The headline dominated the centre of the newspaper.
A name had entered the public eye.
"Ing Griffiths?"
John stared at the newspaper. He had only recently said that eliminating Grindelwald would solve everything once and for all.
He had not expected someone to actually do it.
"Grindelwald is dead?"
He was deeply suspicious of the news.
Would that man really die so easily?
The Dark Lord, who had once swept across Europe, dead just like that, even after possessing the Elder Wand was killed by a Minister for Magic?
John picked up the letter that Riddle had delivered. He glanced at the signature.
It was from Barty Crouch Sr.
Like John, Barty Crouch Sr. had doubts about Grindelwald's death.
"Lippy verified it. It wasn't Polyjuice Potion."
John trusted Lippy's abilities. Anyone who could thrive while infiltrating the Dark Lord's inner circle was bound to possess exceptional skills.
But if it wasn't Polyjuice Potion, then what else could disguise someone as Grindelwald?
John fell into thought.
"Grindelwald wouldn't die so easily. There are too many suspicious details."
He decided to have the Star Disciples investigate.
His gaze fell on the photograph.
In it, the man stood beneath the stairs, confronting representatives from various countries, creating a stark contrast.
"Ing Griffiths."
John repeated the name.
It was an obscure name.
In fact, if Grindelwald had not appeared there, almost no one would have paid any attention to the entire Polish wizarding world.
"Dumbledore won't believe it either. What will he do in response?"
John handed the letter to Riddle and instructed it to deliver it to the Silverhand Johnny specialty shop.
Then he entered the Constellation Society.
Stepping into the plains, he saw two Starling Guardians battling each other.
Hector and Hermes.
Each collision between them unleashed a burst of air pressure that swept across the field, while a crowd of Starling spirits cheered and cried out in excitement.
Standing beside them was the silver-white glowing Silver John.
John snapped his fingers, and the battle between the two Guardians immediately stopped.
They reverted to their Starling forms and scampered over to him.
After John's guided training, the Starling spirits had finally learned how to switch into their Guardian forms.
Dozens of Starling spirits transformed at once, and an awe-inspiring army of Guardians appeared.
This power would become John's greatest protection.
"You're here."
Silver John dispersed into light and merged back into John's body.
"You all finally look like an army now."
John smiled slightly as he looked at the Guardians standing in orderly ranks.
He selected two of them and assigned them to the French branch and the American branch respectively.
It was a form of security measure.
The chosen Guardians reverted to their Starling forms and bounced around excitedly.
John said to the remaining Starlings, "When you've grown up, you'll be able to go out and guard places just like them."
The Starling Guardians were all delighted. When John created them, he had imbued them with the purpose of protection.
To them, being sent somewhere to guard was the greatest honour imaginable.
John sent the two Starling Guardians to the two branch stores.
At the American branch, Nagini held the tiny Starling in her hands and smiled as she greeted it.
"Hello."
"Bubabu," the Starling replied in a language no one could understand.
John shrugged.
"It's saying hello."
"You can understand them?"
"Of course." John chuckled. "I created them."
"As always, you're fascinating," Nagini said.
"Where's Credence?"
"He's outside."
A happy smile appeared on Nagini's face as she said to John, "I'm very grateful."
"We don't need thanks."
John waved his hand and smiled.
"Just help me take good care of this place."
"I will, my King."
John left.
When he delivered the Starling to the French branch, he found it unusually lively.
"They're celebrating Grindelwald's death," Kim said. "I heard Grindelwald destroyed Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris back then. Quite a few old families had their family tombs there."
Hearing that, John replied without changing his expression, "That really was excessive."
As if he himself had not been the one who had dragged Père Lachaise Cemetery into the Temporal Explosion.
...
The holiday passed quickly as John spent his time training and conducting research.
The students returned the day before the holiday ended.
The moment Daphne returned, she immediately began searching everywhere for that skunk Malfoy.
The Starling Guardian she had trained was very obedient and had already learned how to transform into its Guardian form.
Astoria also brought back her Starling Guardian.
For some reason, Neville's Starling Guardian looked noticeably more robust.
Finally, Draco Malfoy arrived fashionably late.
He knew that he was unlikely to escape Daphne's reckoning, so he had deliberately returned last.
But the Starling he had trained...
John silently watched as the little creature swaggered into the group of Starlings. It rattled off a stream of incomprehensible chatter, and within moments, dozens of Starlings were chasing after it.
"So the pet really does take after its owner?"
The troublemaking Starling simply would not stop talking, constantly babbling away.
Even Hector, the steady and dependable Starling personally chosen by John, joined the pursuit.
When it finally realised it could not outrun the others, the troublemaker transformed into its Guardian form to intimidate them.
Instead, it found that all of its companions had transformed into their Guardian forms as well.
The scene changed from a group of glowing golden creatures chasing one another to a pack of ferocious Guardians in pursuit.
In the end, the Guardian was beaten back into its Starling form.
John had to step in and rescue it.
After spending some time out in society, this Starling had somehow become a proper streetwise delinquent.
"You'll be called Little Draco from now on."
John placed the Starling, Little Draco, onto the table to keep the others from continuing the beating.
As for Malfoy, he still failed to escape the fate of being hung upside down by the Levicorpus spell.
Daphne glared at him fiercely.
"I was all alone in Chelsea!"
Astoria also looked guilty.
After all, she had been the one who had stood her sister up.
However, the one who suffered was Malfoy.
Malfoy would rather die than surrender. From beginning to end, he never uttered a single plea for mercy.
This definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he had been hit with the Tongue-Tying Curse.
In the end, John came over and lifted the spell.
Malfoy hugged John's leg and burst into tears.
"John, you've got to save me."
"Sorry, I can't save you."
John rejected his unrealistic fantasy.
But Malfoy insisted, "No, you can."
"I can?" John asked, baffled. "You could just stop provoking Daphne."
Malfoy hesitated. That was not what he wanted to say. Couldn't John liberate Slytherin for once?
But John still had to continue perfecting the treatment for the Blood Curse and had no time to bother with him.
The next day.
John appeared in Headmaster Slughorn's office.
"John, this is a miracle." Slughorn looked at the papers and exclaimed in amazement. "You will become the greatest Potions Master in history."
"This treatment plan could potentially cure many more Blood Curses."
"These methods all have their limitations," John said, shaking his head. "No one but me can accomplish them."
"That's true, but even so, this is more than enough to earn an Order of Merlin," Slughorn said. "You're far too demanding."
Demanding?
John was not being demanding at all.
He glanced at the restorative potion he had brewed. Compared to the one Daphne had used last time, this version was far more potent and could ensure that the healing rate exceeded the rate of injury.
"I've heard that Barty Crouch Sr. is promoting a werewolf equality bill," Slughorn said. "If these findings can be published successfully, I guarantee they'll be worth an Order of Merlin, First Class."
Barty Crouch Sr. was pushing for equality again?
John narrowed his eyes. In that case, publishing it was not out of the question.
Although this involved the Blood Curse rather than lycanthropy, it could still increase the credibility of what Barty Crouch Sr. was trying to accomplish.
But before that, he still needed to complete Astoria's treatment as soon as possible.
Given that Astoria's condition differed from Daphne's, she might suffer a sudden relapse at any time and lose her life.
After preparing everything and moving it into the Constellation Society, John went to find Daphne.
"You're going to start the treatment?" Daphne asked worriedly. "Astoria will be alright, won't she?"
"She'll be alright." John nodded. "I promise."
"I trust you."
Daphne looked toward her sister, who was laughing and chatting with Malfoy. She no longer had the heart to argue with him anymore.
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