"Impressive!" Marcus exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
Yvonne faced Marcus, the true inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion, and was about to say something modest when Doggett interrupted her.
"Geniuses are always out of reach…"
Doggett sighed with emotion, attracting everyone's attention, then patted Ivan on the shoulder and bragged.
"You may not know this, but Hals was able to identify all kinds of herbs at the age of five, and brew some simple potions on his own at the age of six… which, of course, was due to my painstaking teaching over the years.
To be honest, I'm not surprised at all that he was able to develop a Wolf Poison Potion at his age."
What? I can identify herbs at five and brew potions at six?
Yvonne stared at Doggett in bewilderment. When did she become so powerful?
Who would believe that?
Ivan was thinking to himself, 'Isn't he exaggerating a bit too much, trying to help him raise his reputation and get the title of genius?'
However, when he turned around, he saw Marcus and Stump looking at him with admiration.
Just as Dougatt was about to continue, he suddenly stopped and looked away, his expression turning ugly.
Ivan turned his head in confusion and saw an old man with a white beard. He was wearing a dark green robe and had a purple and blue badge on his shoulder.
Before Ivan could think about the relationship between Doggett and the other man, his calm expression changed, as he saw Dumbledore, the headmaster he had not seen for a long time, standing next to the man.
"Albus, is this the talented young wizard you've been telling me about?" the old wizard asked Dumbledore with a smile. He seemed to have an unusually strong body, and his voice was full of energy.
"If you hadn't kept assuring me, I wouldn't have believed a mere wizard could come up with a solution to the werewolf problem."
"Headmaster Bohan, in truth, I am quite surprised at his accomplishments, but come to think of it, it seems that every time I see him, he gives me new surprises!" Dumbledore said briskly, turning to wink at Ivan.
"It makes me look forward to the next time we meet."
'Who wants to meet you?' Ivan complained, although he pretended to be very polite.
"Professor Dumbledore, Dean Bohan. I was only able to brew the Wolfsbane Potion by accident, thanks to Mr. Dougett's years of teaching. Without the information he compiled while researching werewolves, I would never have been able to brew it."
Dean Bohan nodded noncommittally, then looked back at Doggart and spoke suspiciously.
"I didn't know you'd been researching werewolves all these years, hiding in Knockturn Alley and causing trouble? That's surprising… it seems you do get down to business sometimes."
"That's because you only believe what you're imagining in your head, and that's why you're so ignorant!" Dawg snapped.
Dean Bohan, however, did not seem to hear him. Instead, he struck up a conversation with Ivan, praising Ivan's efforts to sell the Wolfsbane Potion at a reduced price.
Ivan was overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. He even wondered if this Dean Bohan was also a werewolf. Otherwise, why would he care so much about wolf venom?
It didn't take long for Ivan to realise that he was imagining things.
From their conversation, Ivan soon learned that St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries had hosted dozens of cases of werewolf bites and scratches over the years.
By the time most arrived at the hospital, they had already missed the best time to be treated, and Bohan could only watch as they were transformed, unable to do anything about it.
This was undoubtedly torture for the highly skilled Bohan.
Ivan's Wolfsbane Potion could not cure werewolves, but it could reduce the number of werewolf riots and allow innocent werewolves to return to normal life.
"Albus, I think Hales's contribution to the Ministry was enough to earn him a Second-Class Order of Merlin. What do you think?" said Dean Bohan with feeling.
"Yes, I think so, too. I'll write tomorrow and issue a nomination." Dumbledore nodded and agreed without hesitation.
Ivan was surprised that these two wizards were willing to nominate him for the Order of Merlin.
On the way here, he had learned from Doggett that to be awarded the Order of Merlin, one had to make enough of a contribution, as well as a nomination.
It is best if the nominee is a fellow recipient of the Order of Merlin, or someone with some influence in the wizarding community.
Without a nominee, the Order of Merlin would have been automatically nominated, but efficiency was questionable.
This was also the reason why Doggett sought out these people and desperately tried to help him boast about it, in order to find a reliable nominee.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, and, of course, you… Abbot Bohan!" Yvonne said gratefully.
He understood that he only had enough merit points to get a Third-level Order of Merlin. To get a Second-level Order of Merlin, he would have to rely on the influence of these two bigwigs.
Although Ivan was not particularly fond of the Order of Merlin, he did not slight the two men who had helped him.
Yvonne was about to thank him again when Dumbledore waved her off with a rare sigh.
"No, I want to thank you, Hales. Your Wolfsbane Potion saved a werewolf friend of mine. He did many things for me in the past, but all those years of poverty as a werewolf wizard left me powerless to do anything but watch…"
Werewolf friends? With a thought, Ivan understands that Dumbledore is talking about Lupin the werewolf.
If he remembered correctly, this core member of the Order of the Phoenix was still wandering around because of his status as a werewolf, right?
Could it be that Dumbledore intended to bring him back as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for the next year?
Ivan was looking forward to it. After all, Lockhart was going to be a complete knock-off next year, and taking his Defence Against the Dark Arts class would be torture…
However, thinking about it, it seemed unlikely, as there were only ten days left until school started. The choice of Professor for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class should have been made long ago…