The Real Hogwarts Chapter 91 Christmas
"There is one more thing I must emphasize to you." Aberforth said seriously , "Even though we are so well prepared now, you still have to pay attention to the eyes of the basilisk. Never look directly into its eyes, otherwise all your efforts will be in vain, and you will definitely die there."
Jon himself was of course well aware of what Aberforth said, the most dangerous thing about the basilisk was its eyes, which could kill people directly. If one wanted to kill it and cast a spell on it, there would always be an inevitable chance of coming into contact with its eyes in the process.
This is the most dangerous hidden danger for Jon, but if he keeps his eyes closed throughout the whole process to ensure that there will be no direct eye contact between him and the basilisk, how can he ensure that every spell can hit the basilisk?
This seemed to be an unsolvable problem. Jon didn't know whether there was any magic in the wizarding world that allowed people to "see" the surroundings without using their eyes, but neither Aberforth nor he knew this kind of magic.
Jon drank the hot cocoa in his cup, staring out the window absentmindedly, frowning and thinking. He wanted to resolve every possible danger, but the problem he faced now seemed unsolvable. If he wanted to kill the basilisk, he had to take the risk.
Just as he was lost in thought, outside the window, under the dim street lights, snowflakes were slowly falling from the sky.
It was snowing in Hogsmeade.
Aberforth also saw the snowflakes outside the window and couldn't help but sigh.
"The snow fell really early this year. Those Muggle students in the castle are going to be freezing cold."
Jon did not respond to what he said. At the moment when the snowflakes fell from the sky, he looked at the snow in a daze, as if he had thought of something.
It took Aberforth a while to realize that something was wrong with him, and he couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Jon's eyes lit up and he suddenly laughed.
"Percival! I think I found a way!"
…
The Christmas holiday arrived on the fifth day after the heavy snow.
Most of the half-blood and pure-blood students in the castle have already left Hogwarts Castle and boarded the train to return to their parents. Some professors with families have also temporarily left the school after the holidays began.
The once bustling castle has now become empty, and the castle has returned to its original quietness, which also makes the daily work of the Mudblood students much easier.
For these children whose existence has been forgotten by their biological parents, there is of course no holiday at Christmas. Even if classes are stopped, they still have to continue working during the day.
"Hey, did you see the Christmas tree that was just moved in? It is said that the hall will be filled with Christmas trees for tomorrow's Christmas dinner, and everyone in the castle will receive a Christmas present."
While cleaning the lobby on the first floor, Hanton secretly looked towards the auditorium with envy, and then said in a low voice: "But we are not considered human beings in their eyes."
Jon said comfortingly.
"As long as we can still see ourselves as human beings, these things won't matter."
"I remember before I was brought here, my mother would knit me a cashmere hat every Christmas, and the colors were all different."
The conversation between Jon and Henton brought back memories of a girl named Ariel. Perhaps because she had experienced enough sadness before, she did not seem sad when she thought of the good times in the past. Instead, her tone was very cheerful.
"It's just that I didn't like the hats she knitted at the time. I felt the style was old-fashioned and the colors were not pretty. I would only wear them on Christmas Day to make her happy. The rest of the time, I hid them all in the drawer of the wardrobe. Maybe one day when they are tidying up the room, they will find these hats and wonder why there are so many children's things in the house, and finally throw them all away."
Her words evoked memories of many mudblood students around. When the first-year students heard this, sad expressions still appeared on their faces. At this moment, Dolohov appeared at the corner of the hallway, and then everyone consciously stopped talking, shut up and continued to clean the castle quietly.
It was the day before Christmas, and the hall was being decorated for tomorrow's holiday, but it had nothing to do with them.
After finishing a day's work and having a simple dinner, Jon returned to the dormitory. He lay quietly on the bed and waited for midnight to arrive.
Then, in the early morning of Christmas Day, he sneaked out of the castle through the secret passage for the last time and came to the Hog's Head Inn.
Aberforth had already prepared everything for him and handed him two buttons.
