Pitch-black rubber tires rolled over the asphalt road. The pavement, baked by the scorching sun, gave off an indescribably rich smell, mixed with hydrocarbons left behind by burning gasoline and carrying a faint sweetness. The sky had not yet gone completely dark. The lingering glow of dusk made the red taillights seem somewhat dim, while the engine purred cheerfully as the car gradually headed toward suburban Hampstead.
Loren sat in the back seat, holding Hermione's hand as he leaned close to the window and studied the concrete-and-steel jungle outside.
"Tsk..."
Loren blinked. He thought the towering buildings in Muggle cities were rather beautiful. Their glass curtain walls reflected both the sunset clouds and the city lights already coming on, lending them a certain splendor, as though compensating for the missing starry sky above the city.
Perhaps he had spent too long in an ancient Castle like Hogwarts. Returning so suddenly to a modern city left him feeling a little dazed.
Hermione studied the buildings as well without speaking. Her gaze occasionally flicked toward the seat beside her, then toward the front passenger seat, her expression somewhat complicated.
The Mondeo Classic was a five-seat midsize sedan, a family car developed by Ford's European division for the global market. Hermione did not quite understand the designer's original vision, but she had always believed that if the two families traveled together, with Grandpa Bates driving, her father Wendell ought to be in the front passenger seat rather than sitting in the back—
Staring at the hands she and Loren were holding.
The atmosphere in the car was somewhat delicate.
Bates and Monica were chatting in the front, laughing as they talked about the wizard parents they had just met. Loren sat by the back window, holding the girl's hand while admiring the night