Chapter 27: I Was Such a Fool!

"Yes, Professor, theoretically, we should be in the dormitory right now." Harry gulped nervously under Professor McGonagall's intense gaze.

"But, in practice, things often turn out differently."

Professor McGonagall's face immediately darkened, and sensing the situation was worsening, Harry quickly added, "What I mean is, Ron and I heard about the troll at the banquet, and we remembered that Ivan and Hermione were still here. We were worried, so we rushed over."

Ron gritted his teeth, preparing to confess that it was his behind-the-back remarks that had upset Hermione, causing her to cry and hide in the girls' restroom.

"That's right, they came to find me!"

However, Hermione suddenly interrupted, and then turned to Professor McGonagall, "Professor, I came here looking for the troll, thinking I could handle it. You know, I read about how to deal with such creatures in books."

"I didn't expect the troll to be stronger than I imagined. If Ivan hadn't arrived in time, I could have been a goner."

"As for Harry and Ron, they were just worried about us, which is why they came secretly."

It was Hermione's first lie, and she was still a bit awkward about it, her face flushed red. But soon enough, she became more fluent and successfully covered up the situation.

"How could you think like that, silly girl? You're only in your first year, there's no way you could handle a troll." Professor McGonagall scolded.

"Ahem," Ivan cleared his throat twice, reminding Professor McGonagall that there was actually a first-year student here who had successfully defeated a troll alone.

Ivan's bluntness made Professor McGonagall slightly uncomfortable, but luckily, just as the awkward moment lingered, Dumbledore arrived, summoned by Filch, and the tension eased.

The moment Dumbledore appeared, his gaze fixed on the scattered iron spikes and the troll's corpse, especially lingering on the conical spike that had pierced the troll's head.

"An excellent Transfiguration spell," Dumbledore said, his admiration clear. "Among all the young witches and wizards I've seen, I doubt anyone has used it better than you. If this were in class, I'm sure Professor McGonagall would award Gryffindor some points for it."

"Albus, what we should be discussing now is why these children went looking for the troll on their own," McGonagall said, nodding. While she was impressed by Ivan's skill, this was clearly not the time to discuss it.

"Well then, let's proceed," Dumbledore mused for a moment before turning to address everyone. "Miss Granger, due to your recklessness, Gryffindor will lose ten points. Potter and Weasley may have broken the rules, but their friendship is commendable, so no further punishment will be given."

Harry and Ron both sighed in relief, while Hermione bit her lip; losing points was still hard for her to accept.

"As for Halls..." Dumbledore paused, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat, but Dumbledore then switched to a lighter tone.

"Because of your actions, I'll be awarding Gryffindor twenty points!"

Hermione's heart finally relaxed, and she looked at Ivan with joy, which somewhat softened the blow of losing points.

Ivan smirked because, at the same time Dumbledore awarded him points, the system also gave him twenty achievement points, which made up for several days' worth of hard work answering questions.

"Isn't this a bit too lenient?" Professor McGonagall frowned, concerned that Dumbledore's actions might encourage the students to take even more risks.

"Not every young wizard can defeat a troll so soon after entering school," Dumbledore shook his head in disagreement.

"By the way, Professor, I don't have to pay for the troll, right?" Ivan casually asked, in a good mood.

"Of course not, but..." Dumbledore smiled at Ivan. "Would you mind coming to my office later? I'm quite interested in how you managed to defeat the troll. Once I'm done here, we can have a proper chat."

Ivan's smile immediately froze. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. Could he refuse?

Ivan felt a surge of frustration. He should've kept his mouth shut!

"I was such a fool, I should've read 'Mind Shielding' a few times when I went to the Restricted Section!" Ivan lamented silently to himself on the way to Dumbledore's office, stuck in an endless loop of regret for not learning Mind Shielding in advance.

Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault.

In order to complete challenges smoothly and gain achievement points, he had put almost all of them into Potions and a few key spells, leaving no extra points for Mind Shielding.

As for learning Mind Shielding without a guide? Ivan figured he might as well forget it. He clearly remembered the talented Harry, who, despite having Snape—a master of Mind Shielding—helping him, still couldn't learn it. Ivan doubted he could manage on his own.

However, this also reminded Ivan of a key aspect of the "Legilimency" spell in the original book: the caster could only access the memories that the target was currently recalling.

To delve deeper, the caster would need a more powerful form of Legilimency to force the target to actively recall more.

That's why, in the original book, when Snape read Harry's memories, Harry ended up replaying them in his mind.

With this in mind, Ivan felt slightly more at ease. As long as he focused on irrelevant thoughts during the conversation, Dumbledore wouldn't forcefully search through his memories, right?

Feeling uneasy, Ivan finally arrived at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Guarding it was a hideous, giant stone creature. After Ivan spoke the password Dumbledore had given him, the stone creature slowly rotated with a loud rumble, revealing a hidden staircase.

Ivan climbed the stairs, entering a spacious circular room. The walls, aged and full of history, were covered with portraits of past Hogwarts headmasters, each labeled with their name and the years they had led the school.

What caught Ivan's interest most was the Pensieve on a side table and Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes.

The Pensieve was something Ivan had always wanted. Once he mastered Legilimency, he could use the Pensieve to help organize his own memories.

As for phoenix blood, it was a crucial ingredient in powerful blood-bonding potions, the very best kind.

If only he had the tools and Dumbledore wasn't about to return at any moment... Ivan briefly wondered if he should seize the chance to draw some blood from Fawkes.

If only he could beat the phoenix in a fight!