Richard noticed the future hero's embarrassment. When the food had been cleared from the table, he said:
"Harry, would you like me to show you my owl?"
"Owl?" Potter echoed in surprise. "I would!"
"Ahem!" The Duke of Westminster drew their attention. "Richard!" he added meaningfully.
"Father, Harry isn't just Scott Potter's nephew—he's a wizard too."
"Hm-mm…"
Gerald thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
Harry held his breath. He didn't know how this unfamiliar adult man would react to such a statement. The boy shrank in fear, because the only example he had to go by was Uncle Vernon, who would have flown into a rage at the mere mention of magic.
"Well, if he's a wizard," Mr. Grosvenor said with a smirk, recovering himself a little, "that's a different matter. Go on, have your fun. Don't mind me. Only, Richie, you do remember that we shouldn't mention the existence of magic in front of the servants, yes? You warned Harry about that?"
"I warned him."
Richard shamelessly lied and gave Harry a subtle wink. In response, Potter nodded vigorously.
Richie knew that even the smallest shared secret brought people together—a time-tested fact. Yes, he was manipulating the hero a little, but he felt no guilt about it. From his tutors' lessons and from life experience, Richard knew that everyone used everyone else. If it was done with good intentions and mutual benefit, and both sides derived pleasure from it, it was called friendship. But if one person used another solely for personal gain, or if the exchange was far from equal and there wasn't the faintest hint of enjoyment in it—that was brazen exploitation and dirty manipulation.
Harry and Richard climbed up to the attic. A male barn owl perched on a wooden rod immediately turned his head toward the boys and hooted.
"Wow!" Harry exclaimed. "A real owl! What do you need it for?"
"Wizards use owls to send letters to each other. As soon as I found out about that, I bought myself a postal bird."
"Owls deliver the mail?" Harry Potter's eyes widened.
"I was even more surprised. I actually found out about it on Monday, and I still can't quite believe it. And I haven't really had a chance to test it yet, since I didn't exactly know any other wizards before. Now at least I can send letters to you. What do you think—shall we test the bird?"
"I'd love to," Harry replied uncertainly. "Is it really a mail owl, though? Why not a pigeon?"
"Hell if I know," Richard shrugged. "Most wizards are complete lunatics! Though maybe my opinion's a bit biased. I haven't seen that many of them. For example, my mother was a witch, but she abandoned me when I was five, robbed my father, and ran off. I don't think that's normal behavior for a mother. Or the incident with your Uncle Scott…"
"Um…" Harry flushed. "I hope we don't turn out like that. Richie, what did you name your owl?"
"Darth Vader."
"Darth Vader?"
"Yes, Darth Vader!"
"Good Lord," Harry said, rolling his eyes, though his face lit up with a smile. "Darth Vader?! But why?"
"He likes cookies… owl cookies."
"Wizards really are crazy!" Harry declared in a cheerful tone. "You and I included…"
"Probably because it's fun," Richard replied with a smile.
"Listen, Richie, if we're both mages, that means we're kind of like superheroes. I mean, we've got superpowers."
"Sort of. But I'm not putting on a ridiculous costume, and I'm not planning to chase hooligans around at night. And I wouldn't recommend it to you either. Wizards have their own laws, and the main one is the Statute of Secrecy. It says that mages mustn't reveal the existence of magic or wizards to ordinary people. An entire Ministry of Magic enforces it—they've even got their own magical police. So the moment some mage starts using his superpowers, even with good intentions, he'll be immediately arrested by officers with the same abilities."
"Ah!" Harry sighed with genuine disappointment. "That's a shame… Could you at least teach me some kind of trick?"
"I can try to teach you what I've mastered myself: summoning objects and levitating things. Just practice somewhere no one will see you."
"Of course!" Potter brightened.
For the rest of the evening, Richard explained his system of wandless magic to Harry Potter. Harry absorbed the information quickly, and by nightfall he was even starting to manage a few things.
"All right, buddy, stop torturing yourself," Richard said, halting the exhausted Potter. "Magic drains your strength too. At first, after just two or three tricks, I felt like I'd been fencing with a rapier all day. Let's get some sleep."
"Thanks, Richie," Harry whispered. "Good night."
"Good night."
Harry went to the guest room that the maid had shown him a little earlier.
In the morning, Richard managed to catch Harry Potter at breakfast. They chatted amiably for a bit, then said their goodbyes. Harry was driven home to Uncle Scott in London in a Bentley, while Richie departed by portal to see his mentor, Marchbanks.
(End of Chapter)
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