While his family went travelling, John was having quite an eventful time at Hogwarts as well.
At the Quidditch pitch, one could witness a traditional spectacle.
"Oily-Haired Malfoy's Third Battle Against Scarhead Potter"
Slytherin and Gryffindor had started arguing again over the holiday arrangements for the Quidditch pitch.
Of course, arguing alone was not enough.
After all, everyone on the other side put together was still not enough for Malfoy to bully by himself.
You could always trust the worth of Malfoy's number-one ranking.
So the result was usually that a minor conflict would gradually escalate, and in the end, when the Gryffindor side could no longer win the argument, the boxing faction led by Harry and Ron would start brawling with Malfoy.
John appreciated the spectacle of the three heroes battling Malfoy.
"It's only the third day, and they've already fought three times." Daphne began to wonder whether they were training Quidditch while fighting on the side, or fighting while training Quidditch on the side.
On the pitch, Malfoy could be seen nimbly dodging Ron Weasley's fists.
Ron had inherited the Weasley family's genes very well. He was tall and long-limbed, clearly a good seedling for boxing at a glance.
Unfortunately, if it had been third-year Malfoy, Ron might have been able to fight him. But the current seventh-year Malfoy was the Rocky Malfoy who had endured countless brutal beatings from Neville.
Malfoy's footwork shifted beneath him, his head swaying left and right to dodge the punches. He clenched his fist and struck Ron in the abdomen, sending him to his knees with a single punch.
Then he turned sideways to dodge Dean's dishonourable kick from behind, seized his lower leg, and brought an elbow down on it.
Dean cried out in pain. Malfoy yanked him forward, forcing him into a split.
Pressing down on Dean's head, Malfoy leapt over him and kicked Harry in the chest in mid-air, then grabbed his collar and slammed him down violently.
Before Harry hit the ground, he planted both feet, twisted his body, and locked both arms tightly around Malfoy's waist, holding him as he pushed forward.
Caught off guard, Malfoy was forced backward and pushed to the ground by Harry.
Harry pressed forward, sat on top of him, and kept swinging his fists at that face.
Malfoy exerted his strength and threw Harry upward, then used a throwing motion to toss him away.
Standing up, he wiped the corner of his mouth. Malfoy glanced at the blood on the back of his hand and raised an eyebrow at Harry provocatively. "You've improved a little, but you're still far too weak!"
Harry staggered to his feet, only to be knocked down by Malfoy's incoming punch.
His glasses flew away, and Harry's head spun dizzily.
Malfoy turned his head to the side and said arrogantly, "Take him to the Hospital Wing. Slytherin gets one extra hour of training time."
Ginny angrily cursed, "What kind of ability is bullying Harry? Fight me if you dare!"
The Gryffindor players broke out in cold sweat as they stopped Ginny.
If it were anyone else, they might have thought he would not fight Ginny.
But Malfoy, whose moral character was extremely questionable, truly made people wonder whether he would beat her up all the same.
Ginny could not break free and was furious.
She went over to help Harry up and asked with concern, "Are you all right, Harry?"
"I'm fine."
Harry did not pay attention to Ginny. Instead, he stared at Malfoy and said, "You can only act tough here, Malfoy."
"Is that so? We're on a twelve-match winning streak." Malfoy laughed.
Harry knew that only results were the best tool for slapping someone in the face.
The Gryffindors left with the injured players.
"Why aren't they being punished?"
Daphne was puzzled. These people had been fighting for three days, yet she had not seen anyone given detention.
John chuckled. "In a wizarding school, as long as magic isn't used, it isn't considered a big deal. Besides, with three people losing to one, Gryffindor would be too embarrassed to say anything."
Even John could not help saying that Malfoy's habit of fighting others was truly worthy of him.
But only Malfoy had the conditions for it.
If it were someone else, Harry might not necessarily fight them.
From the first day they arrived at Hogwarts, the two of them had seemed like two sides drawn together by fate.
One was the Saviour who had caused the Dark Lord's downfall. His parents had been the main force resisting Voldemort. He had grown up dependent on others, yet possessed a revered status.
The other was the son of one of the Dark Lord's minions. He had grown up in luxury, yet when it came to the honour he cared about most, he was a blank slate.
The Saviour whose name shook the magical world met the unknown Malfoy from a family that had served the Dark Lord.
