Both Sirius and Lupin found this hard to believe.
"Of course! But to be precise, I only defeated the Dark Lord's remnant soul and the Horcruxes that haunted him!" Ivan explained.
He was not arrogant enough to believe that he could defeat Lord Voldemort, and could only rely on the plot to bully the Dark Lord, who had lost most of his power.
"Don't sell yourself short," Lupin said. "It's impressive. I can't imagine what you did two years ago when you first started school."
Sirius, on the other hand, hesitated, knowing that, despite Ivan's superior abilities, he was too young and confused to convince himself to allow a brat to tag along on such a dangerous mission.
"If you're worried about my safety, you don't have to. I'm capable of protecting myself. Those Inferi are not a threat to me. You should be the ones worried!"
Ivan explained that he was concerned not only about Sirius and Lupin's safety, but also because he suspected that Dumbledore had left Hogwarts for the summer to investigate Horcruxes!
Perhaps the target was the switched Slytherin Locket in the cave!
Ivan didn't want to hear about Dumbledore's death when school started the following year. He was too weak and the wizarding community couldn't do without the old professor.
Therefore, it was necessary to check that place out.
"As for my strength, Sirius, you should know it very well. Don't forget who caught you in the first place," Ivan said when Sirius didn't answer.
"There's such a thing? Sirius, this is the first time I've heard of you losing to a child?" Lupin turned to Sirius and teased him.
'That's because I was starving for days after escaping Azkaban and didn't have a wand, or I wouldn't have lost!' Sirius defended himself, his face darkening.
However, recalling the events of the past in his mind, Sirius felt that something was amiss.
He had disguised himself as an Animagus and disguised himself as a large black dog, so that even the Aurors on patrol would not be able to detect him. However, he was caught by a twelve-year-old brat. How could this be justified?
In addition, Ivan's spell, which could turn a person to stone with a single glance, was still fresh in his memory. It was so powerful that it made no sense, and once he locked eyes with it, he would be at the mercy of it.
However, being emotional did not mean giving in. He always believed that it was best not to involve children in dangerous matters.
Sirius sighed at the thought and turned to Ivan.
"How about this? Since you're so confident, let's have another match. If you can beat me, I'll agree to your participation in this operation! Otherwise, you'll have to stay here and wait for us to return!"
Sirius was not 100% confident of winning, but was determined to keep Ivan out of the operation.
If he could avoid eye contact in battle, he thought his chances of winning were quite high…
"Sure, when do we start?" Yvonne agreed without hesitation, and seemed eager to start.
His skills had improved considerably over the course of the school year, and he was worried about not having someone to measure his skills to.
Seeing Ivan agree so readily, Sirius felt as if he was being looked down upon, and immediately led the way to the training room at Black's House.
After opening a door, Ivan found the place to be very spacious, the size of a small stadium. Various human-shaped targets were placed around the room, and there were many books on magic stacked neatly on the table.
Sirius was also very proud to tell him that all of the targets were enchanted to evade and attack automatically, and that it was here that he had mastered duelling skills far beyond his peers.
"Well? It's not too late to admit defeat! Otherwise, you might have to suffer a little…" Sirius asked Ivan, raising his eyebrows.
Ivan couldn't be bothered to answer, so he pulled away from Sirius and pulled out his wand.
Understanding Ivan's intention, Sirius pulled out his own wand.
The referee, Lupin, took Harry a little distance away before gesturing for them to bow to each other in the manner of duelling.
"No thanks! In a real fight, the opposition won't tell you when to start!"
Sirius waved his hand, not liking the tedious duelling etiquette, and then, without waiting for Lupin to start counting, waved his wand with a smirk and no warning.
"Like this—Evelliarmus! (excluding your weapon)"
A scarlet beam from the tip of the wand…
Ivan was ready for this, and with a slight touch of his hand, another beam of light shot out and collided with the former.
In the middle of the training ground, the collision of the two spells produced a brilliant flash of light. As they melted, they instantly dissipated into small beams of light that shot out in all directions.
Lupin and Harry were forced to retreat a few more steps, using their magic to create several invisible protective barriers.
"Professor Lupin, do you think Sirius will lose?" Harry couldn't help but ask, looking at the two battling.