Spider's Mutation

When Jon Hart returned to the Hufflepuff common room, he held three very thick books in his hands.

"Jon, Professor Sprout just sent a few specimens. Would you like to take a look?" Ernie McMillan, a second-year student from Hufflepuff, shouted from the window upon seeing him.

"Thank you, Ernie... I'll look at them later!" Jon declined the invitation and went straight back to his dormitory.

He wrapped the three books in a newspaper. Although the Hufflepuff dormitory was private, there was still a possibility of other students entering his dormitory and discovering the existence of these books.

After all, the covers of these books looked hideous and stood out.

The first book had the face of an ugly witch on the cover. The witch's eyes were cold and hollow, like a dark tunnel without a bottom. The book was titled "Shield Your Mind."

This was the only book on "Occlumency" he could find in the library for the past few days.

"Occlumency" was a form of magic that resisted external mental intrusion. It involved sealing the mind to resist invasion and influence. The signature spell was "Legilimens." Jon felt that this was one of the most essential spells for him to learn.

Due to the existence of the "Catholic" spell, his thoughts were transparent to both the white wizards led by Dumbledore and the white wizards led by Voldemort. He had nowhere to hide. As a traveler who knew the future events of the next six years, it was crucial to protect his identity and secrets from being discovered. Currently, he was a minor character, and Dumbledore had not noticed him yet. But what if Dumbledore became aware of him in the future?

Thus, he needed to learn and master Occlumency before Dumbledore noticed his existence.

Then, he turned his attention to the second book.

The cover of the second book depicted a distorted, horrifying skull with a twisted tongue, tears turning into bloodstains under the eyes, and an open nose. Due to its age, the title of the book was somewhat unclear.

To be honest, this grotesque scene made Jon feel a little nauseous, so he quickly wrapped the cover in newspaper.

The spells in this book were repulsive. It contained various curses that were tormenting. Although they were not classified as dark magic, they were highly harmful to people. Therefore, the book was placed in the restricted section.

Tongue-Tying Curse, Eardrum-Exploding Curse, Skinning Curse, and others—the names of these spells sounded quite unsettling.

Jon had little interest in most of these spells, except for one: the "Eye Curse."

According to the information he found in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," the skin of a basilisk had characteristics similar to dragon skin armor, making it reflective against spells. However, its eyes and mouth were vulnerable. The Eye Curse was the only spell Jon could think of that could cause damage to the basilisk.

The basilisk's eyes were its deadliest weapon. Blinding its eyes with the Eye Curse during battle would significantly weaken it.

This spell was Jon's primary focus for practice during this time.

As for the third book, its cover was equally repulsive. It depicted a witch's head with multiple arms, and a figure that seemed to be turned inside out.

The book's name, "Potent Potions," was written below the illustration.

"Potent Potions" contained many dangerous, controversial, and mysterious concoctions. Consequently, it was stored in the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library.

Borrowing this book was purely out of curiosity. As long as he returned it to the library before Halloween, it should not have any impact on the plot.

...

"Jon, want to play Quidditch?" Zacharias Smith knocked on the door of Jon's dormitory and asked loudly.

"No, thanks!" Jon, lying on his bed with a thick book in his hand, declined.

"Quidditch? You're skilled at flying..." Zacharias murmured, knocking on the door of the adjacent dormitory. "Ernie, let's go play Quidditch now!"

Jon spent the afternoon in his room reading the books he borrowed from the restricted section. He didn't even bother to have lunch or dinner. Besides, there were plenty of cakes and biscuits from the kitchen in the Hufflepuff dormitory, so he didn't go hungry.

Occlumency was more complex than he had imagined. It was no wonder that Harry, the Chosen One, struggled with it for over six months without making much progress. Jon didn't know when he would be able to overcome the challenges and succeed.

The Eye Curse[1] brought him a pleasant surprise since it was one of the few curses that didn't depend on emotions. He believed he wouldn't encounter many obstacles when learning it on his own. However, the overall execution of the spell was quite intricate, requiring dedicated practice for a period of time.

As for "Potent Potions," Jon merely skimmed through the sections on composite brews and Veritaserum. The processes involved in creating the two potions were incredibly tedious. He felt that he should attend Snape's Potions class and familiarize himself with the brewing procedures before attempting them.

...

Unbeknownst to him, the entire Saturday had passed.

Glancing at his watch, he noticed it was nearly midnight.

"Time flies so fast!" Jon muttered as he prepared to go to bed.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the dormitory window.

Jon furrowed his brow and walked over to investigate.

The noise was coming from the cages of the two South African Red Spiders.

The spiders were rattling their heads and legs, hitting against the glass, indicating their anxiety.

It was evident that they were frightened, possibly due to something lurking in the castle.

"When spiders sense the presence of a basilisk, they become afraid and attempt to escape since the basilisk is their natural enemy," Jon recalled the description of the basilisk in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

"It seems Ginny Weasley has opened the Chamber of Secrets..." Jon's expression turned solemn as he thought to himself, "The real adventure is about to begin. And it's only the first week of school."

He found an old, unused garment and covered the glass cage of the two South African Red Spiders to muffle their sounds.

Jon lay on his bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep shortly after.