"Sir," Festus continued, "we used two layers of graphene film, placing an ultra-thin layer of Demiguise hair between them — literally only a single hair's thickness. Altogether, we used merely one ounce of hair. That is one hundred and seventy times less than what is required for an ordinary invisibility cloak. At the same time, our product possesses incredible strength and durability. In theory, the enchantments on such a cloak should last for centuries."
"Remarkable, gentlemen."
Richard was no less astonished than the rest of the audience. Such a fabric promised tremendous possibilities. He could supply the British intelligence services with several hundred camouflage cloaks enchanted for invisibility, charging a price a hundred times higher than production costs. He estimated that each invisibility cloak would earn him no less than a hundred thousand pounds. In other words, at least twenty million could already be considered practically secured.
"Gentlemen, I shall require a sample of the invisibility cloak, along with a full report, just as from the others. You have honestly earned your grant of thirty thousand Galleons."
"Yoo-hoo!" Foster cried joyfully. "Brother, did you hear that? We're rich!"
"Thank you!" Festus's eyes burned with delight and adoration. It looked as though, given another moment, he might start worshipping Grosvenor outright. "Sir, thank you so much! We'll bring you everything!"
"Flemings, do not hold up the others!" Penelope Clearwater snapped at the boys.
"Yes, yes, sorry," Festus replied hurriedly to the prefect. "We're leaving already."
The Fleming brothers were replaced by a thin, awkward-looking girl of about fifteen or sixteen wearing enormous horn-rimmed spectacles. She stood completely alone, shifting timidly from foot to foot. Her robes looked faded from endless washing and clearly second-hand. Her shoes were so worn down it seemed miraculous they were still usable at all. Mouse-coloured hair had been pulled back into a severe ponytail. At first glance, she looked every bit the stereotypical grey mouse and a swot from a poor family, but Richie deliberately tried to ignore appearances. What mattered to him now was intelligence and talent. More precisely, results. And who produced those results was irrelevant.
The girl's voice turned out to be soft, and her demeanour painfully shy. Twisting the edges of her shabby robes in her hands, she spoke hesitantly:
"M-My Lord, forgive me, I…"
"Take heart, Miss. I don't bite," Richie said with an encouraging smile. "Let us begin with your name."
"Chelsea Chester, my Lord," the girl mumbled, even managing a faint approximation of a curtsey.
By addressing the Earl with exaggerated politeness — rather like addressing a lieutenant as though he were a captain — Chelsea earned Richard's approval at once. He decided he would later make discreet enquiries into Miss Chester's circumstances; she gave off the distinct impression of a meek orphan girl. And people like that were useful to him. Granger, for example, was already displaying the qualities of a strict and capable manager. But not everyone could become one of the Lord's deputies — he would also require other trusted staff. A secretary, for instance, who would remain loyal to her master rather than running off to competitors with every scrap of confidential information. And if she also happened to be a witch, that was a triple benefit: security in an emergency, and the ability to slip a potion into a business partner's goblet at precisely the right moment to make him more agreeable.
All in all, Richard arrived at several conclusions. One of them was that Chester was most likely ignored by her Housemates and was an extremely lonely girl. The second was that Miss Chelsea was in dire need of money, which had driven her to invent something and present it to the Lord. All of this followed naturally from the fact that, unlike the others, she had worked alone rather than as part of a team. Her appearance, behaviour, and the way the others looked at her said more than enough as well.
Finally mustering her courage, Chelsea continued:
"My Lord, I do not know whether you will find this interesting, but I devised several ways of using graphene."
"I am listening most attentively, Miss Chester," Richard encouraged her.
"I believe graphene film can be used to reinforce various materials," Chelsea said softly. "I made several examples, if you would permit me…"
"I should be delighted to see them, Miss Chester," Richard replied.
With trembling hands, Chelsea hurriedly began pulling various objects from the deep pockets of her robes: scraps of cloth, pieces of glass, wire, and a copper plate.
The students leaned closer in an attempt to glimpse the items in Chelsea's hands, narrowing the circle around her.
Richard did not even bother remaining seated. He rose from the armchair and approached the timid girl, staring with undisguised curiosity at what initially looked like little more than rubbish.
Chelsea's hands began trembling even harder from the Lord's proximity. She held her breath and froze rigidly in place.
"Miss Chester, there is no need to worry," Richard said calmly, attempting to soothe her. "Tell me, what are these objects?"
"M-My Lord…" Chelsea stammered. "F-forgive me, I'm nervous."
"There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone is nervous," Richard said warmly. "Nevertheless, I am very curious to see what you have prepared."
"This…" Chelsea held up a small piece of coloured fabric, "I strengthened the cloth by attaching graphene film to one side. Afterwards, the material became incredibly durable."
"Excellent."
Richard took the piece of fabric into his hands and attempted to tear it apart, but failed completely. Then he drew a penknife from his pocket and tried stabbing the cloth instead. That attempt proved rather more successful.
"An excellent result," he said with a dazzling smile. "Anything else?"
"Yes." Chelsea nodded uncertainly and handed the boy a copper plate. "This plate consists of thin layers of copper and sheets of graphene bonded together with Permanent Sticking Charms. The strength of the metal increased a hundredfold!"
"A graphene composite," Richard noted with satisfaction. "If chromium plates were added, the durability would increase even further. I am pleased you thought of such a technology. Anything else?"
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