Please, begin your performance

Riding the Knight Bus could certainly be called an extraordinary experience.

But the journey was anything but pleasant.

"We hope to see you again." Stan Shunpike stood in the open doorway, smiling and waving. Then the Knight Bus bent like a spring and vanished with a bang.

A literal catapult launch!

Pale-faced and trembling at the knees, Su Er held Hermione's hand as they struggled over to a roadside bench and sat down. She could barely straighten up either.

"Gulp." Su Er forced down the breakfast threatening to come back up and said through gritted teeth, "I'm never believing another word Hagrid says. He actually told me the Knight Bus was more comfortable than a Muggle bus."

Still deathly pale, Hermione recalled how the Knight Bus had bounced along with them aboard, soaring upward one moment, plunging straight down the next, then charging headlong at a building.

"Urgh..." Acid rose in her throat.

The two of them rested on the bench not far from the Leaky Cauldron for quite a while before recovering.

"Su Er, how are we getting home later? I don't want another roller-coaster ride," Hermione asked quietly. She was still pale, but the rest had done her some good.

"A taxi!" Su Er's tone was firm. "I'm never riding the Knight Bus again!"

Hermione thought that was an excellent idea and gave it a thumbs-up.

They rested a little longer, breathing in the smog of the foggy city. Once they felt considerably more clearheaded, they got up and headed toward the nearby Leaky Cauldron.

Perhaps because it was Christmas Eve, the pub was bustling, and the owner was rushing back and forth with a tray of drinks.

"Hannah?" Hermione suddenly stepped past Su Er and tapped a girl whose hair hung loose down her back. "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning, Hermione, Su Er." Hannah's hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her smooth, broad forehead. She looked as though she had been busy for quite some time.

"Didn't I tell you?" She tilted her head. "The owner of the Leaky Cauldron is my uncle."

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Tom's call drifted over.

"Hannah, take this drink to table twenty-one."

"Coming, Uncle!" Hannah called over her shoulder, then turned back to Su Er and Hermione.

"Sorry, you're heading to Diagon Alley, right? A family just went into the courtyard. If you go now, you can get in with them."

"I have to get back to work."

"See you at school."

With that, Hannah hurried off toward the counter at a jog.

Su Er and Hermione exchanged a glance and shrugged in unison. As they passed the bar, old Tom was bent over the counter mixing drinks, his head covered in sweat.

He had barely changed since their first meeting.

Well, except that the towel over his shoulder had turned grayish-white.

The two young wizards entered Diagon Alley just before the archway closed. It was their first time seeing a wizarding street at Christmas, and the wizards' celebrations seemed little different from those of Muggles.

Colorful ribbons floated above the street in defiance of gravity, with glittering baubles fastened to them. Every shop had a fir Christmas tree outside its entrance, and the lilting melody of "Jingle Bells" mingled with the scent of ginger biscuits in the air.

"Want some mulled wine?" As they passed the Colorful Candy Shop, Su Er noticed quite a few wizards gathered around a stall outside. Behind it, a witch wearing reindeer antlers was smiling as she handed each customer a small porcelain cup and a doughnut.

The blend of fruity aromas set Su Er's mouth watering, and he could not help swallowing.

"Children aren't allowed to drink alcohol!" Hermione declared righteously, though her throat moved in an almost imperceptible swallow.

Su Er noticed and eagerly tried to persuade her.

"It's fine. Look, that wizard is even giving some to his child. The alcohol evaporates when it's cooked. We learned that in primary school."

"Hmm... all right." Hermione finally agreed. "Let's give it a try."

For one Silver Sickle, Su Er received two servings of mulled wine and doughnuts as the witch wished them a melodious "Merry Christmas."

As it turned out, even if the mulled wine did not taste alcoholic, wine was still wine.

Her cheeks flushed, Hermione alternated between cuddling against Su Er's arm and bouncing into the middle of the street, laughing like a madwoman.

Su Er slapped a hand over his face, then glanced at his own untouched mulled wine. Hmm...

One comforting thing was that Hermione was not alone in her behavior.

Well... Su Er had already seen quite a few young women skipping along the street, waving unidentified objects in their hands.

There were also young couples kissing passionately in full view of everyone.

...Was the wizarding world really this uninhibited?

After quite some time, Hermione was clearly starting to run out of energy. Su Er could practically see spirals spinning in her eyes.

Conveniently, the Millennium Wand Shop-Ollivander's-was just ahead.

It was also one of their planned destinations for this trip. Because of his limited magic, although Su Er could use Transfiguration to create a horse that looked like a unicorn, he could not make it last very long.

During his studies at Hogwarts, he had experimented and found that how long the unicorn-like horse lasted was directly related to its size.

One about Angel's size would last only around two days before falling apart from a lack of magic.

Why had Su Er not performed Transfiguration in front of Angel?

That came down to how the trace worked. Under the underage wizard restriction regulations, young wizards were not allowed to cast spells outside school. If they broke that rule, they would receive a warning letter from the Ministry of Magic ten minutes later. If they broke it again, the Ministry of Magic would write directly to Hogwarts, ordering the student's expulsion and confiscating their wand.

The trace had a major loophole: it became ineffective when many adult wizards were present. Still, having wizards nearby was no guarantee of safety.

Casting a spell inside Ollivander's wand shop, however, would greatly reduce the likelihood of detection.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander." When Su Er pushed open the door, Ollivander was sitting in an armchair, carefully polishing a wand with a silk cloth.

"Oh, I remember you. A discerning customer." Ollivander smiled and nodded. "Sycamore, thestral tail hair..."

"Is something wrong with your wand?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Not at all." Su Er helped Hermione, who had settled down but was still rather dizzy, sit on a bench. "The wand you sold me is wonderful."

"Then is it your young companion?" Ollivander blinked his moonlike eyes. "She doesn't look terribly well."

"On our way here, Hermione had a little sip of mulled wine, and this happened." Su Er gave a wry chuckle and looked earnestly at Ollivander. "I'd like to ask a small favor of you."

"Oh?"

"I'd like to perform a bit of Transfiguration in your shop. As you know, Hogwarts students aren't allowed to cast spells outside school without permission. To be honest, your shop was the best place I could think of." Su Er earnestly explained his request. "I have a younger sister, and before term started, I promised to prepare a present for her."

Ollivander studied Su Er with his bright eyes for a while. Just as Su Er began to think the old gentleman would refuse, he unexpectedly nodded.

"Certainly, Mr. Bones," he said. "I happen to be curious about how this wand performs in your hands."

"Hmm... actually, Mr. Bones, the trace very rarely makes mistakes, and casting a spell here is not your best option either... however..."

Ollivander suddenly gave him a mischievous wink.

"If anyone asks, I can say I had you test some magic in the shop. As for the reason... perhaps there was a small problem with your wand..."

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Ollivander." Su Er bowed in thanks, then took out his wand. "So I don't keep you from enjoying Christmas, I'll begin right away."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Bones." Ollivander smiled and nodded.

"Please, begin your performance."