Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 196 Jon also fell silent
But things were not going well for Jon.
The deterrent effect of the unformed Patronus Charm was ultimately limited, and the silver threads of light surrounding him were constantly being dissipated in the dead silence and coldness.
The Dementors, who had originally just kept their distance and surrounded John, began to tighten their circle around him.
John calculated the time and confirmed that Fred had escaped from the prison by then, so he waved his wand again.
"Expecto Patronus."
This time, the silver light coming out from the tip of the staff was obviously much weaker than before. The Patronus Charm, a magic that was highly dependent on emotions, was different from other magic. Even if John was only one step away from summoning a real patronus, it would be a failed spell.
Such a failure would interfere with the next spellcasting state in a short period of time, otherwise he could just keep using this half-baked Patronus Charm to rush out with Fred.
By reusing the Patronus Charm, John made a turn in mid-air from the main hall on the first floor, broke through the Dementors that surrounded him, and then rushed back to the sealed cellar.
The magic left by Voldemort still shows no signs of abating, and it looks like it can last for some time, so John is safe .
The leading Dementor clearly felt this naked humiliation, and it even angrily tried to get all the jailers to attack the chain that blocked the entrance, but it was unable to break through even a corner of its cloak.
Jon hadn't lied to Fred.
After studying the Patronus Charm for nearly a year, he was indeed only one step away from summoning his own Patronus.
Lupin had analyzed the effects of his spellcasting and failed Patronus Charms. In fact, if John had followed normal progress, he should have reached the standard at the beginning of the third grade.
But his silver threads of light just couldn't condense into anything solid. They were like wool scattered all over the ground. They could obviously be woven into sweaters, but every time they were picked up, they were just crumpled into a tangled mess and never took shape.
Lupin had no idea what had gone wrong. He had experience in teaching thirty or forty people to learn the Patronus Charm, but this was the first time he had seen an exception like John .
Therefore, it is not wrong to say that we are only one step away from summoning the true guardian.
However, there was a locked door blocking this step. If Jon couldn't open this door, he would never be able to take this step.
Of course, this does not mean that he gave up on saving himself.
After a man returned to the cellar, in order not to be disturbed by the Dementors outside, he crawled directly into the underground secret room left by Voldemort.
After using the Illumination Spell, John began to sort out the process of casting the Patronus Spell with a thoughtful look on his face.
His gestures and pronunciation were naturally standard and correct; the only problem was the richness of his emotions.
To be honest, he has never thought that he is a very dark person. He has always believed that there are many bad people in the world, but there are still more good people.
He had enough positive energy in both his thoughts and actions, but he was unable to meet the requirements of the Patronus Spell. This puzzled him.
Sometimes I even couldn’t help but doubt whether there was some wrong understanding of myself, and that he was not as... sunny as I imagined?
Jon also hasn't forgotten what Lily said when he asked her for advice.
When summoning a patronus, the required emotions are not necessarily all happy and positive. Some emotions can also meet the requirements as long as they are positive and can touch the caster.
But even though Jon had been recalling the past for a long time, he still hadn't figured out what the so-called emotions that could truly touch him were.
After coming into this world, he thought the greatest touch he had received was at the freshman dinner after he received the magic wand in the principal's office.
The waves, the beach, the starry sky, a group of homeless people guarding a carriage facing the sea, singing the school song whose melody has finally been unified after nearly a thousand years.
At that moment he felt that nothing could be more touching than this, especially since he knew that under the correct historical course, these lovely people should have been in a warm castle, happily welcoming the beautiful new year.
But at the end of that school year, Slughorn and Dumbledore finally came to the final step in a plan that they had been working on together for several years.
The fat walrus who was always smiling, snobbish, and afraid of death in the original book lurked beside the most dangerous person who should have given him the most power and honor.
His former colleagues cursed him countless times in private due to misunderstandings, and his students who were kept in the dark thought that he had become a withered corpse under the cold tombstone, and turned into a star sleeping forever in the ground.
This touched Jon even more.
It was precisely because of this touch that he agreed to let Dumbledore go to Hogwarts Castle.
Although he looks young, he is mature enough in his thinking. Most importantly, he has learned the art of brain occlusion from his teacher. He is the perfect candidate.
So when Dumbledore asked for his opinion, Jon actually didn't hesitate at all.
These are not the cold names in the fairy tale book he read in his previous life, but vivid people.
They were willing to sacrifice themselves unreservedly to protect students like Jon, but Jon could not accept it with peace of mind. He felt that he was the only smart one and that protecting oneself was the most important thing for adults.
Those pure-blood and half-blood wizards lying in the cemetery on the cliff by the sea are also adults. Instead of enjoying the benefits that Voldemort fought for them, they died fighting for a group of "Mudbloods" who had nothing to do with them. Is this because they are stupid?
In the eyes of "smart people", he is indeed stupid, just like when Jon agreed to go to Hogwarts Castle, these "smart people" would also call him an idiot and said he had lived in vain for more than 20 years in his previous life.
Later, when they arrived at Hogwarts Castle and saw the plight of Hermione and the others in the training ground, Jon was not touched at first, but rather felt emotional.
What really touched him was when Hamton said later that he wanted to fly in the sky on a broomstick once, Ariel said that the knitted hat her mother knitted for her every year would no longer be there in the future, and Hermione took the risk of having her memory wiped to tell the first-year students who were being domesticated that they were not slaves and were never born inferior to others.
