From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

"I curse you!" Voldemort's hoarse voice rang out once more. "I curse you, Evidence Doom, and your cat! You'll regret going against me. When I sweep across the wizarding world, you'll..."

Before Voldemort could finish speaking, Ivy rewarded him with a fireball whose damage type had been changed by the Scrivener's Grimoire, which had been activated by the Scrivener's spellcasting class ability.

A radiant fireball, gleaming with golden light, exploded in the forest clearing, as if a second sun had risen in the Forbidden Forest.

"Ahhhhhhh!" That was Voldemort's painful howl. After tormenting Little Tom in the diary, Ivy was all too familiar with this scream. He knew that Voldemort was about to run away.

“What a pity,” Ivy shook her head while holding the big cat. “If you had been a little more patient, you might have been able to reunite with your Horcrux.”

Chapter 88 Good News and Bad News

Ivy: "Professor Dumbledore, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

Dumbledore: "Is that Ivy? Where is your voice coming from? Oh, thank you, but I'm not here..." (talking to you.)

There seemed to be other people with Dumbledore. Ivy raised an eyebrow and continued with her spell.

Ivy: "The bad news is, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is dead! I did it!"

Dumbledore: "What? You said Quirrell is dead? What's going on? People call me a crazy old man..." (But I'm not the mentally ill person you're talking about!)

Ivy: "The good news is, he's Voldemort, the one who coveted the Philosopher's Stone!"

Dumbledore: "Really? Thank you for saving the students and teachers of Hogwarts once again, but I think..." (Voldemort probably won't die so easily, right?)

Ivy used the third-circle Evocation spell Short Message to communicate with Dumbledore. This spell sends a short message of up to 25 characters to the mind of a creature known to the caster. Furthermore, if the recipient knows the caster, they can immediately reply in the same form, also with a reply of no more than 25 characters.

Furthermore, this spell has a long-range effect. As long as the two are in the same plane, the information can be delivered instantly without loss. Even if the two exist in different planes, the short message spell has only a 5% chance of losing the information.

The only drawback is that each spell cast consumes a level 3 spell slot. Therefore, it's not possible to interact freely like texting.

Ivy's Scribe class level reached 9, granting him three 3rd-level spell slots. His 16 Intelligence points translate to 3 attribute modifier points, providing him with one 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-level spell slot each. Furthermore, Ivy's level 10 Ancient Magic Wizard class trait, Ancient Magic, provides a maximum spell slot bonus: three slots for 6th-level and below, two for 7th-level, one for 8th-level, and none for 9th-level. However, because Ivy's wizard class level is still insufficient to learn spells above 6th level, he remains unable to use the 6th-level necromancy spell Soul Cage.

Therefore, in terms of 3rd-circle spell slots, Ivy has a total of 7, which means 7 Fireballs or 7 rounds of beyond-sight dialogue. Ivy had previously used 3: one borrowed by Howling Flame to cast Fireball, a 3rd-circle Trick of Repair to repair Howling Flame's ceramic body, and a Radiant Fireball to disperse Voldemort's black smoke.

In addition, he had three rounds of short message conversations with Dumbledore, so he now has one more level 3 spell slot remaining.

Ivy: "My spells can only transmit messages of up to 25 characters. Tell me your location!"

Dumbledore: "Oh, I was at the intersection of High Street and Cathedral Street in Yorkshire, in a candy store. So this is..." (Is this why I always feel like I can't finish my sentence? Okay, I've stopped again.)

Ivy was surprised that Dumbledore, that old bee, actually went to buy candy again, and not the familiar Hogsmeade Honeydukes shop, but a Muggle candy shop in Yorkshire!

Now that they knew the location, Ivy prepared to escape from the school.

Wizards don't have many means of fast travel, and Floo Powder is the most common one. Obviously, Muggle candy stores don't have a Floo Powder network.

Then there's Portkey and Apparition. Ivy only studied at Hogwarts for a little over a year. Although his combat prowess was off the charts, his practical spells for daily life were only adequate. Therefore, he certainly wouldn't make Portkeys, and as a fifth-year student, he was still too young to legally use Apparition, even though Ivy was already 144 years old.

The last option besides that is, of course, a flying broom!

This popular civilian single-person flying machine in the wizarding world is not slow at all. The Firebolt, which will be launched next year, can accelerate to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds, which is equivalent to more than 240 kilometers per hour. And this is just the initial acceleration. Its cruising speed can even reach more than 300 kilometers per hour.

The Firebolt hasn't even been officially released yet. The fastest flying broom in the world is the Nimbus 2001 in Ivy's hands. Its cruising speed is over 250 kilometers per hour. If Ivy were to use the aerodynamic spell that reduces wind resistance, its speed would surpass the Firebolt before it even comes out.

Although the Pneumatic Spell can't be perfectly integrated with Nimbus 2001 yet, it should be fine for flying for only an hour, right? Besides, Ivy has Featherfall spell available, so she won't die from the fall anyway.

