From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 166 Accident on the Express Train
Time flies when studying magic.

During this time, Ivy received a letter from Hogwarts, informing him that he would attend OWLs with the fifth-year students at the end of this school year. One of his privileges was that he could allocate his study time freely, just like when he first became a transfer student at Hogwarts more than a hundred years ago.

However, he must prove that he does have this ability in three elective courses before he can be granted the right to study on his own.

Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies did not have any practical parts, so they were the easiest for Ivy. He had already written to Professor Bathsheda Barbling and Professor Charity Burbage respectively to make appointments with them for the exams.

For Ivy, caring for magical creatures is a must, and he has many ideas about magical creatures to try out. Moreover, this year Hogwarts has built most of the facilities of the "base" and introduced a wide variety of magical animals. The materials obtained from these magical animals are likely to become the raw materials for Ivy to make magical objects. So Ivy will not miss this good opportunity to make money.

Looking back at the shopping list sent from Hogwarts, Ivy found that there was nothing he needed to buy, so he did not go to Diagon Alley alone again, but continued to lock himself in the room to study magic.

The newly acquired Melodic Spellcasting feat is an ability with unlimited potential.

Ivy discovered that the key to this specialty is melody, which refers to the organized, rhythmic sequence of sounds formed after artistic conception.

And this actually does not include musical instruments.

In other words, the sounds made by whistling, clapping, stamping feet, or tapping the table with fingers can all be considered part of the melody. Ivy remembered that before he traveled through time, he had listened to a tape called Golden Whistle in his hometown, which contained a melody that was simply whistled.

If Ivy could achieve a similar level, maybe he could release the Avada Kedavra curse by whistling.

Moreover, after Ivy's experiments, he found that melody casting was also effective for wizards' spells. He could now cast some simple spells by tapping his fingers on the table. Although melody casting was slightly inferior to silent and wandless casting in terms of concealment, it was still a casting method with unlimited potential.

Just because he discovered this, it was enough to make Ivy happy for several days. Isn't this the joy of studying magic?

Happy times always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it is time to go to Platform 9 3/4 again.

"I still can't believe that you've grown so tall in just one summer vacation, Ivy." Draco Malfoy muttered softly as he sat opposite Ivy in the compartment of the Hogwarts Express.

When Ivy came out of the room in Malfoy Manor, Draco was shocked. Because Ivy had been studying magic since she moved into Malfoy Manor and had never appeared in front of him. This made Malfoy think that someone had invaded their manor.

Even when Lucius and Narcissa later testified that the tall young man in front of him was Ivy Doom himself, he took it as a sign of being under a Confusion Curse. In the end, Ivy had to let his beloved ceramic dragon spit a ball of fire to prove his identity.

Malfoy didn't say much along the way, but kept looking back and forth with suspicious eyes, as if this could peel off Ivy's disguise.

It was not until Cassandra sat in their box that Malfoy stopped looking at her rudely, because he found that Cassandra did not show any discomfort or surprise, as if she had known everything for a long time.

Because of the experience of fighting side by side in the Philosopher's Stone room, Malfoy gained some trust in this equally arrogant girl.

"I will be attending OWLs this school year, so I won't be attending classes with you." Ivy said softly, "But no matter what, we still have a lot of things to do. Especially you, Cassandra."

"I will make all preparations as you wish, Lord Doom." Cassandra nodded. Through the advance communication in letters, she already knew that Ivy would begin to cultivate her abilities this year, and she had been preparing for this for a long time.

Ivy nodded and prepared to close his eyes and rest for a while.

But the noise coming from the corridor prevented him from doing so. He frowned and stood up, ready to see what was going on.

The corridor was crowded with chattering witches, who were chatting and laughing with each other, standing on tiptoe and looking at each other excitedly.

From their excited words, Ivy learned who was the culprit causing the congestion - Gilderoy Lockhart.

Ivy closed his eyes in pain. He was not surprised by his discovery. Since he had made up his mind not to get involved with Defense Against the Dark Arts during the holidays, Ivy turned around and went back to the box. Perhaps a silencing spell could help him get rid of the noisy environment.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

The chattering witches separated in the aisle and several young wizards came out. Ivy recognized that the one walking in front was Harry, followed by two red-haired Weasleys.

Harry's face was flushed, just as red as the Weasley family's ancestral red hair.

"Aha! What a pleasure to meet you, Scarhead Potter." Ivy looked back and saw Malfoy coming out of the box. "It seems that not only will your walking into a bookstore be the headline, but even your taking the train to school will be the same. But if I were you, I would choose another more eye-catching way of traveling. How about riding a dragon?"

Harry stopped angrily and looked back. Apart from the chattering female students, he did not see Lockhart. So he started arguing with Malfoy: "Did you regain your confidence after changing your clothes? Malfoy? Or did your confidence come from this new follower around you?"

Before Malfoy could retort, Harry pinched his nose in an exaggerated manner, fanning himself, as if Malfoy was still reeking of trolls.

Malfoy's face turned red all of a sudden, and he gritted his teeth and said, "No wonder you wear glasses, your eyes are really not very useful. This is Ivy!"

"Ivy?" Ron, who was beside Harry, was surprised. "It's only been one summer, and you've grown so tall?"

Ron was considered tall among the second-year wizards. He was only 13 years old, but he was already taller than his mother.

