"Ivan, Ivan, look at this."
The next morning, the young wizards were enjoying a sumptuous breakfast prepared by the house-elves in the Great Hall.
"So many Owls!"
Someone shouted, and everyone looked up to see countless owls carrying packages in their beaks or talons.
The next moment, a large number of packages fell from the sky, landing in the hands of the young wizards.
"Look at this! Someone broke into Gringotts yesterday!"
"Merlin! How did he do it?"
"It seems that even the head of the Auror Office was defeated by him."
"Not only that, it says the Ministry of Magic dispatched nearly a hundred Aurors but still failed to catch the dark wizard."
The Daily Prophet was almost entirely dedicated to the previous day's invasion of Gringotts, detailing the event as if the reporter had witnessed it firsthand.
"It's terrifying; that's Gringotts."
Ron shivered. "No one has ever stolen anything from there."
"Come on, the You-Know-Who did it," Hermione said, reminding Ron of his selective memory lapse. She pointed out that Voldemort had manipulated Quirrell to sneak into Gringotts at the start of the school year.
"Now there's a second person who can do it. What's so surprising?"
"Completely different," Penelope said. The senior student, who was sitting with them, clearly knew more about the wizarding world than the younger students. "It says here that it was a frontal intrusion. Oh my, do you know what that means?"
"What?"
"He defeated all the guards in Gringotts by himself!"
Because of her familiarity with the wizarding world, Penelope naturally understood the structure of Gringotts and had a general idea of how powerful those hired wizards were.
It was no exaggeration to say that, compared to those hired wizards, she herself wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.
Penelope was exceptionally smart and one of the most talented and skilled witches in the school.
When it came to spells, Penelope could rival those hired wizards and might even be better.
However, in terms of practical combat experience, Penelope was a complete novice.
To put it bluntly, the difference between academics and practitioners was like comparing most wizards who graduated from Hogwarts to battle-hardened hired wizards.
"Ivan, what do you think about this matter..."
Penelope turned to Ivan, curious to hear his opinion, but she noticed his unusually calm demeanor.
What's going on?
Not only Penelope, but Hermione also noticed it.
They saw Ivan fold the newspaper calmly and hand it to Harry, Ron, and the others, who were eagerly clamoring to read it.
"Slurp~"
Ivan took a sip of milk, looking completely unbothered.
"…Ah…"
For some reason, an absurd thought crossed the minds of both Hermione and Penelope:
Could it be that Ivan already knew about this?
But, why?
How did Ivan know?
Yesterday!
At this time yesterday, Ivan had gone somewhere and...
Suddenly, the two women looked at each other, and in that moment, they saw shock and disbelief reflected in each other's eyes.
"This person!"
The person who invaded Gringotts is Ivan!
The realization hit them both simultaneously, and they almost instinctively covered their mouths to prevent themselves from exclaiming and inadvertently exposing Ivan's identity.
"No need to be that shocked, it's actually no big deal."
Ivan didn't speak, but his voice rang in the minds of the two women.
This is an alternative use of Legilimency, a wandless and spellless magic that only wizards like Ivan, whose soul attributes have reached 5 points, can do.
"Is it really you?!"
Penelope exclaimed in her heart. She didn't know if Ivan could hear her, but she still asked: "How did you do it?"
"It's not difficult, senior," Ivan replied telepathically, with a slight smile.
"Just as it's written in the paper—I walked in through the main gate, broke in, and then defeated the guards of Gringotts along with the Aurors who came to stop me."
"That must have been two hundred people, right?"
Hermione's shock was palpable, her mental voice trembling with disbelief: "You were alone... and you won?"
The young witch knew Ivan was exceptionally powerful—she had witnessed him overpower Snape.
Now that nearly a year has passed, his efforts must have improved a lot.
However, facing the siege of nearly two hundred adult wizards, he broke through the siege with his own strength.
"Are you okay?"
Penelope asked worriedly, and Hermione's heart rose to her throat at the senior's words.
"Don't worry," Ivan replied, his tone calm and reassuring. "Their magic didn't even touch my clothes."
To be honest, Ivan was far from impressed.
"I was actually very disappointed," he admitted, not holding back from sharing the truth with the two women.
He gestured as if mimicking someone casting spells. "Most of the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic couldn't even properly use the Shield Charm. As for the wizards hired by Gringotts, they were more aggressive—they came at me with the Killing Curse right from the start."
Hermione and Penelope both gasped slightly at this revelation.
"At first, I was surprised too," Ivan continued, a hint of amusement in his voice. "But after fighting for a while, I realized they were just repeating the same handful of spells over and over."
Ivan had discerned a clear difference between the two groups he faced:
The Aurors had solid theoretical knowledge but lacked real combat experience.
The hired wizards, on the other hand, were seasoned in battle, but their magic repertoire was limited.
"Of course," Ivan added, "a few deadly spells are more than enough when the goal is to kill. The Killing Curse, for instance, is practically unstoppable. When you're aiming to take down an enemy, there's no need to rely on spells like Disarming Charms or Stunning Spells."
He paused, his tone turning serious as he addressed the two witches. "In the future, if you encounter hired wizards, be cautious. They're incredibly aggressive."
"This is too dangerous!!"
Hermione's voice trembled with worry, her fear for Ivan evident. "You're taking too many risks. Please, don't ever do something like this again!"
"..."
For a good student like her, I can understand her saying that..
Ivan remained silent for a moment, letting her concern sink in.
Then, as if she couldn't hold back any longer, Hermione blurted out: "Let us go with you!!"
"..pfft" Ivan literally choked on the milk.
She knew her skills were no match for his and that she couldn't contribute in a direct fight.
But there was no way to fight head-on, she could provide logistical assistance, such as helping Ivan conceal his tracks, falsely reporting an alibi, etc.
For Ivan, Hermione's concern as his best friend meant more than any laws of the Ministry of Magic.
Even Penelope seemed to have mentally prepared herself for whatever actions Ivan might take in the future.
"Ehm. I understand," Ivan said, acknowledging Hermione's sincerity. The little witch's concern for him was evident and heartfelt. "Next time, I'll make sure to inform you in advance."
"And senior," Ivan added, turning to Penelope.
"Hmm?" she responded, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.
"Do you think my strength is sufficient?"
One of Ivan's purposes in his recent action was to assess his combat effectiveness.
And what he had demonstrated during the Gringotts intrusion was before his latest breakthrough in magic.
If he had acted now, after the breakthrough, Ivan was confident he could unleash a powerful spell and raze Gringotts entirely, from top to bottom.
It was this kind of devastating, natural disaster-like power that made Ivan fearless of the Ministry of Magic.
If a conflict ever arose, he knew he had the capability to obliterate any opposition, no matter how many wizards stood in his way.
_________
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