After the Charms class, Jon kept thinking about this on the way tha the wizards in the Harry Potter world are not essentially the scholar-mages in the D&D worldview, but sorcerers who are born with the ability to cast spells... It's still the same old problem, the release of spells by wizards depends on their emotions!
This is also Jon Hart's biggest flaw as a wizard.
As a scholar with more than ten years of scientific research experience, a young man who has received more than twenty years of materialistic education, and a mature man with a psychological age of nearly forty... rational thinking has long been deeply rooted, and this is a fact that is difficult to change!
Therefore, Jon had no way of changing his emotions at will and letting his emotions control his mind like his classmates whose minds were as blank as paper.
Unless a powerful wizard casts a forgetfulness spell on him...
But that was something he could never allow!
80%-90% of magic, including but not limited to Transfiguration, spells, dark magic and extreme defense... are very dependent on the wizard's emotions. In terms of these magics, Jon suspected that he would need to spend several times more energy than others to achieve the same results.
Fortunately, his outstanding memory can narrow the gap in this area and prevent him from falling too far behind.
...
...
The remaining 10%-20% of magic does not rely on emotions. These seemingly rigid spells are Jon's advantage.
For example, the Petrification Charm. If a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher saw Jon Hart use the Petrification Charm... he would probably be able to confirm that Mr. Hart's control and understanding of the Petrification Charm was even better than that of most sixth and seventh grade students.
Jon suddenly remembered that during the sorting ceremony yesterday, the sorting hat wanted to sort him into Gryffindor instead of Ravenckaw.
At first he thought the Sorting Hat had made a mistake, but in fact the real reason was that he did not have enough talent in the wizarding field, nor did he have the qualifications to become a true "Ravenclaw".
"What a devastating fact!"
…
At lunch time.
Eloise Midgen and Zacharias Smith came over... like Jon, they were both first-year Hufflepuffs.
Heloise is a girl with acne all over her face, who looks a little distant; while Zacharias is a tall, thin boy with a snub nose.
"Jon, you did so great in the Transfiguration class. You are the only Hufflepuff student who can make a match change..." Heloise said with envy.
"Uh... I just read the book a few more times..." Jon curled his lips.
"That Professor McGonagall is too partial... Why does she only give extra points to Ginny Weasley and not to you..." Zacharias opened his big mouth and yelled.
Jon quickly signaled him to shut up and changed the subject...luckily without attracting the attention of other students.
Zacharias grabbed a chicken drumstick and stuffed it into his mouth: "By the way, do you know Ron Weasley? Harry Potter's follower!"
"Um... follower...what happened to him?"
"This morning while we were having breakfast, his mother sent him a howler letter. Hahahaha, we almost died of laughter at that time."
"It turns out that Weasley and Harry Potter drove a flying car to school yesterday!" Heloise whispered, "Sounds very cool..."
While eating, I listened to two classmates bragging.
"By the way, what are the classes this afternoon?" Jon asked casually after putting down the cutlery.
"Herbology, together with Ravenclaw, Professor Sprout teaches us... She is our Hufflepuff Head of House, but I haven't met her yet!" Zacharias spoke a little slurredly with his mouth full of food.
Eloise added: "Hannah told me that Professor Sprout was very good to us..."
…
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Jon walked out of the castle, crossed the vegetable garden, and came to the greenhouse of Hogwarts.
Professor Sprout's arms were covered with many bandages. At the same time, Jon saw from afar that many branches of the Whomping Willow in the distance were tightly tied with bandages.
"Two naughty students injured a very precious Whomping Willow. I spent the whole morning healing it!" Professor Sprout's voice was very gentle. She was a short and fat witch wearing patched clothes with a lot of dirt on them:
"I hope you won't do this kind of thing in the future!"
"Okay... now follow me to the First Greenhouse!" She led the way, and the first-year students of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw followed behind her.
Jon did not see the mandrake as he had imagined... Perhaps that plant was somewhat dangerous and not suitable for first-year students like them.
Professor Sprout introduced them to eighteen kinds of mushrooms. It only took Jon fifteen minutes to identify them all and successfully divided them into two categories: poisonous and non-toxic.
"Well done, Mr. Hart!" Professor Sprout praised him with a smile and gave Hufflepuff five points.
At the end of the get out of class, she also gave Jon a precious specimen of Matsutake, a fungus that had a high value in potions.
…
Jon encountered some trouble in the last class of the first day of school.
This last class was Potions taught by Professor Severus Snape, and Hufflepuffs and Slytherins attended together.
He wasted a lot of time following Professor Sprout to get the Matsutake specimen and put it in the Hufflepuff common room... By the time he hurried to the Potions classroom, he was already three minutes late.
"...even prevent death - but there is a condition, that is, you are not the kind of fools I often meet." Snape's iconic greasy voice came from the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry, Professor!" Jon pushed the door open with gritted teeth.
"Jon Hart?" Snape glanced at the roster in his hand, then looked at him coldly.
Snape's eyes, cold and empty, reminded you of two dark tunnels.
"Yes, Professor." Jon nodded.
"Late for the first Potions class after the school term. I think this is the first time I've seen such a thing in my more than ten years of teaching!" Snape said contemptuously, "Even Mr. Potter, who has always been proud of breaking school rules, has never done such a thing!"
"I'm sorry, Professor!" Jon lowered his head and said softly.
