Dobby was waiting at the base early in the morning. A feast had been laid out on the round table, but it had grown cold from sitting too long.
Neither Ivan nor Sirius paid it any mind, as they sat down to enjoy their evening meal, chatting about interesting things in the drafty hut.
"By the way, Mr. Black, can Apparition be used in battle?" Ivan suddenly asked curiously.
He had always found Apparition to be a useful spell, one that could be used in combat to gain an advantage in both attack and evasion.
'No, I'd advise you not to try and do that!' Sirius shook his head and continued sternly.
"I'm sure you know how dangerous this is when you practice Apparition! Even a wizard who has mastered this spell must always be focused and not distracted when casting it!
When used in a fierce battle, the caster could easily cause their limbs to separate, and their enemies would not be kind enough to reassemble their bodies!"
"No one I know of could have done it," Sirius added.
"Not even Dumbledore?" Ivan asked.
'Nor!'
Sirius was about to say so, but stopped himself, as he wasn't sure, either, that this 100-year-old… the most powerful white wizard in the wizarding world could always do things that ordinary wizards would never dream of…
Ivan, on the other hand, was deep in thought, knowing full well that both Dumbledore and Voldemort could do this.
In the past, the pair vanished and reappeared during a battle at the Ministry of Magic, although it is uncertain if they did so through Apparition, as it is possible to perform teleportation in battle.
However, he did not know how far he would have to go in order to do this…
Sixth? Seventh? Or higher?
Ivan thought.
After so many battles, Ivan had a good idea of how strong most wizards were.
Normally, the fourth level of the System's classification was the level at which an adult wizard could cast spells.
Level five was basically professional.
The average Auror, a highly trained law-enforcement officer in the wizarding market, or a dangerous Dark Wizard, is generally at this level of offensive magic.
Level 6 spells above that were only achievable by a small number of wizards and witches, representing the authority of an area!
Yvonne guessed that Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Charm and Flitwick's combat magic were all at this level.
As for Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, their magical abilities may be at least Level Seven or above!
The outcome of a battle between two wizards, of course, depends more than just how much or how little magic they have mastered.
Combat experience, on-the-spot performance, and other additional factors can all play a role in winning or losing…
Ivan estimated that his strength would only be slightly above Level 5 without using blood magic. If he went all out, he should be able to reach Level 6.
Sirius, unaware of Ivan's many thoughts in the space of a few minutes, was still trying to talk him out of trying to do something so dangerous in battle.
Ivan reluctantly agreed. He would never use such unstable magic in a fight unless he was absolutely certain of success.
After dinner, Ivan returned to his potion-making experiments, and Sirius watched him work late into the night.
It was not until the third potion refinement failed and caused the cauldron to explode that Sirius warned them.
"Hales, you'd better get some rest! Tomorrow, I'll teach you how to perform Apparition from a distance to get to where you've been, and you'll need to be in good spirits so you don't get split up during practice, which is not a good feeling…"
Ivan paused and turned to look at Sirius, then nodded hesitantly.
…
A week passed in the blink of an eye as the practice of Shifting and Improving Potions continued.
In the blink of an eye, it was September 1st, the first day of school.
Dobby had purchased all of the books he needed for his classes, as well as a large number of books on potion-making.
Many of these were expensive out-of-print books, which Sirius brought to Ivan after returning to the Black family home.
Ivan packed the dozens of books into his Strengthening Extension Charm suitcase and performed the Apparition he had learned over the past few days.
Thinking of an alley near King's Cross Station, Ivan deftly waved his wand and chanted an incantation.
There was a blur of light and shadow, and when Ivan recovered, he found himself at his destination.
"It took about one-ninth of my magic, which is quite a lot…" Ivan checked his status bar and saw that a small portion of his magic was missing.
He had never attempted such a long-distance teleportation before, but he had learned from Sirius that the further away one's Apparition was, the more magic would be consumed, and the more vague one's impression of the destination would be, the more difficult it would be to cast the spell.
Ivan looked around to make sure that no Muggles had seen the teleportation, then carried his suitcase towards King's Cross Station.
After passing through a busy corridor, Ivan was about to enter the station when he saw a large black dog lurking in a dark corner.
"Why are you following me? In this crowd? Aren't you afraid of being caught by the Ministry's Aurors?" Ivan asked in a low voice as he carried the suitcase over and looked around.
"They don't know I'm an Animagus!" Sirius scoffed. He had never thought much of the Aurors who hunted him, and they would never find him unless he exposed himself.
As for why he followed Ivan here, it was because he was worried that Ivan might get caught in an accident during his first long-distance teleportation. If Ivan accidentally got split in two, no one would be there to retrieve him.
Despite this, Sirius raised his eyebrows and said, "I came all the way to see Harry off…I haven't seen him in ages."
"Whatever. Just don't get too close and Peter will see you!" Ivan shook his head and walked into the station.
Past Platform Nine and Three-quarters, the black-and-red Hogwarts train has pulled up and white steam is pouring out of the chimney…