The holiday passed silently.
Basically, by the time the students who had painstakingly finished their homework announced that they were going to have a proper bit of fun, they would suddenly realise, stunned, that classes started again tomorrow.
Wails came from the mouths of the younger students, while the older students had long since gone numb.
"I feel like this holiday exists just to make us do homework."
Blaise let out a resentful complaint.
Exam week was approaching, adding an even greater sense of urgency to an already tense period.
Everyone was studying nervously.
Astoria in particular seemed to have studied herself into a somewhat neurotic state.
From time to time, she would mutter something under her breath, reciting tactics while also reviewing her lessons.
John looked at the poor child with pity.
"I can already see the miserable state of the Slytherin team next year."
Astoria would become captain next year. With her current condition, combined with the Sword of Damocles known as Slytherin's Pillar of Shame hanging over her head, Astoria might become an even more brutal captain than Malfoy.
And he was not the only one who noticed it.
When the Slytherin players saw the faint smile appear at the corner of Astoria's mouth, they immediately felt a chill rise and shuddered.
Goyle and Crabbe's workload doubled.
They would rather fly Quidditch in the rain than continue receiving Malfoy's tutoring.
Right now, they missed Theodore more than ever. Given another chance to choose, they would absolutely never have mocked him.
In this atmosphere, April quietly passed.
Daphne drew up a study plan. She did not want to lose to Hermione in this exam.
Just like the O.W.L. exams, the N.E.W.T. exams were also extremely important. The certificates involved would affect their future employment.
The tense atmosphere among the seventh-years spread.
Even in the common room, seventh-years could be seen studying.
Slughorn still continued to invite a group of students he thought highly of to the Slug Club.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff put on a wonderful Quidditch match.
A closely matched game was full of highlights.
Incidentally, Ravenclaw had been beaten by Gryffindor by 150 points.
If Harry had not caught the Golden Snitch in the end, it would still have been uncertain who would have won.
After being beaten down by Malfoy, the Ravenclaw students had improved quickly.
That match was intense, with both sides putting on a scoring battle.
Ravenclaw's tactical arrangements and Hufflepuff's resilience.
The two sides met each other head-on, turning that match from morning into afternoon.
In the end, it was the Bludger that made the decisive contribution, striking one of Hufflepuff's Chasers.
Ravenclaw's Seeker found the Golden Snitch and took it into his grasp.
Hufflepuff was filled with unwillingness. After all, they had been only one step away from victory.
When the match ended, the audience gave both sides warm applause.
In a brilliant match, the biggest winner was the audience.
This also made everyone look forward even more to the final match in mid-May.
Hogwarts' old enemies.
Slytherin and Gryffindor.
Would Slytherin defend its throne, or would Gryffindor rise up and become king?
Like Slytherin, Gryffindor had an incomparably glorious moment before them.
As long as they ended Slytherin's domination of Quidditch, this year's team would become the most brilliant of all.
Harry wanted to complete this feat in his final year.
From the moment he joined the Quidditch team, defeating Slytherin seemed to have become his mission.
Back then, he had been admitted to the Quidditch team as an exception in his first year.
He had also proven his strength with his ability.
Unfortunately, he had still been unable to lead Gryffindor to end Slytherin's rule.
He was unwilling to let it end like this, just as Malfoy was unwilling to let himself be ended.
The two of them were like destined rivals, each training for this final match.
All of Hogwarts understood this grudge. They were waiting for a conclusion.
Would the throne be shaken?
Amid such anticipation, time passed little by little.
John was in the Constellation Society.
During this period, he had more or less thoroughly digested the Darkhold.
Ever since obtaining this book, he had been continuously studying the knowledge within it.
This book, a crystallisation of Herpo the Foul's wisdom, contained content that benefited him greatly.
It also contained detailed interpretations regarding time.
The soul and time, two taboos.
As for curses, the various bloodline curses and the like had greatly broadened John's horizons.
In particular, being able to find some examples that John had seen before gave him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.
"Using the body as a container to imprison time."
John cut open his palm.
The wound on his palm healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was somewhat different from the Corridor of Time.
The Corridor of Time reversed time, restoring him to the state he had been in before being injured.
This method, however, was acceleration. It accelerated his healing speed, giving him a near-immortal regenerative ability.
But it was extremely dangerous. The slightest carelessness could accelerate his body's ageing instead.
It could only accelerate the activity within his body, causing it to produce a self-healing ability almost like regression.
"This book is basically tied to danger."
He glanced at the Darkhold. Speaking of which, it was also a Horcrux.
Herpo the Foul's soul was hidden inside it, incomparably weak.
If destroying the Horcrux would not also destroy the book, John would not have kept it until now.
"What do you think I should do with you?"
John stared at the Darkhold. He could feel the fear coming from within the book.
Speaking of which, Herpo the Foul was truly a failure.
Of the Horcruxes he had left behind, one did not understand his intentions and was obsessed with resurrection, wanting to become another Herpo.
The other was incomparably weak and extremely cowardly.
"A soul that has been split apart for too long, after experiencing different spans of time, will still be the same person?"
Herpo's soul had given rise to different thoughts. They had basically become independent personalities.
This was not what Herpo had intended.
Herpo had hoped to make up for his flaws and obtain perfect immortality.
John reached out and covered the Darkhold with his hand, his voice cold. "Serve me as your master, or perish here."
On the back of his hand, a trunk formed from lines and circles began to grow.
That irresistible power of contract made the soul within the Darkhold tremble.
"I am willing... to serve you as my master."
A weak, aged voice came from within.
If it did not want to die, it could only become a slave.
The soul inside the Darkhold wanted to live.
The tree that represented absolute obedience fell, branding its mark onto the Darkhold.
Any thought of defiance or disloyalty toward John would cause the book to be instantly destroyed.
John chuckled. "You made the right choice."
Putting the book away, John picked up the little dragon that had been chased onto the table and was still provoking the Star Spirits below, then set it aside.
Taking out his pocket watch and glancing at the time, John said to himself, "The match is about to begin."
He got up and walked out of the Constellation Society.
The little dragon, still provoking the Star Spirits over there, did not notice anything and had no idea that the Star Spirits were already rubbing their fists together.
Only when the sound of the door closing came did the little dragon belatedly look at the now-empty seat.
"Beat it up!"
A Star Spirit roared, and immediately afterward, a group of Star Spirits surged forward one after another, climbing onto the table.
A brutal group beating became an act of justice here, and the Star Spirits let out childish roars.
One Star Spirit roared and transformed into a Divine Guard, picking up a chair as if to smash it down.
"No, no, no. Calm down, calm down."
"That's going a little too far."
"Stay rational."
The Star Spirits stopped this hot-tempered Star Spirit's actions in time.
The Divine Guard scratched its head, feeling that this really was not quite appropriate.
It changed back into a Star Spirit and joined the group beating of the little dragon.
The little dragon found an opportunity to escape, darting down and fleeing.
...
The much-anticipated traditional spectacle of Slytherin versus Gryffindor was about to begin.
In the Great Hall, Malfoy gave Harry a thumbs-up, then slowly drew it across his throat.
Harry refused to show weakness and glared back at him.
Ron pressed a hand on Harry's shoulder and whispered, "Don't fall for it."
Harry suppressed his anger.
Hermione came over to cheer them on, while Lavender walked up to Ron, looking as if she wanted to say something but could not quite bring herself to. "Good luck, Ron."
After saying that, Lavender walked away shyly.
Dean said to Ron, "Your spring has come."
Ron was a little confused, but this feeling... seemed pretty good.
He grinned foolishly.
It was almost time for the match.
The two teams headed to the Quidditch pitch.
As they left the entrance hall, the large figures of Goyle and Crabbe shoved the Gryffindor players.
This time, it was Harry's turn to hold Ginny back and say, "Don't fall for it. We'll decide the winner on the pitch."
That said, Ginny's expression still looked as if she wanted nothing more than to hit the big pair with a proper Reductor Curse.
Malfoy strode forward arrogantly and said, "Get ready to go crying to your godfather, Potter!"
Harry's fists clenched.
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