"Do you know Colin Creevey?"
"I have some impression of him... He seems to be a short first-year Gryffindor student."
"He was attacked by the monster in the secret room, outside the school hospital... and now he is lying on the ground like a dead person, just like Mrs. Norris, turned into stone!"
"Oh my god! I remember Creevey seemed to be of pure Muggle descent... Could it be true, as the legend says, that the heir of Slytherin wants to drive all Muggle wizards and Squibs out of Hogwarts?"
"It's horrible!"
Ever since the attack on Mrs. Norris, the discussion about the Chamber of Secrets had never stopped in the Hufflepuff common room.
However, with the appearance of the second victim, panic began to spread.
"It must have been Potter who did it!" Ernie McMillan said confidently.
"How can you say that..." Hannah Abbott, who had a golden ponytail, tried to refute.
...
...
"Potter and Filch had a quarrel, then Filch's cat was killed, and Potter was the first to 'discover' it; the first-year student Creevey harassed Potter every day, angered him, and then turned into stone in front of Potter's ward..." MacMillan, looking like a famous detective, deduced:
"I still can't believe it." The kind-hearted Hannah was unwilling to accept this "reality".
"Don't be silly! No one knows how he managed to survive the attack by You-Know-Who. I mean, he was just a baby when that happened, he should have been blown to pieces... Only a truly powerful dark wizard could escape You-Know-Who's spell." Ernie explained mysteriously, "So..."
…
Jon made no attempt to stop the spread of such rumors or to refute them.
Almost all the Muggle students in Hufflepuff were in danger, especially Justin Finch-Fletchley, who had looked pale these past few days and didn't even dare to go to class... It was said that he told Harry Potter about his ancestry during an unintentional conversation after school started.
Although Jon Hart is a freshman, he is almost the one with the calmest mentality in the entire college regarding this matter.
His daily life continued as normal; except when he went to the common room, he chose to be with other students.
But when Professor Sprout came to collect the names of the students who stayed on for Christmas... he was almost the first one to sign the list of students leaving.
Like him, most students chose to leave school, fleeing Hogwarts as if they were escaping from the plague, fearing that the monster in the chamber of secrets would run out at any time and give them a fatal blow.
But before the Christmas holidays, Jon received a letter sent by owl.
There were many shiny, delicate-looking but worthless little ornaments in it, which he had asked dad to buy for him and then send to him.
He brought these little decorations to the kitchen and gave them all to the house-elf in the kitchen.
"This is an early Christmas gift for you, although it's not a precious thing!" In the kitchen, he said sincerely: "Thank you for taking care of me in the past half year and giving me so many delicious foods..."
The house-elves were almost in tears. They quickly put on these small decorations, although they looked a little out of place after being dressed up.
Klein hugged Jon's calf and cried loudly. Jon tried to persuade him almost ten times before he let go.
"This is the first time a wizard has given Klein a Christmas present... Thank you, Mr. Hart..."
Finally, the house-elves stuffed Jon's pockets with all kinds of snacks until they were completely full, and then let him go.
…
Of course, there is one last thing before leaving Hogwarts.
The polyjuice decoction has now been prepared.
Over the past week or so, he had added 23 ounces of liquid grass picked at full moon, half an ounce of powdered ammonium chloride, two ounces of grass leaf powder, a teaspoon of bicorn horn powder, and appropriate amounts of saltpeter, mercury, iron filings and dried African bush snake skin to the potion he was preparing.
Although the formula of Polyjuice Potion is extremely complicated, the preparation process is not too profound; this is why even though it is a high-risk potion, first and second graders can prepare it successfully.
Black smoke was now constantly coming out of the crucible, and there was a pungent smell in the black smoke.
This proves that there shouldn't be any major problems with his configuration.
Jon carefully placed the polyjuice potion into small crystal bottles, which looked like black, sticky mud.
"Now, it's time to test its effect!" he said to himself, while taking out a few strands of his yellow-black hair that he had kept in another crystal bottle.
Carefully adding the hair into the polyjuice potion, the crystal bottle immediately hissed and began to foam... after just a few seconds, its color changed to a rich khaki color.
Just a small sip, and the deformation can last for about ten minutes.
Jon closed his eyes and poured the potion into his mouth.
Although I was mentally prepared, the taste was almost as bad as I imagined... It was like drinking a glass of gasoline, disgusting.
