Capítulo 11: CH: 11 Knight Bus
The hunchbacked old Tom, with his wrinkled face and toothless mouth, looked as evil as the dark wizards in Knockturn Alley.
However, beneath the ugly appearance, there beats a warm heart.
Old Tom personally took Anton to the door of the Leaky Cauldron, taught him how to summon the 'Knight Bus', and waited with him for the magical car to materialize with a bang.
He kindly patted Anton's head, "Little wizard, I wish you all the best, mate."
Anton pursed his lips and bowed to him, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Tom."
In the past two months, he has been following the old wizard as he wandered through the chaotic world. Most of the people he encountered were rather unruly, and there were only a handful who showed genuine kindness towards him.
Old Tom's wrinkled mouth resembled that of a smiling old grandmother. He waved his hand and turned back towards the bar.
The Knight Bus resembles a Muggle bus.
It also possesses wheels and large headlights. It stands three stories tall, and when seen through the window, there are no seats inside. Instead, there is a bed with brass columns and a candle holder positioned beside it.
Looking back, he could also make out a small, desiccated head hanging from the car's cab.
This peculiar type of small head finds its origins in the headhunting culture of South America. They would hunt the heads of their enemies and utilize a distinctive head-shrinking method to reduce them to the size of an infant's head. This method has gained popularity among British wizards, be they dark wizards or ordinary wizards.
"Welcome aboard the Knight Bus, mate, an emergency transport service for witches and wizards in need. Just whip out your wand and hop on, and we'll whisk you away to wherever you fancy."
A dashing young man stood by the handrail, sporting a jaunty uniform hat atop his head, with a beaming smile. "The name's Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor for today, mate."
The smile was so infectious that Anton found himself laughing as well. "I'm going... hold on a moment, let me check."
The conductor, Stan, said proudly, "Anywhere you fancy, mate, as long as it's on solid ground."
Anton retrieved the scrap of paper from his pocket. "Hmm, France?"
Stan blinked and asked, "France?"
Anton, taken aback, hadn't anticipated that the goblin who could heal Lupin resided in France. He gazed at Stan and inquired, "May I ask how much the fare is?"
The Knight Bus doesn't come cheap, you know.
In the original book, Harry spent a grand total of 11 silver sickles to travel from Privet Drive to the Leaky Cauldron. According to the peculiar multi-system currency of the British wizarding world, 1 gold galleon is equivalent to 17 silver sickles.
Now, we're still in Britain. If you were to venture overseas, I'm afraid you'd need quite a few galleons!
The conductor, Stan, appeared somewhat embarrassed. "It's not just about the fare, y'know. France might not be a feasible destination for us, mate."
Observing Anton's perplexed expression, he couldn't resist offering an explanation. "You see, the Knight Bus was an idea 'atched by Dugard Macphail, the British Minister of Magic, you know. 'Owever, there are still some wizards in the UK who stick to tradition and even reckon it's a 'Muggle insult'."
Anton furrowed his brow and gripped the suitcase handle tightly. "What do you mean?"
Stan chuckled and replied, "French chaps don't 'ave such an open-minded approach, y'know. They're quite old-fashioned, and they 'aven't even considered the idea of a bus."
He shrugged and added, "France is completely off the table, mate."
Anton glanced back at the Leaky Cauldron, filled with uncertainty. It didn't make sense for old Tom to deceive himself in this establishment.
He handed the piece of paper in his hand to the conductor, "Someone told me that you can take me to this place."
Stan looked at it carefully, "Aha!, the small island between the two countries. You can indeed go there, mate."
With a smile, he returned the piece of paper back to Anton and assisted in loading the suitcase into the bus. "You're lucky, little fella. Normally, we only operate on land, y'know."
The driver in the driver's seat turned his head. He was an older wizard with thick glasses and a thick, well-groomed beard. "The wizards on these 'ere small islands protested some time ago, sayin' that the mainland is also an island. Why discriminate against 'em just 'cause they're smaller?"
He shrugged with a bemused expression. "So we can only drive on water, y'know."
Stan replied, "After all, we did promise not to go underwater."
Then the two inexplicably glanced at each other and exchanged smiles.
Anton's mouth twitched. Sometimes he felt out of sync with foreigners, and some of the jokes they told didn't seem amusing to him.
He also didn't know how to advocate for the wizards on the islands near mainland England. Shouldn't they be able to travel to the French islands themselves?
Anyway, you can go.
The price of the fare isn't as outrageous as you might imagined, just 15 sickles.
"You'll be kippin' in this," Stan whispered, leading him to an empty bed, helping him to tuck the suitcase under the bed, and then returning to sit in the armchair beside the driver.
Unlike the fanfics and movie clips that Anton watched in his previous life, the driver of this car was not skilled in driving, and could even be described as inexperienced.
With a loud bang, the bus swiftly accelerated with a strong sense of propulsion.
Rampaging all the way.
Sometimes even leaping forward.
Everything along the way leaped up to avoid them.
By the time the bus drove past, the lampposts, letterboxes, trash cans, trees, and even Muggle cars and pedestrians had jumped back to their original positions.
This can almost be described as distorting space.
Anton stared curiously outside the bus and observed all sorts of distorted images. Thanks to accompanying Fiennes, like Frankenstein, for two months, he didn't merely stand in awe of the abilities of many wizards.
In an attempt to comprehend its principles, this is the only positive influence the old man imparted through words and actions.
Anton even caught sight of a familiar place along the road.
A campground that belonged to wandering wizards.
The bus continued its rampage, distorting everything. Two dark wizards with hoods and faceless figures whispered in a corner, unaware of the bus passing by. Anton leaned closer to the window, just a hand's breadth away from them, and managed to hear a few words clearly--"...Leeches can be used to extract potions..."
Bus's sometimes take detours as well, and when they come across buildings that clearly belong to the official magic sector, they navigate around a curve.
"Blimey, it's brilliant!" chuckled the conductor Stan, clearly filled with pride.
Adult wizards primarily utilize apparition and broomsticks. A significant portion of their clientele consists of young, inexperienced wizards. The conductor particularly enjoys witnessing the astonished expressions of these young wizards, which fills him with immense pride.
Anton's eyes gleamed as he asked, "Is there truly a magical spell cast on this bus?"
Stan's expression froze, clearly unable to answer yet another question from the young wizard. He had to maintain an air of mystery, "This 'ere is a right top-secret alchemical creation from the Ministry of Magic, innit? Hehe Classified information, mate!"
Anton nodded with a knowing smile.
He pondered to himself, if this is a magic spell that can be mastered and combined with flying broomsticks, wouldn't it provide unparalleled convenience for traveling anywhere?
It can even reach the level of sheer elusiveness!
If you ever get the opportunity, you must try to unravel it and see if there's a chance to learn it!
Make sure to jot down this matter in secret.
The bus continued its journey, passing through the city, the wilderness, and even the ocean, until it finally arrived at what appeared to be a small island.
To be precise, it's incredibly tiny, with just a single tree and a small cabin, almost taking up the entire island.
The bus can only manage to park with half of its body protruding over the water.
Stan raised his hand in a farewell salute, "Well then, mate, cheerio! If you ever need it, just raise your wand, and the Knight Bus will be there in a jiffy, ready to serve!"
With a resounding bang, the car vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
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