If there was anyone at Hogwarts who drew Harry's attention the most, it was undoubtedly John and Slughorn.
Slughorn was under scrutiny because of his mission, while John—true strength always drew people's eyes.
John was in a bad mood.
That was something Harry could tell at a glance.
It felt strange.
The John from before would never let his thoughts show on his face.
He had even just seen Malfoy get scolded by John.
That was simply unbelievable.
"Look at this," Hermione said in surprise, holding up The Daily Prophet. She had a habit of subscribing to the paper. "Something happened to a senior official at the Ministry."
Harry looked at the newspaper and saw the name Amelia Bones.
He immediately remembered that when he had been accused before, it was Amelia Bones who had spoken up for him.
The article said that Aurors were conducting an investigation, and there was also another piece of news—Johnny Silverhand's Speciality Shop had been attacked.
Now Harry understood why John was so agitated.
His shop had been attacked.
…
Malfoy's face was dark. He had stayed like that ever since being scolded.
Even the others found it unbelievable—John had never acted like this before.
Daphne wanted to say something, but John's grim expression forced her to retreat.
When it was time for class, John stood up and left directly.
They all knew John wasn't going to attend. Malfoy shouted loudly, "Has he gone crazy?"
"Shut up, Draco," Daphne snapped at him.
John headed for the second-floor corridor.
Only after making sure no one was around did he let the stiff expression fall from his face.
He had been acting.
Judging from everyone's reaction, he really did have a talent for acting.
Without conflict, how could he make up his mind to leave?
Moaning Myrtle floated out of the bathroom, anticipation written all over her face.
"I saw a lot. That dark-haired boy has a pretty nice figure," Myrtle said with lingering satisfaction.
John said speechlessly, "You didn't go peeking at Theodore while he was showering, did you?"
Obviously, Myrtle was already a repeat offender.
Still, she did bring John some useful information.
"That boy disappeared into a room on the 7th floor," Myrtle flew over and hovered near John's shoulder. "I wanted to go in, but I couldn't."
"A room on the 7th floor?"
John thought of the Room of Requirement. Come to think of it, he hadn't been there in quite some time.
Taking a pair of earrings out of his small bag, John kept his promise.
Myrtle was so happy she flew around in circles. Hearing all the excitement, Peeves immediately came over, eager to cause some trouble.
But when John noticed him, he grabbed Peeves and said with a gentle smile, "Peeves, come down here. I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Peeves shuddered and didn't dare resist.
He became obedient in an instant, like a well-behaved child.
John wasn't unreasonable either. He promised Peeves that as long as the job was done properly, he would give him some joke merchandise.
That made Peeves even more respectful. He tipped an imaginary hat and said, "At your service, Mr. Wick."
…
In the days that followed, it wasn't just Harry who noticed anymore.
Even others could tell—John was in a bad mood.
Especially after Peeves caused trouble once, dropping a water-filled balloon right at John's feet.
John froze Peeves in midair, making him let out an especially miserable scream.
The commotion drew Professor McGonagall over.
"Put Peeves down, Mr. Wick," Professor McGonagall said sternly.
John snorted coldly in displeasure and walked away without another word.
It made Professor McGonagall frown. John had never been such a rude child before.
John mocked Professor Runeword's low level of expertise and even insulted the alchemy professor as a second-rate alchemist.
They had all been humiliated, and as a result, John's reputation plummeted.
Slughorn tried to talk things out with John, but it ended in a fierce argument.
Everyone felt something was wrong—John was like a completely different person.
But only those in the know understood what was really happening. Harry looked at the newspaper, where reporters were asking Barty Crouch Sr. for his opinion on Silverhand products.
Barty Crouch Sr. believed Silverhand showed signs of becoming a monopoly and that it shouldn't be allowed.
Harry guessed this was why John's temper had been getting worse and worse.
Malfoy no longer stayed by John's side as often as before. It was as if they had fallen out completely.
There were still no clues about the poisoning, and as the rumors spread, the way many people looked at John began to change.
Some said John couldn't stand Slughorn anymore. After all, there could only be one king at Hogwarts.
Others thought perhaps John was furious that Snape's position as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had been taken by someone else.
Either way, it all seemed to point to one conclusion—that John was responsible for the poisoning.
When these rumors reached John's ears, he lashed out at someone who had been gossiping.
