Aristocrat (HP/SI)

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***

On the twenty-fifth of July, the weather was glorious in the suburbs of Chester. The sun was shining surprisingly bright, not a single cloud in the sky.

Richard looked out of the window at breakfast and thought that it was a crime to stay indoors in this weather. He wasn't interested in just walking around, so he thought about buying some machinery to drive around the estate.

Buy a go-kart? It wouldn't be much of a ride round the fields and gardens. Such a vehicle requires a flat surface. It's not much fun to race up and down a tarmac road.

Richard was leaning towards a quad bike, which should be given to Mr Weasley at the workshop for a refresher. It would be enough that the quad bike wouldn't need fuel. It might be worth adding strength to the machine so that the parts don't break down.

- Beautiful weather," the Duke said in a long voice.

- I agree. The weather is wonderful. Do you think you can get a quad bike in Chester, Dad?

- I don't think so. Richie, why would you want such a marvellous thing?

- To ride, to have fun.

- London's got everything. But I have another suggestion - you could come hunting with me. We've got buggies, you could ride in one of them.

- That's a good idea. And when's the event?

- Saturday.

- The day after tomorrow, then... The weather's nice today.

- I reckon we'll have lovely weather until Sunday.

- Dad, can I shoot a gun?

- Only at the range under the supervision of a trainer or with an air rifle.

- That's not bad. I'm good with an air rifle. I'd love to keep you company when you go hunting.

John came into the dining room. He was holding a radiotelephone. As he approached Richard, the valet said:

- 'Mr Ritchie, there's a call for you from Harry Potter.

- Thank you, John.

Richard picked up the receiver of the phone and brought it to his ear.

- Richie speaking.

- Richie, hello," Harry could hear the excitement in his voice. - I've got a letter from Hogwarts! - he exclaimed happily.

- Congratulations, Harry. But I think it's too soon.

- I thought so too. Ritchie, you said the woodsman was coming to see me!

- Maybe... If you don't answer the letter.

- Didn't you get a letter from Hogwarts?

- Harry, I believe mailings are handled differently at school. You and people like you get a letter of invitation, and people like me get a letter from a teacher. If, for some reason, the prospective pupil has not replied to the letter, a representative of the school comes to see him.

- But what about the future... the forester! - Harry asked in bewilderment.

- 'My friend, there is no future,' Richard said confidently. - There was the past, there is the present, and we create the future with our hands and actions. Remember the "stones"....

- Yeah... Ka-a-mni..." Harry said meaningfully. - Exactly! You had an epiphany then, too, but you were wrong!

- We found the ship.

- Yeah," Harry agreed. - So what do I do?

- What does the letter say?

- It says they're waiting for my owl to reply. There's a shopping list for school, but I have almost all of it. I could also take an owl, a cat or a toad to Hogwarts.

- A toad?! That's adorable! - Richard commented sarcastically. - Good friend, you have a huge choice. You can sit flat on a soft part of your body and wait for the teacher or the ranger to arrive. Or you can borrow Darth Vader from me and.....

- Exactly! - Harry exclaimed happily. - 'Richie, can you lend me Darth Vader so I can send a reply to Hogwarts?

- Of course, Harry. I'll send you an owl right after breakfast. One more thing... Do you have a desire to visit London?

- Mm-hm... I might. What would you like to do?

- I want to see some teenage quad bikes. I thought it would be an interesting idea to buy a few of them for pleasure rides.

A sad sigh came from the telephone receiver. Harry said:

- I'd like a moped, but my uncle says you can't have one until you're sixteen.

- Harry, you can't ride on public roads. But you can't buy a teenage cross moped and ride it around fields, forests and motorbike ranges.

- Ooh! I wish I had a moped like that. I'm just afraid Uncle Scott wouldn't approve.

- Harry, your birthday's coming up, isn't it?

- Yeah.

- That's great. By the way, how are you going to celebrate this year?

- Me and Uncle Scott are going camping for a week on the 30th of July. So I'm sorry, Ritchie, we can't celebrate together.

- That's all right, Harry. I'll get over this unpleasantness somehow. Sorry, I won't keep John waiting for the phone. Bye, Harry. Call me on my radiotelephone.

- All right. Thanks, Richie. Bye. Bye.

After breakfast, Richard sent Darth Vader to see young Potter, having first instructed the owl to deliver a letter from Harry to Hogwarts.Grosvenor Junior then phoned the house in London, released the housekeeper, and was soon portal travelling there in Steve's company.

Richie bought several quad bikes, mopeds and teenage cross bikes from a shop that sold motorbikes, with delivery to Eaton Hall.