His internal organs quickly began to churn, as if he had just swallowed several live snakes!
Jon bent down and took off his clothes as quickly as possible.
Then, a burning sensation quickly spread from his stomach to his entire body. He felt his body melting again, as if the skin all over his body was bubbling like hot wax...
Jon lay on the ground, watching his hands grow bigger, his fingers thicker, his nails wider, and his shoulders begin to extend...
A minute later, he stood up... He was a head taller than before, his arms and legs were thicker, his hair turned messy black, and a few freckles appeared on his smooth face...
He quickly put on the large Hogwarts robes he had prepared earlier.
If there are others here, they can be easily recognized:
He became Gabrielle Truman, Hufflepuff prefect.
Gabrielle's hair was secretly pulled out by Jon and the others when they were celebrating their victory in the Quidditch match...just to test the effect of the Polyjuice Potion.
He originally wanted to get a hair from his teacher, but the only normal adult male wizards in Hogwarts were Dumbledore and Snape, and both of them were too difficult to deal with... He had to settle for the next best thing and get a hair from a senior student.
Jon, who had turned into Gabrielle, raised his wand and a moving dummy immediately appeared in front of him.
"Reducto!" Gabrielle's deep and slightly magnetic voice rang out.
However, the wand only flashed a slight blue light and there was no other reaction.
Gabriel is a sixth-year student at Hogwarts, and an excellent student. It is impossible for him not to be able to master the Crushing Curse, a basic spell in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the OWLs exam...
So as expected, using Polyjuice Potion will not have any effect on your magical powers; just because you become a powerful wizard does not mean you can use powerful spells.
It makes sense if you think about it. If Polyjuice Potion has the effect of duplicating magic, wouldn't the battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters become a battle between a hundred Dumbledores and a hundred Voldemorts?
If that's the case, the Order of the Phoenix would have an overwhelming advantage!
With a wave of his hand, the animate dummy disappeared, and in its place, a huge stone slab appeared.
Jon put his wand aside, then bent down...
An expected surprise!
This stone slab weighed nearly 30 kg and was difficult to move before the transformation; but he lifted it up easily!
....
....
....
As time went on to mid-December, snow began to fall and Hogwarts was soon covered in snow.
The weather in the Scottish Highlands is always unpredictable, with frequent rain and snow.
Jon, who grew up in the southern port city of Southampton, is obviously not used to the cold weather that requires him to wear several thick sweaters every day.
But fortunately, the semester is about to end and they will have more than half a month of vacation.
Students were almost scrambling to book seats on the Hogwarts Express, hoping to go home for Christmas.
Jon was quite curious about this. Isn't Christmas a Christian holiday? The "witch hunt" of the Christian Church in the Middle Ages killed countless wizards and witches. The two sides were almost blood-feuding...Wizards actually came to commemorate the birth of the Son of God of the Christian Church?
He asked Professor Binns this question during his last History of Magic class:
"Professor, why do wizards celebrate Christmas too?"
Professor Binns blinked at the question and said in his dry, breathless voice:
"Christmas is a day that even Muggles celebrate with great enthusiasm, but we wizards definitely started celebrating this festival earlier than them... As early as the 14th century BC, the Mitanni wizards in Asia Minor had a history of celebrating the god Mithras on December 25th!"
"In ancient languages like Sanskrit or Avestan, 'mitra-' means 'contract' or 'companion'... Mithra, the goddess of contract, is born on December 25th, according to legend; for us wizards, this is the meaning of Christmas."
"For wizards, the existence of 'contracts' is an important reason for the rapid progress of magic. Our ancestors made contracts with elemental spirits, which was the beginning of our magical abilities. The function of magic wands is also to reach a contract with wizards, allowing wizards to effectively control their magic. We also reach contracts with goblins, centaurs and even Muggles, which ensures that we don't have to live in danger..."
As he spoke, Professor Binns coughed violently, like the sound of chalk breaking.
"It is precisely because the contract is so important to magic...that wizards spontaneously celebrate the birth of Mithras on December 25th every year. This is the beginning of 'Christmas'...Muggles celebrate this festival because of our influence. Their Son of God was not born on December 25th, but in the fall. Their legends were mixed up with the history of wizards, and thus rumors spread."
