Ivan was taken aback by Luna's words, and then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Little witches had such wild ideas.
Is seeing this memory considered companionship? That's a cheap word…
Ivan was thinking about it, but before he could say anything, a book caught his attention.
It was a scene from Luna's memory, in the studio of the Novgoode Mansion. Xenophilius was sitting in the corner, writing as usual, but there was a well-thumbed fairy tale book next to him.
Ivan took two steps forward and scanned the contents, confirming that it was indeed The Tales of Beedle the Bard!
"Have you heard these stories, too, Ivan?" Luna whispered to Ivan as he stared at the book.
"I suppose so!" Ivan replied casually, his thoughts wandering.
Luna, for some reason, brightened up. "I used to hear Dad talking about them when I was a kid: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Good Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty and the Stump…"
Luna listed every story in Beedle the Bard's collection as if she knew them by heart.
Ivan, on the other hand, was stunned, as he had never heard of any of these stories, and had assumed that Beedle the Bard's Tales only contained one story.
"Oh, I almost forgot, there's also The Tale of the Three Brothers!" Luna added as an afterthought.
"Yes, I remember that best!" Ivan nodded quickly. It was the only story he knew.
It is also the story of the Deathly Hallows!
While they were talking, Xenophilius finished writing the manuscript, his eyes fixed on The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
After a pause, Xenophilius turned the pages of the book to the page that described the three brothers. He then took a stack of parchment from his drawer and scribbled on it.
From Ivan's point of view, the parchment was blank, as if Xenophilius were pretending to write.
He turned to Luna curiously, and the blonde witch tilted her head slightly and murmured something.
"After Mother left, Dad would go through this collection every day, though he never let me see what he wrote!"
Ivan then understood why the parchment was blank.
However, even if he had not seen the details, he would have guessed that Xenophilius was trying to find clues about the Three Deathly Hallows.
Yvonne thought back to the promise the father had made to his daughter. He had thought it was a white lie, but it seemed it was not.
The Resurrection Stone, which was said to bring the dead back to life, was Xenophilius's goal.
No wonder Xenophilius knew so much about the Deathly Hallows, and was so convinced of the legend of Death and the Three Brothers.
Now it seemed that this was not only because of the pure-blood family background that allowed him to find out, but also because the wizard had placed his wife's resurrection on the Resurrection Stone.
Unfortunately… Ivan knew very well that the power of the Resurrection Stone was limited and could not revive the dead.
Xenophilius's plan was doomed!
Yvonne was lost in her thoughts when Luna, who was standing next to her, suddenly swayed and almost fell over.
"What's wrong, Luna? Are you okay?" Yvonne asked worriedly, stepping forward to help her.
Luna shook her head to show she was fine, if a little tired.
Yvonne thought about it for a moment, then realised that she had been in Luna's memory for too long and the mental strain was too much.
"Then let's call it a day!" Ivan suggested, disarming himself, and the world of memories collapsed around him.
When they came back to their senses, they were back in the empty corridor. The sky was dark and it seemed like a long time had passed!
[Ding! After hard practice, Legilimency has been upgraded to Level 4 (116/1600)!]
The prompt in his head made Ivan's lips curl up slightly. As he had imagined, the proficiency of practicing Legilimency with a wizard was much higher than usual.
In addition, his Occlumency level was very high, so there was almost no barrier for Legilimency to advance before level six.
"So, did it help?" Luna asked, noting Ivan's smile.
"Of course, you've been a great help!" Yvonne said gratefully, then asked Luna sheepishly if she could spare some time each week to continue practicing with her.
"I promise, it'll only take a little while. It won't take too long!" Ivan promised.
… .
Having made her promise to Luna, Ivan was content to return to his room.
Now that he had solved the problem of Legilimency, all he had to do was take some time to look at the Marauder's Map and find a few suspicious people.
As they entered the Gryffindor Lounge, Ivan saw Harry hurrying towards them before he could go upstairs.
"Ivan, where have you been this afternoon? I've been looking for you all day, but I didn't see you at dinner," Harry gasped.
"I was wandering around the castle, practicing my magic. What's the matter? What can I do for you?" Yvonne asked casually, curious as to why Harry wanted to see her so urgently.
Harry looked around like a thief. When no one was looking, he lowered his voice and continued.
"Hagrid told us to go to him in the middle of the night! And to make sure I had the Cloak of Invisibility with me…but you should know that it's lost…"
Hagrid? Yvonne raised her eyebrows, trying to remember, and it occurred to her that Hagrid was going to show them the dragon, and reveal the contents of the first exam in advance.
Of course, Ivan had no idea if there would be any changes to the project, so it would be nice to check it out.
As for the Cloak of Invisibility…
"It's okay, we'll just use the Disillusionment Charm!" Ivan said, patting Harry on the shoulder.
… .
At half-past midnight, Ivan and Harry slipped out of bed and, having cast the Disillusionment Charm on themselves, sneaked away through the common room, avoiding the few seniors who were still awake.
"It's so convenient. It's even better than the Cloak of Invisibility!"
As they stepped out of the Great Hall, Harry looked back at the portraits that had completely ignored him.
Unlike the more inconvenient Cloak of Invisibility, this charm requires only the wave of a wand.