Chapter 327: The Knight Bus
Aragorn and Anlomire's family left the Ministry of Magic and came to the road outside.
Following the instructions from the Department of Magical Transportation staff, little Anlomire, who had just received his wand, eagerly stood by the roadside and extended his wand toward the street.
Without waiting long, accompanied by a whoosh, a red and green blur shot toward them like lightning from the distance, dodging left and right. Before they could see it clearly or react, it instantly appeared before them.
With a physically impossible sudden stop, a red and green double-decker bus materialized in front of them.
Transportation in Middle-earth was still in the horse-drawn carriage era, so seeing this metal and glass vehicle was a first for them.
Aragorn and Anlomire's family stared wide-eyed in amazement at the magical bus.
However, after experiencing a day tour of Diagon Alley and the Ministry of Magic, they weren't too shocked by the bus, only marveling at the wonders of magic.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for stranded witches and wizards. Just stick out your wand hand, step aboard, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. I'm Neil, the conductor."
A freckled young wizard in a red uniform jumped down, grinning as he introduced himself.
He sized them up and urged, "Hurry aboard, we have passengers to drop off at the next stop."
Glancing at the pile of items in their hands, he asked, "Need help?"
"No, thank you. We can manage," Aragorn shook his head in refusal.
They had three adults, enough to share the burden of Anlomire's purchases.
"Alright then." Conductor Neil was happy to be spared the trouble and simply stood aside waiting for them to board.
Once Anlomire's group boarded one by one, Neil finally climbed aboard and shouted toward the driver's seat at a disheveled middle-aged man, "Earl, everyone's aboard, let's go!"
The driver named Earl wore diving goggle-style glasses that made his eyeballs appear enormously protruding and magnified, looking rather comical.
He gave an OK gesture, closed the door, and shouted, "Right, off we go!"
He then floored the accelerator. With a whoosh, the entire vehicle shot forward like a rocket, causing everyone in the cabin to fall backward from the powerful inertia.
The conductor reacted quickly, waving his wand and casting cushioning charms on Anlomire's family members, who were about to topple over.
As for Aragorn, he reacted swiftly enough and stabilized himself with his agile physical abilities.
This earned him a surprised and appreciative look from conductor Neil.
The conductor glanced at the group and focused on Aragorn, who was clearly in charge. "Where's your destination?"
"The Angle, located at the confluence of the Bruinen and the Mitheithel. Can you get us there?" Aragorn inquired.
"Did you hear that, Earl? The Angle at the Bruinen and Mitheithel confluence!" The conductor shouted toward the driver, receiving an OK gesture before turning back with a grin and confident expression.
"Trust me, customers, as long as you name it, there's nowhere on the entire continent we can't reach! By the way, the fare to the Angle is 1 Galleon per person. For four of you, that's 4 Galleons total. For an extra Sickle, you can have hot chocolate. Interested?"
Faced with the conductor's sales pitch, Aragorn shook his head in refusal and took out four Galleons.
In this extreme speeding environment where they could barely stand, drinking chocolate would likely end with it splashed all over their faces.
Having failed his upselling, conductor Neil wasn't disappointed. He simply tore off four tickets and handed them over, then led the group toward the back.
The interior space was far larger than the exterior suggested, filled with two-level bunk beds. Some bunks had people resting on them, while others remained empty.
Conductor Neil led them to an empty bunk. "It's still quite a while to the Angle. You can lie down and rest, and I'll call you when we arrive."
Aragorn's group didn't lie down but sat on the bunks, gripping the bedposts tightly to avoid being flung away by the massive inertia.
They quietly watched the scenery flashing past outside, eyes wide with shock.
The Knight Bus traveled extremely fast, covering the distance from one hilltop to another in the blink of an eye, and it didn't choose roads, charging straight through forests.
Every time they thought the bus would crash into a large tree, it smoothly and narrowly avoided it.
Even when tree trunks grew densely in the forest, the Knight Bus seemed like highly malleable rubber, squeezing through narrow gaps between trees.
Or rather, the trees themselves seemed to move aside for the Knight Bus, leaving a passage.
What made Aragorn and company even more nervous was that driver Earl not only maintained full speed throughout but occasionally turned to chat with the conductor or grabbed a bottle to drink, his attention seemingly never on the steering wheel.
Only when the two finished chatting and the driver refocused on driving did Aragorn's group breathe silent sighs of relief.
But the conductor was clearly a chatterbox who couldn't sit still. He turned his attention back to them and struck up a conversation. "You're new students' parents, right? Came to Diagon Alley today to buy school supplies?"
Aragorn nodded in acknowledgment.
The conductor looked at young Anlomire enviously and said:
"You've come at a good time. Back then, we only studied at the castle for one year. My grades weren't good, so I could only get a conductor position.
But those days are my happiest memories. You know, there are so many magical places in the castle, you could never explore them all. You definitely won't regret going there, believe me!"
Hearing the conductor's words, little Anlomire's face showed longing, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mr. Neil, could you tell me what magical places Hogwarts has?"
But the conductor mysteriously shook his head, grinning. "If I tell you in advance, it won't be interesting. You have to see it with your own eyes to know how magical it is!"
Anlomire and his parents were left thoroughly intrigued by the conductor's teasing.
And Aragorn, who had attended Kael and Arwen's wedding, very much agreed with the conductor's words.
The magic of Hogwarts Castle truly could not be described with simple words.
The Knight Bus sped wildly onward, stopping several times to let batches of passengers disembark before finally arriving at the Angle as the sunset's afterglow lingered in the sky.
"The Angle, we've arrived! Passengers disembarking here, please exit!" Conductor Neil called out.
Aragorn and Anlomire's group couldn't wait to get off the bus.
These magical transportation methods were miraculous indeed, but whether Portkeys or the Knight Bus, they were too taxing on the heart.
What amazed Anlomire's group even more was that the Knight Bus had delivered them precisely to their doorstep, and none of the nearby neighbors had noticed.
Like a ghost vehicle, it had arrived silently in the village.
After everyone disembarked and the door closed again, accompanied by a soft popping sound, the Knight Bus instantly transformed into a red and green streak of light and vanished into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Truly magical!" Aragorn couldn't help but sigh deeply.
He would remember today's experiences vividly and felt even more admiration for Kael Black, who had created all of this.
Anlomire's family nodded in hearty agreement beside him.