From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

In any case, Ivy was very satisfied with the new changes that eating the Philosopher's Stone brought her. If you think of it as Dumbledore's salary for teaching Ivy Defense Against the Dark Arts, it's equivalent to a job that pays 10,000 Galleons a day, and it's paid daily.

Not to mention, this job also brought Ivy many miraculous effects, almost like a monkey version of wish-granting magic.

Furthermore, Ivy's wizard class level has reached 16, which means he has a new feat to choose from, and he already has a long-desired option in mind.

With little hesitation, Ivy acquired the "Multitalented Spellcaster" feat from the Grimoire of Destruction.

The Multicaster effect has only one purpose: it allows Ivy to combine two lower-level spell slots into a single higher-level spell slot.

With the large number of low-level spell slots that Ivy gains thanks to his Ancient Magic Affinity trait, he can now call himself a high-level spell turret!

Because the work of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was too busy and varied, Ivy couldn't find more than eight hours of free time outside of her nighttime sleep to create the Philosopher's Stone.

So on Friday morning, everyone who came to the auditorium for lunch saw Professor Victor walk into the auditorium with bloodshot eyes and a deathly pale face.

Ivy even overheard some students discussing his identity: "Professor Victor looks terrible, could he be a vampire?"

"You don't know?" Another student made a fuss about his companion's ignorance, which made Ivy a little curious about what rumors were circulating about him in the castle.

Ivy slowed her pace and heard the Hufflepuff say, "Professor Victor is the vampire who's been hunting Professor Quirrell all this time! Remember? At the beginning of last semester, Professor Quirrell told everyone that he was being chased by a vampire!"

"What?" This question perfectly expressed Ivy's thoughts. "Dumbledore hired him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

“Oh, that’s Dumbledore, the most famous white wizard of this century. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent a centaur or a zombie to teach us one day,” Hufflepuff, who had spread rumors that Professor Victor was a vampire, shrugged.

“Horsemen and zombies? What can they teach us?” another student asked, sounding terrified.

"Astronomy, perhaps? Or how do you climb out of a coffin after you die?"

Ivy sat down at the faculty dining table, calmed herself down, and finally decided to give all grades an extra lesson on how to identify vampires.

Just as he was trying to recall the content about vampires in his textbook, an owl brought him a message.

It read in bold, messy handwriting: "You're going to be a grandfather!"

Ivy immediately realized the message came from Hagrid, but his handwriting was so large that even Professor McGonagall, who was passing by behind Ivy, could see it.

She said with a surprised look, "I didn't expect your children to be married, Professor Victor. Should I ask you to help Dumbledore ask for leave?"

Ivy's face twitched, and she shook her head, saying, "No need to trouble yourself, I can handle it."

Professor McGonagall nodded understandingly and said gently, “Oh, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Okay, Professor Victor?”

"Of course...of course." What else could Ivy say besides that?

This was all his fault for forgetting to block the Calling Name Charm. As a result, the owl carrying the message to "Evidence Doom" was able to easily find "Professor Victor".

Chapter 100 The General Explanation of NEWT

Fortunately, Professor Victor didn't have many classes today. Apart from two consecutive classes in the seventh-year Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts class, there was nothing else at school that needed him.

Therefore, after completing the routine quiz, Ivy also introduced the method of compiling incorrect answers to the seventh-year students. To be honest, there weren't many students attending the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, because only a very small number of people, after receiving Defense Against the Dark Arts education from Hogwarts with its instructors changing every year, still had the enthusiasm and motivation to attend the advanced classes, not to mention that many students with enthusiasm failed to pass the OWLs exams.

So although the advanced class included students from four colleges, it was practically no different from a small class. Having been honed through the other six years, Ivy's teaching methods had been rigorously tested; now, simply resorting to a sea of ​​practice problems was enough to win over these students who were filled with anxiety about their future.

"Can I really get an E (Good) in NEWT three months from now, Professor Victor?" a witch with eyes swollen like light bulbs asked.

“I need to correct you. It’s more than three months, a full hundred days!” Ivy smiled and nodded. “As long as you all have determination and perseverance, a hundred days is more than enough.”

“But…” The witch seemed to want to say something more, but after glancing fearfully at the exam papers on the podium, she shook her head and said nothing more.

“Every class after this will start with an exam and end with an exam, just like today.” This is something Ivy often heard during the “100-day sprint” and it’s not inappropriate to apply it to the Magic College Entrance Exam. “I will try my best to recreate NEWT’s exam environment so that you can become familiar with everything about it. So when you actually face it, just think about how many times you have taken it here before, and you will definitely be able to give it your best.”

