Dumbledore and Wade stepped out of the noisy terminal into a surging crowd, every face filled with anxiety, worry, and fear.
Some people hurried along dragging luggage, some clutched their phones and spoke incoherently, while others looked around blankly for friends and family.
They rushed past the two wizards, who walked with steady steps and calm expressions, their own movements frantic and panicked.
The crowd was like a rushing river, while the wizards were reefs within it. In that fleeting intersection, it was as though two entirely different worlds had formed—
On one side was the chaos and haste of the ordinary world; on the other was the detached calm of the hidden world.
When the two left the buildings and stepped behind a massive support pillar, they were like droplets merging into the sea. If anyone had kept watching them, they would have discovered that neither of them ever emerged from the other side of the pillar.
This Apparition lacked the distinctive explosive crack of ordinary wizards, like air being forcibly compressed and suddenly released. The entire process was silent, smooth, and discreet, drawing no Muggle attention whatsoever.
Their figures merely flickered swiftly within the shadows before vanishing completely.
The next moment, they were enveloped by the cool, damp air of the Scottish Highlands. The familiar outline of Hogwarts Castle appeared and disappeared in the distance, framed by the night and the lake's gleam.
Dumbledore turned to look at Wade, who seemed as though he had merely returned from a stroll, and undisguised admiration flashed through his eyes.
"Your Apparition has become even more refined, Wade. I suppose you have never displayed such exquisite skill before anyone else, have you?"
Wade shrugged. "Of course not. Unlicensed Apparition is illegal, and I have no plans to get a license