The Constellation Society.
John had a little golden figure jump onto his palm.
The golden figures had no eyes or noses. They were formed from runes and fragments of souls left behind from John's experiments here.
As a result, the golden figures had developed self-awareness and regarded their creator, John, as their master.
"Perhaps I should teach you something else," John murmured, narrowing his eyes.
He drew his wand and waved it.
A door opened, and a massive amount of water poured into the room.
Guided by magic, the water gathered above the round table and formed an enormous sphere.
"Protego Maxima."
John pointed his wand, and the gathered sphere of water exploded apart. A Water Guardian over three metres tall descended to the floor.
The golden figures scattered in fright.
"Quiet."
John raised a hand, and the Water Guardian raised its hand as well.
When they realised the Water Guardian was not attacking, the golden figures curiously gathered around it.
John had the Water Guardian crouch down.
He then held out the golden figure resting on his right palm.
"I should make some modifications to you."
His wand pointed at the golden figure.
The golden figure burst apart, transforming into countless runes that coiled around the wand.
John raised his wand and chanted,
"Expecto Patronum."
The golden runes flew into the Water Guardian's body.
Once inside, the runes transformed into golden lines that spread through its body like veins.
In the end, all those golden veins converged at its heart, forming a small golden sphere.
John released his control over the Water Guardian and quietly observed it.
After a while—thump!
The golden sphere in its chest pulsed once.
The previously mindless Water Guardian raised its head.
Seemingly confused by its current situation, it spotted its little companions and immediately started chasing after them.
The golden figures scattered in panic.
The Water Guardian was very upset.
It had been abandoned.
"There isn't enough space here."
John glanced around and snapped his fingers.
A door connected to a vast plain opened, expanding until it enveloped them all.
The surroundings transformed into an open grassland.
John waved his wand, and three Earth Guardians, each three metres tall, emerged from the soil.
One of the Earth Guardians charged toward the Water Guardian.
"Water Guardian, go all out."
To the Water Guardian, John's words were as absolute as a royal decree.
It immediately rushed toward the Earth Guardian.
Their enormous fists collided, sending a shockwave spreading outward.
The Water Guardian's arm exploded apart, but less than a second later it regenerated.
Its body, however, had become slightly smaller.
Its watery arm lashed out like a whip, cutting the Earth Guardian cleanly in half at the waist.
The Water Guardian gradually became familiar with its body and learned how to manipulate the flow of water into different forms.
John waved his wand twice, sending the remaining two Earth Guardians charging at the Water Guardian.
The Water Guardian lowered its body and transformed both arms into long whips, spinning in place.
The approaching Earth Guardians halted for an instant.
Then their bodies were severed cleanly at the waist, revealing smooth, flat cross-sections of earth.
"Not bad."
John nodded and walked over to the Water Guardian.
Rip.
His hand pierced through the Water Guardian's chest and grasped the pulsing golden sphere, pulling it out.
The Water Guardian exploded apart with a loud crash.
John examined the sphere in his hand.
He blew on it gently.
The sphere broke down into runes before reassembling into a golden figure.
With another wave of his wand, the plain vanished, and they returned to the Constellation Society.
John placed the golden figure on the table and said thoughtfully,
"The weakness is too obvious."
A body made of elemental matter did not possess much defensive capability, and the golden figure could only control the Water Guardian that John had created for it.
The magic left within the Water Guardian determined how long it could continue to exist.
Any repairs would also consume the elemental substance that made up its body.
That did not mean there was no good news.
After a golden figure was implanted into it, the Water Guardian gained a degree of self-preservation instinct, eliminating the need for John to split his attention to control it.
"Looks like I need to train you."
John was dissatisfied with the Water Guardian's combat performance.
It had basically stood in one place the entire time, never attempting to dodge, relying solely on consuming its elemental body to win the fight.
That was a truly foolish way to battle.
John gathered all the golden figures together.
There were fifty of them in total.
The golden figures exploded apart, transforming into countless runes dancing through the air.
John waved his wand and cast a new spell.
"Expecto Patronum."
Stone Guardians emerged from rock, Tree Guardians were born from trees, Fire Guardians arose from flames, and Snow Guardians formed from ice and snow.
All kinds of guardians were created.
