Jon Hart quickly adapted to his new life in Charing Cross.
No longer needing to hide his wand at the back of his suitcase, he tried using several different kinds of magic on the first day... The result was not surprising. The staff of the Department of Prohibition of the Misuse of Magic did not send him any letters, and no Auror came to visit him.
Every day, he would close the doors and windows of his room, draw the curtains, and hang a "DND" sign (do not disturb) on the door.
Normally at dusk, he would drink the Polyjuice Potion, hide the "magic supplies" in the spacious backpack he had bought more than a month ago, and then ask the waiter to come in and tidy up the room.
Sometimes in the mornings, he would go to the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast in the form of Anduin Wrynn.
On the door of the Leaky Cauldron was a news clipping from the Daily Prophet:
The Ministry of Magic confirmed today that Black is still at large.
Sirius Black, considered the most notorious prisoner ever held in Azkaban Castle, has yet to be caught.
"We are working hard to recapture Black," said Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge this morning. "We ask the wizarding community to remain calm."
...
...
Some members of the International Confederation of Wizards had criticised Fudge for notifying the Muggle Prime Minister of Sirius Black's escape.
Below this news, there was a line of words written crookedly:
"Auror Command has offered a reward of 3,000 Galleons for Sirius Black."
3,000 Galleons is not a small amount, and it almost makes Jon a little tempted...
While having breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, Jon would quietly observe the other wizards:
For example, there was a little country witch who came here to spend a whole day shopping; several fat wizards had a heated debate on an article in "Today's Transfiguration"; there were cunning goblins, funny-looking dwarfs, and once, Jon even saw a ghost with a broken left arm raised in his right hand, floating quietly by.
I also saw a lot of acquaintances.
For example, Hannah Abbott would show up at the Leaky Cauldron on time every morning to clean; once, Jon also saw the tall, clumsy-looking Slytherin girl named Madeleine Yaxley, who seemed to be with her mother, and was dragged into Diagon Alley while being scolded by her mother; and of course, there was Harry Potter, who was brought into the Leaky Cauldron by the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge one night in early August, and then lived here throughout August.
Of course, there is no doubt that these "acquaintances" would not recognize Jon. They all thought that Jon was just an American wizard who came to London for a tour.
Of course, in addition to inquiring for information and purchasing necessary things, Jon will also try to reduce his visits to the Leaky Cauldron or Diagon Alley as much as possible... After all, the Leaky Cauldron is not as crowded as Hogwarts, and the wizarding world is also crowded. It would be bad if he met a powerful wizard who saw through him.
…
Jon spent most of August in his hotel on Charing Cross Road, practicing magic with his mouse.
Every evening, he would kill a few dying mice by cervical dislocation, wrap them in plastic bags and throw them into the trash can. And every week or so, he would go to Diagon Alley again to buy a new batch of mice.
Even the witch at the Magic Zoo was getting a little fed up with him.
"Do you Americans have the habit of eating a few mice before going to bed every day?" she said sarcastically.
"Yes, you actually knew that!" Jon nodded seriously. "We always remove the head and tail and eat them raw. They have chicken flavor and are very crunchy when chewed!"
Seeing the witch looking like she was about to vomit, Jon walked away with a smile.
It took Jon more than half a month to review most of the third year content; and he also reviewed the disarming spell, petrification spell, and eye disease spell that he had learned before...
The latter two spells were very effective whether against werewolves or giant dogs; and with his practice during this period, even if he encountered a fleeing rat, he could ensure that his spells would hit the target accurately (although only in case).
The problem that arose was still the same as before... Even after trying ten thousand ways to cast the "Patronus Charm", there was no change at the tip of the wand.
He even brought out the memory of breastfeeding. But still no happy memory.
In this situation, he only had one solution left, a solution he had thought of a long time ago.
Since I can't find a truly happy memory. I'll do it the Lockhart way.
The white paper that Gilderoy Lockhart left for himself fully describes how to forge a memory and delete a memory.
However, doing so is very risky. You must know that using the "Forgetfulness Spell" on yourself can be dangerous if you are not careful.