We are all human beings. Those who say these words and do these things are just ordinary 12 or 13 year old children. They have flesh and blood, can cry and laugh, but they do not have adult souls like Jon. They originally had happy families, and then they were broken by this evil magical society.
It's sad just to hear it, isn't it?
How could Jon, who saw them with his own eyes and lived with them day and night, remain indifferent?
That's why he took the initiative to talk to Dumbledore about rescuing these children. Dumbledore had actually planned this step when he let him enter the castle in the beginning. But whether to carry out this plan in the end depends on whether John has the ability to do so. Otherwise, not only will he fail to rescue the children, but he will also hurt others and himself.
What touched him most afterwards was, of course, the scene where Hermione left the main group and walked towards Dolohov resolutely.
In fact, he didn't have much feeling for the name Hermione. Originally, Jon only liked the story of the Harry Potter book. As for which specific character he liked, he really couldn't say.
Therefore, when he first saw Hermione, he just thought to himself, "Oh, this little girl should have been the protagonist of this world."
As for other deeper things, who would think so much in such a dangerous and depressing environment?
But the scene where she fell in the hallway in public did touch Jon.
One of the protagonists of a story must have her shining points, and in this dark world, Hermione's original shortcomings have been worn away by suffering. The brilliance of her personality illuminated the entire gloomy castle at noon that day.
She is only 13 years old.
After being touched like this time and time again, Jon felt that every time he thought of these things and experiences, his emotions should definitely be positive.
But the patron saint that was supposed to belong to him still seemed dissatisfied and was unwilling to come out, which left Jon helpless.
He held up half of his head with one hand and thought for a long time. He also tried the Patronus Spell for a long time, but there was still no sign of success.
Just as he took out his pocket watch and saw that the time was already midnight, a fluorescent figure floated down silently from above the secret room.
It's Nick.
When Jon saw Nick coming, he perked up.
"Did the Dementors try to stop you when you came in?"
"They went crazy when they saw me," Nick smacked his lips. "If I were still alive, I would have been sucked dry by them. Fortunately, I'm already dead, and I can't die again."
He told Jon what happened to Fred after he got out of prison.
"As the sun was about to set, I felt that the Stunning Spell on the Auror was about to wear off. But I didn't dare to leave him and come back to find you, so I could only wait. Fortunately, Fred ran out not long after. He helped to reinforce the Stunning Spell on the Auror, and then dragged him and another Auror to the side of Hogwarts."
"It was then that I learned from him what had happened to you. The other students on the ship also knew about it. They were very anxious, and many of them even proposed to get off the ship and come to the island to rescue you. Fortunately, I persuaded them to stop."
Nick's expression was relatively relaxed, and he looked at Jon.
"Fred asked me to come back to you right after he settled the two Aurors. So what can I do for you? You've already made a plan to escape from here, right? When I came in, I saw the magic that blocked the entrance. It looks like it will be ineffective soon. Tell me what you have planned."
Jon couldn't help but frown when he heard Nick's words.
He crawled out of the Chamber of Secrets first. The Dementors were still guarding the entrance to the cellar, and the green chains blocking the entrance had become dim, as Nick said, and it seemed that they would no longer be effective in a short time.
Jon took a deep breath and turned to look at Nick with a serious expression.
"I really need your help, Nick. You must rush back to the Hogwarts immediately. No matter what method you use, whether it's coaxing or inducing, get the ship moving and take the others away from this island!"
Nick was stunned.
He stared at Jon blankly for a long time before he spoke.
"You have no way of escaping, and you are still lying to Fred?"
"I didn't lie to him. I have a way to continue to stay on this island and continue to deal with these Dementors, but I have no way to get rid of them. Moreover, once they find the ship near the island, they will definitely attack the other people on the ship. I can't protect them. They must leave first."
Nick stared at him without blinking, and he said in a trembling voice.
"You first lied to Neville and George, then you lied to Fred, and now you want to start lying to me?"
Jon rubbed his forehead with a headache.
"No, Nick, I really have an idea."
"If you have a way, why don't you rush out of prison now!" Nick's voice became louder and he stared at Jon, "Who do you think I am? To ask me to do everything I can to trick Neville and the others into sailing! And abandon you here? I don't have that ability! Jon Green!"
"Each of them cannot do without you. Without you, who can continue to lead them on the voyage? This is only the first stop of your voyage, and not even a month has passed!"
Jon tried hard to convince him.
"Neville is also very good. Fred and George are not that crazy. Hermione has always been very calm. And you are here. You will help them."
"I'm a ghost! A dead man who can't even save his own life! You want me to help these children?" Nick said angrily, "Do you know what those children were doing when I got off the boat?"
"They found all the magic books related to the Patronus Charm from the library, and students above the third year are ready to start teaching themselves how to summon the Patronus!"
Jon was stunned.
"I clearly told Fred to wait for three days..."
"Yes, they are willing to wait for you for three days, but if you don't get out after three days, no one will leave!" Nick interrupted Jon rudely, "They plan to fight to the death on this island until you can get out of here!"
"So, you asked me to find a way to trick them into sailing. Okay, I promise, but you have to figure out the method! Tell me, what kind of words should I say, what kind of outrageous lie should I tell, to make such a group of children abandon you and sail away?"
Nick was panting heavily due to his excitement. The cellar became quiet. The Dementors outside were also silent, emitting a cold and dead silence.
Jon also fell silent.
