After some communication, although Arthur refused to talk about it any further, Ivan was able to obtain some information about his parentage.
However, the more information he received, the more suspicious he became…
Could his father's death have something to do with Dumbledore, or was it really Dumbledore's doing?
Ivan speculated, but soon realised that something was amiss, as he had had several private meetings with Dumbledore at school, and the old headmaster apparently had no problem with him.
Besides, if that were the case, then Acacia would be unlikely to send him to Hogwarts…
Ivan even wondered if his father was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, which was why Mr Weasley knew him, but could not bring himself to ask, as he was not supposed to know about the Order at the moment!
As he thought about it, he unknowingly arrived at Flourish and Blotts.
Perhaps because it was close to the start of school, the place was very lively, and there was a large crowd outside.
Upon closer inspection, Ivan saw that most of them were witches, ranging from young wizards in their teens to old witches in their teens. Their expressions were fanatical and excited, and they all wanted to squeeze in from the outside.
"Oh my God! It's Mr Lockhart's book signing! What a coincidence we're here!" Hermione shrieked at the banner hanging in the upstairs window.
Ivan looked in the direction Hermione was looking and saw that the banner was signed by Gilderoy Lockhart, selling his autobiography, Magical Me, this afternoon!
"Gilderoy Lockhart? Who's that?" Harry asked, looking at the crowd outside the bookshop.
"You didn't know about him?" Hermione was shocked, and then went on like a shot.
"He wrote most of the books we're buying this year! I bet the new professor is a huge fan of Lockhart's!"
Hermione went on to introduce them to Gilderoy Lockhart, who had won the Wizarding Weekly Most Charming Smile five times, destroyed trolls with magic, sailed with vampires, and was a recipient of the Order of Merlin's Third Order!
"The Order of Merlin? Isn't that the same as Ivan?" Harry was dazed by Lockhart's "great achievement," but only the last sentence was understood.
"Yes! I'm sure Ivan will be as accomplished as Mr Lockhart!" Hermione exclaimed.
"No, I'm not quite like Lockhart. I'm a second-class Merlin!" Yvonne said calmly, indicating that she was one rank above Lockhart.
He did not want to be accused of being like Lockhart.
Harry nearly laughed out loud when Hermione paused in her boasting of Lockhart, who had never been very fond of him, and became even more rebellious at her constant nagging.
Hermione pursed her lips and stared at them.
At that moment, the crowd began to disperse. Lockhart, who had finished his book signing, was making his way out of the room. Cameras flashed all around him. Every now and then, a middle-aged witch would be captured by his smile and scream in excitement.
Lockhart was about to respond to these fanatical fans when he caught a glimpse of Ivan. As if he had found a treasure, he pushed his way through the reporters and the crowd blocking his way.
Ivan frowned and tried to pull Harry away, but they were too late. Lockhart rushed forward and grabbed Harry's arm.
"If it isn't Harry Potter."
There was another click of the shutter, and Harry was uncomfortable with the glare, and even more uncomfortable with Lockhart clutching his arm.
Harry tried to break free, but Lockhart's arm was like a vice, locking him in place.
Harry had to look at Hermione and Ivan for help…
Ivan shrugged, indicating that there was nothing he could do.
Hermione, on the other hand, was so excited to see Lockhart that she could barely walk.
Lockhart, however, had no intention of paying her any attention. In fact, he thought she was in the way. He pushed her aside and looked at Yvonne.
"And you! Ivan Hals, the genius who developed the Wolfsbane Potion!"
"What day is it that I'm meeting so many famous people!" Lockhart seemed very pleased, and paid more attention to Ivan than to Harry.
After all, this was a young wizard who had stolen his headline!
When Lockhart woke up early that morning, he expected to find the headlines to be about his book signing, but when he looked through the Daily Prophet, he couldn't find anything. All the pages were filled with stories about Ivan Hals's genius!
God only knows how heartbroken the man was!
However, Lockhart was not a petty person, at least not in front of the media, so he kindly took pictures of the two of them and spoke to Ivan in a patronizing tone.
"I've read today's reports. I'm surprised you're able to pull this off at your age."
Lockhart smiled and winked at Ivan, teasing him in a light tone.
"I must say you've picked a good time! I was too busy settling goblin disputes last year to visit my werewolf friends and optimise my research."
"You have to understand that I came into contact with werewolves three years ago. You can read my book, Wander with Werewolves. I've been researching werewolves ever since, but you're one step ahead of me!"
Lockhart's speed of speech was astonishing, especially when it came to his best-selling books.
Ivan's mouth twitched, indicating that he had never met anyone so brazen!
Lockhart, however, didn't seem to think anything of it. He went on to show off his status as a member of the Order of Merlin.
"I read in the paper that you wanted the Order of Merlin? It's not an easy task, and I only got it (in the book) after sorting out untold troubles."
"Of course, with me, the recipient of the Order of Merlin, as your nominee, none of this would be a problem." Lockhart confidently patted his chest, indicating that he was willing to recommend Ivan for free.