Swinging The Great Sword At Hogwarts

The Twins and Quidditch

In Professor Flitwick's class, John managed to earn points for Slytherin, helping lift the house's dismal standing a bit. After a full day of classes, he wandered through the castle, pausing whenever he encountered a large tapestry. Each time, he paced back and forth three times, silently wishing for a training room.

To anyone observing, his behavior would seem odd. But anyone familiar with Harry Potter would understand—he was searching for the Room of Requirement. As mentioned before, John's memory wasn't perfect; he only recalled that the entrance to this mysterious room lay opposite a large tapestry. However, he couldn't quite remember the exact tapestry or what it depicted.

Thankfully, Hogwarts didn't have an overwhelming number of giant tapestries. On his third trip past the eighth-floor tapestry of the troll clubbing Barnabas the Barmy, he noticed a wooden door materializing opposite it.

With a small smile of triumph, John pushed open the door and stepped into a chamber designed for spell practice. A line of human-shaped dummies, aged and worn, stood ready. The room itself was thick with dust, as though it hadn't seen a visitor in decades. John wrinkled his nose at the stale air.

"Scourgify!" he said, casting a cleaning spell he'd recently learned. As the dust dispersed and the room's surfaces gleamed once more, John finally allowed himself a satisfied nod.

The training dummies, though old, were sturdy, and in one corner lay a dark, heavy wooden practice sword. Judging by its size, the sword's original owner must have been quite strong. John lifted it and gave it a test swing. It was heavy—heavier even than the medieval sword he'd wielded earlier, and too much for him to handle with his current strength. But he made a mental note: this room would be perfect for his spell practice, and all the equipment could double for physical training. It was an all-in-one treasure trove.

For now, he had no offensive spells, so his training was limited to basic exercises. Still, his persistence paid off, and after diligent practice, he managed to level up the Disillusionment Charm to Level 2.

"Disillusionment!" he whispered, waving his wand. A liquid-like film spread over his body, gradually blending him into his surroundings. He raised a hand to inspect the effect—his skin shimmered like water, making him almost invisible, though up close, subtle distortions still betrayed his presence.

"Optical camouflage," he murmured with a smile, comparing it to the tech he knew. Satisfied, he realized that with the Disillusionment Charm at his disposal, his nightly excursions around Hogwarts would now be even easier.

After finishing his training, John left the Room of Requirement. It was already curfew, so he headed over to the Trophy Room for his scheduled cleaning duty. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a treat as a reward for Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, who had been so helpful last time. Gently, he groomed her matted fur, even lifting her and noticing, "Have you put on some weight?"

Mrs. Norris seemed heavier than before, and John couldn't help but wonder how Filch had been feeding her. She looked as if she'd been lacking proper nutrition, and knowing she frequently groomed herself, he'd thoughtfully brought along some hairball paste as well.

As he left, he caught a glimpse of Filch scowling even more intensely than usual, carrying an odor reminiscent of spoiled durian. Most likely, the Weasley twins had been up to their usual tricks.

Just outside the Trophy Room, John spotted two figures with identical red hair sneaking around. They wore identical mischievous grins, making it obvious they were the famous Weasley twins. John's curiosity piqued, so he cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, blending into the shadows as he followed them and listened.

"George, we could throw the dungbombs in there," Fred whispered.

"Hold on, Fred," George replied. "John Wick's still in the Trophy Room. I don't want him caught up in this."

"Fine, we'll toss them into Filch's office instead. What do you say?"

"Brilliant, George. It's high time that nasty old caretaker got a taste of his own medicine."

Fred and George Weasley were notorious troublemakers at Hogwarts. They had a long-standing feud with Filch, and as the school's most infamous pranksters, they naturally clashed with the stern caretaker. This time, their plan involved delivering a particularly unpleasant "gift" of dungbombs to Filch's quarters.

