Exam Week and the Trapdoor

June.

Exam week had arrived.

During Charms, Professor Flitwick expressed his concern for John.

"Mr. Wick, have you recovered?"

John smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Professor. I'm much better now."

Professor Flitwick spoke in his squeaky voice, still shaken. "You were very lucky. The Killing Curse that evil bastard cast at you was very weak."

Professor Flitwick wished he had been there. He would have shown that skulking wretch exactly what a Dueling Tournament champion could do.

The Charms exam required them to make a pineapple tap-dance.

John completed the test flawlessly and elegantly, leaving Professor Flitwick very satisfied.

The second exam was Transfiguration, where John received another round of concern from Professor McGonagall.

This child had suffered far too much. First, Malfoy had insulted him at the start of term, and then someone had abducted him using the Imperius Curse and struck him with the Killing Curse.

But fortune had smiled on the child and allowed him to survive.

"Vera Verto!"

John drew his wand and pointed it at the rat before him. The rat transformed into an exquisite snuffbox.

"Perfect. An excellent Transfiguration Spell."

Professor McGonagall applauded generously.

Next came Potions class, where they brewed a Forgetfulness Potion.

Professor Quirrell was absent from the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam on sick leave, so Dumbledore supervised it himself.

This made John rather uncomfortable, because Dumbledore kept greeting him with probing looks and playful winks.

History of Magic was the final subject, and also the easiest for John.

Although Professor Binns's monotonous lessons made everyone drowsy, fortunately, this was the one subject that Muggles and wizards alike could master quickly.

As long as you knew how to memorize things by rote, learning the history of the goblin rebellions was easy.

After writing down the name of the old wizard who had invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron, John could finally relax.

"Wick, are you all right now?"

After the exam ended, Malfoy came over.

John remembered seeing Draco Malfoy's name very frequently among the mountain of get-well gifts beside his hospital bed.

The wealthy young heir's attitude toward John had changed considerably.

"Much better. I haven't thanked you yet for sending me all those get-well gifts."

"It was only a little money," Malfoy said, turning his head away with affected indifference.

You're not some cute little girl. Why act all coy? John thought.

John took a few of the treats he had been unable to finish out of his pocket and asked whether Malfoy wanted any.

Malfoy reluctantly took one, while Goyle and Crabbe acted as though they had never eaten before and nearly came to blows.

Malfoy couldn't help snapping at them. Just then, John noticed a pretty girl with golden hair.

Daphne Greengrass.

She approached gracefully and asked with concern, "I heard someone used the Imperius Curse on you. I can't imagine who would do something like that."

John rubbed his left hand, which was aching slightly from all the writing, and agreed wholeheartedly. "Probably some desperate criminal. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone into the Forbidden Forest."

This pretty girl was Slytherin's beauty, and Pansy Parkinson accompanied her.

More Slytherins had begun gathering around John. Thanks to Malfoy's tireless publicity, the troublemaker who had gotten into a fight at the start of term had undergone quite a change in their eyes.

Once most of the others had left, John looked at Malfoy and said sincerely, "Draco, I think we can call ourselves friends now."

Malfoy was briefly taken aback by the use of his first name. He glanced at the two lackeys beside him and feigned calm. "Oh? Since you insist, I suppose I can agree... John."

Calling each other by their first names meant they had acknowledged their friendship.

John smiled faintly. It seemed he had taken another step toward becoming Slytherin's top dog.

John headed for Hagrid's Hut after receiving a letter from Hagrid telling him that the unicorn had sent a thank-you gift.

"Unicorns are intelligent magical creatures. I suppose it isn't so hard to believe they understand gratitude."

When John arrived at Hagrid's Hut, Hagrid was sitting outside in a large chair. Seeing John approach, he hurriedly put down the pea pods in his hands.

"Thank goodness, John. You're all right."

Harry had told Hagrid about John's recovery, but Hagrid was still deeply concerned about him.

After giving John a bear hug, Hagrid set him down and said, "Weiwei sent over the horn she shed to thank you."

John blinked. "Weiwei?"

"That's the unicorn's name. Unicorns all have names of their own, but they don't tell people easily."

