NOVEL NEXT 70: Supremacy and Provoking Hatred
After wandering in front of the grotesque statue for a while, he had no choice but to cancel the Disillusionment Charm and said to the statue, "Tell Professor Dumbledore that John Wick is looking for him."
The statue's head rotated slightly as if it understood.
After a while, the statue jumped aside.
John knew that Dumbledore was aware of his arrival, so he walked in.
It was a spiral passage, and at the very top was the headmaster's office.
He knocked on the wooden door with a griffin knocker, and the door opened without a breeze.
Entering inside, it was his first time here.
It was a spacious, beautiful circular room filled with various whimsical little sounds.
On the long-legged tables, there were many peculiar silver instruments, rotating and emitting small puffs of smoke.
The patched Sorting Hat rested on a shelf, and next to it in a glass case was a gleaming silver sword with a hilt set with large rubies.
There was also a nearly bald bird on a perch behind the door. People said a plucked phoenix was no better than a chicken, and now John had seen it for himself.
Dumbledore's gaze, hidden behind his half-moon glasses, observed John's arrival. His voice was deep with a hint of seriousness.
"John, it is already curfew time."
"I know, Professor Dumbledore."
John nodded respectfully and said seriously, "But I can't sit by and let Hogwarts fall into danger."
This didn't sound like an alarmist statement. Dumbledore responded solemnly, "I hope to get an answer."
"There is a snake in the school. It's very large, and I encountered it."
As John spoke, Dumbledore's expression grew grave.
"Mr. John Wick, if what you say is true, Hogwarts is already in great danger."
Dumbledore didn't take John's words as a joke, because such an incident had happened at Hogwarts before.
He said sternly, "I will have the professors increase patrols within the castle. John, I need your help to find the Chamber of Secrets."
Even Dumbledore didn't know the location of the Chamber of Secrets from which the creature emerged.
Otherwise, back when Hagrid was falsely accused, he wouldn't have been able to only protect him.
Salazar Slytherin's ideology was at odds with the other three founders, and the chamber he left behind had always been a mystery at Hogwarts.
The only hope was in the heir of Slytherin.
He had to organize the professors to prevent more serious incidents, and having John, a student, investigate was more convenient.
Another reason was that Slytherin aimed to purge Muggle-borns.
Therefore, John's existence was a primary target.
John came to get Dumbledore's support, and now that his goal was achieved, he glanced at the bookshelf before leaving. He noticed the missing book "Secrets of the Darkest Arts" from the library.
He wondered why this book was important enough for Dumbledore to personally keep.
...
The attack incidents left everyone anxious. When John returned to the Slytherin common room, he heard Malfoy boasting loudly.
"Those Muggle-born wizards don't deserve to come to school."
Malfoy, engrossed in his rant, suddenly realized the room had fallen silent.
He looked up to see John standing at the door.
"J-John."
Malfoy broke into a cold sweat, forgetting that John was one of those Muggle-born wizards.
John took a deep breath and walked into the common room with a blank expression.
The Slytherin students inside quickly stepped aside, leaving Malfoy uncertain whether to stay or leave.
John's gaze swept the room, and the wizards who met his eyes felt guilty and looked down.
John calmly said, "Muggles don't deserve to enter the school? Is that your belief?"
"John, that's not what we meant."
Daphne wanted to explain, but John raised his hand to stop her.
He said calmly, "I know some of you have been exposed to an extreme pure-blood ideology, but it doesn't matter. I'm giving you a chance to demonstrate the superiority of pure blood."
Some Slytherin students frowned, clearly displeased by John's words.
But John didn't care; his goal was to prevent anyone in Slytherin from making any more derogatory remarks.
"Tomorrow in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I hope to see all of you there."
He was essentially declaring war on the entire Slytherin house. It wasn't just the second-year students; even the older students thought he was crazy.
But was John really crazy?
He walked through the crowd, returning to his dormitory under everyone's watchful eyes.
Daphne, furious, marched up to Malfoy and pointed a finger at his nose, saying, "You've angered John, Malfoy!"
Malfoy's expression changed.
His habitual boasting of pure-blood superiority had inadvertently stirred up a huge commotion with his friend.
