Herbology.
Pomona Sprout was explaining the properties of Devil's Snare. For all its terrifying appearance, the great hulking thing was really just a child afraid of the light.
John listened while jotting down key points about alchemy.
After several tests, he had found that pigeon feathers were ill-suited to inscribing runes on Blast-Ended Skrewt rear ends. After trying a few alternatives, he made an engraving pen from silver and Basil's feathers.
He had also obtained some magical creature blood from the Forbidden Forest and successfully completed his alchemy.
His first magical item was a bracelet. The pieces strung along it that looked like ceramic discs were Blast-Ended Skrewt rear ends.
It was nothing particularly powerful, roughly equivalent to a set of disposable protective charms that could cast a Shield Charm the instant danger approached.
Still, he had taken the first step. Once he got his hands on some more potent dragon blood, he might be able to attempt higher-level alchemy.
He let his mind wander, nodding occasionally to look attentive.
Meanwhile, the Golden Trio nearby were wrestling with a dilemma.
"Should we tell John? It's a dragon!" Ron thought dragons were incredibly cool.
Hermione was more sensible. She frowned and said, "Ron, have you forgotten what we promised Hagrid?"
The fewer people who knew about the dragon, the better. Hermione didn't think involving John would do him any good.
At breakfast, Hedwig had delivered a note to Harry from Hagrid.
It told them that the dragon egg was about to hatch.
This rare sight was something the Golden Trio didn't want to miss, so much so that even the studious Hermione was distracted in class.
Harry sounded surprised at her response. "I thought you'd definitely tell John. I mean, you and John are so close."
Of the Golden Trio, Hermione was undoubtedly the closest to John.
That was why Harry was surprised. If it were him, he would never have been able to resist telling Ron and the others.
"It's illegal! The Act banning dragon breeding was officially passed at the Wizards' Council in 1709. John's situation in Slytherin is already awful. If we get him docked points, it'll only make things worse."
Every point Hermione made was reasonable, so Harry had to give up on sharing the news with John.
What they didn't know, however, was that John had received a note too.
He had been hoping to obtain dragon blood for his experiments, so naturally John wasn't going to miss this.
He looked at Malfoy, who was grinning wickedly beside him, and wondered whether the boy had been drinking Cheering Charm like a beverage.
"Malfoy, what's with that bizarre grin?"
"Wick, you'll never guess what stupid thing that idiot Potter has done. This time, I'm definitely getting him expelled."
The grin on Malfoy's pale face grew even more bizarre, and his eyes kept darting toward the Golden Trio.
From the look of him, he seemed to have found something he could hold over the Golden Trio.
John shrugged. Well, this wasn't the first time Malfoy had said something like that.
During the morning break, John didn't head openly to Hagrid's Hut.
He knew keeping a dragon was illegal too. Casting a Disillusionment Charm over himself, he set off for Hagrid's Hut.
By the time he reached the hut, all three of them were gathered around the table.
John moved closer. None of those present noticed his arrival.
Only Fang lifted his head and sniffed the air.
Crack.
A deep crack appeared in the dragon egg lying on the table, and something kept moving inside.
The clicking and clacking sounded rather entertaining.
Hagrid was as excited as a child. The four of them shifted their chairs closer to the table and held their breath.
At last, under everyone's watchful gaze, the dragon Norbert broke free of his shell.
He wasn't particularly handsome, at least nothing like John had imagined.
But that wasn't a problem. After all, John only wanted his blood.
He had spiny wings and a thin, jet-black body, with white nostrils on his long snout.
Horn-like bumps grew on his head, and his orange-red eyes bulged outward.
Norbert sneezed, sending flames shooting from his nose.
Hagrid immediately turned into a doting mother, picking Norbert up and showering him with praise.
"He's beautiful, isn't he?"
Despite Hagrid's praise, Norbert had quite a temper and promptly bit his finger.
Looking at those sharp teeth, John reckoned anyone else would have lost at least a little flesh.
"This is brilliant. It's a shame John didn't get to see it."
