The Hospital Wing and Training
1649 Words
[Ding, challenge task triggered: Earn more points than Hermione Granger within the school year to unlock the buff: Scholar 2.0.]
[Scholar 2.0: Grants 4 additional hours of enhanced learning efficiency every day.]
"Has the task been triggered?" John thought, momentarily distracted. Just as he was about to consider it further, a flash of gold caught his eye, followed by a broomstick zooming past him.
Before he could react, a Bludger came hurtling in his direction.
Instinctively, he reached out and caught it, but his arm made a sickening "crack" as though it had been dislocated.
"Oh no, John, are you alright?" Hermione's panicked voice reached him a moment too late.
The Gryffindor Quidditch players, still on the field, noticed immediately, and the Weasley twins were the first to rush over.
The Bludger thrashed in his grip, trying desperately to escape, but despite John's arm not seeming particularly strong, he held it fast.
Wood, who had been observing, couldn't hide his amazement. "You caught that with your bare hands! You're a natural Beater, John."
George grinned. "If only you were in Gryffindor."
Fred added with a laugh, "Then we could retire!"
The twins' voices rang out in unison, a playful blend of admiration and mischief.
John forced a smile through the pain, which was becoming impossible to ignore. But he couldn't help feeling a sense of pride at his unexpected success with the Bludger. He'd never imagined his talents in Quidditch were so strong.
However, the searing pain in his arm was a sharp reminder that he'd be paying a visit to the hospital wing soon.
Angelina Johnson, with her long black hair tied in a braided ponytail, interrupted the banter between the twins. "Will you two shut up? His arm looks like it's broken."
Harry hastily dismounted from his broomstick. It was his fault the Bludger had been chasing him. He had been so focused on the Golden Snitch that he hadn't noticed what was happening with the others. By the time he realized, John had already been injured.
"I'm so sorry," Harry said, his voice filled with guilt. "It's all my fault."
John's face had gone pale, and even he—used to pain—couldn't deny that dislocating his arm was excruciating.
"Can you stop talking and just get this thing away from me?" he muttered, his voice strained.
The Bludger had been aiming for Hermione earlier. If he had let go, it would have collided with her face.
Wood, flustered, managed to tie the Bludger up. These creatures were capable of shattering even a Beater's bat if they were flying fast enough.
Once the Bludger was secured, John let out a sigh of relief.
His lips were pale as he shifted into a half-kneeling position, supporting himself with his dislocated arm. With Hermione watching him, pale and concerned, he braced himself and pushed his arm back into place.
Crack.
"Ugh—!"
"Merlin's beard, that must hurt," someone gasped.
"John, you should go to the hospital wing."
The Gryffindors were all startled by the scene, even the Weasley twins now showing respect for John, their usual mischief replaced by admiration.
How come it's always Slytherin with the problems? That little Malfoy goes to the hospital wing crying over a paper cut!"
Madam Pomfrey had nearly thrown Malfoy out more than once.
A group of Gryffindors had gathered around John, and if someone hadn't known better, they might've thought it was a full-blown Gryffindor attack on Slytherin.
Hermione, blending into the crowd, couldn't help but voice her concern. "John, are you alright?"
"Guess I still need more training," John replied with a slight pause, offering Hermione a reassuring smile.
Seeing Harry looking equally worried, he gave a small grin. "Don't worry, Harry, this isn't your fault."
"I still think you should go to the hospital wing," Harry insisted, determined to take John there.
John couldn't argue, so he was practically dragged off, and anyone who saw them would have thought something serious had happened to him.
After lying in the hospital wing for only a short time, Madam Pomfrey finally kicked him out.
"See? I told you it wasn't a big deal."
John shrugged nonchalantly, clearly unbothered.
Harry finally relaxed, giving a small sigh of relief before turning to Hermione. "Sorry, Hermione, it's my fault for flying too low."
"It's not your fault, Harry," Hermione reassured him. "The Golden Snitch's path is unpredictable for everyone."
After this incident, the cold war between Harry and Hermione seemed to thaw at last.
Among the trio, only Ron remained in a cold war.
Harry thought Hermione was actually a great person, not like how they had imagined. He felt he should help them reconcile.
...
Daytime for studying, nighttime for training.
Since the incident when he got hit, John had come to understand just how important physical fitness was for a wizard.
After his last midnight stroll, the Restricted Section had gained a new regular visitor.
