Ollivander studied the wand for a long time, his light eyes shining.
Ollivander looked at it for a while and roughly figured out what the runes were for. He turned to Ivan for confirmation. "It looks like there are two circuits on it, one to lower the spell's movement and the other to strengthen the spell?"
"Is this your mother's doing?"
"No," Ivan said, shaking his head. "I modified it myself."
"Very nice… remarkable! I couldn't have modified a wand by myself when I was your age," Ollivander said admiringly.
He was not averse to Ivan's modifications, as he only sold standard wands, and it was not unusual for a skilled wizard to modify his or her wand in later stages.
As long as the other party took good care of it and treated his wand well…
"By the way, Mr. Ollivander, you mentioned my mother. Did you know her?" Yvonne asked curiously.
"There are only a few skilled alchemists in all of Britain, and Diagon Alley is not far from Knockturn Alley, so I've met her a few times…" Ollivander said with a smile, then experimented with Ivan's wand to make sure it was working.
Ivan accepted the wand without further question.
Karkaroff, on the other hand, stood up in a hurry and questioned him.
"Wait, Mr. Ollivander, did you just say that Mr. Hales's wand has been modified to increase magical power? I think that would be extremely unfair to the other champions. We should ban him from using this wand during the match!"
"I thought the Triwizard Cup didn't say that champions couldn't use modified wands, did it, Headmaster Karkaroff?" Ivan asked, frowning unhappily.
"But the Statute forbids the use of unconventional magical tools, and it seems to me that your wand falls into that category!" Karkaroff argued.
Karkaroff had been briefed by Krum on Ivan's easy defeat of Cedric a few days earlier,
He knew full well how powerful Ivan was, and he knew that Hogwarts would have too much of an advantage if Ivan had the wand.
Maxim agreed with Karkaroff, but before she could say anything, Dumbledore intervened.
"Every champion should play to his or her strengths, Karkaroff! Hars is skilled in the Alchemical Way, and it is not beyond him to apply it to a match."
Dumbledore's voice was as loud as a bell as he looked from Karkaroff to Krum and back again. "Are we going to ban Krum from playing because he is a Quidditch player? Or are we going to force him to use only the oldest Comet Broomstick?
As for Miss Fleur, she also has a presence that is not found in any other champion, and I should perhaps advise her to keep her face covered so as not to affect the judges' judgement and the performance of the other players!"
Karkaroff choked on Dumbledore's words.
Krum's greatest strength as Durmstrang's champion was the superior flying skills he had developed over the years. The exact events of the race had not yet been announced, and he was unsure if they would come in handy.
Once banned, it was an absolute loss.
Maxim had an idea. Covering her face would have no effect on Fleur's strength, and it would be worth it to limit Ivan and Krum's advantage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll excuse me," Ollivander said, stepping forward to speak for Ivan.
"Hars's wand was modified several years ago, presumably not in preparation for this match. In addition, a handy wand is particularly important for the performance of a champion, and it would be unfair to Hars to change it at the last minute!"
"Or would you rather give each champion a wand that doesn't fit?" Ollivander asked.
Karkaroff and Maxim were left with no argument, resigned to the fact that Ivan could use a powerful wand during a match.
Otherwise, Dumbledore would have placed too many restrictions on the other champions, and it would not have been worth it if something had happened to them.
Ivan looked at them, feeling very depressed. He wondered why Karkaroff and Maxim always wanted to limit themselves.
According to normal procedures, shouldn't he be looked down upon and mocked because he was too young?
"Well, now that the wands of the champions have been tested, what are we waiting for? Come and take pictures!" Bagman, who was standing nearby, saw that the atmosphere was tense and quickly tried to smooth things over.
At Bagman's urging, Karkaroff and Maxim suppressed their annoyance for a moment, then went to Dumbledore's side and posed for pictures with the champions in the front row.
Rita Skeeter intercepted Harry, Krum, and Fleur as they were preparing to leave. She had to start with the other champions, as she did not manage to get any information from Ivan.
Ivan gave Harry a look that said he was on his own, and that he would do everything he could to warn Rita Skeeter.
Leaving the classroom, Yvonne walked the castle's corridors alone, thinking about her next move.
Soon the first match of the Goblet of Fire would officially begin.
If nothing had changed, this stage would have required the warriors to seize a dragon egg that was protected by a dragon.
It was an extremely dangerous task for any other champion, and the slightest mistake could result in injury or even death.
Ivan wasn't too worried. He had a number of ways of subduing dragons, but the trick was to make the fight more exciting, so that more people would spontaneously flock to him and complete his systematic tasks.
What really gave Ivan a headache was the fact that his Legilimency practice had once again come to a standstill, and without Hermione's help he desperately needed to find his next practice partner.
Even if he did not catch the mole, he would be able to tell Dumbledore about the replacement of the trophy with a Portkey in the third match, thus foiling Voldemort's plan for resurrection.
However, doing so would likely enrage the spy sent by Lord Voldemort, who, in a fit of rage, might attack the students of the school, or even his friends.
Therefore, they had to find this spy before the third match!
"Who else will help me practice this spell?" Ivan muttered to himself.
He couldn't just pick someone to practice with, could he?
Ivan wouldn't do this unless he had to, even if he could clean up after himself with a Memory Charm.
Not to mention the fact that Moody had recently been investigating the Goblet of Fire at school, and it would be difficult to explain if he found something unusual about the student and blamed it on him.
Yvonne walked slowly through the castle, keeping her head down as she went through the options in her head. A gentle breeze blew down the corridor, and suddenly a disembodied voice called out from somewhere ahead.
'Are you in trouble, Ivan?'