Richie and the security guard returned to the estate using another portal. The purchased motorbikes arrived closer to evening.

Richard, after the servants had left, reduced all the purchased equipment with his wand and wrote a letter of tech assignment to Arthur Weasley, asking one of the cross bikes to be enchanted first. And when the owl returned from Hogwarts, he sent the reduced tech and the letter to Mr Weasley.

On the thirty-first of July, Richard first sent back, with the help of Darth Vader, the cross bike (in reduced form) sent by Mr Weasley the day before as a gift to Harry Potter.

Young Grosvenor went down to breakfast after sending the owl. He was mentally preparing for his birthday celebration, which would be attended by the monarchs.

Father and son had just begun to devour their breakfast when a maid entered the room.

- 'My lord,' she addressed the elder Grosvenor, 'the guard at the gate has called. They say a lady from the public school has come to see Mr Ritchie. She introduced herself as Vice-Principal Minerva McGonagall.

- It is highly improper to visit a student on his birthday," the Duke said in a displeased tone. - Tell the guards to bring the guest here. Also, Lucy, have the cutlery ready for Madam McGonagall.

- Yes, Lord.

The Deputy Headmistress of the School of Wizardry, accompanied by a maid, entered the dining room only ten minutes later. She was a tall woman of rather stern appearance with her black hair in a tight bun, wearing square glasses and a dark green closed dress.

- Lord Gerald Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, young Lord Richard, Earl of Grosvenor, is here to see young Lord Richard, Earl of Grosvenor, Madame Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School.

- Please, Madame McGonagall, join us for breakfast," Gerald said politely.

The Deputy Headmistress looked very displeased. She pressed her lips together and said dryly:

- Thank you, My Lord.

The guest was offered a seat in the middle of the large table between Richard and Gerald.

- Lucy, thank you, we don't need your services for now," the Duke sent the servants out of the dining room with a commanding wave of his right palm.

There was silence in the dining room for a while. When everyone had had enough and put away their cutlery, the Duke asked his guest politely:

- 'Madame McGonagall, I trust your journey has been easy?

- Thank you, My Lord, you have a wonderful home. I confess it was not an easy journey to get here. I'm the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry. I've brought a letter of invitation for your son Richard. He's a wizard.

- That's very kind of you, madam," Gerald replied politely.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at the calm Gerald, then looked at the unimpressed Richard and asked:

- Are you not surprised? I will prove that magic exists.

The sorceress had a wand in her hand.

- No need, madam, - said Gerald firmly. - Take the wand away before the guards take it as a threat. We are aware of wizards. A year and a half ago we had a visit from Madam Minister of Magic. By the way, how is Madame Bagnold?

McGonagall's eyes widened at what she heard. To her, a wizard, some Muggle had made a roundabout way of threatening security from behind a wand and hinting at an acquaintance with the Minister of Magic. No, she could understand if she was in the company of wizards - to pull out a wand in their presence... It could indeed be perceived as a threat. But a Muggle?! Yes, but what kind of Muggle... If he's being visited by the Minister of Magic, and even such ranks....

- I don't know, My Lord," she replied. - We have a different Minister now, Mr Fudge.

- What a shame," Gerald complained. - Madame Bagnold seemed to me a very well-mannered lady - she warned me in advance of her visit and was very kind. Tell me, Madam McGonagall, do you visit all your students on their birthdays?

The witch could hardly bear such a sharp barb. Her face twisted as if the woman had eaten a lemon. It seemed like a polite question, but there was an understatement in the Duke's words, in the tone of voice, as if to say, "Do you barge in on everyone uninvited on a significant holiday like a forest troll at a party?"

- It's tradition, My Lord," McGonagall said in a slightly annoyed tone. - Pureblood wizards are sent invitation letters by owl from mid-July to early August. And muggleborn and half-blood young wizards who live in the Muggle world are visited by someone from the Hogwarts faculty. Those who have a birthday in July-August are usually visited exactly on their eleventh birthday.

- Don't you get confused by the different collisions? - Gerald asked curiously. - In six hours the Queen of Great Britain, princes and lords are due to arrive to celebrate Richard's birthday. I'm curious, if you were to arrive at that time, how would you justify yourself to the royal guards?

McGonagall's face wrinkled unhappily.

- The Queen?! - she asked in surprise.

- 'Yes, madam,' the Duke confirmed with a barely perceptible nod. - The Queen.

- Nobody warned me... - the sorceress stretched out confusedly.

