"Of course it's not out of date. I ate the Christmas ones a long time ago. They're for your homecoming." Alicia laughed. She had thought Ivan had changed a lot in the past year, and felt strange about it, but now she knew him better.
Because the reaction is just as funny …
Ivan rolled his eyes. To think he'd been so touched before. He'd never believe it again…
The Hales did not have a lot of rules, and the two chatted as they ate, or perhaps it was just Alicia alone asking about Ivan's status at school.
Ivan, naturally, tried his best to talk about his studies, noting that he was extremely talented, active in his studies, and eager to answer (and answer) every question he asked.
As for killing the troll on Hallowe'en, fighting the Dark Lord at the end of term, and keeping a dragon for a month, Ivan didn't mention a word about it, in case Alicia got worried and made him drop out of school and stay at home…
Where could he get GPA to improve his strength?
Alicia listened with pride, especially when she heard that Ivan's final results, except for History of Magic, were "outstanding".
This was also Ivan's intention, so that Alicia would not make a fuss whenever she needed to cast a spell.
However, when Ivan mentioned that Gryffindor had won the House Cup thanks to his efforts, Alicia's expression turned strange. The more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong.
'You're not at Slytherin?'
"Of course. You sent a letter to Professor Dumbledore, didn't you? He didn't tell you that I was assigned to Gryffindor?" Ivan looked at Alicia strangely. He hadn't mentioned this in his reply, as he thought his mother would have known.
"Gryffindor? You're in Gryffindor House, where idiots gather and attack each other?" Alicia's voice was thick with anger.
Ivan's mouth fell open. He didn't think the Lion's Court was all that bad, did he?
Before he could speak, Alicia angrily crushed the glass in her hand. The sharp glass pierced her palm, and orange juice mixed with drops of blood flowed onto the table.
"Your damned Headmaster assigned you there?" Alicia asked, enunciating each word.
Ivan had no idea what was causing Isiah's anger, as he had no memory of any such thing, but he was under pressure.
"The house is supposed to be divided by the Sorting Hat."
However, Alicia did not believe him. She felt that someone must have used their power to force the Sorting Hat to change its decision, so she did not hesitate to scold Dumbledore in front of him, almost using all the greetings she knew on the old professor.
"I should have sent you to Durmstrang!" Alicia concluded angrily.
Then why am I at Hogwarts now… Ivan quailed at this, but could not understand it, and reflected that the reason Alicia had sent him to Hogwarts seemed to be because he did not have to pay for school at Hogwarts, he only had to buy some textbooks and daily necessities…
You're such a mother…
Yvonne was speechless.
However, Ivan knew that things would never be as simple as he thought.
He recalled that, in one of the Howler letters that Alicia had sent him, she did not seem to be addressing Dumbledore correctly, except that he thought she was just angry.
Now it would seem there were other reasons…
"Are you and Professor Dumbledore on bad terms?" Yvonne asked cautiously.
"Anyway, stay away from him at school…" Alicia said to Ivan angrily, having sorted out her emotions.
Ivan nodded in agreement; he had always kept his distance from Dumbledore at school…
After a hasty final supper, Alicia went down to the basement to work on her dark magic items, and then set up a defensive charm.
Knockturn Alley is not safe at night, and it's not exactly flat these days…
Ivan returned to his small room.
The room was simple and tidy, with only a bed, a desk, and a cupboard.
It seemed that the Dust-Removing Charm was often used to clean up the place. As far as he could remember, after a year, this place was still the same as when he left.
After sorting out the clothes in the luggage, Ivan subconsciously pulled out his wand to continue practicing magic. He then remembered that he could not cast spells now, and finally sighed helplessly. He was really not used to this kind of life.
Especially now that she had been tricked, Ivan was desperate to improve his skills.
I'll have to ask Alicia tomorrow if she has a solution…
As for now?
Ivan thought it best not to get into trouble, although he wanted to know what his mother's beef was with Dumbledore.
He flipped through the pages of the book until midnight, when Ivan became faintly aware of a magical disturbance outside his window. He moved to the window and saw something rising that he could not see. It could not be seen by the naked eye, but Ivan's keen magical senses detected its presence.
Was this Peacekeeper?
Or was it a similar spell?
Yvonne was lost in her thoughts when, in the distance, she heard the howling of wolves. She looked up and saw a full moon high in the sky.
Full moon … werewolf transformation …
Ivan frowned. It was true that some werewolves hid in Knockturn Alley, but he had not seen such a thing in his ten years of memory.
After all, there were a lot of ruthless people in Knockturn Alley, and the werewolves tended to find a place to hide when the moon was full, rather than strutting around like this.
Woo…
The long howl of the wolf drew closer, and Ivan clutched his wand in his sleeve, complaining about the rule that young wizards were not allowed to perform magic outside of school.
Wait… it seems that when a young wizard's life is in danger, he is allowed to cast spells in retaliation…
As Ivan hesitated, he saw a tall, dark shadow rush out of the alley in the moonlight. It was half-wolf, half-human, with brownish-grey hair, long, narrow limbs, dark red eyes, and sharp teeth.
This was the first time Ivan had actually seen a werewolf, and since the werewolf didn't seem to be able to see them, he didn't linger.
Yvonne was about to offer a silent tribute to the occupant when, within seconds, the large werewolf was knocked out of the house and slammed into the red brick wall behind them, howling in pain as deep gashes appeared all over its body…