Following behind the twins, John listened to their conversation with a shiver of relief. He was grateful for his decent rapport with them—getting hit by one of their dungbombs would have required at least ten showers to wash off. Unaware of John's invisible presence, the Weasley twins reached Filch's office and gleefully tossed in two dungbombs. A nauseating stench immediately wafted out, making even John feel sympathy for Filch. Where would the unlucky caretaker sleep tonight?

The twins, unable to stand the smell themselves, quickly fled the scene. Peeking into the office, John noticed a variety of objects scattered around, including a drawer labeled "Confiscated—Highly Dangerous," filled with forbidden items. He couldn't examine it closely, as Filch's furious shouts were already echoing nearby. The Weasley twins picked up speed, one of them accidentally dropping a parchment as they passed John.

Bending down to pick it up, John's thoughts immediately turned to a specific object—the Marauder's Map. But this wasn't the time to inspect it; he could already hear Mrs. Norris's distinctive meow close by. Cloaked in the Disillusionment Charm, John quickly took off in the opposite direction, evading Filch's wrath as he chased the twins.

Back in his dormitory, John caught a lingering scent of the dungbombs on himself. Shaking his head, he took out the parchment and his wand, tapping it as he whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink-like lines began to stretch across the once-blank parchment, forming words and shapes. In elegant script, four names appeared: "Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail." John recognized that one of these names likely belonged to Harry's father.

John carefully opened the parchment, revealing a map of Hogwarts with footprints marking the movement of people around the castle. "Filch is still pacing around; he's just a turn away from stumbling upon the Weasley twins," John muttered to himself as he observed the map. It was incredibly detailed, even showing the hidden passages of Hogwarts, and the names of those using them. With this map in hand, it was as if he had control over all the secret routes within the castle.

Filch, however, never made the turn. Instead, he changed direction, moving away from the twins. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, started heading toward Gryffindor Tower, taking a shortcut on the fifth floor.

John's attention shifted when he spotted a name on the map: "Quirinius Quirrell." The sight of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor moving about at night piqued John's curiosity. He briefly entertained the thought of trying to track down that particular name—the one that couldn't be spoken—but ultimately, he was unsuccessful.

"Looks like the Marauder's Map doesn't show everything," he muttered with some disappointment. However, he quickly realized that this was an exception rather than the rule. His focus then turned to watching the Batty Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape, who seemed to be approaching a pair of night-roaming students. John chuckled to himself, predicting that these students would lose quite a few points by the end of the night.

"Prank complete," John said with satisfaction. He tapped his wand on the parchment to close the map, then tucked it safely under his pillow. With the map now at his disposal, he no longer had to worry about getting caught during his late-night excursions. This was certainly a positive development.

One good news and one bad news.

The good news was that, aside from his class training, John had found a new hobby: watching Harry, the "Chosen One," perform fancy flying maneuvers at the Quidditch pitch. It was rare to see someone so naturally gifted for the sport, especially considering Harry's near-sightedness. The Golden Snitch, no bigger than a walnut, was already small and hard to catch, and combined with its incredible speed and the vast playing field, it was dizzying to watch. Yet Harry, almost magically, always managed to spot it and lock onto it.

However, this didn't stop John from enjoying the spectacle—after all, this was the Chosen One's training history in the making. Yet, after Harry had crashed into the stands for the third time, John's enjoyment was interrupted by Hermione's voice.

"Did you know, in 1269, the Wizarding Council member Barberus Bragge introduced the Golden Snitch to the game, and offered a 150 Galleon reward for catching it? It became a tradition in Quidditch to release the Snitch during matches, and the team that caught it would score 150 points. But the intense hunting for the Snitch caused its numbers to drastically decline, so it was replaced by the Golden Flying Snitch instead."

Hermione was showing off her knowledge again, and John couldn't help but feel frustrated. It seemed like she was slowly starting to treat him as a rival. As a true academic, Hermione couldn't stand seeing John earn more points in class than she did, and her competitive nature was showing.

And that, John realized, was the bad news.

It felt as though someone was constantly behind him with a whip, ready to lash out if he slowed down—even if it was just in the academic realm.