From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

Ivy mentally refuted Professor Flitwick's words, but said without changing her expression, "There are multiple different versions? So it really is a hoax?"

“Absolutely right!” Professor Flitwick clapped his hands in approval, then asked with great curiosity, “Victor, can you tell me which house you’re from? We’ve discussed it here several times without reaching a conclusion!”

“When Minerva heard you were going to be giving adversarial lessons in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, she quietly told us you were supposed to be a Gryffindor,” Professor Flitwick rattled off. “But I think you’re more like a Ravenclaw—intelligent and efficient!”

“I’m a Slytherin,” Ivy answered honestly.

“Wow! What an amazing answer!” Professor Flitwick pushed up his round glasses. “Although Severus has never participated in our discussions, I dare say he’s very curious about it. If he heard this, he’d probably laugh for ages in the dungeon!”

Ivy imagined Professor Snape's happy laughter and shuddered. He had to admit that some people were born with an unhappy face; he was definitely more suited to a disdainful sneer and a sarcastic laugh.

“Victor,” Professor McGonagall interrupted Ivy’s thoughts, “there’s not much time left before the final exams. Don’t forget to prepare a final exam for them, but the seventh and fifth year students don’t need one. Mrs. Marchban from the Wizarding Exams Authority can handle that.”

Just as Ivy responded, an owl flew in from outside the window, interrupting their conversation. It landed on the windowsill and kept tapping on the glass with its curved beak.

Professor McGonagall moved the clutter by the window, opened the window, and let it in.

The beautifully colored owl immediately set its sights on Professor McGonagall and dropped a letter beside her.

The envelope was carefully packaged, looking neat and clean. The wax seal on the closure was a capital "M", with something resembling a magic wand standing upright in the middle of the "M".

"A letter from the Ministry of Magic?" Professor McGonagall frowned after just one glance. "They should send it to the Headmaster's office!"

It seems that even the usually serious and meticulous Professor McGonagall doesn't like dealing with the Ministry of Magic.

“Perhaps Albus has left the school again?” Professor Flitwick offered to help Dumbledore. “He always has a lot of meetings to attend, you know, Minerva.”

The Ministry of Magic's owl looked at the snacks on the tea table, but there was clearly nothing it liked, so it just hooted twice and flapped its wings and flew away.

"Not waiting for a reply?" Professor McGonagall turned the envelope over and over in her hand. "Could it be another notice for a surprise inspection?"

“Oh! I don’t want to hide the magic book I just found back.” Professor Flitwick awkwardly twirled his fingers and offered his suggestion, “Open it, Minerva. If you don’t open it, you’ll never know what’s inside.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head, pulled a piece of paper from the envelope, and frowned as she read, “'Qualification review for a breeding and propagation facility for magical creatures'? What does that mean? I don’t recall submitting any such application.”

"Perhaps Albus once suggested it?" Professor Flitwick guessed. "There are indeed many magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, but if we were to establish a breeding base at Hogwarts, I'm afraid only two people would be happy."

“It couldn’t possibly be Dumbledore; he’s not the kind of person who likes to create trouble for himself. As for Sylvanas and Hagrid?” Professor McGonagall waved the papers in her hand. “That doesn’t seem like something the two of them would do.”

The Sylvanas that Professor McGonagall mentioned refers to the current professor of the Department of Conservation of Magical Creatures. He is an old wizard who has replaced many of his limbs with prosthetics (which were bitten off by magical creatures), but his love for magical creatures is no less than Hagrid's.

Ivy understood; Lucius's Galleon offensive had succeeded. It seemed that as long as the money was right, even the notoriously slow-moving Ministry of Magic could act swiftly and decisively.

The door to the faculty lounge creaked open, and Professor Sprout, always with a smile, entered: "What are you talking about, Minerva?" She turned to Ivy and said, "It's a pleasure to see you in the faculty lounge, Professor Victor."

