Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 281: Arctic Journey
This time the sea voyage was not so stormy.
After playing "Pirate Game" with Gabrielle for a few days, the Hogwarts, which was manually controlled by John, had entered the waters of the Arctic Ocean.
As the temperature dropped further, they could already occasionally see some scattered ice floes on the sea.
As ghosts, Nick and Gabriel are certainly not afraid of the cold. After seeing the ice floes, the two ghosts became excited.
Even though Nick has lived for such a long time, he has not seen every kind of scenery in the world. The Arctic Circle is the first place he has reached in nearly a thousand years.
After entering the sea with floating ice, the speed of the Hogwarts slowed down. After all, although this old wooden ship was protected by magic, it was not a professional icebreaker and had to be careful to avoid the hard ice.
Taking advantage of this time, Nick took Gabrielle to wander around the sea around the Hogwarts. Poor Jon was the only one left on the ship. He was wearing a thick robe and a bearskin coat, watching them fly back and forth in the cold wind.
It's not that he can't fly, but in temperatures of minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, taking off into the air without any warming measures is really unbearable for a human.
Jon had no intention of subjecting himself to such suffering simply for the sake of enjoying the scenery.
Besides, even if he went out, he had a lot of things to do.
During the time he studied with Grindelwald at Durmstrang, he had basically mastered the three Unforgivable Curses, and also consolidated the two "curses" he commonly used, the Explosive Curse and the Spell of Hidden Strike.
Before setting off, he also learned from Grindelwald his unique secret skill "Fire Shield". However, he could only use it to form a circle of fire around him, not to mention that it was far from Grindelwald's overwhelming fire that could burn a city, and even if it was used in actual combat, it was still far from it.
So Jon did not waste the time on the ship. In addition to familiarizing himself with the dark magic he learned from Grindelwald, he had also been studying the various forbidden books in the second gem of the ring. Not only Grindelwald said so, he himself always felt that this trip would not be so safe, and it would definitely not be wrong to master more methods.
This voyage lasted for about a week. As the amount of large pieces of ice around increased, the Hogwarts finally reached a point where there was no way to go.
There was a group of floating ice in front of them blocking their way. If they wanted to move forward, they had to get off the boat and find other ways to get down.
As for disembarking, this was something Jon had anticipated as soon as they left Durmstrang. The Hogwarts had no way of taking them directly to their final destination, whether in August and September when there was less ice floes and the temperature was the highest, or now in mid-March when it was the end of the cold winter, the ice floes would be their biggest obstacle.
Fortunately, he had already made preparations when he was in Durmstrang. To be more precise, it was Grindelwald who helped him prepare.
When getting off the boat, Jon didn't seem to bring much with him. He had kept the robe with the Traceless Extension Charm that Dumbledore had prepared for him when he first sneaked into Hogwarts Castle in his second year. Some necessary supplies, such as food and fresh water, could be stored in the pockets of this robe.
Apart from that, the biggest thing he brought was the brand new flying broom in his hand.
Firebolt - a special broom used in all kinds of official Quidditch matches, representing the highest level of craftsmanship. Its broom handle is made of ash wood, is streamlined, exquisite, and treated with a polish as hard as diamond.
It is said that every broomstick at the tail of this broom has been selected to make its streamlined shape perfect, so it is unparalleled in balance and precision. It can accelerate to 150 miles per hour within ten seconds, and its braking device is infinitely charming, making it the dream choice of any Quidditch player.
This is a perfect broom made by goblins, including the footrest, frame and branch hoop. It was a travel gift given to Jon by Grindelwald before he went out.
With it, Jon can safely cross the unsafe ice floes in the cold air currents and severe winds and snow in the Arctic Ocean and reach the ice field where people can stand and walk.
As for the Hogwarts, which is no longer manned, it can return on its own to the lake behind Durmstrang Castle, and when Jon and the others want to go back, they naturally don't need to take this ship anymore .
Standing on an ice floe as big as a football field, Jon watched the Hogwarts ship, which had brought them from Britain to Norway and then from Norway to the Arctic Ocean, return home, and he couldn't help feeling an indescribable emotion in his heart.
But although this ship, which is the home of all Hogwarts students, has returned, Jon and his friends' journey is far from over.
After watching the Hogwarts disappear from sight, Jon brought Nick Gabriel to the center of the ice floe. He removed the protective cover on the Firebolt and finally checked the condition of this top-notch broom.
Gabrielle took advantage of this time to fly high up, looking at the magnificent icebergs under the cloudless sky.
"Look! There's a white whale over there!"
From a distance, Nick Jon heard her scream above his head.
They looked in the direction Gabriel pointed, and sure enough, they saw a whale with a protruding and smooth forehead, a short beak, and a very light body, almost white, jumping out of the sea with its head and tail tilted up.
The whale was very beautiful and not afraid of people at all. It was wandering around the edge of the ice floe where Jon and his friends were.
Gabrielle decisively floated down from mid-air and flew towards the whale.
Jon had already prepared his Firebolt, and before riding on his broom, he kept wrapping his scarf around his neck and head.
Even though the Firebolt has powerful wind-proof magic attached to it, it is impossible for the wizard riding it to completely avoid the high temperature and wind and snow. Jon must add multiple layers of protection to himself to avoid being frozen in the sky.
"Xiaobai, Xiaobai, if you want to go with me, just nod your head, and I will ask Jon to take you with me."
When Jon had wrapped himself tightly, he heard Gabrielle's whisper to the white whale.
