In front of the crooked, ramshackle Burrow, Mr. Weasley used his wand to direct a few suitcases to jump by themselves into a rusty Ford Anglia.
"Children, check the tent one more time. The forests in Albania are said to have frequent thunderstorms."
"Can this car fly?" Snape asked curiously. This must be the car that crashed into the Whomping Willow, he thought.
"Fly? Of course not," Mr. Weasley replied, puzzled. "Aren't Muggle cars supposed to drive on the ground?"
But then his eyes lit up with excitement: "That's a rather good idea, though, if it could fly—"
"Arthur, are you sure we're taking that?" Mrs. Weasley interrupted her husband's fanciful thoughts, asking with a frown. She looked at the car as if it were a Blast-Ended Skrewt ready to bite at any moment.
"My dear, that's what you call adventure!" Mr. Weasley rubbed his hands together excitedly. "We agreed before, we'd travel entirely in the Muggle fashion! Cars, aeroplanes!"
"All right, everyone aboard!" Mr. Weasley cheerfully patted the bonnet.
All eight of them squeezed into the car. Mr. Weasley insisted on driving himself, even though he didn't quite understand how this metal box worked. Luckily, wizards generally didn't get hurt in car crashes.
When they were finally all seated, Mrs. Weasley glanced at the back row, where Bill, Charlie, Eileen, Snape, and Lily sat comfortably side-by-side. She and Percy sat in the front, that seat having been extended to be like a park bench.
"Muggles are smarter than we thought," she said. "I mean, you wouldn't think from the outside that there's so much room in here, would you?"
Mr. Weasley winked at Snape in the rearview mirror, then started the engine and drove the car out of the yard.
This time, the Weasleys hadn't forgotten anything, and the Ford Anglia drove smoothly towards Exeter International Airport. It was the closest airport to them in Devon, and with Snape's help, they had managed to book tickets over the phone.
After a thrilling journey (the Ford Anglia kept making suspicious "clunking" noises on the A30, and Mr. Weasley nearly drove into a ditch three times), they finally pulled into the airport car park.
Exeter International Airport was far more chaotic than imagined. Muggles pushed metal trolleys recklessly, a robotic female voice incessantly repeated flight information over the loudspeakers, and security gates flashed with dazzling red lights. Mr. Weasley's eyes widened, and he instinctively reached for his wand in his pocket.
"Keep your wand put away!" Mrs. Weasley nervously stopped him. "We agreed to do it the Muggle way!"
At the check-in counter, Lily suddenly gasped, "Oh, bother! I didn't buy a ticket!"
"Don't forget you're a witch," Snape said. "It's just a Confundus Charm away."
"But that's against the rules," Lily whispered.
Snape shook his head, and his wand slid silently from his sleeve.
"Confundo!" His lips barely moved, and an almost imperceptible golden flash hit the attendant.
"Oh, of course!" The lady suddenly smiled brightly. "Miss Evans, there's a window seat available in the fifth-to-last row of economy! Have a pleasant journey!"
She arranged Lily's seat next to Snape and the others, swiftly printed the boarding pass, and handed it to Lily.
During boarding, Mr. Weasley again showed immense interest in the "giant metal bird," almost getting arrested by security for trying to approach the plane from the ground. Snape had to cast another Confundus Charm to ensure they all boarded smoothly.
The feeling of weightlessness as the plane took off made a few of the Weasleys and Eileen grip their armrests in fright. Mrs. Weasley turned pale, clutching the armrest tightly, while Eileen squeezed her eyes shut.
"Is this really safe? Without a balancing charm like on broomsticks?" Mr. Weasley whispered to Snape, who was sitting next to him.
"Don't worry," Snape said. "The death rate for flying on aeroplanes isn't even as high as for Quidditch matches."
A few hours later, as the plane landed at Tirana Airport, the capital of Albania, night had already fallen.
Humid, warm air enveloped them. In the distance were majestic mountains covered in deep green forests, and closer by, exotic red-tiled, white-walled buildings.
"Welcome to Europe's last magical hidden gem," Mr. Weasley took a deep breath, unfolding the tourist map issued by the Ministry of Magic. "According to Magical Lands: A History of Albanian Magic, this place has one of Europe's oldest wizarding settlements."
"I heard there are vampires in the forests here," Bill said mysteriously. "And werewolves too!"
Molly immediately became anxious: "Children, don't you dare leave our sight! Arthur, you promised this would be a safe holiday!"
Mr. Weasley was busy examining a motorbike parked by the roadside, casually responding, "Of course, dear, perfectly safe—oh, look at a car with two wheels, how clever!"
Snape and Lily managed to find two rather shabby taxis for them, and after a bumpy ride, they arrived at a small town.
Then, following the map's directions, they walked along a cobblestone path to a pub with a heart-shaped sign. The sign read "Dracula's Den" in golden letters.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, they entered a warm, dim space. Copper lanterns hung from the wooden ceiling, illuminating various specimens of magical creatures displayed on the walls.
Wizards of all sorts sat at rough wooden tables; some wore traditional Albanian robes, while others were clearly foreign tourists.
"I'll go arrange the rooms," Mr. Weasley said. "You all find a table and sit down."
As soon as they settled down at a large round table, a plump, round-faced woman bustled over from the bar area. She had fluffy brown curly hair and a round face dotted with a few freckles.
"Arthur!" she shrieked excitedly, her voice so loud that several customers turned to look. "You've finally arrived!"
"Oh, Bertha! So good to see you!" Mr. Weasley waved at her.
"The Weasleys! And, oh, Merlin!" Bertha Jorkins scurried over, enthusiastically shaking Mr. Weasley's hand. "Severus and Lily, I haven't seen you since graduation, you've grown so tall!"
Bertha had already made herself at home, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "So, a family holiday? How lovely!"
Her eyes lingered on Snape and Lily for a moment, glinting with gossip. "So, you two... travelling together?"
Snape wasn't particularly fond of this older student, who would later be killed by Voldemort for being meddlesome and lacking common sense.
He tried to change the subject: "Bertha, we haven't eaten yet, do you have any local dishes you'd recommend—"
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they headed upstairs along the creaking staircase. Outside the window, the Albanian mountains glowed blue-black under the moonlight, and unknown creatures made distant calls from deep within the forest.
read more inpatreon
ilham20