"However, the custom of giving gifts at Christmas originated from Muggles. Wizards found it very interesting, so they gradually adopted this custom... Do you have any other questions, Mr. Hart?"
"No more, thank you, Professor!"
Jon sat back in his seat, and Professor Binns reopened the lecture notes:
"Let's continue to talk about the weird Yurik. He was born in the Middle Ages after 982 and was a notoriously weird wizard..."
…
With the end of the last Potions class, the Christmas holidays began.
A school year at Hogwarts is divided into three semesters. The first semester is from the beginning of school to before the Christmas holiday, the second semester is from the return of school after the Christmas holiday to the Easter holiday, and the third semester is from the return of school after the Easter holiday to the end of the semester. There is a half-month holiday between each semester, and there is a two-month summer vacation before each school year.
Jon boarded the Hogwarts Express to London, sharing a compartment with Zacharias Smith and Eloise Midgen, and listened to Zacharias brag for hours.
At dusk, when Jon got off the train, the first thing he saw was Eric and Judy waiting at King's Cross Station.
"Long time no see, Mom..." When Judy hugged him in her arms, he whispered, "Merry Christmas!"
"Yes... dear... Merry Christmas..."
…
Christmas Day at 86 Eastleigh Road was no different to any other.
It was as if there was no wizard in this family; in fact, it was almost the same, after all, Jon could not use magic here now.
Eric had bought a pine tree long ago and decorated it beautifully with lights, ornaments, and Christmas stockings; Judy prepared a variety of delicious food, including a ten-pound baked friend, log cakes, gingerbread...
Jon ate and drank at home like an ordinary child, and then fell asleep.
The first thing he saw when he woke up the next morning was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.
Gifts, lots and lots of gifts...
The gift his dad gave him was a valuable Cartier watch with the name "Jon Hart" written on the right side of the watch.
Mom's gift was a black coat that she seemed to have designed herself and that fitted Jon perfectly; it looked good on him and was no different from a wizard's robe.
As for the other gifts...
Zacharias gave him a copy of Quidditch: The Origins of Quidditch, but Jon glanced at it and threw it aside.
Astoria's gift was a box of Chocolate Frogs and Bibi Every Flavour Beans.
Professor Sprout even sent him a specimen of Saccharum officinale.
As for the remaining large package, Jon bent down, carefully opened it, and found a very delicate chocolate cake.
This was a Christmas present given to him by the house-elves in the kitchen.
Jon tasted it and it tasted great.
Then, he put away the gifts one by one and walked out of the room.
…
When he came to the yard, he saw Eric shoveling snow there.
Jon thought about it carefully and walked over.
"What's the matter, son?" Eric couldn't help but ask, looking at Jon who had been silent for a long time.
"Um....Dad..." Jon said hesitantly, "Can you give me some money?"
"Money?" Eric blinked. "Didn't they say that our currency cannot be used in your world?"
"Yes..." Jon nodded: "But I want to buy something else!"
"Okay, how much do you want?"
"Uh!" Jon thought seriously for a moment: "Thirty thousand pounds, that's about right!"
....
.....
...
There is a strange hardware store at 21 Winchester Road in Southampton.
Mr. Robert Wilson is the owner here. He is a Northern Irishman in his sixties. He is tall and strong. Although he is old, he is very energetic.
In Mr. Wilson's shop, you can easily buy faucets, screws, door locks...even pistols!
On the surface, England's laws on firearms are very strict, making it seem impossible for ordinary people to legally obtain any type of firearm.
But the law always has loopholes...
For example, the law prohibits modern firearms, so old-fashioned fully automatic shotguns, revolvers, and some antiques with collectible value and commemorative firearms do not require specific documents to purchase.
Also, Mr. Wilson is a Northern Irishman.
Unlike in England, Northern Irish law allows citizens to own any handgun and there are no restrictions on the magazine capacity of handguns or shotguns.
So, before the Thomas Hamilton shooting (1996), Mr Wilson could legally, without any documents, sell dozens of pistols or shotguns each year to his Northern Irish "friends" in Southampton.
...
...
This is also the biggest source of income for this hardware store.
…
On the evening of December 30, 1992, Mr. Wilson was tending to the store as usual.
Suddenly, he found that his hardware store had welcomed an uninvited guest: a burly man with a big belly walked in.
He was at least 1.9 meters tall, with dark skin and a face that looked fierce and rough.
