Albert couldn't believe that he had inexplicably followed Sera to Platform 7 1/2, ready to board the steam train that was about to head to an unknown area.
The crimson steam train was parked right next to the platform. There were only a few passengers on this train and two staff members were cutting tickets at the entrance.
There was a sign on the platform with a map of the train's route around Europe, and the sign detailed the location of each wizard village it stopped at.
The nearest stop is Hogsmeade Village, and the entire journey takes five days.
Serra didn't know what she said to the ticket collector, but he enthusiastically introduced the destination of this trip to them: the French village of Nicola.
It is said that this is the hometown of Nicolas Flamel.
After Nicolas Flamel became famous, French wizards changed the name of the village to commemorate the birth of the great alchemist.
The staff pulled a small suitcase and took the two people to their private compartment. After opening the door of the compartment, there was a spacious room with two single beds. The layout of the room was simple and comfortable.
"Why not use the Floo, Apparate, or a Portkey?"
After the staff member put their suitcases away, closed the door of the carriage and left, Albert asked his first question.
"Using a portkey is illegal entry," Sera kindly reminded. "It's very difficult to Apparate directly to another country. It's not worth the risk. Besides, the last time I went to Nikolai Village was ten years ago, and my memory of the place has long been fuzzy."
"What about the Floo?"
"Of course we can go directly to France, but Mr. Nicholas has already bought the train tickets for us in advance. How can we let him waste money for nothing?" Sera said with a smile while sitting on the sofa. "Besides, isn't this a great experience for you?"
Albert was speechless for a moment. What he said made so much sense.
This place is similar to the first-class cabin on an airplane, and the price is definitely not cheap.
"How much?"
"It's fifty Galleons per person, and the food is free." Sera pointed to the menu on the table and said, "Just order and the food will appear."
"I originally thought wizards don't know how to enjoy life." Albert said self-deprecatingly, and ordered an Italian lobster seafood pasta set meal for himself.
No wonder Sierra reminded him not to eat too much at breakfast.
"In fact, most wizards don't ride in luxury carriages." Sera probably guessed Albert's thoughts and explained casually, "This is a carriage prepared for some special customers, so I said it's best not to waste this opportunity."
"What are you doing in Nicholas Village?" Albert put down the menu and looked at the old man in front of him. He felt that this matter was obviously not that simple.
Sera walked to the door, made sure it was locked, and cast some kind of magic in the room before sitting back on the couch and saying slowly, "We're going to visit someone."
"I thought Nico was in Devonshire." Albert guessed who Sera was talking about.
"They are dying, and there is no telling how Dumbledore could have convinced Mr. and Mrs. Flamel to give up the Philosopher's Stone."
Speaking of this, Sera's tone was complicated, "We need to stay in France for three days. You can take some time to participate in the International Wizard Chess Tournament held in France this year."
"Don't you need to register in advance for that kind of competition?"
Albert said this, his tone suddenly paused, “Who signed me up?”
New tasks appeared on the task panel, most likely related to the International Wizarding Chess Competition.
"Bud signed you up in advance. He thought you might be interested." Sera said, "That guy used to be the wizard chess champion. He has a recommendation spot."
In fact, there aren't too many wizards participating in the International Wizarding Chess Tournament every year.
"Of course, that's not the point."
Albert was about to say something when he heard Sera continue, "Nico also left something for you. We think it would be better for you to go and meet him in person."
Albert was silent.
He felt that a lot of messy things were squeezed together, and going to the United States to see Nicholas became less important.
As they were talking, the train suddenly shook and began to slowly move out of King's Cross Station.
Albert turned his head to look at the scenery that was rapidly receding outside the car window, and asked coldly, "Who is Nicholas? Shouldn't you explain it to me?"
So far, neither Sera nor Bud has given him a clear explanation.
No one likes to be kept in the dark or lied to.
"John Nicholas is an American alchemist." Sera put down the teacup and took out a bag from her pocket, which contained Floo powder.
"It's not that I want to visit him, but you need to visit him. Do you remember what I said?" Sera lowered her voice and said, "Besides me, there are three others. Nicholas is in charge of America. You will need to deal with him sooner or later. I will take you there personally while I still have the energy."
“They don’t want to go to the United States.”
"Why?"
"It's not free over there. You'll know when you go there."
Sera took out another photo from her pocket and pushed it in front of Albert. The photo showed an old man in his sixties and a blonde girl.
The two people in the photo were smiling at him, and the blonde girl looked like an exquisite porcelain doll.
"That's Nicholas's heir and granddaughter. Her name seems to be Catherine. She should have just graduated from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year." Sera said, "Catherine is also a genius. Of course, her talent is not as good as yours."
In Sera's eyes, Albert is the most talented wizard in hundreds of years.
“Why doesn’t anyone else want to go to America?”
Albert took a bite of the lobster pasta that appeared out of thin air and curiously asked the reason.
"Some unpleasant things happened there." Sera curled her lips and said, "That country is not as beautiful as you imagined. The American Ministry of Magic has strict management of wizards. You need to pay attention to many things."
"Because of the Muggles?"
Albert naturally guessed the reason.
"American wizards have to hide carefully so that Muggles don't know about their existence?"
"Yes, it seems you know more than you thought." Sera nodded and said, "Although Muggles cannot use magic, they are not as weak as we think. Once they realize the existence of wizards, they will cause us great trouble."
"The connection between Muggles is closer than you think, and information spreads very quickly. Once someone discovers the existence of the wizarding world, most people in the United States will know about it within a few hours." Albert knew very well what those people would do after discovering the existence of wizards.
No one likes to have their safety threatened by an uncontrollable force, especially for the ruler of that country, this kind of thing will never be allowed.
"Those Muggles." Sera suddenly said, "They once tested a terrible weapon called a nuclear bomb near Las Vegas, Nevada, and the wizards living in that area suffered an unexpected disaster."
"Nuclear bomb experiment?" Albert's mouth twitched slightly.
"They are very strict in their defense against Muggles, just like most wizards treat Dementors." Sera said, "The American Ministry of Magic not only prohibits wizards from marrying Muggles, but wizards are also strictly required to take good care of their children and not allow them to cause riots in front of Muggles."
"There must be a lot of people locked up in the prison of the American Ministry of Magic!" Albert couldn't help but laugh.
"It's said that it's overcrowded." Sera curled her lips and said, "Violating the confidentiality law is a felony."
"Is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
"We should have less dealings with the American Ministry of Magic. We are going to that country in the name of visiting friends. We will spend most of our time on Nicholas's small farm. We won't have many opportunities to deal with those guys." Sera said, "By the way, you shouldn't have brought anything strange with you, right?"
"Strange things?" Albert repeated.
"Apart from the wand, other magic items." Sera added, "It's best not to use the wand at all."
"No, I only brought some Galleons and a two-way mirror. However, I don't know if Galleons are also applicable in other countries."
Before Albert came, he locked all the things in the deformed lizard skin bag into the cabinet.
"Of course, Garlon can be used, but it's more troublesome. They usually use Zhuoguo."
Sera took out a purse from her pocket and placed it in front of Albert. Inside was some gold coins similar to Galleons. The magical currency system there was similar to that in the UK.
Among them, Albert also found several pictures of Franklin.
"American wizards have strict management of magic currency, and they don't leave it to the goblins." Sera thought for a moment and added, "The entire magic world over there is filled with a depressing atmosphere."
In fact, with the exception of the United Kingdom, wizarding banks in other countries are managed by the Ministry of Magic.
Garlon is very popular in the wizarding world and is generally recognized.
This has to do with the fact that goblin coins cannot be counterfeited.
"This row of numbers represents the goblin who minted this coin." Sera took out a Galleon and pointed to a row of numbers on the edge. "That's why they can't be counterfeited."
The food on the train was very good. After finishing the food on the plate, Albert leaned lazily on the sofa and looked sideways at the scenery passing quickly outside the window.
The train was still running and the rest of the journey was very boring. Sera suggested that he lie down on the bed and rest, and also gave him a piece of parchment, which was said to record some precautions after going to the United States.
"I'm curious about how this train will transport passengers to the wizard village on the European continent." Albert held back a yawn and asked, "Will we fly over the North Sea or pass through the bottom of the sea?"
"Passing through the seabed, this train will go down from the Moray Firth, cross the North Sea and directly reach Denmark across the sea." Serra pulled the curtains, obviously preparing to lie down on the bed to rest. For an elderly man, traveling is still too energy-consuming.