The next morning, Ivan washed up and went straight to the drawing room as usual, only to find Hermione and her family sitting at the table.
Winky and Dobby were placing bowls of sausages, toast, and grilled tomatoes on the table, but the plates in front of them were empty, and knives and forks were neatly placed to the side, presumably waiting for them.
"How are you getting on?" Ivan asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Of course, thanks to you, this is the first time I've ever lived in a house this size…" Will Granger teased.
Beside her, Madam Granger nodded in agreement. Although she had only stayed for one night, the mansion's opulence was beyond her imagination. When she passed by downstairs, she even saw a freestanding swimming pool…
"Well, you can talk later, but let's eat first…" Hermione urged, picking up her knife and fork.
"You might as well make yourselves at home. You don't have to wait for me…" Ivan smiled and started eating his sandwich.
Will Granger did not act immediately. Instead, he observed Ivan for a while to make sure that there were no so-called aristocratic rules at the table.
As they ate, Will Granger acted like a curious baby, asking why the statues had moved last night and how the house-elves had popped up in front of him…
Ivan patiently answered the questions one by one, but they were all general knowledge, and in the end, Ivan could only answer perfunctorily because of the magic.
Embarrassed at Will Granger's apparent ignorance, Hermione took over the conversation, answering many of her father's questions for Ivan.
After breakfast, Winky and Dobby showed up at the right time to clean up the mess.
When Mrs Granger saw this, she stood up and tried to help clean up as she usually did at home. However, as soon as she picked up a fork, the two house-elves beside her screamed loudly, and the dishes in Winky's hands fell to the ground and shattered into pieces…
Taken aback by the actions of the two house-elves, Mrs Granger seemed at a loss as to what to do.
"That's enough!" Ivan snapped, stopping Winky and Dobby from howling, then waved his wand to restore the broken plate with a Regeneration Charm before turning to look at a bewildered Mrs Granger and explaining, "House-elves tend to regard housework as their most important task, and it's very shameful to allow anyone else to interfere…"
"That's how wizards make house-elves into slaves…" Hermione said with a sniff of displeasure.
Yvonne pretended not to hear, secretly urging Winky and Dobby to get out of there before the witch mentioned the Home-elf Liberation Front again…
Both Will and his wife were surprised by the house-elf's morbid servility, but didn't comment on it. After all, it was Ivan's family business, and they didn't know much about wizarding law.
"Is there anything we can do to help, Harls?" Will Granger asked after a pause.
He was afraid that they would have to live in the manor for the next few months, and he would feel uneasy if he did not do something about it.
"No, that won't be necessary. I'm the one who got you into this mess, and I'll take it as an apology for letting you stay here for the past few days." Ivan shook his head. Dobby and Winky would take care of everything on the estate, and he was going to do more than two Muggles could help.
Mr and Mrs Granger must have figured this out, as they accepted their status as RiceBugs with frustration and resignation.
Hermione volunteered to serve as Ivan's assistant during this time.
Considering that this would give the trio more peace of mind, Ivan readily agreed and took the young witch to the Alchemy Lab on the fourth floor.
Despite the fact that the manor had not yet been completely transformed due to the limitations of time, the Alchemy Rooms and Training Grounds were the exception, as they were built first.
These days, Ivan took the time to move all the books in Knockturn Alley.
"Are you going to study wands, Ivan?" Hermione asked as she entered the room and looked at the book on the table.
"Something like that. I'm going to make a new wand!" Ivan replied smoothly.
"What about your old one? Is it broken?" Hermione asked in amazement.
Ivan shook his head, extracted the unicorn wand from the sleeve of his wizarding robe, and explained.
"It's not damaged, it's just weak… Grindelwald had the most powerful wand in the wizarding world, and if I wanted to fight him, I'd have to use a different wand!"
Ivan stroked the wand that had been with him for five years, somewhat wistfully.
In his first year, he had always wanted to change to a more suitable wand due to compatibility issues. However, he accidentally fused with the unicorn's bloodline and successfully resolved the compatibility problem. Thus, he kept the wand and even underwent a special enhancement.
However, due to the limitations of the materials used, the wand had been strengthened to the limit, and some of the more powerful spells it released burned and shook slightly, a clear sign that it would not be able to withstand the immense amount of magic.
It was just that the process of making a wand was much more complicated than Ivan had imagined. There were hundreds and thousands of combinations of wand core and wood, and one had to consider the compatibility of the material and the owner.
On this basis, it was impossible to create a wand comparable to a Deathly Hallows!
The Elder Wand may have been made from the tail feathers of an Elder Wand and a Thestrals, but Ivan was one hundred percent certain that even if he used them to make a new wand, he would never be able to match the Elder Wand.
Many wandmakers have tried this, and the final product is nothing special, except that it increases the power of the Dark Arts.
Fortunately, Fleur's wand at the Triwizard Cup last year had given Ivan the idea that a Veela hair could be used as a core.
Although he was not a pure magical creature, the power contained in his blood and bones was much stronger than the so-called Dragon Heartstrings and Phoenix Tail Feathers…