Over the past month, Jon had remained in Albania, showing no urgency to leave.
On one hand, he needed to wait for the branch of Karaba—the Tree of Souls—to finish growing quietly inside the water bottle. Otherwise, if the branch withered during the bumpy journey, he would have no choice but to return and obtain another one.
On the other hand, he was genuinely interested in the indigenous magic of Albania, which traced its roots back to the African magical tradition.
After the incident in Transylvania, where he earned titles such as "Vampire Slayer," "Vampire Terminator," or "Vampire Butcher," Jon had gained the friendship of the residents of Eagle's Nest Mountain. He was quite popular there.
Moreover, the local residents had no concept of "ancestral magic must not be passed down to outsiders."
As a result, over the past month, Jon had engaged in extensive magical "exchanges" with the Krujë wizards of Albania.
Language, however, proved to be a significant obstacle.
Throughout all of Krujë, aside from Elder Finis and Sandru, there wasn't a third person who could speak English.
As a warrior of Eagle's Nest Mountain, Sandru often had to go out on patrol and attend to his own duties. It was impossible for him to stay by Jon's side at all times, answering questions or acting as a translator.
As for Elder Finis, the de facto leader and highest authority of Krujë, he had even less time to spare for such matters.
Whenever Jon ran into difficulties, he could only rely on gestures to carry out simple communication with the other local wizards.
Fortunately, he was well liked in the area—especially by several young witches, who were more than happy to communicate with him this way and help resolve his questions.
...
The greatest difference between African magic and Norse magic lay in how magic itself was controlled. Traditional African magic relied heavily on the caster's emotional fluctuations to drive spells, whereas Norse magic tended to use runes to regulate and stabilize magical output.
For practitioners of Norse magic, wands were essential tools for guiding magic, making spells more precise and effective. This was especially true for Transfiguration and Charms, which were notoriously difficult to cast without a wand. Only a very small number of wizards were capable of true wandless casting.
African magic practitioners, on the other hand, were unaccustomed to using wands. The presence of a physical medium interfered with the transmission of emotions, so wandless and silent casting were extremely common among them.
The trade-off was that African wizards generally had poor control over spells and low accuracy in their magic.
During his month in Krujë, Jon often saw fully grown wizards make basic mistakes when casting everyday spells such as Incendio, Aguamenti, or Accio.
Even a Hogwarts graduate who struggled with something as simple as a Shield Charm wouldn't perform that badly.
That was why, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, when large numbers of colonial wizards invaded the African continent, the indigenous wizards quickly realized they were no match for them—especially against colonial wizards proficient in Dark Magic.
Despite being fewer in number, colonial wizards inflicted devastating losses on African wizards during battle. Even Muggle colonists armed with firearms could kill them with ease. In the end, they failed to protect their homelands and were forced to flee deeper into the African continent. By the late nineteenth century, nearly all African wizards had retreated to the regions around central Uganda, where they went into hiding.
It was only after Gellert Grindelwald was defeated, and Albus Dumbledore proposed that "wizards of all nations return to their homelands," that African magic—on the brink of extinction—was able to flourish once more.
However, compared to Charms, African magic possessed unique strengths in Transfiguration, particularly in Animagus magic.
As early as his third year, Jon had already learned the entire process of Animagus transformation from a restricted book titled Advanced Guide to Transfiguration.
Yet after exchanging insights with Sandru and other Krujë wizards, Jon discovered that the book's descriptions were riddled with flaws. True Animagus magic proved far more astonishing than he had ever imagined.
...
On the last day of August, Jon unexpectedly received a letter.
The envelope bore an emblem of two golden wands crossed together, each wand emitting three stars. It was from the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Madame Olympe Maxime.
He opened the letter and skimmed through it. Inside were notes for new Beauxbatons students, along with a fifth-year course schedule.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Jon finally realized something—
At this stage, his identity was still that of a fifth-year student at Beauxbatons.
A year ago, Christopher Patrick had transferred from Durmstrang to Beauxbatons, then "by chance" became an exchange student to Hogwarts. Now that the exchange period had ended, his student status still hadn't been revoked.
Of course, continuing his studies was out of the question. There was no way he was going back to school.
Given everything he had endured, Jon couldn't return to being a well-behaved student, nor could he seriously prepare for exams just to earn a few O.W.L. certificates.
In truth, he didn't think he needed those certificates anymore.
To Jon, real-world experience taught far more than any classroom ever could. For example, the single month he spent in Krujë had taught him no less than an entire year of lessons at Hogwarts.
Moreover, Astoria's condition no longer allowed him the luxury of wasting time on campus. In the coming months, he had to help her complete a full Horcrux—only then would she have a slim chance at survival.
Even though he had no intention of returning to Beauxbatons, disappearing without a word or ignoring the school entirely wasn't a good habit.
After all, Beauxbatons was an established magical academy. Though it was known for its relaxed atmosphere, there was no guarantee it didn't impose restrictions on its students' magic. After all, even while Jon was hiding deep in the mountains of Albania, this letter still managed to reach him.
Jon planned to head to Beauxbatons after the term officially began on September 1st.
He would then apply to Madame Maxime for withdrawal, formally cancel his Beauxbatons student status, and return to Britain via France.
...
Lost in thought, Jon shifted his gaze to the final line of the letter—
"Please ensure that you arrive at the highest point within a ten-kilometer radius by five o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and wait there briefly!
Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic,