Ten minutes later, Jon Hart emerged from Slughorn Castle with a grave expression.
"How did it go?" Diana Greengrass had been waiting anxiously outside. Seeing Jon's body return to its normal size, she hurriedly asked.
Jon nodded at her, then cast a meaningful glance toward the gate.
Mrs. Greengrass immediately understood. She raised her voice and called out, "We'll be taking our leave now, Professor Slughorn."
Without waiting for a response—or for Slughorn to come out of the castle—Mrs. Greengrass led Jon away in haste from the Muggle residence.
Outside the house, the phoenix Fawkes was wandering leisurely through the garden, searching for anything edible. When she spotted Jon and Mrs. Greengrass emerge, she flapped her wings and flew over.
"Everything settled?" Mrs. Greengrass asked again.
"Yes," Jon replied, nodding weakly, exhaustion clear in his voice.
The next moment, his vision went dark, and he collapsed to the ground.
...
For the past twenty-four hours, Jon had remained inside Slughorn Castle's Potions laboratory, brewing Felix Felicis together with that short, stout old man.
Combined with the half day before that, Jon had gone more than thirty hours without closing his eyes.
In front of Slughorn, he had forced himself to stay alert, committing every step—and even every word—related to "Horcruxes" firmly to memory.
But once he parted ways with Slughorn, the tension left him in one sudden rush, and he completely lost consciousness.
After an unknown length of time—
Jon struggled to open his eyes. All he could see was a wash of pink. Beneath him was something soft—likely a comfortable bed—and the air carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.
"This should be a safe place," Jon thought to himself.
He closed his eyes again, recalling what had happened earlier.
According to his original plan, he hadn't been confident at all about winning the Potions wager against Slughorn.
After all, Horace Slughorn was regarded as one of the finest Potions Masters in all of Britain. Competing with him meant Jon's chances were slim.
His fallback plan had been to reveal the Slytherin locket after losing the wager—using it to intimidate Slughorn and force the truth out of him.
When it came to intimidation, pretending to be Voldemort's subordinate was far more effective than posing as Dumbledore's man.
Members of the Order of the Phoenix tended to act openly and uprightly; a man as cunning as Slughorn would have countless ways to respond and little reason to fear them.
Only Death Eaters—those who casually resorted to the Cruciatus Curse or threatened to wipe out your entire family—could truly frighten Slughorn into speaking honestly.
That Slytherin locket bore heavy traces of Voldemort's dark magic, and the physical damage to its exterior had already been temporarily repaired by Jon. As Voldemort's former teacher, Slughorn would certainly recognize that dark magic.
Unless he immediately realized it was a destroyed Horcrux—which was unlikely, given that Slughorn himself had never made one—he would probably assume it was a "token" Voldemort had given to Jon.
Add to that the name Tom Riddle, along with the badge Jon possessed from the Knights of Walpurgis—a proto–Death Eater organization that had existed during Voldemort's school days, one Slughorn was likely familiar with—and the illusion would be complete.
Step by step, Jon could make Slughorn believe he was Voldemort's man. Then, by subtly conveying the Dark Lord's disappointment at Slughorn joining the Order of the Phoenix and becoming a Hogwarts professor, he might scare him into compliance.
With a suitable pretext, Jon could then ask about the detailed process of creating a Horcrux, possibly extracting everything he needed.
The problem was that this plan offered no guarantee that Slughorn would tell the full truth. If he held something back or lied at a crucial step, the one who would pay the price could be Astoria.
Fortunately, Jon's luck had held. Through a small trick during the wager, he had secured victory.
With an Unbreakable Vow in place, Slughorn had no possibility of lying. There was no need to resort to that extremely risky backup plan.
Still, the steps Slughorn described for creating a Horcrux…
Were unimaginably difficult.
...
Steeling himself, Jon opened his eyes.
"Jon?" Astoria Greengrass's voice came from nearby.
She was sitting on the floor beside the bed, lifting her head with visible delight.
Jon carefully looked around and finally understood why everything had seemed pink earlier. He was in Astoria's room, lying on her small bed.
"You're finally awake," Astoria said with a smile. "You were sleeping so soundly earlier—I really couldn't bear to wake you."
"Your mother left me here?" Jon asked in disbelief.
What kind of mother leaves a strange man on her daughter's bed? He couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
"N-no…" Astoria's face flushed slightly as she lowered her head. "Mother was going to have Hod prepare a temporary room for you, but I suggested…"
"Alright," Jon said briskly as he climbed out of bed and started getting dressed.
Astoria quickly turned her back to him.
"…Hod helped you change clothes earlier."
...
Once dressed, Jon packed everything he needed into his suitcase.
"You're leaving already?" Astoria asked softly, disappointment evident in her voice. "Won't you rest a bit longer… or at least stay for dinner?"
"Yes. I need to hurry," Jon said seriously, nodding. "We don't have much time left."
As he spoke, he took the crystal vial filled with golden liquid from his pocket and pressed it into Astoria's hand.
"This is…" Astoria murmured.
"A potion that brings good luck," Jon whispered. "Keep it with you at all times. If you ever feel something's wrong with your body, drink it. It might help."
"Mhm." Astoria nodded earnestly, slipping the vial into her most secure inner pocket.
Then she asked softly, "Jon, where are you going? When will you come back… can you tell me?"
"First to Austria," Jon replied honestly. "Then Albania. As for when I'll be back… I'm sorry. I don't know."
"Is it dangerous?" Astoria asked, her face full of worry.
"Don't worry. It's not," Jon said with a smile. He gently patted her head, then turned and left her room.