The student was reduced to tears on the spot, making it seem as though John was no longer that king everyone once admired.
Hermione tried to talk to John, but he refused to see her.
It broke Hermione's heart.
Harry thought John had gone too far.
One afternoon, he went to find John, hoping he would apologize to Hermione.
John let out a cold laugh. "Apologize? I don't remember doing anything wrong."
"Hermione was just worried about you," Harry argued. "Do you know how long she's been upset over this?"
"So what?" John replied icily. "I should apologize to someone who pointed a wand at me?"
Harry's expression darkened at those words. In anger, he drew his wand. "I'm not joking."
"Neither am I," John said flatly. "Pointing your wand at me—are you declaring war?"
John struck first, pulling out his wand as a flash of red light hit Harry.
Harry's wand flew from his hand, but John didn't stop.
With a flick of his wand, Harry was sent skidding across the floor, crashing into a suit of medieval armor.
John leveled his wand at Harry, a force lifting him up against the wall.
"Don't come at me with that savior attitude all the time, Harry," John said with a vicious glare. "What I hate most is that self-righteous look on your face."
Harry couldn't break free and could only glare back at John.
That stubborn refusal to yield only made John more irritable.
He manipulated his wand, and Harry's head was slammed against the ceiling again and again.
Harry felt like his skull was about to shatter.
John withdrew his wand. Harry fell from the ceiling, crashing into the medieval armor that had just struggled back to its feet.
Pain shot through his chest, and Harry sucked in a sharp breath.
Out of the corner of his eye, John caught sight of Professor McGonagall hurrying over.
He knew his moment had come.
Pointing his wand at Harry, John sneered, "Cruc—"
"Expelliarmus!"
John's wand flew from his hand. He turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there, her expression grim.
"What do you think you're doing, Wick?" Professor McGonagall's lips had gone pale, shock written all over her face. She turned to the students nearby and said, "Take Harry Potter to the hospital wing."
She walked up to John, her expression complicated beyond words. "I need you to come with me to the headmaster's office."
John turned his head away, refusing to look at her. Professor McGonagall also sent someone to fetch Snape.
The two of them followed behind her in silence.
Several times, Professor McGonagall seemed about to speak, but each time it turned into nothing more than a sigh.
After passing that strange statue, she finally said, "I don't know what's happened to you, Wick."
She sighed again. "But I do know you're not that kind of person."
"Don't talk as if you understand me so well," John scoffed. "What, are you going to say I should've been a Gryffindor too?"
Professor McGonagall fell silent and knocked on the door of the headmaster's office.
When it opened, Slughorn and Snape were already inside.
Snape looked at John and said in a mocking tone, "How surprising, Wick. I always thought you'd never make a mistake."
Professor McGonagall stepped forward and said sternly, "John Wick attempted to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry Potter today. I stopped him."
The words stunned both men in the room.
Slughorn said in disbelief, "Minerva… is that true, John?"
"It is," John replied, not even bothering to pretend otherwise. "That attitude of his is unbearable, isn't it?"
"With all due respect, Potter does enjoy lecturing others with that savior complex of his," Snape said, speaking up for John.
"But that is still no reason to use an Unforgivable Curse," Slughorn said gravely. "You need to understand that using such a spell would mean spending the rest of your life in Azkaban."
"I don't see anything wrong with it," John retorted. "Magic is magic. You shouldn't assign crimes to magic itself."
Slughorn's eyes widened. He stammered, "You… you would actually say something like that?"
As if recalling something unpleasant, Slughorn snapped irritably, "You need to calm down, John. Perhaps leaving Hogwarts would be a good choice."
"Professor Slughorn, with all due respect—"
"Severus, you don't need to keep defending him. You should understand this," Slughorn cut in before Snape could finish. "No matter who the target is, even if it's Harry Potter, this should never happen. Hogwarts is a school. Someone who is this dangerous does not belong here."
Snape opened his mouth, then closed it again in the end.
Looking at John with a complicated expression, he said, "John Wick, perhaps you should take this time to calm down."
"Thank you, Professor Snape."
John nodded to him. Even as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, the fact that Snape was willing to speak up for him showed just how much he had changed.
John left the headmaster's office.
Professor McGonagall said sadly, "Merlin… how did it come to this?"
~~~
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel