156: Storm and Green Dragon

156: Storm and Green Dragon

After forcing down a Valentine's Day "Wellington Beef Chocolate," John felt completely numb.

He couldn't imagine who had taught Daphne to cook like this. Most people aimed for balanced nutrition and flavor.

Not her. No taste, no smell, no color—and forget about balanced nutrition; it was a complete mess.

Who pairs beef with chocolate? Both high-calorie on their own, this combination went off the charts.

Only John, without a sense of taste, could manage to choke it down. Heinrich looked on with a rare hint of admiration.

Incidentally, Heinrich received chocolates too.

For once, his pale face had some color as he opened one and took a bite.

Hmm. Garlic-flavored.

Rumor had it that afterward, the Weasley twins got cornered at Gryffindor Tower. If Professor McGonagall hadn't shown up, at least one of them would probably have ended up in the hospital wing.

Time passed day by day.

Sirius Black continued to evade capture, and John even began to wonder if he was hiding in the Forbidden Forest.

March 6.

Under the gray sky, winter had passed, and all dormant life waited for a signal to emerge.

An oppressive atmosphere spread through the castle, and the students disliked this kind of weather.

Outside the castle, John looked up at the sky. He knew the time had come.

Grabbing his small satchel, he headed to the Forbidden Forest.

This time, he wasn't searching for Sirius Black; he was waiting for a storm.

Under the influence of the Thunderbird, John could feel a powerful rainstorm brewing within the dark clouds.

He needed to reach the spot where he had buried the mixed potion ahead of time.

After a year, the burned spider nest, scorched by cursed fire, still remained barren.

Standing at the entrance of the nest, he waited for the lightning to strike.

Taking out his pocket watch, he checked the time. Thirty degrees past the hour, the first raindrop fell.

A large drop landed in his palm, and in the next second, a torrential downpour began.

Mist cloaked Hogwarts in a gray veil as lightning tore across the sky.

Boom!

It was Jingzhe, the day when all life awakens.

The time had arrived. John dashed to the spot where he'd buried the mixture, dug through the soil, and uncovered a bottle of blood-red potion.

He had succeeded.

Grabbing the bottle, John dashed through the storm to another chosen location as quickly as possible.

The transformation required a spacious, safe area. While the Forbidden Forest was filled with magical creatures, it was free from human presence.

Upon arrival, John exhaled forcefully into his palms, and a mist rapidly spread, obscuring the surroundings.

Pointing his wand at his heart, John recited the incantation he knew by heart.

"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

With the words complete, he downed the blood-red potion in one gulp.

"Hmm..."

"Is that it? Did I fail? Why isn't anything happeNNNNNNnnnnNNNNNNNAaaaAAAhHHhhHhHHhHh!!!!!!!!"

Intense pain surged through him, and a second heartbeat echoed in his ears.

"uGHuGGHUGHUGHUGHUGH!!!!"

John hunched over, bracing his hands on his knees as the pain traveled through his body, feeling as if it were splitting his bones open to cleanse the marrow within.

A chaotic consciousness flooded his mind, battering against his brain, but John forced it down.

There were many magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, but dragons were not among them.

He fell into deep thought.

...

The Slytherin versus Gryffindor showdown was set for April.

Right now, the teams from both houses were training like mad. Gryffindor's practice ended abruptly when Wood was struck by a lightning bolt.

A group of them hurriedly carried Wood to the hospital wing.

John ran into Harry, who was in such a rush he didn't even notice him.

The Weasley twins joked that if Harry was a magnet for school disasters, then Wood was a magnet for Quidditch disasters.

Every game, something had to happen to Wood.

None of these mishaps could dim Wood's passion—true love, you could say.

John lingered a moment as the Slytherin team swiftly took over the Quidditch field.

Goyle and Crabbe stood like gatekeepers, blocking the entrance to keep others out, while Draco Malfoy, under the gaze of all, strutted in with his Firebolt.

The team now revolved entirely around Malfoy; even Flint couldn't compete with his authority.

"John, remember to cheer for us," Malfoy called out.

John waved and walked off, squinting as he thought to himself that this weather was perfect for a grand spectacle.

...

The Ministry of Magic was in trouble yet again.

Three Dementors had disappeared almost overnight, and even the Aurors couldn't find any clues.

They were nearly losing their minds, with Dawlish angrily blaming Sirius Black for it.

John returned to the castle with the three Dementors he'd captured.

Skillfully, he dismantled the Dementors, their remaining souls providing enough power for John to fully heal his arm, and the ring turned completely black.

With one month until the match, Malfoy was obsessively focused on training, which wasn't helping his classroom performance.

John, on the other hand, continued to perform perfectly, impressing Professor Flitwick enough in Charms that he added 20 points to Slytherin.

Hermione looked exhausted, and John hadn't seen her during morning classes.

This only made Daphne happier.

By afternoon, John's Divination class had become a free period.

Hermione, however, seemed unusually irritable and, for the first time, spoke rudely to a professor, outright quitting Divination.

John was a bit surprised; it didn't seem like her usual character.

Of course, Professor Trelawney's comment about her lack of talent had hurt Hermione.

It also fulfilled Professor Trelawney's earlier prediction that someone would leave the classroom.

Four days remained until Easter, and John kept up with his daily dose of soul elixir.

By the time Easter arrived, his hand had stopped shaking, though his fingers were still a bit stiff.

But that didn't matter much; the remaining soul elixir would be enough to fully heal his hand.

He hadn't forgotten about searching for Sirius Black either, occasionally shifting into his Animagus form to look for him.

Once, he nearly startled a centaur in the Forbidden Forest, and his presence filled Sirius Black with apprehension wherever he went.

In the wild, scent is a key factor in marking territory, and as John roamed, Sirius was convinced a big dangerous dragon was claiming land all around him.

John didn't realize he hadn't actually found Sirius yet but had certainly frightened him several times.

Eventually, he gave up the search, instead carrying the Marauder's Map with him each day. Since Black was bound to be the one looking for someone, John decided that lying in wait was more efficient than aimless searching.

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