He knew that he was in a bit of trouble now... Severus Snape could be said to be the most difficult teacher to deal with in the entire Hogwarts, and there would be no good consequences if he offended him; what's more, Potions was the course he was most interested in, and he didn't want to give up this course at all.
"So what's your excuse, Mr. Hart?" Snape asked sarcastically, "For example, before my class, you went to repel a dark invasion of Hogwarts and were late?"
The Slytherins laughed.
Jon hesitated whether to tell him the reason for being late... because he was worried that if he told Snape the reason, Snape would think he was making excuses, which would make him even angrier and he would be punished more severely.
"Professor Snape!" A Hufflepuff student in the back row stood up and shouted, "Jon was called by Professor Sprout after the Herbology class just ended, so he was late..."
The speaker was Zacharias Smith.
Jon looked at him gratefully... Excuses are like this, and the results may be completely different if someone else makes them for you or if you make them yourself.
"Shut up, Smith!" Snape said coldly, "I should have reminded you that you need to raise your hands before speaking in my class! Five points deducted from Hufflepuff."
...
...
Zacharias's face flushed red, as if he was about to fight with Snape; fortunately, Steven Lucas beside him pulled him back.
Snape's cold gaze shifted back to Jon: "I will confirm this with Pomona!"
Then he snorted and motioned for Jon to come in.
Jon hurried into the classroom carrying the cauldron.
The Potions class requires two students to form a group... The Hufflepuff and Slytherin students were paired up in pairs within their respective colleges and sat on both sides of the classroom.
In addition to being sworn enemies of Gryffindor's little lions, Slytherin's little snakes also look down on Hufflepuff's little badgers, and can only say a few words to Ravenclaw's little eagles... Naturally, Hufflepuff students will not be friendly to Slytherins.
The conflicts between these colleges had already been passed on by word of mouth to these first-year students after the opening banquet.
However, the number of students in these two colleges this year happens to be an odd number.
The first-year Hufflepuff students had already paired up in pairs, leaving no empty seats; in the last row of Slytherin, a tall, clumsy-looking girl sat alone.
Jon had some impression of her. She seemed to be the last one in the sorting ceremony, Madeleine Yaxley?
It seems like another second-generation wizard.
He had no choice and was about to walk over when he was suddenly stopped by Snape.
"Stop, Mr. Hart!" Snape said calmly, "Miss Selwyn, you go and form a pair with Miss Yaxley; Mr. Hart, you sit in the seat where Miss Selwyn just sat."
The Slytherin girl named Selwyn packed up her cauldron with a grim look on her face, and then went to the last row... Jon had no choice but to take his things and sit in her previous seat, at the front of the group of Slytherins.
His partner happened to be an acquaintance:
Astoria Greengrass.
…
The Potions classroom returned to peace.
Astoria didn't speak to him. In fact, no one dared to whisper to each other in Snape's class.
Jon took out Magical Pharmacy and Potions written by Arseny Giger and opened it to the first page. The expression on his face did not relax at all... He had no idea that his troubles were over.
As expected...
"Hart!" Snape said suddenly. "Tell me what you get when you mix scurvy, lovage, and sneezeweed together?"
"It's a confusion potion, professor!" Jon, who had been prepared, stood up and replied calmly, "This potion will make people impatient and reckless after taking it."
That's quite an excellent answer.
If it were any other teacher, they would probably give Hufflepuff at least five extra points for this answer...but there was no change on Severus Snape's face.
"What is the main function of salamander blood in potions?" Snape continued, "Or, what do we usually use it for?"
"Enhancement potion, professor!" Jon continued to answer: "The blood of the salamander is the main ingredient of the enhancement potion. It has the effect of enhancing the effects of other potions."
"Next question... If I asked you to find me some dill, where would you go?"
"The main producing areas of white fresh dill are in China, the United States and Mexico... so first I have to buy a boat ticket to East Asia or North America."
Several Hufflepuff students laughed, but they immediately stopped laughing when Snape glared at them.
"Dill generally grows on hilly slopes, in bushes on flat ground, or under grasslands or sparse forests..."
Snape pursed his lips tightly together and stared at Jon.
The Hufflepuff students and even many Slytherin students around him looked at him with surprise and even admiration... Obviously, they had never been exposed to these questions and answers.
"So what would I get if I added powdered narcissus root to the wormwood infusion?" Snape asked his next question.
This time, Jon frowned, and after thinking for half a minute, he spoke:
"I'm sorry... I don't think I know that, Professor!"
Snape curled his lips. He waved his hand, motioning Jon to sit down.
"Narcissus root powder and wormwood can be combined to make a very powerful sleeping pill, a dose of life and death!" Snape said coldly.
"An outstanding Auror, Gideon Prewett, died because of this potion. One of his 'friends' sent him a bottle of liquorice wine and secretly put narcissus root powder under his wine glass... When the potion took effect, six Death Eaters came and killed him and his brother... If poor Gideon had taken his Potions class more seriously, he would have been able to Apparate away in time even when facing twelve Death Eaters!"
As he said this, a scornful smile appeared at the corner of Snape's mouth.
However, he did not continue to question Jon, did not deduct points from Hufflepuff, and of course did not add points either.
This made Jon feel relieved.
"Why are you all not writing this down?" Turning around, Snape roared, scaring all the students.
Then there was a rustling sound of fumbling with quills and parchment in the classroom.