Wade finished all his homework during the first week of summer vacation.
It was easy for him; all the necessary knowledge was in his head, and he barely needed to open a book to complete most of his essays.
On the morning of the eighth day, Professor Moray's son, Steven, appeared at the door.
Since there were no pedestrians on the road at that hour, he had Apparated directly nearby instead of coming through Wade's fireplace.
Early in the morning, a sudden knock sounded at the door. Ferdinand opened it to see a tall man standing outside.
"Hello, Mr. Gray. I'm Steven Moray—is Wade in?"
The tall man offered a cheerful smile.
"Of, of course… please come in."
Ferdinand stepped aside, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Most wizards he'd met didn't wear Muggle clothes, but this person was very well-dressed.
Steven Moray, Ferdinand recalled Wade mentioning him.
For some reason, he had always pictured a chubby little boy, but the person in front of him looked like a basketball player.
"Hi, Steven, long time no see."
Wade came down from upstairs and raised a hand in greeting.
"Wade, I'm here to pick you up for Tree Fern Manor."
Steven's smile immediately reached his eyes. He said, "I guess you're ready?"
"Of course."
Wade picked up a pen case from the cabinet, tucked it into his pocket, and after saying goodbye to his parents, the two left the Gray home together.
The cool morning light scattered across the street. Most houses still had dark windows, and a thin mist blurred the distant cityscape.
"How are we getting there?" Wade asked.
"Before I left, my father told me not to take you by Apparition, to avoid any danger."
Steven raised his wand. "So there's only one choice—the Knight Bus."
With a loud bang, a triple-decker bus seemed to squeeze itself out of thin air, its headlights glaring.
"Won't such a loud noise wake the Muggles?" Wade asked, startled and exasperated.
"No. The bus has a Disillusionment Charm on it; Muggles generally can't hear or see it," Steven said.
"…Generally?"
"Haha… you really are sharp."
Steven couldn't help but laugh. "Occasionally, some Muggles notice the bus, but they usually think they're seeing things."
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, simply stick out your wand hand, step aboard, and we can take you anywhere you wish to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and tonight I will be your conductor—"
A thin young man poked half his body out of the bus door. After rattling off a long introduction, he seemed to finally notice the two waiting by the roadside.
"Please, gentlemen, step aboard. What are you waiting for?" Shunpike said enthusiastically.
"Waiting for you to give me a chance to speak… Eleven Sickles each, right?"
Steven led Wade onto the bus, handing a Galleon and a few Sickles to Shunpike.
"Fancy a hot chocolate, sirs? Only two more Sickles each!"
Shunpike asked loudly, pulling the door shut with a strong tug.
"No, thank you. To Tree Fern Manor," Steven said.
"Right you are, sir!" Shunpike replied loudly.
Wade surveyed the bus's interior. Inside, there were several beds with brass posts, and the windows next to them had drawn curtains. Candles flickered on shelves beside the beds, casting a faint light within the vehicle.
Only one bed had a passenger.
The person wore an old nightcap, covered tightly by blankets, and only emitted steady snores. The conductor's loud voice seemed to have no effect on them at all.
"Lie down, Wade."
Steven chose a bed and lay down, warning, "This bus can get pretty wild."
Wade heeded the advice.
Shunpike raised an eyebrow. "Speed is a man's romance!"
"Thanks, but I hope this romance is a bit gentler," Steven grumbled.
No sooner had he spoken than the entire bus hopped like a frog, suddenly shooting far ahead. Wade nearly rolled off the bed.
He immediately drew his wand and cast a temporary Sticking Charm on his clothes, finally managing not to tumble with the bus's subsequent erratic shaking.
"Whoa, student—you've violated Ministry of Magic regulations!"
Shunpike said, then chuckled to himself.
Steven asked, "Are you going to report me to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Of course—not!"
Shunpike pinched his mouth, saying in a strange voice, "My mouth is as reliable as if it had a Permanent Sticking Charm on it!"
The driver up front also spoke, "Sir, we have professional ethics—Shunpike, no joking around."
"Got it, Ernie!" Shunpike saluted by raising his hand to his forehead.
Although the Knight Bus drove erratically, its speed was remarkable. It wasn't long before they arrived outside Tree Fern Manor.
Steven and Wade stepped off the bus together. The iron gates of the manor slid open silently, then closed automatically after the two entered.
Compared to ordinary Muggle estates, wizarding manors were remarkably quiet. To maintain a manor of this size, Muggles would need at least fifty or sixty servants.
But wizards didn't need them.
House-elves could handle all the complex work.
"Actually, I'd rather invite you to my farm—Tree Fern Manor is a bit too quiet."
Steven said, "But my father said he wants to give you a few days of alchemy lessons first."
Wade asked, "Don't you need to go to Mr. Scamander's?"
"Mr. Scamander gave me two weeks of summer vacation."
Steven said happily, "After your lessons, we'll go to the farm for a couple of days. After the holidays, we'll go to Dorset—Mr. Scamander says he'd be happy for you to visit."
Wade was also looking forward to it.
According to Steven, Tree Fern Manor had over a dozen house-elves in service, but Wade never saw a single one.
The food here was also much more varied than Hogwarts' dining hall.
Although the school's Great Hall tables were always piled high, they usually featured large platters of roasted potatoes, fried steak, roast chicken, cake, and so on. It wasn't that the food wasn't abundant, but one would inevitably get tired of the school cafeteria after a while.
Tree Fern Manor was different.
Professor Moray had traveled extensively around the world when he was younger and still frequently visited other countries for conferences, to exchange alchemy products, or even to attend Muggle product launches in disguise.
Thus, he had introduced cuisines from various countries to Tree Fern Manor—Peking duck, Brazilian barbecue, Singaporean chili crab, Spanish ham, Mexican burritos…
The dining hall's menu alone was a two-inch-thick booklet.
And you could order à la carte.
Whatever you wanted, you just chose it in advance, and within half an hour, a house-elf would silently deliver it to your table.
At noon, Professor Moray returned from outside. He wasted no time on pleasantries and immediately began teaching Wade.
"You've mastered all the basic concepts of alchemy," Professor Moray said directly. "This summer, we'll learn something special—Bio-Alchemy."