Once again, it was William who prepared breakfast.
After eating, William and Hermione lingered around for quite some time. It wasn't until late morning that they finally left the safe house.
Perhaps they had successfully shaken off the Aurors, as William didn't spot any of them lurking around the property.
"It seems like we need to buy a place in Paris," William said, glancing at the gray, overcast sky.
"That way, the next time we come, it'll be much more convenient. We won't have to stay in hotels, and it'll be safer if we need to make a quick escape."
Hermione pulled out a black umbrella from the safe room and smiled. "We should get one by the Seine. I love the view of the Eiffel Tower from there."
William nodded in agreement, already planning to emulate Nicolas and begin a spree of real estate investments worldwide.
Being a wizard wasn't exactly a lucrative career, but investing in property development? Now that had promise.
Hermione opened the umbrella, and the two walked side by side, strolling slowly under the drizzle.
"We'll head to the Minotaur Bar first," William said, "That's where Paris's underground black market is located. We should be able to find information about the mysterious circus there."
Magical bars always seemed to have peculiar names: London had the Leaky Cauldron, Hogsmeade had the Hog's Head, New York had the Blind Pig, and Paris had the Minotaur Bar.
The Minotaur Bar was one of the most popular bars among Parisian wizards.
The French were known for their romantic sensibilities, this wasn't just a stereotype. Even their bar names carried a certain charm.
"How are we getting there?" Hermione asked, shifting the umbrella slightly toward William's side. "Apparition?"
"No, I've never been there before. I only know the general area," William replied, lifting his hand to gently nudge the umbrella back toward Hermione's side.
For Apparition to work, a wizard needed to have a clear mental image of their destination. In other words, they must have been there before and could visualize it accurately.
"We'll take a carriage, one of Paris's magical ones," William suggested.
Hermione nodded but soon nudged the umbrella back toward William again. A portion of her shoulder was now exposed to the rain.
This back-and-forth continued, and by the time they reached the street corner, both were soaked through, their clothes clinging to their skin.
Neither of them used magic to enlarge the umbrella to fully cover them. After all, if the umbrella were any bigger, they might as well have used two umbrellas or worn raincoats.
But that was precisely the charm of the moment, something that no one outside of the two of them could truly understand.
Still, walking around drenched wasn't ideal, and they could risk catching a cold. With a flick of his wand, William caused steam to rise from their clothes, evaporating the rainwater.
Hermione held onto the umbrella as William wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders. He Apparated them a few blocks away to a quieter area.
Getting a carriage too close to the safe house would risk exposing its location, something William had learned from his experience with the Knight Bus. That was how Rita Skeeter had found a way to exploit them back then.
Standing at a deserted street corner, William raised his wand. After waiting for a moment, an old-fashioned carriage came thundering down the road.
The carriage had a vintage charm, with four corners illuminated by dim oil lamps.
The creature pulling the carriage wasn't an ordinary horse, nor was it a Thestral like the ones commonly seen at Hogwarts. Instead, it was a silver-maned horse with wings.
The massive horse was about the size of an elephant. As it came to an abrupt stop in front of William and Hermione, it stomped its hooves and snorted.
"Oh, it's a Granian!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
Granians, along with Aethonans, Abraxans, and Thestrals, were one of the four major breeds of winged horses. Using them to pull carriages was entirely normal.
This was one of Paris's unique features, they hadn't modified Muggle buses but instead preserved the old tradition of magical carriages.
The carriage door swung open, and a small ladder unfolded to the ground. A young ticket collector appeared.
He was dressed in a hippie-style outfit, with a battered radio hanging from his neck. The radio was playing a new song by the famous French witch singer, Roberts.
The wizarding world had its own magical radio network. Though it didn't use electricity, wizards had developed an alternative magical method for long-distance communication. Radios were one such device.
"Welcome, welcome to the Paris City Shared Carriage. I'm Apache, your ticket collector," he said in French.
"Hello," William nodded politely, pulling Hermione up into the carriage.
Inside, the space was much larger than it appeared on the outside, clearly expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm. Unlike a bus, the layout resembled a subway car, with long benches lining both sides.
There were only a few passengers, most either dozing off or burying their faces in newspapers.
William and Hermione found seats, and Apache approached them enthusiastically. "Where are you headed?"
"We're going to Lyon Avenue," William replied in French. "We'll let you know where to stop once we get there."
They deliberately avoided mentioning the Minotaur Bar and instead chose a nearby location.
"Got it," Apache said, relaying the destination to the driver before returning to his radio.
He turned up the volume and began swaying to the rhythm of the music.
Apparently, the phenomenon of people playing music loudly in public wasn't limited to the modern age. The wizarding world had its own version of it decades ago.
One could only imagine how a temperamental Dark wizard might react, perhaps by firing off an Avada Kedavra in irritation.
However, Apache's radio seemed to have some connectivity issues. After playing for a while, the music turned into static.
He tapped it with his wand, fiddling with it for five or six minutes before the sound resumed.
Unfortunately, by the time the radio was fixed, the song had ended, and the broadcast had switched to the Paris news.
"The Aurors are currently pursuing these two fugitives. They are considered extremely dangerous and ruthless. If anyone has information, please contact the Ministry of Magic immediately. Rewards will be given for tips…"
The radio's volume suddenly lowered, and Apache cast a strange glance at William and Hermione before walking over to the driver, Russell.
He quietly closed the door to the driver's cabin behind him.
Russell, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, looked like he was driving half-asleep. Occasionally, he urged the Granian pulling the carriage to go faster.
The winged horse galloped wildly, nearly crashing into a Muggle bus, but managed to execute a sharp turn to avoid it.
Russell jolted awake but didn't slow down. After all, Muggles couldn't see them, and running red lights wasn't exactly against wizarding laws.
"What is it, Apache?" Russell asked when the ticket collector entered.
"The Ministry's Aurors are hunting for two fugitives," Apache said.
"So? I saw the news in the paper last night."
"The fugitives boarded our carriage, they're the couple who just got on," Apache replied, holding up that morning's Parisian Daily. He carefully compared the photos of the wanted man and woman to the passengers.
Finally, his eyes lingered on the article's description of the fugitives: "extremely dangerous, ruthless, and terrifying."
"What did they do? Attack the Minister of Magic?" Apache wondered aloud. "This is a nationwide manhunt!"
"Doesn't matter! Contact headquarters immediately," Russell said excitedly. "I remember there's a reward for providing tips."
Apache hurried to a small fireplace in the carriage to contact the Paris City Shared Carriage Headquarters.
This miniature fireplace was connected to the Floo Network but couldn't be used for long-distance travel due to its small size, barely large enough for a head to fit.
Given the limited space inside the carriage, there was no room for a full-sized household fireplace that wizards could step through. However, the miniature version worked well for quick communication.
Sprinkling Floo powder into the fire, Apache leaned his head into the green flames. He could practically see the large sum of reward money beckoning to him!