Not a single muscle trembled on the duke's face, but his eyes were very expressive. By the slightly raised eyebrows one could read the question: "We still had to warn you that the Queen was coming to us and that you should not come uninvited to the Duke's estate!"

The enchantress pulled out a letter on yellowish parchment.

- Richard, here is your letter of invitation to Hogwarts. Perhaps we can shop the list of items in Goat Lane before the celebration.

- Madam McGonagall," Richard said with a touch of irony, "thank you for your generous offer, but I must disappoint you. I don't need your company on this shopping trip. Firstly, it's worth noting that I've bought almost everything for Hogwarts except robes, potion ingredients, and a wand. Secondly, I'm not ready to trade long-planned preparations for hosting guests for shopping. Thank you for the letter and your visit.

McGonagall certainly didn't like the situation she found herself in. The woman felt like a pig that had stormed out of the stable and into an ornate house. Two impeccable gentlemen in suits, a young man and an adult, though they did not show it, but the wizard felt that she was superfluous in this house and had obviously done a great foolishness, deciding to reveal to a muggle-born wizard the charms of the magical world. Minerva was going to show a couple of colourful tricks, preparing to convince the parents of the child in the necessity of studying at the school of magic. But it turned out as if she had come uninvited to visit pure-blooded wizards like the Malfoys.

- Mr Richard Grosvenor, do you agree to attend Hogwarts School of Magic?! - The woman asked.

- Yes, ma'am. Will you stay for tea?

- No, no, business... Yes, I have many more important things to do. If you don't need my help, I'll be on my way.

- Thank you for the visit, ma'am," Richard said with a nod of his head.

- Have a safe journey, Madam McGonagall," Gerald stood up to his full height and bowed politely.

Minerva left Eton Hall feeling upset. She decided that since she had planned to spend the day educating a Muggle-born wizard anyway, she should visit another Muggle family whose child was due to enter Hogwarts this year.

Leaving the confines of the manor, the wizard summoned the Night Knight bus and travelled to the correct address.

When McGonagall got off the bus, she saw a tall wrought iron fence with a patterned gate, behind which a huge mansion was visible in the distance. The woman's soul was immediately filled with a bad feeling....

***

A few hours after the visit of the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, Richard was greeting guests near the entrance to the drawing room.

The guests came, gave gifts, which young Grosvenor gave to the valet, and then scattered around the ground floor of the house.

And then another car arrived - a luxurious Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit of sky-blue colour. The driver opened the back door and a chubby-cheeked boy and a thick-built man, whose solid belly was encased in an expensive black jacket, left the cabin.

Richard eyed the new guests carefully; he recognised them at once. Mr Finch-Fletchley, with his tall stature, solid waist, brown hair and piercing brown eyes, was hard to confuse with anyone else.

- Richie, hello!" said the boy cheerfully. - Happy birthday!

- Justin, it's good to see you. Thank you for the birthday greeting. Lord Finch-Fletchley, greetings. That's a marvellous jacket.

- Ho-ho-ho-ho! - chuckled the man good-naturedly. - Richie, you've grown so big and mature! Enough politeness, we're practically business partners. Our last deal made me a decent profit. If there's anything else like that," he winked, "you come to me. We'll work something out.

- I will, Lord Finch-Fletchley. I have-let's just say I have something to offer you. What do you think of iridium, palladium, ruthenium?

- Iridium?

- Yes, sir.

- These metals are of some value and will not attract much attention," Mr Finch-Fletchley said cautiously. - I am prepared to realise them....

- On the same terms, sir.

- Richard, you could ask for a discount," said Mr Finch-Fletchley, with a hint. - These metals are not stamped with a serial number," he added in a whisper.

- Sir, I am well aware of the rarity of such elements. It's going to take a long time to sell them, so the market won't collapse. I can't force you to risk it for a small spread.

- Well," a broad smile graced the banker's face, "that's fine, Richard. Call me Robert or Uncle Robbie. Happy birthday!- Thank you, Uncle Robbie," Richard said, taking the gift from the banker's hands and handing it to the valet. - Father was somewhere in the dining room. He'll be glad to see you.

- Well, have fun, boys.

The joyous banker walked off in the direction of the dining room.

- Richie, where am I supposed to go? - Justin asked.

- Jas, you were the last to arrive. Come on, we have to sit in the dining room with the adults first, and then we can go on the quad bikes and mopeds.

- Mopeds?! - Justin exclaimed excitedly.

- They are. Jas, why are you looking so woozy today? Something happened.

- I don't know how to answer that question.

