Chapter 19 19 The End Is in that Castle

Chapter 19 19. The destination is in the castle

The carriage without horses is like a big ship riding the wind and waves. The rice fields bent by the wind rise and fall one after another, and there is indeed a taste of waves.

"Do we have a destination?"

Jon sat on the bench on the couch, and his head was just at the position of Hagrid's chin, but this height allowed him to see the scenery in the distance above the wooden cabinet in front of him.

Hagrid heard Jon's question, with a nostalgic smile on his face, and his rough voice was unexpectedly very soft.

"I asked Dumbledore the same question when I first drove this carriage. He told me: The moment we set foot on this carriage, there is only one destination for this journey, that is, to return to the Hogwarts Castle that originally belonged to us."

The breeze blew up Jon's bangs on his forehead, and he showed a happy smile on his face. He raised his hand holding the teacup gently, as if he was saluting someone in the air.

"Very poetic answer, I like it!"

"Oh, yes, when I heard him say that, I almost cried. Well, actually I have already cried."

"Don't you feel bored driving a carriage here alone?"

"Sometimes it is a bit, but it's okay, I have Biqi to accompany me, and I have named each of the Thestrals in front. I almost forgot, you should not be able to see these lovely guys, the horses pulling us are called Thestrals, a magical animal, only those who have seen death with their own eyes can see them."

Jon really can't see the appearance of the Thestrals. He has never seen a scene of someone dying in front of him in his two lives. He died once, but it doesn't seem to help him really see death, so that he can see the full picture of the Thestrals.

"What kind of horses are they?"

"Black, with heads that look more like dragons, thin bodies, and a pair of wings like bats. They are Pegasus. But we can't let them take us flying. It's not that we can't fly, but compared to the ground, the Ministry of Magic has stricter control over the sky. If we fly in the sky, we will easily become the target of those Aurors and Death Eaters."

"Can they run all the time without rest?"

"Of course not. There are eight Thestrals pulling the carriage in front of us, but there are more than 20 Thestrals in Hogwarts. They are kept alone in a room with grass and open air. Every week, the Thestrals will have a shift. When they are not working, they will get enough rest time and meat. Pulling a carriage is equivalent to going out for activities for them. Their life is much more comfortable than ours."

Hagrid was very interested in popularizing these magical animals-related knowledge to Jon. As he spoke, he took out a plate of small cakes from the cabinet and put them in Jon's hands.

"Try it, Jon. I made this in the kitchen at night. My specialty is rock cakes. Unfortunately, you came at an inopportune time. I've already eaten up the last bit of stock this morning."

"Thank you, but I'm full, Hagrid."

Jon really couldn't eat the plate of cream honey cake. His appetite was not big, and this cake was only a small cake compared to Hagrid. For him, who was only 11 years old, it was not small at all.

Beech, who was lying in Hagrid's pocket, seemed to be drooling over the cake in Jon's hand. Jon put the cake in front of it without any grudges. It was not polite at all and jumped directly onto the plate. With two paws, it swirled the cream on it into its mouth.

Jon chatted with Hagrid for a while here, and then it was ready to leave soon.

He didn't have anything else to do in the afternoon, but if Neville and the others didn't see him after lunch, they might report his disappearance to the professor.

Hagrid did not try to keep him, but sincerely invited him to come to the front of the carriage to chat with him anytime when he was free, and then he helped Jon open the door to the back carriage and sent him in.

It was rare to breathe fresh air, and Jon was in a good mood walking on the corridor. He did not plan to go to the restaurant again. Hagrid's small cake and black tea were enough to fill his stomach, and he planned to go directly back to the dormitory to wait for Neville to come back from dinner.

Just as he passed by the storage room, a fat figure happened to come out of it.

Slughorn had a lot of things in his hands. He was holding a large box of pineapple candied fruit in his arms, a bag of toffee in his mouth, and two large bottles of lemonade-like drinks were controlled by the floating spell.

Jon looked at the busy professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class and asked hesitantly.

"Uh, professor, do you need help?"

"Aha!"

At the same time that Slughorn spoke in surprise, the toffee in his mouth just fell down, and Jon subconsciously caught it in his hand below.

"You've come at the right time, Jon. The students have all gone to eat, and I can't find anyone to help. Come on, take this bag of candy and follow me, maybe I can give you a few."

This somewhat snobbish professor treated Jon well, because he was very impressed by the History of Magic homework Jon handed in last week, and his performance in the defense class was also remarkable, so Slughorn included Jon in the list of students who could be taken care of like Neville Ron.

Justin and Lavender, who were mediocre in talent and had ordinary backgrounds, were not included in this list.

Jon followed Slughorn with the bag of toffee that would last him more than a year if he ate it all by himself, muttering to himself that it was no wonder he had such a body shape since he loved sweets so much.

Slughorn's office was not far from the storage room, and it seemed like he had deliberately chosen such a room.

The furnishings in the office were simple, with only a set of desks and chairs, and a row of bookshelves. On the wall were many photos of him and other wizards. Those photos that were blinking and smiling at him looked like celebrities, but Jon didn't recognize any of them.

"Just put it here, don't laugh at me for liking these at my age. This is my only hobby. One of the conditions Dumbledore offered to recruit me here was to have as many desserts as he could. Fortunately, he didn't lie to me about this."

Slughorn put the things away, invited Jon to sit down, and poured him a cup of black tea, as if he was just taking this opportunity to talk to him about homework.

"The Defense assignment you handed in last week was very well done, Jon. Your understanding of the Dark Curses was very clever."