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(づ ￣ ³￣)づ
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"Haah~ This old Bee is really cunning. He made a deal with me early on."
Yes, a deal.
Dumbledore would do his best to train Ivan and ensure his safety, while Ivan would quietly watch the events unfold without interfering.
All in all, it would only take four or five years, and Ivan felt he wasn't losing out on anything.
"Hey, Neville, what are you looking for?"
With that thought in mind, Ivan walked into the dormitory, only to find Neville rummaging through his belongings, searching for something.
"I-Ivan?"
The shy boy looked up when he saw Ivan, and his eyes immediately filled with tears. "My Trevor... he's gone again."
"..."
Ivan shook his head helplessly, thinking he might need to cast a tracking spell on Trevor.
He comforted Neville, assuring him that Trevor knew his way around and would find his way back home.
To Ivan's surprise, Neville believed him and actually calmed down after 5 minutes.
'No, he probably just forgot about Trevor already,' Ivan thought to himself.
"By the way, Neville, are you ready for the Herbology class this afternoon?"
"There's class this afternoon?"
"..."
Ivan was at a loss for words. He honestly didn't know what to say to Neville.
Because Neville was cursed with a forgetfulness kind of curse as a child, his brain doesn't function very well. He's slow and forgets things in an astonishing way.
But Ivan didn't dislike Neville.
Looking at him, Ivan felt as if he were dealing with a young, clumsy little brother. He felt responsible for taking care of his silly roommate.
"To prevent any accidents, I'll hold onto the Herbology books for you."
Ivan found two books for Herbology, cast a Shrinking Charm on them, and stuffed the now mahjong-sized books into his pockets. "You go have lunch first. Harry and Ron are heading there too. Make sure to go to the Herbology classroom with them afterward."
If he didn't say this, Ivan had a feeling that Neville would probably forget all about Herbology after eating.
"I… I just have a bad memory," Neville said sheepishly. "But I remember that I need to go to class."
"Should..."
He added the last word even less confidently.
Even Neville seemed to doubt himself, as he always forgot such things.
"Sigh…"
Ivan couldn't say anything more. He sighed and gave up the idea of resting in the dormitory.
"Forget it, I'll take you to the Great Hall."
Ivan said, "It's a good chance for me to explore Hogwarts Castle anyway."
As they walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, Ivan noticed the ghosts floating by, greeting the young wizards coming and going. The Weasley twins, in particular, seemed to be having the most fun.
You have to admit, the Weasley twins truly are the jokers of Hogwarts, constantly bringing laughter to those around them.
"Hi, Ivan."
George spotted Ivan wandering alone and casually threw an arm around his neck in a familiar manner. "Where's your girlfriend? Why aren't you with her?"
"Hey, George."
Ivan knew he meant no harm, but he still warned him, "Just don't say that in front of Hermione."
"I know, and I'm Fred."
"Right."
Fred, who was on the other side, added, "And I'm George."
"Heh~ I doubt that."
Ivan grinned mischievously, not correcting them, but instead just staring silently at the twins, making them both a little uneasy.
"Okay, I admit it, I'm George."
George raised his hands in surrender, asking, "How did you figure us out?"
This wasn't the first time they'd played tricks to confuse people about who was who, but it was the first time someone saw through it so easily.
"Because the magic signature within you is different," Ivan replied simply, then continued walking toward the courtyard outside the Great Hall, leaving the twins looking puzzled behind him.
...
Afterward, Ivan explored the entire first floor, including the entrance hall, the viaduct, and the towers of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
Once he felt that enough time had passed, he leisurely made his way to the greenhouses at the edge of the school.
Professor Sprout had been waiting for a while, and Ivan spotted Hermione and Neville arriving with Ron and Harry.
"Neville, here's your book."
Ivan undid the shrinking spell on the book, restoring it to its original size, and handed it back to Neville.
"Thank you, thank you."
The shy boy clutched the Herbology textbook to his chest.
Meanwhile, Hermione quickly approached Ivan, excitedly sharing the new knowledge she had gathered from the library that afternoon. "By the way, have you memorized the contents of the Herbology course?"
"..."
Ivan didn't know how to respond to Hermione's question, so he chose to ignore it.
"Are all the students here?"
Gryffindor's Herbology class was combined with Hufflepuff's. Professor Sprout, a plump, middle-aged witch, stood before them.
She was a kind and gentle woman, and Ivan felt she had more of the aura of a friendly country aunt than that of a magical professor.
In this Herbology class, Professor Sprout introduced various fascinating herbs and explained their uses, along with the importance of learning this subject.
Of course, for most students, the main takeaway from Herbology could be boiled down to three things: identifying herbs, taking care of herbs, and using herbs.
The students from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had a good relationship, and throughout the class, everyone behaved well, following Professor Sprout's instructions as they admired the rare and exotic plants she had cultivated in the greenhouse.
"Wait, this one?"
Suddenly, Ivan noticed a familiar plant.
It resembled a cauliflower, with green leaves wrapped around a red, toothy mouth. The sight of it was both strange and unsettling.
"Ivan?"
Hermione noticed Ivan's gaze and asked, "Isn't that... biting cabbage?"
Biting cabbage—an important weapon in a Hogwarts game Ivan had played before his time in this world. It had once sparked the slogan, "Don't study dark magic, join Hufflepuff Herbology."
"Haah~ Those days~ This thing is pretty strong," Ivan joked to Hermione. Unfortunately, the little witch didn't get the humor at all and instead started carefully observing the biting cabbage.
"What?"
'Uh, I was just kidding...'
Ivan had been using both his psychic vision and magic eye since entering the greenhouse. While he had joked about the biting cabbage being powerful, it was, in truth, just a lighthearted comment.
With his psychic vision, Ivan could sense the state and even the emotions of the plants and magical flora around him.
His magic eye was even more impressive, allowing him to observe things down to their very essence.
As a result, in Ivan's perception, the biting cabbage had almost no secrets. He could see that it was imbued with various magical enhancements.
Unfortunately, Ivan's current understanding of magic was still shallow, and he couldn't fully grasp the significance of those magical traces.