48: The Hospital and Neville

John saw Draco's jealous look, shrugged, and prepared to buy books.

However, after finding all the books he needed, he saw Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy in the middle of a brawl.

The Weasley twins were loudly cheering their father on, and if Malfoy wasn't outnumbered by the large Weasley family, he might have jumped in himself.

"What on earth is going on here?"

John watched as Mr. Malfoy took a hit to the eye from Mr. Weasley with a copy of "The Encyclopedia of Toadstools."

Hagrid came over to separate the two, while Mr. Malfoy spat out threats, throwing a book into Ginny's cauldron in the process.

"Well, they know their limits; they know not to use magic."

Despite the fierce appearance of the fight, neither man used magic.

John understood they both feared the consequences from the Ministry of Magic, knowing that using magic would escalate the situation.

"Oh my goodness, was there a fight here?"

Watson exclaimed, suddenly remembering that his son still needed to buy books.

When Mrs. Wick came over, she saw the mess of books on the ground and worriedly searched for her son.

John watched Mr. Weasley being scolded by Mrs. Weasley like a child. With his purchases complete, he bid farewell to Harry and the others.

As they said goodbye, John noticed an old book that looked like a diary in Ginny's cauldron. He couldn't remember the plot due to his mild amnesia regarding the plot. He thought about how the Weasley family often used second-hand items and didn't give it much more thought.

Since his family were Muggles, John couldn't use Floo powder to leave. The family spent another day in London before returning home.

Once back, John began working with his materials. The items Hagrid had bought for him arrived in the following days.

...

"These books are quite fascinating."

John closed the book written by Gilderoy Lockhart, impressed by the stories.

Especially since some of them subtly revealed certain magical principles, prompting John to read them all thoroughly.

"Could it be that this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is actually competent?"

Judging by Lockhart's fantastic stories, it seemed like he had extensive experience and might turn out to be a good teacher.

"This makes me a bit excited."

Putting the book on the table, John took out a piece of dragon tooth powder.

The dragon tooth powder contained mild toxins.

John mixed the dragon tooth powder with other ingredients to create a viscous liquid, which he applied to the Ironwick Sword.

After evenly coating the Ironwick Sword, it turned a bit dark and then reverted to a mirror-like shine after some time.

"Coating it with dragon tooth for an anti-magic effect; I just don't know how effective it will be."

John reinforced the Ironwick Sword with anti-magic properties, allowing it to damage the scales of magical creatures.

He ran his hand along the blade, which remained sharp and resilient.

After storing the sword, Basil brought him several letters. 

Some were correspondences he sent to various alchemy masters, while others were from experts in runes.

These were the fruits of his continuous efforts over the holiday.

He had written to numerous experts, asking and solving problems, even reaching out to potion specialists.

The reason for this was to build connections in advance.

In the wizarding world, mentorship from predecessors was invaluable.

Nicolas Flamel had advised him to engage more with others rather than working in isolation.

John's status as a Hogwarts student provided significant advantages. Many of these experts were Hogwarts alumni themselves and were happy to assist a current students from their alma mater.

"Dear John, your proposal for improving the Wolfsbane Potion has deeply intrigued me. I hope to meet with you in person – Damocles Belby."

"So he wants to meet, huh? It might be worth a visit."

Damocles Belby, a former Hogwarts student, was currently researching the Wolfsbane Potion.

John was interested in his wolfsbane potion when he was looking for it. He remembered that the wolfsbane potion could keep werewolves sane after they became werewolves.

With the belief that werewolves deserved empathy, John had sent some of his ideas to Belby. To his surprise, the response was overwhelmingly positive, and Belby wanted to meet him in person.

The meeting place was St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Thinking it over, John decided it would be beneficial to meet, as it would also help expand his network.

He set the letter aside and picked up the last one.

After opening it, the expression on his face became sad.

Mr. and Mrs. Flamel had passed away.

They had not wanted John to see them in their final moments, they wanted John to remember how they looked when they were alive instead of how they looked after they died.

John was very sad that such a good teacher passed away.

There was no funeral or grand ceremony, just the presence of a friend, Dumbledore, to witness it.

...

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

John arrived at the hospital, which was not located in Diagon Alley but in a red-brick department store in London called Purge & Dowse Ltd.

"Entering the hospital."

John stated his purpose to the dummy in the store's window.

He then proceeded inside and went up to the second floor, where an unlucky wizard bitten by a werewolf was being treated.

Next to the wizard was a thin man meticulously documenting the wizard's current agony.

This man was Damocles Belby, observing the various reactions to a werewolf bite.

John approached and took a look.

The man was in great pain, and his wound had been sealed with dittany and silver.

"Silver doesn't treat werewolf bites; it's the dittany providing enough nutrients to help the patient survive the initial pain."

Damocles Belby was making notes and turned at the sound of John approaching.

"And you are?" he asked, initially mistaking John for just another child. His face showed irritation as he continued, "I'm busy right now. Please leave."

John smiled at the words, "John Wick, nice to meet you, Damocles Belby."

'John Wick?'

Damocles Belby paused in disbelief, looking at John.

"You're the student who wrote to me?"

He had expected a seventh-year student.

He must be full of talent to be able to point out things he hadn't noticed and must be incredibly studious. He didn't expect the talent to be so extraordinary.

Although John was taller than most of his peers, he still looked like a third or fourth-year student.

"Forgive my earlier oversight, Mr. Wick."

Damocles Belby's attitude changed, becoming exceptionally enthusiastic.

He invited John to visit his estate, and John gladly accepted.

After observing the unlucky wizard for a while, John and Damocles Belby agreed to continue their conversation via letters. John then left the first floor.

As he walked through the hospital, he saw a familiar figure and exclaimed in surprise, "Neville?"

A downcast Neville walked through the corridor and looked up when he heard John's voice.

"John, are you sick? Why are you here?" Neville asked anxiously.

He was very worried about his friend being ill.

John shook his head to indicate he was fine, but he found it strange that Neville was there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to visit my parents."

Neville looked sad, and John knew his parents must be sick.

Since they had met, John went with Neville to the fourth floor, The Janus Thickey Ward also known as the Spell Damage ward.

There, John saw Neville's parents, the once-great Auror couple.

They had been tortured by Death Eaters and were now insane, unable to recognize their own child.

Seeing this, Neville's tears fell uncontrollably.

John sighed softly and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Voldemort and his followers had caused too much suffering.

Finally, they left the hospital, and John bid farewell to Neville.

He saw Neville's grandmother waiting for her grandson.

This elderly woman had a stern appearance but still waited outside for Neville to come out.

John nodded to her in greeting, and Neville's grandmother also nodded slightly.

Leaving the hospital, John went back to prepare other things.

He remembered that the Wolfsbane Potion appeared in Harry Potter's third year, and it was Snape who brewed it then.

It seemed that it hadn't been developed yet.

He didn't remember all the details, but he recalled that the main ingredient was Aconite.

This substance was highly toxic and not something people would normally use on humans.

A few days later, John sent his hypotheses to Damocles Belby via letter. After a while, he received a reply.

"It's a success!"

________

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