144: Burning Money

144: Burning Money

"Come on! John Wick! I'm not done yet!!!"

On the last day of Christmas, Heinrich's fighting style resembled that of a mad dog.

He had a natural talent for fire magic. His wand spewed flaming bats that flew toward John.

John pressed his lips together and raised his hand, transforming a stone block into two large dogs to block the attack.

Seizing the moment, he pointed his wand at Heinrich's feet.

The ground caved in beneath Heinrich, and just before he fell, he grabbed the edge.

"Ugh.."

Jagged wooden spikes dug into his palms, and blood trickled down Heinrich's hand.

"Ugh.. This is nothing! You asked me to help you duel! I will naturally go all in!!" Heinrich climbed with his bloody hands while laughing maniacally.

As he climbed back up, John had already conjured a ball of water and slammed it into Heinrich.

"Ok, just give up now!"

A Water Prison Charm trapped Heinrich, and the water replaced the air in his mouth and nose.

Just before he blacked out, John lifted the spell.

Heinrich collapsed, drenched, onto the ground.

John walked over and pulled him up.

"Haah.. Your strength has improved quite a bit," John complimented.

It wasn't just flattery.

Compared to his time at Durmstrang, Heinrich had made great progress.

Thanks to John as his opponent, Heinrich's reaction speed and spellcasting had both advanced.

"Naturally, heh!"

With fanatical fervor in his eyes, Heinrich smiled at John.

Paired with his pale, sickly face, it gave off a certain "yandere" vibe.

Gulp!—John subconsciously shivered.

After finishing their day of training, the two parted ways.

John headed toward the Gryffindor common room.

After speaking the password, John walked straight into the Gryffindor common room.

What was once a quiet room was now filled with people, all sharing stories about their holidays.

The moment John entered, the room fell silent.

Crookshanks, however, was completely unfazed, having already been waiting by the fireplace.

Upon seeing John, Crookshanks ran over.

John scooped up the cat and stroked its fluffy fur.

With a smile, he said, "Carry on."

After speaking, he turned and left.

The Gryffindors exchanged puzzled glances.

Once outside, John released Crookshanks, who immediately jumped down and walked off without a second glance.

"Not even a shred of gratitude," John muttered to himself, shaking his head. He thought about all the cat treats that had gone to waste.

Just then, Basil flew over, carrying a package.

John opened it, revealing a book bound in dragonhide.

"Tommy really knows how to get things done," John praised as he looked at the old book.

He had been searching for traces of ancient magic, and aside from the Blood Magic Curse, he had finally found a second one.

The Record of Ancient Goblin Magic

"The soul can't be repaired, huh?"

"Fuck you Death!"

John glanced at the empty pouch again, cursing under his breath about how tricky the goblins were.

Not only did the spell fail to repair him, but they took the money without getting the job done—what kind of nonsense was that?

No wonder goblins got beaten by wizards; with this kind of deceitful magic, they deserved it.

...

The new term began.

In the Great Hall, students gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves. John noticed Daphne staring at him. He was puzzled, touched his face, and found nothing unusual.

"John, did... did something happen to you?"

Daphne hesitated for a moment but finally asked the question.

Eh?

This made John even more puzzled—what could have happened to him?

"I feel like you're not enjoying your food as much anymore," Daphne was a keen observer.

She had clearly noticed that John wasn't as happy while eating as he used to be.

She thought something must have happened to John. Could something major have occurred during the Christmas break?

John suddenly understood—it was just that the food tasted like chewing wax, and he couldn't find any joy in eating.

"Nothing's wrong, I just haven't had much of an appetite lately."

Hearing the words "no appetite" come out of John's mouth, Daphne was as shocked as if she had just seen a Gryffindor being honest and well-behaved.

She glanced at the food, thinking that it must not suit John's taste.

She made up her mind to create something that would lift John's spirits.

If John knew what she was thinking, he would definitely tell her, "Young lady, your thoughts are dangerous. Please stop acting like a Hufflepuff."

The first class after the new term was Divination. By now, John had already begun to master his foresight abilities.

Placing both hands on the crystal ball, John stared at it, trying to peer through the mist within.

Professor Trelawney was teaching others, but it seemed she had already given John a perfect score in advance.

John didn't forget to actively participate in the other classes as well, always answering questions eagerly.

From the higher points of the castle, one could sometimes see Aurors patrolling outside with Dementors in tow.

Sirius Black seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. There had been no sightings in either Hogsmeade or outside of Hogwarts.

With no second attack, some speculated that Sirius had drowned after falling into the lake during his escape.

Pfft~

John could only think that these young people's imaginations were quite vivid.

Hagrid brought in a bunch of fire salamanders, so the cold wasn't too bad during class.

John picked up one of the fire salamanders and stared into its eyes. Did its eyes look like his?

After examining it closely, he couldn't find anything similar, so he put the fire salamander back down.

That evening, John went to grab a Dementor for a meal.

Peeling away its essence layer by layer, the curse had almost turned the entire ring black. After drinking the potion to repair his soul, John endured the familiar pain, which had now become bearable enough for him to stand still through it.

Sweat beaded and dripped down his forehead, but John had gotten used to it.

Pulling out the Marauder's Map, John was also becoming accustomed to occasionally seeing multiple versions of Hermione running around on it.

He noticed that Peter Pettigrew was tossing and turning on Ron's bed, and saw Dumbledore walking back and forth in the office.

Lupin usually stayed in the office, and seemed to be busy with something.

__________

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