Professor McGonagall read the letter from the Ministry of Magic to her, but she interrupted her shortly afterward. Professor Sprout asked with interest, "Minerva, I think I heard about 'magical creature breeding and raising'? Will they allow us to raise dragons? Moonfoxes would be fine too; their droppings make excellent fertilizer. Maybe I could even open a fourth greenhouse!"

Professor McGonagall glanced at Professor Flitwick, who gave him a "who would have thought?" gesture.

“Pomona,” Professor McGonagall patiently stopped Professor Sprout from his musings about the fourth greenhouse, “this is just a qualification assessment, and besides, we’re not sure what the Ministry of Magic’s attitude is.”

"Anyway, excuse me, everyone." Professor McGonagall walked towards the door. "I need to find Dumbledore and talk to him about the message on this piece of paper."

Professors Flitwick and Sprout nodded in understanding and watched the latter leave the faculty lounge.

When Ivy first discussed raising fire dragons with Lucius, he gave Lucius an offer he couldn't refuse.

Invite other family members of the Hogwarts Board of Governors to establish a large magical creature base at the school, and use the magical creature materials produced to maintain Hogwarts' daily expenses. You can also recruit aspiring wizards from the school who are interested in working in related fields.

Once this breeding facility is established, not only will the school board benefit, but students will also be able to see many magical creatures they don't usually see, which will benefit their learning in the "Protecting Magical Creatures" course. Furthermore, it will reduce the operating costs of the breeding facility to some extent, since students themselves are useful workers. Lower-year students can be responsible for feeding, collecting droppings, and cleaning, while upper-year students can be responsible for collecting magical creature materials. Practical experience with real creatures is much more engaging than just imagining things from books.

In this way, Hogwarts nurtured students who excelled in magical creatures, enriched the extracurricular activities of the young wizards studying in the castle, provided funding for the Board of Governors, allowed professors to utilize Hogwarts' own magical creature materials, enabled Hagrid to fulfill his lifelong dream, and even covered up Ivy's plans for various synthetic magical creatures. In the end, the Ministry of Magic also gained political achievements and established its authority in this matter.

Everyone has a bright future, but the burden on Headmaster Dumbledore, who has been overtaken, has become heavier. If something happens to the breeding base, he will be the first to suffer, since he is the person primarily responsible for Hogwarts, the magic school.

Ivy estimated the time, finished the remaining black tea in her cup, then rose from her armchair and greeted Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout: "It's about time. It's time to return to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Thank you for the cake and muffins, Professor Sprout."

Chapter 105 Magic Energy Explosion

Thanks to Professor Victor's image as a dignified middle-aged wizard, and the horribly distorted rumors about him at school, the first-year wizards who had just lost Professor Quirrell dared not cause any trouble in his class.

Of course, Seamus Finnigan, the "explosives genius" who couldn't control his talent, and Neville Longbottom, who would make a mess when nervous, were not among them.

Fortunately, Ivy knew the two's nature well, so she always kept a close eye on them during class. As a result, apart from Simo blowing up a wall, there haven't been any extreme incidents in the first-year classes during this period.

Today, Ivy will teach them "Repel the Enemy Three Feet," an upgraded version of the knockback spell, which was one of Ivy's signature spells over a hundred years ago. Not only can it knock enemies into the air, but it can also cause the user to move by using the ground as a target. In short, it is a spell that is effective on both offense and defense.

Furthermore, the first-year wizarding curriculum includes a course on learning repelling spells, so "repelling the enemy three feet" can be considered an additional extension.

Before the bell rang, the young wizards from Slytherin and Gryffindor were already seated. Ivy couldn't hear a single whisper, not because he had set any terrible rules for the class, but because he had the young wizards from the two houses sit separately to ensure that students from the same house wouldn't sit next to each other.

As for Harry and Malfoy, they were practically at opposite ends of the classroom. Ivy wouldn't put two arch-enemies together for the sake of a bad joke. Anyone who caused trouble in his class would be punished, no matter who they were.

After briefly explaining the key points of "pushing the enemy back three feet" and answering a few insightful questions from "Cannon Queen," Ivy began having the young wizards practice in groups.

