In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 49: Dispel Dark Clouds

Jon only mentioned that he had made a major breakthrough in the levitation charm, and then did not elaborate on exactly what progress he had made on it.

Slughorn's mind was obviously focused on the potion he was brewing, so he did not ask further questions about the major breakthrough he mentioned.

After sitting in the office for a while, Jon left.

He walked along the long corridor, his face returning to a calm expression, unable to discern what was actually going on in his mind, just as he walked past the storage room, a familiar small figure, scurrying out of it in front of him.

Jon reacted quickly, he directly reached out and grabbed Beech who was holding a cherry in his little paws.

"You sneaked in again? Are you stealing food from the storage room?" He stretched out his hand and flicked his finger gently on Beech's head, and lectured.

Beech looked sheepish as he shoved the cherries quickly into the pocket in front of his stomach, and looked like he knew that stealing is not right.

Jon turned around and headed for the exit where the driver's side is, ready to hand over the captured Beech directly to Hagrid.

Just as he opened the door, he saw Hagrid standing right outside the door, looking like he wanted to make his way inside the wagon as well.

"Are you looking for him again, Hagrid?"

Jon grabbed the back of Beech's neck skin and held him in front of Hagrid's line of sight.

Hagrid's originally tense expression completely relaxed, and he picked Beech up from Jon's hand with an exasperated look, looking eager to teach the Niffler a lesson, but his movements remained careful, subconsciously trying not to hurt him.

"Did you find him in the storage room?"

"Yes, he stole a cherry from there."

"He always goes there to steal food lately, I have obviously prepared a plate of rock cakes, especially for him, but this little thing still runs into the wagon."

Jon was tempted to persuade Hagrid about getting a different kind of dessert to feed Beech, after all, his rock cake is a pain in the arse even for a human to eat it let alone Niffler.

But Hagrid, who is exceptionally confident in his craft, obviously wouldn't listen to him. The former Gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds, now Coachman's biggest flaw is that he always sees others as the same as himself, and feels that if he can do something, others surely can do it too.

Hagrid warmly invited Jon to come and sit in the driver's seat to eat some snacks, but Jon found a reason to decline, he was not in the mood to relax.

From time to time, students walked along the corridor, but no one paid any attention to Jon, who was staring at a Headmaster's office door.

He stood at the end of the corridor, right in front of the door at the opposite end to the exit to the driver's seat of the wagon, looking hesitant several times as if he wanted to reach out and knock, but finally left the door in silence.

Jon practised the levitation charm more frequently.

Only this time he did not continue to torment Neville in the dormitory, instead, he requested permission from Professor McGonagall and obtained the right to enter and leave the astronomy classroom during the day freely, and went to the top of the wagon to practice every day.

Almost except for the time to eat, sleep and class, as soon as he had free time, he would disappear from the view of Neville and the group.

And such a quiet life continued for two more months, and at the beginning of May, the students on the wagon all began to prepare for the semester's final exams, almost no one talked about the two attacks that happened last year.

Like the person lurking in the wagon has been withdrawn, Hogwarts has once again returned to the life of exile, albeit it is quite a peaceful one.

Less than five weeks before finals, after lunch that day, Neville stopped Jon, who had just got up from the table and was about to head to the roof of the wagon.

"It's time for you to prepare for the exams, Jon, you are always practising the levitation charm, what will you do if you fail the exams of other subjects?"

Jon tilted his head and gave it some thought.

"Although I've indeed been practising the levitation charm, I haven't missed any of my other classes. And Professor Slughorn exempted me from the History of Magic exam because of my excellent evaluations on every single assignment this semester, so I could simply get an Outstanding. Professor Flitwick was also pleased with my Jupiter chart in the last class and similarly exempted me from the astronomy class exam, and Professor Potter, who ..."

"Okay, okay, Jon." Ron interrupted his "bragging" with a painful face, "we actually just want you to rest, Neville told us that you are practising magic like a demon these days, we are worried that your body and spirit can't handle it, let's take a break today, how about we go to the common room together and play that square tiles? "

Justine and Lavender also looked at him with expectant faces, while Jon did not feel physically and mentally exhausted.

But Ron was also right, he really hadn't had much leisure time with Neville and the others for a long time.

So he didn't refuse any further and gladly accepted to join them as they walked towards the common room.

Just as they walked into the common room, Slughorn also pushed the door and walked into Lily's office which was full of the scent of flowers and plants.

Lily was carefully polishing her wand, it was as if she was not holding a wand, but a treasure that held all her feelings.

Seeing her actions, Slughorn, who was gently closing the door behind him, sighed.

"I always thought you would look forward."

Lily's voice was calm and cold, just as it had been when she had first met Jon.

"I've always looked forward, Teacher, not only for me but also for this James' wand I'm holding."

"But hatred has been pent-up in your heart."

"Looking forward and carrying hatred in my heart do not conflict with each other; I have never been blinded by hatred, it has rather made me more sober than ever before."

Silence fell in the office, and after a moment, Lily took the initiative to ease the atmosphere and asked in a soft voice.

"How is that new student of yours doing?"

This topic was obviously very appealing to Slughorn, and a smile that only appeared when he was eating crystallised pineapple appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Excellent, better than any kid I've ever seen before!"

Lily looked a little surprised at such a high evaluation from him, and she curled up a sarcastic smile, but the smile was not directed at Slughorn, but at another man who could not be mentioned by name.

"If he were to hear what you have said about this boy, he would probably be so angry that he would go mad."

Slughorn smiled and winked.

"So you should take better care of him in the future, perhaps he's the moon Dumbledore was talking about."

"I will treat all students equally, regardless of whether they come from a respectable family or possess talents. Instead of waiting for a moon, why not let a few more stars shine." Lily said with an expressionless face.

Slughorn looked up at the dark night sky outside the window, not knowing when the wagon drove to an area with dense clouds.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning cutting through the clouds, followed by a "rumble" of thunder.

The old man's voice was also muffled under the thunder.

"Whether it is the moon or stars, if they need to shine in the world, they always need the wind to help them to disperse the dark clouds. ..."

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