- You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

- Well... Richie, you see, when we were about to get in the car, a lady came to us and introduced herself as the deputy principal of a closed public school... She... Well... Convinced my father that I had to go to that school. I was going to go to Eton at the end of August.

- Mm-hmm... And this lady... Green dress, stringy lock of hair, and answers to the name Minerva McGonagall?

Justin stopped like a dumbfounded man. His jaw dropped to the parquet floor and his eyes fixed on Richard with great amazement.

- From where!

- Had I guessed?

- Yes, dammit! But, Richie, how did you know?

- That sorceress was here before you. Imagine, Jas, it's my birthday, you're about to arrive, the Queen, a bunch of princes, and she says to me, "Boy, you're a wizard. "Come with me to Slant Lane to buy rubbish! HA!"

- What about you? - Justin continued to bullet his eyes at Richard in amazement.

- Sent her to hell, naturally, culturally, as is proper.

- Richie, did you turn down the school of magic! - Justin asked in a loud whisper of disbelief and admiration.

- No, of course not. Jas, it's not something that aristocrats or peasants give up. Wizards can be very persuasive, and it's very profitable to have superpowers yourself. So, congratulations, mate, we're going to Hogwarts together.

- So it doesn't surprise you that I'm a wizard?!

- Surprised?! Ha ha! Justin, I am so shocked, I can't tell you how shocked I am. But after being flogged a few times for intemperance, I've changed my views on expressing emotion. I'm doing my best not to yell something like, "You too, Brutus?!"

- Wait, so you're a wizard too! - Justin's eyes lit up with excitement. - And we're going to go to the same school together... Oh, my God, that's incredible. Ritchie, that's-- That's--

- That's pretty good, isn't it, Justin? - Richard smiled slyly at his mate. - I didn't realise until the last moment that you, too, had superpowers. Jas, you're a born spy!

- Is that good? Is that good?! Richie, this is bloody impossible. I learnt about magic for the first time today, about being a magician, about the school of magic, about the existence of a whole world of people with superpowers...

- Hmm..." Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. - That's a thought! I'll have to tell my father that your father knows about wizards. It will make their communication easier. Shared secrets are a bonding experience.

- Oh, that's what you mean," Justin said. - Maybe I really should tell my father about this... Richie, aren't you worried? I mean, I don't know where to go, what to learn....

- Don't worry, mate. You're not alone. By the way, our mutual acquaintance, Harry Potter, is also a wizard. He told me on the phone about his invitation to Hogwarts a week ago.

- Harry? Come on! Are you serious?

- Jas, I'm dead serious. Can you imagine the coincidence?

- Richard, is it possible that all the children in the world are wizards?

- Ha! No, no, no, no! Absolutely not! Justin, think about it, if they were, who would go to regular schools? It's just that the universe is small and often throws up pianos in the bushes," Richard thought to himself, "To paraplegics... There's no other way to explain how I got so many mages around me.

- I was so surprised to find out I was a wizard," Justin said. - My father and I didn't believe it at first, but Madame McGonagall turned the statue on the doorstep into a pig, and then she turned into a cat and back into a human. It was incredible! But you should have seen her face when Father announced that we had no time and were rushing to the Grosvenors' reception... God, I felt as if Madame McGonagall was going to have a stroke. She turned so pale and pressed her lips together.....

- What a vulnerable lady," Richard said ironically. - The rules of decorum were invented for a reason. What kind of tradition is it to come to a guest's house uninvited? Didn't the lady think it was a simple question: What if you had important business to attend to? Jas, how did it end?

- Father arranged for Madame McGonagall to meet him at Charing Cross Road at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

- I was going to go to Slanting Lane too, but not so soon. I need to buy some sundries. Take my advice.

- Yeah, yeah," Justin said, ready to listen.

- Wizards have their own currency. For purchases in their shops you have to exchange pounds for gallions. But you can't change more than a thousand pounds. At Gringotts Bank, ask a goblin called Rickbeth, tell him you're from me. For one per cent of the value of the metal, he'll exchange the gold for Galleons.

- I'll tell my father. Thanks for the advice, Richie.

- Wait, there's more. I haven't told you where you can buy all the useful stuff....

Richard put his arm around Justin and led him slowly towards the dining room, whispering to him about the intricacies of the magical world.

***

Richie went to Slanting Lane on Friday the second of August. Although he was no longer required to study for the school programme, he still had fencing practice and a spell tutor. Therefore, only Friday was still a full day off.

Harry and Scott Potter were already waiting in front of the entrance to the Hole Cauldron pub, which was located between a bookstore and a disc shop. Harry had a cap on his head, covering a scar.

