Preparing for Hogwarts: The Journey Begins

When there were only two weeks left before heading to Hogwarts, Jon finally moved into his own exclusive old house. Along with him came his textbooks, clothes, owl, cousin Bella, and a pile of old books he found in a bookstore in Diagon Alley for two Galleons. He also had some magical items from the Smith family vault in Gringotts, which were now displayed in Jon's study, along with his house-elf, Calaidi.

The enslavement curse on this house-elf had been transferred to Jon, but when he first saw it, he felt that the elf had not been treated well in its previous owner's house. It looked thin and quiet. Jon put in a lot of effort to bring Calaidi to a state where they could communicate normally. Using such a precious magical creature as a slave seemed like a waste.

So, besides doing household chores and providing meals, Calaidi also served as Jon's practice partner for magic. Although Jon knew many spells, his spellcasting ability was incredibly weak. Magic seemed simple, but actually performing it was difficult. The successful use of magic depended heavily on the abilities of the wizard. Jon followed the instructions in the books almost perfectly, with Bella's assistance, but he still couldn't even perform a basic levitation spell.

How did Hermione Granger manage to master most of the first-year magic in just one month? With these questions filling his mind, Jon became even more diligent in his training. He became completely immersed in practicing magic and couldn't pull himself away. Luckily, hard work always pays off. Jon's innate talent for learning, developed in his previous life, allowed him to excel in any magic he learned. He could even extrapolate and experiment with different applications of a spell in various situations, just like when Ron used the levitation spell to knock down the troll in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Thanks, rote education.

In just half a month, thanks to Jon's relentless efforts, he finally mastered most of the first-year spells, and he also had a decent understanding of Transfiguration and Potions. Bella expressed some degree of confusion and disbelief about his efforts because she had never encountered any problems in her studies at Ravenclaw. Even if her grades were just average, she had never faced any difficulties in her studies.

Bella couldn't fathom why a pre-enrollment wizard would work so hard to practice spells. Was he afraid he wouldn't graduate? Jon naturally wouldn't reveal the true reason for his actions. He was simply preparing for the dark times that lay ahead. What if he didn't survive long enough for Harry Potter to defeat Voldemort? With Bella being two years ahead of him, by the time Voldemort would return, she would already be graduating from her seventh year, and she could stay at home and avoid any danger.

Jon was well aware that his maternal grandmother, Carolina Yang, was a powerful witch. Another reason was that the knowledge stored in his mind was dangerous for him as well. Just in case, he had to learn Occlumency, and he also had to master the Disillusionment Charm, a necessary spell for nocturnal activities.

It was so difficult for him! Jon's pen paused on the paper, leaving a blot of ink. He tried to organize his jumbled thoughts, tore the dirty page of notes, and threw it into the wastebasket. He had cast protective spells on his study, making it difficult for anyone but him and the house-elf Calaidi to enter easily. This was to prevent Bella from seeing certain magic books, as all those books invariably involved unforgivable curses. When the house-elf helped him clean the trash, it would use magic to destroy everything, ensuring that any written words Jon had written wouldn't be discovered by anyone, even if they were written in simplified Chinese characters.

...

If it were up to Jon, entering Hogwarts at this time wouldn't be a particularly good thing. After all, he didn't know much about the first-year students, except for the Asian girl named Autumn Zhang, who was dating Harry Potter. He had to be careful when interacting with his classmates to avoid revealing anything.

Thus, an image of a reclusive, eccentric, book-loving, and average-performing young wizard formed in Jon's mind. Hey? Isn't this the image of a witch from my past life?

Jon sighed silently and placed his notebook into a small leather trunk. The trunk had been expanded magically and lightened using spells, and it contained everything he needed for school and a few practical outfits. It wasn't too heavy to carry, avoiding the trouble of lugging around a large trunk for Jon. Bella also had a similar trunk, but Jon's was the one his mother used when she was young. It was a durable LV trunk with a timeless design.

In a couple of days, it would be the first day of school, and Jon was still somewhat excited. Setting aside the frustrating issues from earlier, Hogwarts was undoubtedly a sacred place for learning magic. The library and the Room of Requirement held a vast collection of magical books, and each professor at Hogwarts was highly skilled in magic, except for Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor during Harry Potter's second year, who was just a fraud when it came to the Memory Charm.

However, a fraud wouldn't have been so successful, so there must have been something outstanding about him. Jon did seek advice from that professor on Memory Charms, as these magic spells related to memory were quite complex and difficult to learn on his own. But of course, that was something to consider two years later.

After double-checking the items he needed to bring, Jon stored a few of his own books and an old set of cauldrons into a small compartment inside a ring on his finger. This ring was a treasure from the Smith family vault, similar to the storage rings found in Chinese novels. The silver ring had a tiny hidden compartment, and with the space expansion and weight reduction spells, it provided a cubic space about the size of a fist, making it convenient for carrying small items.

"Jon! Are you ready? We're leaving!" Bella's voice came from downstairs. She had come to call Jon for their departure. Tonight, they would travel through the Floo Network to Greenwich and then proceed to King's Cross Station from there.

"Alright, I'll be right down," Jon replied. He locked the door to his study, glanced at Bella in her flowing water-spun gown downstairs, and solemnly explained to Calaidi, who was by his side, the instructions for when he was not at home. For example, to prevent Muggle intrusion and keep others from entering the practice room and study, not even his parents were allowed in.

Calaidi earnestly assured Jon that they would not disappoint their master's expectations, and then watched as Jon left. This was the night before Jon's journey to Hogwarts, five years before the storm would hit the wizarding world.