On the observation deck of the space station, Harry Potter and Ginny stood side by side. Next to them was Ron, who was holding Lavender Brown. Harry looked at his son who was checking his luggage and said in a gentle tone, "Albus, are everything ready?"
"Yes, father, we can set off." Young Albus·Potter closed the suitcase neatly.
"Why do you have to take Space Elevator? Wouldn't it be more convenient to directly use Transit Gate to teleport from Mars to the earth?" The youngest daughter Lisa·Lily·Potter complained with a pout, her long hair floating like seaweed in the zero-gravity environment.
Ginny gently adjusted her daughter's collar. "Since this is a family trip, you should enjoy every aspect."
At the same time, Ron was telling his only son, "Have you brought everything you need for admission?"
"Don't worry, father." Hugo·Weasley patted the space bag on his chest.
The two families walked into the exclusive cabin and fastened their seat belts on the leather seats. When the countdown reached zero, the cabin began to descend steadily along the track constructed of carbon nanotubes. Everyone looked out the window in unison, where the blue planet slowly rotated among the stars, and the outline of the continent was looming among the clouds.
"Every time I see this scene, it makes my heart surge." Lavender (Lavender·Brown, the one who chased Ron crazily in Half-Blood Prince) sighed softly.
"Yeah, I never thought I could witness such a miracle in my lifetime." Ginny's fingertips touched the glass lightly. Harry and Ron looked at each other and smiled, but found that the children were looking at them with strange eyes.
Harry understands this look - these children were born after the Arcane Empire was established. To them, the era without Space Elevator and Transit Gate is just an ancient legend in history textbooks.
Three hours later, the elevator arrived smoothly at the base station at Brazil. The two families walked straight into the special passage decorated with Mithril patterns. At the end of the passage stood a huge door frame structure, and the platform in front of the door was filled with magical light.
"Welcome to Transit Gate service, what is your destination?" the uniformed receptionist asked with a smile.
"Bones Institute of Advanced Magical Studies." Harry replied.
"Ah, the famous Academy City. But without sufficient authority or license, you cannot teleport directly to this area."
Harry raised his hand to show the smart watch on his wrist, and the holographic projection immediately displayed:
Name: Harry Potter
Authorization level: 3-C
The receptionist was secretly surprised and quickly used the scanner to confirm the information. "Mr. Potter, you and your family do have direct access." She turned to Ron, who also showed his watch.
"Unfortunately, your Level 2-B clearance is not sufficient for direct transmission."
"Please check the records," Ron reminded, "My son is studying there and I should have a temporary visit permit."
After confirmation, the receptionist apologized. "I was negligent. Could you please use Arcane Points or Imperial Gold for settlement?"
"Imperial Gold." Harry replied without hesitation. Arcane Points is the number of Reward Points in the past, which is an extremely precious resource, and Imperial Gold is the currency in daily circulation.
After completing the instant transfer, the two families stood on the circular platform. A white light curtain like water waves appeared between the door frames, and energy surged and made a low roar.
"I still think this kind of service is expensive." Lavender whispered.
"It's not like our family can't afford it." Ron didn't take it seriously.
"You Weasley family are indeed rich now, but that doesn't mean my family is too." Lavender glared at him angrily.
Ron wanted to refute, "You are also Weasley family's person now", but swallowed it back under Harry's warning gaze.
After charging for a few seconds, Transit Gate burst out with soft white light, and everyone closed their eyes subconsciously. When they opened their eyes again, they were in a completely different environment. Although the door frame structure behind them was still the same, the surrounding scene had completely changed.
"Welcome to Bones Academy City." Staff members in dark blue uniforms bowed in greeting.
After leaving the jump center, the bustling urban scene came to mind. People of different skin colors and races were shuttled back and forth in strange costumes: some wore hooded fantasy-style mage robes, and some wore Fusion's mix of medieval and modern elements - Potter family and Weasley family's outfits also fell into this category. In the past few decades, the empire's fashion trends have become more and more fantasy-style.
The children looked curiously at the skyscrapers reaching into the sky, the suspended traffic, the magic puppets that maintained traffic, and the automatic cleaning robots.
"Look! Magic Tower!" Albus pointed excitedly at the towering towers in the distance. Even if they were miles apart, they could feel the surging magic fluctuations among them.
"Which seat belongs to grandma?" Lisa pulled his father's sleeve.
"The Sixth Tower." Harry pointed to one of them. Albus, Lisa and James were all excited. In the empire, only a handful of wizards are qualified to own personal magic towers. Each tower owner is not only a powerful spellcaster, but also has made outstanding contributions to the development of the empire. Obtaining a magic tower is Wizarding World's highest honor.
At this time, Hugo looked up at his father with questions in his eyes. Ron pointed to a building in the distance. "Your grandfather is a magic technology engineer, so he has an independent research institute. However, your uncles George and Fred are the tower owners of the ninth tower."
Hugo suddenly smiled. He has admired his grandfather and two uncles since he was a child. "I heard that uncle George and uncle Fred will soon obtain the title of [Alchemy Master]?"
"Don't listen to their bragging." Ron shook his head, "Now the empire divides Alchemy into three areas: Potions, magic Creation Science and magic science Technical engineering. To obtain the title of 'Alchemy Master', you must make major achievements in at least two fields. Your uncles are indeed talented in magic Creation, but in other fields..."
Hugo nodded in understanding, but his admiration for his uncle did not diminish at all. Then the two families began to tour this legendary city. The whole city was filled with a strong academic atmosphere, and scholars, scientists, engineers and wizards in different fields could be seen everywhere.
"It is worthy of being called the world's academic center." Ginny praised.
"After all, more than 95% of the empire's magic and technological breakthroughs originated here." Harry interface.
"I'm even more surprised that this artificial island," Lavender looked at the sea level in the distance, "Can actually host such a huge building complex."
"I heard from my father that the blueprint of the entire city was designed by the Archon himself, and my father and many magic technology engineers participated in the construction." Ron said with pride in his tone.
Hugo interjected disapprovingly. "The empire has already colonized most of Solar System, what's so surprising about an artificial island?"
Ron patted his son on the back of his head. "Watch your tone, kid."
"Father! I'm seventeen years old, you can't just hit me like this all the time."
"As long as you are still my son, I can beat you whenever I want."
Hugo shut up aggrievedly, thinking to himself that his father and the wizard knights were indeed barbarians. After several hours of sightseeing, the two families finally walked in the direction of Bones Institute of Advanced Magical Studies. The setting sun dyed the outline of the magic tower into gold, and the whole city looked like a magic pearl inlaid on the sea in the twilight.