John Constantine and The Overgrown Serpent

A Gift or A Curse

He was itching for a cigarette.

In the short span of 2 years, he had already got his younger body hooked-but the mage had run out of cigarettes to duplicate nor could he exactly sneak or ask someone to grab some more.

So, instead, he fell on another habit:
silently flicking the lid of his lighter.

"-another student's been paralyzed-"
"-Lizzie Cook?-"
"-half-blood from Hufflepuff right?-"
"-yeah, that's her-"
"-how could that have happened?! I just Liz last night!-"
"-I just know that I saw her talking to some Slytherin the other day-"

John wanted to either overturn every stone on the school grounds-or imply curl up and die.

Elizabeth Cook.
Lizzie or Liz to many.

The Hufflepuff that he had talked to.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!

This getting to be a bloody shitstorm if he's ever seen one.
The teachers were freaking out, the students are feeling more unsafe by the day-and John feels that said shitstorm's eye hasn't even passed overhead yet.

The blond didn't even bother looking at the sound of cluttering feet, tightening his green and silver scarf closer around his neck.

"John!-"
"You won't believe what we found!-"
"The thing that killed the student-it was a creature!-"

John grimaced, unable to keep track of all three conversations.
He waved up his hand, begging them to slow down.

"Christ-what-and one at a bloody time please?"

Harry went first.
"Well-we took your advice. Curfew was almost over and we were on the way to our dorm when we noticed that one of the bathrooms had overflown to the stairs."

John grimaced again, this time at the janitor's expense...and not to mention the incoming water bill...ouch...

"Don't you worry, John, there was still plenty of time left before we investigated!"
-oh how reassuring, thanks Hermione-
"It was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!"

"And we found somethin!"

The mage frowned, finally sliding off the concrete window slab he had been perched upon-falling in step with the trio as they made their way across the small courtyard.

"What? What'd you find?"

"A book-a diary owned by a former student named Tom Riddle. He was here when the attacks occurred 50 years ago!"

"How'd you figure that?"

"He showed me."

John rose a brow.

Magic book?

He's learnt not to question it.

"'Showed you'? Showed you how?"

Harry explained how the three came across an even more so distressed Moaning Myrtle, how a student came in and threw the book away and inadvertently through the emotional poltergeist. But the book they found was empty. They took it back to the dorms with them, and has deemed the book simply just that without any signs of abnormalities.

Harry, bounded to his dorm room by curfew and John's word, as well as the casted spell of boredom, decided to use the book as a means of passing the time-only to discover that his ink disappeared into the pages, and that the book wrote back to him.

Harry took the opportunity of asking the book, who had taken up the identity of one Tom Riddle, about what he knew about the Chambers.

Instead, he was shown.

Shown 50 years ago when the student had been taken before her(as he had found) time.

The creature that took her life-was a spider.

John shuddered.

First snakes, and now spiders?

Great.

"Alright-this just proved one more thing further: we need to talk to Hagrid."

"Agreed."
Hermione nodded.

"But that brings up the question: did Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

John shook his head at the notion.
"He couldn't've-Heir of Slytherin 'member?"

"Well what else do we have?"
Ron groaned.
"And we don't even know this Tom Riddle guy!-he sounds like a rotten little snitch to me."

Harry frowned.
"But the monster had killed somebody, Ron! What else could they have done about it?"

"He's right mate."
John inclined his head.
"Hagrid, friend or not, possessed something that potentially took the life of a child. If at the least for closure's sake-something would've had to give."

Ron begrudgingly accepted the answer.
"And when we do decide to go up there and ask him-that ought to be an cheerful visit. I mean-what would we even say to him?! 'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us-'"

John refrained from smiling as the man in question stepped towards them and behind the redhead.

"'-have you setting anything mad and hairy loose within the castle lately?' I don't think-"

"-mad and hairy'?"
They startled.
"You wouldn't be talkin' 'bout me, now, would you?"

"No!"

Nice save, Ronald.

The three began to take up an awkward position, somehow still unused to improve.

Up to him once more John supposed.

"What's that you got there, Hagrid?"
The blond pointed to the metal bin he was carrying.

"Oh this?"
He brought the bin up.
"Flesh-Eating Slug Repellents."

John just knew his expression said it all.

He was never going to get used to this place, was he?

"For the Mandrakes, you know?"

No.
He did not.

"According to Professor Sprout, the Mandrakes that we got still got a bit of growin' to do. Once all the acne's cleared up an' all, they'll be free to chop up and put in a stew-then we'll be able to get those folks in the hospital ward un-Petrified."
They nodded, feeling a little relieved at the news.
"In the meantime, though, you four best ought to look after yourselves...alright?"

Hagrid hummed as they rushed to reassure him, walking off to finish delivering the bin.

"Harry!"

A boy, Neville John recognized, came running from towards them.

"What is it, Neville?"

The Gryffindor panted, exhausted from his journey.
"I-I don't who did it but-you'd better come quick!"

"Neville, mate-what's happened?"

Neville turned to him, eyeing his robe for a moment before examining the group as a whole.

"Harry's stuff-somebody's trashed his dorm!"

Alarm settled in the ebony's features.

"Well, we know that I can't go in there-go on and see what's up, mate. We'll finish talkin' later."

"Right."
Harry nodded, taking off towards the Gryffindor dormitories with the three trailing behind him.

Leaving John to ignore the suspicious glances aimed at his back alone.