24: Just Give Him A Beating

"Enough!!"

Malfoy glared at Ivan. "Who are you? Ambrosius? I've never heard of such a wizarding family in England!"

'How foolish can these people of the magical world be? Well, even Professor McGonagall (Who is more older in this world) couldn't recognize the name without Olivander's help.'

Ivan ignored Malfoy and gestured for Hermione to walk into Harry's compartment.

Harry, of course, didn't stop them.

He could tell that Ivan was being very friendly toward him.

As for Hermione, the little witch had just helped him repair his old glasses, and Harry had a very good first impression of her.

"Nice seeing you again, Harry."

Hermione held Yuumi and sat opposite Harry and Ron. Yumi seemed to have noticed something and stared at the rat, Scabbers, next to Ron.

"Hey, watch your cat!"

Ron quickly shielded Scabbers, afraid that Yumi might pounce on his rat and eat it.

"Yuumi!"

Ivan knew Scabbers' true identity.

Yuumi's reaction was probably similar to Crookshanks' in the original book, where the cat's instincts told her that Pettigrew wasn't a good thing.

However, since Crookshanks had been left with Neville, this task now fell to Yuumi.

"Meow~~?!"

Yuumi didn't quite know what was off about Scabbers, but she sensed something strange.

Yuumi silently warned her master that something was wrong with the rat and that he should be cautious.

"Don't worry about it, Yuumi."

Ivan didn't understand cat language, but his meaning was clear enough, telling Yumi not to act rashly.

"Enough!!"

Suddenly, Malfoy growled from outside the door, his face dark with anger.

Being ignored by Ivan and dismissed by Harry was a humiliation Malfoy had never experienced before.

"Is this your answer, Harry Potter?"

Malfoy said arrogantly, "Weasley's poor trash, two Mudbloods—you're just like your stupid parents. Sooner or later, you'll end up just like them!"

Harry lunged forward, enraged by the personal attack, especially when it involved his parents.

Malfoy was startled, but Crabbe and Goyle quickly moved to block Harry in time.

Ron saw this and planned to help Harry, clutching Scabbers tightly.

"Disappointing."

Ivan could hardly bear to watch the scene any longer, so he casually waved his hand at Goyle and Crabbe.

The next moment, the two were lifted into the air by an invisible force, and then, to Malfoy's horror, they flew backward and crashed outside the carriage, dragging Malfoy with them.

"Ah!"

"Ow, Ow, Ow!!"

"Idiot! You're crushing me!"

"Get up!"

The three of them were tangled together like a human pyramid, with Malfoy at the bottom. The combined weight of Goyle and Crabbe nearly crushed him.

"This..."

Harry and Ron looked at each other, clearly not understanding what had just happened.

"You should learn to respect others."

Ivan looked at Malfoy with a stern expression and raised his hand. The three young wizards screamed as they floated back up into the air. "And I don't want to hear that word you used ever again!"

"Got it?"

Gulp!

Ivan's tone was calm and gentle, but to Malfoy and the others, it sounded like a devil's whisper, making them tremble with fear.

Thud!

As Ivan released the magic, the three fell from the air. However, due to their unstable footing, they stumbled and collapsed to the ground once again.

Pah!

Ivan shook his head in disappointment, snapped his fingers, and the door of the carriage closed just before any older students could arrive.

"....."

On the other side, Harry and Ron stood there, staring blankly at the carriage door as it automatically shut in front of them.

With a loud "bang," the two snapped out of their confusion, turning to look at the calm Ivan with utter disbelief.

"How did you do that?"

Ron sat back down, trembling slightly. "I mean, what was that?"

Although he wasn't the target, Ron was truly frightened by Ivan.

He didn't even dare to look directly at Ivan now, sitting timidly in a corner, holding Scabbers tightly in his arms, fearing that Ivan might get upset and harm his rat.

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

Hermione covered her face subconsciously. She couldn't say she had a good impression of Ron—she felt more 'disdain,' like a top student facing a poor student. "Of course it's magic!"

"Wow."

Harry looked at Ivan with admiration and said sincerely, "You're amazing. Can I call you Ivan?"

"Of course."

Ivan smiled and said, "Just now I used a Levitation Charm and a Banishing Charm. They're not advanced spells—you'll learn them in first year."

As he said this, Ivan casually demonstrated again, sorting out the snacks scattered on the floor and letting them float neatly between Harry and Ron.

"Brilliant!"

Ron's praise for Ivan made Hermione quite happy. She added her own compliment unabashedly, "Ivan is the best young wizard I've ever seen."

"Ivan, don't you need a wand to cast magic?"

Unlike Ron, Harry noticed something important.

He realized that Ivan hadn't taken out his wand the entire time, yet he still performed all those magical feats with just a wave of his hand.

"Oh Yes! That's wandless spellcasting!"

Ron exclaimed, "You can cast a spell without a wand!! What is that?"

Harry had just entered the wizarding world and didn't understand the significance of wandless spellcasting.

It wasn't until Hermione proudly explained the difficulty of mastering this magical skill to both of them that Harry realized how impressive it truly was.

This led to Harry admiring Ivan even more. 'Not burdened by fame,' Ivan nodded secretly, thinking, 'As expected of the protagonist of a fairy tale—the princess is kind and beautiful, and the knight is just and loyal.'

Of course, Ivan wasn't belittling Harry Potter. He was simply reflecting on Harry's excellent character.

If anyone else suddenly went from being an orphan to a wealthy heir with billions, who could say they would handle it better than Harry? He had wealth and fame in abundance.

But Harry didn't lose himself in any of that. Instead, he clearly recognized his own shortcomings.

He was Harry—just Harry.

He wasn't powerful at all and didn't even know any magic yet.

Instead of indulging in those grand illusions, Harry wanted to better himself and prove his worth. "Well, it's not as difficult as Hermione makes it sound."

Ivan gently patted Hermione's head and straightened her slightly messy hair, causing the little witch to blush furiously.

"Like Hermione, I come from the Muggle world."

Ivan shared his background with the two of them, while Hermione and Harry remained puzzled by Malfoy's earlier behavior.

They asked Ivan what was going on with Malfoy and why he acted so arrogantly.

"They are the Malfoys, dad often talked about them," Ron said gloomily. "They were the first to come back to our side after... after You-Know-Who disappeared."

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I've created a P Teir for those who wanna stay two weeks/ 15 chaps ahead of WN.

The p@treon will be 15 chaps ahead by tomorrow♥ It's at Ch 30 right now!

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