In order to practise Legilimency, Ivan had read many books on the subject and had a good understanding of the spell.
He only dared to use Hermione because he was certain that Legilimency would not cause mental harm to the victim.
Even so, Ivan was worried by how tired the witch looked.
"I'm all right, I'm just a bit tired all of a sudden…" Hermione shook her head and looked at Ivan evasively.
Understanding that the key to Legilimency lay in looking into each other's eyes, she did not dare to return Ivan's gaze for fear that he would read her thoughts.
Hermione tried to calm her thoughts, but somehow the memories that had been conjured up kept coming back…
She recalled her embarrassment at being dragged to the library by Ivan in public after the first year troll incident…
The events of the Chamber of Secrets, learning of Ivan's fear and uncertainty as he pursued the killer alone…
And on the first day of school in her third year, in the carriage pulled by Thestrals, she witnessed Luna talking to Ivan and hugging him, and she felt jealous…
Hermione shook her head, trying to get it out of her head and avoid being seen by Ivan, but the more she thought about it, the clearer the memories became…as if someone were forcing her to reveal her deepest secrets.
"That's enough! Stop using Legilimency on me!"
Finally, Hermione could not stand it any longer and exploded, shouting hysterically and hitting Ivan's chest and arms with her fists to vent her pent-up emotions.
Caught off guard, Ivan was hit several times, but managed to restrain Hermione by grabbing her wrist and explaining.
"Wait, Hermione, calm down…I didn't do anything just now! I'm not going to use Legilimency on you without your permission!"
By now, Yvonne had figured out that Hermione must have had a few private memories of her spell and mistakenly believed that Yvonne was still using Legilimency on her.
"No… really?" Hermione was dubious, staring at Ivan with her brown eyes, unsure whether he was trying to fool her.
Why else would I suddenly remember so much about Ivan…
Hermione's face burned at the thought that Ivan might see what she was thinking.
She would rather jump off this roof than this…
When she saw that Ivan's face was normal and barely changed, Hermione was relieved.
"Why don't we take the day off and come back tomorrow?" Yvonne suggested, seeing Hermione's unstable mood.
"Um! Then…then I'll go back first!" Hermione stammered, trying to avoid Ivan's eyes as much as possible. She turned around almost as if she were escaping, and quickly opened the door to the roof of the tower.
Yvonne watched Hermione hurry away, wondering what memory could be so afraid of letting her know.
Could it be an image of someone taking a bath in the bathroom? But surely not everyone would be impressed?
When he went through Noether's memories, he did not see any signs of daily life such as eating, sleeping, and bathing. Presumably, no one would deliberately remember such things.
This was why he did not hesitate to ask Hermione to practice Legilimency, as the likelihood of seeing awkward scenes was low.
Ivan, however, was not overly concerned about Hermione's unusual behaviour, as he thought it might be the first time someone had probed the witch's memory, so she was not used to it.
However, Ivan soon realised that he had underestimated the impact of the exercise.
Hermione avoided him for the next few days, and her plan to practise Legilimency fell through.
Their relationship seemed to have returned to the way it had been at the start of their feud, when Hermione only dared to see her when Harry was there.
Every time he wanted to ask why, the little witch would hem and haw as she tried to change the subject, or pretend not to hear him.
If anything, Hermione visited the library more frequently every day, often disappearing after class.
Ivan was baffled, but could not force Hermione to practice magic with him.
This caused the growth of Legilimency to stagnate once again…
"Are you having trouble with Hermione? Why is she avoiding you?" Harry asked after a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.
"How should I know? It was fine a few days ago!" Ivan shrugged.
"Then maybe there's been a misunderstanding. You'd better ask her and make it clear…" Harry suggested, not wanting to see his remaining friends fall out.
"I'd like to explain, but only if Hermione would listen…" Yvonne said helplessly.
Harry immediately thought of Ron and sighed.
For a moment, the two were in the same boat.
On their way to the Great Hall for dinner, Ivan and Harry were stopped by a very nervous fifteen-year-old Gryffindor girl, who was clutching a satchel.
"Hales! May… may I have your autograph?" she asked nervously as she handed over her satchel, afraid Ivan would disagree.
"Of course, no problem!" Yvonne accepted the satchel with a smile, then took out her quill and wrote her name where it should be.
Perhaps because she thought Ivan was as easy to talk to as the rumours suggested, the Gryffindor girl became bolder and begged Ivan to write a few more letters of encouragement or blessings.
Ivan readily agreed, and with a flourish of his pen, he wrote on the satchel: Study hard and improve every day!
The Gryffindor girl pursed her lips and her expression turned bitter. She wished Ivan would write something else!
The dozen or so girls who were watching from a distance gathered around her when they saw that she had successfully gotten an autograph. They handed over their belongings and asked Ivan to sign them.
Ivan did not shy away from a few autographs. It had happened more than once since he became a champion.
Considering the mission's requirements, he tried his best to satisfy each and every one of their requests.
However, to Ivan's bewilderment, the progress of the mission did not increase much, with only a few more followers.
It was only when Ivan was signing autographs for a Ravenclaw girl that he noticed that Krum's signature was on her backpack.
Ivan's mouth twitched at this…
Their love was truly vast!