Paris was world-famous as the city of romance and perfume, yet most tourists did not ride the metro in the City of Romance. Instead, they took sightseeing buses to admire Paris.
The Paris Metro began operations fifty years after the London Underground. It reeked of an indescribable stench, like a mixture of rubber tires, forgotten dirty socks, and powerful household cleaner. On his first ride, Gong Saiyi, a wizard who did not know how to buy a ticket, nearly got trapped by the turnstiles. Fortunately, someone demonstrated what to do for him—jump right over them. The inside of the metro was hardly picturesque either; disheveled homeless people sprawled across the seats everywhere. At the same time, someone sat in the adjacent seat reading a book.
After boarding, Gong Saiyi and Klimian formed one group, while Severus and Felix formed another. They sat close enough to see each other but too far away to hear each other speak. They were not nearly as conspicuous as a hulking half-giant like Hagrid, and none of the passengers noticed these people who had boarded midway through the route.
"Can you tell me?" Felix pleaded, clutching Severus's arm.
"Tell you what?"
"The real reason," Felix begged. "Please."
Severus hesitated, then gestured for Felix to look at a promotional poster in the metro. "Do you recognize that symbol?"
Felix looked over. It was an environmental protection symbol.
"France and Britain are both promoting environmental protection. Britain encourages people to travel by bicycle, while France advocates taxing diesel. Harvesters and tractors in rural areas all run on diesel, and those high-powered machines consume quite a lot of fuel. Raising taxes would place a considerable burden on farmers."
"I get it." Felix beamed, as if he had discovered a secret.
"I thought you wanted to know the real