Mr. Weasley flipped one of the switches on the dashboard, clearly not a factory-installed one. After that, only the mirrors and interior remained visible. Everything else disappeared.
- Incredible! Sir, you've done some serious work. Are there any other functions here?
"No," Arthur shook his head, satisfied. "But if you wish, I can cast additional spells on your car."
- May I ask, Mr. Weasley, what can we expect?
"Um..." Arthur paused, circling at an altitude of half a kilometer. "What do you want?"
"Mr. Weasley, I won't hide the fact that my task is to move as quickly and as far as possible, while remaining as unnoticed as possible."
- Like on The Night Knight?
- Sir, forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of such a name.
- What? Lord, you don't know about the Night Knight?
- Unfortunately, one can't know everything, sir. I hope you'll forgive me.
"This is a bus for wizards in trouble. It's enchanted and can transport a wizard anywhere in the world using a portal marker, as long as the exit isn't underwater and the bus has visited that location and stored the coordinates for the portal points in its memory. The bus travels at a speed of four and a half thousand miles per hour without using a portal. It's undetectable to Muggles, and it avoids obstacles with a multitude of protective charms. Only the Knight of the Night experiences severe shaking due to short Apparition jumps."
Richard barely restrained himself from crying out in joy. He said in a subdued voice:
"Sir, I want all these charms on my car. And if possible, I'd like to solve the shaking issue."
"Unfortunately, I don't have enough knowledge to enchant such a car," Mr. Weasley said sadly.
"Sir, but someone must have enchanted the Knight of the Night?! Hire these wizards to work for you or as consultants. Or hire other competent wizards-British or foreign. I'll provide you with funds to cover the costs of the consulting wizards and outside specialists."
- And this is the way out!
Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up with excitement. He seemed ready to rush off to find the consultants right then and there. Apparently, he was curious to know how the Knight of the Night had been enchanted.
"By summer, sir, you'll have full funding," Richard said, trying to bring the man down to earth in a rude manner. "For now, find the right specialists and negotiate with them."
"Yes, yes, of course," Mr. Weasley returned from his dreams to reality.
- How long can this car fly?
"Six or seven hours, then it'll take some time to recharge the spell. I haven't yet figured out how to make such a large object fly for long. A broom requires much less magical power, so you can fly it for as long as you like. And a broom doesn't lift much weight, while the car itself weighs a fair amount, plus the cargo."
- What is the carrying capacity?
Mr. Weasley thought about it and replied:
"My whole family fit in the car, and a month's worth of groceries fit in the trunk. About fifteen hundred pounds."
Richard immediately converted this into familiar numbers for himself - it turned out that the tested carrying capacity of the flying car was around seven hundred kilograms.
- Sir, what if you enchant not a car, but an airplane, the design of which is more suitable for staying in the air?
- Airplane?
- Yes, sir, the plane.
- Is that a Muggle iron thing with wings?
- Yes, sir. That's right.
- That's a thought! I'd like to see a real plane.
"Sir, in addition to the car, I'll also send you a plane. A small one. I hope you'll enchant it in a similar way."
- Of course! With pleasure!
- And also, Mr. Weasley, is it possible to make all the technology shrink down to a small size so that you can pick it up and put it in your pocket?
"A shrinking charm?" Arthur Weasley mused. "If the charms don't interfere with each other... We'll have to do some calculations and spend more time on the enchantment. And then we'll have to give up on expanding the internal space. It's possible, in principle."
"There's no need to expand space. If it's possible, I'd like to be able to shrink the equipment and transport it without fear of damage. And now we can land. It's a wonderful car, Mr. Weasley, I really like it."
After the car landed, Richard, out of politeness, chatted with the Weasley family for a while on unrelated topics. The young Lord adhered to the unwritten British rules: no mention of religion, politics, or money unless the hosts brought them up. Money is a completely taboo topic, but not at a business dinner. But since financial matters had been discussed, albeit briefly, the previous time, Richard tried to avoid bringing up the subject again.
As a result, young Rich left the Burrow shortly after nine o'clock in the evening, tired but very happy.