The Dementors entered the castle to search, and their chilling presence made it hard for the young wizards to sleep peacefully.
Right on the dot, two hours later, John's eyes opened, not a second too soon.
"It seems Tom hasn't returned," he thought.
The first thing John noticed after waking up was that his dog wasn't in the dormitory. Casually glancing at the trio beside him, he confirmed they hadn't noticed that he was awake.
Placing his hand on the ground, John silently cast the Sensory Charm.
An invisible ripple spread out from him as the center. By now, he could control the range of the charm to extend beyond 300 meters.
"Dementors have entered?" John muttered to himself, surprised that Dumbledore allowed them inside.
As long as the Dementors weren't directly encountered, animals wouldn't be harmed. Tom surely wasn't that foolish.
Now fully rested, John felt wide awake. Normally, he'd be doing experiments at this hour, but since he couldn't leave now, he sighed and said, "Well, I guess I'll read instead."
Fortunately, John had the habit of carrying a small handbag with him. He pulled out a book on Transfiguration and started reading.
Since he could see perfectly well in the dark, there was no need to turn on a light.
Meanwhile, the trio had finally wrapped up their brainstorming session. Harry turned his head and, through the blur, saw that John seemed to be flipping through something.
He tried to get a clearer view but, lacking John's night vision, couldn't make anything out.
As the night passed, the Dementors retreated from the castle.
They hadn't found Sirius Black, and the young wizards were abuzz with chatter.
The topic of everyone's discussion was Sirius Black, that dangerous man who had somehow managed to enter the school.
Hannah Abbott was telling anyone who would listen that Sirius had transformed into a blooming shrub.
For the time being, Gryffindor's portrait had been replaced by Sir Cadogan, much to the students' dismay.
Sir Cadogan had a habit of changing his passwords to the most bizarre things.
After freshening up, John walked past the girls' bathroom and stumbled upon Peeves bullying Moaning Myrtle.
Myrtle was sobbing, while Peeves was laughing hysterically.
John's expression shifted, and he called out, "Peeves, come here."
"Ah—" At the sound of John's voice, Peeves' grin froze. Reluctantly, he floated over.
"Honorable John Wick, what can I do for you?" Peeves put on an uncharacteristically ugly smile, a far cry from his usual demeanor.
It wasn't surprising. Once, Moaning Myrtle had bragged about her hairpin to the other ghosts, which had immediately irked Peeves. So, he had gone to John, hoping to get one for himself.
The result?
John had promptly caught and locked him up to test ghost-related spells on him!
That incident had cemented John as the person Peeves feared most, even surpassing the Bloody Baron, who now held second place.
John, unconcerned with how Peeves was undoubtedly cursing him internally, feigned curiosity and asked, "The Fat Lady was attacked—what do you know about it?"
Peeves, being his usual restless self, bent down and poked his head through his legs, grinning cheekily. "Oh, I know alright! His temper was terrifying—none other than Sirius Black!"
"What did he look like when you saw him?" John fixed his gaze on Peeves.
After studying Dementors for so long, John had learned that Dementors only consume the souls of beings with clear, rational thoughts.
Animals, for example, don't register on their radar, as they can't comprehend or feed on animal emotions.
This led John to consider another possibility. In the wizarding world, there was one particular type of person who could transform into an animal.
Animagi.
This was an advanced form of Transfiguration, allowing a person to fully transform into an animal, possessing both the characteristics of the creature and the intelligence of a wizard.
Peeves said, "Black, you've no idea how terrifying he is—looked like a giant bear!"
Black?
Like a bear?
John raised an eyebrow. It seemed his guess had been right.
"Wait."
Just as Peeves was about to leave, relieved, John called him back.
"Peeves, what was it you wanted from me last time?"
Peeves, grinning ear to ear, paused in confusion. John shrugged and said, "You've helped me, so I'll help you."
"Brilliant! If you could give me some dungbombs, I'd be happy to call you sir."
"Deal," John agreed without hesitation.
But he added, "Just so you know, you can't use them during class. Anytime else, go wild."