As for the methods of long-distance travel used by D&D mages, there are the 3rd level Flying spell and the Phantom Steed, the 5th level Teleportation spell, the 7th level Teleportation spell, and the 9th level Portal.

The spells at level 3 are too slow; by the time they reach Yorkshire, it'll be too late. Ivy doesn't know any spells above level 5; only the teleportation circle spell is somewhat reliable. It has a sufficient distance and requires few casting resources. However, it has a fatal flaw: the destination must be a permanent teleportation circle whose rune sequence is known to the caster.

In the HP magical world, there's probably only one D&D mage, Ivy, so even if he really learned this spell, he wouldn't have a destination to go to.

So after careful consideration, Ivy decided to take a spontaneous trip on the Nimbus 2001!

If you don't skip school, wouldn't you be missing something?

So, after more than an hour, having traversed several cities, mountains, plains, and two straits, Ivy finally arrived at the location described by Dumbledore.

It was an old-looking building, only two stories high, made entirely of huge square stone bricks, with wooden window and door frames. It looked dilapidated due to years of neglect.

Compared to modern buildings, the candy store's door frame was much lower. Dumbledore was standing in front of the door, his pointed wizard hat towering above the frame. If he wanted to enter, he would probably have to duck.

Besides Dumbledore, several Muggles were gathered around the shop entrance. A balding middle-aged man in a shirt was exchanging sweet-tasting experiences with Dumbledore, while two young men in police uniforms were trying to persuade Dumbledore to go with them. It seemed that the situation had been deadlocked for a while.

"Oh! Ivy!" Dumbledore, who was a head taller than the crowd, spotted Ivy immediately. Ivy had already transformed her Slytherin relic robes into a well-fitting trench coat, making her look no different from any other passerby.

As soon as Dumbledore spoke, the people surrounding him quickly turned their gazes to Ivy.

Chapter 89 The Old Bee in the Sugar Jar

"Hello, young gentleman." A smiling policewoman approached. She had a lot of harmless fat, making her look round and plump. Her round face was dotted with freckles of varying shades, which made her look harmless.

“Hello, ma’am, I am Ivy Doom, a student of Professor Dumbledore.” Ivy put on a smile that she hadn’t used much lately.

“Really? I didn’t even know he was a professor!” The policewoman turned her head, her gaze lingering on Dumbledore’s half-moon glasses and long white beard for a moment, before turning back to Ivy to explain what had happened, “Professor Dumbledore walked into this candy store, wanting to pick out some sweet treats, but he ran into a problem when he went to pay.”

Her companion, the policeman standing next to Dumbledore, showed Ivy the banknote in his hand—the same one Ivy had handed to Dumbledore in the headmaster's office.

In an instant, Ivy knew exactly what was going on.

The ten-pound banknote in the Grimoire of Destruction comes from the Royal Mint in 19th-century Britain. Although Britain had already begun to use paper money extensively at that time, the printing and anti-counterfeiting technologies were completely different from those of today.

The design of the British pound banknotes at that time was based on a large white sheet of paper with a watermark for security. The text and patterns were printed on one side in a single color, while the back was blank, with neither patterns nor text. The banknotes relied solely on the watermark pattern throughout for security.

So when Dumbledore offered his money, the young shopkeeper refused to accept it. After some back and forth, a patrol officer in the surrounding neighborhood discovered the situation, which is why Dumbledore was surrounded by a group of people when Ivy arrived.

"I'm sorry, this was my oversight." Ivy sincerely apologized to the patrol officer. "Because of his advanced age, Professor Dumbledore is a bit..."

Ivy pointed to her head, and the two patrolmen looked at her with understanding. Ivy continued, "Don't worry, I'll handle everything. I'm sorry to have kept you from your work."

Ivy's superb charm and the second-circle spell Suggestion influenced the two young patrolmen's judgment. They exchanged a glance, handed the banknotes back to Dumbledore, and turned to leave.

"Hey! What's going on?" The middle-aged man, who had been exchanging sweet treats with Dumbledore, scratched his head in confusion. "When did those civil servants become so easy to talk to? I thought you guys were going to keep bothering me for a while longer!"

Dumbledore smiled and introduced Ivy to his new friend: "This gentleman is Keith, whose lifelong dream is to buy this candy shop. It's said to be one of the few shops in all of England that still uses handmade hard candy pressing machines."

At this point, Dumbledore blinked: "Although I've never seen the 'machine' he mentioned, I imagine it's something magical."

“Of course!” Once he started talking about sweets and the shop, the little old man named Keith couldn’t stop. “Sweet treats are like magic! They can give you a good mood all day long! If I could take over this shop, I would paint all the doors and windows white and write ‘1827’ in big letters on the sign! You know what? This shop has been selling sweets since then! It might be the oldest sweets shop in all of Britain, or even the world!”

"Alright, alright," Ivy said dismissively, preparing to use a spell to send him away, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"I haven't paid for my candy yet!"

