In the beginning, Ivan had treated everyone fairly, never showing any favoritism toward or against Ronald. He taught and guided Ronald just like the others, without reservation.
But Ronald had been lazy and distracted, choosing to leave the group to do his own thing.
Ivan hadn't been angry at Ronald's decision.
After all, it was normal for children to be playful.
So when Harry brought it up, Ivan didn't hesitate to give Ronald a second chance. He figured that Ronald had finally come to his senses.
What more could Ivan ask for if Ronald was willing to recognize his mistakes?
Ivan always believed in tailoring his teaching to each student's needs.
For Hermione, who saw learning as fun, Ivan assigned her plenty of homework to keep her challenged.
Neville was diligent but struggled to grasp things quickly.
So Ivan never gave Neville extra tasks. Instead, he patiently explained the simplest concepts to him over and over again.
Harry, being more practical, didn't do well with theory alone.
For him, Ivan taught step by step, using hands-on practice and combat training to increase his proficiency in spells.
Each student's workload wasn't too heavy.
In addition to learning from Ivan, Harry still had plenty of time to hang out with the other Gryffindor students and participate in Quidditch team training.
Similarly, Ivan had a unique approach for students like Ronald.
"Do you know what Ivan's test will be?" Ronald asked, looking at Harry with hopeful anticipation.
If it had been Hermione, she would have flatly refused to answer and told Ronald it was cheating.
But Harry wasn't as rigid as Hermione.
"It's 'progress,'" Harry said, not elaborating much, but giving Ronald enough of a hint about the purpose of the test.
What is progress?
It's about understanding Ronald's ambition. What does he truly want?
Becoming stronger is fine, or learning more advanced magic.
Even if his goal is something as simple as wanting to beat up Malfoy, that's fine too.
"Do you really want that Weasley to come back?" Hermione asked after overhearing the conversation between Harry and Ivan.
"Do you care that much?"
"I hate him!" Hermione never hid her disdain for Ronald. Every time she saw him, the little witch felt an overwhelming sense of discomfort.
"Don't hold prejudices against anyone," Ivan advised but then added, "Admittedly, Ronald's actions make him worthy of being disliked by you."
"Pffft."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "You're even worse than me!"
"And what about the other person?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. If Ivan was bringing in someone new, he would always notify the original members. Hermione was eager to know.
"You know, that senior from Ravenclaw."
"Clearwater?"
Hermione was a bit surprised and hesitated. "But... she's already in fifth year."
A fifth-year senior—would she really accept guidance from a younger student?
"Won't she think we're childish?"
"If it were just you," Ivan replied with a teasing grin, "then yes."
"Hey!"
Hermione playfully swatted Ivan, dissatisfied. She was proud and competitive, and being compared to Penelope didn't sit well with her.
"Alright, alright, senior Clearwater won't look down on you," Ivan reassured her.
"You're still teasing me!" Hermione huffed.
"Hehe."
While joking around with Hermione, Ivan told her about his earlier conversation with Penelope, leaving out any personal details.
"I never thought about things like that," Hermione admitted, lowering her head in thought.
Sooner or later, she too would face the same concerns about employment and the future.
At that point, what should she do?
"Ivan, what do you think I could do in the future?"
"You..."
Ivan smiled and said, "I think you'd make a great Minister of Magic."
"What?"
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean, the Minister of Magic? In England?"
"Does England have a second Ministry of Magic?"
"Or are you aiming higher, Hermione? Planning to become the head of the world's Ministry of Magic? Let me think... it's called Supreme Mugwump meaning the President of the International Confederation of Wizards, right?"
"How can that be possible!" Hermione exclaimed. She could see that Ivan wasn't joking—at least, he was serious about the idea of her becoming Minister of Magic. "Do you really think I could..."
"Yes, I believe you can do it."
With the knowledge of how things unfolded in the original timeline, Ivan was certain of Hermione's abilities.
In fact, in the original timeline, Hermione did become Minister of Magic, though much of her path to that position was facilitated by her connection to Harry, the savior who defeated Voldemort twice.
Without such monumental achievements, it might have taken Hermione much longer to rise to that position.
"Remember the dream of our team?" Ivan asked.
"Yeah!"
Hermione knew Ivan was ambitious, but she didn't dislike him for it.
Unlike Voldemort, Ivan wasn't a madman who would kill over a disagreement.
He had once shared his perspective with Hermione.
As long as others played fair, Ivan would respect the rules of the game and not flip the table.
Ivan's goal was to become what he called the "White Lord."
What is the White Lord?
Dumbledore once had the chance to embody that ideal.
Unfortunately, the old headmaster had softened with age.
Ivan, as Dumbledore's disciple, had inherited the legacies of both Grindelwald and Dumbledore.
So, it only made sense for him to pick up the dreams the two had shared in their youth, didn't it?
"But all of that is still far off," Ivan said. "For now, the most important thing is for us to work on improving ourselves."
"Ancient wizards like our school founders believed that mastering magic requires four key elements."
"Sufficient resources, like-minded companions, vast magical knowledge, and an environment conducive to practice."
Ivan translated these concepts into simpler terms: "Wealth, companions, knowledge, and land. How many of those do you think we have now?"
"Hmm..."
Hermione thought for a moment. "In terms of magical knowledge, with you here and the endless books at Hogwarts, we're definitely not lacking in that."
"Like-minded partners."
Hermione thought that although their group was small, whether it was Neville, Parvati, Harry, or herself, they could all help Ivan in the future.
Especially Hermione herself—she believed that the "Minister of Magic" role Ivan had mentioned might just be part of his plan for her future.
'If I become the Minister of Magic, I should be able to help you, right?' she thought, silently encouraging herself.
She made a mental note to read more about the Ministry of Magic and the politics of the wizarding world—"to prepare in advance."
"Just two points?"
"Yeah," Hermione nodded. "Sufficient resources and an environment suitable for cultivation—I'm not sure how to evaluate those."
"As for the environment, what about the Room of Requirement?"
"Yes!" Hermione's eyes lit up as she smiled. "The Room of Requirement can provide us with any kind of space we need, and it's our secret base—no one will bother us there."
The Room of Requirement was more than suitable.
"As for resources…"
"What we're lacking now is resources, right?"
Hermione knew that Ivan had a strong interest in alchemy, but due to a lack of materials, he hadn't had many opportunities to pursue it.
Dumbledore was wealthy, but Ivan wouldn't trouble him for something like this.
He was mindful of boundaries.
Ivan already owed the old headmaster a great deal. Accepting further help might lead to inheriting not just Dumbledore's guidance, but his family legacy as well.
"This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today."
Ivan took Hermione's hand, led her into his dormitory, and stopped in front of a two-meter-high wardrobe against the wall.
____________
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