510 Ivan: As Long As You Have Enough Trump Cards, No One Can Defeat Me!

"Sirius, you didn't lose again, did you?" Lupin asked, looking at Sirius, who was in a mess, and Ivan, who was clean and calm.

'Yes! As you can see, I've lost again!' Sirius shrugged helplessly. 'By the way, Ivan, how did you determine where I was before?'

"It's just a bit of probing magic!" Ivan explained.

In fact, he used his Bloodline Magic to transform into a bat, using ultrasonic tracking to determine Sirius's movements.

However, Ivan was not prepared to reveal his Bloodline Magic, and thus he was able to gain a lot from the battle. As he absorbed Sirius's fighting skills, Ivan realised the importance of hiding his trump cards!

His own Snake's Eye and Ring of Magic had only been used a few times in front of Sirius before Sirius found a way to target and restrict them.

He was only able to defeat Sirius so easily because of his ability to transfigure himself into a Boggart, a Bloodline Magic that Sirius did not know about.

Unaware of Ivan's ability to change into a bat and use ultrasounds to locate him, Sirius made the wrong decision of obscuring his vision with thick fog…

This taught Ivan that as long as he had enough trump cards, no one could defeat him!

Sirius, on the other hand, saw that Ivan was reluctant to talk about it, so he kept his promise and agreed to let Ivan take part in the recovery of Regulus's body.

"What about me?" Harry asked anxiously.

"You'll have to stay at home until you hear from us!" Sirius said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

"You can all go together, but I have to stay here until you get back?!" Harry protested.

"Harry! This operation is too dangerous, and you students are not supposed to be part of it," Lupin said, trying to calm him down.

"Ivan proved himself by defeating Sirius, so he won't hold us back. Are you going to try?"

Lupin was merely trying to put Harry off his game, but Harry nodded solemnly.

Sirius's face darkened. He had lost to Ivan, yes, but that didn't mean he was weak. He was going to show Harry who's boss!

Harry thought hard about the duelling techniques he had learnt in his second year at the duelling club, and even agreed on tactics.

He had heard from Professor Flitwick in Charms that even the most powerful of wizards would lose their wands if they were hit by the Disarming Charm… and it was not entirely impossible for him to win!

However, it turned out that no amount of thought could bridge the gap in strength and combat experience, and after only a few exchanges, Harry's wand was confiscated by Sirius.

Harry was so frustrated that he gave up on the idea of going with them.

Ivan shook his head at Harry's easy defeat. If Harry had spent more time studying, he would not have been defeated so quickly.

After all, Harry's foundation was good, he was gifted in protective magic, and his reflexes, honed from years of playing Quidditch, were useful in combat.

After two battles, one victory and one defeat, Sirius was much more sober.

At the very least, he did not rush into the cave to fish Regulus out like he did before. Instead, he discussed specific countermeasures with Ivan, Lupin, and the others, and also asked Kreacher to buy some potion ingredients.

It wasn't until the evening that they were ready to leave with the potions they had just brewed.

Lupin suddenly remembered something and asked the group worriedly, "There are three of us, four with Regulus. Can Kreacher get us out of that cave if something happens?"

Sirius immediately realised this and looked to Kreacher for an answer.

The elderly house-elf hesitated for a moment. Although it was able to escape from the dangerous cave twice in a row, it had clearly felt a huge barrier when performing its teleportation spell, and the amount of magic it consumed was much greater than usual.

Therefore, in order to ensure absolute safety, one could only bring one person at a time and move everyone away four times.

Kreacher did not hold anything back and told the truth.

After listening to Kreacher's account of the operation, Sirius and Lupin were somewhat concerned that the risks would be increased.

"Why don't we just call in another house-elf?" Yvonne suggested after a moment's thought.

"Dobby!"

As soon as Ivan finished speaking, an ugly, beady-eyed house-elf appeared in the clearing in front of them.

"Dobby at your service. What can I do for you, sir?" the house-elf said loudly, looking around curiously and greeting Harry cheerfully.

Harry responded with an awkward nod, remembering how Dobby had not impressed him the last few times they met and how Dobby had screwed him over in his second year.

"It's like this, Dobby. I want you to come with us to a place and help Kreacher get us all out of there if he needs you…" Ivan gave him a brief summary of what had happened.

Dobby agreed without hesitation. He and Ivan were technically in the same job, but in reality they were no different than slaves. The only difference was that they were paid a pittance a month…

"By the way, Ivan, is Dobby your house-elf?" Sirius asked, looking surprised.

He had forgotten about it last summer because he was too busy thinking about Peter, and now he found it strange.

Generally, only the most illustrious of the pure-blood wizarding families could have a house-elf, and the House of Hales was not one of them.

"No, I hired Dobby. He used to belong to the Malfoys, but he's free now!" Ivan explained, shaking his head.

"Yes, gentlemen, Dobby is now a free elf! The good Mr. Harls has hired Dobby and is willing to pay one Sickle a week!"

Dobby spoke proudly and then turned to Ivan, looking very touched and almost in tears.

"And sir… sir made a point of giving Dobby a day off last year. My God! Mr. Harles is a great man!"

Sirius, Lupin, and Harry all looked at Ivan strangely, causing him to be so embarrassed that he wanted to gag Dobby.

Dobby's words made Ivan feel as if he were skinning him alive, and Dobby, his slave-handler, was grateful to him.

Before Ivan could explain himself, however, there was an angry shriek.

"You are a disgrace!"

Kreacher, an elderly house-elf, trembled and glared at Dobby as if he were an enemy.

"Filthy, base traitor! You should be ashamed! A proper house-elf does not need wages or leave! And no house-elf will turn their back on their master," Kreacher said, his words sharp and very hoarse and unpleasant.

"Dobby doesn't think so. He's a free house-elf, and he needs pay and leave!" Dobby said, not at all put off by Kreacher's words.

It had heard such words hundreds of times at Hogwarts and they did not sway it.

Furious, Kreacher opened his mouth to retort, but Sirius silenced him.

'That's enough, Kreacher! Ivan is the master of Dobby… oh, I mean the employer, it's between them!' Sirius exclaimed.

Kreacher stopped talking, but they could still hear him mumbling to himself.

(PS: The title neglected to mention that this is two-in-one-four-thousand words…)