Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 250 Uninvited Guests
Lily was too introverted now, and Jon didn't notice any difference in how she treated him and other students.
Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't have any thoughts.
In this world where the trajectory of history has gone awry, Lily is actually the one who has lost the most, even though she is still alive now.
The Norwegian Sea does not freeze even in the cold winter because of the warmer and saltier ocean currents from the Atlantic Ocean.
Just because the sea surface won’t freeze doesn’t mean the air temperature hasn’t dropped below 0 degrees.
Nearly half a month has passed since they left the tower. During this time, Jon and Nick studied the crystal ball containing the navigation map in the principal's office. After obtaining the final destination, they absorbed the magic power in the crystal ball.
After that, the entire Hogwarts' automatic navigation function disappeared, and Fred was finally able to take up the position of helmsman, which was originally just a nominal position for him.
However, the power required for the entire ship to sail is not simply the sea breeze driving the long sails. As a magical ship, Hogwarts can certainly rely on magic to solve the problem of sailing power.
After canceling the ship's automatic driving function, Jon and others studied the nautical chart for a long time, and finally planned a new route along the coast of Norway according to Dumbledore's advice.
They then changed direction and sailed north along this new route, spending Christmas at sea and welcoming the New Year of 1994.
Perhaps the change in course made by Jon and his team worked. For the past half month or so, they didn't encounter any accidents. The journey was smooth sailing, even boring.
During this time, they encountered several Muggle cargo ships, but Jon did not have any more interactions with them. At the end of January 1994, when they were approaching the northernmost tip of the entire European continent, Colin, who had been in charge of the lookout, suddenly alerted the people on the deck at noon one day.
"30 degrees south of due east! There's a wizard riding a broomstick!"
Jon soon learned the news and came to the deck with a serious expression.
It is extremely rare to encounter a wizard on the sea, especially a wizard riding a flying broom.
Through the telescope, he also saw two wizards riding on brooms in the sky, their robes blown behind them by the cold wind.
The two men were flying westward at first, but soon they discovered the ship that John and the others were on. There seemed to be some conversation between the two, and then they both turned the direction of their brooms and flew towards Hogwarts.
Jon put down the telescope and squinted his eyes.
He didn't recognize either of these wizards, and the distance was too far. Even with a telescope he couldn't see clearly whether there were any obvious marks on their clothes.
But knowing the current situation, Jon never mind guessing the worst.
"Neville, George, have everyone do as we rehearsed before. Put on robes immediately. Students who don't speak foreign languages must stay in their dormitories and don't come out!"
Following his orders, the entire ship began to move very quickly.
In order to deal with emergencies, Jon had rehearsed the plan with them many times, so everyone reacted quickly and knew clearly what they should do.
Every student was waving their wands at the robes they were wearing. After a few seconds of spells, all the robes turned blood red and a double-headed eagle and a deer head badge were embroidered on the chest.
After finishing all this, most of the students returned to the cabin, and a few, like Luna and Hermione who knew foreign languages, put on a fur cloak over their robes.
As for the emblem on the sail, they had never changed it after leaving the tower, and it still has the emblem of a double-headed eagle and a deer head.
Jon drank the remaining Polyjuice Potion in the bottle, and soon he turned into Johnson, the professor of Transfiguration from Durmstrang.
Just as everyone on the ship was getting ready, the two wizards on broomsticks were getting closer and closer, and before long, they were alongside the side of the Hogwarts.
The two wizards were both blond and blue-eyed, with typical European looks. They wore dark blue robes with no clear markings on them. When they tried to lower their broomsticks to the deck, they were stopped by an invisible force, making it impossible for them to get on board.
Jon knew that this was the effect of the age limit magic set by Dumbledore. He looked at the two wizards and shouted in the sea breeze, greeting them in the French he had learned from Hermione.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen."
"Hello, sir! Can we communicate in English?"
The older-looking wizard didn't seem to understand what Jon was saying, so he asked loudly in English with a distinct Scottish accent.
The sea breeze is very strong today. Even if their speed is not very fast, they must try their best to shout out their words to ensure that the other party can hear their voices.
Jon's expression remained unchanged and he asked the question again in English.
"What can I do for you two?"
"I can't believe there are wizards who would choose to go out to sea on a ship! We are Helge and Heinz from Edinburgh. Can we go up and visit your ship, sir?"
The young wizard whistled and asked with some excitement.
Jon responded by shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, this ship belongs to Durmstrang School of Magic. Without the school's permission, I don't have the authority to let anyone else on board."
Helki and Heinz looked at each other, as if they were expressing their disappointment to each other, and then the older wizard named Helki continued to ask.
"Are you professors and students from Durmstrang?"
"Yes, I am leading the students on a school trip to teach them some knowledge in the ocean that they don't have on land."
Hearing Jon's answer, Helge and Heinz didn't look suspicious.
They praised Durmstrang's teaching style, and even though their request to visit the ship was rejected, they politely said goodbye and took control of their broomsticks again to take off.
Just as Neville and the others who stayed on the deck breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that these were just two bored wizards who came to the sea to surf.
Under the cover of the sea breeze, "Herky" and "Heinz", who were walking away with their backs to Jon and the others, were having an unknown communication with gloomy expressions.
“…Does it look like that?”
"I don't think so... the man spoke normal French..."
"...No matter whether it is true or not, let's report the situation of these ships to the higher-ups first."
