After placing the sleeping Astoria back in her bed, Jon stepped out of her room.
He retraced his steps back to the dining hall of Greengrass Manor.
But at the entrance to the dining room, Jon paused… because he spotted a Phoenix curled up in the corner. It lifted its head pitifully and shot him a sorrowful glance, as if silently complaining, Why do you get to feast inside while I'm left starving out here?
Jon let out an awkward chuckle and murmured softly, "Sorry, I—"
The Phoenix immediately tucked its head back under its wings, pretending it hadn't heard a single word.
"Fine. When we get back, I'll let you eat as much as you want," Jon said, steeling himself.
Fawkes instantly popped her head out from beneath her wings, blinking rapidly at Jon as if to confirm whether he truly meant it. The miserable, aggrieved look from before vanished without a trace.
"Who did you learn that from?" Jon muttered helplessly.
Seeing how impatient the Phoenix looked, he could only wave at her gently. "All right, all right. Once I finish one more thing, you can eat your fill."
The Phoenix nodded vigorously, then flapped her wings, looking as though she were ready to charge through fire and blades without hesitation.
"Let's go. It's time to leave this place," Jon said, bending down to gently stroke her head.
Fawkes took off at once. Clearly, she couldn't wait to escape this "den of injustice" where she'd been left hungry.
"You remember the way we came, right… good. Take me to the reception hall," Jon whispered.
Fawkes nodded and flew ahead, with Jon following behind as they headed toward the manor's reception hall.
...
"Jon!" Mrs. Diana Greengrass was already waiting in the reception hall. She had changed into a white knitted top and a black skirt, her appearance simple, elegant, and perfectly appropriate.
"Ma'am," Jon said, stopping in front of her.
"Sit for a moment first." Mrs. Greengrass took out her wand, and two teacups flew out from a cabinet and hovered before her. "Would you like something to drink… black tea, green tea, or milk tea?"
"Black tea, please," Jon replied casually.
Both cups instantly filled with black tea, one of them drifting toward Jon.
He took it and sipped lightly.
Mrs. Greengrass drank from her own cup and asked, "How is Astoria?"
"She's asleep now, and her emotions are stable," Jon replied calmly. "Keeping her emotionally steady is crucial. It gives me more time."
"I know. I've been doing that all these years," Mrs. Greengrass said quietly. "And I'll continue to do everything I can."
"I'm sorry…" Jon suddenly recalled his own "sudden disappearance" a year ago, which had caused Astoria tremendous emotional distress. Perhaps the sudden flare-up of her condition had something to do with that.
"This has nothing to do with you." Mrs. Greengrass shook her head. "Didn't you ask me earlier to take you to see someone? Shall we leave now?"
"That was my intention as well," Jon nodded.
"Who do you want to see?" Mrs. Greengrass asked again.
Jon answered with a solemn expression, "Hogwarts' new Potions professor—Horace Slughorn."
...
Jon knew of only two wizards who might understand the complete process of creating Horcruxes.
The first was Voldemort himself. He had personally created six Horcruxes, and the remains of four of them were still inside Jon's trunk. But seeking Voldemort's guidance was utterly unrealistic. Given Voldemort's power and cunning, it was unreasonable to expect the Order of the Phoenix or the Ministry of Magic to capture him anytime soon.
The second wizard was Voldemort's teacher: Professor Horace Slughorn. Part of Voldemort's knowledge of Horcruxes came from Unveiling the Secrets of the Darkest Art, a book currently in Jon's trunk, while the other part had come directly from Professor Slughorn.
Extracting information from Professor Slughorn would be difficult. He was an outstanding Occlumens and a Potions master; neither Legilimency nor Veritaserum could be relied upon. On top of that, his expertise in memory magic was equally formidable—long ago, he had already altered that shameful memory in private.
In the original story, Dumbledore and Harry Potter had gone to great lengths just to obtain a memory in which he admitted teaching Voldemort how to create Horcruxes… and what Jon sought, however, was the complete process, which would be far more difficult.
Professor Slughorn had one clear weakness: he loved associating with famous and influential wizards. As a former high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic and also a former student of Professor Slughorn, Mrs. Diana Greengrass might have a connection with him.
"Horace Slughorn?" Mrs. Greengrass paused slightly, then said with a hint of mockery, "Our slug-like Head of House?"
"Are you… fairly familiar with him?" Jonne asked tentatively.
"Not during our school days. He favored that Evans girl from Gryffindor, while I was someone he completely ignored," Mrs. Greengrass shrugged. "But when I became Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, he was the very first to send me a letter of congratulations."
"That sounds… rather opportunistic."
"The Slughorn family's way of survival," Mrs. Greengrass said with a smile. "They're among the oldest wizarding families in Britain. They never take sides, always remain neutral, avoid getting involved in disputes, and make sure not to offend any wizard with potential."
She continued, "You came to the right person. He wrote to me just a few days ago, saying he would soon be returning to Hogwarts to teach. He even asked whether I and my two daughters needed him to look after us a bit."
"Did you reply?" Jon asked quickly.
"Not yet," Mrs. Greengrass replied calmly. "So paying him a visit now wouldn't be considered abrupt."
"That's wonderful…" Jon couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
"Then let's set off now." Mrs. Greengrass nodded, then turned to ask, "Jon, can you Apparate?"
"Not yet… although…" Jon said hesitantly.
"That's fine. Just take my arm." Mrs. Greengrass extended her right hand gracefully toward him.