“Sit wherever you like.
No need to stand on ceremony.” Hagrid set a plate of rock cakes on the table and dropped into a chair.
The wooden frame groaned under his weight.
Everyone watched with mild concern, but the chair held.
“Hagrid, this is Ron, and this is Hermione.” Harry began the introductions.
Ivan stood before his own name could be reached.
“Hello, Hagrid.
I’m Ivan.
Good to meet you.” “Likewise.” Hagrid’s enormous hand swallowed Ivan’s in a brief, slightly comical shake.
Fang circled Ron with enthusiastic interest, occasionally lunging up to leave a trail of drool across his face.
Ron had already stuffed Scabbers deep into a pocket the moment the dog approached.
He had never heard of dogs eating rats, but the last few days had left him permanently suspicious that something was plotting against his pet.
Harry and Ron launched into a detailed complaint about Snape’s deliberate targeting.
Hermione listened with a furrowed brow but offered no defence this time.
Ivan stayed silent.
Snape clearly disliked Harry and held a general prejudice against Gryffindors, yet his teaching itself was solid.
Many of the recipes they would learn had been improved by Snape’s own work.
The unexpected Excellent evaluation on the first lesson also made it difficult for Ivan to join the general cursing.
If Snape would simply ask more questions, the situation would be even better.
“Gringotts break-in?” The newspaper beside the teapot caught Ivan’s eye while the others were still talking.
Harry and Ron immediately crowded in.
The report stated that a major theft had occurred at Gringotts on the night of 31 July.
Authorities believed dark witches or wizards were responsible.
The goblins insisted nothing had been taken.
“31 July,” Harry said suddenly.
“Hagrid, that was my birthday.
We were there that day!” “Were you?” Hagrid answered vaguely, avoiding Harry’s eyes, and steered the conversation hard toward the rock cakes, urging everyone to eat more.
The cakes were approximately as hard as brick.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all risked their teeth.
Seeing Hagrid’s hopeful expression, none of them dared refuse outright.
Ivan quietly soaked his piece in tea until it softened enough to manage half.
When they left, Hagrid still insisted on packing every pocket with more of the lethal cakes, ignoring their lack of enthusiasm.
The four returned to the castle together and separated at the staircases.
Harry and Ron headed for the dormitory.
Ivan resumed his search for the Room of Requirement.
Knowledge without practical application eventually stalled proficiency growth.
He needed a private space.
The search continued until the Tuesday morning of the second week.
On the eighth floor he found a broad corridor lined with portraits and, at the far end, the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls.
Ivan stopped opposite the tapestry, fixed his mind on a practice space, and walked past the blank stretch of wall three times.
A door appeared where none had been, flush with the stone as though it had always existed.
He pushed it open.
Behind him the door sealed itself.
The room beyond was a vast, brightly lit training hall.
Two long rows of practice dummies waited in perfect ranks.
[Ding.
Mysterious location discovered: Room of Requirement.] The notification was expected.
The three-percent jump in the Explore Hogwarts quest was not.
The library itself had only been worth five percent.
The relative importance of this room was obvious.
“Reducto.” A white jet of light struck the nearest dummy.
One wooden arm swelled and burst in a spray of splinters.
Ivan restored it with a casual Reparo and continued.
For the next half hour the hall filled with coloured spells.
Transfiguration, the Full Body-Bind, the Summoning Charm, the Light Charm—after two weeks of relentless study he had brought every basic spell to at least Level 1.
They no longer failed at random.
Accuracy, however, remained poor.
Stationary targets were manageable.
Moving ones required several attempts before a clean hit.
He activated a Top Student Experience Card mid-session.
The cognitive boost translated directly into combat.
Spell trajectories became readable.
He began predicting the dummies’ movements a fraction of a second early.
The same spell levels suddenly performed at a noticeably higher effective strength.
When the hour ended the familiar fog settled over his thoughts.
“I got stupid,” he muttered, “and I also got stronger.” The drop in processing speed after every card still felt like a sudden loss of intelligence.
By late morning his magic was nearly drained and his head swam.
With Flying class in the afternoon he rested briefly, then left the Room of Requirement and took an unfamiliar secret passage downward, intending to reach the Entrance Hall.
The moment he stepped out of the passage the system spoke again.
[Ding.
Unknown secret passage explored.
Explore Hogwarts progress has reached 40%.
Reward: Academic Points ×20 Additional reward: Between 11:00 p.m.
and 1:00 a.m., proceed to the Restricted Section, seventh row, twelfth shelf, and claim it yourself.]