A new day had arrived.
Today was the day Richie had to report back to school.
This time, his aunt didn't come to see him off. Instead, the Harland family of three—well, technically four—headed to London's King's Cross Station together.
Mrs. Harland was currently two months pregnant. Her stomach didn't show much yet, but Richie figured by the time he came home for summer break, she'd have a massive baby bump.
As someone with an adult soul, Richie silently, heavily condemned the two of them for managing to cause "such a massive accident".
Once they arrived at the station, Richie made his way to the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. After saying goodbye to his parents, he stepped through the solid brick wall and emerged onto Platform 9¾.
The platform was completely packed. Young wizards returning for the new term were lining up to board the Hogwarts Express.
Just then, an excited voice called out to him.
"Hey, Richie!"
Richie turned around and spotted Terry, Stephen, and Anthony standing nearby.
Seeing his roommates, Richie grabbed his trunk and walked over to join them.
"We were just looking for you. I thought you'd already boarded the train," Terry said, flashing a massive, toothy grin as he clapped Richie on the shoulder. He seamlessly picked up the conversation they had been having before Richie arrived.
"I had an absolutely insane Christmas break!"
"My uncle took me to see the Northern Hemisphere Quidditch Christmas Championship!"
"We were there for ten days and nine nights! I was so hyped I literally couldn't sleep a single night. I basically spent the entire time since I got back catching up on sleep."
"How was your break?"
Stephen pushed his glasses up his nose. "I stayed home and studied for two weeks straight."
Anthony nodded in agreement. "My dad was paranoid that since I'm Muggle-born, I'd fall behind the curriculum. So he took me to Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley to buy a ton of extra books. I spent the last two weeks at home reading."
Hearing the two of them say that, Terry's smile instantly froze. He slowly turned his head to look at Richie, his eyes filled with a desperate, pleading expression.
Catching the look, Richie just shrugged.
"I went to France and hung out at my grandfather's place for a few days."
Terry let out a massive, dramatic sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. I thought you—"
Before Terry could finish his sentence, Richie cut him off.
"And then I stayed home and studied for the next eight or nine days."
Terry's eyes widened in sheer horror. He stumbled backward, staring at the three absolute academic monsters standing in front of him. "Are any of you actually capable of having fun?!" he cried out in tragic despair.
"Hahaha!"
Richie, Stephen, and Anthony exchanged amused looks and burst out laughing.
Soon after, the four of them joined the line and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They found an empty compartment and took their seats.
A few moments later, the train whistle blew, and the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station.
Hogwarts Castle, First Floor Great Hall
"Pawn to E3."
"Honestly, I seriously don't understand what Hermione is doing anymore," Ron grumbled as he commanded his wizard chess piece.
"She didn't even go home for Christmas break! Instead, she literally spent the entire holiday locked in the library, obsessively researching wizarding rights and magical creature protection laws."
"And then she dragged us into the Restricted Section to look for clues about Nicolas Flamel, and nearly got you caught..."
"Knight to D4."
Harry shook his head, cutting Ron off. "Ron, you can't just talk behind her back like this just because she told you that you spend too much time playing wizard chess. Do you actually want to make her cry again?"
"That's not what friends do."
"Knight to D2."
Ron expertly moved his piece, completely blocking Harry's attack route. "I'm not talking behind her back! I'm just... I'm just venting!"
"Yeah, exactly. Her behavior has been seriously annoying me, so I'm venting to you about it. That's all."
"Uh-huh."
Harry's mouth twitched slightly, watching Ron desperately try to justify his complaining.
As the game went on, Harry's thoughts quietly began to drift.
Over the Christmas holidays, they had practically turned the Hogwarts library upside down trying to find any information on the "Nicolas Flamel" guy Hagrid had accidentally mentioned. Unfortunately, they had come up entirely empty-handed.
But Harry had received an incredibly magical, mysterious gift for Christmas—an Invisibility Cloak. Using it, he had snuck into the Restricted Section of the library. While sneaking around, he had accidentally stumbled onto Snape and Quirrell having a highly suspicious, secretive conversation, and later discovered the Mirror of Erised hidden in an abandoned classroom.
(Author's Note: Erised spelled backward is Desire)
In the mirror, Harry saw his deceased parents. Ron, on the other hand, saw himself as the Quidditch Captain and Head Boy.
Harry became completely obsessed with it. For several nights in a row, he snuck out just to sit and stare at his family in the glass.
Eventually, Dumbledore found him there. The Headmaster warned him about the extreme dangers of the mirror and then had it completely moved from the room.
For the next few days, Harry felt incredibly lost and hollow. If Ron and Hermione hadn't been there—Ron constantly dragging him into games and Hermione relentlessly dragging them both to the library to research—he honestly didn't know how he would have gotten through the rest of the break.
Because of that, Harry cherished their friendship more than ever. He absolutely didn't want Ron and Hermione to get into another massive, stupid fight.
"Honestly! The holidays are officially over today, and classes start tomorrow. Are you two seriously still playing wizard chess?"
Speak of the devil. Hermione marched over to their table clutching a massive stack of books. Seeing them hunched over the chessboard, she sighed with deep, frustrated disappointment.
"I bet Richie and Neville spent their entire break studying incredibly hard at home!"
"If Richie Harland knew how much you constantly bring him up, I'm sure he'd be moved to tears!" Ron fired back.
He paused, then added dramatically, "Hermione, you can't just spend your entire life buried in books! Do you even know what the word 'rest' means?"
"Look at you! The dark circles under your eyes have gotten massive!"
Hearing Ron say that, Hermione completely froze. She quickly slammed her books down onto the table, pulled a small mirror out of her robes, and frantically started checking her face.
"Haha. See? That's the only time I ever remember she's actually a girl," Ron muttered, shooting Harry a conspiratorial wink.
Harry reached up to adjust his glasses, using the motion to hide his slight, acknowledging nod.
"You two are so incredibly immature," Hermione snapped, putting her mirror away. Having caught their subtle exchange, she rolled her eyes, scooped up her books, and turned to leave. "Come to the library with me right now while you still have free time. I've got a new lead!"
"Ugh, here we go again," Ron groaned, reluctantly starting to pack up the chess pieces.
"Who is Nicolas Flamel anyway?"
"I don't even know if it's a man or a woman! Hagrid said he was Dumbledore's close friend... you don't think it's actually Dumbledore's wife, do you?"
"Wait, is Dumbledore even married?"
Harry shook his head, answering seriously. "I have no idea. Professor Dumbledore has never mentioned it."
Closing the chessboard, the two boys got up and hurried after Hermione, heading straight for the library.
"If this wasn't directly connected to whatever is hidden in the third-floor corridor, I absolutely wouldn't be wasting my time investigating this!" Ron complained.
"Enough, you two! Stop chatting and focus! This is important!" Hermione ordered.