With the Disillusionment Charm cast on him, John took out Advanced Charms in the Restricted Section and used the shortcut on the fifth floor to reach the front of the "Room of Requirement."
"I need a place to train."
He walked back and forth three times in front of the tapestry, and a wooden door appeared on the blank wall.
Inside was the same training room as last time, but this time, John brought a medieval sword.
"This sword's weight feels about right now."
Gripping the sword, John changed up his workout.
In the flickering candlelight of the training room, the sword light resembled a field of stars.
The large sword swung through the air, sending a streak of silver light toward the human-shaped target.
As the target made contact, it was instantly shredded and broken apart.
The target shattered on this side, and John quickly shifted his focus to the next one.
This process repeated, and when the last target was destroyed, all the target pieces magically restored themselves.
These targets were enchanted with the Restoration Charm, so once shattered, they would return to their original form.
This saved John even more time.
[Ding, acquired boost: Sword Dance]
[Sword Dance: Increases the aesthetics and destructiveness of sword-based attacks.]
His hands were a bit sore, so John set the large sword down.
With his current physique, after a series of high-intensity workouts, he could clearly feel his magical power improving.
In just one night, he gained 15 points of magic.
If he kept at it, he'd likely level up again in no time.
After finishing his training, John didn't slack off and proceeded to the second round of spell practice.
Through almost exhausting effort, his magical skills saw significant improvement.
The most noticeable improvement was with the new spell, the Disillusionment Charm.
He had to use the Disillusionment Charm every night for his midnight strolls, and by the time October arrived, it had reached level 3.
[Magic: Level 2 (450/500)]
[Spells: Alohomora (Level 3), Levitation Charm (Level 4), Transfiguration (Level 2), Disillusionment Charm (Level 3), Lumos (Level 2), Incendio (Level 1), Bone Breaker (Level 1)]
[Skills: Short Weapon Mastery (Level 7), Greatsword Mastery (Level 4), Firearms Mastery (Level 1)]
[Boosts: Strong Body, Quick Attack, Precision, Scholar, Pilot, Long-distance Running, Sword Dance]
Thanks to the Restricted Section, John had learned quite a bit of magic.
He came across the Blasting Curse there, but after thinking about it, he decided against learning it during his first year. It was notoriously difficult to control, even among Dark Magic spells.
He remembered a fool who had used the Blasting Curse inside the Room of Requirement, causing the entire room to be destroyed.
He certainly didn't want to repeat that mistake.
Once he activated Scholar Mode, he was able to learn even more.
Monday, Transfiguration Class.
"Well done, Wick. Slytherin gets 5 points."
Today's lesson was about transfiguring animals into goblets.
On John's desk was Tom.
The cute little Tom, with big eyes, happily stuck out his tongue. John took out his wand and pointed it at him.
"Vera Verto."
Tom turned into a goblet under John's gaze.
Professor McGonagall was impressed and added another point to Slytherin's score, which was no longer as depleted as it had been.
Hermione looked a little discouraged. It seemed like she was falling further behind John.
Only John knew that he was a cheat with his intense grind.
To make sure he had enough time for midnight strolls and training, he had been staying up late, unlocking a new achievement.
[The Sleepless One: You only need 2 hours of sleep per day to be fully energized.]
With this boost, he was finally able to avoid dozing off under Snape's gloomy gaze.
He had heard that Snape had visited the hospital wing a few times, and hoped Madam Pomfrey wouldn't keep giving certain students Pepperup Potion as a stimulant.
Well, it seemed like John wasn't the one being subtly referenced here.
...
The Room of Requirement.
John was swinging the greatsword, and under the flickering candlelight, silver light danced as he cleaved through the target ahead. His left hand raised his wand toward a target at 7 o'clock.
"Reducto."
The wand's spindly tip shot a white light that hit the target, making it explode into pieces.
It was a far cry from the earlier, smaller explosions; now, it was a substantial improvement.
After finishing his training, John took a short rest before preparing to leave.
Tomorrow was the Halloween feast, and he had to stay in good shape.
The day after tomorrow, his two-month punishment of staying in the Trophy Room would finally be over.
The Slytherin common room was in the basement, so he had to walk down from the eighth floor to the first.
Luckily, Hogwarts was full of shortcuts. When he reached the first-floor corridor, he saw the Bloody Baron.
This silent Slytherin ghost seemed to be waiting for him.
- Writer
