London is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This city alone is home to more than eight million people.
Although London stepped down from its position as the world's financial center after the war, traces of its former glory as a global powerhouse can still be seen everywhere.
Politics, economy, culture, finance. It is the city with the greatest number of museums, libraries, and stadiums in the world. Even seven of the world's top one hundred universities are located here…
As a world-class city, and one of the wealthiest, most economically developed, commercially thriving places with the highest standards of living, London naturally left Draco in awe.
Muggles weren't completely useless. He had known that for a long time, but it was only after seeing it with his own eyes that Draco truly understood…
"Perhaps there are things muggles can do that wizards can't?"
If this were the old him, he would have found the thought ridiculous. But after reading the muggle books Hermione had given him, and after experiencing it all firsthand, Draco felt that a wizard who refused to understand the other side was nothing more than arrogant…
...
The Tower of London.
The place Hermione brought Draco to was the Tower of London, one of the city's iconic landmarks.
Yet neither Hermione nor Draco was really paying attention to the building in front of them.
Unlike Draco, who was lost in thought, Hermione kept glancing back at him from time to time.
After all, this was a rare chance to go out together alone. Hermione had no intention of wasting it on a cold war with this idiot.
Before long, after turning a corner, Hermione slowed her steps and walked alongside Draco again.
"Isn't it impressive?"
Her voice pulled Draco out of his thoughts, and he gave her a curious look.
He had to admit, the speed at which her mood shifted was almost like flipping a page, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Pretending not to notice the expression on his face, Hermione naturally hooked her arm through Draco's and led him toward a park near the Tower of London.
From there, they had a clear view of the entire Tower of London, as well as London Bridge nearby, packed with traffic.
Following Hermione's lead, the two of them sat down on a park bench…
Draco glanced at Hermione, who was gently swinging her legs, and asked with some curiosity,
"How much do you know about magical injuries?"
"Magical injuries?"
"Mm. Not Madam Pomfrey's potion-based treatments, but…"
Seeing that Draco didn't quite know how to explain himself, Hermione tested the waters.
"You mean those mad muggles who cut people open?"
Yes, the "mad muggles" Hermione referred to were how wizards described surgical doctors.
When Draco nodded, hesitation flickered across Hermione's face.
"First, you should know that while there are specialized books on the subject, it's not something you can easily understand. It's like asking a first-year wizard to take the N.E.W.T.s."
"I don't need the books. What I want to know is whether that kind of medical treatment… can be trusted."
"From a muggle perspective, it's reliable. But why are you asking?"
Draco shook his head without answering, once again sinking into thought.
Ignored yet again, Hermione puffed out her cheeks. But seeing that he seemed to be grappling with some kind of problem, she ultimately chose not to interrupt him…
...
If this outing was only going to be spent answering those inexplicable questions, then it definitely wasn't what Hermione wanted.
So after a brief stretch of silence, Hermione turned her head to look at Draco, who seemed to have finally sorted something out…
"By the way, why did you decide to come to my house like that? I thought you'd just pop out of my fireplace all of a sudden."
As she spoke, Hermione recalled the farce from that morning and shot Draco a glare.
Draco laughed, clearly amused.
"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about wizards? No one would just barge into someone else's house with Floo powder on their first visit. Even if it's not exactly difficult."
"That's true. If you'd really done that, my parents would've been scared out of their wits."
As she spoke, Hermione seemed to think of something and suddenly laughed out loud.
That finally made Draco turn his attention fully to the girl beside him.
Today, Hermione wasn't wearing the ever-unchanging red-and-gold Gryffindor robes. Instead, she had changed into her favorite fitted dress, the kind she only wore on special occasions.
The off-the-shoulder design revealed her shoulders, adding a hint of subtle femininity. The cinched waist perfectly showed off her tall, graceful figure, and most eye-catching of all was the ribbon tied at her waist.
The way it was tied, and the spot where it rested, gave Draco a strangely familiar feeling.
He felt as though he had untied it somewhere before…
Ahem.
Catching Draco's gaze, Hermione felt that all the time she'd spent getting ready hadn't been wasted after all. A smug smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
But when she noticed the look in Draco's eyes starting to turn a little dangerous, her cheeks flushed faintly and she hurried to change the subject.
"Um… when are we leaving? I didn't know you'd come by this early. I thought we'd wait until evening."
"Evening is right. I came this time mainly to take you over quietly. After all, didn't you say in your letter that you didn't know how to explain things to the Grangers?"
"I see… then what about Parkinson and the others?"
"They set off for Romania this morning. By now, they should have already arrived at the address. You'll see them then."
"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about that. I was hoping I'd get there first."
After hearing Draco's explanation, Hermione stopped worrying about who went first.
She knew very well that without being able to explain things, and without using magic, it would be extremely difficult for her to leave home without her parents finding out.
As for Floo powder?
Hermione didn't come from a wizarding family. Not only did her house not have any Floo powder prepared, but that old fireplace might not even work anymore. And there was no way it had ever been registered with the Ministry to connect to the Floo Network…