Hogwarts’ John Wick

150: Pursuit

The Gryffindor common room was in chaos, and the Weasley twins seemed ready to keep the party going.

Professor McGonagall looked displeased as she slammed the door shut. She'd assumed it was just a celebration after Gryffindor's victory over Ravenclaw.

Though she was happy herself, order still needed to be maintained within the school.

Percy became the target of her scolding, with the reason being that he should have maintained order in the common room instead of using his Head Boy authority to approve the festivities.

"It wasn't me who approved it, Professor!"

Percy looked both wronged and furious, his chest puffing out like an offended pufferfish. "I was about to tell them all to go to bed! It was my brother Ron who had a nightmare."

"It wasn't a nightmare!" Ron protested, outraged at this slander. "Professor, I woke up and saw Sirius Black standing next to my bed, holding a knife!"

He looked genuinely terrified, as if he were about to die from the memory alone.

He also felt a bit resentful toward Percy; he was his brother, so how could he slander him like that?

Professor McGonagall stared at him in surprise, as if looking at a child muddled from sleep.

A bit irritated by the disturbance, she snapped, "Stop making a spectacle, Weasley!"

She pointed toward the portrait hole and asked, "How could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" Ron insisted, certain he hadn't been mistaken. He pointed to the back of Sir Cadogan's portrait and said, "Ask if he saw him!"

Still somewhat doubtful, Professor McGonagall opened the door and stepped out to inquire.

"Sir Cadogan, did you let a man into Gryffindor Tower just now?"

Sir Cadogan responded as if he were receiving a glorious medal of honor. "Why, of course, noble lady!"

"I strictly followed my orders while guarding the entrance—that's what makes a true knight."

His voice echoed through the common room and beyond, leaving everyone in stunned silence, as if to confirm Ron's words.

Professor McGonagall, wide-eyed, stammered, "You… you really did that?"

Was it intentional or a mistake?

"He had the password!" Sir Cadogan declared proudly, lifting his head high. "He had the whole week's worth of passwords, my lady! He read them off a little slip of paper!"

Intentional!

Professor McGonagall dabbed her mouth with a tissue (?), her eyes wide, glaring at him with a gritted-teeth expression as if she were staring down something extremely unpleasant.

Her face pale, she stormed back into the common room.

"Who," she asked in a trembling voice, "which absolute fool wrote down this week's password and left it lying around?"

As she finished speaking, two faces suddenly lost all color.

Neville timidly raised his hand and, in a tiny voice, said, "I'm sorry, Professor. I… I can't remember the passwords after all."

He looked as if he wanted to crawl into the floor, his entire body shaking.

Professor McGonagall shot Neville a furious glare, clearly exasperated with his poor memory.

She had to organize a castle-wide search right away, so she didn't deal with him just yet.

In the crowd, Hermione's hands tightened around her books, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Her face quickly lost color as if she'd heard something horrifying.

Neville wasn't the only one who had written down the password on a piece of paper—Hermione had too.

She had personally handed that paper to John.

...

John held the Marauder's Map, focusing solely on following the black dot as it moved quickly ahead of him.

"This guy's really fast."

As someone who trained regularly, John was frustrated that he couldn't keep up with Sirius Black.

They both had two legs, didn't they? Or did he have a couple of extras?

Activating his speed-boosting shoes, John suddenly gained a burst of speed.

Earlier, the stairway's layout had made it difficult to accelerate, but now that he was on level ground, he didn't hold back.

With his "physical cheat mode" activated, John's speed skyrocketed, closing the distance between him and the black dot in mere seconds.

Reaching a section of the rotating staircase, John decided to take a leap down.

As John reached the ground floor, he felt a gentle force lift him up.

It was Hogwarts' safety measure to prevent anyone from falling down the stairs, bringing him even closer to Sirius Black.

A chase through the castle ensued, with both runners being extremely familiar with its layout.

John was gaining ground, and the exit was getting closer.

A large black dog darted out of Hogwarts' doors, with a blurred figure right behind it.

Filch, lagging behind, tripped over his own feet, practically falling over himself as he chased them, cursing under his breath. He watched the blurring figure disappear and thought to himself that he must be too old to keep up with young people.

John, oblivious to the fact that Filch had tried to intercept him on the first floor, had eyes only for Sirius Black.

As they neared the edge of the Marauder's Map's range, John made a quick decision and released the stored energy from his enchanted shoes.

