Back in Hampshire, Southampton, at 86 Eastleigh Road, Jon Hart's summer vacation officially began.
On the very first day home, he tossed the green bamboo wand into the deepest part of his suitcase and wrapped it tightly in a towel.
Due to "The Trace," he couldn't use magic at home.
The Trace records magical activity by underage wizards and their surroundings. If any magical fluctuations are detected, the Improper Use of Magic Office at the Ministry of Magic immediately sends a warning letter—and in severe cases, expulsion from Hogwarts could follow. Given the density of wizards in Britain, Jon might well be the only wizard in the entire city of Southampton.
He wasn't the hero of the story—no special treatment for him. The last thing Jon wanted was to lose his wand—or worse, his memories—over some careless mistake, only to be sent back to live as an ordinary person.
Even without magic, Jon kept himself busy.
He couldn't use magic, but potion-making was still fair game...
After all, brewing potions doesn't require waving a wand or reciting incantations.
On the day he returned home, leveraging Snape's "name," Jon visited a potions shop in Diagon Alley and bought a large batch of magical ingredients along with a few more advanced books.
He also rented a small house in mid-June, about 500 yards from his home on Eastleigh Road.
There, he moved his cauldrons, glass bottles, potion ingredients, and everything else.
Since potion brewing could involve unexpected mishaps—sometimes dangerous ones—it wasn't safe to do it at home.
...
Once summer vacation began, the first thing Jon set about brewing was a fresh batch of Polyjuice Potion...
He had used quite a lot during last semester's frequent transformations, so it needed replenishing. Thanks to his previous experience, he was much more confident in preparing it this time.
At the same time, he began experimenting with brewing the "Champion Potion" and the "Enhancement Potion."
These two potions are part of the OWLs curriculum and are typically only tackled by third- or fourth-year Hogwarts students.
The Champion Potion works similarly to adrenaline, temporarily boosting a person's reflexes, speed, and strength—making spellcasting easier for wizards. However, it comes with side effects, leaving the user weakened afterward.
The Enhancement Potion is meant to be used alongside other potions, greatly amplifying their effects. For example, when combined with the Polyjuice Potion, it extends the transformation duration. With continued use, the transformation effect can be maintained without reverting to one's original form.
These two potions were the simplest Jon could find that were still practically useful—most of the ones taught in first to third-year Potions classes were little more than beginner exercises.
As for more significant potions like Felix Felicis, Veritaserum, or Love Potion... Though Jon had read about them in Moste Potente Potions, the long and intricate brewing processes were still enough to make him hesitate.
He had only just finished his first year at Hogwarts. Even with a bit of talent in Potions, it would take constant study and practice before he could delve deeper into the subject.
...
Aside from potion brewing, Jon also made some time for other preparations.
Disguised as "Varian Urien," he visited Mr. Robert Wilson's hardware store at 21 Winchester Road.
After handing over another sum of money, Jon asked Mr. Wilson to help him custom-make a batch of silver bullets.
"Silver bullets?" Mr. Wilson asked in confusion. "Silver's way too soft. Bullets made from it can't do much damage... Why do you want something so odd, Will?"
"If I told you it's to deal with werewolves, would you believe me?" said Varian Urien, half-smiling.
"Don't joke like that!" the hardware store owner chuckled, shaking his head. "There's no such thing as werewolves... What caliber are you looking for?"
"0.357 Magnum and 5.45mm pistol rounds. A bit of both!"
"Alright, I'll get them done within a month!"
There didn't seem to be much else to prepare for the 1993–1994 school year. Aside from the silver bullets, the only other item Jon considered was a high-powered flashlight—since werewolves fear bright light and silver.
But at Hogwarts, electronic devices don't work outside of the Room of Requirement, so candles would probably be more reliable.
Naturally, Jon didn't forget to grab a calendar. Referring to what he'd learned in Astronomy class, he circled all the upcoming full moons for the year.
Finally, he visited the Waitrose supermarket and picked up two bags of long-shelf-life, high-quality dog food—just in case.
All of this was moved into the small rental house and carefully stored.
...
When he wasn't brewing potions, Jon, bored out of his mind, began flipping through the little white booklet Lockhart had left him.
Although the Memory Charm was more complex than any other spell Jon had studied so far, it wasn't especially challenging from a technical standpoint.
After all, it was one of the most commonly used spells by Ministry of Magic employees.
But the Memory Charm used by Gilderoy Lockhart was clearly in a different league.
For Ministry workers, the charm only needed to erase a Muggle's memories from the past few hours.
Lockhart, however, needed to erase memories spanning years—even decades—in order to steal someone's achievements.
It wasn't merely a matter of scope. If you crudely wiped away several years of someone's memory, even the dullest person would quickly sense something was wrong.
One exposure like that, and Lockhart's whole reputation would've been destroyed...
That's why Lockhart's method involved first crafting an entirely false set of memories and then swapping them in for the ones he wanted to erase.
By altering the target's memories this way, he ensured they wouldn't feel anything was amiss.
Naturally, this method was far more difficult and complex than standard practice.
Had he been at school, Jon probably wouldn't have spent much time on such a niche spell (he had no intention of becoming a fraud like Lockhart, after all).
But with magic off-limits and few books at hand, he was too bored not to dive into it. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to memorize the contents of the white booklet.
Thankfully, Lockhart had included a lot of markings and notes, making the material much easier to understand.
After a month of effort, Jon felt he had a decent grasp of the Memory Charm... though without a chance to test it, he wasn't sure how deep his understanding really was.