thank you, Hermione! I think the Minister will be very pleased with this information."
"Richie!" Granger exclaimed, horrified. "No! I don't think Professor Lockhart is a bribe-taker. He gave us a great practical demonstration. He brought pixies to class, and we fought them."
- Practice? Not bad at all.
Gryffindor students walked up the stairs past Hermione and Richard. Among them were Ron and Harry. They stopped next to the boy and girl.
The boys greeted each other. Ron immediately decided to share his emotions with his friend:
- Richie, can you imagine what Lockhart did yesterday?
- Hermione just started telling me about pixies.
Ron gave Granger a disgruntled look, as if she had robbed him of his finest hour, and continued with less enthusiasm:
- A-a-a... Then you already know that he set the pixies on us.
"Ron," Hermione exclaimed indignantly, "that was a practical lesson!"
"Well, yeah," Ron said skeptically. "The professor didn't even show us the spell, he just told us how it works, and then he crawled under the desk."
"Professor Lockhart wanted to test our knowledge from previous years," Hermione objected.
"Richie," Harry said, drawing attention to himself. "Lockhart's very suspicious. He's pretending to be incompetent. It's strange, because even first years were able to stop the pixies. I think he's overdoing it, just like Quirrell."
Ronald's expression briefly flashed with annoyance. But he quickly pretended to notice it himself.
"Yes, I noticed that too," he said.
Hermione stated with confidence:
"Professor Lockhart is too powerful to fight small-time evil spirits. I'm sure he was just giving us a chance to prove ourselves."
Harry and Ron looked at Hermione as if she were a complete idiot, but said nothing. Granger had interpreted the looks directed at her perfectly. She pouted in an offended manner and turned to Richard.
"Richie, I have to go to class. Make sure you read Lockhart's books so you can do well on the test."
"Thank you, Hermione," Richard smiled politely. "Have a nice day."
The girl grabbed her handbag and quickly went upstairs.
Ron watched Hermione leave, waited until she was far enough away, and then said:
"She's completely nuts. Richie, how can you talk to this stubborn nerd?"
"Ron," Richie said, closing his eyes slightly and shaking his head. "You better not say anything like that. You never know who might hear you. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Hermione's no saint, but she's a good girl. And anyway, girls have so many quirks in their heads that it's easier to ignore their quirks and accept them. Hermione's at the age when girls are looking for attractive role models, like pop stars. It's worth noting that Mr. Lockhart, with his exact type of looks, has cultivated an image around himself designed to appeal to teenage girls and bored housewives. So don't think Hermione's stupid because she succumbed to the pressure of teenage hormones. It's all because she has little life experience."
Ron sighed heavily and raised his hands up.
"Okay, okay, Richie, I get it. I won't say anything about your girlfriend. But I still think she's weird."
Richard chuckled.
- Ron, you're not going to marry her, so just ignore her.