103: Picking Up The Senior

On the third day after Christmas, Ivan and Yuumi arrived at Diagon Alley.

After waiting for a while at the Leaky Cauldron, the doorbell rang, and a girl with long Curly Blonde hair walked in—it was Penelope.

She was carrying a small box, and when she spotted Ivan sipping a butterbeer nearby, she quickly made her way over to him.

"Happy Christmas holiday," Penelope greeted him with a smile, then waved to Yuumi. "Hello to you too, cute little cat."

"Meow~~"

Yuumi clearly liked Penelope, hopping into her arms and playing contentedly.

"Another butterbeer, please," Ivan called to old Tom at the counter, then turned to Penelope. "You must be tired from the journey. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Thank you; butterbeer is perfect," she replied, picking up the glass he'd ordered for her and taking a sip.

As Penelope enjoyed her drink, Ivan tapped his fingers and used a Shrinking Charm to make her gifts smaller, tucking them into his pocket.

The Traceless Extension Charm couldn't be used just anywhere, so he had left his bag at home. However, with the Shrinking Charm, he didn't find it much of a drawback.

Moreover, with many adult wizards around in the Leaky Cauldron, casting spells here wouldn't attract a warning letter from the Ministry of Magic.

"Impressive wandless casting!"

The wizard nearby noticed Ivan's spellwork, his eyes widening in disbelief. "I've never seen a young wizard with your level of magic power."

Ivan just smiled and tilted his head, replying casually, "Maybe I just work a little harder."

"..."

The wizard decided not to pursue the conversation further for his own sanity. Every now and then, the wizarding world produced a few prodigies, after all.

"Finished?" Penelope asked, referring to the issue of the Trace.

Ivan gave a slight shrug, looking a bit helpless. "Not yet, but it's not too much of a problem."

"That's good to hear." Penelope seemed assured that Ivan would eventually resolve the Trace issue. She continued, "Where to next? And Hermione—will she be joining us?"

"Hermione's spending Christmas with her family; they planned a holiday trip together."

Penelope raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised.

She had assumed Hermione would be joining them, but it seemed this was to be some private time with Ivan.

Thankfully, as a senior, Penelope maintained her composure. The older sisterly calm reassured her—there was nothing to worry about.

After all, it's not clear who'll be at a disadvantage in the end!

"Where are we going next?" Penelope asked.

"My home," Ivan replied directly. He downed his butterbeer in one gulp and then left the bar with Penelope.

"Senior, could you hand me your wand?" he asked.

"Oh, okay."

Penelope trusted Ivan so much that she handed him her wand without hesitation, pulling it smoothly from her sleeve.

Ivan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Senior, it's best to be more cautious in the future," he advised, noting that her sense of precaution was a bit too relaxed, even if she trusted him.

"But the one standing in front of me now is my junior, Ivan, isn't it?" she said with a slight smile.

"And drop the 'junior' part, please. It's quite rude to a guy," Ivan replied with a smirk, taking the wand in his hand. He then applied the results of his recent research in the wardrobe's secret realm to temporarily restrict the wand's function.

"Alright, it won't last long, just a few minutes," Ivan explained, raising his arm and gesturing for Penelope to hold on.

Understanding his intent, Penelope reached out without hesitation.

In the next instant, with a sharp "pop!" they both vanished, reappearing a moment later in front of Ivan's newly purchased manor.

"Apparition!" Penelope gasped. "You've already learned this?"

"Nothing surprising," Ivan replied with a slight grin. "After all, I'm Headmaster Dumbledore's favorite student."

"Uh… right," Penelope muttered, momentarily speechless. Apparition was normally taught in seventh year, so having the headmaster train him was indeed exceptional.

"Where is this?" she asked, glancing around at the quiet surroundings. The manor was far from the city center, isolated and serene.

"My home of course."

"Ah?"

The senior knew Ivan was wealthy, but seeing such a large manor made her feel like he could easily be mistaken for a descendant of an ancient pure-blood family.

"Not bad, right?" Ivan remarked with a grin. "It's just a pity I live here alone."

"Well, if you count yourself, there are two of us now."

"Does that make a difference?" Penelope asked, somewhat puzzled. She didn't see how much difference it would make; with just the two of them, such a large villa would still be so quiet at night it might feel eerie.

"Let's transform it together," Ivan suggested, getting to the heart of why he'd invited her. Penelope would offer suggestions, and Ivan would handle the magic.