A glow burst from the shoes, accelerating him rapidly and leaving a shadowy trail behind.

Ahead, the large black dog began to slow, seemingly out of breath.

Big, shaggy, and almost bear-like.

No doubt about it—that was Sirius Black.

Without hesitation, John pushed harder, and with just ten meters between them, he leapt forward with all his strength.

The force of his jump left a small crater in the ground, his pose reminiscent of a certain green-suited character aiming a mighty kick at a centenarian dancer in the town square.

Wind gusted around him as his kick aimed squarely for the dog's midsection.

"A—Awoo!!"

Whether or not it was really Sirius, he was taking it down first and asking questions later!

…

Sirius Black had failed to locate the traitor he was hunting.

He sped out of the castle, knowing he couldn't risk staying longer or he'd be caught by Aurors.

As the former king of mischief at school, there was no one better acquainted with the castle's secret passages.

Taking advantage of these shortcuts, he had escaped effortlessly.

The Shrieking Shack was no longer an option, so he turned toward the Forbidden Forest.

Thanks to a new friend he'd made, he'd set up a hideout in the forest.

Only problem was, he'd been eating a lot of dog food lately and had put on a bit of weight...

Once, he could swim the ocean in one breath, but now he was feeling winded.

Just as he was about to slow down, his nose caught a familiar scent.

Before he could fully process the scent, the sound of rushing wind forced Sirius to turn his head—and he nearly wet himself in terror.

John was flying toward him, foot outstretched in a powerful kick that landed squarely on Sirius's midsection.

"A—Awoo!!"

He was sure his ribs had definitely broken.

The impact launched Sirius into the air, sending him tumbling across the ground for at least a dozen rolls before slamming into the fence at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

When he finally managed to stand, he was coughing up blood in gasps, with bits of what felt like ruptured spleen tissue coming up, too.

He stared in disbelief at John, who had skidded to a landing, his crouched form leaving two deep gouges in the ground.

Is this guy even a little wizard?!

Where's his wand?

Where's his magic?!

The blow left Sirius's vision hazy. He bit his tongue hard, the pain snapping him back to alertness.

With a massive internal bleed, it was fortunate he was an Animagus; his physique was tougher than that of most other wizards.

"Grr!"

With trembling legs, the big black dog glared intently at John.

John raised an eyebrow, surprised. He withstood that kick?

As expected from an Animagus.

John was now certain: this dog was indeed Sirius Black.

Thanks to Tom and Crookshanks feeding him tirelessly, he hadn't immediately connected this round, plump dog to the scraggly, thin one he'd seen earlier by the gate.

Drawing his wand, John aimed it squarely at Sirius and said coldly, "Sirius Black. Are you going to show yourself, or do I have to make you?"

He kept his eyes fixed on Sirius; compared to Rita Skeeter, Sirius's transformation skills were clearly far more refined.

So refined that John had to activate his Insight ability just to see faint traces of magical energy.

The big black dog was silent for a moment. Then, with John watching, it slowly rose on its hind legs, its body beginning to shift and morph.

In seconds, Sirius's real, ghastly form stood before him, looking as if he'd just risen from the grave.

He wasn't quite as emaciated as the stories claimed; his skin was deathly pale, and his long hair, tangled and greasy, looked like a curlier, messier version of Snape's.

John figured he probably hadn't touched Potter-brand shampoo in years.

Sirius sneered at the sight of John's Slytherin robes, flashing yellowed teeth that made John wince.

Yeah, it was nauseating. The guy clearly hadn't brushed in ages.

Even from a distance, John could catch a whiff of his breath.

"John Wick," Sirius rasped, glaring at him with one hand clutched over his left side, which was badly dented from the earlier kick.

He coughed up blood, clearly in terrible shape.

John sized up Sirius from head to toe. "Good. Now, you don't need to run."

"You're a very skilled wizard, I'll admit that," Sirius sneered, a strange glint in his eyes. "But you shouldn't underestimate a fully grown wizard."

With that, Sirius pulled out a wand and pointed it at John.

John's brow furrowed. Where on earth did Sirius get that wand? And why did it look somewhat familiar?

T-That.. Is that my spare wand from home..?

He hadn't anticipated having a thief right under his roof.

At the same time, John wasn't one to let his guard down; he always believed in striking first.

Without hesitation, a flash of white light shot from his wand, and Sirius cast a spell in return.

The two of them clashed on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

__________

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