Malfoy and Potter.
An opposition between darkness and light, yet neither could seem to leave the other.
Even John could not understand Malfoy's feelings toward Harry. He did not know whether it was hatred, or simply the desire to destroy what he could not have.
After all, when they first met, Malfoy had wanted to become friends with Harry.
If Harry had met Malfoy before Ron, that story might have become even more interesting.
Of course, John felt that with Malfoy's first-year personality, Harry probably would not have been able to stand him either.
Looking at Malfoy flying in the sky in high spirits, John said, "He really hasn't changed at all."
...
The Great Hall and the library had become places where students did their homework. John saw Astoria nearly wearing out her book over her Potions assignment.
He walked over and glanced at it, then said casually, "Add some sopophorous beans."
Astoria suddenly understood.
She had almost forgotten that John was an idle person with no homework at all.
At that moment, the way everyone in the Great Hall looked at John changed.
This was someone the professors could not even set questions for. Was he not a free study tool?
John had just sat down when Blaise came over obsequiously with a book in hand.
"John, about Transfiguration..."
"And Potions."
"I chose Alchemy as an elective."
"John, me too. About Ancient Runes..."
The Slytherin table immediately became lively.
John basically knew how to solve it with a single glance.
Most of Hogwarts' homework was in essay form. John only needed to state the answer, and they could make up the rest themselves.
The other tables could no longer sit still.
John belonged to everyone. Why should Slytherin be the only house using him?
After that day, whenever John went to the Great Hall, someone had already prepared water for him and wiped the table clean in advance.
The barrage of overlapping voices made it impossible for anyone to understand.
But John's mental strength was powerful, and processing it was like using a supercomputer.
He basically only needed to search for the answers.
Such efficiency was simply terrifying.
Even Slughorn expressed admiration for it.
Teaching one or two students was fine, but if they all rushed up at once, even if the knowledge itself was not profound, all those voices would be enough to give him a headache.
Soon, Saturday arrived.
Slughorn had invited John to attend his gathering.
Naturally, John would not break his appointment. He took a bottle of mead and entered the room after the banquet had begun.
"John."
Slughorn's call drew the eyes of everyone in the venue toward John.
The next second, those people all walked over with warm smiles.
Everyone wanted to become acquainted with this Second King.
Those who could be invited by Slughorn were basically all clever people.
They naturally understood what it meant to have even the slightest connection with this Second King.
The Silver Hand Alliance and the Ancient Alliance.
These two colossal entities represented the two largest interest groups in Britain.
There was no need to say much about the Silver Hand Alliance. It had been created by John back when he was still Silver Hand, a vast interest group built from multiple families, Ministry of Magic officials, and prominent figures in society.
Every word spoken inside it contained information that ordinary wizards outside could never touch in their entire lives.
It was also a place where one could come into contact with people from all walks of life. Simply showing one's face there could make one's official career flourish.
The Ancient Alliance was, on the surface, the new Sacred Twenty-Eight re-established under the leadership of the Malfoy family.
But anyone with sharp eyes could see that this so-called Ancient Alliance represented the Second King's control over pure-bloods.
Those ancient existences had been connected together even more tightly.
This was a form of allegiance.
Not to mention the weight John, the Second King, held in everyone's hearts.
Someone had already given the two alliances another name.
The Second Dynasty.
They were only waiting for the king to emerge, and the machine that would sweep across Britain would begin to operate.
Even if he became Minister for Magic, it would not be surprising.
During this period, the only time they might be able to come into contact with John was this banquet.
How could they not cherish it?
"The fact that you came already makes me very happy." Slughorn took the mead John handed him, somewhat flattered.
John smiled and said, "Courtesy should be returned."
Slughorn had worked hard for the Order of Merlin, so John naturally could not let him lose face.
The centre of this banquet quietly shifted.
John smiled as he conversed with these people, his bearing elegant, without the slightest lack of manners.
By the end of the banquet, everyone seemed very satisfied.
After it ended, John also received a letter from the Ministry of Magic.
It told him the date on which he would receive the Order of Merlin.
Slughorn had not simply held a banquet. He was also repaying John.
Those at the banquet were not unknown nobodies, but leaders in various fields.
Slughorn knew John's ambition, so he had brought these people before John.
By winning them over, John could gain quite a lot.
____
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel