Diary

On Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station, the Hogwarts Express was due to depart in fifteen minutes.

Jon Hart was sitting aboard the train. After more than half a month of a dull Christmas holiday, he could finally return to his studies.

That was right. The Christmas holiday in Southampton could only be described as dull. He was forbidden from using magic, had barely any books on hand, and could not spot a trace of wizarding activity within a hundred miles. Every day, aside from practicing Occlumency, he had nothing to do.

Fortunately, he had persuaded Eric and Judy to let him travel to London alone and take the train back to school... Otherwise, the past half month of holiday would truly have accomplished nothing.

Having found an empty compartment, he placed his luggage on the rack, then carefully took a diary from his pocket.

Its black cover was ancient, and the pages within had long since yellowed... Clearly, the diary had some age to it. Even from a distance, it gave off a somewhat eerie feeling.

Jon had transformed into "Warian Urien," run through several streets in central London, and spent an entire afternoon searching before finally finding it in an Old Bookstore for fifteen pence.

As he waited boredly on the train, he opened it and wrote on a blank page:

"Polyjuice Potion, recorded in the book Moste Potente Potions, is a powerful potion.

After adding something from the target person to it, such as hair or fingernails, though mainly hair, drinking it will allow one to take on that person's appearance for a certain period of time.

The ingredients required to brew Polyjuice Potion include Lacewing flies, powdered antimony, leeches with their mouths removed, Fluxweed picked under a full moon, powdered ammonium chloride, Knotgrass leaf powder, Unicorn horn powder, saltpeter, mercury, iron filings, and dried African Tree Snake skin.

The brewing process is relatively complicated, but there are not many difficult points.

Drinking around 5 ml of Polyjuice Potion can maintain the transformation for around ten minutes;

Drinking around 50 ml of Polyjuice Potion can maintain the transformation for around one hour;

Drinking a large dose of Polyjuice Potion, over 1 L, can maintain the transformation for up to 24 hours;

However, the maximum transformation time is 24 hours. No matter how much is consumed, it cannot be extended further.

Polyjuice Potion initially tastes like overcooked cabbage. Its specific color and taste will change according to the drinker's feelings toward the transformation target. (If you have a favorable impression of the target, the taste will be more tolerable; if you and the target do not get along, it will taste quite disgusting.)

It can only be used to transform into humans, not other creatures... Attempting to transform into an animal will cause extremely serious side effects. Attempting to transform into a human-creature hybrid, such as a Half-Giant or Werewolf, has unknown effects, though it will most likely fail and come with certain side effects.

After successfully transforming with Polyjuice Potion, one can replicate all of the target's physiological functions, including their voice, strength, and instincts... However, it cannot replicate any wizard's Magical Ability. You cannot expect Polyjuice Potion to turn you into a powerful wizard.

There have been known cases of Polyjuice Potion changing a person's sex, but..."

After filling an entire page and recording everything he knew about Polyjuice Potion, Jon carefully tore the page out.

After folding it, he marked the outside with the letters P-P, short for Polyjuice Potion, then stored it in a very hidden compartment in his suitcase alongside a small stack of other notes.

There was a gentle knock on the compartment door.

Jon first tucked the diary back into his cloak before looking up. "Come in!"

"Jon..." The pretty girl with golden curls and a somewhat childish face pushed open the compartment door.

The two of them had already arranged in their letters to meet in this carriage.

"Merry Christmas!" She blinked.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Astoria," Jon said with a nod.

She sat opposite Jon, and the two exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

"How was your Christmas present?"

"The present? It was wonderful!" Astoria's face immediately lit up. "Unbelievable... That Three-sided Vanity Mirror was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much... Even Mother kept praising how nice it was. You know, she usually doesn't say much!"

"Really? That's great!" Jon smiled.

"And you... Did you find the secret I hid in the Chocolate Frogs?" Astoria suddenly blushed and asked in a low voice.

"Ah... the secret in the Chocolate Frogs?" Jon froze.

He did not even like chocolate. He had only casually tried a few of the Chocolate Frogs Astoria had given him before tossing the rest aside.

How was he supposed to know there was some secret hidden inside?

"Idiot... Hmph!" Astoria snorted and turned her face away.

She decided not to speak to him anymore.

Fortunately, their cold war ended after only a few minutes.

The cheerful trolley witch appeared at just the right moment and eased the awkwardness between them.

As they devoured Cauldron-shaped Pies and Pumpkin Cake together, Astoria seemed to have already thrown her previous displeasure out of her mind.

After finishing a Licorice Wand, she seemed to remember something.

"I heard..." Astoria said in a low voice, "another attack happened at Hogwarts!"

"Really?" Jon frowned slightly.

"Gryffindor's ghost, Sir Nicholas, was attacked, along with one of your Hufflepuff students, Justin Finch-Fletchley!" Astoria said solemnly. "Like Mrs. Norris and Colin Cleever before them, they were turned to stone. It happened a few days after we left school."

"I see..." Jon nodded expressionlessly.

Just as he had expected, according to the original plot, Nick and Justin should have been attacked around this time... Yet he had received no news of it during Christmas. Hogwarts had probably suppressed the news, though they could not keep it from great families like the Greengrasses.

"I originally wanted to write to you about it..." Astoria's next words were no surprise to him. "But Mother stopped me. She said this matter could not be spread around carelessly."

"Mm." Jon nodded and said unhurriedly, "Professor Sprout's Mandrakes should mature in a few months. By then, those students who were turned to stone will be able to recover, so everything should return to normal."

"You need to be careful!" Astoria suddenly lowered her head and leaned closer.

Her voice was quiet, but filled with concern:

"My mother nearly refused to let Daphne and me return to school... Hogwarts is really dangerous... Slytherin's monster truly existed!"

"I know... And thank you!"

Thanks to readers Yulanshi and Nanhai Yige for their donations...