Chapter 3: Strange Happenings
'Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.' St. John 8:44.
The next day at Hogwarts was just the same as the before, an empty common room with three students grouped around a fire, reading from huge school books, when, all of a sudden, the portrait hole opened and a skinny, dark haired man crawled in and stood up right. He wore a black suit and had an array of religious items hanging of a long silver chain around his neck (crucifixes, medallions bearing pictures of various saints, Mary and Jesus and a dog tag bearing the words 'ONLY GOD WILL JUDGE ME') and was reading from a book. When he was in, he walked over to an armchair and threw himself into it and continued reading. The three looked at each other and Hermione spoke up, "Professor Richards?"
"Yes?" said the man looking up from his book.
"What are you doing here?" asked Harry.
"Oh," said Richards, "Well I always leave the staffroom when people are in there because all the teachers hate me."
"Why?" asked Harry.
"I keep accusing them of doing unholy acts," replied Richards.
"Like what?" they asked together.
"Well," said Richards, "Professor Trelawny teaches Divination and so does Bane, and acts of divination is forbidden by the Lord God, and Professor McGonagall gives life to statues and no one but God has the right to create life."
"You also threw Slughorn's potion all over him," said Harry.
"Hey," said Richards, his voice rising, "I could have sworn he was trying to summon the Antichrist with that brew."
"You just need to go down there and tell them you're not doing anything wrong and you have the right to be treated with respect," said Ron firmly.
"You're right," said Richards, "I will."
"Meanwhile," said Ron, "We're going to play a game."
As he removed the Ouija board, Richards gasped loudly, and looked in horror at the board, "Are you all right Professor?" asked Hermione.
"It's the devil," said Richards.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"It's the devil," he repeated, and he jumped up, crossed himself and ran out, screaming "BEWARE OF THE DEVIL…BEWARE."
Just then the pointer on the board moved and Harry instinctively wrote down what it was spelling:
HATE THAT MOTHERFUCKER.