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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He decided it was best to save them whenever possible.
Additionally, Ivan had already come to understand the importance of his mind and will during his recent battle with Voldemort.
With 3 points of Will, Ivan found controlling Fiendfyre to be much easier.
As for the mind attribute, it had significantly increased the potency of Ivan's spells.
He had a strong feeling that if he could fully integrate his 3 points of mind power into his magic, the power of his spells could be amplified several times over.
For instance, Ivan's original Blasting Curse, when cast at full strength, could blow the top off a hill.
Now, with his mind attribute increased from 2 points to 3, it was possible that his magic could flatten the entire hill with a single blast.
This was the strength of the mind attribute—it enhanced the spell's overall effectiveness and range.
Of course, spell power and magical energy used in direct magical confrontations were two different concepts. The former primarily increased the spell's range and effect.
"Hmm..."
Ivan looked over his attributes thoughtfully. "Where should I allocate points next?"
His soul and magic attributes had already reached the Legendary level, and potential points could no longer be used to enhance them. For that, he would need experience points.
Unfortunately, Ivan had no idea where to find experience points.
"The remaining three attributes—mind, will, and thinking—are all at 3 points."
Initially, Ivan had planned to focus on increasing these three attributes.
But now, he had changed his mind.
While his mind attribute was powerful, Ivan had yet to fully harness the potential of the 3 points he already had.
If he couldn't utilize the extra power in the short term, it wouldn't make much sense to increase it further just yet.
So, Ivan turned his attention to his physical attribute.
"The physical attribute is only 1."
At first glance, increasing a 1-point physical attribute by just 1 more point seemed insignificant.
However, Ivan decided to give it a try.
He had nearly figured out the effects of his other five attributes, but the exact mechanism of the physical attribute still eluded him.
"Since mind and will have saved me 2 potential points, even if 1 point gets wasted here, it won't hurt."
Of course, there's no such thing as truly wasting attributes. Eventually, all attributes will be improved—it's just a matter of time.
"System, add a point!"
With this thought, Ivan clicked on his physique attribute.
"Hmm?"
After adding the point, Ivan observed the panel for a while, seeing no immediate change. He lay down on his bed and tried to carefully sense any changes within himself.
"I don't feel anything," Ivan muttered, frowning slightly. He didn't feel any stronger or notice sharper senses.
Just as Ivan was growing puzzled, he heard a faint, almost mosquito-like whisper near his ear.
"Yumi is so hungry, I want to eat dried fish~ meow~~"
"Huh?"
Ivan was stunned for a moment—he seemed to have just heard Yumi, his cat, and something about dried fish. "What's going on?"
Before he could fully process it, another vague memory fragment surged into Ivan's mind.
In the snow-white ward, a man and a woman lay quietly in bed. A boy sat beside them, holding his grandmother's hand, tears welling in his eyes.
However, the scene soon dissolved into smoke.
When the image cleared again, Ivan saw himself waving his wand and knocking down a dark, indistinct figure.
"Ha..."
Ivan turned his head to glance at Neville, who was fast asleep. "Is Neville's sleep quality really that good?"
It had only been five or six minutes since the lights were turned off, and he had already fallen asleep!
And Yumi...
Sure enough, Ivan saw Yumi crawling out of her cat house, her steps light and quiet, as she carefully dug out her hidden stash of dried fish.
"Is this... Legilimency?"
Legilimency is a magic similar to mind reading, but what Ivan had just experienced felt far more intricate and magical than standard Legilimency.
If hearing Yumi's voice was mind reading, then what about Neville?
Neville was dreaming.
Ivan could actually see his dream, and in remarkable clarity!
======
[Ivan Ambrosius]
Age: 11 years old
Race: Wizard
Gender: Male
Bloodline: Eternal Descendant, Phoenix Family
Talents: Transfiguration Magus, Prophecy Magus, Silent One, Holder of Fenix Spirit, Psychic Master
======
"Psychic Master!"
As Ivan opened the panel, a new prompt gradually appeared in the talent column where there had once been empty space.
===
Psychic Master, also known as the master of psychic abilities.
This talent could typically be acquired through learning, but in Ivan's case, it had clearly awakened naturally.
===
"So, increasing my physical attribute can activate new magical talents?"
This thought crossed Ivan's mind briefly before he quickly dismissed it. "No, it can't be that simple. The physical attribute likely isn't just about physical strength."
Ivan speculated that the physical attribute might refer to magical vitality—the fusion of magic into the wizard's body. "I remember Ollivander once said that the main difference between wizards and magical creatures is that wizards are still human, whereas the flesh and blood of magical creatures contain magic power."
With that in mind, Ivan stood up, walked toward his closet, and re-entered the secret realm.
He was not far from the exit, but he stopped nearby and began testing spells without using a wand.
"Protego!"
"Protego Totalum!"
"Ultimate Protego!"
Ivan didn't use his sycamore wand for the three defensive spells.
As a result, Protego was successful, but Ultimate Protego remained inactive.
As for Protego Totalum, Ivan could feel that he had almost cracked the spell, but due to his magic flow not being smooth enough, it failed.
"I actually did it!"
Despite two spells failing, Ivan was still thrilled. "The physical attribute is allowing my body to channel magic more effectively."
Ivan had previously believed that his ability to cast wandless magic was solely due to the strength of his magic power.
But now, he realized that wasn't entirely the case.
One point in physique might seem insignificant, but it was this single point that allowed Ivan's flesh and blood to achieve a certain harmony with magic power.
Now, with his physique attribute increased to 2 points, Ivan could feel a distinct smoothness in how his magic flowed.
"If I keep adding points to my physique, my body itself could become a vessel for magic power, enabling me to cast spells directly."
At that point, Ivan thought, his ten fingers could serve as his magic wands. "At 4 or 5 points in physique, I'll be able to completely break free from the limitations of a wand and become a true master!"
Ivan had always seen the reliance on a wand as a weakness.
Without a wand, his ability to cast spells was significantly diminished.
"Though my sycamore wand is excellent, no magical medium in the world can match the compatibility of one's own flesh and blood!"
However, Ivan had no plans to abandon his sycamore wand in the future.
In Ivan's view, a wand shouldn't just be a medium for channeling magic but rather a tool for amplifying it.
Thus, his goal was to transform his wand from being purely a magical medium into a magic amplifier with medium capabilities—perhaps even making it as discreet and powerful as the legendary Elder Wand!
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