111: Ice Cream and the Kidnapping

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The powdered unicorn horn, known for its ability to heal the soul, was made into a potion by John and given to the large snake.

When he connected with Nagini again, she sounded much better.

~~"Thank you, I feel so much better!"~~

Nagini said, her voice no longer filled with sorrow. For the first time, she wasn't crying out with no one to respond.

John nodded and said, ~~"Hearing that you're okay puts my mind at ease."~~

Nagini, now lively again, chatted with John, her tone much more cheerful.

~~"I can't believe I'm able to talk to someone normally again. Usually, it takes control."~~

"'It'?" John caught onto the key detail and asked, ~~"Who is 'it'?"~~

"The blood curse. It controls my body and pushes my soul into a corner."

'The blood curse had its own consciousness?'

John felt puzzled but continued talking with Nagini.

Gradually, he learned more about the blood curse.

It was like an infant—initially, it couldn't affect the host much. But over time, the curse would gradually grow stronger.

And it was during this period that the host would begin to transform into a blood-cursed beast.

Once the blood curse fully matures, it completely takes over the host's body, leaving the host's original soul pushed so far into the corner that it no longer has any control.

'This blood curse... it has a soul of its own.'

John frowned. This soul wasn't ordinary; it was intricately linked to Nagini's, almost as if they were the same being.

Or, more accurately, it could be called an evil spirit.

"A spell that targets the soul."

Muttering to himself, John looked at the snake's body.

By treating Nagini, he had also inadvertently treated the blood curse.

"So… break it to rebuild!"

A gleam appeared in John's eyes. Since the curse was attached to the soul, he would have to sever the soul itself.

The process would be excruciatingly painful. Even John wasn't sure if he could endure it.

If removing Fenrir's arm was like cutting, then Nagini's case would be more akin to ripping the soul apart.

The pain would be unbearable, and any slight mistake could result in the soul disintegrating.

"I need to be fully prepared."

Taking a deep breath, John had found a breakthrough, but the process ahead was no less daunting.

To break the blood curse, John needed both the blood curse potion and his soul surgery to happen simultaneously.

"The blood curse is like a permanent transfiguration... if I use the Animagus method…"

A light began to flicker in John's eyes as he thought of another form of transformation—Animagus.

Although it was a form of transfiguration, it required a specific ritual combined with potions.

~~"I'll need to look through the records at Hogwarts to see if there's anything about it."~~

~~"Ok!"~~

The silver thread in his hand shattered, ending the conversation once again.

John began to look forward to the start of the school year.

...

August 31st.

There was only one day left until the new school term.

John made his way to Diagon Alley. He couldn't handle his dad any longer.

Watson Wick had been pestering John to transfigure a cooking rat for him, clearly having watched *Ratatouille* one too many times.

He even attempted to make Tom the cooking "Dog King," never mind the fact that Tom's paws were barely capable of holding anything, let alone cooking. That would be a medical miracle.

In order to ensure Tom could grow into a proper dog, John chose to leave a day earlier.

To avoid any more outrageous requests from his dad, John decided to leave.

He really wanted to tell Watson: I'm just a wizard. Some of these requests you're making—God himself would want to smack you!

"Haah~ " Taking the Knight Bus again, John arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.

After paying for his stay, he noticed Tom, his dog, looking a bit downcast.

"What's wrong buddy? Are you missing Blackie?" 

Seeing his dog, John knew instantly it was missing the black dog of the street.

Patting Tom's head, John comforted her, "You're still too young. Those stray dogs out there are street-smart. Aside from bossing around Fang, you're not much of anything yet."

Tom: "..." ...' Are you sure this is supposed to be comforting?'

Depressed and questioning her life as a dog, Tom perked up the moment Basil the Owl flew out of its cage and eagerly chased after it, trying to lick its feathers off.

"Ah, classic simp behavior," John sighed.

With that, he decided to head out for a stroll—not for any other reason but to try the tomato-and-scrambled-egg-flavored ice cream and see if it was the real deal.

"I heard there's even a Mapo tofu flavor," John mused, curious about how in the world they turned such asian things into ice cream.

He headed towards Diagon Alley.

Last time, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was booming with customers, but today it was much quieter.

Most likely, the crowd had been scared off by those... "experimental" flavors.

As John approached, he noticed a dark-skinned girl who looked vaguely familiar.

The girl saw him and shouted in delight, "John!"

