Time moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed, and the final exams were less than a week away.
Notably, Gryffindor ultimately won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup this year. In the final match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the Eagles held a commanding lead for most of the game. Unfortunately, Harry Potter, Gryffindor's Seeker, was absolutely relentless. Taking a massive risk, he practically threw himself off his broomstick to catch the Golden Snitch, crashing violently into the spectator stands and knocking himself completely unconscious.
Thanks to Madam Pomfrey's exceptional medical skills, Harry was quickly patched up. But his fearless, self-sacrificing play earned deep respect from the Ravenclaw team, and it went a long way toward repairing his broken reputation among the Gryffindors.
For the past month, Richie had been entirely buried in his studies. He had already blasted through more than half of the second-year curriculum, successfully inscribed his second basic alchemical rune during a massive thunderstorm, and finally mastered the Bubble-Head Charm.
Everything was moving exactly as planned.
---
Finals week arrived much faster than the first-years anticipated.
And perhaps because of a certain "seven-O" standard set earlier in the year, the professors seemed to have cranked up the difficulty on the exams. Every single day, the halls were filled with the exhausted groans and heavy sighs of traumatized first-years. The weather was getting hotter, the classrooms were incredibly stuffy, and the students were taking a brutal beating both mentally and physically.
But all things come to an end. Once the final History of Magic exam concluded, a massive, collective cheer erupted across Hogwarts. The first-years threw their arms in the air, practically screaming with relief.
With exams over, the students had two completely free days while the professors graded the papers and finalized the scores before the leaving feast.
Richie immediately started packing his trunk. He was genuinely looking forward to the two-month summer holiday. During the school year, his schedule was constantly dictated by classes, leaving him very little time for focused, uninterrupted research. Once he was back home, he'd have total freedom.
The only downside was that he couldn't take the "Star Room" with him. That passive, hyper-focus aura was an absolute game-changer, and it was hard to imagine studying without it.
---
"Richie, I'm very pleased that you've brought up such a unique perspective on the Undetectable Extension Charm. It certainly does share theoretical overlap with advanced Transfiguration. In the second-year curriculum..."
On the first afternoon of their free days, Richie tracked down Professor McGonagall in a vacant first-floor classroom to ask her a few advanced theoretical questions. As always, McGonagall was happy to explain.
But right in the middle of her lecture, Harry, Hermione, and Ron burst into the classroom, completely out of breath.
"Professor McGonagall! We need to see Professor Dumbledore!"
McGonagall frowned deeply, clearly unhappy with the sudden, chaotic interruption. "See Professor Dumbledore? Whatever for?"
Harry, leading the trio, glanced nervously at Ron and Hermione. He hesitated for a second before stammering, "It's... it's a secret."
Hearing that, Richie subtly raised an eyebrow. Bold move, kid.
Exactly as Richie expected, McGonagall's face instantly tightened. She was visibly unamused by Harry's cryptic demand. But she still answered.
"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is no longer at Hogwarts. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left for London immediately."
"London?!" Hermione gasped. "But that's miles away!"
Harry gripped his forehead, massaging a spike of pain from his scar. "Are you sure? He's actually gone?"
"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard. This means he has many demands on his time," McGonagall said, picking up her quill and signaling that her patience with them was wearing dangerously thin compared to her earlier session with Richie.
"But isn't there any way to get him back?" Harry pressed desperately.
"Is this 'secret' of yours more important than Ministry business?" she asked sharply.
Realizing he couldn't hide it anymore, Harry locked eyes with her. "Professor McGonagall, this is about the Sorcerer's Stone!"
McGonagall's hand violently jerked, leaving a thick streak of ink across her parchment. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the trio, then flicked over to Richie, who was sitting quietly in the corner, staring intently at the floor and pretending he wasn't there.
"How do you know—"
"Professor, someone is going to try and steal it!" Harry interrupted frantically. "Dumbledore needs to know!"
McGonagall looked at Harry with a mix of utter shock and deep suspicion. "Professor Dumbledore will not be back for some time. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but I assure you, it is perfectly safe. Now, I must ask you to leave. And I expect you to remain absolutely silent about this matter."
She turned to Richie. "Richie, the same applies to you. Whatever you just heard in this room, I expect you to forget it entirely."
Defeated, Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned and left the classroom, looking completely crushed. Seeing them go, Richie seamlessly pivoted the conversation back to the Extension Charm. McGonagall composed herself and picked up the lecture right where she left off.
---
After finishing his Q&A with McGonagall, Richie headed back to the Ravenclaw common room.
Seeing Harry and the gang reminded Richie that the climax of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was practically happening right now. He couldn't remember the exact details of the gauntlet, but he knew the trio ultimately handled it. So, Richie quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. Not his circus, not his monkeys.
Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were pacing around the Gryffindor common room, looking incredibly stressed after just running into a highly hostile Professor Snape in the corridor. Because exams were over, the rest of the Gryffindors were outside enjoying the sun, leaving the common room completely empty.
"It's obvious! Snape is going to use tonight to steal the Stone!" Harry said, his fists clenched tight.
He could still hear Snape's parting threat: If you wander around the school at night again, Potter, I will personally see to it that you are expelled.
"I have to go down there tonight. I have to get the Stone before Snape does!"
"Are you mental? It's Snape!" Ron said, his voice cracking with fear. "He could blast us to pieces without even trying!"
"And he literally just warned us about sneaking out again," Hermione added, looking incredibly anxious.
"I don't care! I have to do it!" Harry's voice was rock solid, and strangely, the burning pain in his scar seemed to fade as his resolve hardened. "We're the only ones who can stop this! If Snape gets that Stone, nothing else matters! He's going to use it to bring Voldemort back—the wizard who murdered my parents—and he'll destroy Hogwarts!"
Ron and Hermione exchanged a long, hesitant look. But slowly, an inexplicable sense of duty overpowered their fear.
"You're right, Harry," Ron said, his chest heaving but his eyes finding focus. "We're the only ones left. And there has never been a coward in the Weasley family!"
Hermione bit her lip, her logical mind kicking into overdrive. She wasn't scared, she was just trying to maximize their chances. "Should we tell Richie? He was there. He knows about it too. If we bring him along, it would definitely be safer."
"No!" Ron practically shouted before Harry could even consider it. "Richie's in Ravenclaw; we're in Gryffindor. If we try to coordinate with him, we're just going to slow ourselves down and get caught!"
While Harry had momentarily considered asking Richie for backup, he quickly realized Ron was right. They couldn't risk the logistics.