Peeves burst into gleeful cackles, darting through the air. "Of course, Sir John Wick!"
Watching Peeves zoom off with such joy, John shook his head, knowing that many were about to have a bad day.
Dungbombs, huh? Those could easily be gotten from the twins.
The Weasley twins had set up an owl delivery service at Hogwarts, using the school's owls to send products to students who placed orders.
John quickly penned a letter and had it delivered by his owl, Basil. By evening, the goods would arrive.
Today was Monday, another busy day.
In the afternoon during Care of Magical Creatures, John once again saw the Hippogriffs.
Upon asking, he found out that Hagrid's restless heart had started acting up again.
Hagrid felt terrible that the other students hadn't gotten a chance to ride the Hippogriffs during the first lesson. He thought it was quite unfair.
John, exasperated, rubbed his forehead. "Professor Hagrid, I need to take a leave of absence today. I won't be able to help you manage the class."
Hagrid looked shocked. "You're taking a leave? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Not exactly. It's more of a personal matter," John replied, though in truth, he was preparing for something quite significant.
Yes, he was preparing for a transformation.
Animagus!
With his Transfiguration skills at level 4, John was ready to attempt the Animagus transformation.
The process would take a long time, from one full moon to the next.
During this period, John wouldn't be able to speak, as he would need to keep a Mandrake leaf in his mouth at all times, without removing it even for a second.
He needed to gather all the necessary materials. John had a feeling that now was the right time to begin.
Naturally, Hagrid didn't hesitate to approve John's request for leave.
Hagrid was confident that even without John's help, he could still manage the situation well.
After teaching for two months, Hagrid had grown more self-assured.
Once John had said goodbye to Hagrid, he left.
"John's leaving?" Harry noticed, and Ron was surprised. "Is he dropping this class because it's too much work?"
Hermione shot him an angry look and said, "Don't be ridiculous. If anyone's dropping a class, it'd be Divination."
Despite her words, Hermione knew that John had indeed been very tired lately.
He didn't have something like her.
Hermione had the Time-Turner, which allowed her to take extra classes by rewinding time. But John had been attending all his classes without any such aid.
Hermione couldn't shake a strange feeling. Why hadn't the school given John a Time-Turner as well? Or was there only one available?
Feeling a bit down, Hermione had a nagging sense of guilt, as if she had taken something that rightfully belonged to John.
In her view, John was clearly more outstanding, yet he hadn't received any help.
As Hagrid brought out the Hippogriffs again, Harry noticed Buckbeak, the one he had ridden last time.
Just then, a curious young wizard approached Buckbeak a bit too closely.
Buckbeak, with a single swipe of his claw, knocked the oblivious young wizard to the ground.
Buckbeak: Bow to me, fool.
A scream echoed, and Hagrid's mind went blank as he realized something had gone wrong.
He quickly scooped up the unlucky student and rushed to end the class early, heading straight to the hospital wing.
Everything was back on track...
John sought out Professor Sprout to get a Mandrake leaf. Based on his observation of the weather, he calculated that in about a week, the full moon would rise, and that would be the perfect time for him to begin.
Becoming an Animagus required more than just the Mandrake leaf. On the second full moon, John would need a cocoon of a Death's-head Hawk Moth.
With everything ready, all that remained was waiting—for a storm.
When the storm arrived, and lightning cracked the sky, only then would his transformation truly begin.
"So troublesome… no wonder so few people manage to succeed."
Even John found the Animagus transformation process tedious. To succeed, one needed more than just talent and determination; luck played a big role too.
There were many factors involved, and any misstep in the process could render all previous efforts futile.
In fact, if he had an experienced Animagus to help, it would be much easier. Professor McGonagall was a prime candidate for such assistance.
Even though he wasn't a student from her house, Professor McGonagall would likely not refuse if he asked for help.
But John didn't want to seek her out.
He knew his transformation would be... unique.
If he turned into a dragon in front of Professor McGonagall, she might very well be shocked out of her wits.
It was common knowledge that Animagi couldn't turn into magical creatures.
John's special form came from having various magical blood in his veins, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
__________
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