Li Wei and Hermione were in luck. The day they set out for Moscow was clear and breezy, perfect for an outing.
"But Borodino is so remote! It's a hundred and twenty kilometers from Moscow, and there isn't a taxi in sight!"
Hermione spoke idly, kicking a branch off the roadside with her little leather shoe.
She and Li Wei had walked a long way from camp. Their feet were getting sore, and they still hadn't found a main road.
The scenery outside Moscow was lovely, but after a while, it all began to look the same.
At least Li Wei was with her. The young witch glanced at the boy walking beside her and suddenly felt that the scenery didn't matter at all!
What mattered was who was there to see it with her!
"Hermione, why don't we just use Apparition to get to Moscow?"
Li Wei was getting bored too. Fallen leaves carpeted the ground, birch and maple trees towered overhead, streams babbled past, and low shrubs lined their path. At first, he and Hermione had found it all rather novel.
But after walking through the woods for so long, neither of them found it novel anymore!
Hermione hesitated at his suggestion, then shook her head.
"No, Li Wei. We're both underage wizards, and we're in Russia. If the Ministry of Magic detects us using magic, we'll be in serious trouble!"
Li Wei laughed and reminded her:
"Hermione, did you forget?!
"I blocked and sealed away the Trace on both of us back at Castle Estate!"
"Besides, we're outside Moscow, not London. England's Ministry of Magic has no jurisdiction over us here!"
Hermione's expression shifted. She was about to agree when her bright eyes lit up and she pointed ahead.
"Li Wei, look! There's a main road. We