However, the deletion of small segments of memory can be said to be the simplest part of the "Forgetfulness Spell".
The key is that there is no other way. He has tried almost every existing memory. When all the existing memories have failed, he can only take this risky approach... and it is just adding a memory. Even if something goes wrong, he can just delete it.
The good news is that during this period, he has tried "Obliviate" on dozens of mice, and there have been almost no cases of the spell getting out of control or failing. He has become quite proficient in using this spell.
But mice can't give feedback...
So further attempts must be made on a live human.
…
That afternoon, Jon drank a small bottle of Polyjuice Potion as usual and turned into the American image of "Anduin Wrynn".
The hotel waitress arrived on time as usual.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wrynn!" she greeted.
"Hello, my lady!" Jon said, stepping back to the door to make way for her and her cart.
"Sorry!" He muttered silently in his heart, and when the waitress turned her back to tidy up some sheets, he quietly raised his wand.
"Obliviate!" he whispered.
A thin silver thread appeared at the top of the wand, and then connected to the waitress's brain...but the other party did not react at all.
"Did it work?" After the silver thread disappeared, Jon retracted his wand and walked over.
He pulled an old watch from his pocket (the one he had used before last Christmas), and said, "Ma'am, I almost forgot that I promised you yesterday that I would give you this."
"Yes!" The waitress suddenly realized: "I remember,...you told me yesterday afternoon that you bought a watch last year and wanted to give me the old watch."
She happily took the mechanical watch from Jon.
Jon breathed a sigh of relief…there was nothing wrong with the spell, the attempt was successful!
When the waitress came to clean the room yesterday afternoon, he had hardly said anything to her; he had just forced the memory into her mind through the forgetfulness spell.
Over the next two days, Jon tried the memory spell several more times on ordinary people.
What he added were some insignificant memories, such as:
"This morning I met a tabby cat with eye circles that looked like glasses."
"Yesterday at noon, I saw a big, fierce black dog chasing a mouse."
"And last night, I almost bumped into the nose of an old man with half-moon glasses and a white beard."
…
After several successful attempts on other people, Jon felt that the memory spell could be used on himself.
On the last night of mid-August, Jon ate several pieces of chocolate to replenish his strength, and took a sip of the "Warrior Potion" (which can make wizards' spellcasting easier for a short period of time, but will have the side effect of weakness afterwards).
After thinking it over for a while and making sure that all risks were eliminated, he pointed the wand at his head, took a deep breath, and then said softly:
"Obliviate!"
What he simulated was the memory used by the original Harry Potter when he successfully released the Patronus.
"His name is Harry Potter, a child who is abused by his aunt and uncle and bullied by his cousin every day... But one day, someone told him that he is a wizard, a very famous wizard in the wizarding world, and he can leave the Dursleys and go to Hogwarts to study..."
The memory simulation went very smoothly without any problems.
Next, Jon raised his wand again and pointed it at the empty space in the room:
"Expecto patronum!"
Strands of silver threads emerged from the top of the wand one after another and gathered into a ball of gas... but that was all. A ball of turbid silver aura hovered in front of Jon.
"Atleast a successful attempt!" Jon said excitedly.
Even though he didn't summon a true Patronus (even if its status was unclear), this ball of silver energy could at most intimidate the Dementors...but this was his first successful attempt after all!
You have to know that more than half a year has passed since I started practicing the Patronus Charm.
After eating a few pieces of chocolate, Jon patiently began to analyze the reasons why his "Patronus Charm" was so weak:
On the one hand, after all, I have my parents, no sister and no house, so I can't empathize with the real Harry Potter.
On the other hand, this memory is completely incompatible with the other memories in my mind. Although it is "happy", it lacks authenticity.
There is no way around it... I have to know where the tampering happened, but it's my own memory.
What if it is too real, so real that it is mistaken for the real thing and affects you?
Therefore, a certain degree of resolution is required.
…
After resting for a few minutes, Jon decided to continue.
Next, he needs to simulate a truly "happy" memory and summon a more complete patronus!
Jon took another deep breath and pointed his wand at his head:
"Obliviate!"