Jon walked over to Gabrielle with a broom in hand and rolled his eyes.
"Even if it turns into a chicken pecking at rice in the sea today, I can't catch a whale and fly in the sky."
After hearing John's criticism, the white whale showed no intention of responding to her nod. Gabrielle's face was full of disappointment, and she floated away from the white whale reluctantly.
Jon mounted the Firebolt and skillfully maneuvered it into the air.
Gabrielle just held onto one side of his scarf and was able to follow Jon without having to float herself.
It's not that she thinks it's fun, but Jon and Nick specifically asked her to do this. When the Firebolt speeds up, a ghost like Nick who has lived for hundreds of years can still control it flexibly and keep up, but a "little ghost" like Gabrielle may not be able to do that.
Jon was not seriously ill and was using the Firebolt at the highest speed to travel over the Arctic Ocean. He had plenty of time. As long as he could return before September this year, there would be no time limit for the rest of the trip.
After trying different speeds and enduring wind and snow, he controlled the speed to less than 100 kilometers per hour and continued flying towards the north towards the pole.
The group of floating ice beneath them was very large. Jon flew for an entire afternoon but still hadn't seen any large ice fields.
It is not long now until March 21st, the vernal equinox, and at this time the North Pole will begin to experience polar day, with daylight remaining for 24 hours, and as time goes by, the range of polar day will continue to spread to lower latitudes.
Jon and his team were obviously still on the outskirts of the Arctic Ocean, so around six or seven o'clock in the evening, the sky began to darken.
With no intention of traveling overnight, Jon found a suitable place to land, took out a folding tent from his pocket, and built a temporary nest for himself on a huge piece of ice.
After preparing the sleeping place, he started to make a fire to boil some hot water so that he could have something hot to eat.
Of course, Nick and Gabriel didn't need him to help. As soon as Jon landed, they went around to help him explore the situation of the ice floe.
Just when , Nick and Gabriel came back together, but they brought a living creature with them.
It was an Arctic walrus, which seemed to be attracted by the fluorescence emitted by Gabrielle and Nick. It left the group and came to Jon's tent.
"Look! Jon, it's my new friend, Tusk!"
Gabrielle floated triumphantly above the walrus's head.
As Jon poured boiling water from the kettle into the cup, he looked at the walrus's beard with interest.
"Don't give it a random name. This animal is called a walrus."
He fished out a bag of raw meat from his pocket, took out a piece and threw it to the walrus that was not afraid of ghosts or people.
When the walrus saw the food, it also slid over on the ice, flapping its hind legs.
"The whale you saw during the day is called a white whale, and the bear you called Little White No. 2 is a polar bear."
When he was free, Jon never forgot to teach Gabrielle and give her some common knowledge about common animals.
Gabrielle shook her head.
"Why not call them Xiaobai No. 1 and Xiaobai No. 2? Longfang Beast sounds better!"
"When people call you a stupid girl in the future, don't mention that you know me. It's too embarrassing."
"No! Next time I meet people, I will tell them that I was taught by Jon Green!"
If nothing else, Gabrielle at least brought a lot of fun to Jon during his journey.
After playing with the little girl for a while, Gabrielle and Nick went around to look for other new and interesting animals.
Jon held the hot cocoa in the teacup and saw that the walrus had not left yet, so he stretched out his hand and waved to it.
I don’t know if it was because Jon had just fed it or if this walrus itself was not shy, but after seeing Jon waving, it grunted and moved forward and came in front of Jon.
Jon gave him another piece of raw meat and wiped his beard while he chewed his food.
"Ahaha! Teacher, I've actually wanted to touch it for a long time."
He muttered something incomprehensible to outsiders, and his low voice was hidden in the wind and snow.
The walrus did not resist, as if it knew that if it served the person in front of it well, it would definitely have food in the future. It let Jon pat its long tusks and thick skin and whisper some irrelevant words to it.
…
At dawn the next day, Jon came out of the tent, lit a fire again to boil water for washing, and looked around. The walrus that he had been nagging for hours about being undercover and being careful about had long disappeared, probably returning to its own tribe in the middle of the night.
Of course Gabrielle and Nick didn't need to sleep. They played the role of night watchmen, which allowed Jon to have a good sleep.
After a simple breakfast, Jon mounted his Firebolt and continued on his journey.
In this way, he flew for three or four days, and finally came to an extremely vast ice field that seemed to have no end.
After determining their current location, Jon controlled the broom to land and re-determined the next target point.
This time, John's goal was not to go directly to the previously planned destination on the Hogwarts, but Grindelwald marked a new location for him.
According to him, there are still Death Eaters stationed in this area of the Arctic, so Jon should go and meet up with the people he left in the Arctic first, and then decide on the next plan and strategy after understanding the number and general situation of the enemy.
Following the marking points Grindelwald had recorded for them, Jon placed his wand upright on the ice, then let go and spoke softly.
"Show me the way."
The next moment, his wand fell towards the northwest.
After re-determining the direction, John did not hesitate and rode on the Firebolt again into the air, flying with Nick and Gabriel in the direction indicated by the wand.
This time the voyage was not as long as before. Jon flew at a height not far from the ground. After flying for about four or five hours, he finally saw a fortress carved out of ice!
There was also a small black flag hanging on the fortress, with the emblem of Durmstrang's double-headed eagle and deer head engraved on it, which was extremely conspicuous in the white ice field.
After circling the ice castle, Jon found the location of its gate and then slowly landed.
After landing on the ground, he finally checked the information on the map before knocking heavily on the door of the ice castle.
