Chapter 39 39. Five Stones
The atmosphere at Hogwarts after Christmas is a bit sluggish.
Even if no one died in this night attack, the frequency of less than two consecutive attacks in half a school year still filled every student's heart with uneasiness, because no one knew whether there would be a third attack in the future.
There were also students from families who were sent home by Lily one by one after Christmas. Among the freshmen, Neville and Ron also left the carriage. They would reunite with their families for a week during this holiday without classes.
Jon was left alone in the original double dormitory, but he didn’t feel lonely either. Most of the time he stayed alone in the dormitory and read books, only occasionally going to the lounge at the invitation of Lavender and Justin Relax with them for a while.
After Christmas night, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall did not reward or praise him on the surface, which is another kind of protection for him.
After all, although the creature lurking on the carriage has not done any harm so far, no one can guarantee what he will do after learning that it is because of Jon that he was discovered and his identity act of retaliation.
But in private, McGonagall allowed Jon to make a small request that was not too much as a reward, and Jon proposed without thinking too much about the right to borrow books from the restricted section of the library.
The library on the carriage also has several rows of restricted books, which contain magic books that are dangerous to students. Unless there is a professor's approval note, no one can borrow them casually.
With such a condition, McGonagall agreed to him after hesitation, but also added a precondition, no matter what books Jon borrowed from the restricted area, he had to register with her again.
Jon naturally accepted this. He didn't want to secretly study the black magic in the forbidden book. He just wanted to have a channel to obtain more magic knowledge. He didn't do anything good for Mag's request purely to protect his safety. refused.
On the third day after Christmas, Jon knocked on Slughorn's office door early in the morning.
After these three days of recuperation, the burns on Slughorn's back are almost healed. For a potion master like him, as long as it is not the kind of instant death injury, he can have means to keep himself life. The wounds caused by the explosive curse may seem serious, but they are actually some skin traumas. After the potion takes effect, basically no scars will be left.
"You remember the time very accurately."
Lying on the armchair, Slughorn, who was eating candied pineapple early in the morning, smiled unconsciously when he saw Jon walking in.
"Teacher, is your health better?"
Jon said while putting down a box of Bibi Weird Beans he received at Christmas. Of course, he needs gifts to visit patients, although his main purpose of coming is not just to visit.
A box of strange beans is of course nothing to Slughorn, but the smile on his face is obviously wider.
"I'm not that weak. Felius can still teach Charms without an arm. Moody can walk on the battlefield wielding a wand without a leg and an eye. My injury is nothing."
These superfluous words Slughorn didn't say much, but went straight to the point.
Jon nodded solemnly. Even without Slughorn's reminder, he would not end his study of Occlumency. This kind of magic is equivalent to his foundation in the magic world.
"That's all for the rest of the story, give me that ring."
Jon took off a pendant from his own neck, and he tied the sapphire ring to this pendant, otherwise he, a child who had no contact with the outside world since he came to Hogwarts at the age of 11, would have no chance A gemstone ring that shows up for no reason is too noticeable.
Slughorn took the ring from his hand, and pointed the diamond-shaped sapphire set on the surface of the ring to the sun.
"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 legendary Philosopher's Stone in Nick Flamel's hand, this sapphire is also a man-made alchemy stone. Only my dead friend knows its specific production method, but I can be sure Yes, unlike a wand, a ring has more than one core."
While telling the story, he also pointed Jon to both sides of the sapphire, and there were two diamond-shaped notches the same size as the middle gemstone.
"When I got this ring in his hand, there was only one stone left on it. He didn't tell me the whereabouts of the remaining four stones in the last remaining time of his life, but I was in his From the magic notes, he learned that one of the stones was hidden in Hogwarts by him."
Jon blinked.
"Hogwarts?"
"Yes, but it's not the carriage we're in now, but the Hogwarts castle that has been occupied by doves and magpies. Before the Dark Lord completely took control of the wizarding world, Adrian used to be the He was a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for one year, but at the end of the semester, he had an accident, and he didn't continue to teach, but some of his research results stayed in that castle."
Slughorn took a deep look at Jon.
"If you have a chance in the future, you must try your best to get that stone back, and the same goes for the remaining three missing stones. They are all very important to you."
Jon stared at the blue gemstone on the ring, and asked hesitantly.
"Then what are the gems on the ring for?"
"You can use every stone as a casting slot."
Slughorn said seriously: "Wizards have very high requirements on their will to cast spells. Even if you meet the requirements for learning this spellcasting method, it does not mean that you can cast any magic without any scruples. Because magic is in your hands. If it takes effect on your body, the required will will also constantly affect yourself, it will interfere with the release of your other spells, and even interfere with your thoughts. The gemstones on the ring are used to help you share this pressure , save the will 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, every stone means that you can learn a magic that changes your inner magic. In theory, the number of these magics you can control is five."
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(end of this chapter)