NOVEL NEXT 66: The Attacked Shop and Luna’s Shoes
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This was good news, making John smile broadly.
With such a mood, John opened the second envelope.
This one was also sent by Tommy Shelby, but it wasn't good news.
"The shop was attacked?"
Staring at the words in the letter, the Silver Hand Johnny's shop was attacked one night by three dark wizards.
Although Tommy repelled them, there were signs they might come back.
Mr. Borgin was a knowledgeable man. Despite the shop's low profile, its items were of high quality.
Tommy traced the attackers to Borgin and Burkes.
He had sent three wizards to destroy this uninvited business threat, but they had failed.
"It seems my concern was justified. Tommy Shelby recruited three werewolf partners; it's time to put them to use."
After the last recruitment, Tommy successfully brought in three werewolf friends.
They were all from the bottom tier, discriminated against by the wizarding world, and were grateful to John for providing a job.
"It's time to teach a lesson. Otherwise, after the awarding ceremony, these troubles will only increase."
John's eyes showed a fierce light. Knockturn Alley was full of dishonest people; they needed to be hurt to be deterred.
Coincidentally, the full moon was coming soon; it was time to let the werewolves take action.
"Hopefully, this time, we can eliminate future troubles."
John snapped his fingers, and the letter burst into flames.
He watched expressionlessly as the letter turned to ashes. He instructed Basil to send a letter to Tommy, along with the protective charms and enchanted rings he had prepared.
Arming them to the teeth, he aimed to cripple Borgin and Burkes in one fell swoop.
He also wrote to Damocles, hoping he could instigate a major search of Knockturn Alley by the Ministry of Magic.
With the influence of the upcoming Merlin First Class Order and his pureblood status, Damocles could achieve this.
After finishing everything, John started a task similar to Lockhart's.
The difference was that Lockhart's correspondence was with fans, while John's was with alchemy experts and rune scholars.
Some potion masters, introduced by Damocles, had also become his pen pals and responded very positively to him.
Maintaining these connections was also a job, and John wrote to each one.
"A thank-you letter from Barty Crouch?"
The last letter surprised John.
Upon opening it, he found it was from Barty Crouch Sr., Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, expressing his gratitude for Johnny Silverhand providing a good job for his former subordinate.
"This Director is quite sentimental."
Tommy had once worked under Barty Crouch as an Auror, and Crouch had been deeply pained by his subordinate turning into a werewolf.
Now that he knew John had given Tommy a stable and good job, Barty Crouch Sr. personally wrote a letter of thanks.
Barty Crouch also acknowledged John's sale of Wolfsbane Potion, expressing gratitude once more for John's contributions to the werewolf community in the wizarding world.
"He seems like someone worth getting to know better."
John picked up a quill and wrote a reply to Barty Crouch Sr.
...
[Ding, magic upgrade successful, current magic level 4]
After finishing his exercise with Neville by the Black Lake, John saw Neville sit down heavily.
Neville asked sincerely, "John, why do we need to exercise our bodies if we're wizards?"
"Only a healthy body can support a strong soul."
John kicked Neville, making him get up and continue sword practice.
Neville, in great distress, had no choice but to comply. After finishing their training, the two parted ways in the corridor.
It started to rain, and John saw Luna wandering aimlessly barefoot, like a headless chicken, in the corridor.
Beside her was Ginny Weasley, who unsurprisingly was sorted into Gryffindor.
However, the little girl looked a bit haggard.
Percy had mentioned before that his sister had caught a cold, which was likely the reason.
"What are you looking for?" John asked, seeing them searching for something.
Luna greeted John dreamily, "John, it's good to see you. You didn't get caught in the rain."
Ginny Weasley, who knew of John and was good friends with Luna, said angrily, "It was some Ravenclaw students. They hid Luna's shoes."
"They think it's a game," Luna added.
"It's not a game!" Ginny retorted, unable to accept that her good friend was being bullied. Especially after communicating with the person in the diary, she was even more afraid of losing this friend.
"Alright, maybe I can help you find them," John said, noticing Ginny's agitation and comforting the two girls.
Suddenly, a cat appeared from around the corner.
It was Mrs. Norris.
John approached and petted her head, speaking softly, "Mrs. Norris, can you help me find Luna's shoes?"
Mrs. Norris glanced at Luna, then circled around as if trying to remember something.
Then she turned and headed down another corridor, with John following her.
This scene surprised Ginny because she had heard about Filch's cat, who often reported to Filch.
When they reached the fifth-floor corridor, Mrs. Norris sat down and meowed upward.
John looked up and saw Luna's shoes hanging above.
John took out his wand and used a spell to retrieve the shoes, then fed Mrs. Norris a cat treat he carried with him.
"I need to find some time to groom your furr," he said, noticing her fur was matted again after some time without grooming.
After Mrs. Norris finished the treat and left, John said goodbye to the two girls as well.
"If you need any help, you can always come to me."
Seeing that Luna didn't seem to be doing well in Ravenclaw, John left her with these words.
Just then, he arrived at the library and decided to go in. He had a note from Lockhart allowing him free access to the Restricted Section. To make things easier, he had Lockhart write him a dozen notes.
Entering the Restricted Section, John searched for books on curses.
"The Book of Spells, this might be useful," he said, picking it up and preparing to leave. As he passed by a shelf, he stopped in his tracks.
Looking at an empty spot, John thought, "I remember there was a book here."
When he had come in during his first year, there had been a book titled *Secrets of the Darkest Arts* in that spot, but now it was gone.
John found it odd but then noticed another book, *Moste Potente Potions*.
He stopped and took that book as well.
Under Madam Pince's death glare, John calmly presented two notes.
Successfully taking both books, John headed straight for the Gryffindor's Chamber of Secrets.
When he came out again, it was already evening.
He had an extra wand in his hand—it was Ron's.
"The process of making a wand takes longer than I expected."
The wand was fourteen inches long, quite lengthy.
...
On Monday during the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Lockhart had already gotten used to being a hands-off instructor.
After going over his textbook, the class moved on to practical exercises.
Naturally, it was John who took control of the situation.
Lockhart was the first professor in Hogwarts history to have two assistants.
John felt responsible for his classmates and demonstrated how to quickly take down a Tibetan Snowman.
After class, John handed Ron the new wand made with the old core.
"I almost forgot I had another wand," Ron said.
Only then did he remember he had been using John's given wand.
Upon receiving his new wand, he felt it fit perfectly in his hand.
Hermione exclaimed, "Oh Merlin! You really know how to make wands!"
"Of course, did you think I was joking?" John replied with a smile.
Hermione felt a bit embarrassed; she had assumed John's craftsmanship would be rough, but the wand was very delicate.
"Great, now I can make Malfoy suffer!" Ron said excitedly.
These days, Ron and Malfoy had constant friction, having exchanged curses at least three times.
"Hello, John."
Percy walked by with his head held high, which made Ron very annoyed. "You know Lockhart made him an assistant, and now he's even more full of himself." Ron muttered.
Harry also noticed Percy had become more arrogant lately. Becoming an assistant in Defense Against the Dark Arts had increased Percy's authority.
"Isn't that a good thing?" John didn't understand why Ron was upset; his brother having more power seemed beneficial.
After saying goodbye to the group, John headed to the dormitory to take Tom for a walk.
When he returned to the dormitory, he heard Tom growling fiercely.
John drew his wand and walked in to find a house-elf wearing a pillowcase, cornered by Tom and unable to fight back.
"Dobby..?"
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