29: The Battle of the Forbidden Forest and the Curse
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"Poor child, he's under the Imperius Curse!"
John, who had been planning to backstab Quirrell, immediately pretended to be controlled upon hearing the approaching voices.
Professor Sprout hurried to John's side, heartbroken at the sight of his condition.
Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, resembled an enraged lioness. Her lips were pressed into a thin, white line due to her anger—harming a Hogwarts student was a boundary she could not tolerate.
With her wand emitting a series of sparks, McGonagall advanced step by step. She waved her hand, transforming nearby trees into a lion that lunged at Quirrell.
"You will pay for this!"
Never underestimate an angry professor, especially one who is an Animagus.
Quirrell attempted to counterattack, but McGonagall, transformed into a tabby cat, nimbly evaded his spells, leaping forward and slashing at his cloak with her sharp claws.
Reverting to her human form, Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and aimed at Quirrell.
"Stupefy!"
Quirrell was hit and sent flying. McGonagall was about to pursue him when the commotion attracted patrolling students.
"Professor McGonagall?!"
Harry exclaimed, causing McGonagall to curse inwardly.
"Hide, Potter!" she shouted urgently.
Quirrell, who should have been unconscious, slithered like a snake, floating through the air. As he neared Harry, McGonagall launched another attack.
Quirrell changed direction and disappeared into the Forbidden Forest.
"What happened here?"
Hagrid arrived, seeing the Fiendfyre burning uncontrollably. With the help of McGonagall and the newly arrived Professor Flitwick, they managed to extinguish the flames. Despite their efforts, the situation remained perilous.
Hermione looked anxiously at Harry and sighed in relief upon seeing he was unharmed. However, her gaze then fell upon the fallen student, and she screamed.
"Oh My... That's, John!"
Hermione, disregarding the danger, ran down to Professor Sprout, her voice trembling. "He'll be okay, right?"
Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff House and a kind, plump witch, gently patted John's head. "He was hit with the Imperius Curse. We need to get him to the hospital wing."
"One of the Unforgivable Curse?!" Hermione's heart sank at the name.
Harry and Neville came running over, and even Malfoy, usually so self-assured, stood there in disbelief.
Professor McGonagall looked grave. Someone had entered Hogwarts and used the Imperius Curse on a student.
Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice rang out in anger. "Damned scoundrel!"
The disturbance had attracted the centaurs. One of them, a young centaur with platinum hair and a silver-maned horse body, approached.
"Hagrid, Professors."
Firenze, the centaur, looked at the scene with surprise in his eyes. Centaurs could read the stars to make predictions, but the current events were beyond his expectations.
"Hagrid, take them back and get Wick to the hospital wing. We need to thoroughly search this area."
Professor McGonagall assigned tasks before running towards the direction of the hooded figure with the two professors, and Hagrid picked up John while the frightened little wizards followed.
Firenze walked alongside them, engaging Harry in a conversation about the mysterious stars.
As the group made their way out of the Forbidden Forest, John began to feel relieved.
'I think three professors should be enough to deal with Quirrell, assuming they find him,' John thought, feeling a sense of satisfaction. Now he wouldn't have to see Quirrell for a while.
The unicorn had survived, and Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who taught the Care of Magical Creatures, had already rushed over to tend to it.
Feeling more at ease, John noticed his eyelids growing heavy. He had been tense the whole time to avoid arousing Quirrell's suspicion, but now that he felt safe, drowsiness was taking over.
Just as John was about to drift off to sleep, he heard a rustling sound. His heart raced as he opened his eyes to see a pair of venomous eyes staring back at him.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Fuck!"
John didn't expect that Quirrell, this madman, would dare to show up, and he didn't expect that he would save people.
In Hagrid's arms, John kicked Harry and Malfoy in front of him.
The excessive force of the kick caused John to fall to the ground.
The green light struck John, activating his protective amulet.
The Shield Charm he had in place collided with the Killing Curse, weakening it.
Quirrell was already weakened by Voldemort, had been further battered by Professor McGonagall, leaving him almost incapacitated. Now, his weakened Killing Curse, combined with the Shield Charm's intervention, hit John.
As John was struck, he was thrown backward, but he knew it wasn't enough to kill him.
Before losing consciousness, John heard many hoofbeats approaching—it was the centaurs.
Quirrell, too afraid to linger, fled immediately after casting the curse, not even checking the outcome.
He paid the price for his stupidity and was chased by the centaurs all night.
...
Since acquiring the Sleepless Blessing, John hadn't slept this deeply in a long time.
When he opened his eyes, it was still dark.
He had slept for three whole days, during which Hogwarts had been in an uproar.
An evil intruder had entered the Forbidden Forest and used the Imperius Curse to control a Slytherin student.
Harry and his friends, who had been involved in the incident, could have been at the center of the school's gossip with firsthand information, but they chose not to be.
Even Malfoy, who usually loved to cause trouble, had no heart for it now.
His mind was filled with the image of that green light flying towards him and John's sudden kick.
"John Wick... He saved me, but why?"
Malfoy was confused. Despite their animosity and the insults he had hurled at John, calling him a Mudblood, John had still saved him. This left him at a loss.
Hermione and Harry had told everything to Ron that happened that night.
Neville and the trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron were equally disturbed, unable to sleep due to their worries.
Harry, in particular, was haunted by the similarity of the green light to the one in his dreams. He knew exactly what it signified.
His friend John might have died saving him, and the thought left Harry trembling uncontrollably.
Three days passed like an eternity.
Dumbledore visited the hospital wing several times, and even Snape, who usually disliked John, had a gloomy face all day long, his eyes filled with murderous intent towards Quirrell. It seemed as if he might go to find him and use the Killing Curse on Quirrell at any moment.
John woke up in the middle of the night, and word quickly spread to the professors.
The first to arrive was Professor Snape. His expression was darker than ever, and with his characteristic greasy tone, he demanded, "What on earth were you thinking, John Wick?"
"Calm down, Severus," Dumbledore interjected, appearing just in time. His eyes, behind half-moon spectacles, were full of warmth and relief. Dumbledore said with a smile, "This is good news, isn't it? We should be thankful that the caster was too weak, too weak to kill John Wick."
Snape's expression lightened slightly, though his face remained stormy.
"John Wick, do you recognize the person who cast the curse on you?" Dumbledore asked.
John thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I couldn't see clearly, but he seemed very familiar with Hogwarts."
Among the professors, all four Heads of Houses except for Snape were in the Forbidden Forest at the time. Snape, being a double agent, was unlikely to betray them. It was obvious who it was.
John almost said it was Quirrell indirectly, and Dumbledore smiled and said nothing.
The next day, when Harry and his friends came to visit, they talked about the unicorn.
The unicorn had survived, and Professor Quirrell had taken a few days off. He might not even be around for the exams.
In the days that followed, John no longer had to deal with Quirrell's harassment. He just needed to wait for the exam week to arrive.
John also hadn't forgotten what Dumbledore had mentioned about the Philosopher's Stone. The thought of it made his heart race with excitement.
Finally, the exam week arrived.
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