In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

"After noticing your problem, some other things that you did in the past became clear."

Jon's eyes never left Slughorn's eyes, but out of the corner of his eyes, he kept his attention on the rain outside the window.

"Before the second attack happened, I guessed from the information in the newspaper that the man hiding in the wagon is trying to get the Philosopher's stone. Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore's relationship has always been very good, Hogwarts does not have any source of income but never suffered a bit of financial distress until now, there is a high probability of acquiring Nicolas Flamel's gift, the Philosopher's stone can not only make Elixir of Life, it can also turn stone into gold. The second attack later also confirmed my suspicions, both before and after attack against this wagon was in fact just a cover for the man on the wagon, the Ministry of Magic knows very well that with Dumbledore in the picture, no one can destroy this Hogwarts unless the Dark Lord himself comes. They are only providing you with the convenience to succeed in finding what they want you to find."

"What else could there be in this school besides Dumbledore that would be worthy of the attention of that man who has gained great influence over the entire wizarding world? It can only be that one and only philosopher's stone in the world!"

"But the first two times when the entire wagon was completely unguarded in every room except the great hall, that man still didn't find what he wanted. Then you started to approach that Hagrid's pet Niffler, teacher."

"After realizing that you couldn't find the philosopher's stone by yourself, you wanted Niffler's help. I also caught him a few times in front of the door of the storage room, and from that time I roughly deduced that Beech had probably found the location of the philosopher's stone, which might be inside one of the storage rooms."

"Clap ..."

Slughorn put the philosopher's stone into his pocket and gave Jon a loud applause with an expression full of praise.

"Brilliant to the core, Jon. I never thought that a freshman who is only 11 years old and has just been exposed to magic for less than a year has already learned so much. The philosopher stone, the uses of Boomslang snake skin, the effect of polyjuice potion, even if you find an adult wizard, he/she may not be able to fully understand all these things."

"I already regarded you high enough, but I didn't expect to actually underestimate you, to have a student like you is indeed a dream come true for countless teachers."

Jon looked at him with a complicated gaze.

"In that case, teacher, why are you still doing this? Isn't it good to stay at Hogwarts? You said to me when you first taught me the occlumency magic, you think staying here as a professor is actually not bad."

Slughorn still had that good old smile as he gently twirled the wand in his hand.

"When I said that, I wasn't lying to you. The time I was first tricked into boarding on this wagon by Dumbledore, I did think it would be okay to just stay here and teach, but it is impossible for people to remain the same."

His kind voice turned cold, and the smile on his face gradually tightened.

"Do you think this Hogwarts really has a future?"

Jon did not answer this question of his and did not need to answer, and Slughorn himself has given the answer.

"There is not even a tiny glimmer of a future! Yes, it is warm and harmonious here, but how long can such an illusion of peace and harmony last under the general trend? Do you know what that student of mine has been doing now? He is uniting the pureblood forces of other magical societies throughout Europe, intending to completely integrate the entire power of the European magical community! His authority is getting stronger and stronger, and this Hogwarts led by Dumbledore? After seven years of being a fugitive, he didn't even dare to leave England!"

Jon's voice also turned incredibly lukewarm.

"So just because you can't see any hope, you're going to join the wrong side?"

"There is no such thing as right and wrong." Slughorn slowly and carefully stroked Beech's furry head, "Now it's just that the resistance forces led by Dumbledore are still present, that's why you think that man's philosophy is wrong, but if you think about it in another way, he can actually bring more benefits to wizards. In the adult world, as long as the vast majority of this society gains the benefits, then the whole thing is right."

"The Dark Lord can bring greater benefits to the vast majority of wizards?" Jon couldn't help but laugh grimly, "I don't understand, teacher, who exactly does oppression and inequality bring benefits to!"

"The redistribution of benefits in society always involves a period of pain, and muggle wizards will inevitably suffer a little now, but the philosophy of that student of mine has changed a lot, he used to think that only dead muggles are good muggles, and now he can tolerate muggle wizards becoming slaves, isn't this good progress? When he gets what he wants, he will try to attract more people in order to consolidate his authority. By then, the resources of the entire magical world will become more integrated and the status of muggle wizards will be further improved, and the magical world will definitely become much better than its previous scattered existence."

In the face of Slughorn's outlook on the future of Voldemort's rule, Jon simply said in an icy tone.

"Although I'm young, I've only heard of snakes eating their food till their stomachs burst, but I never knew of a snake that would spit out the food it had stuffed into its stomach again even if it becomes too much for its body size!"

"Aha, excellent analogy, Jon." Slughorn praised, "But what if that student of mine is not a snake? The talent and heart he is showing right now can definitely be described as a great leader."

"Praising in such a manner will only make others feel ridiculed and ridiculous."

Slughorn shook his head, ending this argument between teacher and student, and quietly looked at Jon who was blocking the door.

"I've talked to you long enough, if I want to leave, are you sure you can stop me and hold on until Dumbledore come back?"

Jon who was originally a little anxious because of the wait now calmed down.

He already realized before that Slughorn must have made enough preparations for such an important task.

In fact, although he did not go directly to Dumbledore, he had already slipped a letter into the Headmaster's office.

After all, one is a nearly a hundred years old friendship, while another one just admitted as a student at Hogwarts for less than a year, so Jon believed that in Dumbledore's heart his weight is certainly not as much as Slughorn's.

After seeing the letter, it is likely that he will pay close attention to Slughorn.

This is why Jon now dared to stop the fat walrus here alone, originally he chose the safest option, to wait in the great hall, without taking a risk to make this trip.

But in the end, he could not hold back, to see whether the traitor is exactly who he suspected, the teacher who has been pouring his time and effort into him.

But even at this point, when the rainstorm outside the wagon has begun to subside, and there are signs that it is going to stop, Jon didn't see any trace of backup preparations made by Dumbledore here.

He was not sure what Dumbledore has in mind.

Perhaps he has absolute trust in Slughorn, even after seeing the letter, he did not have a hint of doubt about this old friend; perhaps he felt that the place where he kept the philosopher's stone would be foolproof and no one could find it: or perhaps there was something in the middle that he did not know about, such as the Headmaster of Hogwarts did not see the letter that he left.

But at this point, it had become clear that Jon could not count on the biggest pillar on the wagon.

If he simply did nothing to stop Slughorn's departure now, Jon believed that this teacher of his would not hurt him one bit.

But he has already come here, and in the end, if really just does nothing, how can he be reconciled?

Jon took a deep breath, his expression was firm and grave as he gripped the chestnut wand in his hand and held it up in front of his body!

"How can we know the result if we don't give it a try? Slughorn teacher."

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