Harry and Ron were itching to get involved. Both boys thought raising a dragon would be incredibly cool.
Hermione was more curious about how quickly a Norwegian Ridgeback grew.
John decided he could reveal himself now, but just before he lifted the charm, he noticed someone peeking in from outside.
He stopped without drawing attention and approached the window. Malfoy was lurking outside, secretly peering in.
Hagrid was about to answer Hermione's question when he noticed the window too. His face instantly went white.
Seeing that the giant had spotted him, Malfoy hastily turned and ran.
Even if Hagrid wanted to chase him, it was already too late.
Hagrid was left dumbfounded. Harry went over to the window and recognized that slicked-back head.
"We're done for. It's Malfoy. He's definitely going to tell on us." Harry was certain Malfoy had seen the baby dragon.
As he ran away, Malfoy couldn't suppress his excited grin. He muttered to himself, "Ha! You're finished, Potter. I'm going to get you expelled!"
He was walking down a corridor when, as he passed a doorway, a strange force suddenly caught his clothes and dragged him inside.
Terrified, Malfoy opened his mouth to scream.
John lifted his Disillusionment Charm, covered Malfoy's mouth with one hand, and raised the other in a gesture for silence.
"Wick? What are you doing here?"
Setting aside his status as a Mudblood, Slytherin had a fairly good opinion of John, who had earned their house nearly two hundred points.
Although Malfoy was afraid John would beat him up again, he forced himself to remain composed.
John performed another Wall Slam, pinning Malfoy in the corner, and spoke pleasantly. "Malfoy, I need you to promise me something. Don't tell the professors what happened today."
"What happened today? You know about that giant's dragon too?"
Malfoy's eyes shifted as he worked out the truth.
John didn't deny it. He nodded and said, "I'd like you not to tell the professors. At least wait a while before saying anything."
"Why? Why should I agree to that?" Malfoy's arrogance returned.
If you tell them, my dragon blood will go down the drain, John thought.
He immediately said, "There isn't much of a gap between our points and Gryffindor's right now. If you tell a professor, they'll deduct points from Slytherin too."
That made some sense. Malfoy hadn't considered it.
If he told a professor and that great oaf Hagrid gave John away, Slytherin would lose the lead they had worked so hard to gain.
The only thing worse than losing the House Cup was losing it to Gryffindor.
After a little thought, Malfoy reluctantly nodded. "Fine. I'll wait a while before telling anyone. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the House Cup."
His willingness to cooperate improved John's opinion of him somewhat. John smiled and offered his hand.
"For eternal glory. I'm sure you won't regret what you've done today."
Malfoy shook John's hand for the second time, thinking that John seemed quite decent, since he hadn't threatened him with violence.
Perhaps he could be friends with John. Even for a noble pure-blood, having an ordinary wizard as a friend wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
The two reached an understanding, but the Golden Trio were left unable to eat or sleep in peace.
Although Malfoy hadn't reported them, he stared at them every day with a malicious smirk.
It kept the Golden Trio on edge. They felt as though Aurors from the Ministry of Magic might arrive at the castle any second and arrest them for being wicked dragon breeders.
Hermione had told Harry and Ron that the Ministry of Magic wouldn't arrest them just for seeing a dragon, but neither boy could stop imagining the worst.
After a week of this, they discussed it with Hagrid and decided to send Norbert away.
As it happened, Ron's brother Charlie Weasley worked with dragons in Romania. Ron wrote to Charlie and received a reply.
John went to meet Quirrell again, feeling rather nervous this time.
There was now an insect in a cage on Quirrell's desk. Smiling, he announced the subject of today's lesson.
A full step into the realm of dark magic: the Unforgivable Curses.
If John passed this test, he would be fully accepted as one of them.
If he didn't, John would become a thorn in Voldemort's side.
In other words, this was a path that offered him no choice.
Either he used an Unforgivable Curse, or he became a priority target for Voldemort, and the Imperius Curse would be cast on John.
This was coercion, forcing him to make a choice.
Willingly, or by force?
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