After paying Mr. Ollivander eight Galleons, Jon took his wand and hurried off.
Although he had spent over an hour in Ollivander's wand shop, he was quite satisfied with the wand he got.
Made of bamboo, it felt especially comfortable in his hand. Its flexibility and durability far exceeded that of ordinary wood—so much so that it could even serve as a melee weapon in emergencies.
Next, he found Eric at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions... Eric had already bought most of the items on his list.
He was carrying a large bag filled with clothes: three sets of plain work robes (black), a plain pointed hat for daytime wear (black), a pair of protective gloves (made of dragon-hide or similar materials), and a winter cloak. There was also a large cauldron (tin, standard size 2), a set of small crystal potion bottles, a telescope, and a brass balance.
The only thing left to buy was the textbooks.
Jon opened the list:
Standard Book of Spells, Beginner's Edition by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
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
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
A Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
Thirteen textbooks in total. Jon felt a headache coming on... especially with Lockhart's stack of "works" at the end—each of them absurdly expensive, totaling over twenty Galleons.
Still, there was no choice. Gritting his teeth, Jon added the entire pile to his shopping basket. He couldn't very well go to school without textbooks...
He also picked up three extracurricular books: The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Barachus.
After buying all that, he had less than forty Galleons left out of the hundred he started with... Had his funds not been so tight, Jon definitely would've grabbed a few more books on Dark Arts defense and potion-making.
Luckily, Hogwarts didn't charge tuition or boarding fees, and as a first-year student, he wouldn't be allowed to visit Hogsmeade. Forty Galleons should last him the year.
He politely declined Eric's suggestion to buy an owl (which cost ten Galleons)—poverty makes one rational, after all.
...
During his last month at 86 Eastleigh Road, Jon buried himself in that pile of magical books.
He flipped through all thirteen, including those so-called "adventure novels" written by Gilderoy Lockhart.
He had transformed the smallest room in the house into an animal room, where he kept several cages of lab mice.
There was a small loophole in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery: it didn't apply to young wizards who had obtained their wands but hadn't officially started school (and who weren't registered by the Ministry of Magic).
So Jon exploited that gap and spent the month freely practicing spells at home with his wand.
Unfortunately, the results... left much to be desired.
On the night of August 31, Jon stood in the animal room with his wand in hand.
"Stupefy!" He raised his wand and pointed it at one of the mouse cages.
The Stunning Spell—commonly used by both the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix—was a very practical incantation, capable of temporarily knocking a target unconscious. It could even work against giants and dragons. Jon had learned it from the final pages of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
With the Unforgivable Curses strictly banned at this stage, the Stunning Spell was undoubtedly one of the most powerful offensive spells available.
A faint red light flashed and struck the white mouse inside the cage.
"Squeak..." The mouse gave a startled cry and shifted slightly... but that was all.
Jon gave a helpless smile. That was the best result he'd achieved all summer. If this spell had hit an enemy, it would've done little more than tickle them.
The Stunning Spell, like most spells, was easy to cast—but hard to master.
Many spells in this world didn't require deep academic study but were instead heavily reliant on the caster's emotions.
To use an Unforgivable Curse, one had to be truly ruthless. To cast the Patronus Charm, one had to summon genuine happiness. Likewise, to cast the Stunning Spell effectively, the caster needed a sincere desire to knock the target out.
Jon often thought that if he lived in the DND universe, he wouldn't be a wizard—he'd be a sorcerer.
Due to his emotional maturity, Jon rarely experienced strong emotional swings; ironically, that stability hindered his ability to cast many spells.
Still, it wasn't like he couldn't use any of them.
Raising his wand again, Jon aimed at the little white mouse.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
In an instant, the mouse's expression and movements froze—it looked like it had turned to stone, only its eyes darting about wildly.
The Body-Bind Curse didn't depend on emotional drive, and even young wizards could cast it well. After a month of practice, Jon had it down.
But the spell had its flaws—there was a noticeable delay between hitting the target and full paralysis. If the opponent reacted quickly, they could break free and retaliate.
Putting away his wand, Jon cast a nostalgic look around the animal room.
Tomorrow, he would leave for Hogwarts, and this room would be useless until he turned seventeen.
He walked to the corner of the room and found a nearly forgotten glass cage.
Inside lay two red South African spiders, quiet and still, surrounded by the remains of mealworms and crickets.
These 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 packed it in his suitcase.
Next to the box was a small bag of realgar he'd purchased from a pharmacy.
There was also a rooster-shaped alarm clock—one he had recently bought at a supermarket in Southampton. Supposedly, it played a recording of a rooster crowing when it rang. Jon had even brought extra batteries.
With everything ready, Jon climbed into bed and soon drifted off to sleep...