[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-john-wick":3,"chapter-hogwarts-john-wick-hogwarts-john-wick-chapter-454":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Hogwarts’ John Wick",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1646138,2109,"Chapter 454 454: 454: Ring Under the Moonlight","hogwarts-john-wick-chapter-454",454,"\u003Cp>Barty Crouch Sr. left—and then came back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clearly hadn't expected John to actually dare do this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five pure-blood families, erased just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you have any regard for the Ministry at all?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first time Barty had ever truly lost his temper in front of John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone had been driven out. In the empty manor, he was like an enraged lion, his palm slamming down on the table again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John leaned back in his chair, listening quietly as Barty vented his fury, ranting about how the Ministry had descended into chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He told John everything that was happening inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia Bones was demanding a full investigation. Aurors had been dispatched overnight, running from one family to another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An incident this severe had already plunged people into panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One wrong step, and Barty himself could be dragged down by Amelia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was something Barty could not tolerate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he had always cooperated with John, this time, John's actions had crossed the line of what he could accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after Barty had roared himself hoarse did John finally speak, unhurried and calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Barty, I'm glad that even in a situation like this, you're still running around for the sake of a friend.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words made Barty sit down in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, they're dead,\" John said evenly, his fingers rubbing the emerald gemstone. \"But where's the evidence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Anyone can guess who did it,\" Barty stared at John, his voice cold. \"Old Jack was attacked, and you moved immediately afterward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, Barty. You're wrong.\" John wasn't wearing a mask, so Barty could clearly see the curve of his smile. \"Even without Old Jack's incident, I would have acted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You…\" Barty's eyes widened. \"Do you even know what you're saying?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black owl flew in through the window and perched on the railing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John replied noncommittally, \"No Aurors have come. That means you suppressed it, didn't you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty didn't answer. He only frowned deeper. \"Answer my question, John Wick!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All right, since you want to know.\" John shrugged, a wicked smile appearing on his face. \"I did it for you, Barty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For me? Nonsense!\" Barty snorted coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John didn't get angry, saying lightly, \"Carrow. Rowl. Selwyn. Jeffery. Monroe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, the names of the families wiped out in this attack were spoken. Barty's brow never relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you think Voldemort needs most right now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without waiting for Barty to answer, John continued, \"People? No. What he needs is chaos. Only enough chaos will let him draw more people to his side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These five families were either secretly aligned with Voldemort or already leaning toward him. Their existence itself was a destabilizing factor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you just killed them?\" Barty said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, no, no.\" John wagged a finger, smiling faintly. \"I'm not that cruel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They want society to fall into chaos—so what do you think is the best way to do that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty wasn't a fool. Hearing this, he began to think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he gave his answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Ministry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bingo.\" John snapped his fingers, smiling. \"The werewolf population is moving toward the werewolf community. It's growing larger by the day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Old Jack was a Ministry councillor, and more importantly, the representative and leader of the werewolves. His death would ignite the discrimination war that's been hidden beneath the veneer of peace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With such a massive werewolf population, if unrest breaks out, the result would force the Ministry to make a decision to....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John didn't finish the sentence. Cold sweat seeped from Barty's forehead as he said in disbelief, \"Replace the Minister of Magic?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. Exactly,\" John said. \"A scapegoat—and a member of a pure-blood family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The werewolves' hatred would shift onto you, and the phase of renewed competition would plunge everything into chaos.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Werewolves dissatisfied with magical society are easily drawn to the Dark side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With every sentence John spoke, Barty felt another jolt of alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These five families were already on my list for reckoning,\" John said with an unhurried smile. \"At the last gathering, they refused to bow their heads.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And their deaths won't stir dissatisfaction among the other families.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tapped the table casually. Several thick volumes flew down from the bookshelf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They opened themselves in front of Barty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Flint family has long had potion disputes with the Monroes. Members of the Prewett family were killed by the Carrows.