Together, they worked on turning the manor into a welcoming space for their friends in the mysterious side.

"I've been studying the Fidelius Charm recently," Ivan mentioned. "It's an ancient and powerful magic that can hide a secret within someone's soul."

"I've heard of it," Penelope replied, nodding thoughtfully.

The Fidelius Charm was indeed intricate. It could hide a person's secret forever in the soul of a chosen keeper. The secret would remain concealed in the keeper's heart, undiscoverable by any means unless the keeper willingly disclosed it.

"As long as the keeper doesn't reveal it," Ivan continued, "even if a thief pressed his nose right against the living room glass, he wouldn't see a thing."

"Before, I was contemplating how to remove the Trace on you," Ivan said thoughtfully. "Then it occurred to me—since we already have the Fidelius Charm, why waste energy on solving the Trace directly?"

As long as we use the Fidelius Charm, we can conceal this manor within someone's soul. This way, any spells cast within the manor won't be detected by the Trace.

The principle here is similar to creating a larger oath that overrides the original agreement.

"I studied it for a long time and realized this is the best approach to bypass the contract," Ivan explained.

"As Professor Flitwick always said, magic should be used to counteract magic."

Ivan had also considered simply severing the contract, using spatial isolation from the secret world. The method he'd just used to seal Penelope's wand had come from there as well.

"But it's quite challenging to sever it entirely," Ivan continued. "The Trace isn't really a thread; its structure is far more complex than we might imagine."

He paused, considering how best to explain it. "We may have underestimated the Ministry of Magic."

The magic behind the Trace isn't something just anyone could devise. Ivan had read plenty of fan fictions in his previous life where characters removed the Trace easily, and some even thought it was embedded in the wand itself.

"It's not that simple."

"Based on its classification, the Trace is likely a type of advanced magic involving the soul," Ivan explained.

Such magic is extremely rare in the wizarding world; known examples include the Fidelius Charm and the Hogwarts Book of Admittance.

"Excuse me," Penelope raised her hand slowly. "I have to clarify, I've never underestimated the Ministry of Magic."

"After all, the Ministry governs the British wizarding world," Penelope continued. "Isn't it reasonable for them to have some depth?"

Reasonable?

If there were truly powerful wizards in the Ministry, how could Voldemort have broken in so easily, wreaking havoc in the Department of Mysteries, destroying the Time Room and the Hall of Prophecy?

This suggests that the Ministry does hold some secrets unknown to outsiders. But it's not worth overestimating.

The wizards who originally created these protective spells have long since passed, and it's uncertain if any strong wizards remain there today.

'Probably not,' Ivan thought, recalling the Ministry officials from the original story—corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, and, in Fudge's case, completely delusional.

This culture of intrigue and power plays didn't spring up overnight.

And given enough time, the Ministry's knowledge and expertise would likely be eroded. With everyone focused on political scheming, who's left to focus on real research?

"If I get the opportunity in the future, I'd like to visit the Ministry of Magic," Ivan said thoughtfully.

His words caught Penelope off guard, and suddenly, a thought crossed her mind that made her expression shift. "I have a question," she began cautiously.

"What is it?"

"The prophecy you showed me last time… was it suggesting I'd work at the Ministry of Magic?" Penelope asked, sensing a potential contradiction. "As far as I know, your predictions are always accurate, right?"

Ivan nodded. Once he made a prophecy, it was destined to happen.

"But," she continued, "I've already accepted your offer to work with you, so why would that future still appear?"

It didn't make sense to her.

Could it mean that Ivan's plans might somehow be exposed, or that the group might be forced to disband?

"Well…" Ivan didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he handed Penelope's wand to Yuumi, who took it away to place it in a secure spot.

This wasn't to harm Penelope but to ensure no external detection from her wand while he prepared to cast a spell.

"The last prophecy wasn't everything," he explained.

A soft white mist began to rise from Ivan's form, the same kind Penelope had witnessed in the Room of Requirement when he showed the bullet train and bombs.

"Come and see—the true future," Ivan said, releasing a stream of white mist that drifted and swirled in the manor's courtyard.

Gradually, the mist condensed, forming a new vision.

In a vast circular square, countless wizards filled the stands, their gazes fixed on a young man standing proudly at the center.

He had short silver-white hair and a strikingly handsome appearance—it was a youthful version of Ivan.

__________

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