"Yes…Professor, technically we should be in the dormitory right now." Harry swallowed hard under Professor McGonagall's gaze.
"But in practice, the results are always different."
Professor McGonagall's face darkened, and Harry, sensing that something was amiss, quickly added,
"It means Ron and I heard about the troll at the feast and remembered that Yvonne and Hermione were still here, so we came because we were worried."
Ron gritted his teeth and prepared to tell Hermione about how he had spoken ill of her behind her back, causing her to cry and hide in the girls' bathroom.
"That's right, they're here for me!"
However, Hermione interrupted them and then turned back to McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall, I was looking for a troll and thought I could deal with it. You know, I've read about how to deal with these creatures…"
"I didn't think a troll would be more powerful than I thought. If Ivan hadn't arrived in time, I'd be dead."
"As for Harry and Ron, they probably sneaked in because they were worried about us…"
Hermione seemed a little uncomfortable with lying for the first time, and her cheeks flushed, but she was soon able to talk her way out of it.
"How can you think that, silly girl? You're only in your first year. How can you possibly take on a troll?" Professor McGonagall scolded her.
"Ahem…" Ivan cleared his throat, reminding Professor McGonagall that there was a young first year wizard who had successfully fought a troll.
Professor McGonagall was put on the spot by Ivan's honesty, but was relieved when Filch invited Dumbledore.
The moment Dumbledore appeared, his gaze was fixed on the scattered Iron Thorns and the dead troll, especially the spike that had pierced the troll's head.
"What an excellent Transfiguration Charm. I doubt I've ever seen a lesser wizard of your age use it better than you. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would give Gryffindor ten points for it in class," said Dumbledore, openly impressed.
"Albus, we should be discussing these children's private visits to the troll." McGonagall nodded. She was surprised at Ivan's skill with Transfiguration, but this was obviously not the time.
"In that case, let's leave it at that…" Dumbledore muttered to himself for a moment before turning to the others.
"Miss Granger's recklessness will result in ten points being deducted from Gryffindor House, and although Potter and Weasley have broken the rules of the school, this friendship is worthy of recognition, so there will be no punishment."
Harry and Ron both breathed a sigh of relief, while Hermione bit her lip, still finding the loss of points hard to swallow.
"As for Harles…" Dumbledore paused, and Hermione's heart began to pound again, but Dumbledore's tone suddenly relaxed.
"Because of your actions, I will give Gryffindor an extra twenty points!"
Hermione's anxious heart finally relaxed completely, and she looked at Ivan with such joy that the effect of the point deduction was somewhat mitigated.
Ivan's lip curled, as when Dumbledore offered to give him extra points, the System gave him twenty points at the same time.
"Isn't that a bit loose?" Professor McGonagall asked, frowning at the possibility that Dumbledore was trying to encourage Ivan and the others to take risks.
"Not every minor wizard is able to defeat a troll in his or her first year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore objected, shaking his head.
"By the way, Professor, I don't think I need to pay for this troll, do I?" Ivan asked casually, in a good mood.
"Of course not, but…" Dumbledore smiled at Ivan. "Could you come to the Headmaster's office later? I'm very interested in your victory over the troll. Perhaps, when I'm finished here, we can talk."
Ivan's smile froze on his face. He opened his mouth, but no words came out… Could he say no?
Ivan was frustrated. He should not have said anything!
…
I'm so stupid. I should have read Occlumency a few times when I went to the Restricted Section… I'm so stupid…
On the way to the Headmaster's office, Yvonne inexplicably switched on her sister-in-law's retry mode, regretting over and over again that she had not learned Occlumency in advance.
He was, of course, not entirely to blame.
Previously, in order to complete the challenge more smoothly, he had spent almost all of his GPA on Potions, as well as a few key charms.
As for learning Occlumency without an experience card?
Yvonne thought better of it; she could still remember the memory of her gifted savior, Harry, failing to master Occlumency under the tutelage of a Occlumency Master like Snape.
This, however, reminded Ivan of the Dementor feature of the book, in which the caster could only read the memories of the subject.
To gain more, one must use a more powerful Dementor to force the subject to recall more.
This is why, in the book, when Snape reads Harry's memories, he causes Harry to replay them in his head.
Ivan was a little relieved by these conjectures, as he would only need to think about useless things later in the conversation. Surely Dumbledore would not resort to forcibly searching his memories?
With great trepidation, Ivan approached the Headmaster's office, which was guarded by a monstrously ugly stone beast. When Ivan gave the secret signal given to him by Dumbledore, the stone beast rotated slowly upward with a dull noise, revealing the staircase behind it.
Yvonne went up the stairs and found herself in a large, round room, its aged walls covered with portraits of Hogwarts Headmasters, each with the Headmaster's name and time in charge clearly marked at the bottom.
Ivan was most interested in the Pensieve and Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes.
The Pensieve was Ivan's dream, and once he mastered the art of Dementor, he was able to use the Pensieve's powers to sort through his memories.
Phoenix blood, on the other hand, was an important ingredient in a bloodline-fusing potion.
If it weren't for the lack of tools, and the fact that Dumbledore could return at any moment, Ivan wondered if he should take this opportunity to draw blood…
If… he could beat Fox…