"Old Bee is quite clever. He made a deal with me early on."
Yes, a deal.
Dumbledore will do his best to train Ivan and keep him safe, while Ivan will quietly observe this situation.
It only took four or five years, and Ivan felt he hadn't lost anything.
"Hey, Neville, what are you looking for?"
As Ivan thought this, he walked into the dormitory and found Neville searching through boxes and cabinets.
"Ivan?"
The shy boy looked up and instantly got teary-eyed. "My Leif is gone again."
"…"
Ivan shook his head, feeling helpless. He thought he might need to use a marking spell on Leif.
He comforted Neville, telling him that Leif would remember the way home and come back on his own.
To Ivan's surprise, Neville actually believed him and seemed to calm down.
'No, maybe he just forgot about Leif again.'
Ivan silently felt sorry for Leif and asked, "Neville, are you ready for herbology class this afternoon?"
"There's class this afternoon?"
"…"
Ivan was completely at a loss for words. He really didn't know how to respond to Neville.
Neville had been cursed with forgetfulness as a child, so his memory wasn't great. He was very slow and could easily forget things.
But Ivan didn't mind Neville.
When he looked at Neville, he felt like he was dealing with a younger brother who needed guidance. He felt responsible for taking care of his silly roommate.
"To avoid any issues, I'll help you carry the books for herbology class."
Ivan found two herbology books, cast a "Quickly Shrink" spell on them, and stuffed the two now small books into his pockets. "You should eat first. Harry and Ron are going too. Remember to go to the herbology classroom with them."
If he didn't remind him, Ivan felt that Neville would probably forget about class after lunch.
"I-I just have a bad memory," Neville said shyly. "But I know I have to go to class."
"Should…"
At the end, Neville added those two words uncertainly.
Maybe even he doubted what he said, knowing how often he forgets.
"Alas…"
Ivan sighed and decided to give up on the idea of resting in the dormitory.
"Forget it, I'll take you to the cafeteria."
Ivan thought, "This is a good chance for me to explore Hogwarts castle."
As they walked through the hallways of Hogwarts, Ivan watched the ghosts floating by. They greeted the young wizards passing through, and among them, the Weasley brothers looked particularly happy.
He had to admit that the Weasley twins were like the jokers of Hogwarts, always bringing laughter to those around them.
"Hi, Ivan."
George saw Ivan wandering alone and playfully grabbed him by the neck. "Where's your girlfriend? Why aren't you with her?"
"Hey, George."
Ivan knew George meant no harm, but he still reminded him to be careful about saying that in front of Hermione.
"I know, and I'm Fred."
"That's right."
Fred, standing on the other side, chimed in, "I'm George."
"Hehe."
Ivan smiled playfully but didn't respond directly. He just stared silently at the twins, which made them a little nervous.
"Okay, I admit it, I'm George," George said, raising his hands in surrender. "How did you figure us out?"
It wasn't the first time the twins had played tricks to confuse their friends, but it was the first time they had been discovered so easily.
"Because your magic feels different."
Ivan answered simply and walked toward the yard outside the dining hall, leaving the twins looking puzzled.
Afterward, Ivan explored the entire first floor, including the lobby, the bridge, and the towers of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. When he felt it was almost time for class, he made his way to the greenhouse at the edge of the school.
Professor Sprout had been waiting there for a while, and Ivan spotted Hermione and Neville arriving with Ron and Harry.
"Neville, here's your book."
Ivan removed the spell from the book, returning it to its original size, and handed it to Neville.
"Thank you, thank you."
The shy boy hugged the herbology textbook, while Hermione hurried over to Ivan to share the new knowledge she had gained from the library that afternoon. "By the way, have you memorized the herb course content?"
"…"
Ivan didn't know how to respond to Hermione, so he chose to ignore her.
"Are you all here, kids?"
Gryffindor's herbology class was combined with Hufflepuff. Professor Sprout was a plump, middle-aged witch.
She was very kind, and Ivan thought of her more as a friendly country aunt than a strict magic teacher.
In herbology class, Professor Sprout took out many interesting plants and explained to the students their uses and why learning about them was important.
For most students, the herbology class was mostly about knowing plants, taking care of them, and using them.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students got along well. Throughout the class, everyone behaved nicely and followed Professor Sprout as she showed them the unique flowers and plants she had lovingly cultivated in the greenhouse.
"This?"
Suddenly, Ivan noticed a plant he recognized.
It looked a bit like cauliflower, with green leaves wrapped around a red mouth that had pitted teeth, making it look quite strange.
"Ivan?"
Hermione noticed Ivan staring. "This, this is biting cabbage, right?"
Biting cabbage was an important weapon in a Hogwarts game that Ivan had played before he came to this world. It had created a new saying: "Don't learn black magic; join Hufflepuff Herbology."
"This thing is very strong."
Ivan joked with Hermione, but unfortunately, she didn't understand his humor. Instead, she began to observe the biting cabbage very closely.
'Uh, I was just kidding.'
Since entering the greenhouse, Ivan had been using both his magical sight and spiritual vision. When he said the biting cabbage was powerful, he was just joking.
His spiritual vision could sense the condition and even the emotions of these plants.
His magical sight was even more incredible; it let him see the essence of things.
So, in Ivan's view, the biting cabbage had almost no secrets. He could see that it was filled with different kinds of magic.
Unfortunately, Ivan's current magical skills were too limited, and he couldn't understand what the magical traces meant.
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