After paying Mr. Ollivander seven Galleons, Jon took his wand and hurried away.
Although he wasted more than an hour in Ollivander's wand shop, he was still very satisfied with the wand he got.
Because it is made of sessile oak, it is quite comfortable to hold in the hand; and its toughness and strength are much higher than ordinary wood, and it can even be used as a melee weapon in an emergency.
Next, he found his dad in Madam Malkin's robe shop... Eric had already bought most of the things on his list for him.
He carried a large bag full of clothing, including three sets of plain work robes (black), a plain peaked hat for daytime wear (black), a pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar material), and a winter cloak. There was also a large pot (pewter, standard size 2), a set of crystal phials, a telescope, and a brass scale.
The only things left to buy are textbooks.
Jon opened the list:
The Standard Book of Spells, Elementary, by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot
...
...
Theory of Magic, by Adelbert Wafflin
"The Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" by Emery Swich
"One Thousand Miraculous Herbs and Fungi" by Phyllidas Ball
Magic Pharmacy and Potions, by Arseny Giger
"The Break with the Ghost Girl" by Gilderoy Lockhart
Running with Ghouls, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with a Hag, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Walking with Trolls, by Gilderoy Lockhart
"Sailing with Vampires" by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wandering with Werewolves, by Gilderoy Lockhart
A Year with the Tibetan Yeti, by Gilderoy Lockhart
There were a total of 13 textbooks, which made Jon feel a bit overwhelmed... Especially the pile of "works" by Lockhart at the back. Each one was extremely expensive, costing a total of 20 Galleons.
But there was no other way, Jon gritted his teeth, he couldn't go to school without textbooks... and put the pile of books into the shopping cart.
He bought three additional extracurricular readings: Quentin Trimble's "A Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts and Self-Defense", Newt Scamander's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", and Libasho Barach's "Advanced Potion-Making".
After buying so many things, there were less than forty Galleons left out of the previous one hundred Galleons... If Jon was not short of money, he would definitely buy a few more books on Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions.
Fortunately, there is no tuition or accommodation fee at Hogwarts, and as a first-year student I cannot go to Hogsmeade, so forty Galleons can be used for a year without any problem.
He declined his Dad's offer to buy him an owl (an owl would cost ten galleons), after all, poverty makes a man sensible.
…
During his last month at 86 Eastleigh Road, Jon immersed himself in his pile of magic books.
He read through a dozen books, including the "adventure novels" written by Gilderoy Lockhart.
He converted the smallest room at 86 Eastleigh Road into an animal room, which contained several cages of mice for experiments.
There is a small loophole in the "Act on Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards". It does not include young wizards who have not yet started learning magic but have already got wands (the Ministry of Magic has not registered them).
So Jon took advantage of this opportunity and used this month to cast spells at home with his wand.
It's a pity that the achievements seem to be somewhat unsatisfactory!
On the night of August 31, Jon appeared in the animal housing room with his wand.
"Stupefy!" He raised his wand and pointed it at a mouse cage.
The Stunning Spell is a common spell used by the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix. It is also a very practical spell that can effectively make the target temporarily unconscious, and can even have a certain effect on giants and dragons. In the last few pages of the "Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts and Self-Defense", Jon found how to use it.
At this stage, when the Unforgivable Curses are completely banned, the Stunning Curse is undoubtedly one of the spells with the strongest single-target lethality.
A faint red light flashed and hit the little white mouse in the cage.
"Squeak..." The little white mouse let out a scream and quickly moved away, but that was all.
Jon smiled helplessly. This effect was the best he had achieved during the entire summer vacation. If this spell hit the enemy, it would only make the enemy feel a little itchy.
The Stunning Spell, and even most spells, are quite simple to cast, but it is difficult to make them actually work.
Many spells in this world do not require in-depth study, but are extremely dependent on the wizard's emotions.
Just like when casting an Unforgivable Curse, one must be ruthless; when casting a Patronus Charm, one must think of something truly happy... To cast a Stunning Curse, the wizard also needs to have an emotion in his heart that wants to knock the target out.
Jon felt that if he were in the world view of D&D, he would not be a wizard at all, but a blood warlock.
Because of his maturity, Jon rarely has big emotional fluctuations; this kind of stable emotion is not conducive to the release of many spells.
But it wasn't that he couldn't master every spell.
Raising his wand again, Jon aimed it at the little white mouse:
"Petrificus Totalus!"
In an instant, the expression on the little white mouse's face and the movements of its body froze at the same time. It seemed as if it was petrified, unable to move, with only its eyeballs rolling around.
The release of the petrification spell does not rely on emotions, and young wizards can also use it perfectly... After a month of practice, Jon has mastered it very well.
However, the flaw of the petrification spell is also obvious. It takes several seconds from the time the spell hits the target to the time the target is completely petrified... If the opponent reacts quickly, they can remove the spell by themselves and launch a counterattack at the same time.
Putting away his wand, Jon looked at the animal room in front of him with some nostalgia.
I will be going to Hogwarts tomorrow, and this animal housing room will lose its meaning until I turn seventeen.
He came to a corner of the room and found a glass cage that was almost abandoned there.
Two red South African spiders lay quietly in the glass cage, with a lot of mealworm and cricket remains beside them.
This is the "pet" that Jon asked Eric to buy for him two weeks ago.
Carefully wrap the glass cage with cotton, put it into a cardboard box, and then put the cardboard box into the suitcase.
Near the paper box, there was a small bag of realgar that he bought at a pharmacy.
And a rooster-shaped alarm clock, which he also bought in a supermarket in Southampton not long ago... It is said that there is a recording of a rooster's crowing in it, which will sound when it rings. Jon also specially brought a few extra batteries.
Everything was ready, Jon went to bed and soon fell asleep...