"Look carefully at the colors. The black one is a rooster that hardly ever stops crowing. The brown one is something you asked me to prepare for you. I hope you can use it when the time comes."
Aberforth said as he used loose thread to help sew buttons to the cuffs of Jon's robes, while giving a serious exhortation.
"The phoenix feather that Albus left for you must be kept where you can always hold it. If something unexpected happens, don't hesitate. He should have specifically told you that no matter what it is, it is not as important as your life."
Jon nodded and said after taking a deep breath.
"Don't worry, I'm very afraid of death. When that happens, I will definitely prioritize saving my own life."
After everything was arranged, Aberforth gave him a reassuring smile and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"No matter what the final result is, your willingness to agree to come to this castle and take the risk to do such a thing is enough to prove yourself, Jon."
Jon looked into Aberforth's eyes. He seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment's silence, he suddenly asked his question.
"If this operation goes well and I get those two things, will we just leave like this?"
"if not?"
Aberforth seemed to sense something. He and Jon looked at each other, and Jon continued to ask.
"The things are lost, and I am missing too. The Dark Lord will definitely know that someone disguised himself as a Mudblood student to do this. After I leave, won't he vent his anger on my classmates in the castle?"
"He won't kill them. Even the lives of the Mudbloods are valuable to him. He only wants to enslave these people, not to kill them all. It's impossible for him to kill them all, so your classmates in the castle will not be in danger."
"But they will still be punished because of me, and still stay in this castle, being slaves of others, receiving that kind of deformed education?"
Jon's words were a little sharp, more like a question.
Aberforth was silent. He sat dejectedly in the chair with an embarrassed look on his face. He didn't say anything, and a long time passed like this.
"But what can we do?"
After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Even if you find a secret passage in the castle and you have the invisibility cloak to bring them all out, as long as you leave the school, all the wizards in the castle and the Ministry of Magic will know about it. Even the Dark Lord himself will come. Even if we call Albus and the others to help, there is no way to unlock the contracts on these children before they arrive. If we really do this, it will only harm them and force those children to die!"
Jon turned his head and looked out the window at the dark night and fell silent.
He knew that Aberforth was right. There was nothing they could do now. Even if they tried to take the children out by force, there was no way to guarantee their safety.
The dark castle in the night is like a huge prison. Once you sign the contract and are locked up in it, it is equivalent to signing a confession of life imprisonment.
…
Christmas Day.
Even though there were few students left in the castle, there were still occasional sounds of laughter coming from the corridor.
At noon, the students who stayed in the castle had a very rich lunch. Then the professors who were going to attend the Christmas dinner hosted by Voldemort that night, including Snape and Barty Jr., left the castle one after another.
Dolohov also gathered all the Mudblood students at around four o'clock in the afternoon, to the basement where the students gathered at the beginning of the school year.
After all, it was Christmas, and even the Mudblood students could have a relatively "sumptuous" dinner on this day - each of them could get a sandwich that only students who performed well during the summer vacation when school started, and a cup of hot milk.
After preparing the Mudbloods' "Christmas dinner", he delegated the management rights to two prefects, then left the castle and went to another truly grand dinner.
On this night, the Mudbloods were indeed much freer than usual. At least they were not forced to return to the dormitory before seven o'clock and were not allowed to go out. They could stay in the basement until the dinner in the auditorium above was over before going back.
But Jon obviously wouldn't stay here that long. He had to finish everything before the professor who was going to attend Voldemort's Christmas dinner returned to the castle.
So, not long after Dolohov left, he pretended to be unwell and walked up to the two prefects.
"Senior Bit, I feel a little dizzy. Can I go back to the dormitory to rest first?"
It was a rare period of time when Dolohov was away, and the senior students who had been successfully brainwashed were enjoying their relaxation. Looking at Jon, the male class leader named Bit waved his hand impatiently as if he had also become one of those "pure-blood masters".
"If you want to leave, then leave now! Stop being an eyesore here!"
Then, Jon quickly left the basement and walked towards the dormitory. Almost no one in the room noticed his departure, except for one girl who glanced at his receding back intentionally or unintentionally.
