บท 91: 91: Johnny Silverhand and the Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets
The highlight of the feast began when Professor McGonagall announced that the end-of-year exams were canceled.
Around 3:30 AM, Hagrid returned from the Ministry of Magic. This made Harry very happy, and he went over to give him a tight hug.
"I don't really know what happened, but the Head of the Auror Office was quite nice to me," Hagrid said, confused, when asked how things had gone at the Ministry.
Although Lucius had been determined to send him to Azkaban, the Auror Office had insisted on treating him well and even gave him a big bed to lie down on.
It felt more like a vacation at the Ministry than being imprisoned.
"Rufus Scrimgeour asked me to send his regards to Johnny Silverhand, but I don't even know who that is," Hagrid added.
Harry, curious, asked, "Johnny Silverhand? Who's that?"
Hagrid took a sip of beer, savoring the familiar taste, and said, "The owner of the Johnny Silverhand Specialty Shop in Knockturn Alley. You wouldn't believe how popular his stuff is at the Auror Office."
As a frequent visitor to Knockturn Alley, Hagrid collected materials for John and had been to the Johnny Silverhand Specialty Shop sometimes, where the items sold were of a much higher quality than those typically found in Knockturn Alley.
That greedy Mundungus Fletcher was also working there, dressed up and looking presentable, eager to empty everyone's pockets.
"I heard that Johnny Silverhand donated a batch of combat gear to the Auror Office. Hahaha, I guess they got the wrong idea."
Hagrid thought that Rufus Scrimgeour had misunderstood his connection to Johnny Silverhand, but he considered it a good thing.
Because of this, he downed three large mugs of beer, each of which had been enchanted with a refilling charm, so he drank without stopping.
Harry made a mental note of the name Johnny Silverhand; this seemed to be a significant figure.
He shared this information with his friends, and Ron, with a chicken leg in each hand, was eating so much that his cheeks were puffed out.
"Johnny Silverhand? I know him. My dad said he turned in a whole bunch of Dark Magic artifacts to the Ministry. That really helped my dad stand tall at work."
After John raided Borgin and Burkes, he knew he needed to do something to reassure the Ministry, so he handed over half of the Dark Magic items.
This move successfully won the favor of the Ministry, and even Fudge mentioned that if more wizards in Knockturn Alley were as conscientious, they would have two Diagon Alleys by now.
Although no one had seen Johnny Silverhand, it didn't stop the Ministry from having a good opinion of this mysterious figure.
Seeing their interest in the Johnny Silverhand Specialty Shop, Hermione immediately played the role of the concerned mother, warning, "Harry, have you forgotten that you almost got caught by that old witch at the start of the school year?"
"Please, Hermione, don't bring that up."
The Savior's embarrassing history was being dragged out again, and Harry wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Even Ron joined in the mocking laughter, but was soon silenced by Hermione's scolding, which made him retreat into himself.
"Hagrid and Mrs. Weasley both said we shouldn't go there. It's too dangerous."
"That Johnny Silverhand in Knockturn Alley might even be a Dark wizard."
After repeatedly warning the two troublemakers, Hermione asserted her authority within the group.
...
John sneezed twice in a row. He rubbed his nose, feeling as though someone was talking about him.
...
In April, the Mandrakes matured.
Professor Snape never imagined that he would have to brew a potion specifically for a cat.
During this time, Filch went out of his way to please Professor Snape, as all of Mrs. Norris's hopes depended on him.
With the administration of the antidote, Mrs. Norris returned to normal.
A few days before Easter, Professor McGonagall had them choose their third-year courses.
"Hmm.."
John glanced at the list of subjects.
Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divination, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures.
There were five elective courses, and John needed to choose the ones he wanted to study.
Ancient Runes, also known as Ancient Script, was essential for John.
Muggle Studies, as a former Muggle, John's understanding of Muggle society could be said to be ahead of the teachers here.
Care of Magical Creatures interested John a bit, as many aspects of alchemy were related to magical creatures.
Arithmancy and Divination were both forms of divination, but they involved different areas.
Arithmancy is a subject that studies the magical properties of numbers, and it's very difficult to learn because it requires memorizing or using a large number of charts.
Divination, on the other hand, differs in that it includes a variety of methods and techniques, such as reading tea leaves, interpreting fire omens, crystal ball gazing, palmistry, tarot card reading, astrology, and dream interpretation.
Divination relies heavily on talent, and even Professor McGonagall couldn't help but mention that it is the least rigorous of the subjects.
"Fuck! Gotta learn them all!"
