Mr. John Wick?
The Slytherins had braced themselves to swallow this humiliation, only for an unexpected reversal to arrive.
The lovely blonde Daphne had already been about to grumble to Pansy about Dumbledore, but she swallowed her words when she heard that.
Malfoy nearly smashed his goblet into Crabbe's head as he turned to stare at John in disbelief.
Dumbledore continued, "Mr. John Wick, with his exceptional instincts and careful observation, uncovered that man's identity, saved a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest, and risked his own life to rescue Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."
"He braved danger to save Harry Potter when he was in peril, defeated that man, and defended Hogwarts."
"His willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends was deeply moving."
"For this, I award Slytherin eighty points!"
The tables had turned!
At that moment, John Wick was Slytherin's hero, a far cry from the deafening uproar just moments earlier.
The students of the other three houses stared blankly at John, as though seeing the troublemaker who had gotten into a fight at the start of term for the first time.
More of them focused on the fact that he had defeated that man. However badly Quirrell had performed in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he had still been a professor.
In other words, John had defeated a professor.
"Brilliant!"
Daphne was the first to cheer, and the whole of Slytherin erupted into celebration right after her.
Malfoy threw an arm around John's shoulders, his goblet swaying in his hand and splashing pumpkin juice everywhere.
Goyle and Crabbe took it upon themselves to hoist John up and carry him around the Slytherin table, celebrating him like a hero.
No one was foolish enough to bring up the fact that John was a mudblood. They had accepted him as a Slytherin.
John accepted the pumpkin juice Daphne handed him and raised his goblet under the watching eyes of Slytherin.
"To eternal glory."
"To eternal glory!!!"
Slytherin had defended their seven-year winning streak and extended it to eight. They would break Hogwarts' record.
After sitting down, Dumbledore clapped against the back of his hand, while Snape's stiff smile visibly brightened.
Surrounded by green and silver, the other houses joined in the end-of-year feast celebrations too.
Among the Golden Trio, Ron scratched his cheek and said, "I don't know why, but losing to John doesn't feel all that bad."
Hermione did not particularly mind either. Although Slytherin had that obnoxious Malfoy, it also had John, her friend.
It was just that, even after working hard for an entire school year, she still had not surpassed John.
Once Harry learned that John had saved him, he had even less reason to object. He was merely a little annoyed by Malfoy's smug expression.
Slytherin was just lucky to have John. Otherwise, Gryffindor would definitely have won.
For the first time, John drank enough pumpkin juice to feel stuffed. These young wizards seemed to be treating it like alcohol.
He spotted the Weasley Twins sneaking over to the Slytherin table, so he firmly declined Malfoy's invitation to have another drink.
Sure enough, afterward, Slytherin's bathrooms were packed.
The Weasley Twins had added a potion to their pumpkin juice, leaving some of the young snakes weak in the knees even as they departed Hogwarts.
Malfoy swore he would kill the bastard who had spiked their drinks, and John could hardly tell him the Weasley Twins had done it.
Once aboard the train home, John felt his pocket.
"Dumbledore didn't say anything, so that means I can take it with me, right?"
John felt a little guilty. This was the Philosopher's Stone, a treasure countless people could never obtain.
Not only had he taken it, but now he was bringing it home.
Since Dumbledore had not come looking for him, John decided the man must have tacitly permitted him to take it.
He exchanged farewells with his classmates, and Ron invited John to visit his home sometime.
Hermione, meanwhile, was a little downcast. The results were out, and she had come second.
First place had gone to John. He had already known that, because he had received a system notification.
He had successfully obtained top student 2.0.
Harry was a little downcast too. He had to return to the Dursleys again.
Seeing him like that, John thought for a moment and said, "My house isn't far away. You're welcome to come over whenever you like."
Harry realized he was right. He lived at number four, and John's house was number six.
That thought immediately lifted his spirits.
Neville carried the cage John had given him. Apart from the few times he had accidentally forgotten where he had put it, the cage had been very useful.
[Ding! Hogwarts stage quest one completed. Quest rewards obtained: magic blood +1, free points +2]
The moment the train started moving, the system notification sounded in John's ears.
Curious about what magic blood was, he opened its description.
[Magic blood: increases magical power when consumed. (Note: mixing it with other blood may produce unexpected effects.)]
"Mix it?"
John sank into thought. This "other blood" probably meant blood from magical creatures.
He did happen to have some. He had not used up all his dragon blood yet.
But this stuff looked a little dangerous. Would using it cause some other effect?
He had no desire to be hauled in for questioning by the Ministry of Magic because he had drunk some random concoction at home.
"Never mind. I'll get home first."
He had been away for almost a year, and he was beginning to miss home.
The train rumbled into King's Cross Station, and John stepped off.
On Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, a wizened old guard stood by the barrier, allowing only two or three people through at a time.
This kept a large crowd from emerging through a solid wall all at once, which would have drawn far too much attention.
People kept greeting John, most of them from Slytherin and Gryffindor.
The Slytherins greeted him because of the glory he had won, while the Gryffindors were convinced that old Sorting Hat must have been broken.
Harry received the same treatment. People kept squeezing past him and greeting him as they went.
"I'll head off first, then."
After saying goodbye to the Golden Trio, John walked straight into the barrier and returned to the Muggle world.
John headed toward his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wick had been waiting for quite a while, and not far from them stood a little red-haired girl, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley.
As for how John knew who they were...
Once Harry emerged, the little girl would not stop squealing, giving John a profound understanding of the power of a fangirl.
"You must be John Wick."
Following Ron's introduction, Mrs. Weasley came over to John, and the two sets of parents had a friendly meeting.
The Granger family joined them too. The Dursleys did not, as they wanted nothing to do with wizards.
Behind the Dursleys, Dudley spotted John emerging and looked terrified, as though he had seen a ghost.
John gave him a friendly smile and pointed at Harry, signaling that Harry was under his protection.
If Harry was not treated well, he would not mind reliving old times with Dudley.
The summer holidays were always full of joy.
On that subject, Watson Wick felt that his son seemed completely out of step with summer, spending all his time in the basement.
"John, you spent so long at that wizarding school. Didn't you learn any magic?"
Watson Wick asked for the eleventh time, refusing to give up. John looked helplessly at his father and said, "I've told you, young wizards aren't allowed to use magic in the Muggle world."
Seeing that his dad still would not give up, John said fiercely, "Do you want to see your son sent to Azkaban?"
Watson gave an awkward smile and muttered, "Surely it wouldn't be that serious. Doesn't the magical world have laws to protect minors?"
John merely gave him a look. If his dad came down to the basement to bother him again, he could not blame John for secretly slipping him a little sleeping potion.
At that moment, he held a vial of blood-red liquid, with tiny patterns resembling dragons occasionally flowing across it.
Magic blood.
He was studying how to use it.
But as he studied it, he also turned his meddling hands toward his wand.
Before you continue