Knight Bus

Where is Albert going?

Early in the morning, after breakfast, Nia stood at the door with her chubby Tom Cat in her arms, watching Albert disappear from the doorway.

Lowering her waving arm, Nia turned to look at her parents, feeling as if they were hiding something from her.

"Someone invited him over. You know, your brother is very talented, and building connections will be very helpful for his future," Daisy said gently.

Herb glanced at his wife and nodded; what she said was indeed true.

However, this time Albert wasn't going to an academic gathering, but rather to have dinner at his girlfriend's house.

The night before last, Albert finally confessed to them that he had a girlfriend.

At that moment, Herb and Daisy both showed expressions of "I knew it." They were never worried that Albert would not find a girlfriend. After all, he was too outstanding and had even won an International Wizard's Chess Champion. How could he not find a girlfriend?

The two were more worried that they didn't have much in common to talk about.

However, upon hearing that the beautiful red-haired girl named Isobel was also a genius, the couple breathed a sigh of relief. There must be things to talk about between geniuses.

Sure enough, their son was as reliable as ever.

However, Nia seemed somewhat averse to these things, so the couple could only help keep it a secret for the time being.

It's all their fault for not fulfilling their responsibilities as parents in the past, always letting Albert take care of his sister, which made Nia develop a strong dependence on and admiration for Albert.

This situation will only gradually disappear as Nia grows up.

Albert walked to a secluded street, took out his pocket watch to check the time, then looked around and soon saw a bus approaching.

He quickly raised his wand and waved it forward.

A few seconds later, a bright purple Third Floor bus stopped in front of him, narrowly missing a pedestrian on the side of the road.

If it weren't for magic, the Knight Bus would probably have run over a bunch of Muggle by now.

A young man, about twenty-five years old and dressed in a purple uniform, stood at the bus door. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and read the following in a fluent tone, "Welcome aboard the bus. This is an emergency passenger service for witches or wizard in distress. Just extend your wand and get on the bus, and we can take you wherever you want to go. My name is James Joyce, and I am your ticket seller."

After saying that, he paused, looked Albert up and down, and suddenly said, "You are Albert Anderson, right?"

"Can't Muggle see this Knight Bus?" Albert changed the subject. There were other Muggle nearby, but none of them noticed the bus.

"If they don't listen carefully and don't look carefully, they won't notice anything." Joyce looked at Albert's face with interest and suddenly said, "Mr. Anderson, the youngest International Wizard's Chess Champion, right? It's an honor to meet you."

"Honestly, it's been a long time since anyone in Britain has won the International Wizard's Chess Competition!" After saying that, he even tried to shake hands with Albert. "You are definitely the most important wizard I've ever met during my time as a ticket seller."

"You'll definitely be hosting a wizard of far greater importance than me next summer." Albert began pulling Galleon from his pocket. "How much will it cost to go to Dingworth Village in Cornwall?"

"Nine Silver Sickle," Joyce said. "By next summer, I'll be out of this business."

"Nine Silver Sickle." Albert quickly paid the fare and got into the car. Various chairs were haphazardly arranged around the windows. Several unfortunate wizards seemed to have been thrown to the ground when the car suddenly stopped, and they were grumbling as they got up.

With a loud bang, the wizard, who had just been trying to get up, fell down again due to inertia.

"It's a terrible feeling." If Albert hadn't grabbed the railing in time, he probably wouldn't have been feeling much better than them.

"Ernie, this is Anderson. I didn't expect the champion to ride in our Knight Bus." Joyce knocked on the window and said to the driver with a smile, "This is our driver, Ernie Plain."

"Oh, is that Anderson?" The driver turned his head to look at Albert, completely ignoring what was ahead.

"Watch out, we're going to crash!" Albert shouted a warning. Although he knew it was unlikely to be a car accident, he still felt safer with his wand in his hand.

Just as the Knight Bus was about to collide with the car in front, the car parked on the side of the road seemed to grow legs and jump away on its own, which seemed a bit unbelievable.

"Come with me." Joyce led him to an empty bed on the second floor and handed him the ticket. "The Dingworth Village you're going to is a bit of a detour, so I suggest you sit down and rest for a while. Of course, if you want to get off first, you'll need to tip."

"I hope we don't have to take a detour."

As he spoke, Albert pulled a Galleon from his pocket.

"Oh, you're so generous. Of course, no problem." Joyce said with some surprise when she saw the Galleon that Albert had stuffed into her hand.

"However, we must get Mrs. Marsh down first."

Just then, the sounds of Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare and terrible splashing came from below. "She's very uncomfortable. You should be able to reach your destination in about ten minutes."

After he finished speaking, he heard another bang, and he almost fell to the ground. The scenery outside the window had changed again.

"We've arrived in Abergavenny. Next stop, Dingworth Village in Cornwall."

The car rumbled along a narrow country road, the trees on both sides jumping aside to make way for the two unlicensed buses, as if afraid of being mercilessly run over.

A witch got out of the car with Joyce's help; she looked rather unwell.

Soon, the Knight Bus continued on its way for a while, then there was another loud bang, and the scenery outside the window changed once again.

"What a terrible experience. I'd better not ride this thing again next time."

Riding a bus that keeps rattling and bouncing hundreds of miles forward at a time is definitely not a pleasant experience. Albert nearly fell five times, felt Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, and riding the Knight Bus was worse than using Portkey.

The car suddenly drove onto a main road in a busy city, then appeared on a bridge, and then he finally heard the announcement that they had arrived at Dingworth Village.

We've finally arrived.

Albert immediately relented and hurriedly left the car, not wanting to stay there a moment longer.

Soon, he heard a loud bang, and the Knight Bus disappeared again.

"A kind of Apparition technology?" Albert muttered. "No wonder, there are always banging sounds, but the distance they move doesn't seem to be very long."

He was a little curious about how the wizards managed to make both cars Apparition.

Albert snapped out of his reverie, looked up and around. It was a small town by the sea, and there were no other Muggle around.

How was he going to find Isobel's house? Albert sent Isobel a message and then walked along the street. He soon realized that his worries were unnecessary. He saw Isobel waving at him from a short distance away.

But what's up with the guy next to her?

Albert strode over and saw a young man staring at him with hostility.

"Isobel, who is this..." the man asked first.

"Albert Anderson, his boyfriend, and who are you?" Albert looked at the other person with a threatening gaze, quickly figured out what was going on, and muttered, "What a pathetic guy."

"You're a little faster than I expected."

"That's the effect of money." Albert smiled, took Isobel's hand, and walked forward, leaving the Muggle youth staring blankly at the two of them leaving.

"Your charm is truly remarkable," Albert couldn't help but tease. "It's a pity he's not the protagonist of a novel; he can't win over a beautiful heroine like you."