The protective cover appeared to be a rectangular casing that shrank directly upon encountering the Time-Turner, fitting snugly onto the surface of the hourglass. Hermione hung the Time-Turner chain around her neck and Tom's, then she turned the small hourglass. As she turned it, she carefully observed the changes in the protective cover.
Each time Hermione completed a full turn, the protective cover expanded a little more. After Hermione turned it 170 times, the protective cover had expanded to its maximum and seemed like it would burst in the next second.
"Stop!" Hermione halted her hand, and in the next moment, the scene in front of them blurred, everything around them returned to the familiar mosaic shape, and by the time they landed, they were already one week in the past.
"A week-long vacation, not bad at all!" Hermione rubbed her hands together as if she wanted to whistle but restrained herself.
"A week..." The duration of time made her reflect and remember something.
"I think no one has accepted the Trans-Siberian Railway research task offered by the Association, right?"
"Probably no one has accepted it yet. I can take it; it's a Level C task, and if we complete it, we could be promoted." Tom remembered that the task had been available for some time, and it seemed that no one had taken it.
"Besides, it will take a little over six days to complete the entire journey." Hermione thought she would use the vacation to do that task. A week-long break was not common, and if they didn't do it now, they would have to wait until Christmas. By then, someone else might have already completed it.
Of course, the most important thing was that the journey itself along the railway would be a kind of vacation. The Trans-Siberian Railway, from Moscow to Vladivostok, was the longest railway line in the world, with a total length of 9,288 kilometers and a travel time of 150 hours. There used to be an even longer line, the train from Kiev to Vladivostok, with a distance of 11,085 kilometers, but unfortunately, that line ceased operations with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It's worth mentioning that the second longest line was from Moscow to Pyongyang, with a total distance of 10,267 kilometers, also discontinued, another product of the Soviet Union.
The most important thing was that traveling by train would also allow them to enjoy the landscapes along the route. The landscapes of Siberia were breathtaking: vast snowy plains in glacial gorges. During sunrise, the train seemed to chase the sun, and during sunset, one had the sensation of traveling over gold.
Hermione imagined the experiences in Siberia and on the railway, and her heart raced.
When the heart races, it's time to act. For an ordinary person, London and Moscow may seem to be at opposite ends of the world. Only the state secrets of Downing Street could quickly take one to Moscow. Apart from that, everything else required time and effort.
But that distance meant nothing to a wizard. First, Tom and Hermione quietly went to their dormitories and gathered some belongings, then they went to the headmaster's office, found Fawkes, and, in exchange for a pound of King Serpent (Basilisk) meat, they obtained Fawkes' help to take them to Moscow. Dumbledore was always busy and not in his office, luckily he hadn't changed the entry password; otherwise, Tom would have had a big problem getting in.
...
It wasn't long before Tom and Hermione were on the streets of Moscow. Their destination was Yaroslavsky Station, one of Moscow's largest railway stations and the starting point of their mission. Strictly speaking, the famous Trans-Siberian Railway spans Eurasia from east to west and could even start in Hamburg, Germany, but if you really want to make the entire journey, you can only choose Moscow as the starting point.
However, they couldn't go directly to the train station. After "transporting" to Moscow through Fawkes, they first went to the bank to exchange a sum of rubles. These days, those who exchanged British pounds for rubles at the official rate were considered fools. Tom and Hermione's actions attracted many curious looks.
Even as they left the bank, several people silently followed them, until Tom led them to a street corner and cast some confusion spells to throw them off.
On the way, the only word Tom saw was "depression." The once prosperous capital of the Red Empire was now in ruins. The magnificent buildings were still there, but they were nothing more than empty shells. The streets were filled with graffiti, broken bottles, sleeping drunks, and vendors with all kinds of miscellaneous items. The occasional passersby, wrapped in their own clothes, seemed unwilling to say a word to the vendors.
However, Hermione didn't have those concerns. Curiously, she looked at the various objects the vendors had in their arms, baskets, and stalls: wine, glasses, chandeliers, radios... it seemed they had everything.
"This seems interesting, is this a secondhand market?" Hermione asked Tom curiously. "So this is Moscow... What's that long line over there?"
Tom didn't respond; he knew exactly where those vendors came from: maybe a few years ago, they were teachers, engineers, or workers, but now they were on the streets, setting up stalls, becoming "self-employed," contributing to the "street stall economy" in Russia. He also understood that this supposed "secondhand market" was not oriented towards "saving," but towards "survival." He looked in the direction Hermione was pointing, and indeed, he saw a long line.
"Bakery." He glanced at the packages in the arms of people coming out in front of the line and realized what they were waiting for.
"The bread from this store must be delicious," Hermione said longingly. "Too bad we don't have that much time..."
Tom showed a tender expression in his eyes and stroked Hermione's hair.
"What's wrong with you suddenly touching my head?" Hermione brushed Tom's hand away from her head and complained a bit, somewhat annoyed. "You're going to mess up my hair!"
"It's nothing, it's fine," Tom responded as he took the opportunity to hold Hermione's hand and squeeze it, enjoying the soft and warm sensation.
What a pure, innocent, and untouched girl! Tom felt moved. Hermione still had so much to discover.
Tom and Hermione walked away as the line in front of the bakery continued to move slowly, until a woman in a coat appeared in front of the display window.
She wore an elegant wool coat and covered much of her face with the collar of the garment and her hat. She leaned toward the bakery's small display window and asked in a low voice, "Do you still have bread?"
"The bread is sold out."
The response was cold.