I Swung a Sword at Hogwarts

June.

Exam week had arrived.

In Charms class, Professor Flitwick showed concern for John.

"Mr. Wick, have you recovered?"

John smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Professor. I'm much better now."

Professor Flitwick, still shaken, squeaked, "You were truly lucky. That evil scoundrel cast the Killing Curse with very little power."

He wished he'd been there at the time—he would've made that cowardly fiend taste what it meant to be a Dueling Champion.

The Charms exam involved making a pineapple dance the tap dance.

John executed the spell flawlessly and elegantly, leaving Professor Flitwick very satisfied.

The second exam was Transfiguration, where Professor McGonagall also expressed concern for John.

The poor child had suffered so much—first, insulted by Malfoy at the beginning of term, then later kidnapped under the Imperius Curse, and even hit by the Killing Curse.

But fate had clearly shown him mercy and let him survive.

"Vera Verto!"

John drew his wand and pointed it at a rat. The rat transformed with a swirl into an exquisitely crafted snuffbox.

"Perfect. An excellent Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall applauded generously.

Next came Potions—brewing a Forgetfulness Potion.

For the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, Professor Quirrell was absent due to illness, so Dumbledore himself invigilated the test.

That made John somewhat uncomfortable—Dumbledore always liked to greet him with a probing gaze and a playful wink.

...

History of Magic was the final subject—and also the easiest one for John.

Though Professor Binns' monotone lectures could put anyone to sleep, this subject had one advantage: both Muggle-born and wizard-born students could master it quickly.

If you could memorize, you could ace questions about the Goblin Rebellions with ease.

After scribbling down the name of the old wizard who invented the self-stirring cauldron, John could finally relax.

"Wick, you're feeling okay now?"

After the exams, Malfoy came over.

John remembered how Malfoy's name had appeared frequently on the endless piles of get-well gifts during his hospital stay.

The rich boy's attitude toward John had changed significantly.

"Much better now. And thank you for all the gifts," John said.

"Just a bit of pocket change," Malfoy replied haughtily, turning his head with a smug expression.

John thought to himself, You're not a little girl, why are you acting all tsundere?

He took out a few leftover treats from his pocket and offered some to Malfoy.

Malfoy reluctantly took one, while Goyle and Crabbe scrambled like they hadn't eaten in days—nearly fighting over them.

Malfoy couldn't help but scold the two.

At that moment, John spotted a beautiful girl with golden hair approaching.

Daphne Greengrass.

She walked up gracefully and asked with concern, "I heard you were cursed by the Imperius Curse. I can't imagine who would do such a thing."

Rubbing his slightly sore left hand from writing, John agreed, "Probably some desperado. Otherwise, why would they enter the Forbidden Forest?"

This beautiful girl was the Slytherin house belle, followed by Pansy Parkinson.

More and more Slytherins were starting to hang around John now. Thanks to Malfoy's efforts in reshaping his image, the troublemaker who had gotten into a fight at the start of the year had clearly changed.

Once the crowd had dispersed, John turned to Malfoy and said sincerely, "Draco, I think it's fair to say we're friends now."

Malfoy froze for a second upon hearing his first name. He glanced at his two sidekicks and replied coolly, "Oh? Well, if you insist… then I guess I can accept that… John."

Calling each other by first name—an official acknowledgment of friendship.

John smiled slightly. Looked like he had taken another step toward being the top figure in Slytherin.

...

Heading to Hagrid's cabin, John had received a letter from him—apparently the unicorn had sent him a thank-you gift.

"Unicorns are intelligent magical creatures. It's not hard to believe they can feel gratitude."

When John arrived, Hagrid was sitting in a large chair outside. Upon seeing John, he quickly put down the pea pods in his hands.

"John! Thank goodness you're alright."

Though Harry had told him John had recovered, Hagrid still showed great concern.

He gave John a bear hug, then set him down and said, "Weiwei sent you her horn as a token of gratitude."

"Weiwei?" John blinked.

