The Burrow's shed.
"Lucien, Muggles have a box that can make ice cubes on its own, without needing a Freezing Charm! Isn't it so marvelous? Do they keep a small, docile Frost Elf inside? Will it need to be fed regularly?"
"Hmm, there are no Frost Elves in there. Its principle is…"
Mr. Weasley, Arthur Weasley, discussed Muggle life with Lucien while modifying a car.
Of course, it was mainly Mr. Weasley asking all sorts of strange and wonderful questions, while Lucien did his best to explain Muggle technology by relating it to magic.
"And Muggles use something that doesn't require owls. You just press a few buttons and you can talk to someone far away. What exactly is that?"
Knowing that Mr. Weasley was referring to a mobile phone, Lucien introduced its functions while also pondering.
Indeed, the wizarding world still relied on traditional letters for communication. Why not develop more efficient communication devices?
If such a tool were to be created, the key would be the range of the sound-transmitting magic… Well, if the sound-transmitting magic could be solved, then image transmission could also be solved, since their principles were not too different.
It had to be said that the development of magic and the technological progress of Muggles were simply not the same.
From sound transmission to image transmission, Muggles required several technological breakthroughs and innovations.
Magic, however, could skip those steps, achieving leapfrog development.
If the cost could be controlled so that magical communication tools became widely available, they would most likely become best-selling products.
It was just that owls might lose their jobs, though they could still deliver parcels and express mail.
Temporarily setting aside his ideas, Lucien refocused his attention on the task at hand.
Mr. Weasley had invited him to look at a car. It had originally been a rusty old vehicle, but Mr. Weasley clearly intended to add a little magic to it.
"Oh, flying is so convenient. Why don't Muggles add this function to their cars?"
Hearing Mr. Weasley's grumbling, Lucien's mouth twitched. That kind of flying vehicle was called an airplane.
While dismantling the car's structure and removing the bulky, useless parts, Mr. Weasley replaced them with alchemical creations while waving his wand to add magical spell patterns.
"Ron mentioned that you've already begun studying alchemy, Lucien, so I thought you might be interested in this car. Speaking of which, I really have to thank you for helping Ron with his studies. That boy used to give me quite a headache…"
Lucien helped Mr. Weasley make some small adjustments while listening to him talk about family matters.
"Recently, I've been investigating wizarding homes. I work in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, you see, which prohibits enchanting Muggle-made items, just in case they fall back into Muggle hands…"
The more he listened, the more something felt off. Lucien could not help complaining inwardly.
No, you're supposed to prohibit this, so what exactly are we doing right now?
Lucien looked at the car, which had already been modified beyond recognition, and fell silent.
Ah, because he was the one doing it, he was not worried about being caught at all?
Lucien glanced around the shed. It was piled high with Muggle-related items, most of which had clearly been touched by magic.
By the way, doesn't Mr. Weasley invite colleagues over? Wouldn't he be arrested by them as a major achievement then?
"I feel like something is still missing…"
Mr. Weasley stroked his chin as he looked at the nearly finished car, muttering to himself.
Lucien thought for a moment and kindly reminded him, "Perhaps an Invisibility Charm? After all, Muggle cars generally don't fly in the sky."
"Oh, oh, right, right. Thank you for the reminder, Lucien."
Mr. Weasley clapped his hands and continued working busily.
Lucien also lent a hand. After Mr. Weasley cast the Invisibility Charm, he added a small magical circle to it.
"Lucien, what is this? I don't quite understand."
Mr. Weasley did not immediately recognize the magical runes on the circle and turned to look at Lucien in surprise.
"This is a magical circle used to automatically trigger a spell. I've set it so that once the car starts flying, it will activate its invisibility at the same time. That way, Muggles won't see it, which would be quite troublesome, wouldn't it?"
Hearing this, Mr. Weasley slapped his forehead and said, as if realizing something belatedly, "You're right! You young people really do have such nimble minds!"
As he was about to leave the shed, Mr. Weasley quickly added, "Lucien, about the car, please don't mention it to Molly. She doesn't really like me tinkering with these things."
Lucien nodded, indicating that he understood.
Even if he said nothing, the Chosen One would soon be riding in this flying car anyway.
Lucien gently knocked on Ginny's door.
Ginger had been lent to the girl for a few days, and now he was preparing to go home to get ready for the start of term. Naturally, he had to get him back, lest the little fellow empty out the Weasley family's house.
The door opened with a click.
But standing before Lucien was not Ginny, but an unfamiliar girl.
She had silver eyes and dark golden-brown hair.
Her eyes bulged slightly, giving her a permanently surprised look. Her skin was pale, and her eyebrows were very light.
She wore a pair of radish-shaped earrings and a necklace made of butterbeer bottle caps around her neck.
Such peculiar attire… Although Lucien had never seen this ethereal-looking girl before, he already had some guesses in mind.
"Ah, Lucien."
When Ginny saw him, she hugged the Niffler and introduced the girl.
"This is Luna, Luna Lovegood."
"Luna's family also lives in the village. They're our neighbors."
"Luna's father is the editor of The Quibbler, which is a magazine that records 'rare' things."
Lucien looked at the girl in front of him. Ah, so it was Luna after all.
It was said that this girl could see things ordinary people could not, though he did not know whether that was true.
Setting that aside, Thestrals were real. Only those who had witnessed death could see them.
"Hello, Luna. I'm Lucien. Lucien Grafton."
Lucien greeted this future Ravenclaw junior, but Luna showed no reaction to his words.
Her silver eyes simply stared at him blankly.
Just as the atmosphere was beginning to grow awkward, a calm and ethereal voice came from Luna's mouth.
"You are very special, ah, but I guess you already knew that?"
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