Volume 1 Chapter 39 Five Stones
The atmosphere at Hogwarts after Christmas was a little gloomy.
Even if no one died in this night raid, the frequency of two consecutive attacks in less than half a school year made every student feel uneasy, because no one knew if there would be a third time.
After Christmas, Lily sent the students with families home one by one. Neville and Ron, the new students, also left the carriage. They will be reunited with their families for a week during this holiday without classes.
Jon was now the only one left in the original double dormitory, but he didn't feel lonely. He stayed in the dormitory alone most of the time reading books. Only occasionally would he accept the invitation of Lavender and Justin to go to the lounge to relax with them.
After Christmas Eve, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall did not openly reward or praise him, which could be considered another form of protection for him.
After all, although the creature lurking in the carriage has not yet made any move to hurt anyone, no one can guarantee what kind of revenge it will take after learning that his whereabouts and identity were discovered because of John.
However, in private, Mag allowed Jon to make a small request that was not excessive as a reward. Without thinking too much, Jon asked for the right to borrow books from the restricted area of the library.
The library on the carriage also has several rows of forbidden books, which are filled with magic books that are dangerous for students. No one can borrow them without the professor's approval.
After much hesitation, Magg finally agreed to this condition, but she also added a prerequisite: no matter what book Jon borrowed from the restricted area, he had to register it with her again.
Naturally, Jon gladly accepted this. He had no intention of secretly studying the dark magic in the banned books. He just wanted to have a channel to obtain more magical knowledge. He had no reason to refuse Mag's request, which was purely for the purpose of protecting his safety.
On the third day after Christmas, Jon knocked on Slughorn's office door early in the morning.
After three days of recuperation, the burns on Slughorn's back had almost healed. For a potion master like him, as long as the injuries were not fatal, he could save his life . The injuries caused by the explosive spell seemed serious, but they were actually just superficial injuries. After the potion took effect, there would basically be no scars left.
"You remember the time very well."
Slughorn, who was lying in the recliner and eating candied pineapple early in the morning, saw Jon come in and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
"Teacher, are you feeling better?"
As Jon spoke, he put down a box of weird-flavored beans that he had received for Christmas. Of course, gifts were needed when visiting a patient, although his main purpose of coming was not just to visit.
Of course, a box of strange-tasting beans meant nothing to Slughorn, but the smile on his face became noticeably wider.
"I'm not that fragile. Filius can still teach spells even though he lost an arm, and Moody can still wield a wand and go to the battlefield even though he lost a leg and an eye. My injury is nothing."
Slughorn didn't say much about these extra words, but went straight to the point.
"According to the time we agreed on, today is the day I will officially start teaching you how to cast spells on this ring, but you can't slack off in your study of Occlumency. For now, you have only built a wall in your mind. If someone really wants to invade your memory, they will easily find the problem, and your situation may become even more dangerous."
Jon nodded solemnly. Even without Slughorn's reminder, he would not have finished learning Occlumency. This kind of magic was the foundation of his existence in the wizarding world.
"That's all for now. Give me the ring."
Jon took off a pendant from his neck and tied the sapphire ring to the pendant. Otherwise, it would be too noticeable for a child like him who had no contact with the outside world after coming to Hogwarts at the age of 11 to have a sapphire ring on his hand for no reason.
Slughorn took the ring from his hand and held the diamond-shaped sapphire set on the surface of the ring towards the sunlight.
"I told you before that you can use this ring as another form of wand. See this blue stone? It represents the core of the wand."
"Just like the Philosopher's Stone in the legendary hand of Nicolas Flamel, this sapphire is also a man-made alchemical stone. Only my deceased friend knows the specific method of making it, but I am sure that, unlike the magic wand, the ring has more than one core."
While he was talking, he also pointed to the two sides of the sapphire, where there were two diamond-shaped gaps of the same size as the central gem.
"When I got the ring from him, this was the only stone left. He didn't tell me the whereabouts of the other four stones during the rest of his life. However, I learned from his magic notebook that he had hidden one of the stones in Hogwarts."
Jon blinked.
"Hogwarts?"
"Yes, but not the carriage we are in now, but the Hogwarts Castle that has been occupied by someone else. Before the Dark Lord completely controlled the wizarding world, Adrian was the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for a year. However, he had an accident at the end of the semester and did not continue to teach. However, some of his research results were left in the castle."
Slughorn gave Jon a long look.
"If you have the chance in the future, you must do your best to find that stone back. The same goes for the other three pieces that are missing. They are all very important to you."
Jon asked hesitantly, staring at the blue gem on the ring.
"What are the uses of these gems on the ring?"
"You can use each stone as a spellcasting spot."
Slughorn said seriously, "The willpower required of wizards to cast spells is very high. Even if you meet the requirements to learn this method of casting spells, it does not mean that you can cast any magic without scruples. Because the magic takes effect on you, the willpower required will constantly affect you. It will interfere with the release of your other spells and even interfere with your thoughts. The gem on the ring is used to help you share this pressure and store the willpower to cast spells on it, so that you will not be restrained by any magic used on yourself when casting spells."
"To put it simply, each stone represents a magic that you can learn to change your inner magic power. In theory, the number of these magics you can control is five."