The news that John Wick had declared war on the entire Slytherin house spread quickly.
All four houses reacted the same way when they heard the news: they thought John was crazy.
The next morning, Harry quickly found Ron and Hermione.
Ron, shocked, said, "Blimey, has John gone mad? He's taking on all of Slytherin by himself!"
"We need to help him!" Hermione wanted to support her friend.
This sentiment was quickly agreed upon by the other two, and soon they headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The place was already packed with people. The Weasley twins saw a business opportunity and started taking bets from the students.
"Aren't you worried John might lose?" Harry couldn't understand why the Weasley twins were confident enough to offer odds of 1:100. Did they think John was Dumbledore?
George blinked and said, "Of course not, he's John Wick."
"He took down a troll in his first year," Fred added, "and defeated Professor Quirrell."
"But... it's Slytherin, I mean, he's facing an entire house by himself!" Ron thought his brothers would lose everything, but the Weasley twins were unconcerned.
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, a long stage had been set up. Lockhart saw this and, with a twinkle in his eye, thought he could mimic it.
The dueling champion, Professor Flitwick, was brought in to be the referee, and Percy, along with other prefects, maintained order.
Quidditch fanatic Wood had mercifully canceled practice for the day to watch the spectacle.
Nearly all the students were there, and the classroom was completely packed.
John stood on the platform, his wizard's robe flowing loosely around him, a delicate badge pinned to his chest.
Just by being there, he seemed to draw all the light towards him.
Walking leisurely on the platform, John lightly touched the badge on his chest as a gesture of courtesy.
"It's an honor for everyone to attend this event, a mixture of comedy and tragedy. Time and again, Muggle-born wizards have proven their talents equal to pure-bloods in the magical world. Yet, some still cling to arrogance and prejudice," he began.
"Their prejudice is both laughable and pitiable, and it's downright absurd. I have organized this event," John continued, "to show that the magical world should not judge by bloodline but by ability!"
"Anyone who believes they can defeat me is welcome to come up."
John's calm voice carried across the room, addressing the longstanding bias against Muggle-born wizards.
Not long after his words, a fifth-year Slytherin student stepped up.
"Eddie Garfield," the student announced his name.
John calmly asked, "Ready?"
"Ready..."
A flash of red light sent the Slytherin student flying. John stood with his left hand holding his wand, saying coolly, "Next."
The fight was over so quickly that most of the students didn't even have time to react.
A few Slytherins, faces red with anger, shouted that John had used underhanded tactics.
John merely glanced at them, and their voices fell silent immediately.
"Heh~ I've already said, anyone dissatisfied can come up directly," he said calmly, his demeanor exuding a subtle arrogance that was hard to ignore.
This attitude was intolerable to the proud Slytherins, and many of them stepped up to challenge him.
But without exception, whether they were upperclassmen or underclassmen, they were all swiftly defeated by John.
This was the same person who had bested a nerfed Godric Gryffindor in a duel; these school-going students were no match for him.
Professor Flitwick's hands were nearly sore from clapping, his eyes gleaming with admiration—John was a genius at dueling!
With his level 4 magical power and level 4 Blasting Curse, John didn't even have to move his feet.
By the end, more than twenty Slytherins were lying on the ground.
Seeing that the timing was right, John cast a Sonorus Charm on himself.
"I know there are rumors about the Chamber of Secrets targeting Muggle-born wizards. Let me tell you this: it will not succeed."
John wanted to find the heir, his gaze sweeping across every face in the room.
They were a mixture of surprised, awed, and frightened.
"Because with me here, he is destined to fail."
John had openly challenged the heir of Slytherin, essentially daring him to target Muggle-borns.
The biggest advocate for Muggle-borns was standing right here.
If the heir dared to make another move, John would be ready to track them down.
His words invigorated the students, lifting their spirits from the grip of fear. They cheered John's name with enthusiasm.
In the crowd, Ginny's pale face showed a flicker of panic.
The trio, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, were also pumped up by John's declaration, eager to find and confront the heir immediately.
"Remember, it's not blood purity that matters, but strength!"
John's gaze swept across the room, and those who had been critical of him quickly looked away, unable to meet his eyes.
He stepped down from the platform, having firmly established his dominance over Slytherin.
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