A short while later, Professor McGonagall arrived.
"How dare you-!"
"What on earth were you playing at?!"
Harry swore he had never seen Professor McGonagall so angry.
Her lips were white. Even her normally stern face showed flashes of shock and relief, but anger outweighed them both.
Her gaze settled on the Golden Trio, who dared not raise their heads. Her voice was cold with fury. "Why weren't you safely in your dormitory!"
The Golden Trio felt wronged, especially Ron, who still thought he was a hero and ought to have earned Gryffindor at least fifty points.
But Professor McGonagall's expression told him he would be lucky not to lose any points today.
For the sake of her friends, Hermione stepped forward without hesitation. "Please don't, Professor McGonagall. They were looking for me."
Meeting Professor McGonagall's eyes, Hermione lied to a teacher for the first time.
"I went looking for the troll because I... I thought I could handle it on my own. You know, because I'd read about them in books and knew a lot about them."
"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. They didn't have time to get anyone. The troll was about to swallow me whole before they arrived. John lured it away, and Harry and Ron rescued me."
Harry and Ron were surprised when Hermione stepped forward, and warmth spread through their hearts.
Everyone liked a friend willing to shoulder everything alone. Even Ron, who had held a grudge against Hermione, now put his prejudice aside.
Professor McGonagall was pleased to see Hermione take the blame for her friends. Friendship was Gryffindor's noblest quality.
But Miss Know-it-all had clearly forgotten one thing. However hard she tried to concoct a lie and take all the blame, Professor McGonagall was no fool.
"Are you saying... John Wick killed the troll?"
She surveyed the wreckage. Besides the troll's severed fingers, blood had splattered across the entire wall, and a sword was embedded in the ceiling.
Even Professor McGonagall was stunned by the sight.
She did not believe a young wizard could have done this-at least, not these three Gryffindors.
Turning her gaze toward John, who was playing dead off to one side, Professor McGonagall pressed her pale lips together sternly. "Mr. Wick, do you have anything to say?"
"Ahem, Professor McGonagall, there are actually reasons for all this... All right, I did it."
John tried to steel himself and explain, but Professor McGonagall's deadly stare convinced him that honesty was the better choice.
"Good heavens, I can't believe a wizard as young as you killed a troll."
Even after he admitted it, Professor McGonagall could scarcely believe him.
Even an adult wizard would struggle to defeat a troll without some special method.
Yet John had killed one in his first year. It was simply unbelievable.
"Well, Miss Granger, Gryffindor will lose five points over this. I am disappointed in you. If you aren't injured, you had better return to Gryffindor Tower at once. The students are enjoying the Halloween Feast in their own houses."
Hermione lowered her head in disappointment and left.
Harry and Ron, who remained behind, were terribly nervous. But Professor McGonagall did not blame them. Instead, she awarded them five points each for fighting a troll for their friend.
The two felt undeserving, because they both knew John had dealt with the troll alone.
All they had done was get Hermione away from behind it.
They, too, were sent back.
Only John remained.
As Head of Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall felt she should wait for Snape to handle this.
Professor Snape and Quirrell arrived soon afterward and were dumbfounded when they learned what had happened.
Quirrell in particular was stunned. He had released this troll, and he had captured it himself.
He knew better than most how powerful a troll was. For a first-year Little Wizard, encountering one was a nightmare.
But now the troll was dead, and its death had been gruesome.
This drew more of his attention to John.
This student performed well in class, but he had never expected him to be capable of dealing with a troll.
Voldemort, who was attached to Quirrell's head, also began considering the possibilities. Such an outstanding Little Wizard might make a worthy Death Eater.
"Mr. Wick, it seems you have always considered yourself quite capable."
Professor Snape spoke in his usual snide tone, but he, too, had begun to reassess John.
Snape never spared any effort when it came to awarding Slytherin points.
John received twenty points, a far more generous award than Professor McGonagall's.
"For your recklessness, Mr. Wick, you will spend some time in the Forbidden Forest this school year."
John had just been thinking that Snape was being decent for once when those words made his face darken.
Before learning that Quirrell often went to the Forbidden Forest, John would have gladly accepted this punishment.
After all, sneaking out at night was sneaking out, wherever he went. But with a Dark Lord liable to drop by the Forbidden Forest at any moment, he really could not feel happy about it.
Unfortunately, his reluctance changed nothing. Professor McGonagall still needed to tell Dumbledore about this, and John was sent back.
"I've only just finished with the Trophy Room, and now I have to go to the Forbidden Forest. What kind of luck is this?"
Despite his grumbling, John did not particularly regret it.
The increase in his Free Points alone made it worthwhile.
He did not use them immediately, planning to save them until he hit a bottleneck.
Should I learn Fiendfyre, or start with Occlumency?
Remembering the existence of an overpowered spell like Legilimency, John decided to learn Occlumency first.
He had no desire to have an old bat or a noseless man reading his mind all day.
November 1.
Word spread quickly that a first-year Little Wizard had killed a troll.
John became even more conspicuous in Slytherin. Even Malfoy could not resist coming over to ask curiously, "Did you really kill a troll?"
John elegantly ate his bread with plain water. He did not want to see milk or tomato juice for a while, and he believed Harry and the others felt the same.
Glancing at Malfoy, who had taken the rare step of speaking to him first, John said mildly, "Do you really want to know? I can describe it in detail."
Malfoy remembered Filch scrubbing the walls in the first-floor corridor and complaining all the while. Suddenly, the milk in front of him seemed to turn into something else.
"No thanks-urgh."
Clearly, Malfoy's young mind could not yet withstand such a tremendous shock.
After this incident, John inspired even greater awe in Slytherin.
Even the older Slytherins no longer dared act arrogantly in front of John.
John moved to another seat in disgust. He had barely sat down when the Golden Trio came over.
"John, there's a Quidditch match tomorrow. Are you coming to watch?"
The Golden Trio had made up, and John had also gained Harry's and Ron's friendship.
Harry in particular had remembered where he had heard John's name before. The person Dudley, his constant bully, feared most was John Wick.
"Quidditch? I think I'll go, but I should make my loyalties clear first. I'll be cheering for Slytherin."
John naturally had no reason not to go. Harry and Ron smiled awkwardly. They had almost forgotten he was a Slytherin. It seemed there was no hope of getting him to cheer for Gryffindor.
Hermione was more concerned about John's punishment. "There are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest," she said worriedly. "I can't believe the school is sending a first-year in there to patrol."
The thought made her furious. John had saved her, yet he still had to be punished.
Harry also found Snape even more unpleasant now. Especially after going to retrieve Quidditch Through the Ages and accidentally discovering that Snape had been bitten after visiting the fourth floor, he liked him even less.
Slytherin and Gryffindor did not share a classroom that day.
After class, as John was about to leave, Malfoy could not help asking, "Wick, are you going to cheer for Slytherin at tomorrow's Quidditch match?"
To Malfoy, John was practically a Gryffindor. He might even go there and cheer for Gryffindor.
John smiled at the question and looked at Malfoy. "Of course. For eternal glory."
Malfoy froze, then muttered under his breath.
"For eternal glory..."
Those words changed his opinion of John. Perhaps this person could be considered a Slytherin after all.
Slytherin always pursued glory.
That evening, John followed Hagrid with a lantern in hand.
He had to admit that Hagrid's enormous bulk gave him a real sense of security.
Especially with that crossbow bolt gleaming coldly. John was certain that getting hit by it would be anything but pleasant.
The two had not been in the Forbidden Forest long when they heard a cry of pain.
Hagrid's expression changed. "That's a unicorn."
Before you continue