The golden runes entered their bodies.
As they did, the guardians, each over two metres tall, came to life.
And so John began his own path of training an army.
...
"What has John been doing lately?"
Malfoy looked at the empty seat with some confusion.
"He always has something going on." Daphne rolled her eyes at him.
Malfoy thought that made sense.
John had always been doing plenty of things behind their backs.
He immediately turned around and went to ask Astoria if she would go out with him during Christmas this year.
Astoria glanced at her sister.
For some reason, Daphne did not seem to interfere with Malfoy nearly as much as she used to.
Daphne used her fork like a knife, reducing a poor waffle to a mangled mess.
"What's wrong, Sister?"
Concerned about her sister, Astoria abandoned the sulking Malfoy beside her and asked, "Is something bothering you?"
At the same time, Astoria guessed that it probably had something to do with John.
As expected.
After hearing her sister's question, Daphne hesitated before saying uncertainly, "Do you think my cooking tastes good?"
"Huh?"
Astoria recalled the food her sister had made in the past.
The words "very good" were difficult to say with a straight face.
"I tried it myself, and I don't think it tastes like the kind of food John would enjoy," Daphne said, lowering her head in frustration.
Astoria asked curiously, "What kind of food does John like?"
"I don't know," Daphne replied blankly.
This made Astoria once again marvel at how much her sister's intelligence had declined after falling in love.
She turned to Malfoy and asked, "Draco, do you know what John likes to eat?"
"What does he like to eat?" Malfoy paused to think and then said uncertainly, "Potatoes?"
The moment he finished speaking, three potatoes were stuffed into his mouth.
Daphne continued worrying.
"Do you think maybe my cooking just isn't good enough, and that's why John doesn't like eating?"
After great effort, Malfoy managed to spit the potatoes out and recklessly said, "I think it might be because of your cooking that he doesn't eat."
A short while later...
Malfoy was hanging in the Entrance Hall with his mouth stuffed full of potatoes while passing students pointed and stared.
Sure enough, as long as people do not court disaster, disaster will not find them.
Malfoy personally demonstrated that principle.
Daphne's worries did not lessen even after classes ended for the day.
She came to the kitchens and gently ran her hand over the cooking utensils, all of which were maintained in a condition that looked almost brand new.
Daphne sighed.
Perhaps she simply did not have any talent for cooking.
Just as she was about to give up, a rich aroma drifted into her nose.
The scent of stewed meat and spices was irresistibly tempting.
Unable to resist, Daphne followed the source of the smell.
At this hour, the house-elves were busy with other duties.
The aroma was unusually distinctive.
Daphne found a room and hesitated outside for a moment before knocking on the door.
"Just a moment."
A girl's voice came from inside.
The door soon opened, and Hannah, wearing a brown apron, froze in surprise.
"Greengrass?"
"Hannah Abbott?"
Neither had expected to see the other.
Daphne noticed that the aroma was coming from a pot inside the room.
"You're cooking?" she asked.
"Yes." Hannah blushed slightly. "Neville looked exhausted after taking care of the Mandrakes today, so I wanted to make something to help him recover his strength."
Daphne felt as though she was about to be pulled in by the aroma.
She looked at Hannah and said very seriously, "Can I learn?"
"What?"
"How to cook."
Seeing the sincerity on Daphne's face, Hannah realised she was not joking.
She hesitated before asking, "Why do you want to learn how to cook? You're already so outstanding."
Daphne fidgeted awkwardly.
"But it's still not enough to be a wife."
In that instant, Hannah understood.
As someone who was also preparing food for her boyfriend, she immediately felt a sense of kinship with Daphne.
Hannah smiled.
"Then learn with me."
"Can I call you Hannah?"
"Of course, Daphne."
At that moment, a deep friendship was formed between the two girls.
Hannah invited Daphne to taste the stew she had just finished making.
The door closed behind them.
In the kitchens, a busy house-elf said, "We need potatoes. We don't have enough potatoes."
One house-elf immediately volunteered and ran over to the door Daphne had entered through.
When it opened the door, there was no kitchen inside.
There was only a storeroom filled with ingredients and potatoes.
"Dobby, move the potatoes out."
"Dobby can move them himself."
The house-elves continued busily at work.
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