The House-elf Hod of Greengrass Manor led Jon down into one of the estate's basements.
The basement had originally been piled high with discarded furniture. Jon and Hod spent some time clearing everything into a corner... then turned the space into a simple, makeshift "potions laboratory."
Jon carried a fair number of commonly used ingredients in his suitcase, along with cauldrons, knives, crystal vials, and other potion-making tools. As for the few materials he lacked, the House-elf Hod helped him locate them in Greengrass Manor's storage rooms.
It had to be said—at least in matters like this, the House-elves truly treated him as a member of House Greengrass.
For the next several hours, Jon stayed in the temporary "potions laboratory," brewing several potions that weren't particularly complex but were highly practical.
House-elf Hod acted as his assistant.
One of them was the "Draught of the Living Dead," a powerful sleeping potion also known as the "Draught of Living Death."
Even creatures with extremely high magical resistance, such as dragons or Giants, would be affected to some degree. Jon brewed it using the improved steps he remembered from the original Half-Blood Prince, resulting in better quality and stronger effects.
There was also the "Skywalk Potion." After drinking it, a wizard's body would become lighter for a short time, allowing them to fly through the air briefly... a remarkably useful potion whether at home, on a journey, or during an expedition.
And then there was the "Potent Confusing Concoction." It didn't even need to be consumed—simply inhaling a small amount was enough to make the target agitated, reckless, and irritable. It was especially effective against humanoid creatures with lower intelligence.
Clearly, all of these potions were meant to deal with Giants. Since he had the time now, preparing them in advance could only help.
During the brewing process, Astoria quietly came by to watch Jon for a while (with the House-elf Emily accompanying her the entire time—or rather, keeping an eye on her).
She watched as Jon, his body heavy with fatigue, carefully added ingredients to the cauldron one by one. The House-elf Hod assisted him from the side, providing help whenever needed. As a well-trained House-elf steward, Hod possessed a solid foundation in potion-making.
Astoria simply observed in silence, not disturbing them... After about half an hour, urged by House-elf Emily, she left somewhat reluctantly and returned to her room.
Several hours later, Jon carefully sealed the final "Smoke Potion" into a crystal vial. Once this potion came into contact with flame, it would release violent, foul-smelling smoke that both obscured vision and drove away certain magical creatures. It was an excellent potion for making an escape.
At that moment, a sudden noise came from outside the manor.
Jon raised his head in confusion and glanced at Hod.
"It's the lady," Hod explained. "She's back."
A loud, echoing crack followed as he Disapparated.
...
Lady Diana Greengrass, now reinstated to her former position, was still serving as Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic. There were even rumors that Minister Bones greatly admired her and was eager to promote her to an even more important role.
She should have left work several hours earlier that evening to return home and keep her poor little daughter company—
However, a major incident had occurred earlier that night, prompting the Misinformation Office under the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to convene an emergency meeting. As a result, she had no choice but to stay at the Ministry and attend.
The Misinformation Office was only mobilized when conflicts between the wizarding world and the Muggle world reached their most severe level.
Generally speaking, when extremely conspicuous incidents caused by magic occurred—incidents that couldn't be concealed from Muggles without assistance from the Ministry—the Misinformation Office would contact the Muggle Prime Minister to discuss how to fabricate a superficially plausible, non-magical explanation.
Meetings like that were mentally exhausting.
When the weary Mrs. Greengrass returned to the manor's drawing room, she casually glanced at the large clock on the wall, her expression shifting slightly.
"Hod... Hod!" she called, her tone faintly stern.
With another loud, echoing crack, the House-elf Hod Apparated in front of her.
"There's a guest at the manor?" Mrs. Greengrass asked calmly. "Didn't I say no outsiders were to be allowed in during this time?"
"The visitor isn't an outsider," Hod explained quickly. "It's Mr. Hart..."
"Hart? Jon Hart?" Mrs. Greengrass's face immediately lit up. She exclaimed, "He's back? Where is he—Astoria's room?"
"He's in a basement downstairs," Hod replied with a smile. "He was just brewing several potions."
"Quick, which room? Take me to him!" Lady Greengrass said without hesitation.
"The basement with the discarded furniture, my lady. Please follow me."
...
Jon was still carefully packing the freshly brewed potions into his suitcase, stowing away the leftover ingredients from the table and cleaning the cauldrons and knives.
The basement door burst open with a bang. Jon turned around to see Lady Greengrass "My lady," Jon greeted promptly, bowing with respectful composure.
At the same time, he noticed that the usually calm and unruffled expression on Mrs. Greengrass's face carried a hint of fatigue and irritation today.