- Good morning," Richard greeted the Potters.

- Hi Richie," Harry replied cheerfully.

- 'Hello, lad,' replied a scowling Scott.

- 'Sir, are you all right? - Richard asked, noticing Scott's slight pallor.

- 'I'd say yes, if it weren't for the harsh reality.

- Harry?

Richard raised his eyebrows questioningly and shifted his gaze to his mate.

- 'Uncle Scott's worried about Hagrid.

- Hagrid?

- The giant in the mole's coat, reeking of cheap whisky a mile away, the shovelled beard, the creepy Hogwarts woodsman - Hagrid!

- Oh, Hagrid! So he did come to see you?

- Yeah. Richie, you know, we're in the tent, it's raining, there's thunder and suddenly... There's a motorbike! The tent's zips burst with a terrible crack, and a huge bearded head appears in the opening! I almost shit my pants!

- Me too..." Scott muttered quietly.

- Anyway, we were terrified. This monster, like a maniacal stalker, said: "So there you are, Harry! You've come a long way." I was frozen with fear and couldn't get a word out, and I'd forgotten all about my wand. And then Uncle Scott pulls a gun on the giant and says: "I don't know who you are, mister, but if you don't leave my nephew alone, I'll feed you lead!"

- And then what?

Scott answered instead of Harry:

- What-what... The creep glared at me angrily and said contemptuously: "What are you going to do to me, muggle?" And the next thing I knew, he was pointing his umbrella at me, which I'm sure had a magic wand built into it, and I didn't wait for bad things to happen.

- Did you shoot him, sir? - Richard asked calmly, as if talking about the weather.

- Unfortunately, no," Scott shook his head. - He was shot in the elbow joints and kneecaps. And the monster tried to get at me even in that condition. Roared like a pissed-off grizzly bear. Harry and I had to abandon the tent and run out of there. At night in the rain, far away from civilisation, I was beginning to think we weren't going to get anywhere. But Harry came up with an idea.

- Yes!" said Harry proudly. - I summoned the Night Knight. We got to the Hole Cauldron and Tom the barman helped us call the Aurors.

- And how did it end?

- The Aurors went to our campsite and found Hagrid injured," Scott continued the story. - It turned out that he had been sent by Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore to see if Harry and his uncle could actually do the shopping on their own. Only the woodsman, out of sheer cleverness, had decided to surprise them in his own way. He was somehow sure that Harry was still living with the Dursleys and that they were treating him badly. He wanted to scare Harry's guardians and surprise the boy on his birthday by appearing at midnight on the thirtieth to the thirty-first of July. Only instead of a surprise, it ended up scaring us both.

- And the Aurors found my key to the safe at Hagrid's! - Harry added.

- I hope, sir, that the Aurors didn't have a problem with you?

- No," Scott shook his head sideways. - They admitted that I acted in self-defence. And Hagrid was sent to a magical hospital. I just wonder why they had to send a ranger at all if we sent a letter to the school confirming admission?

- Maybe they wanted to give me the key to the safe? - Richard suggested. - By the way, have you checked the safe? That key was kept by someone else.

- Good thinking, mate! I was thinking the same thing. We'll check with the goblins today to see if anyone's had their furry hand in Harry's safe.

- Erm... Richie..." Harry shifted from foot to foot. - 'Here, this is for you. Happy past birthday.

Richard took a small roll of coloured paper from Harry's hands.

- Thank you, Harry. I want to wish you a happy birthday too.

- You already did. I got your present and your letter. It's a nice toy motorbike!

- Toy bike?

- Erm... It's kind of toy...

- Ha-ha! Toy!!!

- Not a toy?

- Shrunken!

- Fucking shrunken! - Harry Potter slammed his palm on his forehead.

Scott gave his nephew a light slap.

- Harry, where did you pick up Russian? - he asked.

- Um..." Harry tried not to squint in Richard's direction. - Nowhere, Uncle... I heard it somewhere.

The detective sighed heavily and ran his palm over his face.- Richie," Harry turned to his friend, "is the motorbike enchanted in any way?

- Yes, but it's simple. Strength charms, plus it won't need petrol anymore.

- That's great! I'm gonna try it out tonight.

- Harry, did someone give you permission to ride a motorbike? - The detective looked at his nephew sternly.

- 'Oh...' Harry squeezed his head into his shoulders. - No, uncle...

- All right, we'll go somewhere in the woods and you can ride," Scott said compassionately. - But not today. I feel like this shopping is going to wear me out.

- Thank you, Uncle Scott. - Harry glowed with delight.