Chapter 321: The Cursed Necklace

After enjoying their butterbeer, the group left The Three Broomsticks together.

Since it was nearing the time to return to school, John and the others didn't bother going to the Shrieking Shack; they decided to just head back to school with the main group.

They had their things with them anyway.

Hermione's tolerance for alcohol was truly poor.

She could even feel tipsy from a drink like butterbeer.

She shook her head, her cheeks flushed with a faint red, and she hung onto John's body.

John helplessly supported her waist as they walked.

Just then, Harry tactlessly crowded over.

"John, there's something I want to ask."

"What is it?" John asked back, feeling strange.

"It's about what you said before—about sending Rita to investigate Malfoy?"

"Did you find anything?"

Hearing Harry's question, John raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? Why ask about this suddenly?"

He didn't understand why Harry was suddenly so concerned about this.

Because he knew Draco was now trying to assassinate Dumbledore, he hadn't been paying attention to Draco.

Besides, Professor Snape was watching him anyway.

Harry continued.

"It's strange. Before you guys arrived, I saw Malfoy at The Three Broomsticks."

"He was acting very weird. Neither Goyle nor Crabbe were by his side. He sat alone in a corner and ordered a butterbeer, but I didn't see him take a single sip for a long time."

"Then he suddenly got up and went to the restroom, and he never came out."

After listening, John's first reaction wasn't to suspect some conspiracy, but rather:

"Are you saying he fell into the pit?" John said, pleasantly surprised.

Harry: "..."

"I think you're the one who looks like you're about to fall into a pit."

Hermione, tipsy on the side, couldn't listen anymore and pinched John's face.

"Harry obviously means he suspects Draco is plotting something."

However, John stared at Hermione and blinked.

"So, this unconscious act of yours was just an act?"

Hermione:!

Her hand pinching John loosened, and Hermione's face turned red immediately.

It was the shyness of having her acting exposed.

"Cough... Mmm... My head is so dizzy..."

Hermione simply buried her face in John's chest and played dead.

John and Harry were both speechless.

"Alright, no more messing around. I actually do know what conspiracy Draco has, but the Headmaster asked me to focus on Professor Slughorn."

"So I stopped investigating Draco."

John had no choice but to pick what he could say and explain it to them.

He told Harry not to worry too much about Draco's actions, and took the opportunity to tease Harry.

"Especially you, Senior Harry. I'm just waiting for you to come help convince Professor Slughorn."

Harry felt a bit embarrassed by John's words.

After all, the Headmaster had entrusted the task to both of them.

Yet, until now, only John had been seriously carrying it out, while he himself hadn't gone to see Professor Slughorn even once.

Harry had no choice but to promise that he would definitely start approaching Professor Slughorn.

The group chatted as they walked toward the school.

Hermione continued to hang beautifully on John, playing dead.

"Ah!!!"

Just then, a scream suddenly came from the intersection ahead.

The group was stunned. After exchanging glances, they immediately bolted toward it. Even Hermione sobered up.

"It's Katie!"

When they reached the intersection, they saw their Gryffindor student, Katie Bell, floating in the sky. She was in a bizarre posture with her arms spread wide, her body stiff like a marionette, and her mouth open to an exaggerated degree.

Her classmate, Leanne, who was beside her, could only shout Katie's name helplessly.

"Move aside."

John's voice came.

He had already pulled out his wand at some point, looking at the floating Katie with a grave expression.

"Finite Incantatem!"

A silver light burst from the tip of his wand and sprinkled onto Katie.

Katie's body trembled violently and she plummeted straight down like a kite with a broken string.

"Aresto Momentum!"

Just as Katie was about to hit the ground, Harry's wand was already raised, and the spell left his lips.

Katie landed steadily on the soft, snowy ground.

"Don't come over yet."

John walked up slowly, waving his wand, and a wave of magic swept over her body.

She had just been subjected to a curse, so he needed to confirm if the source of the curse was on her.

As the magic swept over, there was a strange movement in the bag she was carrying.

John waved his wand again. The bag flew up, opened with a "pop," and a green and white opal necklace appeared before everyone's eyes.

This was the source of the curse.

It was wrapped in layers upon layers; the curse would only be triggered if someone touched the necklace.

John looked at the opening in the wrapping. It must have been when Katie unwrapped it to take a look that she touched this thing, which caused what just happened.

But why would she have such a dangerous cursed necklace on her?

And John felt this necklace looked familiar, as if he had seen it in Borgin and Burkes...

Just then, Uncle Hagrid, who was passing by, also heard the noise and rushed over.

"What happened, John!?"

Hagrid looked at the scene before him, shocked and angry.

"Uncle Hagrid, take our classmate back to school first. Although the spread of the curse was stopped in time, her condition is very dangerous right now."

John waved his wand, wrapping the cursed necklace up again to prevent anyone from accidentally touching it.

Then, following Hagrid, with Hermione and the others behind, the group strode toward the castle.

The fact that a student had been attacked by an unknown curse was immediately reported to Professor McGonagall. Because Dumbledore happened not to be in the castle at the moment, Professor McGonagall immediately summoned Snape to go to the school infirmary to treat the student.

To be fair, Professor Snape was more authoritative in the field of Dark Magic treatment than Madam Pomfrey.

The treatment was left to Professor Snape, and the investigation was naturally left to Professor McGonagall.

Hermione, Harry, and the others were eyewitnesses; John was a semi-involved party, and there was also Leanne, the girl who had been with Katie.

According to Leanne's account, when Katie accompanied her to The Three Broomsticks today, she wasn't carrying any bag at all.

But after Katie went to the restroom, she came back with a bag and said she had to return to school immediately.

Although she didn't know what was going on, Leanne followed Katie back.

Facing Leanne's questioning, Katie only said that the bag was something very important that had to be delivered to Dumbledore.

And that was all.

Upon hearing the keyword "restroom," Harry immediately looked at John.

Because he thought of Draco, who had gone to the restroom and disappeared.

And then Katie went to the restroom and brought out a cursed necklace, and it was meant for Dumbledore.

It was clearly aimed at Dumbledore.

John felt the same way; after all, he knew.

Draco's mission was to kill Dumbledore.

It was just that his assassination methods were truly pathetic.

Not only did he borrow someone else's hands, but things went wrong halfway, accidentally injuring other students.

Tsk.

It would be better to just finish him off.

Keeping him around was truly a disaster.

John pondered to himself.