Volume 1 Chapter 35 Thunderbolt Explosion
The spruce trees, which were more than ten meters high, were hung with colorful ribbons and golden stars. Hundreds of candles floated in the air, illuminating the space.
A long table had been set up in the middle of the cleaned space. The young wizards were bringing freshly cooked turkey, steak, sausages and suckling pig to the table. Dumbledore, wearing a funny Christmas hat, sat at the front of the long table with several other professors, looking at the students who were already sitting on both sides of the table with a smile on his face.
"You have gained a lot this year, and I also hope that you can gain more next year. Of course, now is the time to let our stomachs gain."
He raised the glass of cider in his hand.
"Merry Chrismas!"
The students also raised the pumpkin juice in their hands.
"Merry Christmas!"
The temperature outside was very low at night, but no one present felt the slightest bit of cold. It was not known whether it was because of the enthusiasm in their hearts that stimulated their bodies, or because of the effect of the dozen stoves placed by Hagrid around the long table, but the students' faces all showed a warm blush.
"George and Fred often took me to drink my father's wine at home, but I couldn't drink it after just half a bottle. In fact, it didn't taste good at all. I thought it was not as good as pumpkin juice."
Ron was bragging while gnawing on a chicken leg, Justin listened to him bragging about his glorious deeds with envy, while Lavender was teasing and sabotaging him from the side.
"Is it possible that I can't drink it because it's not tasty? Is it because I'm drunk?"
Of course Ron loudly defended himself.
"I just don't like the taste of alcohol. If I really drank it, I could still catch the Golden Snitch on a broomstick after drinking ten bottles!"
His bold words caught the attention of Dumbledore, who was chatting with Flitwick in front, and he said with a wink.
"Maybe next time I meet your parents, I should talk to them about letting you show off this skill in front of everyone, Ron."
Ron was so frightened that he trembled instantly. He smiled awkwardly and scratched his hair.
"Butterbeer is also alcohol. I'm talking about butterbeer, butterbeer, professor."
There was a burst of laughter at the long table. Fred, with a wicked smile, directly brought the extra-large cups of butterbeer for five people in front of him to Ron.
"Really, Ron? If you can finish this Butterbeer, George and I will give you that Chudley Cannons poster you've always wanted!"
Ron scowled and pushed the butterbeer he was handed away without a second thought.
"I can't eat anything else tonight after drinking this!"
The atmosphere of this Christmas dinner was undoubtedly relaxed and joyful. The food on the long table was not wasted and was eventually eaten up.
Nearing 11 o'clock in the evening, snowflakes began to fall from the sky again, and the students, who had already eaten and played tired, returned to the warm carriage.
Jon and the other five freshmen did not go back to the dormitory to sleep immediately. They did not participate in making dinner today because they were still young. But they could not just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor, so the job of cleaning the table after dinner was left to them.
As the candles floating in the air gradually went out, the surrounding vision became dim. Justin burped while holding the empty plate, still savoring the delicious Christmas pudding after dinner.
Jon didn't know why, but he felt uneasy after the dinner.
Neville, who had lived in the same dormitory with him for a long time, obviously noticed that something was wrong with Jon, and he asked in confusion.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Jon frowned and glanced around. Ten meters away, nothing could be seen in the dense fir forest. The thick branches covered with snow blocked most of the night sky. Everything seemed normal, but there was an unusual silence.
"We'd better hurry up, I always feel like something is wrong."
His voice didn't sound like a joke, and Ron and Justin, who were originally joking, turned serious. Jon had a lot of say among them.
The two female professors, Lily and McGonagall, had already boarded the carriage to manage the students who had returned to their dormitories. Flitwick, Slughorn, Dumbledore and several senior boys stayed behind, clearing away the various decorations and garbage left on the ground.
When Jon and the others had cleared most of the plates on the long table, Slughorn was working with a student to remove the spell that Flitwick had cast on the cedar tree. It seemed that the student was not very skilled in the technique, and the old walrus was teaching him and demonstrating it to him first.
The yellow stars sparkling on the fir trees slowly went out, and Jon, who was following Neville to get on the carriage, took one last look at the open space.
Just before the twinkling stars completely went out, he saw a person behind the tree beside Slughorn and the boy. He was shrouded in darkness, with only the hideous metal mask on his face reflecting a faint yellow light. He raised his wand towards them!
"Teacher! Left!"
"Thunder explosion!"
There was only a difference of less than a second between Jon's reminder and the sound of the spell, and they pierced the silent night one after the other!
Slughorn's reaction was extremely quick. The moment John shouted, he turned around and saw the masked man who had sneaked up on him without him noticing.
He should have had enough time to dodge or defend, but looking at the unsuspecting senior student in front of him, he made an extremely risky decision in a split second!
Slughorn didn't have time to cast a spell, he just swung his wand hard! Then he used his fat body to block the students behind him!
“Boom!”
The thunder-like explosion completely turned the tranquility into noise. The golden flames directly engulfed Slughorn and the boy. Countless pieces of mud were blown all over the sky, and a mud rain began to fall in the open space!
Dumbledore and Flitwick also reacted quickly. When John's reminder sounded, they had already pointed their wands in the direction of the masked man.
Time was so tight that none of them had time to utter a spell before golden-red flames burst out from the tip of Dumbledore's wand!
The red fire instantly covered the entire space within a radius of ten meters, also including John and the others who had not yet boarded the carriage.
The rising flames did not make them feel any burning sensation, but the masked man, who was about to continue waving his wand after casting the explosion spell, was unable to avoid the flames. He interrupted the spell and retreated quickly .
At this moment, a sound like a whip lashing the air was heard, and Slughorn, covered in blood, staggered and fell in front of Jon with the student!