The young wizards below the stage nodded in agreement. Ivy's theory was simple and easy to understand; anyone could comprehend it.

“What about the practical part? NEWT does have a practical component, Professor Victor.” A student wearing a school robe with a blue badge raised his hand; he was a Ravenclaw.

“Of course I’ve prepared for this too.” Ivy smiled mysteriously. “Think about what they’ll put you through in the practical exercises, Mr. Jackson?”

“Uh…some kind of dark magic creature we’ve studied?” Ravenclaw’s Jackson hesitated for a moment before giving a well-known answer.

“That’s right. As we all know, Defense Against the Dark Arts is meant to protect oneself from dark magic, so how can one ensure their own safety?” Ivy asked and answered herself, “By ensuring that the dark magic is destroyed.”

"Wow!" A gasp rang out from below the podium.

"Are you going to teach us some powerful spell?" Ravenclaw's Jackson asked cautiously, unconsciously using honorifics.

"For well-known reasons, I can't go through all the dark magic creatures that might appear in NEWT, so I'm going to teach you a general solution." Ivy's voice became low, almost a whisper, but every student in the audience could still hear him clearly, because no one dared to make a sound. Everyone held their breath and waited quietly for the professor to speak. "If you encounter a dark magic creature that you can handle, that's great, of course. But if you can't, use the spell I'll teach you. I guarantee it won't drag down your written test score, and it won't make you drop from an O (excellent) to an E (good)."

The students below the stage swallowed hard, their eyes filled with curiosity. Encouraged by his companion, Jackson from Ravenclaw mustered his courage and asked, "Could...could we see it, Professor?"

“Of course.” Ivy waved her hand, and the bricks on the ground gradually rose up, turning into a giant stone statue.

The whole class stared wide-eyed as the statue pulled its leg out of the bricks and, under Ivy's direction, walked to the other end of the classroom.

"Protego Maxima (Ultimate Armor)." A golden barrier slowly appeared, protecting the entire space at this end of the classroom, because what Ivy was about to demonstrate was a very powerful spell.

“Perhaps this is indeed a way to boost your motivation to study and your confidence in exams.” Ivy raised her wand once more, while beckoning the students to come within the protective range of the “Most Powerful Armor Charm.” “Watch closely, I’ll only demonstrate this once.”

"Pyroblast!"

As Ivy finished his spell, a bright burst of fire erupted from the tip of his wand, striking the stone statue at the other end of the classroom squarely.

After a deafening explosion, the stone statue standing near the classroom was completely reduced to a pile of fragments. The intense heat from the incantation even turned the bluestone bricks into a viscous molten state. Stone fragments, propelled by the impact of the explosion, struck the golden barrier formed by the Supreme Iron Armor Spell, creating ripples.

This spell was modified by Ivy himself, combining the two offensive spells "Thunder Explosion" and "Blazing Flames," but it did not become a high-temperature fireball that could produce a huge explosion as he had imagined. Instead, it was more like a new variant of some kind of explosion spell.

"Wow!" the students exclaimed in unison. "Professor Victor, is that some kind of explosive spell?"

"Pretty much. I invented it myself. Although it's not quite what I expected, I think this spell is enough to eliminate any dark magic creatures you might encounter during the exam." Ivy nodded and used her wand to remove the Strongest Armored Barrier from the classroom.

Just as the golden light barrier slowly seeped into Ivy's wand, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open, revealing a panting Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Victor! Is anyone hurt?" Professor McGonagall asked in rapid succession, not even having time to catch her breath, without observing the situation in the classroom.

“We’re all fine, Professor McGonagall.” Ivy then realized that she might have made a bit too much noise. “It was just a magic demonstration. Maybe I should make sure to soundproof it next time.”

“Thank goodness you were just demonstrating magic, Professor Victor.” Professor McGonagall took a few deep breaths to calm her heart before speaking sternly, “I thought some reckless fool had let a troll into the castle again! I was teaching a Transfiguration class next door, and the students were terrified by the noise.”

Ivymer cast a restoration spell, putting the floorboards that had been torn apart by the explosion back into place, and piecing together the shattered desks and chairs.

“Your armor charm ranks among the top three of all the wizards I’ve ever met, Professor Victor. But even with the soundproofing charm, it’s still not enough.” Professor McGonagall began to exercise her authority as vice-principal. “I expect that next time you conduct such a teaching activity, you will report to me first, at least to give me some mental preparation.”

“I promise,” Ivy said sincerely, “when I’m really ready to teach them this spell, I’ll apply for a clearing near the Forbidden Forest as a practice area.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Professor Victor.” Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of her nose from running, and nodded gently.