"Mr. Robert Wilson?" the burly man asked in a low voice.
Mr. Wilson looked up and whispered:
"Yes, what is it?"
"Urian Wrynn."
"Mr. Wrynn, do you need my help?" Hearing this somewhat strange name, the hardware store owner asked back.
"That's right." The other party's voice was very calm, with almost no ripples: "Mr. Wilson, I heard that I can buy a pistol here?"
"Pistol? Yes..." Robert Wilson's eyes narrowed into slits: "My guns will only be sold to my fellow countrymen in Northern Ireland."
"Of course, I'm from Northern Ireland. I was born in Belfast..." said the burly man with a smile.
That pure southern English accent had betrayed him! Obviously, he couldn't be from Northern Ireland.
However, while opening his mouth, the uninvited guest secretly stuffed a few banknotes into the hardware store owner's hand.
Several £100 notes.
Clearly, this guest wasn't as brainless as his muscles looked, Wilson thought to himself.
"It would be my honor, Mr. Wrynn, please follow me!"
…
It took Jon quite some time to adapt to this new body.
It's like your body is suddenly stretched longer and thicker, which is actually a very uncomfortable process.
This 1.9-meter-tall burly man was actually a security guard in Eric's office... a tough-looking but actually timid character. Jon secretly cut off a few strands of his hair while he was sleeping.
As a young man who had been deeply poisoned by science and culture for decades, he naturally had a blind trust in technological weapons... Especially after being exposed to magic for four or five months, he still couldn't easily cast some harmful spells.
He desperately needs the ability to protect himself.
…
The burly man followed Mr. Wilson to the counter of the hardware store.
He kept his right hand in his pocket, holding something tightly, and was very vigilantly observing his surroundings to see if there was anything unusual.
The hardware store owner had already carried a large box out of the cabinet and bent down.
"I wonder what your preference is for guns!" He took out the top pistol and said, "Mr. Urian... This is a Colt M1911 pistol. It has been produced since 1911 and was widely used in the US Army until ten years ago. It can fire 0.45-inch Colt pistol bullets and has an effective range of 50 meters!"
The burly man frowned. It seemed that he had heard of this classic pistol before.
"Mr. Wilson!" he began. "I think I need something more advanced."
This weapon, which began to be produced eighty years ago, is indeed a bit outdated.
"Well...a picky customer!" Mr. Wilson smiled, bent down and continued searching.
"I found it. This is a good gun!" The pistol he took out this time was much smaller than the previous one: "P type pistol, a product of 1980, only as big as the palm, weighing no more than one pound, using 5.45mm pistol bullets, with an effective range of 30 meters... This is a Soviet product, very cheap, a special weapon for the KGB, very light, and the gunshot is also very quiet!"
"Really?" The other party took the small pistol and looked at it carefully.
"What about recoil? How is the recoil?" he asked at the same time.
"I bet this is the pistol with the smallest recoil in the world. Even a 12-year-old child can shoot it easily!" said the hardware store owner without hesitation.
"A 12-year-old kid can do it?" The burly man's eyes lit up, and then he nodded: "I want this gun!"
Looking at the pistol that was totally incompatible with the size of the burly man, Mr. Wilson couldn't help but smile secretly.
But he certainly wouldn't take the initiative to ruin a deal.
"I also need a more powerful pistol. The more powerful the better..." the other party continued.
"A powerful pistol? Take a look at this one..." Mr. Wilson took out a pistol from the bottom of the box. "This is a powerful one, the Desert Eagle Mark I pistol that was only released in the United States in 1985... It can fire 0.357 Magnum revolver bullets, weighs nearly four pounds, and has an effective range of up to 200 meters. At close range, it can even easily kill brown bears and wild boars!"
"Really?" The other party began to look at the pistol carefully: "Can it kill a python?"
"I swear, even the largest snake in the world would be shot in the head by this gun."
"I want both of these guns!" The burly man seemed to have made up his mind: "You also need to give me some bullets."
Mr. Wilson liked this kind of straightforward customer the most. He packed the two guns and bullets without hesitation and put faucet labels on the outside.
"That's three thousand pounds, sir!"
The other party did not bargain, but directly took out a thick stack of pounds from his pocket and said, "I have another question, Mr. Wilson."
The hardware store owner retracted his greedy look.
"Please ask, sir!"
"I need to find someone!"