Arguing and Hanging the Golden Bells: -1

After a few days of torment, Yvonne was able to settle into a routine of holding a blade of grass in her mouth, and other than a bit of difficulty brushing her teeth and eating, she was no different from normal.

[Ding, after a period of study, your Transfiguration Spell proficiency has increased. Transformation Spell Level 4 (1599/1600)]

After reading Professor McGonagall's notes, Ivan heard the sound of his proficiency increasing.

Seeing that his Transfiguration could reach Level 5 with just a little more proficiency, Ivan worked even harder, but for the next few hours, he did not see any improvement in his proficiency.

Ivan realised that he had reached a new bottleneck…

"Ivan, do you want to go to Quidditch practice? Harry says it's the first training session of the school year," Ron asked as they headed out the door.

Yvonne thought about it for a moment, but nothing else seemed urgent, so she nodded in agreement.

And if he remembered correctly, he was awarded GPA for winning a Quidditch match in his last term.

Before leaving the dormitory, Ivan thought of something and threw a wand at Ron.

"Ron, I've fixed your wand."

Ron caught it, and when he looked at the wand again, the middle had been completely repaired, just like before.

Ronon tried to swing it twice in the air, and a magical beam of light struck the ground and exploded into sparks.

"God, this is great," Ron said happily, meaning he wouldn't have to be scolded when he got home.

Ron hadn't expected Ivan to fix the wand when he gave it to him, but he was pleasantly surprised, and he seemed to think it was better than it was…

Ron looked at Ivan in confusion and asked curiously.

"What did you do to my wand? The spell I just cast seemed a little more powerful than it was."

"It's a simple enhancement," Ivan said diffidently.

It wasn't easy for Ivan to find research material, and he didn't want to waste it, so he tossed Ron's wand around for a long time and experimented on it.

For example, trying to construct an enchantment loop inside the wand to amplify the power of the spell, only to have the wand almost explode on the spot.

In the end, after a lot of modifications, the result was neither a success nor a complete failure, as he was able to complete the strengthening of the circuit.

It was only because Ron was too weak that he was able to sense that the power of his spell had been enhanced.

Apparently the experiment requires more material…

Ivan was frustrated at the thought. Wands didn't cost much, but Ollivanders didn't sell them in large quantities, and it was difficult to get enough of them.

Unaware of this, Ron was overjoyed to be able to hold on to his wand, and he was confident that he would do well in his Transfiguration and Charms exams.

On their way to the Quidditch training ground, they ran into Hermione, who was planning to return to the common room.

When they arrived at the Quidditch practice grounds, Ivan found the two groups facing each other, along with the Gryffindor team and the green-robed Slytherins.

"What's going on here? Harry, didn't you say it was Gryffindor's turn to book the stadium? Why are they here?" Ron asked, looking around curiously.

The Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, stepped forward, patted Malfoy on the shoulder and addressed the crowd.

"That's because we have a new Seeker, and Professor Snape has given us special permission to train on the pitch today."

"And my dad bought a new broom for Slytherin, so you always have to get the hang of it…" Malfoy said in an odd tone.

The Slytherin team laughed and showed off their new brooms, seven Nimbus 2001s!

The lights of the local tyrants blinded everyone…

Even Ivan had to admit that the Malfoys were loaded. The Nimbus 2001 was the latest in a series that had just come out last month.

Buying all seven of them would cost at least a thousand Galleons, and the cost would only allow Malfoy to join the team.

Ivan couldn't help but feel his own poverty. His family didn't make a thousand Galleons a month, and that was with all the best-selling merchandise he had made.

Even Ivan was impressed, let alone the Gryffindor team, who knew exactly how much the latest broomsticks would help Slytherin win.

The old Cleansweep Broomsticks in their hands were not even half as fast as their opponents. How could they fight?

Malfoy was grinning from ear to ear, swinging his Nimbus 2001 from side to side and sneering at the five-star Sweepers.

"At least we Gryffindors get in on our own merits, rather than having to buy our way into the team!" Hermione said sarcastically when she saw Malfoy's smug smile.

Malfoy's face darkened, and he scowled. "Nobody asked you, you stinking little Mudblood!"

"How dare you?!" Alicia of the Gryffindor Quidditch team shrieked at Malfoy.

Ron angrily tried to punch Malfoy, but Wood pulled him back, George and Fred rolled up their sleeves, and the rest of the team looked furious…

Malfoy was momentarily frightened, but as the Slytherin team's financial backer, Captain Marcus chose to shield Malfoy despite his displeasure.

The rest of the Slytherins drew their wands and confronted the Gryffindor team…

Hermione was so confused that she could vaguely guess that Malfoy had said something nasty, but she had no idea what he meant by it, and looked at Ivan strangely.

"Mudblood is a nasty adjective, used by some pure-bloods as a slur against Muggle wizards," Ivan explained, frowning.

Like Hermione, he was not a pure-blood wizard, and was not particularly fond of the term Muggle-born, but he could not ignore Malfoy's almost-discriminatory remarks.

Malfoy, now protected, hid behind it triumphantly, as if he intended to say more.

It was there, without warning, that Ivan attacked, waving his wand and pointing it at Malfoy.

"Hang the golden bell upside down!"