Chapter 101 Norbert

When Ivy finished dealing with the Defense Against the Dark Arts mess and stepped out of the castle, the sky outside was bright and clear.

Spring comes late to the Scottish Highlands, so even though the sun is strong, there's always a chill in the air.

However, the plants that line both sides of the path from Hogwarts to the Forbidden Forest don't complain about the sun not being warm enough like wizards do. They bloom profusely with many lovely flowers, and even someone like Ivy, who stayed up all night, can feel their vitality.

Hagrid kept his cabin completely covered, not even letting in a crack for the cold wind blowing from the Black Lake. His kind-hearted hound, Tooth, was tied to the door, fulfilling his master's duty of guarding the Forbidden Forest.

Ivy adjusted his body to a suitable height using Polymorph. The Philosopher's Stone class trait granted him powerful Polymorph talent. Perhaps he should try learning Animagus; maybe he could successfully become a Druid or something similar.

After patting the dog's fluffy head, Ivy knocked on the door of the cabin.

"Who is it?" Hagrid's wary voice came from behind the door.

"It's me! Ivy." Ivy had barely introduced herself when Hagrid opened the wooden door, looked around twice, and then pulled Ivy inside.

"Why are you so late? I thought you didn't have class this morning!" Hagrid complained.

“Then you must be on the wrong day, Hagrid.” Ivy was so sure, because both Slytherin’s first-year students and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had a back-to-back class on Friday mornings.

The former was Potions class with Gryffindor, and the latter was Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the seventh-year advanced class.

"How long has it been since you last left the house?" The heat inside the cabin was almost suffocating. I wonder if Howling Flame, being a magical creature, would release carbon monoxide when it burns, but judging from Hagrid's healthy appearance, it's highly unlikely.

"Not long, anyway, I still remember to eat," Hagrid replied nonchalantly, turning and heading towards the fireplace.

Besides an indescribable burnt smell, the cabin floor was littered with all sorts of random things.

There were knitting needles as thick as Ivy's little finger, and unfinished knitting fabric hanging on them. Ivy couldn't tell what Hagrid was knitting, but it was probably for Little Dragon.

Chicken feathers were scattered all over the floor, and blood was dripping onto the floor. That must be chicken blood, which Hagrid was going to use in the baby food he was preparing for Xiaolong. Another ingredient was brandy. Ivy also saw a few bottles stuck upside down in a wooden bucket in the corner. I wondered if Hagrid had tasted it for his unborn baby first.

"Come and see! Ivy!" Hagrid carried a frying pan and took the Howling Flame and the dragon egg with a crack in it out of the stove, placing them on the wooden table in the middle of the house.

The moment the scorching pot bottom touched the table, it immediately released a wisp of smoke into the air. Ivy used a heat-preserving spell to prevent the heat from being transferred, thus saving Hagrid's wooden dining table.

"Xiaoyan is such a responsible and good mother. The book says that a normal dragon egg takes a month to hatch, but it's only been two weeks and it's almost ready to hatch!" Hagrid threw the macho pink mat aside, leaned on the table, and stared wide-eyed at the dragon egg that was shaking constantly.

Besides the cracks, a clicking sound kept coming from inside the dragon egg, as if the baby dragon was scratching the inner wall of the egg with its fingernails, but because it had no foothold, it could only keep repeating this action.

The sound made Xiaoyan, the foster mother, very uneasy. She kept trying to poke at the dragon egg with her claws, but seemingly realizing that her actions were inappropriate, Xiaoyan finally restrained herself and let out an anxious, coquettish meow.

This was the first time Ivy had heard it make a sound. In the past, it had always expressed its emotions with hissing and low purring. This cat-like sound had never been heard before.

"You're an Art Elemental Image, not actually a cat!" Ivy said in surprise as she picked up Xiaoyan. "Not to mention you're my mage pet. If the intelligence I share with you is high enough, you should be able to learn to talk. Why are you suddenly meowing?"

"Howling Flame can talk? Like the Sphinx?" Hagrid's expression told Ivy that he had definitely misunderstood something. "Then can this ability be taught to Norbert?"

“Nober? You mean that baby dragon that hasn’t hatched yet? I don’t think it’s smart enough to learn to talk.” Ivy rationally rejected Hagrid’s idea.

“We absolutely have to try!” Hagrid said eagerly. “Just imagine, Ivy, how cool would that be if we taught a dragon to talk!”

Just as Hagrid and Ivy were discussing the possibility of the baby dragon Norber learning to speak, the dragon egg in the frying pan suddenly made a screeching sound and then cracked in two.

The little dragon wobbled off its eggshell, scratching the cast iron pan with its fingernails, producing a somewhat harsh metallic sound.