After leaving the headmaster's office, Ivan went straight back to the Gryffindor common room.
Voldemort was dead, and the professors could finally relax a little.
Dumbledore would use his Patronus to notify the other three houses, and Ivan would explain the situation to Professor McGonagall.
"Ivan!"
As soon as he entered the Gryffindor common room, Ivan saw a group of young wizards gathered around.
The moment they saw him, they surrounded him, eager for answers.
"Harry said you fought with You-Know-Who and defeated him?"
"You-Know-Who has been dead for a long time. That was just a dark wizard pretending to be him."
"Right, Ivan?"
Hearing the chatter, Ivan immediately realized what had happened.
Harry had witnessed the battle in the Forbidden Forest, and upon his return, he must have told the Gryffindor students that Ivan had driven Voldemort away.
However, they couldn't bring themselves to believe that Voldemort had still been alive.
They preferred to believe it was simply a dark wizard impersonating him.
"Harry."
Ivan spotted Harry, who seemed hesitant in the crowd, and gave him a knowing look before explaining to everyone, "Yes, that was just an imposter."
"We all know that You-Know-Who died ten years ago."
At these words, the Gryffindor students breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Ivan shook his head helplessly.
The British wizarding world had been living in fear of Voldemort for so long.
Just imagine if Ivan had told them the truth—that it really was the Dark Lord.
How terrified would these young wizards be to hear that Voldemort was still alive?
And how could their parents feel comfortable sending their children to Hogwarts?
After all, Harry still didn't fully grasp the workings of the wizarding world.
He viewed Voldemort with the same rigid perspective as Muggles, and Ivan could already predict how his own reputation would evolve among the Gryffindor students.
"Ivan?"
"Don't worry, Professor."
Ivan gave Professor McGonagall a reassuring look, then announced to the room, "There's no need to be afraid. Just a moment ago, Headmaster Dumbledore found the dark wizard in hiding."
"I saw it with my own eyes—the Headmaster caught him!"
"Really?! That's great!"
"As expected"
This was exactly what the young wizards wanted to hear.
"Alright, everyone back to bed," Professor McGonagall instructed, ushering them back to their respective dormitories. She didn't ask any further questions.
After all, Dumbledore was still at the school, and Professor McGonagall could always consult with him if needed.
Back in Ivan's dormitory, Neville, Hermione, Harry, and Parvati gathered together.
Neville served tea and snacks to everyone, while Hermione and Parvati sat quietly, secretly clenching their fists, eager to hear the truth from Ivan.
"Harry," Ivan said, "how's Ronald?"
"They took Ron to Madam Pomfrey, and he's had a dose of calming draught. He's asleep now."
Too much had happened that night, and Harry had been worried about his friend.
Ivan, reassured that Ron was alright, didn't press further.
"So... was he really an imposter?" Harry asked quietly, realizing how rash his earlier assumptions had been. "I mean... I think it was really him."
"It was him," Ivan confirmed.
The teacup in Neville's hand slipped, but Ivan, anticipating the reaction, caught it mid-air with a quick levitation charm and gently returned it, waving off Neville's embarrassed apology.
"Don't worry too much," Ivan said, noticing the pale faces of Hermione and Parvati. Voldemort's name alone had the same effect as a ghost story in the wizarding world.
Just like how Westerners couldn't quite grasp Eastern horror elements like red wedding dresses and candles, Ivan himself couldn't fully understand why Voldemort was so terrifying to everyone here.
"There's one thing Harry got right," Ivan continued, his eyes sweeping over the four of them with a reassuring smile. "I did defeat him."
"Chi~~"
At that moment, DEX, the Fenix, flew out from Ivan's body.
The red-gold flames cascaded down, but nothing in the room was burned. Instead, the flames dispelled the fear lingering in the hearts of the four, replacing it with a comforting warmth.
"What is this?"
The young wizards had never seen anything like DEX. Hermione was particularly entranced by her graceful form. "Fenix! She... she can come out?!"
"Yes," Ivan replied calmly.
He directed DEX to settle nearby, and Yumi jumped up, meowing as she tried to make friends with the Fenix.
"Thanks to the Headmaster's help, she awoke from her deep slumber," Ivan briefly explained the origins of the Fenix. By now, the young wizards had grown used to Ivan's extraordinary nature, so they weren't too shocked.
"Ivan, did you really defeat You-Know-Who?" Neville asked, his voice full of hope.
"He was badly injured—Voldemort."
Ivan understood what his victory meant to Neville. "If he had been in his prime, I might not have stood a chance."
"But we're still young, right?"
"Trust me," Ivan said with determination. "Sooner or later, I'll face him again for real and send him straight to hell! So you don't need to worry!"
"Thank you, Ivan, thank you," Neville said gratefully.
His parents had been driven mad by the Death Eaters' torture and were still lying in St. Mungo's Hospital.
When it came to hatred for the Death Eaters and Voldemort, no one felt it more deeply than Neville. He was the one who most wanted to see them defeated.
"Ivan, you're amazing!" Parvati exclaimed, looking at Ivan with admiration, as if he were a hero straight out of a storybook.
"Huh~~"
Hermione scoffed, "Did you only just realize Ivan was awesome?"
For some reason, the two witches began their usual bickering.
Ivan and the others had no choice but to step aside, avoiding getting caught in the crossfire.
Not long after, Ivan sent the three of them away, and Neville headed to bed.
DEX, the Fenix, returned to Ivan's body, and Yumi, his cat, retreated to her little cat house resembling a miniature ramen shop, curling up and yawning.
Finally, Ivan had a moment to check on his new abilities. "System, open the attribute panel," he commanded.
==========
[Ivan Ambrosius]
Age: 11 years old
Race: Wizard
Gender: Male
Bloodline: Eternal Descendant, Phoenix Family
Talent: Transfiguration Magus, Prophecy Magus/Seer, Obscurial/Obscurialist, Holder of Fenix Spirit
[Attributes]
(1 Ordinary, 2 Excellent, 3 Outstanding, 4 Rare, 5 Legendary, 6 Apocalypse, 7 Miracle)
Soul: 5 (Legendary)
Magic: 5 (Legendary)
Physique: 1 (Ordinary)
Thinking: 3 (Outstanding)
Mind: 2+1 (Outstanding)
Will: 2+1 (Outstanding)
Current Potential Points: 1
==========
"There's an additional bloodline, and now the Ambrosius line has also become the Eternal Descendant."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Ivan noticed the change in his mind and will attributes, which had shifted from the original '2' to '2+1'.
"What's going on?"
Ivan examined the details carefully and eventually focused on the newly acquired talent, 'Holder of Fenix Spirit.'
The next moment, a piece of information surfaced in Ivan's mind:
===
[Holder of the Fenix Spirit]
Description: You can summon a Fenix as a companion, and she will provide you with special protection.
Protection Effect: Mind attribute +1, Will attribute +1
Note: This effect is only applicable to attributes at Legendary and below.
===
In other words, if Ivan's mind attribute were to reach 5 points, the Fenix's blessing wouldn't push it beyond that to 6.
"This is already quite good," Ivan thought. "It's like saving 2 points."
Although he didn't fully know what other uses potential points might have beyond increasing attributes, so far, Ivan had only earned 2 potential points.
___________
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