Hogwarts' John Wick

Before the red light of the Cruciatus Curse could land on him, John suddenly turned and pressed his hand onto Mr. Longbottom's.

|Participatur Dolor! Empathy!|

As the curse struck, John's body convulsed violently.

The searing agony drained all color from his face, but his mind magic activated.

"Ugh.. Not enough."

John pretended to lift his wand—sure enough, Neville cast another Cruciatus Curse.

His body, overwhelmed by pain, twitched uncontrollably, and his wand slipped from his grasp.

Pale and breathless, John's eyes still gleamed with mockery.

"It was you… It was always you! I though of you as my friend! But you dare to harm my family!!!"

Neville, on the verge of madness, unleashed the Cruciatus Curse over and over, determined to return every ounce of suffering he had endured.

Even John could not suppress a muffled groan this time.

The curse intensified—his bones felt as if they were being gnawed by ants, his heart stabbed by knives, mercilessly carving away flesh and blood.

"Is ...that all, ..Neville? Is this ..the best you ..can do?"

John's mind magic continued fine-tuning, his words prodding at Neville, pushing him further into blind rage.

Neville no longer cared that he was using an Unforgivable Curse—he cast the Cruciatus Curse again and again, as if determined to make John die from sheer agony.

John's mind was in complete turmoil, his consciousness slipping into a haze.

He could no longer form words, only letting out incoherent screams.

Fortunately, he had set up a Silent Heart ward in advance; otherwise, the screams would have already echoed throughout the Shrieking Shack.

Percy was jolted awake by the noise, groggy and disoriented.

Through his blurry vision, he saw Neville standing over John, repeatedly casting the Cruciatus Curse.

In an instant, Percy was wide awake, ready to stop Neville.

But just as he moved, his eyes met John's—his face contorted in agony, yet filled with grim determination.

It was as if he were saying: Don't let my efforts go to waste.

"Damn it!"

Percy's nails dug into his palm, drawing blood that seeped between his fingers. His eyes turned red with frustration.

He couldn't stop Neville—not now. That would ruin everything John had planned.

Then, as Neville cast yet another Cruciatus Curse, John's mind finally gave out.

A crimson thread shimmered into existence, connecting him to the Longbottoms.

Under the guidance of bloodline connection, the Mind Magic activated Empathy.

Countless fragmented pieces scattered through the space, drifting down like a snowfall.

John saw them—countless memories belonging to the Longbottoms.

They were like torn-up photographs, scattered and incomplete, unable to form a whole picture.

"Huff.. huff... This is going to be a massive project," John couldn't help but rub his chest.

Pain continuously radiated from there, each wave draining more color from his face.

"So, I have to keep enduring the Cruciatus Curse until I fix all of this?"

He let out a bitter laugh. He was genuinely worried that if he wasn't careful, Neville might actually torture him to death with the Cruciatus Curse.

And honestly, that wouldn't be entirely unjustified—after all, he had used Neville's parents as leverage.

It was good enough the kid didn't use the killing curse.

John picked up a fragment—it was a picture of Mr. Longbottom in his school uniform.

He continued searching, piecing together the scattered fragments one by one.

Closing his eyes, golden threads of guidance appeared at his fingertips.

With a simple motion of his hand, the threads pulled the fragments together, merging them into place.

"Using the bloodline connection speeds this up significantly."

Thinking of this, John quickened his pace.

Scene by scene, the Longbottoms' memories were being restored.

Outside.

Perhaps exhausted, Neville stared at John, who was already unconscious, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

He raised his wand, muttering to himself, "John, this is all because of you. You forced me into this."

"I would rather let everyone remember John Wick as a protector than let them know your true nature."

A wave of sorrow surged in his heart. Neville couldn't bear to imagine how devastated the members of the Constellation Society would be if they found out John had only been using them all along.

Since that was the case… he would take the blame himself.

Let everything end here.

Closing his eyes, he finally made up his mind. "Avada—!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Just as he was about to act, a sudden force slammed into him, sending him flying backward.

Neville's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Percy standing there, perfectly unharmed, wand pointed directly at him.