"I'm an ancient wizard. I've just recovered my original height." Ivy said a few perfunctorily and prepared to go back to the box. He didn't want to meet Lockhart. Any form of meeting was better off not having it.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione's furry head squeezed out from the crowd, "You can't do that to Mr. Lockhart! He's our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

"I don't think that arrogant guy is more qualified than Professor Victor. Look at his textbooks, they're just novels..." Ron muttered.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, "Are you Ivy? We haven't seen each other for just one summer, and you're already this tall?"

Ivy had expected that the discussion about his height would continue for a while, so he didn't react much. "Yes. You know, I'm over a hundred years old. If you look closely, Dumbledore is younger than me." Ivy tried not to draw attention to himself. "The magic that caused me to shrink has been lifted, so I just returned to my original height."

However, this is not the case. Ivy's rapid growth was caused by the Philosopher's Stone. Until now, he still doesn't know how it happened. Perhaps after getting Nicolas Flamel's alchemy manuscript, he can get a glimpse of the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone.

Ivy's original intention was just to respond casually and then return to the box to rest. Talking in the busy corridor was too easy to attract attention, especially from those guys Ivy wanted to avoid.

"Click!" A flash of light appeared along with the sound, attracting everyone's attention.

It was a very thin, gray-haired boy who was looking at Harry in fascination. He was holding something in his hand. It was a very ordinary Muggle camera, probably the kind that used film.

"Hello, Harry? Uh... and Harry's friends? I - my name is Colin Creevey." The gray-haired little man took a step forward and said in a timid tone, "I have heard a lot about you... Can I take a picture of you? My parents are amazed that I am a wizard. If I have some photos to send to them, they can understand the magical world!"

"You already took it!" Harry scowled.

But before he could lose his temper, Malfoy laughed at him: "As expected of the famous Scarhead Potter! You even found a way to hire a photographer for yourself! Are you going to start handing out autographed photos next?"

"It would be great if you could sign your name," Colin said.

"What? Never!" Harry was confused by the rampage. He didn't expect that he would have to deal with two "enemies" at once.

"Everyone, get in line!" Malfoy called out loudly, "Harry Potter is going to hand out autographed photos to everyone!"

"Photographer? Where can I find a photographer?" A strong voice rang out from the crowd, "How can I be left out of the autographed photo?"

For the first time, Ivy felt suffocated. In the magical castle of Hogwarts, there were always too many unexpected things. Was he going to meet the person he least wanted to see on the first day of school? Ivy hadn't even stepped into the castle yet, he just took the steam train to there.

"Ha! I found you, Harry!" Lockhart looked extremely handsome in his flowing green robe. Even after squeezing out from the crowd of fierce female students, his clothes were not messy at all. Ivy even wondered if he had used some magic.

Lockhart had already hugged Harry affectionately, and the little witch behind them let out a cry of surprise.

Lockhart turned around and showed off his eight shining teeth, and then Ivy heard Lockhart whisper to Harry: "I gave you a taste of fame, didn't I? It made you addicted. You were on the front page of the newspaper with me, and you couldn't wait to do it again."

"What? No!" Harry looked like he was about to collapse. He had never expected that he would have to face three talented people at once.

However, Lockhart did not give him a chance to refuse. He just called out to Colin, who was holding a camera: "Mr. Creevy, right?"

Colin nodded sharply, making people worry about his thin neck.

"A photo of us two! What a great deal! Both of us will sign for you!" Lockhart smiled kindly.

Along with the camera flashes, there was a distress signal in Harry's eyes. Ivy was probably the only wizard present who noticed this.

Ivy glanced at Malfoy who was smiling maliciously, and thought that he might have noticed it too. It seemed that the old saying was true: the people who know you best are not only your friends, but also your enemies.

"Oh, that looks like a Muggle camera?" Lockhart asked with interest, "I know a way to make the pictures taken by a Muggle camera move like those taken by wizards, as long as you pour the right developing potion on it."

Colin looked interested, his eyes twinkling with desire.

But Lockhart was not going to continue: "Although I am willing to tell you the specific configuration method, we have already occupied this corridor for too long. I have to say that this is very unethical behavior."

He stood up and shouted, "Dear ladies, respected gentlemen! Go back to the box! We still have a whole year to get along well with each other!"

The smile on his face was impeccable, and the wizards in the corridor - mainly witches - all applauded and cheered.

Lockhart bowed dramatically, put his arm around Harry and left.

"Give us some privacy, thank you! Thank you!"

Harry's eyes were filled with despair. Yesterday was clearly a joyful summer vacation. He had enjoyed a super sumptuous meal at the Weasley family's burrow. All the food was what Harry loved, and at the end there was a honey pudding that made people drool...

Now that I think about it, that might have been Harry's "last supper".

But Harry will never give in! His only chance of survival is right beside him!
As Lockhart walked past Ivy with his arm around him, Harry grabbed Ivy's robe, his green eyes full of pleading and desire for life.

However, Ivy clapped and smiled, and unnoticeably pulled the "lifeline" away from Harry.

Let Harry deal with Lockhart. Ivy doesn't want to have anything to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Facing Harry's astonished and disbelieving eyes, Ivy silently said "sorry".

Ivy believed that Harry must have understood, because his eyes were finally filled with a deathly calm.

"A word of advice, Harry." Ivy could still hear Lockhart's voice. "I covered for you from young Creevey—"

Until he closed the door of the box, blocking out all the disturbances.

(End of this chapter)