"Uh... this voice...?" 

Blinking, John watched as the girl smiled, revealing two prominent front teeth.

"Eh? Hermione? Why are you so tanned?"

The trio was all there, and they'd already bought their school supplies.

John greeted them, then noticed how effortlessly Hermione was carrying an enormous stack of books. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd been secretly working out.

Hermione lifted her chin proudly and said, "I went to France too."

"I know, but did you go for a tanning session? Even Ron, who just came back from Egypt, isn't as chocolaty as you."

This earned him a sharp glare from Hermione. Scratching his head, John turned to Ron.

Ron was still carrying Scabbers. Even though Mr. Weasley had planned to use his lottery winnings to buy Ron a new wand, they realized that the one John had made suited him perfectly.

Not only that, even Ollivander himself had high praise for the wand John made. This saved the Weasley family quite a bit of money.

As the group gathered, they inevitably started discussing Harry's latest achievement. Ron laughed heartily about the incident with Aunt Marge inflating like a balloon, while Hermione was more aware of the seriousness of it.

Harry, too, realized how lucky he was not to be expelled.

At the same time, he silently grumbled to himself, thinking how John had made it sound like no big deal, leaving him to believe it wasn't anything serious.

Hermione's birthday was coming up, and her parents had given her ten Galleons as a birthday gift. She planned to use it to buy an owl, just like Harry's Hedwig, Ron's Errol, and John's Basil.

Ron also needed to get some medicine for Scabbers, who had been looking unwell.

The trio quickly agreed they could all go to the magical creatures shop together.

Meanwhile, John shrugged and said, "I'm still waiting for my ice cream."

Harry swallowed nervously, his entire body practically screaming, "No!" as he asked, "John, are you really going to try it?"

John nodded confidently. "You've got to be brave enough to try new things."

"Ug.. yeah.." The trio exchanged glances, hoping John would survive the ordeal, and then they headed off to the magical creatures shop.

John waited for a while, and soon, three different flavors of ice cream were brought to him.

He took a bite of the tomato and scrambled egg flavor, which had a tangy kick, and his expression showed surprise.

"Oh!"

"It seems... not as bad as I thought."

Unconvinced, he took another bite. John found that the taste wasn't entirely unbearable.

Next, he turned his attention to the mapo tofu flavor. With the previous ice cream setting his expectations higher, John was now full of confidence. He took a big spoonful and popped it into his mouth.

Then...

"Fuck you, Strawberry Mapo Tofu, (ﾉꐦ ⊙曲ఠ)ﾉ彡┻━┻ die!"

He threw away the Mapo Tofu flavor with a constipated look on his face, and he was very disappointed.

The final flavor, honeydew melon, was John's last hope of salvation.

After finishing the "battle," John decided that he couldn't suffer alone. In a fit of frustration, he bought ten of each flavor—no one was escaping this madness!

Stuffing the cursed ice cream into his small bag with a freezing charm to keep them cold, John returned to the Leaky Cauldron, only to be immediately blocked by two people.

"John, you're just in time."

"We've got a deal for you."

"A very lucrative one."

"You're coming with us."

The way they spoke in tandem made it clear without needing to think—it was the Weasley twins, Fred and George.

John had barely left Diagon Alley when he was kidnapped by the two and brought back.

He felt his feet lift off the ground, and his IQ seemed to have taken a nosedive. John naturally didn't use his strength to fight.

"Wait, where are you taking me?"

He noticed the twins were passing by Gringotts, heading further into the depths.

If they kept going, they'd end up in Knockturn Alley. 'Treating me like this, you're not exactly respecting the King of Knockturn Alley here.'

Fred and George said nothing, just carried John all the way to a familiar shopfront.

They wore mischievous grins.

"We received a letter."

"Angel investor from Silverhand."

"A brilliant idea."

"A product."

"And a qualified little genius."

Their intentions were now clear. Fred and George spoke in unison: "And that genius is you."

John understood. They wanted him to interview with Silverhand Angel Investment. The Weasley twins knew of John's high level of alchemical skills, so they thought of him.

This made John feel very strange. 'An interview with Silverhand Angel Investment? Interviewing myself?'

You two are only in your fifth year, and you're already thinking of starting a business?

So, Hogwarts' fifth year is a threshold, huh?

'Voldemort made a Horcrux in his fifth year, and now you two are starting your first business venture.'

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