Hagrid fetched the Unicorn Horn from inside the hut. A soft glow shone from the spiraling horn. Unlike the one Quirrell had sawn off after killing its owner, this horn radiated a holy aura.

It was so beautiful that it looked as though it had been painted with pearl.

John accepted the Unicorn Horn. This was far more valuable than a Blast-Ended Skrewt's backside.

Tom came out of the hut, with that fawning dog Fang beside him.

The big dog acted like Tom's lackey, while Tom held his head high and puffed out his chest, utterly oblivious to the fact that the dog beside him could bite his head off in one go.

"Well done, Tom. Thanks to you, Professor Kettleburn came. And you did very well too, Fang. You did a great job leading the way."

John petted both dogs. That night in the Forbidden Forest, Tom had found Fang and had him lead the way to Professor Kettleburn so he could deliver John's letter.

Professor Kettleburn had always devoted himself to researching fantastic beasts, so his home was near the Forbidden Forest.

Writing as someone who patrolled the Forbidden Forest, John had told Professor Kettleburn that many fantastic beasts there had recently been injured. Professor Kettleburn would then go into the forest of his own accord.

John had also sent letters to several other professors.

He had not explained things explicitly, merely saying that he had discovered an intruder in the Forbidden Forest.

He just didn't know why Professor Snape hadn't come. If he had been there too, Quirrell would never have escaped.

With the Unicorn Horn in hand, John began thinking about alchemy. After asking Hagrid whether he had any other materials, he managed to obtain a large basket of assorted magical creature materials Hagrid had collected.

There was even the exceptionally rare acromantula venom among them. A single small vial of acromantula venom was worth a hundred Galleons.

Hagrid really was secretly rich. It was practically money picked up off the ground.

Hagrid wanted to invite John to tea, but just then, the Golden Trio came running up outside.

"Hagrid, I need to ask you something."

The Golden Trio had run so hard that their faces were flushed.

Harry asked urgently, "Do you remember the night you won Norbert in a card game? What did the stranger you played cards with look like?"

Hagrid didn't understand what was going on and replied rather casually, "Dunno. He wouldn't take off his cloak."

Seeing the Golden Trio's stunned expressions, he explained to them, "The Hog's Head gets all sorts of odd characters. He might've been a dragon dealer. I never got a proper look at his face. He had his hood up."

Harry's heart pounded. His instincts told him he was closing in on the truth.

"What did you talk to him about? Did you mention Hogwarts?"

Hagrid frowned, trying hard to remember. "Might've done. Right, he asked what I did. Oh, yeah, I told him I was the gamekeeper here, and he kept buying me drinks... He wanted to know whether I could handle a dragon, too. I told him I could keep even Fluffy in line, so a dragon would be nothing to me."

Remembering those drinks, Hagrid still seemed to wish he could have a little more.

Hearing about the dragon made Harry even more certain that this was the person who wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

Hagrid also blabbed that Fluffy liked listening to music, which left no doubt about the stranger's identity.

By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late. The Golden Trio turned and ran.

Hagrid was both dismayed and terrified. John came out of the hut and said helplessly, "Hagrid, perhaps you could try keeping your mouth shut."

"John! Thank goodness. You've got to help me."

Hagrid turned pleading eyes on John. John struggled to lift the basket of materials and said, "All right, but I need to put these things back in my dormitory first."

If John's guess was right, the Golden Trio were already working out how to get through the Trapdoor.

If he went through the Trapdoor, he would probably have to face Voldemort, and John had no intention of fighting unprepared.

Instead of going to his dormitory, he went to the Room of Requirement, where he took out his basket of materials and began carving an amulet for himself.

After all, he had the Marauder's Map and could monitor the three of them whenever he wanted.

That night, the Golden Trio began to move.

John glanced at his half-finished amulet and picked up the pace too.

Finally, some time after the Golden Trio had entered the fourth floor, John finished the amulet.

Putting it on, John stuffed his pockets full of potions.

He had made up his mind: even if he couldn't beat Voldemort, he would poison him to death with potions.

He also brought his Greatsword. Fully equipped and ready to go, he reached the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor and found that it had already been opened.

The three-headed Fluffy watched him menacingly. John tossed out a Music Box.

Fluffy immediately fell asleep, allowing John to slip through the Trapdoor.