Ivan's words were like a bucket of cold water on his head, and Harry's excitement was quelled. He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and said resentfully, "I can't free myself from the dream yet."
Ivan nodded, not wanting to blame Harry, as he had only been practising with Snape for a day and Occlumency was not easy to master.
"So what exactly did you see in the dream?" Yvonne asked curiously.
Voldemort may have known that Harry was capable of reaching his mind through some special link to gain information, but the entanglement of their souls was beyond Voldemort's control, so it is possible that the information obtained through this method was false, although there is also a chance that it was true.
"It's Snape! Snape's been passing information about us to Voldemort — through the ancient clock on his desk in his office!" Harry exclaimed, visibly excited, as if he had caught Voldemort red-handed.
Ivan, however, looked at him strangely.
'Do you need to tell me that?'
"Harry, Professor Snape is an undercover spy sent by Headmaster Dumbledore to work for the Order of the Phoenix, and sometimes it is only natural to sell information that is not relevant in order to gain the Dark Lord's trust," Ivan said earnestly, silently defending Snape.
Snape's job as a double agent was extremely difficult, as he had to deal with the members of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's constant questioning, as well as the Dark Lord himself.
This was, of course, partly due to Snape's usual dour demeanor, his bad relationship with Sirius, Lupin, and his penchant for hysteric speech, and the fact that he was the only member of the Order of the Phoenix who believed him.
"But… with Professor Dumbledore gone, there's no guarantee Snape won't side with Lord Voldemort," Harry said urgently.
Snape's snide remarks and forceful seizure of the wand the night before had left Harry with a very bad impression of him, not to mention the fact that Snape had been trying to dig Dumbledore's belongings out of Harry's head, leading Harry to suspect that Snape had thrown his lot in with Voldemort.
Ivan looked at Harry and shook his head helplessly. He was willing to trust Snape not only because he had gained Dumbledore's trust, but also because joining Voldemort's cause in its current form would mean certain death, and he was reassured by Snape's special feelings for Harry.
However, neither of these points could be said to Harry, as revealing the former might cause an unnecessary misunderstanding, and revealing the latter might cause Snape to fly into a rage and hold a grudge.
After all, Dumbledore did not dare to reveal Snape's little secret in the original timeline.
Also, Snape's hatred of Harry was genuine, and his willingness to risk his life to keep Harry safe was partly due to his love for Lily and partly due to guilt, a mixture of emotions that Harry, with his lack of experience, would not understand.
Given this, Ivan could only patiently reassure Harry that Snape was doing his job as an undercover agent.
"If anything happens, feel free to call out to me with your magical mark!" Ivan instructed, pointing to the dragon mark on the back of Harry's hand.
Though he trusted Snape, he was not completely defenceless, and he had a feeling that Snape was up to something, most likely a trick laid by Dumbledore before the war.
In any case, Harry was always the key.
… .
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, and the O.W.L. exam was approaching. The castle was filled with pre-exam tension, and even George and Fred, who liked to stir up trouble, stopped to concentrate on their upcoming graduation exams.
They had to pass at least eight N.E.W.T.s if they wanted to continue their business as joke toys.
Ivan was also a little more attentive in the days leading up to the exams, taking time out of his schedule every day to revise.
Exams were sometimes not foolproof just because one's magic level was high enough. Some complicated theoretical knowledge also needed to be mastered. It was not good to rely on cheating or using connections to pass, right?
While studying for her exams, Ivan did not forget Grindelwald.
Winky reported to him regularly every few days, but Grindelwald was very well-behaved and did not do anything other than read the newspaper.
Grindelwald had been in prison for over fifty years, and given the lax conditions in which Newmengard was imprisoned, he would have run if he wanted to.
The only reason Ivan maintained regular surveillance was because he was worried Grindelwald would die prematurely in prison, and since they were all acquaintances, Ivan felt obliged to collect Dumbledore's body.
In contrast to Ivan's laid-back manner, Harry's recent life could only be described as terrible, as he had to go to Snape's office every day with great reluctance, in addition to having to go through the tedious task of revision.
Perhaps due to his recent state of mind, Harry was able to sense that the connection between him and Voldemort seemed to be growing stronger, most notably his frequent entry into Voldemort's mind, allowing him to gain a better understanding of what Voldemort was going through.
Two weeks of Occlumency practice had paid off, and Harry was able to just about resist the intrusion, but what he saw from Voldemort's point of view made him reluctant to sever the delicate connection.
During one of his most recent dreams, Harry saw Sneak reporting to Lord Voldemort with a terrified expression on his face, promising to retrieve the relic that Professor Dumbledore had left in his mind as soon as possible.
He also learned a lot of important information, and was able to determine why Snape had confiscated his wand, as Voldemort was desperate to learn why the two wands had connected in the graveyard that night.
In other words, Snape was planning to give his wand to Voldemort!
This was intolerable to Harry, but to his dismay, Ivan, who was able to help him, had always had an inexplicable confidence in Snape, and Ron and Hermione were willing to take his word for it, but alas, they were of little help…