Sirius couldn't quite describe how he was feeling. He hated this house, hated everything about it.
The name "Black" felt like chains shackling him. That's why he had run away from home and been burned off the family tree by his mother.
And now, the portrait of that woman—who had pathologically worshiped pure-blood supremacy—was completely gone.
A strange sadness welled up in Sirius's heart, just a little.
He forced himself to speak calmly, "Good job. I've been wanting to do that for a long time."
John ignored him, casually drew the Silver Wick Sword, and laid it flat across Sirius's body.
"Ahh—!"
Sirius tried to get up but couldn't break free from the crushing weight of the sword.
All he could do was shout and howl.
Leisurely strolling around the Black family home, John commented, "Hmm.. If it hadn't been neglected for so long, it might actually be a decent house."
He glanced at the still-raised wands pointed at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Wanna hear a fun fact? I really hate it when people point their wands at me."
Lupin lowered his wand first. Kingsley glanced at Moody, and seeing Moody lower his too, he put his own away.
The place was lively—besides the two former Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, there was also his own head of house and the entire Weasley family.
"Dumbledore let you join?" Snape stared at John, clearly not quite believing it.
John shrugged and said casually, "Magic may be mysterious, but there's always a way around it. Sometimes, all it takes is a tiny flaw."
As he spoke, John held out his hand, showing just how tiny the flaw was.
Mr. Weasley actually had a pretty good impression of John. They had met a few times, and he had originally thought John was just a friend of his sons.
"John, have you joined the Order of the Phoenix?!" Mr. Weasley asked.
The Weasley twins Apparated in with a pop—they were seventeen now and had learned how to Apparate.
John teased, "Not at all. But considering there were people trespassing on my family's lawn and even attempting to attack my father, I figured it was time to have a little... chat with them, these so-called... Order of the Phoenix folks."
From the moment John entered until now, the strength he had shown made it impossible for anyone to treat him like a child.
Gulp..
The fact that John had uncovered the existence of the Order made Snape's face look even worse.
"Not going to invite me in for a sit-down?" John said casually. "After all, you do need my help, don't you?"
Lupin took a deep breath and said, "John, there's no need for us to be like this—"
"If I'm not mistaken," John interrupted coldly, "you're no longer a professor at Hogwarts. And this place isn't Hogwarts either."
Trying to pull rank as a professor?
John didn't even show Snape any respect.
Mrs. Weasley, still wearing an apron and holding a spray bottle of doxycide, stood there in disbelief that this was someone Ron's age.
Moody spoke up, "He's right. John Wick, we do indeed need your help. We hope you can cure the 'mad dog disease' your dog left behind."
He gave Mr. Weasley a look, signaling that they should focus on treating Sturgis Podmor's leg first.
Mr. Weasley understood immediately and invited John inside.
Because of the mad dog disease, they had no choice but to lock Sturgis Podmor away in the storage room.
Hermione walked up next to John and asked quietly, "John, did you come because you received the letter?"
"You could say that," John replied with a slight smile. Whether he would actually help was another matter entirely.
His main goal was to probe the strength of the Order of the Phoenix. Right now, he had two very useful identities:
One, he was a Hogwarts student; two, he was someone capable of curing the mad dog disease.
The Order of the Phoenix wasn't like the Death Eaters—they wouldn't attack a student like him. They were too self-righteous for that.
That was why John dared to barge in alone.
However, seeing Hermione here did surprise him a little.
He had guessed that Harry might have joined the Order, but Hermione too?
"No, I'm just staying here," Hermione said. Strictly speaking, the students hadn't joined the Order.
Internally, John began estimating the current fighting strength of the Order of the Phoenix.
There was the legendary Auror with rich combat experience, Remus Lupin who was proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts, his own Head of House and Sirius Black, the entire Weasley family, and a dark-skinned wizard in purple robes.
The magic power radiating from these people was at least level 5.
Moody and Snape had reached level 6.
A group of elites from the wizarding world had gathered here.
Having formed a rough idea in his mind, John walked straight into the meeting room and sat down.
"I can help lift it, but what can you offer me in return?"
John intertwined his fingers and rested them under his chin, speaking leisurely, "I have no obligation to work for free, do I?"
Mrs. Weasley was greatly shocked, and Snape was somewhat unaccustomed to John's brazen attitude.
At school, John would never have spoken to him this way.
Snape said sarcastically, "John Wick, it seems you've become a different person after leaving school."
"Tsk.. tsk.." John clicked his tongue twice and replied mockingly, "Professor Snape, right now, I'm not your student."
Being mocked in return made Snape's face darken.
"What do you want?" Moody asked gruffly, his magical eye spinning rapidly. He had an impression of John, and Dumbledore had mentioned him as well.
"Let me think," John said, pretending to ponder. Then he clapped his hands and said, "I'm very interested in the treasures of the Black family."
"Sorry, we can't agree to that," Lupin said gravely. "That would require Sirius' permission."
"Give it to him."
Sirius' voice came from outside. The twins had tried to use magic to move the Silver Wick Sword but failed.
