"Fear descends!" Ivan said, pointing his wand at Scabbers's head.
Screech! Screech… Screech…
As soon as the spell took effect, the grayish-black rat seemed to go mad. Its closed eyes instantly bulged, and it let out a piercing shriek.
Then, with a kick of its powerful claws, the mouse flew off the table, knocking over many cups and decorations along the way.
Ivan was relieved to see how well it had worked.
It was not expected that the principle of the Fear Charm was the opposite of that of the Summoning Guard. The latter required the caster to recall good and happy things, while the former required the caster to imagine something terrible or experience it into the caster's mind.
Like reverse Dementory, or a horror-enhanced version…
When casting the spell on Scabbers, Ivan conceived the scene of Scabbers being chased by a pack of black dogs.
Perhaps because Scabbers had been sleeping before the spell was cast, the combined power of the Fear Charm and his sleep made the Dark Magic more potent than Ivan had expected.
While Ivan was celebrating the successful release of the Fear Charm, Ron and Harry burst into the lounge when they heard the noise.
Looking at the mess in the dormitory, Harry wondered if he had come to the wrong place and was about to ask a question when Ron spotted the grey rats scurrying around the room…
"Oh, no! Scabbers… Scabbers! What's the matter with you? Scabbers…" Ron broke down and shouted, rushing into the room and throwing himself on Neville's bed in an attempt to catch the grey-black rat that had just run past.
Scabbers, however, was so frightened by Ivan's magic that he mistook Ron for the black dog in his dream, and with a "whoosh", he managed to get under the bed through a crack in the side of the bed, causing Ron to struggle to find him…
"Ivan, what happened here?" Harry asked Ivan, who had stopped at the table.
"I'm just practicing my charms here." Ivan shrugged, then said diffidently, "As you can see, there may have been a slight accident…"
Harry looked at Ron, who had crawled under the table and was covered in rats, and decided that this was not a small surprise.
"Then we may have to catch mice all night."
Fortunately, it turned out not to be as bad as Harry thought.
After a while, Ivan, remembering that he was a wizard, took the opportunity to use a Levitation Charm on Scabbers, who was trying to hide under his book.
Over the next few days, Ron sulked for a few days, and Ivan apologized profusely and bought some All-Taste Beans for Scabbers to eat.
It is worth mentioning that Hermione, upon hearing this, openly mocked Ron for viewing a rat as more important than a friend, and the two got into an argument, which resulted in Ron nearly losing his mind.
Ron became more and more concerned about Scabbers, even going so far as to bring Scabbers along with him to class. From time to time, he felt that someone was trying to harm his mouse.
Ivan, on the other hand, continued his life in the classroom, the library, and the dormitories. He read all the basic books and managed to gather enough information to use the Academic Genius Experience Card once more.
This caused the professor's score to be raised a notch!
Other than Professor Binns, who taught History, who only gave a general review every time, Ivan was known to have scored well in every other class.
This was especially true in Charms and Transfiguration classes, as Ivan's Transfiguration and Levitation Charms had reached Level 2.
Harry and Ron were both stunned when, at one point, a board was transfigured a little faster than Hermione.
However, it would not be so easy to level up again, as every level up required twice as much proficiency as the previous level.
In addition to her studies, Ivan also sought the location of the Room of Requirement, which would serve as a place for future experiments on the power of spells.
It was always inconvenient in the Gryffindor common room.
Unfortunately, after reading the book for so many years, Yvonne could no longer remember it, except that it was on the other side of a tapestry, and she was unable to find it for several days.
It was not until the following Friday, when Harry received an invitation from Hagrid, that Ivan's regular routine was finally broken.
Of course, good news is bad news,
The bad news was that they had to attend two Potions classes with Slytherin this Friday.
"If only we could skip it this morning. Professor Snape is the Head of Slytherin. George told us to be careful…"
In the corridor, Ron and Ivan talked about the gossip they had heard from their brothers while feeding Scabbers.
"Surely not? Professor McGonagall is a Head of House, and I've never seen her being biased," Hermione shot back.
"But I'm not the only one who thinks so… a lot of older Gryffindors say so!" Ron exclaimed, turning to Harry and Ivan with disdain at Hermione's words.
"You think so too, don't you? Professor Snape is very shady all the time. There are even rumours at school that Professor Snape used to be a Dark Wizard…"
When it came to rumours, Ron made sure to keep his voice down so as not to be overheard.
"Impossible. Professor Dumbledore would never allow a Dark Wizard into the house." Harry shook his head.
Although Harry thought Professor Snape, who taught Potions, seemed to dislike him during the feasts at the beginning of the school year, he was quite good at teaching subjects.
Snape can't be that bad…
Hermione nodded in agreement, and Ron had no choice but to turn to Ivan.
Ivan was teasing Scabbers with a Many Flavour Beans when he overheard their conversation.
"I don't know if Professor Snape's needles are aimed at Gryffindor, but they are definitely aimed at us."
Ivan was starting to get frustrated. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to score top marks in Snape's class.
After all, he loved her and hated her, and Ivan would not be surprised if Snape gave him a bad review after class.
Harry was baffled by Ivan's stare, and wondered what he meant by that.
"You're saying Professor Snape hates Harry?" Hermione frowned, guessing Ivan's thoughts from the way he had looked at Harry earlier.
Yvonne secretly admired Hermione's quick thinking, but knew better than to tell the truth, and shook her head. "I just suspected, don't you think, that there was something about the way Professor Snape looked at Harry?"