"Richie." Buffy looked warmly at the boy. "I love you. If you ever want to visit me, here..."
She held out a thick, bulging envelope to Richard.
"There's a letter inside with my contact details," she continued, "a Muggle telephone number and my address in Canada. I've also put a Portkey in the envelope, a notebook with Protean Charms, and a two-way mirror. You can write something in the notebook, and the information will appear in an identical notebook of mine. You can use the mirror to contact me, rather like a video call. And the Portkey will take you straight to my home and then return you to the place where you activated it."
"I know how to use all of those," Richard replied, accepting the envelope.
"Richie, you can visit me whenever you like," Buffy continued.
"All right." Grosvenor nodded. "But I can't promise I'll use your gifts."
"Goodbye, son."
Buffy impulsively embraced Richard. Then, reluctantly breaking the embrace, she took a couple of steps back. The blonde dropped the cheque onto the ground and, with a flick of her wand, burned it to ashes before Disapparating with a crack.
After the boy's mother disappeared, both Hermiones approached Richard.
"Richie, I heard everything," the original Granger said quietly.
"How?" Grosvenor asked with interest.
The time traveller stared at the original Hermione in astonishment; judging by her expression, she hadn't heard a thing.
"The Illusion," Hermione One admitted. "Last year, I loaded some books on lip-reading into it and configured it to do something similar. It converted what it read into text."
"Useful feature," Richard remarked. "Send that modification to my AI."
"Of course..."
His friend copied the additions she had managed to configure on her Illusion over to Richard's AI.
"Richie, are you sure you're all right?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you."
"What was that?!" Hermione Two broke the silence.
"A family reunion," Richard explained as he put the envelope into his bag.
"Richie, your mum..." The original Hermione searched for the right words. "Erm... she burned the cheque."
"I noticed."
"You're not upset?" his friend continued worriedly.
"No, I'm actually rather glad," Grosvenor replied calmly. "At the very least, it means Mum didn't seek me out for the money."
"And what if she'd taken it?" Granger from this world asked.
"I wouldn't have been upset. Hermione, whatever our relationship may be, she is still my mother. Helping her financially is hardly a problem for me."
"Richie, is there anything I can do to help?" his friend continued.
"Hmm..." Grosvenor thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Actually, yes... Hermione, if it's not too much trouble, please find everything you can on the Crouches: my grandfather, grandmother, mother and uncle. School archives, reports, which books they borrowed from the library, what punishments they received. Basically, dig up everything Hogwarts has on them."
"Wait," the otherworlder exclaimed, "are you saying you're related to the pure-blood Crouch family?"
"Something like that," Richard agreed. "Ladies, I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread that around. I'm a Grosvenor, full stop!"
"Of course, Richie," the original Hermione agreed at once.
"I don't make a habit of gossiping about my friends," Granger from the other world said, pursing her lips.
"By the way..." Richard fixed his gaze on her. "Miss Granger, the longer you put it off, the longer you'll be staying with us. Of course, if you like our world, you're more than welcome..."
"Er..." The displaced girl looked flustered. "I just didn't know how to go about, erm..."
"What are you talking about?" the original Granger asked, looking curiously at her double.
"None of your business!" the time traveller snapped.
"Miss Granger, there's no need to be so rude," Richard said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Hermione is probably one of the very few people in this world you can rely on."
"The Time-Turner," Hermione Two ground out through clenched teeth. "Richard promised to help me get home, but we need the Time-Turner for that."
"Richie?" Hermione One looked questioningly at her friend, as though seeking confirmation of her double's words.
"Hermione, you can help Miss Granger as well. The sooner my specialists begin studying the Time-Turner, the sooner you'll be deprived of the honour of Miss Granger's company."
An adventurous gleam appeared in the eyes of the Hermione from this world, while a broad, predatory grin spread across her face.
"Right, you otherworldly knock-off!" She stared her double straight in the eye. "We're going to work out a plan to get the Time-Turner back right now."
"You mean steal it?" the time traveller asked ironically.
"No." The original Granger shook her head. "I said exactly what I meant—GET IT BACK! That Time-Turner belongs to you as its authorised temporary user, and Professor McGonagall from our world has unlawfully taken possession of it. What are you standing there for, you cheap copy of me?! Come on, get your arse moving!"
Hermione seized the time traveller firmly by the arm and, like a tractor towing a trailer, dragged her off towards Hogwarts. The displaced Granger was so taken aback that she didn't resist in the slightest.
After watching the pair disappear into the distance, Richie took out his magophone.
"Hello?" came the Minister for Magic's melodious voice. "Richard, we only just parted ways. Has something happened?"
"Millicent, could you do me a favour and find out who owns the Shrieking Shack? I want to buy the land that wreck is standing on and build my office there."
"All right, Richard, I'll find out..."
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