January 1st.
The new term begins.
John doesn't feel much about it.
Hermione arrived at school yesterday, disappointed that Harry and the others hadn't found Nicolas Flamel.
"John, are you reading about alchemy?"
In the library.
John was engrossed in "An Introduction to Alchemy and Beyond," which caught Hermione's attention, momentarily diverting her from the search for Nicolas Flamel.
She examined John's reading list, which, besides alchemy, also included Ancient Runes.
Hogwarts offered Ancient Runes as a third-year elective.
Determined to keep up with John, whom she viewed as a rival, Hermione went back with a stack of books on runes that day.
However, the next day, Hermione showed up with dark circles under her eyes, resembling a sleepy lion.
Ancient Runes proved too challenging for a first-year student, a fact Hermione had to concede.
"I swear I've seen that name before, but I just can't remember."
Ever since Dumbledore persuaded Harry not to visit the Mirror of Erised anymore, Harry frequently dreamed of his parents being killed by Voldemort.
This refocused his attention on Nicolas Flamel.
Although Harry was convinced he had seen the name somewhere, Hermione and the others had nearly given up on finding Nicolas Flamel in the library.
They no longer studied relentlessly, opting to use their breaks to continue the search.
"I know I saw it somewhere." Harry began to doubt himself.
While they gathered to discuss, John sat nearby, alternating between "An Easy Introduction to Ancient Runes" and his alchemy book, a method to avoid fatigue.
"Wick, what are you reading this for? Are you planning to sell trinkets like those wizards in Knockturn Alley?"
Since watching a Quidditch match together, Malfoy no longer ignored John when he couldn't defeat him.
Seeing John's interest in alchemy, Malfoy instinctively thought John was planning to make and sell items like the Weasley twins.
"Just making some small things. Alchemy is a vast field. Do you know about the Sword of Gryffindor?"
Closing his book, John's gaze drifted.
Malfoy looked puzzled, "What's that?"
"A legendary silver sword forged by goblins at Gryffindor's request. Only a true Gryffindor can find it, but that's not important. The Sorting Hat is also a product of alchemy."
Through hard work and even neglecting his training, John finally mastered the basics of runes.
This meant he had a solid grasp of runes and now needed to master alchemy to start goblin forging.
However, this process was arduous; he was nearly out of the Blast-Ended Skrewt tails he got from Hagrid but still hadn't mastered it.
Malfoy nodded in half-understanding. As a Malfoy, he wasn't short on magical items.
He just thought John, coming from a Muggle family, had to make his own things out of necessity.
There was an Astronomy class that night.
The students gathered in the Astronomy Tower as Professor Aurora Sinistra lectured on the position of Sagittarius.
After the day's classes ended, John encountered Quirrell, who handed him a note.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."
Opening the note, it contained only a location.
John didn't want to go but feared arousing Quirrell's suspicion, so he reluctantly set aside his alchemy studies.
...
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Feeling confident that he had led this good student down a dark path, Quirrell began to drop his facade.
Quirrell was originally a competent wizard and wouldn't have needed to disguise himself as a low-level professor if it weren't for accepting Voldemort.
"Very good, John Wick. It seems you've chosen the right path."
Seeing John sneaking out at night pleased Quirrell.
Indeed, knowledge is the greatest temptation. Tasting the power of dark magic had even corrupted a good student like John Wick.
"Professor Quirrell."
Upon entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, John felt as if needles were pricking his head—Legilimency, trying to read his thoughts.
He quickly used Occlumency, having leveled it up to 2 during the new term, but it still wasn't enough.
He allocated his free points to Occlumency, upgrading it to level 3.
At level 3, he was proficient enough in Occlumency to handle a fragmented Voldemort spirit.
Feigning an excited expression, John acted like a disciple enthralled by knowledge.
Voldemort, using Legilimency through Quirrell, was satisfied. Now, with a single word, John could become the most loyal Death Eater.
Cultivating an undercover agent at Hogwarts, Voldemort didn't skimp on knowledge.
Through Quirrell, he imparted much to John.
Voldemort was a powerful wizard with extensive knowledge.
Under his tutelage, many of John's unclear areas became clear.
In the following days, John attended classes during the day and studied in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at night.
This rapidly improved his skills, and he successfully mastered Fiendfyre.
Magical Power: Level 3 (30/1500)
Spells: Alohomora (Level 3), Levitation Charm (Level 4), Transfiguration (Level 2), Disillusionment Charm (Level 3), Lumos (Level 2), Incendio (Level 3), Reducto (Level 3), Fiendfyre (Level 2), Protego (Level 2) ...
Skills: Short Weapon Mastery (Level 7), Greatsword Mastery (Level 4), Firearm Mastery (Level 1), Rune Mastery (Level 1), Alchemy Mastery (Level 1)
Buffs: Strong Body, Quick Attack, Precision, Scholar, Pilot, Long Distance Runner, Sword Dance, Troll Slayer, Night Demon
While his magical power didn't grow much, his understanding of spells increased significantly.
The best news was that he had also mastered alchemy.
Though still at level 1, John could now create simple magical items.
Crafting items with self-awareness like the Sorting Hat or the Sword of Gryffindor might require reaching level 7.
...
Harry was dragged into grueling training by Wood, even in snow and rain.
Wood was determined to win the House Cup, believing this would help them catch up to Slytherin in points.
This put a lot of pressure on Harry.
Even Hermione and Ron were concerned, advising Harry to skip the match.
Ron suggested faking an illness, but Hermione went further, proposing he pretend to have broken his leg.
This distressed Harry.
At that moment, Neville stumbled into the common room, hopping with his legs stuck together from a Leg-Locker Curse.
It was undoubtedly Malfoy's doing, and Ron was furious, ready to confront him.
But Neville stopped him, not wanting to cause trouble for Harry and the others.
Hermione lifted the curse, and Harry, intending to comfort Neville with a Chocolate Frog, found a wizard card in his pocket.
"What's this?"
Harry handed another Chocolate Frog to Neville, staring at the card in his hand.
"It's the one John gave you. He said something about it back then," Ron recalled the card's origin.
It was a Dumbledore wizard card. Harry turned it over.
Just as he thought it was something John didn't want, his eyes froze on the small print on the card.
"Ron, Hermione, look at this!"
Harry gasped, his voice trembling slightly.
Ron and Hermione leaned in to see and were hit by a sudden wave of excitement.
"Partnered with Nicolas Flamel, a renowned alchemist!"
"I knew it! I knew I'd seen that name before!"
Harry was thrilled, as they had finally made a crucial breakthrough after their stalled progress.
The trio was elated, and Hermione even jumped up.
Suddenly, Hermione thought of something.
Looking at the word "alchemy," she said, "No wonder John was reading those alchemy books! He knew all along!"
With that, Hermione dashed upstairs and brought down a huge, old book from the girls' dormitory.
Flipping through the old book, they finally found information about Nicolas Flamel.
And they learned about the Philosopher's Stone.