**[Ding, challenge task triggered: Continuously earn more points than Hermione Granger for one academic year to gain the "Scholar 2.0" enhancement.]**
**[Acadamic Scholar 2.0: Provides 4 hours of increased learning efficiency daily.]**
"I triggered a task?"
John was lost in thought when a streak of gold caught his eye, and a broomstick whizzed past him. He didn't have time to react as a Bludger hurtled toward him. Instinctively, he raised his hand and caught the Bludger, but his arm made a painful cracking sound, likely dislocating.
"Oh my god, John, are you okay?" Hermione's delayed scream reached his ears.
The Gryffindor Quidditch players, who were still in training, realized something was wrong, and the Weasley twins were the first to fly over.
The Bludger struggled fiercely in John's hand, but despite his seemingly not-so-strong arm, he held it firmly. Even Oliver Wood couldn't help but exclaim, "You caught a Bludger with your bare hand! You'd make a great Beater."
George added, "John Wick, if only you were in Gryffindor—"
Fred chimed in, "—Then we could retire!"
The twins bantered back and forth.
Angelina Johnson, with her long black hair in braids, interrupted their jokes, "Shut up, both of you. His arm looks broken."
Harry quickly got off his broomstick; the Bludger had been chasing him. He had been so focused on the Golden Snitch that he didn't notice the others, and by the time he did, John was already hurt. Feeling guilty, Harry said, "It's all my fault."
John's face was pale, as the dislocation was painful. "Could you guys stop chatting and take this thing away?"
The Bludger had been heading straight for Hermione, and if John had let go, her face would have been in serious trouble.
Wood, fumbling a bit, managed to tie up the Bludger. This thing was known for breaking Beater bats with its speed.
Once the Bludger was restrained, John sighed in relief. His lips were pale as he shifted to a half-kneeling position. With Hermione's worried, pale face watching him, he braced his dislocated arm against the ground and pushed it back into place with a crunch.
"Ouch—"
"Oh my god, that must hurt."
"John, you should go to the hospital wing."
The Gryffindors were all startled, even the Weasley twins looked impressed. How was it that a Slytherin could handle pain so well, while Draco Malfoy would wail for hours over a scratched finger? Madam Pomfrey had tried to kick Malfoy out of the hospital wing more than once.
The Gryffindors surrounded John, making it look like they were ganging up on a Slytherin. Hermione, mixed in with the crowd, couldn't stop worrying and asked, "John, are you really okay?"
"Just not strong enough yet."
John took a moment to catch his breath, then gave Hermione a reassuring smile. Looking at the equally worried Harry, he grinned and said, "Harry, this isn't your fault."
"I think you should still see Madam Pomfrey," Harry insisted, determined to take John to the hospital wing.
Unable to resist, John was carried over, looking for all the world like something terrible had happened to him. After lying in the hospital wing for a short time, Madam Pomfrey promptly shooed him out.
"See, I told you I was fine," John shrugged, looking relaxed.
Harry finally seemed relieved and said to Hermione, "Sorry, Hermione, it was my fault for flying too low."
"It's not your fault, Harry. No one can predict the path of a Golden Snitch."
With this incident, the cold war between Harry and Hermione finally thawed. Now, among the trio, only Ron remained in the cold war. Harry thought Hermione was a good person and not as they had previously thought. He believed he should help them reconcile.
...
By day, John studied; by night, he trained. After being hit once, John deeply understood the importance of physical fitness for a wizard.
Following his previous night-time excursion, the Restricted Section of the library gained a regular visitor. With the Disillusionment Charm cast, John took out "Advanced Spellwork" and headed through the fifth-floor shortcut to the Room of Requirement.
"I need a place to train."
Walking back and forth three times in front of the tapestry, a wooden door appeared on the blank wall. Inside was the same training room as before, and this time John brought a medieval armored greatsword.
"I'm getting used to the weight of this sword."
Gripping the greatsword, John changed his training method. In the flickering candlelight of the training room, the sword moved like a shower of stars. The greatsword created a flurry of silver light, tearing through the human-shaped targets. As each target shattered, John moved on to the next. When the last target was destroyed, all the fragments reassembled. These targets had a restoration charm that saved John a lot of time.
**[Ding, gained enhancement: Sword Dance]**
**[Sword Dance: Increases the elegance and destructive power of wielding sword-type weapons]**
With his hands feeling sore, John put down the greatsword. Despite his current physique, after a series of high-intensity exercises, he could clearly feel his magic power increase. In just one night, he gained 15 points of magic power. With continuous effort, he could upgrade again in no time.
