On a breezy morning after the onset of summer, the air felt particularly refreshing. Soft sunlight pierced through the thin mist veiling the surface of the Lomond Lake, casting speckled golden reflections.
A silver-haired young girl sat by the lakeside, hugging her knees. Her delicate boots restlessly grazed the grass beneath, defying the calm she feigned.
Not far from her, an elderly man with snowy hair stood, hands clasped behind his back. He watched the birds skimming the lake's surface with keen interest, as if it were an immensely intriguing sight.
"Alright... Professor Dumbledore, what exactly are we doing here?" After much hesitation, Elena couldn't contain herself any longer and broke the silence.
Since breakfast, Elena had accompanied Dumbledore to the lakeside. Due to her nerves, she had mostly responded to Dumbledore's prompts with simple expressions like "Hmm," "Uh-huh," or "Okay."
However, as Dumbledore led her to idle by the lake for almost a quarter of an hour, her desire to successfully persuade him to go on a spree at Diagon Alley overcame the awkwardness.
"If I recall correctly, shouldn't we be shopping for all my school necessities in Diagon Alley right now?"
"Indeed, we are on our way to Diagon Alley," Dumbledore confirmed upon hearing Elena's voice, turning around with a pleasant nod.
"On our way? We've been standing by the lake for nearly a quarter-hour, and we haven't gone anywhere!" Elena's patience was waning, suspecting Dumbledore was indulging in another peculiar experiment.
The old wizard blinked mischievously, glanced at the trampled grass under the young girl's feet, and smiled before replying, "Sometimes, waiting is an essential part of the journey."
"So, why can't we just Apparate? Don't tell me your cooldown time is not ready yet!" Elena, frustrated, kicked at the ground. She detested dealing with people who spoke in riddles and philosophies.
"Apparate? Certainly not, as our destination lies hundreds of kilometers away in London," Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. He realized that while Elena seemed knowledgeable about the wizarding world, her understanding was mostly vague.
Retrieving a peculiarly shaped pocket watch from his chest pocket, Dumbledore nodded slightly and patiently explained, "Apparition has its limitations. With increasing distance, the strain on a wizard intensifies, making it progressively harder to succeed. Forcing long-distance Apparition poses considerable risk. I don't believe jeopardizing your safety for a tiny time-saving is wise."
Though Dumbledore's words were vague, Elena quickly grasped his point—a great distance, insufficient power, unable to fly.
With Apparition out of the picture, the transportation options were limited to train, broomstick, Floo Powder, or Portkey. Muggle transport was logically ruled out since traveling from the Scottish Highlands to London would take at least a day.
Elena couldn't imagine the elderly Professor Dumbledore riding a broomstick like a young person, especially in broad daylight.
Apart from these, according to her understanding of the original works, using Floo Powder for intercity travel was the most common method among wizards. In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the Weasley family used Floo Powder to travel from their home, "The Burrow," directly to "Diagon Alley."
However, Floo Powder required a fireplace connection, which was clearly absent by the Lomond Lake.
So...
The silver-haired girl, fingers twisting, suddenly paled, showing strong resistance. "Wait, you're talking about Portkeys! No, no, no, I refuse!"
Considering the situation, it was evident Dumbledore was eighty percent likely waiting for a Portkey to appear that led to London.
Elena's face whitened. She hurriedly ran to Dumbledore's side, tugging at his large robes, pleading, "Professor Dumbledore, let's return to Hogwarts. Let's use Floo Powder! It's just this one tiny request... Hogwarts has so many fireplaces."
If there had to be a most dreadful mode of travel, Elena would undoubtedly cast her vote for the Portkey—even though it was the most convenient long-distance travel method in the magical world, it couldn't change its terrifying experience.
When using a Portkey, it felt like a hook behind the navel pulling forcefully forward, lifting the feet off the ground. It was a blur, akin to a gust of wind rushing forward, with nothing visible ahead.
At least according to the descriptions in the books, traveling through the Floo Network seemed comparatively more comfortable than a Portkey.
One involved swift movement through warm fireplaces (though it might cause a bit of dizziness), while the other felt like a hook pulling your navel—sounds pretty terrifying!
"But, Elena, just half an hour ago, you said that was your final request," Dumbledore remarked mischievously, looking at the panicked young girl beside him. He playfully blinked, "I'm a bit confused; which one is truly your final request?"
"Uh...?" Elena's expression froze. After careful consideration, she tentatively extended two fingers, softly saying, "How about this was the second-to-last one, and this is the final one?"
Although Dumbledore didn't understand why Elena resisted traveling via Portkeys, it didn't affect his decision-making.
"Return to Hogwarts using Floo Powder?" Dumbledore looked at the hopeful girl, elongating his tone before mischievously saying, "Of course... not!"
Upon hearing Dumbledore's response, the silver-haired girl's face instantly drooped, silently pouting with her lake-blue eyes looking at Dumbledore, displaying a pitiful "I'm about to cry" expression.
When words failed to win, she usually had one last resort—leveraging her innate talent for adorable antics.
Did she instinctively fail to consider changing her request?
Dumbledore chuckled softly, shaking his head. He vaguely understood why Benedictus cherished this young girl so much.
After a moment's thought, Dumbledore raised three fingers, speaking gently and earnestly, "Firstly, only fireplaces connected to the Floo Network can facilitate transportation. Currently, Hogwarts' fireplaces have temporarily suspended this connection."
"Secondly, our initial destination is the goblins' ancient vault, and they've never granted wizards access to their fireplace connections."
"Thirdly... time's up."
With that, Dumbledore took out his left hand from behind his back. In his palm lay a tattered little pouch emitting a faint blue light, constantly trembling.
"Welcome to the magical world!"
"Wha—"
Before Elena could react, a distortion of light enveloped them, and they disappeared from the spot.