At that moment, Hermione suddenly noticed a blind spot in their encounter.
"Wait a minute!" She furrowed her brow sharply, her keen gaze scrutinizing John with intensity. "John, what were you doing in the Forbidden Forest? This entire area is strictly off-limits to students—especially first-years who haven't even completed a full term yet."
Only then did Harry and Ron come to their senses, both jolting slightly as the obvious question finally registered. They exchanged a puzzled, somewhat alarmed glance with each other, their earlier casual acceptance of John's presence suddenly seemed foolish in retrospect.
Indeed, a first-year student had absolutely no legitimate reason to be wandering this deep into the Forbidden Forest alone. The entrance was one thing—many curious students tested those boundaries. But this far in? That was genuinely concerning.
Seeing everyone's attention suddenly focus on him with varying degrees of suspicion and concern, John showed absolutely no sign of panic or guilt. His expression remained composed. He blinked once, slowly, then put on an embarrassed, slightly sheepish expression that seemed natural.
"I saw Potter from a castle window earlier heading toward the Forbidden Forest," he explained with convincing frankness, gesturing vaguely back toward where the castle towers. "Out of curiosity, I followed him from a distance. I wanted to see where you were going."
He paused, looking around at the surrounding trees, his young face showing just the right amount of chagrin and self-reproach. "But then I got completely lost along the way. All the paths here look exactly the same—just trees and more trees and shadows. I've been walking in circles for what ages and couldn't find my way back. I'm genuinely lucky I ran into you all, otherwise I might have been wandering until nightfall."
The explanation sounded reasonable enough on its surface and Harry felt some understanding and sympathy toward John's predicament. He remembered his own first encounters with the forest's disorienting paths and how easy it was to lose your direction once you ventured past the tree line.
Ron nodded sympathetically as well. "This place really is like a bleeding maze if you don't know the paths. Even the trees seem to move around when you're not looking directly at them."
Only Hermione still harbored some lingering doubt.
"You're quite bold for a first-year, John. Next time, don't ever follow anyone into the Forbidden Forest alone. There are dangerous creatures living here. Acromantulas, for one. Wolves. Things worse than wolves that don't have names. You could have been seriously hurt or worse."
She gestured firmly back toward the castle. "Come back with us now, and let's not mention this little adventure to any professors, shall we?"
John nodded obediently, his expression appropriately humbled and grateful. He secretly breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
In truth, Harry felt there was no need to worry about John's safety in the current Forbidden Forest, at least not during daylight hours. The forest nowadays was quite different from its reputation hinted, at least for Hogwarts students.
Under Adrian's arrangements and protective measures implemented over the past several months, several tree guardians, Treants in their dormant tree forms had been stationed at various points near the forest entrance to take turns keeping constant watch over the boundaries.
Those seemingly ordinary, unremarkable trees were actually closely monitoring every student who approached the forest's edges, ready to intervene if anyone ventured too deep or encountered actual danger.
The fact that John had managed to walk this far into the forest without being stopped or turned back was probably because the tree guardians had been temporarily negligent or distracted, Harry thought.
But as a "fish that slipped through the net," as soon as John appeared clearly within a tree guardian's line of sight and was recognized as an unauthorized student, he would be firmly driven out, shepherded back toward the castle with branches and limbs that blocked further progress deep.
Oh, of course, Harry himself probably wouldn't be chased away under most circumstances. Most of the tree guardians stationed here recognized him by sight now and knew he was Adrian's student and had permission to enter the forest for various reasons.
Just as Harry predicted with almost perfect timing, as their small group continued walking out along the familiar path toward the forest's edge and the castle, a massive oak tree that had been standing completely motionless among its companions suddenly came to life with a series of creaking, groaning sounds.
Its branches moved with surprising speed and flexibility, gently blocking John's forward path while allowing the others to pass. The branches created an unmistakable barrier, rustling and waving in a pattern that seemed almost communicative.
"It's reminding us to go back," Harry explained to John calmly, not at all startled by this intervention. He'd witnessed such things many times before. "Well, reminding you specifically, I think. Professor Westeros arranged for these tree guardians to patrol the forest edges and protect students' safety by preventing them from wandering too deep. They're quite gentle, actually, as long as you cooperate and head back when they ask."
John nodded thoughtfully.
After leaving the Forbidden Forest behind, passing through the last line of trees and emerging onto the frost-touched grounds, the group walked together toward the castle's walls.