Not slacking off after his physical training, John started a second round of spell training. With almost self-exhausting efforts, his spellwork improved significantly. The most notable was the Disillusionment Charm, which he used every night for his nocturnal activities. By October, the Disillusionment Charm had upgraded to level 3.
**[Magic Power: Level 2 (450/500)]**
**[Spells: Alohomora (Level 3), Levitation Charm (Level 4), Transfiguration (Level 2), Disillusionment Charm (Level 3), Lumos (Level 2), Incendio (Level 1), Reducto (Level 1)]**
**[Skills: Short Weapon Mastery (Level 7), Greatsword Mastery (Level 4), Firearm Mastery (Level 1)]**
**[Blessings: Physical Fitness, Quick Attack, Precision, Scholar, Pilot, Long Distance Running, Sword Dance]**
Thanks to the Restricted Section, John learned a lot of magic. He even came across the Fiendfyre Curse there, but decided against learning it in his first year, as it was an extremely difficult and dangerous dark magic to control. He recalled that an idiot once used Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement, which ended up destroying the entire room. John had no desire to repeat that mistake.
With the Scholar enhancement active, he could learn even more.
...
Monday, Transfiguration class.
"Well done, Mr. Wick. Five points to Slytherin!"
Today's lesson was transforming animals into goblets. John's task was with a cute friend, the big-eyed, endearing cat who stuck out his tongue in a friendly manner.
John took out his wand and pointed it at the cat.
"Veraverto."
Under his gaze, The cat transformed into a goblet. Professor McGonagall, impressed, added points to the Slytherin hourglass, which was no longer so sparsely filled.
Hermione felt a bit dejected; it seemed the gap between her and John was widening. Only John knew his secret: he was a relentless grinder. To have enough time for his nocturnal escapades and training, he had pushed himself to a new achievement.
**[Sleepless One: You only need 2 hours of sleep each day to maintain full energy for the entire day.]**
With this enhancement, he finally avoided dozing off under Snape's gloomy gaze. However, he heard Snape had made several trips to the hospital wing. Hopefully, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't continue using cheering charms as stimulants on certain students.
Well, this student certainly wasn't insinuating anything about John.
...
Room of Requirement.
John wielded the greatsword, the candlelight reflecting off the blade as it shattered the target in front of him. His left hand, holding his wand, aimed at a target positioned at seven o'clock.
"Reducto!"
The wand, resembling a thin stick, emitted a white light that hit the target, reducing it to a pile of fragments. Compared to the slight explosion he managed at first, this was a substantial improvement.
After finishing his training, John rested for a while before preparing to leave. Tomorrow was the Halloween feast, and he wanted to be in good condition. The day after, his two-month punishment in the trophy room would end.
The Slytherin common room was underground, so he had to walk from the seventh floor back to the common room. Fortunately, Hogwarts was full of shortcuts.
As he reached the underground corridor, he saw the Bloody Baron.
The usually silent Slytherin ghost seemed to be waiting for him specifically.
_____
A/N: I think I'm a little sick today so if there are any mistakes in the chapter I'll edit them after I wake up! Bye!
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"Sir, Bloody Baron"
Approaching the Slytherin common room, John lifted the Disillusionment Charm. Despite not being caught sneaking around, he was curious about what the Bloody Baron was doing there. Gazing into the night, the Bloody Baron's eyes were filled with thoughts.
"It's you, the Slytherin who sneaks out."
The Bloody Baron was a terrifying ghost, with hollow eyes, a gaunt face, and silver bloodstains on his robes. Peeves, who feared nothing, trembled at the mere mention of the Baron's name. John could tell the bloodstains symbolized a past event, but he had no intention of reopening old wounds.
It seemed the Bloody Baron knew someone was sneaking out but didn't know who. John nodded, and the Baron looked him up and down, his expression peculiar. After all, it was odd to see a wizard carrying a greatsword on his back.
"What do you do outside?" the Baron asked.
"Training. I think I need to work harder to be worthy of Slytherin."
Flattering words never hurt. John's answer made the Bloody Baron shake his head. "You're diligent, but you seem more like a..."
Gryffindor.
He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear. The Bloody Baron had lived during the time of the four founders. In his quest for Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena Ravenclaw, he had killed her and then, overcome with grief, ended his own life.
He had met Godric Gryffindor, who was passionate about swordsmanship and battle, commissioning the goblins to forge a silver sword. The goblins' greed for the perfect sword led to a conflict with Gryffindor, but none dared to reclaim the sword from Hogwarts.
John, with his greatsword, resembled a young Godric Gryffindor more than Salazar Slytherin.
By Merlin's beard, perhaps the Sorting Hat had made a mistake, placing Gryffindor's replica in Slytherin.
