John Wick had left.
The news spread through the school as fast as a Firebolt.
Everyone knew John had been irritable lately, but no one expected he would actually be forced to leave.
The notice issued personally by Slughorn left many still unable to believe it.
Hagrid even went to the headmaster's office over it, roaring in protest before being thrown out.
"You can't do this!"
"I'm the headmaster. I can."
"John is a good boy. I know that for a fact."
"Is he? He nearly used an Unforgivable Curse on Potter."
Hagrid was driven out despite his unwillingness, and he cried his heart out in his hut afterward.
The Slytherin students went to protest as well, but it was all in vain.
After all, someone who had attempted to use an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow student could not be kept, no matter what was said.
Even Dumbledore found it hard to believe that John could lose his composure like this.
When Harry heard the news, he covered his still-bleeding nose, his face going completely blank.
He thought it was because of him that Slughorn had decided to expel John.
…
The Constellation Society.
John was saying his final goodbyes to his friends.
Malfoy said with a dark expression, "I can't believe Slughorn actually dared to do this. He expelled you, John."
"It's not an expulsion," John shrugged. "Just a temporary leave."
"We'll go plead for you," Neville said.
"No need, thank you for the thought, Neville," John said with a light smile. "This is exactly what I wanted."
He turned to Malfoy and apologized sincerely. "I hope you'll forgive how I treated you these past few days. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have had a proper reason to leave."
"I knew you wouldn't really be like that," Malfoy muttered. "If it were Daphne, I'd believe it."
John saw Daphne clench her fists and quickly said, "I'll be gone for a while. I'm leaving the Constellation Society in your hands for now. If anything comes up, you can even let that old man next door get involved."
"Dumbledore?" Malfoy widened his eyes. "I don't trust that guy at all."
"You can try trusting him, actually," John said helplessly. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's the only person outside the Constellation Society who's truly trustworthy."
Neville thought for a moment and said, "What if Voldemort attacks you?"
"Then that would just prove their suspicions, wouldn't it?" John replied calmly. "Everyone deserves a chance."
"So that I'll look even more isolated and helpless."
John raised his hand, and two objects fell beneath the dome.
Ravenclaw's diadem.
Slytherin's golden locket.
"These need to be entrusted to you for safekeeping."
The diadem was handed to Daphne, the golden locket to Malfoy.
Turning to Neville, John smiled mysteriously. "Neville, the gift I prepared for you is stored in the armory, but I hope you'll only use it at the critical moment."
"A secret weapon?" Malfoy scoffed.
John smiled. "Astoria, I hope you can come to the Constellation Society every day."
Astoria agreed, but Malfoy protested, "Then won't I have no time to be with Asto?"
Daphne had had enough. She drew her wand and sent Malfoy floating up into the clouds.
It turned out that showing off affection in front of a girl's older sister never ended well.
John stood up and brushed off his clothes. "Alright, I still need to make a trip to the Forbidden Forest, so I'll head off first."
When he reached the door, Daphne asked worriedly, "You will come back, won't you?"
The corner of John's lips lifted as he smiled. "Of course. I never break my word."
He opened the door and left.
…
John went to see Hagrid.
Hagrid wrapped him in a hug and burst into tears.
"I can't believe it, I really can't believe he would do this." Hagrid pulled out a pink handkerchief to blow his nose, then used it to wipe away his tears.
Fang circled around John's legs, barking indignantly, as if he already knew his future supply of dog food was gone.
He had eaten a whole year's worth of food in just half a year.
John comforted Hagrid. "Hagrid, remember what I told you. Don't lock up the armor."
That suit of armor carved all over with patterns was kept in the hut.
After saying goodbye to Hagrid, John headed into the Forbidden Forest to look for unicorns.
Weiwei approached with graceful steps and said in displeasure, "I heard that foolish headmaster of yours is going to expel you."
"It's a temporary leave, not an expulsion," John corrected her.
He went with Weiwei to the unicorn herd's habitat, then after exchanging a few things with Clark there, John left the Forbidden Forest.
Two owls flew across the sky as John pulled his luggage and walked outside.
Students who saw the scene began whispering among themselves.
John walked out of the entrance hall with a dark expression.
"Hi, John," Luna greeted him.
