Love prevailed over reason.
Angelina hesitated for a moment, then led them out of the common room and toward the lounge at the Quidditch pitch.
There, the latest broomsticks were displayed—the Nimbus 2002.
Harry turned around and went upstairs to retrieve his Firebolt.
About ten minutes later, the entire group met up at the Quidditch pitch.
Luna held up a brand-new, streamlined flying broom and examined it carefully.
"It's so cold."
Hermione stood on the grass, shivering uncontrollably as she muttered to herself.
Through the thick fog, she looked around at her companions and found that they were all hugging their arms and shivering.
"This awful weather... Is it always this cold in the morning?" Ron complained.
Their heads were spinning, and they felt a strange sense of despondency.
They were no longer optimistic about the future.
Perhaps this trip would be their last.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Hermione immediately summoned her Patronus. The silvery-white owl circled around her, and she instantly felt the weight pressing on her heart lift.
Luna tilted her head back, her hazy eyes fixed intently on the sky above the Quidditch pitch, as if she could see something there.
Then she closed her eyes, feeling slightly dizzy.
They endured their discomfort.
Just then, the sky in the distance began to brighten with the first hint of dawn.
They prepared to set off from there, flying over the Forbidden Forest to avoid being seen.
"I've chosen to believe you now."
Angelina looked at her boyfriend and emphasized every word.
"Thanks."
Fred and Angelina hugged.
"Come back safe and sound."
She gave Fred a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Certainly."
Fred squinted and smiled.
Harry gripped his Firebolt. He hadn't ridden a broomstick in a long time, and he could feel the Firebolt almost becoming excited in his hand.
It was truly rare to see the light again after being hidden beneath a bed in darkness for so long.
Everyone mounted their respective broomsticks and set off.
They had already wasted a considerable amount of time.
The broomsticks began to rise, carrying them higher and higher as they accelerated.
The discomfort quickly disappeared once they left the pitch.
They flew over the Hogwarts grounds and skimmed above the Forbidden Forest. The towering, twisted branches and the birds fluttering among them looked eerie and sinister.
The icy air slapped against their cheeks, while the rushing wind felt like sharp blades scraping across their faces.
The group flew in a single line without hesitation.
According to Fred and George, this formation reduced their physical exertion.
Perhaps that was thanks to their knowledge of Muggle physics.
Hogwarts Castle gradually shrank beneath them until, when they looked back, it had become nothing more than a black dot.
They crossed rolling mountains and flew over village after village as dawn broke.
Then came a Muggle-built highway, where a lone car sped along the winding mountain road, traveling home and traversing hill after hill.
They weaved through the clouds.
Luna even closed her eyes, a faint smile playing across her lips. She freely released her hands from the broom and swayed them rhythmically.
"Is this what it feels like to fly high in the sky? It's really interesting."
She muttered to herself.
Flying lessons in first year and Quidditch matches were worlds apart from their current level. This was a completely different experience.
The howling wind drowned out her light, melodious voice.
But Hermione, who was right behind her, could still sense her excitement.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought Luna was simply on holiday.
Hermione watched the girl in front of her swaying precariously on her broom.
She was also very worried about Luna's safety.
Then Luna did something extremely daring.
She changed her flying posture in mid-air, slowly pressing down the front of the broom. Carefully raising her slender right leg, she tilted her body to the right and slowly circled around the broomstick, finally bringing her legs together.
Her legs were now tightly side by side, leaving her sitting horizontally across the broom.
Both hands gripped the middle of the broom firmly.
Her long, golden-grey hair danced wildly in the wind, streaming across her face and making her look incredibly free-spirited.
Hermione felt as though she were watching an aerial acrobatics show.
The wind was blowing so fiercely that Hermione wondered whether she would ever make it back to the ground. Her curly hair was probably being blown straight, and she became extremely cautious.
Luna, however, didn't care in the slightest.
This girl really knew how to do something amazing at any given moment.
She hummed some strange tune to herself.
There was a fundamental difference between flying at high altitudes and flying at low altitudes during Quidditch.
Moreover, Hermione rarely participated in such activities outside of Flying Class.
So she crouched low, gripped her broom tightly, and obediently followed the others.
The sky gradually brightened.
A layer of pink tinted the pale-blue horizon, while a faint golden-red glow began to emerge from below.
The light grew brighter and brighter, forcing them to slow down.
When the sky had still been relatively dark, they had even used a rope spell to tie their wands to the fronts of their broomsticks and cast Lumos to use them as light sources.
But now, the dazzling light was working against them.
The blinding sunlight began to sting their eyes.
They didn't know how long they had been flying.
But just as the sun was about to reach its highest point in the sky, they saw vast clusters of buildings ahead—a modern metropolis of steel and glass, filled with towering skyscrapers.
Muggle cars weaved through the city, and the streets were crowded with tourists.
The large, light-blue panes of glass on the upper floors of the tall office buildings reflected the sunlight.
They began to slow down and descend, eventually coming to a stop on the rooftop of a Muggle company near their destination.
The place was deserted.
The concrete ground was solid and hard, with only a few pigeons perched on the rusty railings, watching the group of wizards who had flown in from afar.
It was probably an abandoned building.
The elevator that had stopped on the top floor was broken.
George and Fred lingered on the upper floor for a while. Then they pointed toward the closed iron gate and asked, "What's this?"
They pressed the descent button.
There was no response.
The company was completely empty, so naturally, the electricity had been shut off.
"That's called an elevator," Hermione replied quickly before walking down the stairs.
"Alohomora!"
The group hurried to the gate, and Hermione decisively cast the spell, opening the firmly locked glass door.
"Where should we go now?"
Luna asked politely and with great interest, making it sound more like a delightful day trip than anything dangerous.
Hermione somehow produced a map of the area, spread it out in her hand, glanced at it, and recalled what she knew.
"We need to find a telephone box. It's nearby."
Hermione pointed southeast.
"It's over there, just across a block."
She immediately started walking in that direction, with the others following closely behind.
The Ministry of Magic was located in the heart of London.
The group began running along the street, but Luna occasionally looked around, her peripheral vision lingering on the strange graffiti covering the nearby walls.
Those imaginative designs seemed very much to her taste.
Five minutes later.
A dilapidated telephone box appeared before them.