"I'm here to warn you that the night holds dangers. Be cautious."
Drawing back from his thoughts, the Bloody Baron, who rarely spoke much, had warned John. John thought of Quirrell. According to the Marauder's Map, Quirrell often left Hogwarts. The Bloody Baron, being the most unique of the house ghosts with his ability to turn invisible, might have discovered something.
"I understand, Sir Baron. I'll be careful."
Appreciating the ghost's warning, John hurried back to his room, eager to pull out the Marauder's Map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
The map revealed Hogwarts, showing the professors like Snape who were patrolling, and Quirrell's name.
Quirrell's name bypassed patrolling professors and Filch, heading out of the Hogwarts castle.
"Where is he going?"
John couldn't fathom why Quirrell would leave the castle in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, the map only displayed the Hogwarts grounds, so it didn't show locations like the Forbidden Forest.
"Could he be going to the Forbidden Forest?"
After some thought, John concluded that if Quirrell hadn't left Hogwarts altogether, he must be heading to the Forbidden Forest. The forest was home to many magical creatures, including werewolves and centaurs, and even housed pure unicorns.
"The Bloody Baron mentioned it was dangerous. Was he referring to Voldemort?"
The thought of Voldemort heightened John's sense of danger. Although the second Dark Lord didn't have the same influence as the first, Voldemort had no limits. He would perform the Killing Curse on a baby without feeling an ounce of shame. If Voldemort had the same nobility as the first Dark Lord, John wouldn't feel so threatened at Hogwarts.
"No, I must strengthen myself further!"
John covered Tom's eyes with the Fat Lady's portrait, unwilling to place his hopes on uncertain prophecies. Who knew if the prophecies were even true? Besides, it wasn't unheard of for people to die at Hogwarts.
...
October 31, Charms class.
The sweet smell of roasted pumpkins filled the hallways. In class, students paired up to listen to Professor Flitwick's instructions on the Levitation Charm. John could clearly see Goyle and Crabbe swallowing hard, while he was paired with Malfoy, his nemesis. This made Malfoy constantly tense, as if he feared John might suddenly stab his wand into his eye.
Professor Flitwick stood on a makeshift height-boosting chair made of stacked books, his high-pitched voice giving pointers to the students.
"Now, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practicing!"
"A swish and flick, remember, a swish and flick, and enunciate the spell correctly. Don't forget about the wizard Baruffio..."
As the head of Ravenclaw and the Charms professor, Flitwick was undoubtedly excellent. He would break down a spell into tiny pieces and feed it to the students bit by bit, a truly good teacher. It was rumored that in his younger days, Professor Flitwick had even won the dueling championship, proving his skills.
After Professor Flitwick finished his instructions, the students began practicing.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Malfoy's wand was practically poking John's face, yet the feather on the table remained unmoved. John was exasperated.
He patiently and quietly reassured Malfoy, "Malfoy, if you poke my hand again, I'll stick my wand in your ear."
The threat made Malfoy freeze, but his pureblood pride wouldn't let him back down to a Muggle-born. Defiantly, he said, "If you think you're so great, then you do it."
"Sorry, I really can."
John shrugged, elegantly pulled out his wand, and aimed it at the feather on the table. With a swish and a flick, he cast, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the feather floated into the air. Guided by John's wand, it drifted toward Professor Flitwick, landing gently and precisely in his hand.
"Wonderful!"
Flitwick clapped his hands in excitement, his voice growing even higher. "Look at Mr. Wick's elegant and perfect execution! Ten points to Slytherin!"
From Gryffindor's side, Hermione, who had already practiced and perfected the Levitation Charm, was confident she could perform it successfully. However, paired with Ron, she was frustrated by his wild waving. Just as she was about to cast the spell correctly, John beat her to it.
Seeing John's precise control over the feather made Hermione feel downcast. Her emotions had a perfect outlet: Ron. Under her increasingly frustrated teaching, Ron's mood soured.
After class, the crowded hallway was bustling. Ron complained to Harry, "No wonder nobody can stand her, she's a nightmare."
Hermione heard this, feeling even more hurt. She was only trying to help Ron but ended up being unappreciated. Heartbroken, she didn't wait for John and wanted to find a place to cry.
As she weaved through the crowd, she bumped into Harry. Noticing her tears, and having recently changed his opinion about her, Harry felt Ron's words were harsh.
"I think she heard you," Harry said.
Ron saw Hermione's hurt expression and, though his pride made him stubborn, he mumbled, "So what if she did? She must've noticed no one likes her."
"Ron, you shouldn't have said that," Harry said earnestly.
With his best friend calling him out, Ron reluctantly muttered, "Alright, she does have a friend. John is her friend."
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