I Swung a Sword at Hogwarts

John headed to see Hagrid—he needed to ask for some oak resin.

The crafting and repairing of wands was a complex process. It didn't just involve finding the right materials, but also required careful refinement and patience.

When John arrived at Hagrid's hut, Lockhart happened to be pestering Hagrid, trying to show off his knowledge by teaching a magical creature expert how to prevent Grindylows from sneaking into wells.

John walked up and knocked on the door. Hagrid, clearly relieved, hurried over to open it.

Lockhart, who was still trying to pitch his books to Hagrid, stiffened when he saw John walk in.

"Professor Lockhart, I believe you still have teaching materials to sort through," John said with a sidelong glance, giving him a polite excuse to leave.

Lockhart nodded quickly as if he had just remembered, "Ah yes, yes! I nearly forgot. Thank you, Mr. Wick."

He bolted out the door like a dragon was chasing him.

Hagrid looked puzzled for a moment, but quickly brightened at the sight of his visiting friend.

"John! I was just wondering when you'd come by. All the materials you asked me to get are ready."

He pulled out a large bag—these were the items John had asked him to purchase.

John was invited to sit down, and Hagrid served him a steaming cup of tea along with some rock cakes.

"Hagrid, do you know where I can find an oak tree? I need some oak resin."

Hagrid waved a large hand and pounded his chest proudly. "Of course! There's not a corner of the Forbidden Forest I don't know. Wait here, I'll fetch you some."

"Thanks, Hagrid."

True to his generous nature, Hagrid left to gather resin from the oak grove.

While John waited, there was another knock at the door—it was Harry and his friends.

"John, you're here?" Hermione asked in pleasant surprise.

John was a bit confused until he noticed Ron looked unwell.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"It was Malfoy," Harry said angrily. "He used a nasty curse on Ron. We came to see if Hagrid could help."

"Bad timing—Hagrid just left."

He let the trio in. One look at Ron's nauseated expression and John suspected a curse.

"He's been hit with the Worm Curse."

John had been doing a lot of reading lately—basically every day—so he quickly recognized the symptoms.

Hagrid returned just then and was even happier to see the trio.

"Here, take this—it'll make you feel better when you throw up," Hagrid said, handing Ron a metal bucket.

John knelt beside Ron. "Lift your shirt and show your belly."

Ron looked confused, but Harry and Hermione didn't hesitate to help.

Once the shirt was lifted, they saw Ron's stomach was visibly wriggling, as if something was crawling beneath the skin.

"I think I can fix this."

John paused, pointed his wand at Ron's belly with his left hand, and said,

"Worms, begone."

A flash of white light hit Ron's stomach like a punch, making him groan and clutch the bucket.

He promptly vomited five or six wriggling worms.

"Brilliant, John! Where'd you learn that spell?" Hagrid clapped and asked.

John kept a straight face. "The library, of course."

In truth, he had learned it in the Gryffindor Chamber—a hidden room filled with all kinds of strange curses and spells.

One particularly dark curse was called the Blood Curse. It was hereditary, and victims eventually turned into snakes—known as Blood-Cursed Beastmen. Over time, they would completely transform into actual serpents.

This intrigued John deeply. He even wondered what would happen if a Blood-Cursed Beastman was bitten by a werewolf. What kind of interaction would occur between those two curses?

Hagrid returned with the oak resin, and John packed the materials into his satchel, ready to leave.

"I'll get going, Hagrid. Thanks again for your help."

"No need to thank me!" Hagrid said cheerfully. After John left, he sighed emotionally. "John's the most brilliant young wizard I've ever met—just like Riddle. No, no—not Riddle. I mean, you kids are brilliant too."

The trio turned to look at him.

"Riddle?"

"No, no! Don't mention that name!"

Hagrid clearly didn't want to discuss it. The trio exchanged looks, realizing there was more to the name than they knew—but they tactfully didn't press the matter. Even though Hagrid had a big mouth, this was clearly something he didn't want to talk about.

...

Back in the Gryffindor Chamber, John crafted a wand using a branch from the Whomping Willow and embedded a unicorn hair core.

