Mr. John Wick....?
The Slytherins were already bracing themselves for the humiliation of not winning the cup, but they hadn't expected a twist like this.
The blonde beauty Daphne had been on the verge of making a snide remark to Pansy about Dumbledore, but she swallowed her words upon hearing this.
Malfoy nearly threw his cup at Crabbe's head, staring at John in disbelief.
Dumbledore continued, "Mr. John Wick, with his keen intuition and meticulous observation, uncovered the identity of that person. In the Forbidden Forest, he saved a unicorn and then bravely rescued Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy from being hit by the killing curse."
"He risked his life to save Harry Potter, defeated that individual, and protected Hogwarts."
"His selflessness and courage in the face of danger are truly commendable."
"For this, I award Slytherin an additional... 80 points!"
What a twist!
At this moment, John Wick was the hero of Slytherin. Unlike the earlier deafening noise, the students of the other three houses stared at John in stunned silence, as if seeing this troublemaker in a new light for the first time.
Many focused on the fact that he had defeated that person—the one whose name must not be mentioned.
This was the second time since the birth of Harry Potter that such a defeat had occurred.
"That's fantastic!"
"""WOW!!!!"""
Daphne was the first to cheer, and soon the entire Slytherin house erupted into celebration.
John was pulled into a hug by Malfoy, his goblet shaking in his hand and spilling pumpkin juice everywhere. Goyle and Crabbe, taking initiative, hoisted John onto their shoulders, parading him around the Slytherin table like a hero.
"""" jOHN wICK!""""
No one dared mention that John was a Muggle-born; he had earned his place in Slytherin.
John took the goblet of pumpkin juice from Daphne and, under the watchful eyes of the Slytherins, raised it high.
"To eternal glory."
"""To eternal glory!!!"""
Slytherin had defended their seven-year winning streak, now an eight-year streak, on track to break Hogwarts records.
Dumbledore, seated again, clapped his hands in applause.
'This kid.. heh,' Snape's usually stiff smile visibly softened into a genuine one.
Under the green and silver banners, the other houses joined in the year-end feast celebrations.
Among the trio, Ron scratched his head and said, "For some reason, losing to John doesn't feel so bad."
Hermione, despite Slytherin having the annoying Malfoy, couldn't bring herself to resist much either—John was her friend after all. Despite her efforts throughout the year, she still couldn't surpass John.
Harry, knowing it was John who saved him, felt no resistance either, although he was somewhat annoyed by the smug expression Malfoy was showing the greffindore's after every 5 seconds.
'Humph! Slytherin was just lucky to have John; otherwise, Gryffindor would have definitely won.'
"Ok.. ok.. that's enough—"
For the first time, John drank so much pumpkin juice that he felt bloated. The young wizards seemed to treat the pumpkin juice as if it were alcohol.
He noticed the Weasley twins sneaking into the Slytherin table, so he decisively declined Malfoy's invitation to have another drink.
Sure enough, after the feast, the Slytherin bathrooms were overcrowded.
The Weasley twins had spiked the pumpkin juice with potions, causing some Slytherins to still have wobbly legs when they left Hogwarts.
Malfoy swore to find and punish whoever had spiked their drinks, but John did't reveal that it was the Weasley twins.
...
On the train ride home, John patted his pocket.
'Dumbledore didn't say anything, so that means I can take it with me, right?'
John felt a bit guilty; it was the Philosopher's Stone, a treasure many desired but couldn't obtain.
Now he was not only holding it but also planning to bring it home.
Seeing that Dumbledore hadn't come to find him, John felt that the headmaster had tacitly allowed him to take it.
He bid farewell to his classmates. Ron invited John to visit his house next time.
Hermione, on the other hand, seemed a bit down; the exam results had come out, and she was second.
First place went to John, which he already knew, thanks to a notification from his system.
[Academic Scholar 2.0 secured.]
Harry was feeling a bit down, knowing he had to return to the Dursleys.
Seeing him like this, John thought for a moment and said, "My house is not far away. You're welcome to come over anytime."
Harry brightened at the thought. He lived at number 4, and John's family mansion was at number 6. Realizing this lifted his spirits significantly.
Neville, carrying the cage John had given him, found it quite useful despite occasionally misplacing it.
[Ding! Hogwarts Phase 1 task completed. Reward: +1 Magical Blood, +2 Free Points.]
As the train started moving, John heard the system notification in his ear.
Curious about what "Magical Blood" was, he opened the system to check.
[Magical Blood: Increases magical power when consumed (Note: Mixing with other blood might have unexpected effects).]
"Mixing with other blood?"
John pondered. This likely referred to the blood of magical creatures.
John did have some dragon's blood left that he hadn't used yet.
However, he was concerned that using it might have unintended consequences. The last thing he wanted was for the Ministry of Magic to invite him for a "chat" because he drank something peculiar at home.
'Never mind, I'll figure it out later. Time to head home.'
Having been away from home for almost a year, John was starting to feel homesick.
The train chugged into King's Cross Station, and John stepped off the train.
On Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, a shriveled old guard stood by the barrier, allowing only two or three people to pass at a time. This was to prevent a large crowd from emerging from the seemingly solid wall all at once, which would draw too much attention.
Many people greeted John, most of them from Slytherin and Gryffindor. The Slytherins acknowledged him for the glory he had brought to their house, while the Gryffindors were convinced that the Sorting Hat must have been malfunctioning.
Harry received similar attention, with people constantly approaching and greeting him.
"I'll be off then," John said, bidding farewell to the trio and heading towards the barrier. He walked through the wall and returned to the Muggle world.
John spotted his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wick, waiting for him. Not far from them were the red-haired young girl Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.
How did John know their identities?
Because when Harry came out, the young girl started screaming non-stop, giving John a clear understanding of what it meant to have a fangirl.
"You must be John Wick, right?"
Mrs. Weasley, introduced by Ron, also approached John. The two families had a friendly meeting.
Likewise, the Granger family came over as well, except for the Dursleys, who wanted nothing to do with wizards.
Behind the Dursleys, Dudley looked at John with a terrified expression, as if he'd seen a ghost.
John gave him a 'friendly' smile and pointed at Harry, signaling that he was under his protection. If Harry had a hard time, John wouldn't mind giving Dudley a reminder of their past encounters.
...
Summer vacations were always full of joy.
But Watson Wick felt that his son seemed out of place during the summer, spending all his time in the basement.
"John, you've been at a wizarding school for so long, haven't you learned any magic?"
Watson Wick asked for the eleventh time, not giving up. John, a bit exasperated, looked at his father and said, "I've told you, young wizards aren't allowed to use magic in the Muggle world."
Seeing that his dad still wasn't giving up, John said sternly, "Do you really want to see your son sent to Azkaban - a prison in the magical world?"
Watson smiled embarrassedly and muttered, "It's not that serious, isn't there a law to protect minors in the wizarding world?"
John just gave him a look. If he came to the basement to disturb him again, don't blame him for secretly giving his father some sleeping potion.
He was holding a tube of blood-red reagent in his hand, and from time to time there were dots of patterns like fire dragons flowing on it.
Magical blood.
He was studying how to use it.
But while he was studying, he also stretched his claws to the wand.
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