In that moment, Neville's gaze was filled with confusion.

"Haah.. haah.. Percy, weren't you dead?"

Seemingly unable to make sense of everything, Neville watched as Percy hurriedly rummaged through a small satchel.

He pulled out two bottles labeled Longbottom, quickly uncorked them, and poured the potions into the mouths of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom.

As the potions took effect, a faint glow appeared around their bodies.

Neville stared blankly at the scene, his mind struggling to process it.

Percy paced back and forth anxiously, his voice filled with urgency. "Come on, John, you have to wake up!"

After forcing down a potion labeled Wick into John's mouth, Percy fidgeted like an agitated monkey, scratching his head in frustration.

The glow surrounding the Longbottoms intensified, radiating a misty light.

Within the mist, scenes began to flicker rapidly as if being fast-forwarded!

It was the story of the Longbottoms' lives.

Neville finally snapped out of his daze. Staggering to his feet, he rushed over.

"Percy, what is.. what is this?"

Still frustrated by John's unconscious state, Percy shot Neville an irritated glare and snapped, "Isn't it obvious? John is saving your parents!"

"B-But… he clearly said he was going to make Mom and Dad disappear forever."

"That was all just to push you," Percy shook his head. "We never hated you. We had to make you ruthless, even if it meant doing this."

Neville collapsed onto the floor, staring at his own hands. What had he done?

"No matter what happened, your Constellation badge was never taken away, was it?" Percy sighed.

That's right—the Constellation badge was still there.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Neville gazed blankly at the glowing mist surrounding his parents, then at John, who remained unconscious.

He finally understood.

John was training him to use the curse, but he couldn't do it. So John had to do all this...

All of this had been for his sake.

Regret crushed him, making it hard to breathe.

He pounded the floor with his fists, one after another, until blood seeped from his knuckles.

"Stop it, Neville." Percy couldn't bear to watch any longer and grabbed his arms.

Holding him back, Percy scolded, "Don't let John's efforts go to waste!"

Neville finally stopped. He remained kneeling on the floor, unable to lift his head.

...

Meanwhile, as John pondered how to restore all the scattered fragments, a shower of glowing white raindrops provided an urgent solution.

"Oh! Percy must have woken up!"

Realizing Percy must have given the Longbottoms the potion, John watched as the fragments touched by the raindrops floated into the air.

He reached out, gathering them together.

As soon as the pieces made contact, they began to mend.

More and more fragments rose into the air, leaving John scrambling to keep up.

A persistent pain throbbed in his chest, and his eyelids grew heavier.

"It's the Cruciatus Curse."

He bit his lip, forcing himself to stay conscious.

As he continued the restoration, a surge of energy flowed into his body.

It was the recovery potion he had prepared.

The newfound strength invigorated him.

He picked up the pace, piecing the fragments together until they began forming a large family portrait.

A family of three—Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, with a baby cradled in the mother's arms.

Neville Longbottom.

Raindrops fell once more, soaking into the fragments and sealing the cracks.

John raised his hand, guiding the rain into his palm, where it twisted into a fine, thread-like serpent.

The thread weaved through each fragment, stitching them back together.

The restoration was now two-thirds complete.

The sky continued to rain down fragments, but this time, they were black.

When John touched them, a madwoman's cackling echoed alongside relentless questioning.

Mr. Longbottom's defiance was met with the torment of the Cruciatus Curse.

The couple lay on the ground, continuously tortured by the madwoman.

It was the memory of the Longbottoms being tormented by the Death Eaters.

John attempted to piece the fragments together but found himself being repelled.

"Not good, I'm being forced out."

He intensified his psychic magic, anchoring himself in place.

Then, he sped up, repairing the falling fragments one by one.

If he couldn't escape before the Longbottoms woke up, his consciousness might be trapped here forever.

The space trembled more violently, and the repelling force nearly crushed John's form.

He knew—the Longbottoms were about to wake up.

Gritting his teeth, he restored the final ten percent of the fragments.

The moment they were complete, a dazzling white light erupted, engulfing John.

The Longbottoms had awakened.

___________

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