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Selwyns seized large quantities of supplies from the Longbottom family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Rowls have political hostilities with the Greengrasses, and they once suppressed Arthur Weasley within the Ministry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the Jefferys have even drawn wands against the Shacklebolts before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One ledger after another. One set of records after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All laid out before Barty. What John had eliminated weren't five respectable families, but five universally despised parasites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I originally planned to pressure them financially, let them collapse slowly,\" John said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached out and casually stroked the head of the black, long-eared owl, Riddle. \"But now…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh~ It was they who put the knife into my hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty silently flipped through the parchments one by one, growing more alarmed the further he read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the schemes of these families, toppling a Minister of Magic suddenly seemed like an easy thing to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An open spear was easy to dodge; a hidden arrow was not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were venomous snakes lurking in the gutter, waiting to sink their fangs into Barty at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Barty had finished reading, John stood and moved behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both hands rested on Barty's shoulders as John said in a low voice, \"Barty, we're friends—on the same boat. Just as you refused Auror protection and came here alone, I've made my response.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Five families with ulterior motives, in exchange for an unshakable position.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\" Barty lifted his head and corrected him. \"A group of Death Eaters purged by Voldemort.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh,\" A smile appeared on John's face. Barty had been convinced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one felt goodwill toward those who wanted to drag them down from power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John had done something extremely clever—above every one of those families' estates, the Dark Mark had been cast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though many people knew Voldemort was unlikely to act at this moment, it was enough that the public believed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty's expression turned cold. John had made him see that his position was not as secure as he had thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was John truly someone he could trust completely?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty looked at John deeply and asked, \"What do you want?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're friends, Barty,\" John said with a bright smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Barty knew all too well that friends were often the greatest creditors of all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left Silverhand Manor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before going, he turned back for one last look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure on the balcony was indistinct, but the emerald ring gleamed with striking clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The combined power of the pure-blood families was formidable—but in the face of power that decided life and death, it was nothing more than a ridiculous farce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tragedy of Five Families—The Truth Turns Out to Be….....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Werewolf Equality Back on the Agenda, Minister Crouch Delivers Speech\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darkness Has Never Left Us—It Only Lurks in the Shadows\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Protecting Christmas: Lockhart Personally Arrives\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Public opinion had always belonged in the hands of the strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ministry of Magic weathered a massive upheaval, yet when it came to official mention, it was reduced to a single brief line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort conveniently took the blame, and the Ministry tightened its defenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deaths of the five families were brushed aside just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the unspoken rules among pure-blood families?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a whale falls, all things are nourished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John didn't touch the assets of those five families. They were devoured by other families instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The families that profited would only symbolically send a Howler to the Ministry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three families gained the most: Malfoy, Greengrass, and Longbottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Longbottoms took over the materials market, the Greengrasses expanded into the potion trade, and the Malfoys moved into Quidditch ventures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After absorbing those industries, the strength of the three families surged, making them the wealthiest among the Sacred Twenty-Eight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, when a windfall falls from the sky, even trying to dodge it just gets it shoved into your arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucius happily opened two bottles of top-grade wine from the Silverhand cellar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Greengrass family bought Astoria a brand-new Firebolt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Longbottoms were said to have commissioned exceptionally flexible clothing for Neville.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the other families that hadn't gotten a share and wanted to make trouble—unfortunately for them, they'd already seen what happened to the chickens used to scare the monkeys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all knew exactly who those families had died because of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John held meetings with several families. The Goyle and Crabbe families stated that they had absolutely no involvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John believed them—whether it was genetics or something else, people from those two families all had that kind of blunt, straightforward look to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like elderly versions of Goyle and Crabbe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What had been the most troublesome issue for Barty was resolved by John just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as there was enough profit involved, those so-called agreements were nothing more than empty words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a binding Unbreakable Vow were added on top, perhaps they would finally behave and keep their promises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>________\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon\u002FDragonel\u003C\u002Fp>",1543,"2026-06-06T11:45:53.362Z",1,"novelbin.me","a65dbeb57a7b4282640a1710cd8e14f981d45e3747fbf313e3f49acb8003c49b","hogwarts-john-wick-chapter-455","hogwarts-john-wick-chapter-453",577,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-john-wick-cover.jpg"]