The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

London, Southampton Port.

This is a large commercial port located outside London in southern England.

A giant white cruise ship is moored along the port. The Queen Elizabeth 2 has a total tonnage of more than 70,000 tons and a hull length of 294 meters. The main body of the chimney is black, with orange-red guards on both sides. There are two black lines across the guard. horizontal bars. The main color strips of the hull are black and white. Thanks to the simple structure of the hull and the absence of protrusions, the black and white colors not only do not appear monotonous, but also reveal a somewhat heavy meaning.

Of course, a tonnage of this level cannot help but look heavy.

It is said that this cruise ship is older than Loren and Hermione. It has experienced several wars and terrorist attacks along the way, and even the illusory ghost legends have not left behind.

These legendary experiences are worth the price of the ticket.

Grandpa Bates took a few people to the waiting room to check in, then crossed the transparent bridge, stepped over the carpet with Queen Elizabeth written on it, and entered the interior of the ship like a luxury hotel. Mozart's Sonata No. 1 was being played in the lobby.

Several people quickly found their rooms with the help of the staff.

In addition to the living room, balcony, and separate bathroom, the family suite also has four bedrooms, one for Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and one for each of the remaining three persons.

After moving the luggage and toiletries into the house, several people gathered in the living room again. Grandpa Bates and Monica looked through the cruise ship's brochures. Wendell anxiously wanted to go outside for a walk, but couldn't find any suitable ones. excuse.

Loren held a bag of potato chips and ate them expressionlessly.

"I just saw portraits of many famous people in the corridor, such as Walt Disney, Charles Chaplin... It is said that they all boarded this ship."

As Hermione spoke, she pushed open the white glass partition window, letting in the water-vapor-rich air from the sea.

The cruise ship has not yet set off, and bold seagulls are playing on the railings, but when people approach, they will flap their wings and fly away, settling down again not far away, and their squawking sounds are like mocking the Twolegs for their inability to fly.

Wendell came over to take a look, and after realizing that this location was not suitable for fishing, he curled his lips in disappointment and retreated again.

"Click... click..."

Loren's face was expressionless, like an emotionless potato chip eating machine.

Hermione leaned on the railing and took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and smiled happily in the sun: "It is said that this ship was requisitioned as a troop transport during the Falklands War."

Hearing this, Bates, who was sitting on the sofa, paused for a moment, and then started flipping through the historical introduction at the back of the brochure.

"Click... click..."

Loren continued eating chips.

Hermione looked at him funny, reached out and grabbed a handful of crushed potato chips from the potato chip bag, and chewed them together with him.

Loren's expression softened a little, he frowned, and appealed for his crime: "I crushed the potato chips to warn consumers, why did you buy them for me to eat?"

"The verdict is final and no changes will be made."

Hermione said coldly and firmly.

"Damn it!" Loren gritted his teeth and reprimanded, "You are a dictatorship. If you become the Minister of Magic like this, you will also be a dictator. I will be the first to resist your rule!"

"..."

Hermione grabbed another handful of crushed potato chips from his hand and chewed them.

Don't bother paying attention to him, he can play this childish game all day long, and he might even happily fabricate accusations against her and discuss how to resist the rule of the evil Minister of Magic.

In the end, he sacrificed his life to influence himself.

Boring and childish.

Loren muttered for a long time, and slowly finished eating the potato chips. He poured the last bit of crumbs into his mouth, threw the bag into the trash can, and leaned on the railing with Hermione.

Looking at the seagulls wandering leisurely, Loren suddenly asked: "What do you think the meaning of a seagull's life is?"

Hermione looked at him confused: "What is it?"

"Go to the dock and order some fries."

"ah?"

Loren shook his head in disappointment: "Forget it, you don't understand seagulls at all, you only care about yourself."

Hermione turned her head expressionlessly.

You said, why are you paying attention to him?

…

The weather was clear and the sea was calm. The Queen Elizabeth 2 slowly sailed out of the port and slowly increased speed along the transatlantic route. The bow broke through the blue sea and stirred up white foam waves.

The tonnage of the cruise ship is so large that it is as stable as on land, with almost no feeling of shaking.

After the cruise officially started, Loren and others rested in the room for half an hour, and then started wandering around the cruise ship. Monica said it was to inspect the restaurant.