"Jon… how is it?" Mrs. Greengrass asked urgently. "About the Horcrux…"
This concerned her daughter's life and death. She cared deeply, her emotions running high. Over the past period, she had been unable to obtain any news about the boy before her, leaving her on the brink of despair.
"The progress has been fairly smooth," Jon replied calmly as he closed his suitcase. "I've already obtained the most crucial material required for the Horcrux… Right now, it's in Astoria's room. I asked her to keep it safe."
"A branch from the Soul Tree…" Mrs. Greengrass said softly. "That's not something easily obtained. Jon, you've worked hard these days."
"It's nothing," Jon shook his head lightly. "And you, Madam? How are things on your end?"
"My side is mostly settled as well," Mrs. Greengrass nodded with a faint smile. "I've successfully 'persuaded' several of Azkaban's head wardens and even become their friend…"
As she spoke, she made a subtle gesture mimicking the flick of a gold coin, then added, "Of course, with Professor Dumbledore's tacit approval as well…"
"…Now, if you wish, I can take an Azkaban prisoner out at any time, briefly remove them from that prison, kill them, return the body, and let the Dementors extract the soul. Even the most infamous Death Eaters—Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood—I can bring any of them out."
"Madam, thank you for your help…"
"I'm saving my daughter. Why would you thank me?" Lady Greengrass smiled faintly, then lowered her voice. "So now, Jon… can we begin?"
...
Yes. By all appearances, everything was finally in place.
All the materials needed to create a Horcrux had been gathered, and Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange—whose hands were stained with countless lives—possessed souls strong enough for the task.
Had this been a few days earlier, following the original plan, Jon would already have begun creating the Horcrux for Astoria.
However, after receiving Madame Maxime's hint and hearing Hagrid's account—learning that the Giants possessed a method for precisely separating souls—Jon had no choice but to put his previous plan on hold.
After all, Grindelwald had warned him that relying solely on a Horcrux to split a blood-curse soul was extraordinarily difficult. Using that method, the chances of saving Astoria were extremely low.
If he could master the Giants' precise soul-separation technique, however, the success rate would undoubtedly rise significantly.
There were at most five months left before Astoria's condition erupted… which made this well worth trying.
"What is it? Did something unexpected happen?" Lady Greengrass asked softly.
"No. Actually, it's good news," Jon forced a faint smile. Starting from Madame Maxime's subtle hints and continuing through Hagrid's story, he recounted everything to Mrs. Greengrass in detail.
"So that means…" Mrs. Greengrass murmured.
"If we can find out where the Giants are and locate them," Jon said solemnly, "then the chances of saving Astoria might increase."
Lady Greengrass's expression shifted slightly, as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.
"Do you… know something about the Giants?" Jon asked, startled.
Mrs. Greengrass nodded gently. "Yes… and I only learned about it a few hours ago."
...
"A few hours ago?" Jon was completely baffled. "I don't quite understand…"
"A few hours ago, the Misinformation Office convened an emergency meeting," Mrs. Greengrass said gravely. "That office is only mobilized when the conflict between the magical world and the Muggle world reaches its worst—when it's impossible to conceal the truth from Muggles without the Ministry's intervention. The last time it was activated was fifteen years ago, during You-Know-Who's previous rampage."
"It was about… the Giants… wasn't it?" Jon asked haltingly.
"Yes. Just a few hours ago, a terrifying disaster struck Lancashire and Cheshire," Mrs. Greengrass nodded. "Trees were uprooted, countless roofs torn away, road signs bent out of shape, and there were massive casualties… Our final decision was to have the Muggle Prime Minister tell the public it was a super hurricane sweeping across western England."
"…But in reality…" Mrs. Greengrass pressed her lips together. "It was the Death Eaters. And overwhelming evidence shows they drove Giants to carry out this horrific destruction."
"So…" Jon felt his thoughts descend into chaos. "Giants appeared in western England just a few hours ago?"
"I'm certain of it," Mrs. Greengrass nodded.
"May I… have a moment alone, Madam…" Jon's voice trembled slightly.
Mrs. Greengrass nodded silently. She exchanged a glance with the House-elf Hod, and the two of them withdrew from the basement.
...
Left alone in the basement, Jon Hart felt no joy or excitement at all. Instead, he was overwhelmed by shock… and even fear.
Yes—just hours after he had desperately needed to learn the Giants' whereabouts—
The Giants under Voldemort's command had suddenly launched a senseless act of destruction… only a few hundred miles from where he was now.
When he thought of Daphne's earlier letter, and the message Professor Horace Slughorn had passed on to him—
Jon suddenly felt lost, a deep, instinctive fear rising from within.
He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Then Jon bent over, opened his suitcase, and took out an ancient, exquisitely crafted portrait.
"Phineas… Phineas…" he murmured softly.
"Headmaster Phineas Black, I need your help."