Before Ivan could ask any more questions, the crowd erupted in applause. Ivan had no choice but to swallow his questions, place his Sorting Hat on the four-cornered table, and head down the stairs.
When Ivan arrived, the older Gryffindor students moved aside to make room for him.
A pair of identical twins with fiery red hair pressed Ivan to the empty seat in the middle of the room.
"God, I'll bet you're the first person who's ever disrespected Professor McGonagall in a freshman division ceremony. It's…"
"It's really what?" Ivan asked.
"How very brave!" the other twin said, taking over.
"You are destined to be a legend in the House!" they said in unison, looking at each other.
Ivan almost choked on his own breath when he heard their answer. The brothers' minds were so strange that he could not understand them.
"Well, thank you…" Ivan said, politely thanking the twins for their "blessing".
"My name is Ivan Hales. What's yours?"
"I'm George Weasley, and that's Fred over there," one of the twins said, winking at Ivan. "You'd do well to remember that the next time you see him, don't mistake him, Fred hates it when people call him by the wrong name…"
"Okay, George, I don't think I'm mistaken," Ivan said, turning to the other twin. She knew all about the brothers' swapping of identities.
'Don't you agree, Fred?'
Fred, who had wanted to trick a new student with his brother, was stunned. George, who had spoken to Ivan earlier, was also stunned.
"Wait, how did you know I was George's?"
"It's easy to guess, isn't it? Everyone among the new students knows you Weasley brothers are into mischief." Ivan, of course, could not say that he had read about it in a book, so he made up an excuse.
"Oh my God, are we that famous already? Even the new students know about us?" George and Fred exclaimed, overwhelmed by the results of their years of struggle against Hogwarts's rules.
Ron nearly spat out the food he was eating. When did his brothers become so famous among the new students at Hogwarts? Why didn't he know?
George and Fred, on the other hand, were curious as to what Ivan was whispering to the Sorting Hat on stage.
Ivan managed to brush it off with half-truths. After all, it was not something to be proud of in Gryffindor House, when one knew dark magic.
In passing, Ivan changed the subject to George and Fred's adventures at Hogwarts, making discreet inquiries about the locations and information of the various secret passages at Hogwarts.
Ivan, having read the book, naturally knew that George and Fred had a magical map that showed most of the secret passages of Hogwarts and marked the names of the people inside.
With it, one could travel freely through the castle without fear of being discovered by the Professor or the caretaker.
Although Ivan had read the book in his previous life and knew many of Hogwarts' secrets, this map was useful because he could not remember everything he saw.
The Weasley brothers, in the face of Ivan's fanboy-like personality, naturally revealed a lot of information, and even tried to rope Ivan into their mischief.
However, nothing about the magical map was revealed.
Ivan was not surprised. After all, it was the first time they had met, and no matter how well they had talked, it was impossible for her to reveal such an important secret. Ivan was merely trying to build a good rapport with him, to set the stage for the future.
It was then, however, that Ivan heard a strange voice in his head.
[Ding, host has obtained confidential information, mission in progress…]
Objective: Explore Hogwarts
Current Progress: 2/100
Task Description: The curiosity to explore the unknown is something every minor wizard should have. The Millennium Castle contains countless secrets. Please explore and understand them. When the exploration progresses to a certain level, there will be rewards based on performance.]
Ivan, who had suddenly received the news, was stunned, and his conversation with the Weasley brothers was cut short.
Cheat?
Ivan recovered quickly, and was overjoyed.
Ivan was glad to be alive again, but he also felt uneasy about suddenly being in an unfamiliar environment, although he managed to suppress it due to his disguise.
Now, he felt much more at ease.
Ivan casually dismissed the Weasley brothers, who were about to continue chatting about their adventures, and focused his attention on figuring out this new golden finger. After trying various methods of summoning the system in the novel, a series of messages finally appeared before Ivan's eyes.
[Ivan Hales
Profession: Wizard
Magic Column: Level 1 (3/200)
Theory of Knowledge: Level 0 (435/500)
Magical Items:
Wand (Yew, unicorn hair, eleven inches and three-quarter length)
Magic: medium
Compatibility: 72.5%
GPA: None
…
The information column in front of her was within Ivan's expectations, but the contents of the column surprised her.
"A fear spell? Made of magical objects?" Ivan muttered to himself. As a young wizard who had just transmigrated and had yet to fully understand the situation, he naturally did not bring these two abilities with him.
Recalling the memories that had come to Ivan's mind on the stage earlier, Ivan immediately understood that he must have been the one who had taken over the young wizard, Ivan Hales, who had learned magic before he started at Hogwarts.
This was not uncommon among lesser witches and wizards, as even Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born, was able to learn a few simple spells on her own before enrolling in the school, much less a lesser witch or wizard.
However, Ivan could not remember anything about the fear spell. It did not seem to be a spell from the book.
Ivan wasn't surprised; Harry Potter was just a novel, after all, and it only showed a little bit of the wizarding world. It was impossible to show all the magic in one place, and there was very little dark magic in the original text.
After all, the Restricted Section at Hogwarts alone contained countless books on the Dark Arts.
Ivan was, of course, more curious or worried about the family background of the original owner of the body, as it was clear that a family that could teach their children the Dark Arts before school started was not a friendly one.
Ivan was worried about his own safety. God knows what kind of dark magic would await him if he were to be found possessed by an Otherworld soul…