By the fireplace, Hermione didn't notice Harry and the others' little distraction at all. She was excitedly flipping through some materials, saying:
"Ms. Picquery is a female leader I greatly admire. She achieved quite a bit during her tenure as the President of the Magic Congress and has a very impressive leadership style! I didn't expect her to be a judge for this competition! Vid, do you know any of her works on alchemy? I'd like to read them in advance! Vid?"
"Oh, oh." Vid withdrew his gaze and said, "Ms. Seraphina Picquery hasn't published any books, but she's written many papers. I happen to have a collection..."
"You collect those?" Ron said in astonishment, "Vid, I didn't think you'd be into following celebrities! Although your choice of idol is quite unexpected."
Vid chuckled and said casually, "Everyone has their own pursuits!"
In fact, the collection of papers was something Dumbledore had Moody hand over to him before departure, but Vid didn't feel the need to explain that.
Ron still looked incredulous, muttering, "Though I know you love alchemy... but collecting papers? What were you thinking... such a hobby is terrifying!"
Fred knocked him on the head, saying, "Which is why Vid is a famous alchemist, and you, foolish Ronald! You couldn't finish the first three pages of a book you've had for half a month."
"Don't touch my head!" Ron protested, though his tone wasn't as fierce as before.
The days of getting pocket money from his brothers quickly taught him what it meant to have foresight—
Even though Ron didn't know that phrase, even if he didn't want to give in, there was no helping it; carrying a full set of new stationery to school felt too good, and he wasn't ready to go back to those frugal days when everything had to be second-hand.
…
In the blink of an eye, the day of the official start of the Alchemy Competition arrived.
Selena arrived at the White Bridge Inn early in the morning to pick up Vid and the others to attend the opening ceremony. Including the Aurors, the group had more than a dozen people, yet even after squeezing into a single car, the space still felt spacious.
The black car roared quietly down the highway, unbelievably smooth, and the water in a cup didn't even ripple.
This time Vid, leaning against the passenger seat, finally saw how these American wizards drove.
Unlike the Knight Bus that jumped wildly, bouncing forward a hundred or two hundred miles at a time, this car from the Ministry of Magic looked no different from ordinary people's cars on the outside—
They all drove on the same roads, sometimes needing to detour and overtake, without flying over houses or suddenly moving across long distances.
Watching for a long time, Vid gradually noticed the differences:
No matter how congested it was ahead, this car could always squeeze through miraculously;
It always hit green lights at intersections;
If there were some sections completely blocked, when the black car approached, the vehicles or people ahead would inexplicably fall into roadside ditches, making way for it.
The most incredible time, Vid saw a small car in front suddenly veer off, leaping over the high concrete barrier and straight into a window of a nearby building.
Vid couldn't help but ask Selena, "Do you normally drive like this?"
—Do you call this subtlety?
"The operation of our vehicle is normal, even if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration applied the strictest laws, we have not violated any regulations."
After saying this confidently, Selena seemed to understand Vid's implication, and said lightly:
"That person must have been severely drunk, or on something they shouldn't have been, otherwise the effect of magic wouldn't have been so exaggerated."
"So, turning him into decoration on the wall maybe was a good thing," an Auror at her side laughed and said, "otherwise, that guy might have actually killed a Muggle or two if he kept driving."
Vid: "..."
The arrogance of American wizards was really not that much less than that of British Pure-Blood clans. It's just that they hid their emotions behind warm smiles or eloquent institutions.
…
On extremely smooth road conditions, the black car took less than ten minutes to bring everyone to the edge of a wooded area in Central Park.
Selena got out first, patted the folds on her robe, flipped her wrist, and the magic wand hidden in her sleeve poked out halfway.
She chanted under her breath as she walked forward, the wand drawing circles in the air, and after three circles, the air rippled like water, revealing a flat and broad elevator.
"Please follow me."
Selena took the lead in entering, with Vid and the others following close behind. Once everyone was inside, the elevator doors closed, and everyone experienced a fierce feeling of weightlessness.
Harry hurriedly grabbed a railing, muttering, "Feels like we're about to fall!"
The elevator descended for a full one to two minutes before sliding through some passage for quite some time, finally coming to a stop.
When the door opened, the world before them was suddenly bright and eye-opening, even making Vid, who was somewhat prepared, slightly hold his breath.
A word suddenly popped into his mind—sinkhole!
At this moment, they found themselves in a giant underground pit of imagination, looking up to see naturally formed rough rock walls almost a hundred meters high, with an opening only a few meters in diameter at the top through which daylight trickled down.
Such an environment, with the dome seemingly about to press down, gave a suffocating sense of oppression.
But someone had used magic to modify the environment—
The rock ceiling was covered with large clouds, which moved slowly and changed shapes, and careless people might mistake it for the real sky;
Huge luminescent fungi and magical plants were planted in the crevices of the rock walls, with vines climbing upwards along the stone, as if chasing after that sole sunlight.
The leaves of the plants were a light green, some even turning white or translucent, giving a jade-like texture, smooth and translucent.
On the ground, African violets in purple or blue could be seen everywhere, along with many fuchsias, lilies of the valley, and violets, blooming in clusters and looking particularly gorgeous.
The hard bottom of the pit had been leveled, with the core area cleared as a competition platform, rock walls carved to create viewing platforms and various "boxes," connected by natural stone bridges and intricate magic floating platforms.
Unlike Quidditch matches, the Alchemy Competition, even with spectators, didn't have that many people. So the entire space was unusually quiet, only faintly hearing people's low conversations in the distance, further highlighting the place's grandeur and silence.