"Richie, hi!" Hermione said happily. "I was going to the library, but we can meet."
- That would be wonderful, Miss Granger.
- Richie, why are you so formal?
"Sorry, I didn't have time to switch gears. I just had a business conversation. I suggest we meet at the far end of the stairs on the way to the library."
- Fine.
A few minutes after their conversation, Richard arrived at the meeting place. Hermione was waiting impatiently by the windowsill, beaming with happiness.
"Hello," Granger said, noticing the boy.
"Greetings, young lady," Rich nodded solemnly. Leaning on his cane, he continued, "Dearest Hermione, allow me to congratulate you on this wonderful occasion-your birthday. Today you've turned a year older. But that's no reason to be upset. With each passing year, your beauty blossoms more and more. I hope you'll always remain as sweet and charming. Please accept this modest gift from me."
The girl listened to Rich's speech with bated breath. She stared with the eyes of a hungry cat at Richard's hand, in which he held a small package wrapped in colorful wrapping paper.
She carefully picked up the package and looked at Richard, as if asking permission to unwrap it. Richie nodded approvingly.
Granger rustled the wrapping paper. After some simple manipulation, a small, neat platinum bracelet appeared before her eyes, similar to the watch's. Even the clasp was identical. Only instead of a watch face, the band held a shiny black ball, like polished obsidian. The girl happily slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and admired it in the rays of light falling through the window.
"Beautiful," she said quietly. "Thank you, Richie. Is that silver?"
Richard shook his head and stated:
- Platinum.
Hermione's eyes widened.
"But that's expensive!" she exclaimed breathlessly.
The corners of Richard's lips lifted.
- Dear Hermione, won't you even ask what this artifact does?
- So this is an artifact?
Hermione's gaze ran over the bracelet again. She began to feel it with her right hand.
The mage-engineers at Rich's Workshop named this artifact "Hologram-B." "B" in this case stands for "bookstore."
At the last word, Hermione, figuratively speaking, stood up like a hunting dog that had picked up the scent of its prey.
"A bookstore?" the girl's eyes lit up with delight. "How does it work? What does it do?"
"Hermione, it's very simple. The wizard needs to drop a drop of blood onto the black crystal. Afterward, a mental menu will appear before their eyes. It can be called up with the mental command 'menu' and similarly dismissed with the command 'close menu'. The entire list of commands can be called up with the command 'Hologram'."
"Is there a library there?" Hermione interrupted her friend, excited. "Can you read the books in there without anyone seeing them?"
"Almost," Richard said, barely holding back a laugh at Granger's amused expression. "It's a prototype, a very stripped-down version of the artificial intelligence you helped create last year. The library is currently completely empty. This artifact has a book-scanning function. To do this, simply place the black crystal on the book you wish to add to the library. The tome will be scanned in seconds and added to the virtual library. After that, you'll be able to read any book you've added. Incidentally, the charm works even on most enchanted books."
Granger gave a wry smile and commented:
- Copyright? No, I haven't heard of it!
- Exactly. Own it, use it, and enjoy it.
Hermione was over the moon with such a gift. She was burning with anticipation to test the artifact, and two emotions warred within her: the urge to rush to the library and the desire to be in her friend's company. Naturally, the storm of emotions that Hermione made no attempt to hide didn't escape Richard's notice.
"Oh, Hermione!" he rolled his eyes. "You can go to the library! I won't be offended. We can talk anytime, like when you're done playing with Hologram."
- Are you sure?
- Certainly!
In a fit of emotion, Hermione hugged Richard tightly and kissed him on the cheek.
- Richie, thank you! You're the best friend!
"Please, Hermione. Have a nice day. Don't choke on the dust. By the way, I'll be waiting for you this evening near the Hufflepuff common room. I made a cake. There will be tea and lots of guests."
- I will definitely be back!
After some hesitation, Hermione resolutely rushed towards the library.
Richard was extremely pleased. He'd solved several problems with a single gift. First, he'd pleased a promising witch and further endeared her to him. Second, with Hermione's help, he planned to expand his virtual library. He hadn't told Granger about one detail: all the information from her Hologram would be duplicated on a server with a more advanced AI, located in Rich's Workshop.