"Professor... Professor Dumbledore..." Jon ran out the front door, having thrown on a long robe and grabbed his wand. "I'm ready!"
Albus Dumbledore was waiting for him outside.
"Very efficient, Jon." Dumbledore pulled a silver lighter-like object from his pocket and flicked it open.
With a click, the nearest streetlamp lit up with a soft pop.
"That's much better!" Dumbledore said, then asked, "How did you do in your Flying class?"
Jon had a feeling Dumbledore was teasing him, but he could only answer honestly, "Terrible, Professor..."
"Oh, is that so..." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, yes—Rolanda mentioned something about that two weeks ago. It didn't sound great... In that case..."
He rummaged through his cloak pocket and pulled out a rather unattractive-looking wand.
Without uttering a spell, he simply waved it. A stream of silver smoke drifted from the wand's tip, and within seconds, it coalesced into a silvery-white, translucent creature—almost ghostlike.
More precisely, it was a phoenix.
"Hold onto its leg, Jon!" Dumbledore's Phoenix Patronus hovered in front of him.
Jon froze for a moment, then reached out hesitantly.
To his surprise, his hand didn't pass through it. Instead, he felt something slick and cold—he was actually holding its leg.
This couldn't be normal magic... Since when could a Patronus take solid form?
"What kind of spell is this, Professor?" Jon asked, feigning confusion.
"A Patronus," Dumbledore replied calmly. "A manifestation of your inner self—a guardian summoned by positive emotions. It's quite advanced magic."
"Patronuses... they can actually have physical form?" Jon asked in surprise. "Can they fight alongside us?"
As soon as he said it, he realized he'd slipped up. As a first-year student, he shouldn't know anything about Patronuses—let alone ask whether they had a physical form while clutching one's leg.
Luckily, Dumbledore didn't seem to notice.
"Indeed," the Headmaster nodded. "But conjuring a corporeal Patronus is extremely difficult. Though I say it with humility, only a rare few can manage it."
Just as he finished speaking, Jon felt his feet lift off the ground. He was soaring into the sky.
Dumbledore followed right behind—flying without a broom, without a Thestral, not even holding a wand—rising smoothly as if carried by the wind.
"Where are we going, Professor Dumbledore?" Jon switched hands and shouted through the wind.
"No rush. Our appointment isn't until nine-thirty. We've got time to explore the area."
...
A cool breeze brushed against Jon's cheeks. Thankfully, he'd put on an extra layer and didn't feel cold.
Dumbledore was already flying ahead, so fast that the Phoenix Patronus had to push itself to full speed just to keep up.
The rush of air made talking difficult.
Still, Jon kept an eye on the landmarks below. He was quite familiar with Southampton's geography and could tell that Dumbledore was leading him northeast.
After about ten minutes, they slowly descended.
Jon looked a little pale.
"Not a fan of this mode of travel?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.
"No, Professor... I hate flying," Jon admitted. "Except in an airplane."
At the mention of "airplane," Jon noticed a flicker of sadness in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Well then, we'll try a different method next time," Dumbledore said quickly, brushing it off. "I believe you're familiar with this city, Jon?"
"Yes—this is Winchester!" Jon said at once. "The ancient capital of England!"
"Indeed. It was here that Merlin Ambrosius, the greatest wizard in the history of England and Wales, helped King Arthur unite Britain—establishing a new kingdom from the ruins left by the Romans and Germanic tribes," Dumbledore said solemnly.
Jon did his best to match the seriousness of the moment.
But he wasn't entirely sure what Dumbledore was getting at. Was this just a historical tour? A bit of patriotic education?
That seemed... odd.
"For a long time, wizards and Muggles in Britain lived in harmony," Dumbledore continued. "But with the spread of Catholicism across the Isles, tensions began to rise…"
"A war broke out between the wizarding community and the Church—a conflict that lasted nearly a thousand years."
"Hogwarts was founded during this period and became the stronghold of the wizarding faction. Many witches and wizards were imprisoned and sentenced to death simply for practicing magic. Some—like Lisette de Lapin in 1422—escaped using magic. But others, like Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington in 1492, were not so lucky. After being disarmed and locked in a dungeon, he couldn't use magic to escape execution."
"By the 17th century, the conflict had reached its peak. With the persecution of witches and wizards growing increasingly brutal, magical families began living double lives, using Concealment Charms to protect themselves and their loved ones. By then, any wizard who openly befriended Muggles risked suspicion—or even exile—from the magical community."
"Wizards assassinated a Muggle king—Charles I, in 1649—and installed Oliver Cromwell, then Headmaster of Hogwarts, as Lord Protector. But Cromwell was quickly assassinated himself. Wizards had to once again overthrow a Muggle monarch—Charles II, in 1688..."
"Eventually, in 1689, the Muggles passed the Bill of Rights, which fully expelled Catholic influence from Britain. It ushered in a new era under the Protestant monarchs William III and Mary II. At the same time, the wizarding world enacted the Wizengamot Statute of Secrecy—removing itself from Muggle society and allowing wizardry to fade into legend."
"From then on, peace reigned between the wizarding and Muggle worlds—for hundreds of years."
Dumbledore's explanation concluded.
"Professor, you really know your history!" Jon said quickly, offering a compliment.
"No," Dumbledore replied, shaking his head gravely. "Truth be told, I was never much good at History of Magic."
"All of what I just said... was told to me by a friend."