As they rounded a corner in one of the castle's interior corridors, several first-year Slytherin students walking together in a tight cluster approached from the opposite direction.
When they spotted John among Harry's group, they immediately exchanged knowing glances with each other. Their expressions shifted to something between contempt and malicious amusement.
They deliberately gave the entire group an exaggeratedly wide berth, pressing themselves comically against the opposite wall as if avoiding contamination, and began whispering among themselves in voices they'd purposely lowered but not quite enough.
Although they had clearly intended their voices to remain private among themselves, the word "mudblood" still drifted clearly across the corridor, straight into the ears of Harry and his friends.
Ron's expression immediately darkened, his face was flushing red with instant anger. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and he took an aggressive step forward, clearly preparing to confront the younger students and give them a piece of his mind or his wand.
But Harry stretched out his hand quickly, firmly grasping Ron's arm and stopping him before he could take another step or draw his wand.
"Don't do anything unnecessary, Ron." Harry's voice was soft but carried obvious seriousness that cut through Ron's anger. "It's not worth it."
Ron froze mid-step, his body was still tense with suppressed fury. Then understanding Harry's meaning, he reluctantly forced himself to calm down.
Indeed, standing up for John here in such a public, confrontational way would only invite a whole torrent of trouble not primarily for Ron or Harry themselves, who could shoulder most consequences, but especially for John.
Drawing attention to the situation would only make John's already difficult position in Slytherin House even worse. It would mark him even more clearly as someone who needed protection, who couldn't defend himself, who associated with Gryffindors over his own housemates.
Moreover, it simply wasn't honorable for fifth-year students to bully or physically confront first-year children, no matter how vile their language. That would make Harry and Ron no better than Draco Malfoy and his cronies.
"Slytherins are still Slytherins, even the first-years..." Ron muttered under his breath once the younger students had passed and turned a corner, his voice carrying bitter resignation and disgust. "Born knowing how to be nasty little gits, apparently. Must be something in the dungeons' water."
Hermione looked at John with concern, her expression was softening with sympathy. She reached out tentatively, as if to pat his shoulder, then hesitated. "Don't take what they say to heart, John."
But John just shrugged with complete indifference. His young face even carried a trace of a faint, sardonic smile. "I don't care about their opinions. They're just a bunch of childish idiots anyway."
His casual, almost amused reaction surprised all three of them.
Harry noticed that John's eyes held neither anger nor hurt feelings, only detached indifference.
It was an unusually mature reaction for someone who should still be adjusting to his first year at school.
Looking at John's unnaturally calm, composed expression and remembering similar incidents he'd witnessed in the corridors and common areas, Harry suddenly asked with careful directness, "Are you being ostracized in Slytherin??"
The question seemed almost rhetorical, barely needing to be asked aloud.
Muggle-born and sorted into Slytherin—the house most associated with pure-blood supremacy and wizarding tradition. Being ostracized, excluded from house activities and social circles, targeted for harassment, seemed not just likely but inevitable.
John lightly adjusted the collar of his robes, his tone remaining perfectly calm and carrying just a hint of disdain. "To be honest, I don't particularly enjoy spending my limited time acting foolish with a bunch of empty-headed idiots whose conversation rarely rises above Quidditch scores and whose main concerns are family reputation and maintaining pointless traditions."
He turned his head to look directly at Harry, meeting his eyes with confidence. "Rather than waste valuable time on meaningless socializing and pretending to care about things that don't matter, I'd much rather spend my evenings learning a few more genuinely useful spells or reading advanced texts. Don't you agree, Potter?"
The way he said it with such certainty and mature reasoning made Harry pause. John was frighteningly mature, far beyond his years.
It was impressive in a way, but also somewhat concerning. Lonely, even.
"I agree that learning is important," Harry nodded slowly, choosing his words with care. "Magic is important, especially now. Being prepared is important. However, having at least a few genuine friends is still necessary, John."
John's expression flickered with something Harry couldn't quite identify. Then he smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Harr.
Just then, interrupting their serious conversation and the heavy atmosphere that had fallen over the group, approaching footsteps echoed down the corridor. Cedric came walking quickly toward them from the other end of the passage. His handsome face broke into a warm, friendly smile when he spotted them.
When he reached Harry and the others, he paused to catch his breath, having apparently been hurrying through the castle. His face carried that typical gentle smile that had made him so popular across all the houses.
