Volume 1 Chapter 19 The End is in the Castle
The carriage without horses is like a big ship sailing against the wind and waves. The rice fields bent by the wind rise and fall one after another, which does have the flavor of waves.
“Do we have a destination?”
Jon sat on the bench on the couch, with his head just reaching Hagrid's chin, but this height was enough for him to see above the wooden cabinet in front of him and see the scenery in the distance.
Hagrid heard Jon's question, a nostalgic smile on his face, and his rough voice was unexpectedly gentle.
"I asked Dumbledore the same question when I first started driving this carriage. He told me that the moment we stepped on this carriage, there was only one destination for this journey, which was to return to the Hogwarts Castle that originally belonged to us."
The breeze blew up Jon's bangs, and a happy smile appeared raised the hand holding the teacup slightly, as if he was saluting someone from a distance.
“Very poetic answer, I like it!”
"Oh, yes, when I heard him say that, I almost cried...well, actually I already cried."
"Won't you get bored driving the carriage here alone?"
"Sometimes it does happen a little, but it's okay, because I have Biqi with me, and I have named each of the Thestrals in front. I almost forgot, you probably won't be able to see these lovely guys, the horses pulling us are called Thestrals, a magical animal, only those who have seen death with their own eyes can see them ."
Jon really couldn't see what the Theris looked like. In his two lifetimes, he had never seen anyone die in front of him. He did die once, but that didn't seem to help him truly experience death and see the full appearance of the Theris.
"What kind of horses are they?"
"They are black, with heads that look more like dragons, thin bodies, and a pair of wings like bats. They are Pegasus. But we can't let them take us flying. It's not that we can't fly, but compared to the ground, the Ministry of Magic has stricter control over the sky. If we fly in the sky, we will easily become the target of those Aurors and Death Eaters."
"They can run all the time without resting?"
"Of course not. There are eight Thestrals pulling the carriage in front of us, but there are more than twenty Thestrals in Hogwarts. They are kept alone in a room with grass and an open air. Every week, the Thestrals will have a shift change. When they are not working, they will get enough rest time and meat. Pulling a carriage is equivalent to going out for activities for them. Their life is much more comfortable than ours."
Hagrid was very interested in teaching Jon about the magical creatures. As he spoke, he took out a plate of small cakes from the cupboard and put them in Jon's hands.
"Try it, Jon. I made this in the kitchen at night. My specialty is rock cakes. It's a pity that you came at a bad time. I ate ."
"Thanks, but I'm full Hagrid."
Jon really couldn't eat the plate of cream honey cake. He didn't have a big appetite to begin with, and the cake was only a small cake compared to Hagrid. For him, who was only 11 years old, it was not small at all.
Biqi, lying in Hagrid's pocket, seemed to be drooling over the cake in Jon's hand. Jon put the cake in front of it without any grudge. It didn't hesitate at all and jumped directly onto the plate. It scooped the cream on the plate with its two paws and swirled it into its mouth.
Jon chatted with Hagrid here for a while, and then they were ready to leave soon.
He didn't have anything else to do in the afternoon, but if Neville and the others didn't see him after lunch, they might report his disappearance to the professor.
Hagrid didn't try to keep him, but sincerely invited him to come to the front of the carriage to chat with him anytime when he was free. Then he helped Jon open the door to the carriage and sent him in.
It was a rare opportunity to breathe some fresh air, and Jon was in a good mood as he walked along the corridor. He didn't plan to go to the restaurant again. Hagrid's little cake and tea were enough to fill his stomach, so he planned to go back to the dormitory and wait for Neville to come back from dinner.
Just as he passed by the storage room, a fat figure happened to walk out from it.
Slughorn had a lot of things in his hands. In his arms he was holding a large box of candied pineapple fruit, in his mouth he was holding a bag of toffee, and beside him were two large bottles of lemonade-like drinks that seemed to be controlled by a levitation spell.
Jon looked at the busy professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and asked hesitantly.
"Um, Professor, do you need help?"
“Ahaha!”
As Slughorn spoke in surprise, the toffee in his mouth fell down, and Jon subconsciously caught it in his hand.
"You've come at the right time, Jon. The students have all gone to eat, and I can't find anyone to help. Come on, take this bag of candy and follow me, maybe I can give you a few pieces."
This somewhat snobbish professor treated Jon quite well, because he was very impressed by the History of Magic homework Jon handed in last week, and his performance in the Defense class was also remarkable, which made Slughorn put Jon on the list of students who could be taken care of, just like Neville Ron.
However, Justin and Lavender, who have mediocre talents and ordinary backgrounds, are not included in this list.
Jon followed Slughorn with the bag of toffee, which would have lasted him more than a year if he were to eat it all by himself. He muttered to himself that it was no wonder that he had such a body shape since he loved sweets so much.
Slughorn's office was not far from the storage room, and it seemed like he had chosen this room deliberately.
The furnishings in the office were simple, with only a set of desks and chairs, and a row of bookshelves. On the walls hung quite a few photos of him and other wizards. Those in the photos who were blinking and smiling at him all looked like celebrities, but Jon didn't recognize any of them.
"Just leave it here. Don't laugh at me for liking these things at my age . This is the only hobby I have. One of the conditions Dumbledore offered when he recruited me here was to give me as many desserts as I want. Fortunately, he didn't lie to me about this."
Slughorn put his things away, invited Jon to sit down, and poured him a cup of black tea, as if he wanted to take this opportunity to talk to him about homework.
"The Defense assignment you handed in last week was very well done, Jon. Your understanding of the Dark Curses was very clever."