Given all this, John felt that he was interested in all the courses.
So, he decided to choose them all.
As for potential scheduling conflicts?
It didn't matter. John only needed to excel in one to achieve a perfect score.
He could drop by Muggle Studies once or twice occasionally. Even without attending regularly, he knew more about Muggles than most wizards who were immersed in the magical world.
...
Easter arrived.
During this time, John buried himself in earning points, rapidly boosting Slytherin's score by an extraordinary margin.
Especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts, John's point-earning speed was absurd.
Lockhart was practically giving him a point for every word he spoke.
As the saying goes, "You have a referee on your side, I have external support."
(A/N: other similar sayings:
-You have the home field umpire, I have fans in the stands.
-You have the friend in accounting, I have allies in the halls.
-You have the coach on the payroll, I have backing from the bleachers.
-You have the teacher holding your pen, I have help from the bench.)
With John's relentless pursuit of points, the Slytherin hourglass was catching up to Gryffindor's at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Originally, the confident Gryffindor found themselves on edge, feeling as though they were being pricked by needles, and didn't dare to relax. They quickly entered a hyper-competitive mode to earn more points.
Ravenclaw, of course, needed no explanation.
Though they had been perpetual third-place finishers, their reputation for intelligence meant they were naturally inclined to compete intensely within their house.
The Hufflepuffs, the usual bystanders, noticed everyone else's intense competition and decided that continuing to slack off would be rude. So they also began to work hard.
This phenomenon amazed the professors, who had never expected that canceling the final exams would lead to everyone working even harder.
It even made Dumbledore consider whether he should cancel the final exams altogether in the future.
In short, John single-handedly sparked a competitive spirit across the school. His habit of answering questions in class before Hermione could made her grit her teeth in frustration.
Daphne's secret had been discovered by John, and for a while, she didn't dare to appear in front of him.
She had expected John to react to her, but to her surprise, John was so absorbed in earning points that he couldn't pull himself away.
This both pleased and annoyed her.
...
In the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets.
Now that John knew there was a way to get in through the Forbidden Forest, he no longer needed to bother Harry.
He entered the room inside the statue, and apart from the tracks left by something that had been sliding around for years, the place was relatively dust-free.
"Must be because of magic," he mused.
The room was divided into three levels. The first level resembled a workshop, filled with various fearsome magical creatures preserved in liquid.
Some of them had been smashed, possibly because the basilisk had been hungry.
The second level was an office.
A golden candelabrum stood on the desk, and a silver skull-shaped item was enchanted with some spells.
There was also a long rectangular box, but its contents were missing—either taken by Riddle or removed during Salazar Slytherin's time.
The third level resembled the Restricted Section of the library. John walked in and pulled out a book; it was filled with information about dark magic.
There were also some books on forbidden topics or on the human body—subjects unsuitable for young wizards.
"I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of the Restricted Section in the library was contributed by Salazar Slytherin," John thought.
He leafed through several books, and the content was horrifying.
One book, with an unknown leather cover, contained material that particularly intrigued John. His flipping stopped.
"Blood Magic."
John's eyes gleamed with interest as he closed the book.
He hadn't triggered any inheritance tests in Slytherin's chamber, which made sense—after all, Slytherin's heir was Voldemort.
Given Voldemort's nature, he wouldn't leave anything valuable behind for others.
These books were probably left behind simply because they were too inconvenient to carry.
"Thank you Voldy~" This turned out to be a stroke of luck for John.
For the remainder of the term, John frequently visited Slytherin's chamber.
His knowledge was accumulating rapidly, which caused his pace in earning points in class to slow down. The other students, who had been struggling to keep up, finally breathed a sigh of relief—they were truly exhausted by this "points king."
But even so, John's progress in earning points did not come to a halt.
When May arrived, Gryffindor was horrified to discover that Slytherin had caught up in the points race.
Slytherin erupted in cheers, and even Draco Malfoy, who had been sulking since Lucius lost his position on the Board of Governors, wore a silly smile again.
Everyone knew who was responsible for Slytherin's comeback.
"Hey, hey, easy." Surrounded by his housemates, John frowned and said, "Ehm* We haven't reached the moment of victory yet; we must not get complacent."
His words brought the Slytherins back to their senses.
Indeed, who knew if Gryffindor would mysteriously gain points again before the term ended? This served as a wake-up call for Slytherin.
The earlier cheers were replaced with a renewed sense of determination, as Slytherin burned with an unprecedented fighting spirit.
They were now united, more so than ever before.
______________
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