81: The Seed of Doubt and Pansy's Love

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Hospital Wing.

"Harry, you're wrong."

Hermione argued back at Harry, clearly upset. "How can you suspect John? He's our friend, and he's a Muggle-born."

Even Ron thought Harry's idea was crazy. That was John Wick they were talking about.

He was the one who single-handedly dispelled people's fears about the Heir of Slytherin, and he was the one who saved the Gryffindor students by driving away the basilisk.

How could Harry possibly suspect John?

Seeing that his friends didn't believe him, Harry voiced his suspicions. "Think about it. Who was the first to discover the basilisk? It was John."

"What's so strange about that? If it weren't for John, you'd have been blamed as the cat killer by Filch," Hermione retorted, her cat-like face puffing up in anger.

Harry shook his head and said seriously, "What about the second time? John came out with the basilisk, and it just so happened that Colin was there to take a picture. During the time Colin went to get a professor, no one knows what really happened between John and the basilisk."

This made Ron think, just a little, that Harry might have a point.

"Think about it—why was John, facing such a dangerous creature like the basilisk, barely hurt? He just slept it off in the hospital wing."

Hermione dismissed the idea, "Maybe John is just that strong."

"Yes, he's strong, strong enough to take down Slytherin on his own. But don't you think it's all too convenient?" Harry pressed.

Recalling the strange compulsion that led him to ask Malfoy, Harry's suspicions about John grew.

He said, "John often disappears, and no one knows where he goes. Every time the basilisk shows up, John's reputation only gets stronger, almost like..."

"Almost like it's deliberately boosting his reputation, right? Harry, you're absolutely wrong! John is a Muggle-born wizard—Slytherin would never seek out a Muggle!" Hermione angrily finished his sentence, her whiskers practically twitching with indignation.

"But what if he's not?" Harry said quietly.

Hermione was stunned, and Ron, surprised, asked, "You mean John isn't a Muggle-born wizard?"

Harry's eyes gleamed with a hint of wisdom. "Maybe someone in John's family is a Squib, which would make him a half-blood, not a Muggle-born. And you've seen it—Malfoy is his friend, and Malfoy hates Muggle-borns."

Hermione wrinkled her nose and said, "That's just speculation, Harry. You need to calm down."

Ron nodded in agreement, thinking Harry might be too tired.

Seeing that his friends didn't believe him, Harry felt a mix of helplessness and frustration.

A voice in his head kept telling him that John was the Heir of Slytherin.

It was only for a fraction of a second but due to his sharp eyes, he accurately saw John that day.. The memory of John's slit-pupil eyes during the dueling club only fueled Harry's doubts.

The seed of suspicion had been planted deep in his mind, and Harry became increasingly wary of John.

...

"Accho!" John sneezed and rubbed his nose, puzzled. "There's no wind, though."

John glanced at the two pieces of parchment on the table, and tapped them with his finger.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

Both pieces of parchment unfolded, revealing identical maps.

The footprints and names moving on them were exactly the same—John had successfully duplicated the Marauder's Map!

Seeing the name "Peter Pettigrew" moving alongside Ron, John muttered to himself, "The Marauder's Map is not omnipotent. Perhaps it only needs a strong enough Confusion Charm to confuse it." 

The Marauder's Map was like an advanced version of the Tracking Spell. Though powerful, it could still be disrupted by spells.

John wasn't sure what level of Confundus Charm would be required, but it would likely need to be at least Level 4 or higher.

"Probably no one in the school except Professor Flitwick and a few others could manage it."

Even ordinary professors wouldn't be capable; only the heads of the four houses might be able to cast a Confundus Charm at that level.

Tapping the Marauder's Map again, John closed it.

He had now reached the point where he could perform simple tasks without a wand.

Tucking away both versions of the Marauder's Map, John didn't want to risk them being found by someone with ill intentions.

Of course, if the Weasley twins discovered that he had taken the map and came to claim it back, he would be very generous.

Christmas had passed.

With the start of the new term, Hermione, who had turned into a cat-girl, wouldn't be appearing in classes for a while.

Without this know-it-all Miss Granger to compete with, John found the classes a bit lonely.

