He paid Mr. Ollivander eight Galleons, took his wand, and hurried away.
Although he had wasted more than an hour in Ollivander's wand shop, Jon was quite satisfied with the wand he had obtained.
Since it was made of green bamboo, it felt very comfortable in his hand; its flexibility and durability were also far greater than those of ordinary wood, and in an emergency, it could even be used as a melee weapon.
Next, he found Eric at Madam Malkin's robe shop. Eric had already bought most of the things on his list for him.
He was carrying a large bag stuffed full of clothing, including three sets of plain black work robes, a plain black pointed hat for daytime wear, a pair of protective gloves made of dragon hide or a similar material, and a winter cloak.
There was also a standard-size No. 2 pewter cauldron, a set of crystal phials, a telescope, and a brass scale.
The only things left to buy were the textbooks.
Jon opened his list:
Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions, by Arsenius Jigger
The Dark Arts Outsmarted, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Holiday Guide to Household Pests, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Trolls, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Vampires, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Werewolves, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to the Yeti, by Gilderoy Lockhart
Thirteen textbooks in all. Just looking at them gave Jon a headache...
Especially the pile of "works" by Lockhart at the end. Every one of them was incredibly expensive, and together they cost a full twenty Galleons.
But there was nothing he could do. Jon gritted his teeth. He couldn't exactly go to school without his textbooks...
He put the whole stack of books into the shopping basket.
He also bought three additional books for outside reading: The Dark Arts and Self-Defense, by Quentin Trimble; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander; and Advanced Potion-Making, by Libatius Borage.
After buying so many things, the hundred Galleons he had started with had dwindled to less than forty...
If he had not been short of money, Jon would certainly have bought several more books on Defense Against the Dark Arts and potion-making.
Fortunately, Hogwarts did not charge tuition or accommodation fees, and as a first-year student, he could not go to Hogsmeade anyway. Forty Galleons would be more than enough to last him a year.
He declined Eric's suggestion that he buy an owl for him. An owl cost ten Galleons, after all.
Poverty made a person sensible.
During the final month at 86 Eastridge Road, Jon immersed himself in that pile of magical books.
He read through more than a dozen books, including those "adventure novels" written by Gilderoy Lockhart.
He converted the smallest room at 86 Eastridge Road into an animal room, filling it with several cages of white mice for experiments.
The Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery Act had a small loophole. Its restrictions did not cover young wizards who had not yet begun studying magic but had already obtained wands.
The Ministry of Magic did not register them, either.
So Jon took advantage of that loophole and spent the month casting spells with his wand at home to his heart's content.
Unfortunately, the results seemed somewhat disappointing!
On the evening of August 31, Jon appeared in the animal room with his wand in hand.
"Stupefy!" He raised his wand and pointed it at a mouse cage.
The Stunning Spell was commonly used by members of the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix. It was also an extremely practical spell, capable of effectively rendering a target temporarily unconscious.
It could even have a certain effect on giants and dragons. Jon had found instructions for using it in the final pages of The Dark Arts and Self-Defense.
With the Unforgivable Curses completely prohibited at present, the Stunning Spell was undoubtedly one of the strongest single-target offensive spells.
A faint red light flashed and struck the white mouse inside the cage.
"Eek..." The mouse let out a startled squeak and quickly shifted to another spot, but that was all.
Jon smiled helplessly. This was already the best result he had achieved all summer.
If he hit an enemy with that spell, at most it would make the enemy feel a little itchy.
The Stunning Spell, like most spells, was quite simple to cast.
However, making it truly effective was extremely difficult.
Many spells in this world did not require deep study, but depended heavily on a wizard's emotions.
To cast an Unforgivable Curse, one had to harden one's heart; to cast a Patronus Charm, one had to think of something that brought true happiness...
Casting the Stunning Spell likewise required a wizard to feel, from the bottom of his heart, the desire to knock the target unconscious.
Jon felt that if he were in a DND setting, he would not be a wizard at all, but a sorcerer.
Because his mind was mature, Jon rarely experienced much emotional fluctuation.
That emotional stability, paradoxically, was not conducive to casting many spells.
Still, there were not any spells he was completely unable to master.
Jon raised his wand again and aimed it at the white mouse.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
In an instant, the expression on the white mouse's face and the movement of its body froze at the same time.
It looked as though it had been petrified, unable to move, with only its eyes darting about.
Casting the Full Body-Bind Curse did not depend on emotion, and even young wizards could use it perfectly.
After a month of practice, Jon had mastered it quite well.
However, the Full Body-Bind Curse had an obvious flaw.
Several seconds passed between the spell striking its target and the target becoming completely immobilized.
If the opponent reacted quickly enough, they could break the spell themselves and launch a counterattack.
Jon put away his wand and glanced at the animal room with some reluctance.
Tomorrow, he would be leaving for Hogwarts, and this animal room would lose its purpose until he turned seventeen.
He went to a corner of the room and found a glass cage that had been almost abandoned there.
Two red South African spiders lay quietly inside the glass cage, surrounded by the remains of mealworms and crickets.
They were the "pets" Jon had asked Eric to buy for him two weeks earlier.
He carefully wrapped the glass cage in cotton, placed it in a cardboard box, and then put the box into his suitcase.
Beside the box was a small packet of realgar that he had bought from a pharmacy.
There was also a rooster-shaped alarm clock, which he had recently bought at a supermarket in Southampton.
Apparently, it had a recording of a rooster's crow inside, which would play when the alarm went off. Jon had even brought along several extra batteries.
Once everything was ready, Jon went to bed and soon fell into a deep sleep...
Before you continue