This was probably the most carefree Christmas holiday Jon had enjoyed in years.
He didn't have to deal with Umbridge, worry about Death Eaters, or fear his cover being blown. For once, he could relax completely—body and mind—and truly enjoy his vacation.
There was no pressure at all, and the food here was far tastier than at Hogwarts, though the seafood tended to be a bit fishy. Jon was so content that he almost didn't want to return to Hogwarts at all.
Eric spent his days wearing glasses, reading Social Control Through Law by Pound or A Theory of Justice by Rawls. He often asked his son about wizarding laws like the International Statute of Secrecy, commenting on them freely and critically.
Judy was still painting oil portraits. Although Jon couldn't bring himself to compliment her work, he still offered polite praise—perhaps his artistic sense was simply lacking. As his mother liked to say, her art was "abstract," the sort of thing ordinary people couldn't understand.
Every day passed peacefully and easily—
Whether it was basking in the sunlight in the conservatory, fishing by the bay, or learning Legilimency from Professor Lockhart...
Gilderoy Lockhart, who could perform the Obliviate with expert skill, told Jon that his own grasp of Legilimency was far less refined.
"This spell depends heavily on talent," Lockhart admitted. "Some people are born Legilimens—they don't need to study, or even use a wand. Just a single thought, and they can read someone's mind. For the rest of us ordinary folks, though, it takes a lot of training."
Their lessons went fairly well—except during practice sessions, when they used Legilimency on each other. Every time Jon entered Lockhart's mind, he found himself bombarded with scenes entirely unsuitable for viewing, unfolding vividly in first-person detail...
"That's not fair," Lockhart grumbled. "Jon, you know Occlumency… I wanted to see what's going on between you and that girl… what's her name again? Greengrass?"
"Stop it," Jon muttered, blushing furiously. "Nothing happened between us."
...
Leisure never lasts long. Once the New Year passed, the short Christmas break—barely two weeks—quickly came to an end.
After saying goodbye to his parents, Jon set out for Ajaccio, where he would take connecting flights back to Paris and then London.
The Harts—and Lockhart himself—came to see him off at the Ajaccio airport.
"Come visit more often, son!" Eric said warmly.
"Yeah, just look at how thin you were when you first got here," Judy agreed. "You've filled out quite a bit now."
"More like put on a bit too much," Jon muttered under his breath. He suspected that if he stayed in Corsica for a few more months, he'd end up round as a pumpkin.
"Don't worry," he said with a grin. "If you two take another two and a half years off here, you'll be able to return to England by then."
"Two and a half years?" Lockhart asked curiously. "That's oddly specific."
"Just a random guess," Jon replied quickly.
"If you ever need anything, write to me," Lockhart said, not pressing the point. Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice. "And write again once the Ministry of Magic lifts my wanted notice."
"Of course."
After hugging each of them in turn, Jon boarded the plane and waved his final farewell.
As the aircraft lifted off, Corsica—the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean—grew smaller and smaller in the distance...
...
Meanwhile, Harry Potter was having a miserable Christmas break.
First, he spent the holiday in St. Mungo's hospital ward, taking care of Mr. Weasley. Then he discovered that Voldemort might be controlling his thoughts. Finally, he received an order from Snape: next term, he would be required to come to his office for Occlumency lessons.
Harry had no idea what Occlumency was supposed to do, but he thought he'd rather be possessed by Voldemort than be stuck in a room with Snape.
"Hermione's in the library. She wants us to come find her," Harry said to Ron as soon as he entered the Gryffindor common room, holding a note Hermione had left.
Hermione Granger had come back to Hogwarts a few days ahead of schedule. According to her, she needed to look something up in the library.
"First night back at school, and she's already in the library," Ron muttered. "Doesn't even let us rest."
"Come on," Harry said, patting his shoulder. "If Hermione called us, it must be something important."
When they arrived at the library, they found Hermione waiting for them. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked tired.
"I found information on that Christopher Patrick," Hermione said, shaking her head. "He's truly... a complete Dark wizard in the making."
"During his first year at Durmstrang, he nearly blinded an older student using dark magic. In his second year, he became the leader of a small Dark Arts group. By the end of his third year, even the Durmstrang teachers couldn't stand him and expelled him," Hermione said incredulously.
"What? A born troublemaker like that... No wonder Malfoy respects him!" Ron fumed. "And Professor Dumbledore still let him into Hogwarts?"
"According to the records, his great-aunt is Bathilda Bagshot—the author of A History of Magic. She and Professor Dumbledore were quite close, so the Headmaster probably admitted him out of consideration for that connection," Hermione explained. "Still, his behavior is awful. Viktor once told me Durmstrang tolerates a lot of Dark magic..."
"Viktor? Which Viktor?" Ron asked quickly, eyeing her suspiciously. "Viktor Krum? You're still in contact with him?"
"So what if I am?" Hermione replied coolly. "I'm allowed to have a pen pal."
"Wait, Krum..." Harry's expression suddenly changed as he looked at Hermione.
"I understand now!" Hermione said suddenly, her eyes lighting up.
"He wasn't just interested in being your pen pal," Ron muttered accusingly.
"I'm writing to Viktor right now," Hermione said, ignoring him. She grabbed paper and pen with a serious look. "I'm going to ask him everything he knows about Christopher Patrick. He must know something we don't."