After sanding down the rough edges, he soaked the wand in oak resin.

Oak trees were said to contain natural magic, and soaking a wand in its resin helped it better bond with the wizard.

Once the restoration was done, John turned to alchemy.

He discovered that crafting items seemed to boost his Alchemy skill noticeably—even though there was no visible experience bar, he could feel the improvement.

He finished a batch of items to be sold in Silverhand Johnny's shop and asked Rollo to deliver them.

The shop business was still lukewarm, but word was starting to spread.

Donnie Shelby had written a letter mentioning that some wizards in Knockturn Alley were eyeing the shop with unusual interest.

John wrote back, advising him to handle it carefully—and not to alert the Aurors.

Lately, the Aurors had been cracking down hard on Dark Magic artifacts—and Silverhand Johnny's store did have a few.

John also told Donnie to start reaching out to some werewolf acquaintances—he was ready to make his big move.

Damocles had been notified by the Order of Merlin about his award ceremony. It was nearly certain he would be receiving the First Class Order of Merlin.

At the latest, it would happen by Christmas, and the news would definitely spread far and wide.

After writing back, John left the dormitory.

Since he had agreed to let Lockhart stay on at Hogwarts, he wasn't going to go back on his word.

He went to the base of the Whomping Willow, froze it in place, and entered the passage.

Inside the Shrieking Shack, the wardrobe was still there. John used a levitation charm to move it.

Later, during Defense Against the Dark Arts class, students were surprised to see John standing beside the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I deeply apologize for the disaster that was our last class. Upon reflection, I've realized that overly 'innovative' teaching isn't suitable for Hogwarts. So now, it's time to show you my real capabilities."

Lockhart never needed a script to brag. With his signature white-toothed grin, he announced:

"Mr. John Wick will be assisting in this class under my personal guidance. He's already been familiarized with the material."

Everyone stared at John in disbelief. John rolled his eyes—Lockhart really could put on a show.

He pulled the cloth off a cabinet, revealing something Neville found familiar.

With a confident smile, Lockhart said, "Now, please form a line—we're about to begin a grand and vivid lesson!"

To his credit, Lockhart really could stir a crowd. Even students who had completely lost faith in him were now curious.

John saw the tables were in the way. With a flick of his wand, he transfigured them into protective barriers circling the classroom's front area.

His Transfiguration skills were masterful—if Professor McGonagall had seen it, she would've surely awarded points.

Lockhart strutted forward in a flamboyant robe, looking like a peacock wearing a crown.

"Let me teach you our first official lesson—how to defeat a troll!"

He was great at memorizing scripts. As long as there was no physical action involved, Lockhart's boasting was unmatched.

Drawing from his stolen stories, he spoke vividly about his book Travels with Trolls, and pointed out the weaknesses of trolls.

"Trolls have very fragile heads. All you need is a light levitation charm to make their club hit themselves in the head—and that'll do the trick."

"And now…"

He clapped his hands, and John stepped forward. "My assistant will demonstrate."

Demonstrate?

The young witches and wizards looked confused. John flicked his wand, unlocking the cabinet.

A low growl emerged from within. The trio's expressions turned fearful—they recognized that sound from first year. It was a troll!

But then—they were confused again.

The cabinet was too small. How could it contain a full-sized troll?

John had used Occlumency to project the image of a troll into his mind. The Boggart inside mistook it for his fear and transformed into a troll, pushing open the cabinet.

"It's really a troll!" Ron shouted in fright.

John stared at the troll's club. As it approached him, he acted quickly.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The troll's club floated up and smashed into its own head.

The Boggart, now a troll, fainted on the spot.

Just like that, the troll was defeated. The room erupted in applause.

Lockhart walked out proudly and announced, "Excellent execution under my guidance! 10 points to Slytherin for Mr. Wick!"

This class was nothing like the last. The vivid, hands-on demonstration made a huge impact.

By the end of class, the Boggart-turned-troll had been knocked out repeatedly, and the students' opinion of Lockhart had done a complete 180.