Ivy rolled her eyes. "I don't think you're worried about Quirrell and Voldemort at all."

However, Dumbledore's request put Ivy in a difficult position. Apart from Galleons, the banknotes he had were not the type that could be used in 1992. He couldn't really use his spells to get the shopkeeper to give them away for free, could he?

"I'll pay!" Keith volunteered. "It was a pleasure chatting with you. Once I take over this shop, you must come often, and especially bring some for your lovely students!"

By the time the old bee finally got his sugar jar, it was almost evening, and the dim sunlight shone through the treetops onto the ancient buildings of Yorkshire.

Dumbledore popped a sugar-coated tart into his mouth and said, "We finally have some time to hear what's going on."

Ivy sighed, pressed his silver linden wand to his temple, and drew out a wisp of silvery-white mist. It was a memory of fighting Quirrell and Voldemort; he had already planned to do this on his way from Hogwarts.

"See for yourself. It's all inside."

Ivy watched as Dumbledore transformed a coffee-flavored hard candy into a small bottle, which contained the wisp of silver mist.

“Luckily, I have a Pensieve in my office, otherwise I would have had to trouble you to explain it again.” Dumbledore put the bottle away and stared at Ivy’s face. “If we go back to Hogwarts now, we might still make it in time for dinner. What do you think, Ivy?”

Ivy suddenly realized that there might be nothing stupider than skipping school to see the headmaster. He could have just told Snape, after all, he was the person Dumbledore trusted most at Hogwarts.

So he shrugged and said, "Go ahead."

Dumbledore, with Ivy in tow, used Apparition to reach Diagon Alley, then used the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace to return to the Headmaster's office. It must be said, wizarding methods can be quite useful at times, at least in terms of the convenience of everyday magic.

The principal's office was still the same as always, with steaming silverware (Ivy suspected it was a magical humidifier), glittering devices, portraits of past principals hanging all over the room as if they were dozing off, and a plate of candy that was always on the table.

Dumbledore picked up the last sugar from the plate with a cheerful expression, poured some more from the sugar jar in his hand, and then invited Ivy to sit down.

“Ivy, it was indeed my oversight that a dark wizard appeared in the castle. I panicked for a while when I heard Quirrell and Voldemort’s names! But when I thought of you, the hero who once saved Hogwarts, I felt relieved!” Dumbledore smacked his candy noisily, not caring about his image at all, and for a moment, he really did look like an old madman.

Dumbledore never plays by the rules.

Ivy narrowed her eyes: "Why don't you take a look at my memories first?"

"Forgive an old man's knees, I've been standing outside all day!" Dumbledore said, pounding his leg with an air of importance. "In fact, that's exactly what I'm about to do."

Chapter 90 Black Tea, Sugar Cubes, and Milk

After Dumbledore pulled his head out of the Pensieve in a rather unseemly manner, he slumped into the comfortably cushioned chair and remained silent for a long time. Perhaps he needed to relieve the pressure on his lumbar spine from bending over, or perhaps he needed time to organize his thoughts.

“I must say, Ivy,” Dumbledore sat up slightly, “that your ancient magic is far more powerful than I imagined. And you really showed no mercy when you dealt with Professor Quirrell.”

"You mean the time we met in the Room of Secrets?" Ivy shrugged. "Just a bit of Slytherin shrewdness. I could tell you two were good people all along. I'm quite good at that."

"As for dealing with Quirrell, he threw two Heart-Splitting Bone-Cutting Spells at me." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Besides, what do you think I relied on to defeat Lanlock's elf army and Lukewood's dark wizards? Love and peace?"

“Dark wizards over a hundred years ago weren’t as hesitant as Quirrell,” Ivy continued, a statement he had considered for a long time. “Equal force is certainly necessary. Didn’t some people support using the ‘Three Unforgivable Curses’ against Voldemort’s followers during the last Wizarding War?”

"So that's why you studied Dark Arts?" Dumbledore asked abruptly, clearly having seen in Ivy's memories the story of "Blood in Bones" and Ivy borrowing Dark Arts books from the forbidden section in alphabetical order.

“Of course not, I study black magic out of my own interest.” Ivy readily admitted her hobby. “Black magic uses power that is difficult for ordinary people to control, but people like you and me have enough ability to control power, rather than being controlled by it.”

“Oh no, Ivy, you flatter me.” Dumbledore conjured up an exquisite teapot filled with fine Darjeeling tea. Although the aroma was rich, it was still the old-fashioned way the British brew tea powder. Ivy wondered if he had some kind of magic that allowed him to communicate with the house-elves in the kitchen at any time, like her own short-messaging spell. Otherwise, where would he get so much to eat and drink?

Dumbledore poured tea for himself and Ivy, and continued the previous topic: "I did not control the power, I just kept it as far away from it as possible."

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder?" Ivy joked, adding a little sugar and milk to her cup of black tea, turning it into a drink that young people would enjoy.