A heart-wrenching blow to the face?
Or burn them with a fierce fire?
Ivan shuddered at the thought of the possible tragedy, and tried to retrieve the memories of the original Ivan.
Perhaps due to the transmigration, the memories seemed to have been scattered and hidden away somewhere, and Ivan could not find them.
"Darn it, I wish I had more memories," Ivan muttered to himself, feeling a headache coming on. It seemed that he would have to learn how to perform Dementory before the end of term, and then find a way to use the Pensieve in the Headmaster's office to sort through his memories. Otherwise, he might be exposed.
Now, Ivan doesn't even know where his home is…
No one else could have made it to where he was.
"Harry Potter!"
While Ivan's mind was occupied with how to sneak into the Restricted Section and learn how to perform Dementor, Professor McGonagall's high-pitched voice drew his attention back to the Sorting Ceremony.
Ivan was not the only one. At that moment, all the young wizards and professors turned their attention to the stage, as if they were reliving the moment when Ivan came to power. However, it was clear that Ivan's special status could not be compared to the prestige of the Savior.
As a skinny, bespectacled young wizard took the stage, there was a great deal of applause from the audience. The second-year Gryffindors standing next to Ivan clapped their hands so hard that they were red in the face. They stared at Ivan's forehead, which was partially covered by his hair, as if they expected to see a lightning-bolt scar.
"Harry Potter? Is she talking about that Harry Potter?"
"My mother says he defeated You-Know-Who at birth!"
'I wish he'd been sorted into Gryffindor!'
…
Ivan joined in the applause, as it would have been very unconventional to sit at this table.
Ivan, of course, felt that Harry deserved the honour, as his tragic childhood of being bullied stemmed from the death of his parents.
If not for Lily Potter sacrificing her life to cast a protective spell that rendered the powerful Lord Voldemort powerless, who knows how many more people would have died in the wizarding world…
When they heard that Harry Potter would be entering Gryffindor, the young witches and wizards were ecstatic, and the Weasley twins hugged each other excitedly, shouting "Potter! We have Potter!" and Slytherin's applause was much softer.
This was especially true of Prefect Slytherin, who was sitting in the front row, and was visibly upset when he heard from the Sorting Hat that Harry had refused to enter Slytherin.
Yvonne took it all in silently, her lips curling up in a smile, knowing that this was because of the aura of Harry Potter's Saviour, which would soon fade away when it became clear that, aside from his title, Harry Potter was just another wizard.
Yvonne grumbled to herself, but when she glanced at Dumbledore, who was smiling at Harry, she realised that Prefect Slytherin was right to be worried. After all, the Headmaster was helping The One cheat.
Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor Prefect, stepped forward to shake Harry's hand almost as soon as he stepped down from the stage, and most of the room was vacated, as if he wanted to have a good chat with The One.
Even George and Fred joined in the fun, leaving Ivan alone.
Ivan did not join in the fun, enjoying the feast as if it were none of his business. It was often said that the food of the Rotten Country was authentic dirt, but the food at Hogwarts was surprisingly good. Ivan thought it might have something to do with the fact that the food at Hogwarts was made by house-elves, not British wizards.
Ivan had a vague feeling that he was being watched, and looked up to see Dumbledore staring at him with those silver-blue eyes.
Ivan did not show any signs of stage fright. He smiled at Dumbledore, pretending to be obedient and shy, then put a large piece of cake into his mouth and swallowed it.
Perhaps because of Ivan the Eater's aura, or perhaps because Dumbledore simply smiled in return, the greatest of the white wizards turned his attention elsewhere.
After the Sorting ceremony, there was plenty of time for the young wizards to eat, and Ivan ate until he could eat no more.
All of a sudden, the food disappeared, just as it had suddenly appeared.
Magical magic was nothing new to young wizards and witches who had seen it many times before, but it was new to Ivan, who was seeing it for the first time.
Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet, and all eyes were on the stage as Dumbledore moved.
"Ha, now that we've both had enough to eat, I'll say a few more words. I'm going to put out a few school notices."
Dumbledore's voice echoed through the hall, as his eyes swept over the new students and then back to the Weasleys.
"A special note to all new students: that area of forest on the grounds of the school is off-limits to all students. I think the older students should keep that in mind as well."
"Our caretaker, Mr Filch, asked me to remind you that you are not allowed to use magic in the corridor during lessons."
"The Quidditch player quiz will be held in the second week…"
After a brief emphasis on the rules of each term, Dumbledore paused briefly before raising his voice again.
"Lastly, I must warn you that those who do not wish to die tragically will not go to the fourth-floor corridor on your right until this year!"
After hearing this, Ivan complained about Dumbledore's fishing remarks.
Not only did they talk about how dangerous it was, but they didn't reveal anything else. They didn't even talk about why they couldn't go there. How could some curious young wizards resist them?
As expected, Dumbledore's stern warning did not seem to have the desired effect. Some of the new students even laughed nonchalantly, while the older students looked serious.
This, of course, did not include the Weasley brothers, who were having a sneaky discussion about what to do, and Ivan speculated that they would go and have a look at the corridor, which could lead to tragic deaths.
It was just that Ivan had the feeling that Dumbledore would have spoken to them in person beforehand, or asked Filch to keep an eye on them.
Before they start something…