The first floor is the crew floor, with staff everywhere. The second floor is the atrium, surrounded by entertainment venues such as theaters and casinos, and even luxury goods and art shops. Above that are theme restaurants and The bar, with an open space between the two, looks like a stage.

There are 15 restaurants on the cruise ship, including free buffets and paid luxury meals. Italian pizza, bacon, fried rice, sashimi can be seen on the exposed dining table...

After passing the accommodation area, there is the deck further up.

"Monica, Hermione..." Wendell said to the two of them with a serious expression, "You guys go to the restaurant first. Bates, myself, and Loren will go check out the situation around the ship. In case of an emergency, what can we do?" Be prepared."

Loren and Bates were stunned for a moment, then remembered something, looked at each other silently, and said nothing.

Hermione held her mother's hand and looked at them with her beautiful eyes open without blinking.

"..."

Monica looked at the eager expression on his face and pursed her lips: "Don't look for it. The cruise ship will not stop during the voyage, and tourists will not be allowed to fish."

Wendell frowned and looked at her: "What's fishing? I don't understand what you're talking about?"

Monica sighed helplessly: "Go ahead, remember to go back to the room in an hour, and we'll have dinner together."

"knew."

Wendell held Bates with one hand and Loren with the other, and left without looking back.

"Wendell, didn't you say fishing is not allowed? What else are you looking for?" Bates asked curiously.

Loren also looked at him curiously.

"You don't understand...it's no wonder, this is something only experienced fishermen know."

An enigmatic expression appeared on Wendell's face: "Just because it's not allowed by the rules doesn't mean it won't happen. Some sailors can also fish, and we might be able to join them."

The three of them stepped onto the deck.

The cruise ship has been sailing for a while, and there is no trace of land here. Looking around, there is nothing, only the sky and the sea, endless blue. Fortunately, the sky blue is different from the sea blue, so it is not Can't tell the difference between sky and sea.

The sun hung brightly above our heads, casting a mottled and dazzling golden color on the ripples and scales of the waves.

Brilliant.

In such an environment, it seems that the heart has become boundless, open and connected with the sky and the ocean, making people want to lean up and merge into the endless blue.

Loren and Bates liked the view very much and leaned on the railing to watch it for a long time.

Wendell was ultimately disappointed. The management of this cruise ship was very strict and there was no fishing place around.

"In this case, we might as well take a plane!" Wendell said angrily.

"Don't worry..." Bates looked at him with a smile, "When the ship docks, Wendell, you can fish as long as you want."

"Can it be the same..." Wendell muttered, "It is said that you can encounter migrating fish schools far away from the coast. You can hook up casually and catch fish without bait. I can't experience it now...

"It's not that I really want to fish, I just want to try the new fishing reel I bought..."

"..."

Loren turned his head to avoid laughing. Isn’t it just for fishing that you bought a new fishing reel?

Let Grandpa Bates stay here to comfort Wendell, Loren walked around and checked the situation of the cruise ship.

It was said that the cruise ship was older than him and had experienced a war with live ammunition, which still made him a little curious.

As a 10,000-ton super-large cruise ship, the hull of the Queen Elizabeth 2 is made of special steel. The spherical bow is fixed with traditional rivets, and the steel plates are overlapped by welding technology. The orange-red guard plate outside the black chimney was modified later for war. Yes, the original steam turbine engine was also replaced with diesel power.

It is said that the hull is also equipped with reinforced steel plates, so it will be fine if it is directly hit by a mine.

There are two helicopter landing pads on the deck, and the hull can be equipped with artillery. The civilian cruise ship can be converted into a military combat ship at any time.

Loren investigated the huge ship with interest.

Such a huge industrial essence creation, even if Hogwarts builds a special express train, Loren still feels that the wizarding world will never build a magic ship in the future.

The effort and reward are not proportional.

The magical world does not have such a large demand for transportation. Even if it does, wizards prefer to use door keys and transport items in storage devices. This is indeed a more convenient and faster method, but the wizards who do this will also lose the opportunity to explore the ocean.

There are some wizard explorers recorded in history books. They could travel around the world on broomsticks, but they would always get lost. Their exploration was only possible with the blessing of Merlin.

In terms of military capabilities, such a heavy giant ship is even more powerless against wizards. An elite Auror who understands the basic principles of radar can destroy the giant wheel. Just use a Fire Spell or Precision Strike Engine.

