I Swung a Sword at Hogwarts

Upon returning, the first thing John did was make himself a new set of protective charms. 

Fortunately, he had prepared this time; otherwise, he would have fallen prey to Quirrell's schemes. 

Saturday. 

John obtained more materials from Hagrid. This time, he had a new idea. 

"The unicorn horn has already started to change." 

Staring at the foul-smelling horn, John frowned. 

The unicorn had been killed and the horn sawed off, so it carried a substantial curse. 

He originally planned to make the horn into a protective charm, but it seemed impossible now. 

Grinding the horn into powder, John found the curse within was potent, potentially useful as a dark magic tool. 

On his way back, John stopped by Hagrid's hut. 

Hagrid was almost in tears, as his Norbert was to be sent away that night. 

Seeing Norbert, who had grown several times larger, John agreed this was a sensible decision. 

If they waited any longer, Norbert might outgrow the hut. 

"John, here's the dragon blood I promised you. Treat it well." 

With a heavy heart, Hagrid handed John a bottle of dragon blood. 

"I promise," John said, taking the warm bottle. 

The warmth was a dragon's characteristic; it wasn't difficult for Hagrid to obtain this small bottle of blood. 

Looking at the lively Norbert, it seemed this small amount of blood didn't trouble him. 

After parting from Hagrid, John conducted tests in the Room of Requirement. 

Combining dragon blood with a Blast-Ended Skrewt, he successfully inscribed his first runic symbol. 

Touching the enchanted charm, John felt a surge of excitement. 

After so many days of fear, he finally received some reward. 

He decided not to participate in the night's plan to send Norbert away, as he had an arrangement with Malfoy and didn't want to cause trouble. 

… 

The next morning, Gryffindor found their house points had dropped by 150, dashing their hopes of defeating Slytherin. 

After some investigation, they discovered it was because their savior, Harry Potter, along with Hermione and Neville, had been caught sneaking out at night. 

The three quickly went from heroes to the least popular students. 

In contrast, Malfoy, who caused his house to lose 20 points, was treated very differently; his bold move had reversed Gryffindor's comeback potential. 

"Harry Potter, our hero, Slytherin thanks you for your help." 

Leading a group, Malfoy taunted Harry, who gripped his pen tightly, wanting to punch him. 

John thought it best to avoid such blatant provocation. Although Hermione and the others were also punished, Harry's fame absorbed most of the backlash. 

Fame is a double-edged sword, bringing both convenience and high expectations. 

Harry clearly hadn't met Gryffindor's expectations. 

They buried themselves in their studies, hoping to forget the pain through hard work. 

… 

"Damn Snape, always meddling!" 

Quirrell's face was grim, having been threatened by Snape again. 

The former Death Eater had become a nuisance. Now, with his master weakening, they needed to return to the Forbidden Forest. 

John was found once more. 

Hiding his protective charm in his sleeve, John feigned hesitation about continuing to learn from Quirrell. 

Quirrell grew impatient with John's apparent reluctance. 

"Maybe he needs to kill an innocent creature to fully become a Death Eater." 

Using the Imperius Curse, Quirrell planned to make John kill a unicorn. 

Leading John into the Forbidden Forest. 

Quirrell didn't notice the glint in John's eye or the subtle signal he made in the corridor. 

A bird and a dog hidden in the corridor went off in different directions. 

"Think you can control me? Let's see how many lives you have!" 

John wasn't one to be manipulated easily. He might not be able to kill Voldemort, but he could cause trouble. 

The death of a unicorn would alarm the professors; he wondered if Quirrell would meet his end prematurely. 

Eyes glinting coldly, John's brief smile vanished quickly. 

… 

The Forbidden Forest. 

Poor Harry, Hermione, and Neville were being punished by patrolling the forest. 

Even the previously bold Malfoy was pale, not wanting to die in the forest. 

Moreover, he suspected Hagrid, who must hold a grudge against him for losing his dragon, might leave him to the werewolves. 

Malfoy guessed right; Hagrid had no patience for the boy who got him in trouble. 

"This is servant's work, not for students!" Malfoy protested loudly. 

Hagrid retorted, "That's Hogwarts for you. Do something useful or get out!" 

Looking at the equally nervous others, Hagrid softened, "The Forbidden Forest is dangerous. Be careful. John isn't feeling well today, or you'd have a friend with you." 

"John is sick?" Hermione was concerned for her friend. 

Hagrid speculated, "Maybe he got hurt doing alchemy." 

But his eyes drifted to Fang, who was chewing on food, suggesting someone had recently fed him. 

Hagrid led the four into the forest, finding unicorn blood at the edge. 

"This is the third one." 

A new unicorn death last week had Hagrid in low spirits. 

To search more efficiently, they split into two groups. 

Malfoy, suspicious of Hagrid's intentions, refused to stay with him, so Malfoy and Neville followed Fang. 

In their heavy-hearted search, Hagrid's group soon responded to red sparks signaling for help. 

Upon arrival, they found Malfoy had tricked Neville into sending the distress signal. 

Frustrated, Hagrid swapped Harry with Neville to avoid further trouble. 

Harry felt anxious, knowing the forest was filled with dangers at night. 

… 

John reached the forest, Quirrell cloaked and hidden. 

They chased a unicorn, the ethereal creature constantly under attack. 

"John, kill it!" 

John cast a spell, the white light deliberately missing, creating dust that let the unicorn escape quickly. 

"Damn it, you foolish boy!" Quirrell couldn't help but curse. 

This was the fourth time. Except for the initial harmless Stunning Spell that startled the unicorn, all of John's subsequent attacks had failed. 

If Quirrell didn't know that John was under the Imperius Curse, he would have thought John was deliberately sabotaging him. 

In fact, John was indeed trying to sabotage him. He glanced at the increasingly weary unicorn, growing more anxious by the moment. 

"Could it be that Rowler didn't deliver the message, or do the professors not believe me?" 

John's heart sank; this was turning into a bad situation. 

He had sent Rowler and Tom to deliver messages to several professors, hoping to get rid of Quirrell, this menace. 

But it seemed like the messages had disappeared without a trace. Watching the unicorn grow closer, John struggled internally. 

Would he really have to kill the unicorn? 

As Quirrell struck the unicorn again, blood began to flow from its wounds. 

Quirrell's breathing became more labored. "Seize the opportunity!" 

John stepped forward, his wand aimed at the unicorn. 

He saw a human-like sadness in the unicorn's eyes and pressed his lips together. 

Quirrell kept urging, "Hurry up, use your most familiar spell to kill it!" 

His body was too weak. Without drinking the unicorn's blood soon, he would die. Voldemort had been draining his life force. 

If it weren't for trying to convert this young Death Eater, he would have killed the unicorn long ago. 

John seemed to make a decision, and his wand emitted flames. 

"Fiendfyre!" 

The uncontrollable fire burst forth, igniting the surrounding grass and spreading rapidly. 

"Idiot!" 

Quirrell hadn't expected John to be foolish enough to use Fiendfyre. He angrily blasted John away and rushed towards the unicorn. 

The fire spread everywhere but miraculously avoided the unicorn. 

Quirrell, needing the unicorn to survive, disregarded everything and rushed to the unicorn, ready to drink its blood. 

At that moment, a red light shot towards him. Quirrell quickly dodged. 

The professors had arrived.