Ivan still had questions for the Sorting Hat, but the roar of applause from the Gryffindor table cut him off.
He set the hat back on the stool and walked down the steps.
A few older students shifted sideways to make room.
A pair of identical redheads immediately claimed the spaces on either side of him and shoved him down into the middle seat.
One of them spoke with theatrical exaggeration.
“Merlin’s beard, I bet you’re the first first-year who ever made Professor McGonagall wait like that.
That was—” “That was what?” Ivan asked.
“That was brilliant!” the other twin finished.
“You’re going to be a legend in this house,” they declared together, glancing at each other with matching grins.
Ivan nearly choked.
Their logic was completely deranged.
“Right.
Thanks,” he said politely, then added, “I’m Ivan Hals.
You?” “George Weasley.
That’s Fred.” One twin winked.
“Best remember which is which.
Fred hates being called by the wrong name.” “Got it, George.
I don’t think I’ll mix you up.” Ivan turned to the other brother.
“Right, Fred?” Fred’s mouth fell open.
George stared for a second before blurting, “Wait—how did you know I was George?” “Not hard to guess.
Every first-year already knows the Weasley twins live for trouble.” Ivan couldn’t exactly admit he’d read it in a book, so the excuse would have to do.
“Bloody hell, we’re that famous already?” George and Fred looked delighted.
Years of dedicated rule-breaking had finally paid off.
Beside them, Ron almost sprayed food across the table.
Since when were his brothers household names among the first-years?
The twins, meanwhile, were far more interested in the long private conversation Ivan had just had with the Sorting Hat.
They had never seen anyone talk to it that long.
Ivan gave them a half-truth and changed the subject.
Knowing dark magic was not something to advertise in Gryffindor.
He steered the talk toward the twins’ own adventures, casually fishing for information about secret passages inside the castle.
He already knew from the original story that Fred and George possessed a magical map that revealed most of Hogwarts’ hidden routes and even tracked the names of people moving through them.
With that map a student could move freely without ever being caught by professors or the caretaker.
Ivan’s previous life had given him plenty of knowledge, but he was not a living encyclopedia.
The map would still be extremely useful.
Faced with an eager younger admirer, the Weasley twins happily poured out stories and tips, even half-seriously inviting him to join their future pranking campaigns.
They said nothing about the map itself.
Ivan expected that.
First meetings did not earn that level of trust.
He was only planting seeds for later.
Then a voice suddenly spoke inside his head.
[Ding.
Host has obtained confidential information.
Quest generating…] [Quest Objective: Explore Hogwarts Current Progress: 2/100 Description: Curiosity about the unknown is a quality every young wizard should possess.
This ancient castle holds countless secrets.
Explore and learn them.
When progress reaches certain thresholds, rewards will be granted according to performance.] Ivan froze mid-sentence.
The conversation with the twins cut off.
A golden finger?
The realization hit a second later, followed by sharp, almost dizzying relief.
Waking up in Hogwarts had been equal parts miracle and disorientation.
The system’s appearance settled something tight in his chest.
He brushed the twins off with a few polite words and turned his full attention inward.
After trying every method he could remember from novels, a clean status panel finally appeared.
[Ivan Hals Occupation: Wizard Magic: Fear Curse – Level 1 (3/200) Theory: Magical Item Crafting – Level 0 (435/500) Magical Items: Wand (yew, unicorn hair, eleven and three-quarter inches) Magic Power: Medium Compatibility: 72.5% Academic Points: None] Most of it matched what he expected.
Two lines did not.
“Fear Curse?
Magical Item Crafting?” he muttered.
Neither skill belonged to him.
He had only just arrived.
The fragmentary memories that had surfaced under the Sorting Hat made the answer obvious: the original Ivan Hals had already learned these before coming to school.
It was not unheard of.
Even Hermione Granger, a pure Muggle-born, had taught herself basic magic before term began.
Children from wizarding families had far more opportunities.
The Fear Curse itself, though, was unfamiliar.
He could not recall any spell by that name in the books.
That did not surprise him.
The original story had only ever shown a narrow slice of the magical world.
Real dark wizards would never limit themselves to the handful of curses that happened to appear on the page.
The Restricted Section alone probably contained hundreds of darker techniques.
What concerned him more was the original family’s background.
Any household willing to teach a child dark magic before Hogwarts was unlikely to be gentle.
If they ever discovered that their son’s body now housed a soul from another world, Ivan had no idea what kind of magic they might use to reclaim it—or erase it.