This must be what it feels like to have no worthy opponents.

Neville was happy when he returned to school because his grandmother had praised him.

The training had helped Neville lose quite a bit of weight, which made Mrs. Longbottom both pleased and worried.

Before long, February arrived.

Hermione was finally out of the hospital, having been cured.

But for some reason, John noticed that Harry seemed to be keeping his distance from him.

'Could it be that the incident where I made Harry take the blame last time was exposed?'

John thought that Harry might have figured out the summer incident where he had shifted the blame onto him. If that were the case, he was willing to apologize.

The Felix Felicis was almost ready, and John still needed Harry's Parseltongue to guide the way.

Now that he knew the entrance, everything was ready except for the Parseltongue.

The Heir of Slytherin had yet to show up, and John even began to wonder if someone had forgotten to bring toilet paper and had used the diary... 

No matter what, John was determined to visit the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets. After all, there were plenty of rewards to be gained.

Moreover, there was a chance that the Chamber of Secrets might trigger a challenge task similar to the Gryffindor Chamber. Missing out on that would be heartbreaking.

...

With the new term beginning, it seemed as though the previous fears had vanished.

Hogwarts was filled with laughter, and the Quidditch training grounds were echoing with Wood's roars.

Tom was running around everywhere, and the school had grown accustomed to having a cute dog around.

Whenever Tom went out, it would always wait at the entrance for the students heading to the Slytherin common room.

This time was no exception. After finding Fang, Tom obediently squatted by the entrance.

Daphne and Pansy happened to return, and Tom happily trotted behind them.

"Pansy, are you okay? Lately, you seem a bit distracted."

Daphne had noticed that Pansy seemed to be infatuated with writing in a diary. Even before bed in the dormitory, she could see Pansy scribbling away.

When Pansy heard this, a slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips, giving her the appearance of a girl in love, a bit shy.

"I think I've fallen for someone."

"Really?" Daphne was taken aback and curiously asked, "I haven't seen you interacting with any boys."

"What's so strange about that? You're the same way, and yet you like to—" 

Pansy's words were abruptly cut off as Daphne covered her mouth, her ears turning red and a blush spreading across her pale cheeks. 

"Don't say such nonsense," Daphne growled sternly.

Pansy rolled her eyes and pouted, "It's not exactly a secret anymore."

"That doesn't matter!" Daphne insisted, forcing Pansy to keep quiet.

Tom, who was following them, tilted his head, feeling as if they were discussing his master.

Barking twice, Tom struggled to climb the stairs with his short legs. 

Seeing this, Daphne picked him up. Tom was a small dog, and fit perfectly in her arms.

When John came back, he happened to run into Daphne who was furiously rubbing his dog's head in the common room. John looked down on Tom's dog-licking look.

"Thanks for taking care of Tom," John said.

Daphne smiled and replied, "Oh, I like Tom too. By the way, how do you plan to spend tomorrow?"

She glanced to the side, pretending to ask casually, but with a hint of curiosity, "Umm.. Professor Lockhart mentioned he's planning a surprise for everyone on Valentine's Day."

"Him? A surprise?"

When John heard this, he immediately realized that the restless Lockhart was up to something again.

He completely missed Daphne's mention of Valentine's Day.

His eyelid twitched, and his instincts told him that Lockhart was definitely not planning anything good.

The Duelling Club, which had caught the students' interest thanks to Lockhart's surprisingly impressive initial display, had become a regular Saturday evening event.

John had thought that this would keep Lockhart occupied and out of trouble, but it seemed that the professor still wanted to stir things up.

'It seems I can't let him stay idle, or he'll keep causing problems,' John decided. There was no way he was going to let Lockhart continue his fuckery. Since Lockhart liked writing books so much, John thought it best to send him off to do just that, and stop him from tormenting the students.

The next day, when John saw the twelve dwarfs dressed as cupids, he facepalmed.

Especially when he received a Valentine's card that one of the dwarfs enthusiastically performed.

It was a moment of pure embarrassment. Malfoy wanted to laugh but didn't dare because John was glaring at him.

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