Yvonne wound her way up the stairs, her mind automatically engaged in Occlumency.
However, Ivan then realised that Hermione did not know Occlumency, and if Dumbledore wanted to get to the bottom of it, there was nothing he could do about it.
Upon entering the Headmaster's office, Ivan was greeted by the sight of Dumbledore, dressed in a grey wizard's robe, teasing Fawkes.
Ivan looked at it with envy. After obtaining the legendary title of Ouroboros, his Legendary Points had reached five, and he could fuse with the next bloodline. Phoenix blood had always been his first choice!
"Harls? Miss Granger? What brings you here?" Dumbledore asked in surprise, turning to look at the pair, having sensed the commotion behind him.
"Yes… Professor, we do have an important matter to discuss with you." Ivan tried to organize his thoughts, wondering where to begin.
"Let's sit down and talk!" Dumbledore said as he sat down behind his desk and waved his wand, causing two stools to appear beside Ivan and Hermione.
"I remember that every time you came to me with news, you surprised me. It seems that this time is no exception…"
Dumbledore steepled his long fingers and stared at Ivan with his blue eyes under his half-moon spectacles.
You're the one who usually comes to me…
Yvonne grumbled to herself, then added sheepishly,
"Then you'll be even more surprised this time!"
After mentally preparing Dumbledore, Ivan placed the damaged Time-Turner on the table and spoke again.
"Do you remember the Time-Turner we were given? It's… broken!"
Alarmed at the sight of the Time-Turner, cracked and on the verge of exploding, Dumbledore looked up at Ivan and Hermione with an odd expression.
"I think you need to explain to me what the hell is going on, and how you broke it!"
Yvonne began to explain apologetically.
"Professor, I'm sorry! I was studying the improved version of the Polyjuice Potion and got too engrossed in it. I used the power of the Time-Turner too often and underestimated its limits, resulting in this…"
Yvonne told him everything she had come up with, even going so far as to suggest that she had been working on her own modified Polyjuice Potion.
This was because Dumbledore only had to investigate a little to learn that he had asked Snape about potion improvements, which could not be concealed or concealed!
He could say that, due to the glory and attention he received from the Wolfsbane Potion he developed during his first year of school, he was a little obsessed with it, and was planning to make it big this term…
"Professor, I'm partly to blame for this. The Time-Turner broke on my hand…" Hermione began hastily.
Ivan gave Hermione a helpless look.
Girl… this is not the time to take responsibility?
He took on the responsibility in order to keep Dumbledore's attention on himself, so that Hermione would not be seen through by Dumbledore.
Hermione scowled at Ivan, who had pushed her aside when they had agreed to share the blame.
Their eye contact did not last long, as Dumbledore interrupted them.
"I believe I warned you that the power of the Time-Turner must be used with caution! And you promised me that you would not use it outside of lessons!"
Dumbledore's face was grave, and his deep-set eyes moved slowly from Hermione to Ivan and back again.
"And…I don't think it's quite as simple as you make it out to be, do you, Harles?" Dumbledore added, flipping several letters from his drawer.
"About a month ago, the day before Hogwarts was to open, the Dementors sent by the Ministry to guard Hogwarts intercepted a suspected Sirius Black, who was attempting to enter by air, not far from the castle…
Of course! The Dementors' attempt at interception failed, and Minister for Magic Fudge sent me several letters requesting additional Dementors for a thorough search of Hogwarts… which I refused!"
As he spoke, Dumbledore watched Ivan's reaction, noting that there were not many wizards he knew who could break through the Dementors.
This was especially true when the Ministry of Magic reported that Black had defeated the Dementors without even releasing his Patronus.
This news was accompanied by the news that Ivan had "rescued" his fellow students from the Dementors on the Hogwarts train the next day.
By then, he was suspicious, and with Ivan's class schedule, Dumbledore was six or seven points positive.
Since he could think of it, the others were certainly no fools.
So he stopped McGonagall's application for Ivan's help, and simply applied for a Time-Turner in Hermione's name, so that nobody at the Ministry would think of it.
Ivan's pupils contracted at Dumbledore's words. He had not expected to be exposed so soon. He remembered seeing Dumbledore reading the letters when he first arrived at the Headmaster's office.
Ivan had thought that the letters were from Dean Bohan, but it seemed that he had misunderstood him. It was no wonder that Dumbledore was not very happy to give him the Time-Turner and even mentioned the dangers of using it.
Hermione's face was deathly pale, and she gave Ivan a questioning look, wondering what to do now.
Dumbledore saw their reactions and was immediately certain of his earlier suspicions.
Ivan recovered quickly and spoke again with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Professor. Please forgive me for using the power of the Time-Turner without permission and causing damage…"
Ivan makes no excuses, and there is nothing to be gained by fabricating lies when Dumbledore is certain of them.
Because Dumbledore only needed to use Dementor on Hermione to know everything, and even at full strength, Ivan suspected that his Occlumency would not be able to resist.
It all depends on whether Dumbledore wants to do it or not…
(PS: Requesting monthly votes, recommendations, subscriptions…)