After a quick dinner, Ivan followed the others back to the Gryffindor lounge.
As they entered the dormitory, Ivan slapped his head and remembered something. He retrieved the Invisibility Cloak that he had gotten from Hermione.
"Harry, your cloak! Thanks, it's been very helpful!"
At this, Ivan was overcome with emotion.
Without the Cloak of Invisibility, he would not have had such an easy time dealing with the invading Dark Wizards, as well as Burke and the others.
It seemed that he had underestimated the power of this Deathly Hallows. When the other party did not have a targeted tool, not many people could defend against sneak attacks and assassinations while wearing the Invisibility Cloak.
"So you've finished what you came here to do, so soon?" Harry asked, surprised to receive the Cloak of Invisibility. He remembered Ivan borrowing it the night before, and there had been no sign of her going out today.
"Yeah, just handling a few things," Ivan said vaguely, not wanting to talk about the Time-Turner.
Harry was still curious about Ivan's reluctance to talk about it, but eventually shook his head and let it go.
Ivan was looking at Scabbers, who was still napping on Ron's bed.
Perhaps sensing malice, Peter Pettigrew woke up with a start. He looked around suspiciously but did not find anything amiss.
I can't. I have to…
Just as Peter Pettigrew was thinking this, the mouse froze.
Eh… have I said this before?
In the middle of the night, Peter Pettigrew was caught trying to sneak out.
Ivan pinched the now-unconscious grayish-black rat and rubbed his chin, wondering why Peter was so eager to come out when he no longer needed a lab rat.
Was he… addicted to being a lab rat?
…
The next day, in the afternoon,
Ivan and the others headed for their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom after their Potions lesson.
Along the way, Harry and Ron discussed the points Snape had deducted from the House, and were strangely happy.
"I bet Snape didn't think we were out of credits when he deducted them," Harry said with a smile, having been docked twenty points by Snape.
Ron was also grinning, curious to see Snape's face when he saw Gryffindor's empty scoring pool.
Ivan looked at them with an odd expression. Was that something to be glad about?
After everyone was seated in the classroom, Lupin, the professor, finally arrived.
After not seeing him for more than half a month, Lupin looked much better than before, but he was still in rags. He placed his battered old suitcase on the podium and spoke with a faint smile.
"Good afternoon, everyone! I am your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. You may call me Professor Lupin!"
At this point, Lupin paused and looked around. Seeing that the young wizards were all holding thick textbooks, he continued.
"We have a practical lesson today, so please put your textbooks back in your bags. All you need to do is carry your wands!"
"Now, come with me. Let's go to a wider space!" Lupin picked up his old suitcase and gestured for everyone to follow him.
The group of young wizards below were filled with anticipation and worry. If they could wave their wands, none of them would be willing to sit in class.
However, Lockhart made a bad start to the previous year and made a mess of everything, leaving everyone traumatized.
"I wish he wasn't like Lockhart…" Seamus whispered to the young wizard next to him.
Lupin, however, turned his head as if he had heard him, causing Seamus to go pale.
Lupin just smiled at him and said nothing, then led the group of young wizards down an empty corridor, around a corner, and into a classroom.
However, Peeves, a prankster, was blocking the door, hanging upside down and stuffing chewing gum into the nearest keyhole.
It wasn't until they were close that Peeves realised something was wrong. He looked up at Lupin, who was inches away from him, and his smile turned nasty. He flew into the air, clapped his hands and sang loudly.
"Dumb Lupin, crazy idiot…"
Everyone was surprised to see that Peeves had the nerve to provoke the new professor, and looked forward to seeing Professor Lupin's reaction to the challenge.
"Peeves! If I were you, I'd take the gum out of the keyhole!" Lupin said pleasantly, still grinning. "Mr Filch won't be able to get in to get his broom if you do."
Peeves pulled a face. He and Filch never got along.
Filch was attracted to the students who broke the rules by making a scene, simply because he enjoyed teasing them, seeing them panic, and enjoying a game of peekaboo.
Peeves peered into the crowd and his eyes lit up when he saw Ivan.
"And you, Hales! Care to elaborate? When are you going to get us a new professor?"
Lupin's expression changed slightly, and he glanced instinctively at Ivan.
Ivan was also annoyed with Peeves, so he suggested.
"Professor, I think your first lesson should be on how to deal with a poltergeist. I'm sure everyone will be very interested!"
At Ivan's words, the young wizards looked at Peeves malevolently, most of the Gryffindor lions having been pranked by Peeves,
"Of course, no problem!" Peeves's earlier words had angered even a nice gentleman like Lupin, so he played along. "I know a useful little spell for situations like this."
Impressed, Peeves's face turned ugly. He let out a loud cry and flew away.
However, it was too late. Lupin raised his wand and pointed it at Peeves.
"Wadiwasi!"
The chewing gum that had been blocking the keyhole flew out and into Peeves's left nostril, causing him to stagger and run around the corridor in panic.
The rest of the students followed suit, raising their wands high in the air.
"Wadiwasi!"