Magic is so unreasonable.

After going around in a circle and returning to Grandpa Bates, Wendell had already accepted the fact that he would not be able to fish for the next five days. He leaned on the railing and stared at the sea affectionately.

Bates was watching the sea leisurely.

As soon as the three of them returned to the room, Wendell sat down on the sofa and began to sigh, his tone extremely disappointed: "If I had known, we would have booked the flight. The flight only takes a few hours, but the cruise takes five days...

"Okay now, we have to float on the boat for five days...

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't strongly requested to take a cruise..."

Loren's eyebrows knitted together tightly. He couldn't understand why he was feeling depressed when he came back when he was fine outside just now.

Bates took the brochure again, lowered his head and read it carefully.

Just when Loren was full of doubts, Monica sat down next to the sofa, put her arms around her husband's shoulders and began to comfort her: "It's okay, we agreed to choose a cruise ship... and a cruise ship is more convenient than an airplane..."

The soft-spoken look was gentler than usual.

Loren's eyes widened, he didn't expect you to be like this Wendell!

After listening for a few minutes and confirming that he couldn't learn anything, Loren found Hermione who was reading the newspaper on the balcony, and pretended to be casual and said: "Well, we are about to spend five boring days on the cruise ship. …”

"You can do your homework if you're bored." Hermione held a thick stack of newspapers without raising her head. "I also have potato chips here. Do you want some?"

"..."

It seems that there are differences between mother and daughter.

Loren fell silent and glanced at Hermione calmly, but noticed the image of Dumbledore that was constantly shaking on the newspaper. Looking at the header of the newspaper again, he couldn't help but uttered in surprise:

"The New York Ghost?"

"American wizarding newspapers." Hermione shook the newspaper, took out a small stack from her hand and handed it to him, "I thought I should understand the latest news in the American wizarding world, so I asked the manager of Flourish and Blotts Bookstore to help me before departure. Bought the bound volume.”

Loren took the newspaper, looked at the page where Dumbledore was, and read in a low voice:

"The chief wizard of the Wizengamot, Albus Dumbledore, has arrived in New York, and the International Confederation of Wizards is about to convene..."

The report briefly introduced Dumbledore, and focused on the time of the International Confederation of Wizards, the participating countries, the intelligent magical creatures present, and the topics that may be discussed at the conference.

The newspapers at the back reported on some recent major events in the international magical world.

[The British Ministry of Magic has an ambiguous attitude towards werewolves: The Anti-Werewolf Act may trigger a war between werewolves and wizards, and an improved version of wolfsbane potion may appear...]

[The exposure risk factor in the wizarding world rose to a new high in 1994.

The pro-wizarding No-Maj community is on the rise, should we show up?

Historians urge everyone: stay calm]

[The 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the "Prohibition of Private Breeding and Raising of Magical Creatures" bill, a review of the Scamander Disaster]

[Wizard's Confusion: Is the Football World Cup an imitation of the Quidditch World Cup...]

The standard of the New York Phantom is much higher than that of the Daily Prophet, and subsequent pages have attracted enough attention.

By the time Loren finished reading a small stack of newspapers, Hermione had already read the rest. Loren looked up at the sky outside. The sun was setting in the west and it would still be some time before it sank into the sea.

The sun is slowly turning orange, and the sky is also dyed with a layer of orange.

Hermione leaned on the small table, supporting her chin with one hand, which was also stained with a layer of orange. She said softly: "Do you think Professor Lupin is okay now?"

"I don't know either."

Loren saw the top page of the newspaper in front of her, which contained reports about the werewolf community.

Hermione sighed softly: "Voldemort is definitely plotting to harm people, but our Minister of Magic doesn't believe that he is still alive at all...

"If Voldemort stirs up werewolves and causes chaos during the International Confederation of Wizards, the wizarding community around the world will reject werewolves, and Professor Lupin's situation will be even worse."

"Have more faith in our old headmaster, Hermione..." Loren scratched her nose, "You must know that Voldemort has not been resurrected, but Dumbledore is alive."

Hermione wrinkled her nose and glared at him, her eyes shining brightly as the sun reflected the sun's rays.

Monica's call came from the room: "Loren, Hermione! Come in quickly, we are going to have dinner!"

"coming!"

Before entering the house, Loren looked back at the sea——

The sunset is gilded.