"Harry," he said warmly, "Perfect timing running into you all here. I've been searching the castle for you for the past twenty minutes."
"Good afternoon, Cedric." Harry greeted him, automatically returning the smile. Then, seeing Cedric's slightly hesitant expression, asked with curiosity, "What's happened? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing wrong, exactly," Cedric said, lowering his voice slightly and glancing around the corridor to ensure they weren't being overheard by passing students.
"But some third-year students asked me to find out whether the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group is still accepting new members. They want to join."
He paused, gauging Harry's reaction before continuing. "It seems a lot of people have become genuinely interested in the group lately, especially after word spread about how much people are learning, and especially after Umbridge stopped bothering with you all and trying to shut the meetings down. People feel safer about joining now."
This situation left Harry feeling both surprised and deeply gratified.
However, the question remained: should he actually do this? Should he agree to expand?
Regarding the prospect of significantly expanding the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group's membership, Harry could clearly see both substantial drawbacks and considerable benefits. The decision wasn't as simple as it might appear on the surface.
The benefits naturally went without saying—more students could learn practical defensive magic, could master the Shield Charm and Patronus and stunning spells that might genuinely save their lives someday. That knowledge would be extremely important, possibly critical, in the dangerous times that seemed to be rapidly approaching as evidence of Voldemort's return continued rising.
Having more participants, building a larger organization of trained students, could also form a force not to be underestimated if worst came to worst. A kind of student defense corps, ready to protect themselves and others.
But at the same time, expansion would be a huge, possibly overwhelming test of his personal abilities and organizational skills. He had to consider that carefully and honestly. After all, he was the primary initiator and main organizer of this entire gathering, the one everyone looked to for leadership and instruction. Could he handle teaching thirty people? Fifty? More?
Seeing Harry hesitate, his face was showing internal conflict and uncertainty as he mentally weighed options and consequences, Ron stepped closer and patted him firmly on the shoulder in a gesture of support. "What's wrong with more people joining? The more the better, I say. Means Umbridge loses more, and more people learn to defend themselves properly.
"Of course, expanding is good in theory," Harry replied slowly, working through his thoughts aloud. "I'm just worried whether I can actually control and manage a much larger situation. Teaching techniques to a dozen friends is one thing. Running a training organization for dozens of students across multiple years? That's different."
Standing somewhat to the side and quietly observing this exchange, John overheard their entire conversation. He understood Harry's concerns immediately—the weight of responsibility, the fear of failure, the uncertainty about capability.
Then, he spoke up in a confident, matter-of-fact tone that cut through Harry's doubts.
"Potter, you are a natural leader, a true leader in every sense." John's voice tone showed absolute conviction, as if he were stating an obvious, inarguable fact.
"From the very moment you formed this group and stood up to teach people despite Umbridge's opposition, despite the risks, you've already proven that beyond any doubt. You have the qualities people follow."
These unexpectedly strong words caught Harry completely by surprise, causing him to turn and stare at John with widened eyes. He had genuinely never expected to be evaluated this way, to hear such confidence in his leadership abilities from a first-year student he barely knew.
But the trust and certainty in John's words made much of the hesitation and self-doubt churning in Harry's heart begin to dissipate.
"I think we should make it bigger," Harry said finally, straightening his shoulders with new determination. He turned to look at Hermione directly and asked out of ingrained habit, seeking her perspective, "What do you think? Honestly?"
Hermione looked up from her own contemplation. She'd clearly been thinking through the challenges while they talked.
"In theory, expanding would indeed help more people and multiply the good we're doing. That's undeniable. But I think our approach needs to change somewhat to accommodate growth. If it's just you teaching alone, trying to provide individual instruction to dozens of people, I genuinely don't think you'll be able to manage it effectively. You'll burn out."
She paused, her mind already working through solutions. "We need to delegate, to share the teaching responsibilities more properly."
"Don't I still have you two?" Harry looked between Hermione and Cedric hopefully. "You're both excellent at magic—better than most people our age. You could help me share some of the teaching responsibilities."
"Oh, I'll certainly help however I can," Hermione answered immediately, as if the question barely needed asking.
"Well... I'd be happy to help as well," Cedric nodded with a warm smile. "At least until I graduate in June, I can definitely help you organize and teach."
"And me," Ron also spoke up firmly from the side, sounding slightly offended at being left out. "I can help too, you know. I'm not completely useless at teaching stuff."
Harry gave him a genuinely grateful look.
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