Sirius had no particular attachment to the treasures. "I was planning to throw it away anyway."
If the Black ancestors could hear this wastrel's comment, they would probably curse him from head to toe.
John snapped his fingers and said, "Very straightforward. But you trespassed on my family's lawn and attacked my father. How do you intend to resolve that?"
Moody grew irritated and shouted, "How do you want to resolve it?"
"Simple."
John leaned back in his chair, his expression turning cold, and pointed at the doorway. "I want one of his hands."
The atmosphere suddenly fell into a heavy silence.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened, as if she thought she had misheard.
Lupin was silent for a moment, then said, "John, that's not funny."
"You know," John said coolly, "I'm not joking."
"Attacking my family isn't something that can be brushed off."
Seeing no one speak, John got up and walked out.
Harry, who had been eavesdropping, shouted, "You can't do that! You can't take Sirius' hand!"
John grew a little irritated. You're not a dog animagus — why are you barking so loudly?
He grabbed Harry by the collar and yanked him over, staring into those green eyes, and said word by word, "Harry, if your family were dragged into disaster, I hope you would still have the luxury to talk so flippantly."
This was the first time John had ever been this rough with Harry. Almost instantly, several wizards' gazes turned toward John.
Look at that — the special treatment for the Savior.
John sneered inwardly.
Ron thought this was utterly ridiculous and shouted, "Sirius didn't mean any harm! He just wanted to erase memories — Mr. Wick wouldn't mind!"
"Ron, don't use your wizard logic to guess what my father would think. He's a Muggle. If one day you get your memory wiped, you'll realize it's no small matter."
Casting a cold glance at Ron, John shoved Harry aside and turned back to the wizards in the meeting room.
"If you want to stop me, you might as well do it now."
His wand had already slipped quietly into his left hand. John silently prepared himself as he continued, "Just be ready. I won't hold back."
A warning from a student — and not a single wizard dared to move.
Because John wasn't a Death Eater. If a Death Eater had done this, they would've been lying on the floor already.
In John's eyes, this was the greatest weakness of the Order of the Phoenix.
Mercy.
John was actually just testing — testing to see how far these people could endure.
If they could stay indifferent even while he cut off Sirius' hand, then sorry, to John, such people were simply too weak.
Snape understood John. This time, they had touched his reverse scale.
"Give it to him!" Sirius roared, "Give him my hand!"
"You're finally acting like a godfather."
John raised his hand and summoned the Silver Wick Sword into his right hand. He said coldly, "You can close your eyes now. It won't hurt as much as you think... I think."
"John!"
Hermione stepped forward, her face pleading, speaking softly, "We apologize. There's no need to go this far."
"Heh~ Hermione, you and I are the same," John looked at her, his expression softening slightly. "Our parents aren't wizards. They're too fragile."
Hermione couldn't say a word. If someone had done that to her father, she couldn't even imagine what she might do.
Sirius steeled himself and stretched out his left hand.
A flash of silver light swept down — and just as it was about to touch him, John was stopped.
He turned his head to look at Lupin. Lupin sighed and said, "We apologize, and we'll make amends. The Order of the Phoenix owes you a favor."
Lupin looked at John sincerely and added, "There's no need for us to continue like this, like enemies."
This was the bottom line of the Order of the Phoenix. If they pushed any further, they really would become enemies.
John's sword froze midair.
After a moment, he lowered it.
He said calmly, "Remember your words, Remus."
It was as if nothing had happened, but when John dropped his sword, everyone let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"Alright, where's that unlucky bastard?" John had already achieved his goal.
Now that he had a favor from the Order of the Phoenix, things would be much more convenient in the future.
The unlucky Podmore was brought over. John just glanced at him, took out a potion, and casually sprinkled it over the wound.
Podmore screamed miserably from the pain, but the curse on him disappeared.
Of course, it only meant he wouldn't turn into a dog anymore.
"Ok, all done~"
John grabbed a magic book from the Black family's collection, walked toward the door, and said to Hermione, "See you in the new school year."
He now behaved completely like a normal student.
He turned and left.
Just as the door opened, a familiar figure rushed in.
"Sirius, you have to save me!"
Mundungus Fletcher burst in, clutching Sirius's leg and howling.
Already in a foul mood, Sirius's veins bulged with rage.
"If I don't pay up, I'm gonna get killed! Lend me some money, you're so rich!"
Mundungus's eyes were bloodshot—he hadn't slept in days.
Heh~ John took it all in. Mundungus had come to the Order of the Phoenix to borrow money.
Unfortunately, he didn't even recognize the person who brushed past him was Sir Silverhand.
After stepping out, the house behind John once again blended into the gap between Number 11 and Number 13.
"Getting back in a second time... probably won't be so easy."
Fingering the black-covered book in his hand, the corner of John's mouth lifted slightly.
The book's name was Secreta sections - Aandhakara Maya
Finding this book had been a pleasant surprise.
"Secrets of Cutting-Edge Dark Arts, huh?".
(2000 Words 🔥🥲)
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