"The unicorn's name. All unicorns have names, but they rarely tell anyone."

Hagrid brought out the horn from his house—it was spiral-shaped, glowing faintly with a holy aura. Unlike the one Quirrell had sawed off a dead unicorn, this one radiated purity.

It was so beautiful it looked as though it had been painted with pearls.

John took the horn. It was far more precious than any Blast-Ended Skrewt tail.

Just then, Tom the dog came out of the cabin, followed by Fang, the slobbery giant dog.

Fang treated Tom like a boss, and Tom held his head high, unaware the big dog beside him could bite his head off in one snap.

"Good job, Tom. It's thanks to you that you found Professor Kettleburn. And Fang, too—you led the way very well."

John patted the two dogs. That night in the Forbidden Forest, Tom had gone to find Fang, who then led him to Professor Kettleburn and delivered John's message.

Kettleburn, being deeply interested in magical creatures, lived near the Forbidden Forest.

John, using the pretense of patrolling the forest, had told him many creatures were getting hurt, prompting the professor to investigate.

John had also sent letters to several other professors, though he didn't mention specifics—just that there were signs of intruders in the forest.

Still, he couldn't understand why Snape hadn't shown up. If he had, Quirrell would've been caught for sure.

After receiving the unicorn horn, John started thinking about alchemy. He asked Hagrid if he had any other materials—and ended up receiving a massive basket of magical creature parts.

Among them was the incredibly rare Acromantula venom—a tiny vial of which was worth 100 Galleons!

Hagrid really was a hidden millionaire. His wealth seemed like it came from picking stuff off the ground.

Hagrid wanted John to stay for tea, but just then, the Trio came running up.

"Hagrid, we have something to ask you!"

They were running so fast, their faces were flushed red.

Harry asked urgently, "Do you remember the night you won Norbert while playing cards? What did that stranger look like?"

Hagrid, confused, said absentmindedly, "Dunno. He wouldn't take off his cloak."

Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, he added, "The Hog's Head always has some shady folks coming in. Maybe he was a dragon dealer or something. I never saw his face—he had his hood up."

Harry's heart pounded—his instincts told him he was close to the truth.

"Did you talk about Hogwarts with him?"

Hagrid frowned, trying hard to recall. "Maybe. Oh, right—he asked what I did. I told him I was the gamekeeper here. He kept buying me drinks… then he asked if I could handle a dragon, and I told him I managed Fluffy just fine, so a dragon wouldn't be a problem."

Thinking of the drinks, Hagrid even licked his lips slightly.

Harry heard the word "dragon" and was now sure—it was the person trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

Then Hagrid, big-mouthed as always, revealed Fluffy likes music. That confirmed it.

By the time he realized what he'd said, it was too late—the trio had already run off.

Hagrid was filled with regret and panic.

John walked out of the cabin and said helplessly, "Hagrid, maybe you should try keeping your mouth in check."

"John! Thank goodness—you've got to help me!"

Looking at John pleadingly, John hoisted the giant basket of materials and said, "Fine, but let me put this stuff back in my dorm first."

If John guessed correctly, the Trio was already planning to go through the trapdoor.

And if they were going to go through the trapdoor, they'd probably have to face Voldemort—and John wasn't about to enter a fight unprepared.

He didn't go to his dorm. Instead, he went to the Room of Requirement, took out the materials, and started crafting protective charms.

After all, he had the Marauder's Map and could monitor the trio's movements at any time.

By nighttime, the trio had begun to move.

John glanced at his half-finished charm and sped up his crafting.

Finally, after they had been inside the fourth floor for a while, John completed the charm.

He put it on, stuffed his pockets with potions, and made a firm decision—

If he couldn't win, he'd poison Voldemort with potions.

Strapping on his greatsword and fully geared, he headed to the right-side corridor on the fourth floor. It was already open.

Fluffy, the three-headed dog, was glaring at him.

John threw a music box at it.

Fluffy immediately fell asleep.

John stepped right through the trapdoor.

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