Hello, Hogsmeade

"Salazar believed they had chosen the wrong path—he argued with Rowena, and their relationship quickly froze over and shattered. He left the castle and began researching Dark Magic."

"In the end, he died from the backlash of Dark Magic." Jon nodded and continued. He had heard this story before. "But what caused Ravenclaw's death?"

"I don't know. Ever since Salazar left the castle, she locked herself in her room all day. Helena stealing her Diadem made her Mental state even less stable... Perhaps you can find some answers in these glasses."

"But these just look like ordinary glasses. There's nothing special about them, and their Magical fluctuation is very faint. I can't sense anything."

"That's because your magical attainment isn't high enough. Rowena's belongings are still far too profound for you right now."

Jon: "..."

Fine. He was just too weak.

"Put those glasses away for now. Once you go home for the holidays, we can see what else we can discover." Helga put aside her grief and watched Jon wrap the glasses in parchment before stuffing them into the Hidden compartment in his ring. "Now, let's see how your Spell practice has been going."

Jon's magical ability had actually improved quite a bit. He had studied diligently at Hogwarts for an entire month, so he had naturally gained something.

"You're still somewhat unskilled with the Disillusionment Charm, but your level with other spells is quite good. Perhaps the changes I made increased the difficulty of the Disillusionment Charm. Do you want me to revise it again?"

Though Helga meant well, it did not sound very pleasant. Jon shook his head. "No need. I haven't practiced the Disillusionment Charm for very long, and I probably haven't used it enough, which is why I'm not good at it. But from now on, I'll try to become more proficient with it."

"As you wish. I really shouldn't worry so much over such a Trivial matter."

After watching Jon perform a round of practice, Helga said a few words before slipping back into the Portrait world. Jon raised his hand and checked his watch. It was already past midnight.

Where had all that time gone?

He had not noticed it at all.

Then he realized that he had arrived late today, and he had also spent quite a while opening the drawer at the start.

He had been too focused while using Transfiguration to notice how much time had passed.

Helga had actually had the patience to watch him do something so boring.

After stuffing everything back into his ring and casting another Disillusionment Charm on himself, Jon left the study and went down the Stairs. His mind was occupied with some rather scattered thoughts, though they had nothing to do with the glasses he had just acquired.

It felt as though all the legendary figures he had encountered in his life were Female. In the Wizarding world, both his own Ancestor and the Founder whose Partial inheritance he had inherited were Legendary Witches. In the Muggle world, the Queen he respected most was a kindly Old Lady who traveled through time rifts...

Could Her Majesty be a witch too?

Probably not. The Royal family's bloodline had been passed down for countless centuries. If they were all Wizarding Bloodline, they would not have treated wizards so cruelly in the Middle Ages.

Well... it was hard to say. There was never any shortage of people killing their own kind.

At midnight, Hogwarts Castle was excessively quiet. No students had come out for a Night tour of the castle, and even Filch, the castle's caretaker, had gone to sleep. The entire castle had sunk into silence.

Jon liked quiet. It was tied to his personality. The reason he dreamed of becoming a scholar rather than a powerful wizard was that wizards as powerful as Dumbledore were always busy with all kinds of matters, with the only thing they never had time to handle being their own affairs.

Perhaps Dumbledore relished that sort of life... Let him relish it, rather than needing busyness to ease his guilt toward someone. But Jon could not do that.

It was not that he was incapable.

He simply did not want to.

There were many ways to make life exciting, but none of them involved locking one's life into certain matters.

"That isn't life," Jon whispered as he stood on the Stairs. "That's Self-imprisonment. It'll drive you mad."

But should he return to the dormitory now?

Of course not. This was the perfect chance to visit somewhere he normally could not go.

He still remembered that when Harry Potter was in his third year, he had been unable to obtain his Guardian's signature and thus could not visit Hogsmeade village. With the help of the Invisibility Cloak and a Secret passage, Harry had secretly slipped into Hogsmeade village.

Now Jon had a powerful Disillusionment Charm, the Marauder's Map was in his hands, and he vaguely remembered the location of that Secret passage.

It was the passage hidden behind a statue of a One-eyed witch. It was in a Fourth floor corridor, and behind that statue was a passage leading to Honeydukes.

However, the Road condition on the Fourth floor was truly terrible. Dozens of Stairs went up and down, and several of them kept moving about restlessly.

Fortunately, the Marauder's Map was a treasure.

"Hm? Dumbledore isn't in his office again?"

Jon glanced at the Headmaster's office on the Marauder's Map, but he had no interest in investigating. He could not get into the Headmaster's office anyway.

A short while later, even with the Marauder's Map guiding him, Jon had still been thoroughly confused by the twisting Stairs. At last, he arrived before the statue of the Hunchbacked witch.

He remembered the incantation quite clearly. Jon drew his wand and lightly tapped the statue of the Hunchbacked witch.

"Separate left and right."

The statue's hump immediately split apart. The opening was large enough for a Slightly thin Adult to enter, so a Child with Jon's build could naturally get through without difficulty.

With a crisp Collision sound, the statue closed. Jon jolted, lost his footing, and swiftly slid forward.

He did not know how long he slid before he finally struck Damp and cold earth.

He Stood up and looked around.

Everything around him was Pitch black, so Jon raised his wand and said, "Lumos!"

Silver light blossomed from Jon's wand, illuminating the darkness around him.

It was a very narrow, low passage.

The air in the tunnel was stifling, and the darkness surrounding him made Jon uncomfortable. After all, Hufflepuff's tunnels were warm and short.

Jon walked through the tunnel for nearly An hour. If not for the abundant magic Inside the body, he probably would have struggled to keep Lumos going all the way. The Disillusionment Charm only lasted An hour, and its duration had long since expired.

After casting another Disillusionment Charm on himself, Jon crawled out through the trapdoor in the floor, climbed up the Stairs, and arrived inside Honeydukes.