"Oh? Oh, alright. Do we go by car to your house or use this, this..." Mr. Granger hesitated for a moment upon hearing Arthur's words, then quickly understood and asked, as if waking from a dream.
"The Floo Network," Harry reminded him from the side.
"Yes, the Floo Network." Mr. Granger chewed on the unfamiliar word. He was intrigued by how people could stand in fire without getting burned. He was also curious about how flames suddenly appeared in this fireplace, and even more curious about how wizards could traverse space freely using fireplaces.
He could answer the first question with the knowledge in his mind. The "flames" looked like flames but didn't actually generate enough heat to harm the human body, allowing people to be inside them. But the next two questions were beyond his understanding, and he could only sum them up as "magic."
Mr. Granger felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He was about to use that Floo Network and experience the legendary "space travel," flying instantly from London to Devon! He couldn't help but squeeze his wife's hand.
Arthur was even more excited than him.
"Did you just say we go by car? Do you have a Muggle car? I mean, the kind..." He babbled excitedly.
Mr. Granger: ...
"Well, if you mean ordinary cars, I have a few..." He paused mid-sentence because he noticed Mr. Weasley's eyes lighting up.
Arthur was very interested in Muggles. He was extremely curious about how Muggles could live without using magic. So every time something related to Muggles came up, Arthur couldn't suppress his inner curiosity.
"Mr. Weasley is a 'Muggle enthusiast.' He's very obsessed with various objects from the non-magical world," Harry explained on Arthur's behalf.
"I see," Mr. Granger stroked his chin. "Would you like to accompany me to the garage and take a look at my collection of little treasures?"
After a few more exchanges, he and the friendly wizard with the receding hairline approached. Once the magic haze surrounding the other man dissipated, a figure with his feet on the ground emerged. This made Mr. Granger feel less nervous.
And Arthur's behavior revealed many questions... Mr. Granger noticed something unusual. According to his initial impression, wizards were like observers, discreetly watching every move of Muggles, and the entire Muggle society seemed transparent in one direction to their eyes. But after interacting with Mr. Weasley, he felt that his impression was somewhat distorted: wizards seemed to have little knowledge of Muggles.
This was very confusing. His dear daughter was a genuine Muggle, and according to what she said, there were many wizards of Muggle origin like her. He couldn't understand why wizards knew so little about Muggles. Couldn't they just ask his daughter if they wanted to know about Muggles?
Or maybe they could take a walk on the main street of the Muggles? If they strolled around the Muggle street for a couple of laps, they surely wouldn't get so excited about seeing a car.
Perhaps they had their reasons. Mr. Granger thought that wizards might have inexplicable difficulties that prevented them from directly communicating with Muggles.
Mr. Granger was not wrong. Wizards, due to the Statute of Secrecy, couldn't have too close interactions with Muggles. In Professor McGonagall's days when she was young, the wizarding world even prohibited wizards from showing their magical abilities to their Muggle spouses.
This brings us to the heart-wrenching story of Professor McGonagall's youth. Back then, Professor McGonagall was not yet a professor but rather the Gryffindor Prefect, Minerva McGonagall.
After graduating with top marks from Hogwarts, Minerva found a job in the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Before starting her new job, she returned home to spend the last summer of her student days.
There, she met a Muggle named Dougal McGregor. Dougal was handsome, intelligent, and fun, and Minerva fell deeply in love with him. They started getting to know each other more deeply... and eventually, Dougal proposed to Minerva in a freshly plowed field. She accepted.
However, after the initial excitement subsided, Minerva realized that she couldn't go through with the engagement due to the restrictions of the Statute of Secrecy. Marrying a Muggle meant she would have to follow the same path as her mother, stowing away her wand and forsaking all her ideals. There would be no more Minerva McGonagall in the world, only Mrs. McGregor.
So the next day, Dougal was left standing... There was no reconciliation. Three days later, Professor McGonagall returned to London. From that moment on, they were separated in different worlds and never saw each other again.
For Dougal, Minerva McGonagall was just a passing figure in his life, but for Minerva, Dougal always held a very special place in her heart.
Over time, the Statute of Secrecy gradually relaxed, but they never managed to reunite.
The tragedy caused by the Statute of Secrecy repeated itself over and over, building an insurmountable barrier between the wizarding world and the non-magical world.
Of course, besides the inevitable difficulties, there was also arrogance. The wizarding world had always adopted a condescending attitude towards the non-magical world. Wizards didn't care about Muggles' lives. It was as if top students didn't bother to look at mediocre students' assignments, didn't even bother to glance at what mediocre students were doing. Mr. Weasley was already an exception among pure-bloods because he had sympathy for Muggles, but his motive for being friendly with Muggles was "curiosity about how Muggles can live without using magic," an inherent arrogance that didn't conflict with his kind heart.
It was like when international students are often asked strange questions abroad; those asking are just curious and not malicious.
Faced with Mr. Granger's invitation, Mr. Weasley couldn't refuse it at all.
He followed Mr. Granger excitedly out of the living room and headed to the garage to see Mr. Granger's cars. If he had the time, he would definitely ask Mr. Granger to let him take a couple of turns.
Mr. Weasley considered the idea of going by car to the Burrow several times, but after calculating the time and confirming that Muggle cars couldn't fly, he had to reluctantly abandon that idea.
If they returned by car, they would probably get home close to midnight, and what about dinner? The next day, they had to leave early for the hill near the Burrow!
When Mr. Weasley left the garage, he looked like a child who had lost his favorite toy.