The creature that had grown from a tiny pup into a small one stood beside her with its hands on its hips, as if that made it easier to keep its balance.
"Luna," John said, noticing all the eyes on him and rubbing his forehead, "I'm leaving the school."
"You'll come back, won't you?" Luna blinked. "You look like you're in a really good mood."
John didn't know what to say. This girl's intuition was frighteningly accurate.
He almost couldn't keep up his gloomy expression.
"Alright, I'll be back. But you have to keep it a secret," John made a pact with Luna. "I'll leave Tom in your care."
"Sure," Luna said with a bright smile. "Tom's been playing with Mr. Snorekack lot lately."
John smiled helplessly, waved to Luna, and walked off.
When John boarded the thestral-drawn carriage and disappeared from everyone's sight, they finally accepted it.
The King of Slytherin had truly left.
Luna stood there, waving goodbye. Many people didn't pay it much attention—after all, you couldn't expect to get a clear explanation out of the mad girl anyway.
…
By the time he stepped down from the thestral-drawn carriage, he was already at Hogsmeade Station, beyond the grounds of Hogwarts.
John patted the thestral's head and stopped at the platform.
"Did you come to see me off, Dumbledore?"
He looked at the old man waiting there and said casually, "Or just to see whether I'm really leaving?"
"I'm very surprised, John," Dumbledore said sincerely. "You don't seem like someone who would hurt a fellow student."
"Oh?" John let out a scornful laugh, his tone shifting. "Even if I possess every Slytherin trait?"
Parseltongue.
Dumbledore's expression dimmed. "I think you misunderstand. Slytherin has never been a symbol of evil."
"Really? I always thought that's exactly what you believed, Dumbledore," John said calmly. "After all, you've never shown much goodwill toward Slytherin."
Dumbledore gave a bitter smile. "I admit that at certain times, I acted with bias. That was because I was afraid."
"Afraid of creating another Voldemort?" John sneered. "Your fears are a bit unnecessary. Just like how you treat Snape—you claim to trust him, yet you refuse to truly face him, Dumbledore."
"From beginning to end, all you've ever done is use Snape's feelings."
John's words were like knives, cutting open things Dumbledore had long buried in his heart.
"John…" Dumbledore tried to say something more.
John cut him off. "I don't think we have anything else to say."
He took two steps forward, his tone dripping with bitterness. "Give my regards to your savior, Dumbledore."
With a crack, he Apparated away, vanishing from Hogsmeade Station.
Dumbledore stood there for a long time before finally shaking his head helplessly.
He wanted to say that he trusted John, but the resentment in John's voice made it seem as though reconciliation was no longer possible.
"He's been under too much pressure lately," Dumbledore murmured to himself. "Perhaps he needs time to calm down."
…
Barty Crouch Sr. seemed unable to withstand the pressure from the pure-blood families. After repeatedly voicing his intention to place restrictions on Silverhand, he gained the approval of many among them.
The attack on the Johnny Silverhand shop dealt a blow to Johnny Silverhand's reputation.
Those mounting bills left Tommy overwhelmed, until John's return finally let him breathe a sigh of relief.
To him, John's appearance meant that everything would be solved.
Who would have thought John would only glance at the documents before casually setting them aside?
"No need to worry about this for now," John waved his hand, cutting off whatever Tommy was about to say. "Set that small money aside first."
Small money?
Then give it to me!
Tommy looked utterly aggrieved. Did John even realize what he was saying? So what if you're rich—does that mean you can do whatever you want?
Sorry. When you're rich, it really does mean you can do whatever you want.
"Has that batch of goods shown up on the black market?"
After the Johnny Silverhand shop was looted last time, John had told Tommy to keep an eye on the black market.
"No. Not a single item," Tommy said, puzzled. "That shipment was enough to arm an entire army."
That meant Voldemort had recruited quite a number of people.
John stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I see. Looks like Voldemort's gathered quite a force. Keep watching. Have the werewolf community restrain their own. I have a feeling the next target will be the werewolves."
The matter of the werewolves was left to Tommy. With the influence he already had among them, plus Old Jack's support, keeping things under control for a while wouldn't be a problem.
"We need to add a little more to Voldemort's stakes."
John narrowed his eyes dangerously as he looked at the list of losses.
~~~
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