From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Go and count the numbers. You're new here, this is the rule. Once you've calculated them, come back and submit a report!"

"Yes, supervisor!"

Percy responded loudly, which startled the supervisor for a moment, before he smiled and walked away.

The new Englishman is hardworking and conscientious, but a bit slow-witted. Logically, such an unpleasant nickname should have led to a private wizard duel, but surprisingly, it didn't happen—he's quite efficient at his work, but a bit dim-witted, which is a pity.

"Come on, let's play cards, and wait for Red Hair to report the numbers!"

He beckoned to the wizards who were transporting the goods and pulled out his gambling equipment.

When it comes to playing, they are among the fastest learners of wizards—they've traveled all over the world and seen a lot of things, whether they're Muggles or wizards; as long as it's fun, they'll learn and use it.

It's just that the Ministry of Magic has been stricter with its bans in recent years. Even the opium transport teams back then weren't immune to smoking—the legitimate ones were better off, but the smuggled ones carried even more dangerous and illegal potions.

After a game of bridge played by Muggles, the group of people happily started bragging.

The conversation inadvertently turned to the new red-haired guy, "Do you guys think that red-haired guy is stupid?"

"What, has he said something outrageous this time?"

"That happens every day, doesn't it? It would be strange if he didn't spout some amazing nonsense one day," another wizard scoffed. "That dim-witted redhead even came without understanding why international transport was necessary—"

He mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "Sir, why do you think we need to ship these products across borders? Wouldn't it be more convenient to use a door key?"

"Studying too much has made them stupid!"

He chuckled as he defined the situation, "I do know about door keys, but I didn't know that the bag enchanted with the Seamless Expansion Charm would break during the use of a door key..."

"That's right, and he's quite funny—he doesn't use a key, he just uses a flying broom to carry the goods and stuff them into a bag with a Traceless Expansion Charm. He treats the Traceless Expansion Charm like cabbage, something anyone can use?"

"That's right, and that spell expires easily, and there are few people who can cast it. To prevent the bag from spoiling, it needs regular maintenance. Even smugglers are reluctant to use those kinds of bags—he's just a silly boy..."

"That's right, haha!"

The card game was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

-

"William, are we going to follow the official path now?"

“Yes, let’s go now. It would be best to take the Knight Bus to the border and then make an exit visit, otherwise it would be illegal to cross the border.” William answered as he tidied up the campsite he had used and cleaned up the traces around it.

There should be a bottom line in being a person. Smuggling is wrong, but you can't cross the river and then destroy the bridge. It would be too unethical to expose the location of the camp so that future generations can't use it.

"I've explored all the hidden places in China. Next, I'll officially cross the border and go there to experience the local customs and culture before considering where to go for a simple adventure."

"Alright, this time I'm going to fight a wolf!"

After several days without catching a rabbit, Adams lowered his hunting expectations from magical creatures to an unbelievable level—partly due to the excessive damage he had suffered from Singed along the way from the campsite to now.

"Keep going, you can do it. I've heard there are quite a few wolves over there, and you might even see a bear."

William offered his heartfelt blessings.

Then the three of them simultaneously extended their wands and summoned the Knight Bus.

Just as it advertises, this genuine express will appear when a wizard needs it.

Huge headlights suddenly appeared not far away, and the talkative ticket seller's enthusiastic smile appeared.

"My goodness, three passengers at once—to be honest, it's not easy to encounter so many passengers during the summer holidays. Even the Diagon Alley route is almost deserted—students stay at home and only start running around near the end of the summer holidays."

"Of course, it's nothing. I'm a ticket seller on Knight Bus, I've seen things like this many times!"

"You've really seen a lot? I remember your grades weren't very good when you were in school..."

Adams spoke so casually that William was suddenly pulled out of his reverie.

By the way, when he came out of prison, the ticket seller, Stan Sampak, was somewhere between an intern and a graduate.

"Ah, Professor!"

"Hello Professor, I didn't expect it to be you..."

Poor Sampark's prominent ears turned slightly red. "I never expected to see you again after leaving Hogwarts..."

He rubbed his hands together. "Please allow me to reintroduce myself, Professor."

Stan Sampark bowed. "This is the Knight Bus, a reliable mode of transport for every wizard. I am Stan Sampark, the ticket seller, and I wish you a pleasant journey."

"Please get in the car, Professor. I hope this will be a pleasant journey for you."

After completing a series of actions, he shouted to the driver, "It's on me, three of you, buddy, it's my professor and his friends!"

"Oh, of course, no problem!"

The driver called out in their direction, "Please get in, Professor!"

“Thank you,” Adams returned the greeting with a smile, “You’re much more composed than you were in school, Stan.”

"Of course, Professor, where are you going?"

"Border, we need to go to the Far East to do something."

Adams didn't dare mention adventure—the students were there.

William and Singed chuckled to themselves. One was a professor of alchemy with high entry requirements, and the other was a new professor who had only been working for a year. They weren't worried about being recognized by their students.

"You're going there for an inspection, right, Professor?"

"I still remember the theory you mentioned in class about how potions in extreme environments could change their properties..."

Stan Sampark spoke with great enthusiasm, while Adams listened with a kind expression.

"I bet Stan's grades are terrible... He doesn't even understand the difference between potions and herbs. If Professor Snape saw this, tsk tsk..."

Singed muttered to himself.

Although Professor Snape wasn't very friendly to William, William couldn't help but imagine the scenario—the Potions professor would probably go crazy, right?

"That's true. In the Far East, I remember there was a time when those Russians or something—anyway, something like that—couldn't transport herbs at all, which caused a lot of our potions to run out of raw materials. Smuggling was rampant back then, and the new minister arrested a lot of people..."

William's expression suddenly turned sour...

This ticket seller talks way too much.

However, the ticket seller didn't notice anything and continued talking non-stop.

"Yes, the environment has finally improved a bit, so it's a good time to observe the herbs. A responsible professor like you would definitely want to verify your theories, especially since the area has been quite turbulent these past few years. The wild herbs might have even survived a few more winters."

"That's how it is, but it was just a simple inspection, not very formal."

……

That's enough, Adams.

However, the ticket seller must have touched on something that pleased Adams, because their conversation continued until William and his companion got off the Knight bus.

"Wow, the students have changed so much in just a few years."

Adams was quite smug after getting out of the car. "My student didn't do very well in herbalism class, but he's kind-hearted. He just talks too much, and his papers are just unreadable."

“So after graduation he chose to become a ticket seller,” William nodded. “This job really fulfilled his wishes, allowing him to meet different people, hear news from all over the world, travel around, and communicate with different people.”

“Now that you mention it, it really suits him,” Adams agreed.

"By the way, how's his self-defense course?"

"It's pretty good, I think?" Adams thought for a moment. "But don't be too demanding. Hogwarts' self-defense courses have been generally not very good in recent years."

“Then you’d better study hard,” William said, watching the bus disappear into the distance. “That way you can protect yourself if any arguments happen in the future.”

William had expected Adams to laugh and curse him, telling him not to curse his student, but Adams took it seriously.

"I'll write him a letter when I get back, telling him to read more textbooks about magical self-defense techniques. Now that you mention it, I'm actually quite worried..."

William and Singed exchanged a glance and then fell silent.

What kind of impression does this kid give off that makes his own professor think he really needs to learn magical self-defense?

"Let's go, you two, stop standing there, we need to register—we're going to the Far East to investigate the mutations in herbs over the years. There might be some artificially cultivated herbs that haven't been collected for various reasons, and those could be of great research value."

Adams said earnestly, "We can also buy a batch of seeds to take back to Hogwarts and try to cultivate them. They were really hard to get a few years ago; even Professor Snape and the others were complaining about not having enough herbs..."

???

William and Singed exchanged a glance, confirming that Adams had been led astray by the ticket seller.

"Let's go, we're heading to the border!"

The two of them worked together to pull Adams back, preventing him from going further astray—it's not a good habit to let your imagination run wild, and most of a normal wizard's arrogance stems from this.

He's been idolizing Professor Lockhart for a while now; if he keeps studying like this, Hogwarts might produce another author who writes books...

-

"The three of you, are you requesting to travel to Russia?"

"Yes, the three of you."

Singed controlled the performance-driven Adams, while William handled the negotiations.

"reason."

"Scientific investigation will be conducted to determine whether any mutations have occurred in the local herbs during this period of free growth."

Although he managed to stop Adams, William still thought the excuse was quite useful.

"Do you have a letter of recommendation from the relevant association? If not, this reason won't be enough to get customs clearance—" the clerk looked at William and his group, "There have been quite a few people trying to smuggle recently."

"Similar recommendations?"

William paused for a moment—then Adams came over triumphantly.

"I am a lifetime honorary member of the Herbalists Association, and this is my badge."

He handed over a certificate, and the other person glanced at it, exclaiming in surprise, "Ah—Professor!"

"Are you going there for research? Have you contacted the association they represent? We have an office for them here. I'll go contact their representative right now and get you the necessary documentation—"

The Ministry of Magic staff member in charge of overstepping boundaries was quite enthusiastic, "So, who are these two—"

"My colleagues, Professor William and Professor Singed, went on an expedition together, hoping to find something interesting."

"Of course, Hogwarts' magical research capabilities are among the best in the world!"

“Originally, you would have to cross the border multiple times to get through, but we have an emergency contact key here. The three of us using it should be enough to fly directly to Russia without the long and tiring journey.”