"Harry Potter… where does he live?"
George asked curiously.
"At his Muggle aunt's house," Ron replied after thinking for a moment. "Number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."
Fred nodded thoughtfully. "How close are you and Harry normally?"
Ron puffed out his chest. "Best mates!"
George elbowed Fred. "What kind of question is that? Him, Harry, and that Granger girl are glued together all the time. Of course they're close!"
Then George asked, "Did you guys have some kind of fight before the summer?"
"Of course not!" Ron said, hands on his hips, looking frustrated. "That's why I'm so confused why Harry isn't replying to any of my letters…"
George and Fred exchanged a glance as the same idea popped into both their heads at once.
"Is it possible," they said in unison, "that he did write back, but he can't send the letters?"
Ron shot up from the couch. "You mean… he's been locked up by his aunt and uncle?!"
"That's the only explanation!"
George shrugged. Fred laid out their reasoning: "Remember that novel The Muggle Knight and the Mute Witch? The mute witch gets imprisoned by her Muggle uncle and only gets rescued thanks to the knight's bravery and cleverness."
Fred's mouth curved into a grin. "Looks like Harry's become the mute witch."
George clapped Ron on the shoulder. "Right now, the mute witch is waiting for his knight to come save him!"
Hearing this, Ron couldn't sit still any longer.
It wasn't about the whole knight-and-witch thing. It was the thought of his best friend being imprisoned for nearly a month that made him feel sick.
Just a month ago they had saved the entire wizarding world, and now the Boy Who Lived—the most important person—was being kept prisoner?!
And tomorrow was even his birthday!!!
Merlin's beard, had the world gone mad, or had he?
"I have to go find Harry!" Ron declared firmly. "He needs me!"
George and Fred nodded.
"As your big brothers, we support your decision," George said.
"But," Fred added, "do you even know how to get there? Muggle houses aren't connected to the Floo Network."
Ron was stumped. He really had no idea where Little Whinging, Surrey even was.
George waggled his eyebrows at him. "No worries. Every knight needs a white horse, and our family happens to have one!"
"A… horse?" Ron latched onto the key word.
"Come on," the twins said together, grabbing Ron by the arms and dragging him outside. "Let's go take a look at Dad's precious baby car!"
Meanwhile, the Harry that Ron was so worried about was blankly staring at the new diamond-shaped bars that had been installed over his bedroom window.
It had been a full two weeks since Richie and Hermione had visited. Hermione had promised to lend him some books, but in the fourteen days since then, not a single letter had arrived and no one had come to see him. The books never showed up either.
Harry felt completely cut off from the magical world once again.
"Smile bigger, son!"
"Yeah, like this!"
"I'll stand right here…"
Downstairs, the Dursleys were doing yet another rehearsal.
For the past two weeks they'd been practicing the same scene over and over: a wealthy businessman and his wife coming over for a dinner party. Vernon's goal was obvious—he was hoping to land a big order.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Harry. He had been ordered to stay locked in his room the entire time and not come out.
But tomorrow was his birthday…
Harry felt a pang of resentment.
He quietly opened the photo album Hagrid had given him and flipped through the pictures of his parents.
What he didn't know was that his "knight" was currently busy planning a very dramatic rescue mission.
---
Over the following days, Richie was finally able to follow his planned schedule perfectly.
He turned into a complete shut-in, living a simple three-point routine: bedroom — bathroom — dining room.
Two-thirds of his time was spent studying.
He worked through second-year material, practiced carving the basic alchemical runes, studied Occlumency, and dove deep into magical theory…
The time was allocated perfectly—not too much, not too little.
In mid-August, the new Hogwarts acceptance letter finally arrived at 9 Silver Maple Road, Maple District, Pro County.
"Wow, this Lockhart guy really must be the real deal!" Denton said excitedly as he looked over Richie's book list. "He's actually become the professor for your Defense Against the Dark Arts class! That's insane!"
Denton glanced toward the yard where Mrs. Harland was doing some light exercise, then lowered his voice. "He might even teach you how to deal with werewolves and banshees!"
Richie's mouth twitched.
He had actually come to his dad hoping to borrow his full set of Lockhart books. He already owned every other textbook on the list.
Denton had bought the complete collector's set earlier, but he clearly wasn't ready to part with them.
"Hey, I remember Professor Lockhart is holding a book signing tomorrow, right?" Denton said, eyes sparkling like a kid about to meet his favorite baseball player. "Why don't we go meet your new professor in person and pick up another set while we're at it!"
Richie could only nod in agreement.
In his memory, though, Professor Lockhart was all flash and no substance.
Unfortunately, his recollection of the man was fuzzy. What he did remember clearly was that this coming school year, a giant snake would appear in Hogwarts Castle—one that could kill with a direct stare and petrify anyone who saw its reflection.
All Richie could think was: Hogwarts really is way too dangerous.
Still, he had to attend classes. He would need to be extra careful this term. He might even have to cut back on visits to the Starlight Sanctum.
The top priority should be solving the unsolved mystery left behind by the Four Sages as soon as the school year started…
With a thoughtful gleam in his eyes, Richie began mapping out his plans for the new school year.
The day passed quickly.
The next morning, Denton drove their little yellow car and took Richie to the Leaky Cauldron.
Meanwhile, at the Burrow, the Weasley family and Harry were lining up to use the fireplace. They would be traveling to Diagon Alley via the Floo Network.
Diagon Alley was incredibly lively. More and more witches and wizards were crowding toward Flourish and Blotts.
"Step right up, don't miss it!"
"Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League. Five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award—Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing begins in just thirty minutes!"