Chapter 19: Exploring the Forbidden Section

As Ivan spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke again. 

"Oh, and Malfoy, you still owe Hermione a thank you. Don't forget about it!" 

"Hah! Hals! That was a despicable sneak attack on me!" Malfoy drew his wand and pointed it at Ivan, his pale face turning bright red. 

"I, Malfoy, would rather fall from the sky and die, or be thrown into Azkaban, than thank a mudblood!" 

Crabbe and Goyle, his two followers, also drew their wands, but the response from the surrounding Gryffindors was a mix of astonishment, making the trio realize that they were at the Gryffindor table. If they started a fight here, they'd only end up getting beaten.

Upon hearing the word "mudblood," Ivan furrowed his brow, and Ron jumped up, shouting.

"Malfoy! We accept your challenge! Tonight, I'll make sure to teach you a lesson!" 

"Fine, I'll be waiting," Malfoy raised an eyebrow and left with a sneer.

"What's a duel? Do two people just stab each other with swords?" Once Malfoy left, a confused Harry quickly asked.

"Of course not! We're not stupid like those Muggles!" Ron said proudly, explaining the rules he knew.

"First, both sides stand facing each other, then bow to each other in respect. After that, both raise their wands and perform magic in an honorable duel. If one side dies, the assistant must take over, and the duel continues until one side is completely defeated!"

Ron got more excited as he spoke. Compared to the boring books they studied in class every day, a duel sounded much more interesting, and he'd been itching for a chance to take on Malfoy.

"Die?" Harry swallowed nervously.

"Ron's exaggerating. That's for formal wizard duels. We'll just use disarming charms, leg-locking curses, and spells like that. Sometimes, fists work better than magic," Ivan shook his head and explained to Harry.

"Ivan, are you going tonight?" Ron asked eagerly.

"No, I already told you. I have other things to do tonight, I don't have time to deal with Malfoy," Ivan shook his head.

In Ivan's opinion, this silly business of waving wands and shooting spells at each other was just plain foolish. It didn't fit his idea of how a wizard should behave. It would be more interesting to watch a fencing match, at least that had some elegance to it.

Since Ron and Harry couldn't sit still, Ivan kindly reminded them.

"Whether Malfoy shows up tonight or not is still up in the air. He might just be trying to trick us into going over, then have Filch come and catch us all."

"That's impossible, right?"

Ron and Harry exchanged glances, thinking that Malfoy wouldn't be that shameless. After all, this was an honorable wizard duel!

Seeing the expressions on Harry and Ron's faces, Ivan knew he couldn't talk them out of it. He sighed and stopped trying to dissuade them, instead flipping through a book on "Quick Flight Techniques" on the table.

According to his memory, Harry and the others' actions tonight should be mostly uneventful, and they might even learn more about the Philosopher's Stone.

Even if something unexpected happened, Dumbledore would handle it. The headmaster wouldn't let his chosen savior be harmed.

"Ron, are we really going to duel Malfoy tonight? What if, like Ivan said, Malfoy doesn't show up?" Harry asked anxiously as they made their way back to the dorm after dinner.

"Of course we're going! It's a duel! Malfoy can't possibly back out. If he shows up and we're not there, we'll be so embarrassed!" Ron eagerly cheered Harry on, since he had already promised.

"But without Ivan, there's just the two of us. How can we beat Malfoy and his two followers?" Harry said.

"We can ask Neville to join us, then it'll be three of us!" Ron thought for a moment and nodded, realizing it made sense. Malfoy's followers were a bit dim-witted, but they were much bigger than them, and they'd be at a disadvantage in a fight.

"Neville?" Harry opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after a long pause, he swallowed his words.

Why did he suddenly feel more worried?

Maybe it was better if it was just the two of them.

At midnight, in Gryffindor's common room, Ivan set down his "Quick Flight Techniques" book.

To avoid the awkwardness from the flying lesson earlier, Ivan had borrowed some flying books after class. A few hours of reading, combined with a flying lesson, had brought his flying skills to almost a second-year level.

By this time, the dormitory was already empty. Harry, Ron, and Neville had sneaked out a few minutes ago.

Ivan could only wish them luck. The three-headed dog had a terrible temper.

Seeing that it was almost time, Ivan crawled out of the cylindrical passage. He looked back, and the entrance had already closed by itself.

The Fat Lady, who usually guarded the entrance, seemed to be gone. Perhaps she had gone visiting.

The midnight Hogwarts felt eerily quiet, more so than usual. The hallways were dark, with only dim candlelight every ten meters or so, barely allowing Ivan to make out the road ahead.

Fortunately, ghosts in this wizarding world weren't scary. Ivan had even chatted with some of them, so he wasn't nervous at all. He was just internally complaining about the system's method of giving out rewards.

This was hardcore! The reward was to go pick it up from the Forbidden Section himself?

This was not a proper system!

Ivan walked straight down the long corridor toward the Forbidden Section and encountered the annoying rotating staircase along the way.

At night, these stairs seemed even more mischievous than during the day. Their movements were completely unpredictable. Sometimes, just when Ivan was about to reach them, they'd suddenly turn to the other side. It was as if they were intentionally trying to make it difficult for little wizards like Ivan, who liked to sneak around at night.

Luckily, Ivan wasn't unprepared. Using the Levitation Charm, he could briefly float and glide to where he wanted to go. With the Petrification Charm, he could freeze the stairs and stop them from moving.

With a few simple spells, Ivan made his way smoothly.

The walls around the rotating stairs were adorned with numerous portraits. Several elderly scholars with white beards watched Ivan leap around with great interest, while a few other portraits cheerfully greeted him.

After descending the stairs, Ivan politely responded to them one by one, then turned off from the Great Hall and headed toward the library.

"Alohomora!" Ivan used the unlocking charm to open the library door, making sure to lock it behind him for safety. Then he waved his wand, casting the Lumos spell.

"lumos!" 

A bright white light flashed from the tip of his wand. After a moment, the light stabilized, though it was dimmer than before. But for Ivan, it was more than enough.