Slytherin and Gryffindor still team up, but their spell practice is no longer directed at each other. Instead, they practice on a training dummy that they both use, and they must also correct each other's spellcasting movements and incantations.

It's common knowledge that Gryffindors and Slytherins can't get along, but all those who cause trouble in Ivy's class get punished accordingly, so they can only compete with training dummies. After all, nobody wants to embarrass themselves in front of their arch-nemesis. Especially since those embarrassing images spread like wildfire among the students as soon as get out of class ends, the young wizards have to put in 120% effort in their studies to avoid losing face in front of their rivals.

Ivy waved his hand, deflecting a spell aimed at him—it was Neville's doing. Tears were welling up in his eyes, as if he were about to flee at any moment.

Ivy had witnessed his abilities last semester during Charms class, when Neville used a Levitation Charm to make Professor Flitwick fly around the classroom for quite some time before he was free. Although Professor Flitwick wasn't angry, Ivy knew he couldn't do that.

“Mr. Longbottom,” Ivy glared at him, “your spell should be aimed at the training dummy in front of you, not your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!”

"I'm sorry, Professor Victor..." Neville looked at Ivy in fear, his voice growing softer and softer, as if his professor would grab him by the ankle and throw him out at any moment.

"I didn't tell you to stop! Keep practicing!" Ivy snapped in a low voice, urging the young wizards who had secretly stopped to watch him to continue chanting spells over the training dummies.

Neville's partner was Cassandra, with Hermione and Daphne Greengrass on either side, and Seamus Finnegan and Tracy Davis on the other.

Placing the two most gifted witches from the first year alongside the two unstable elements from Gryffindor was clearly a deliberate move by Ivy, who felt that this arrangement would at least give him some warning before something bad happened.

However, Murphy's Law, which applies to Muggles, also applies to the magical world: if something bad can happen, it will happen.

With a loud "boom," smoke and dust quickly filled the classroom.

The little witch's screams filled Ivy's ears in the next moment.

Ivy glared angrily at "Explosives Genius" Seamus, then was shocked to find him crouching on the ground, covering his ears; it wasn't him who had blown the wall down.

Neville, standing beside him, looked utterly astonished.

Ivy waved her sleeve to clear away the smoke and dust, then cast a silencing spell on the few little witches who were shouting the loudest before she had time to check the scene of the incident.

The training dummies in front of Nave's group had completely disappeared. The "Retreat Three Feet" spell they were practicing was clearly not an offensive spell, and Ivy had even added "armor" to all the training dummies so that the training equipment could be reused. But it turned out that these unlucky guys still couldn't survive more than a few classes.

"Who did this, Mr. Longbottom?" Ivy frowned, considering whether to deduct points from Gryffindor's score, since they simply couldn't control their talents and didn't intend to do anything wrong.

“No…it wasn’t me, Professor Victor…” Neville stammered.

Ivy walked up to him, snatched his wand, and cast a spell: "Flashback Spell!"

Several images of spellcasting emerged from Neville's wand, but they didn't go beyond the practice Ivy had assigned them for this lesson. Although Neville's spell accuracy was a bit off, he was indeed an obedient boy.

“It certainly wasn’t you, Mr. Longbottom.” Ivy returned Neville’s wand to him. “However, I must remind you that you weren’t the first owner of this wand. It’s made of ash wood and unicorn tail hair, a combination loyal to its original owner. While you can barely use it to cast spells, that doesn’t mean it’s suitable for you. I suggest you go to Ollivander and get a new wand.”

“Thank you…Professor Victor,” Neville said softly. “This is my father’s wand…my grandmother wanted me to inherit it…”

“And you have indeed accomplished that,” Ivy suddenly recalled Neville’s background. His parents had been driven insane by the Death Eaters’ Cruciatus Curse because they were also members of the Order of the Phoenix, and Neville was born on the last day of July. “Wands made of ash and unicorn tail hair don’t usually work well in the hands of non-owners. The fact that you can use it to cast spells means it’s trying to cooperate with you. But it’s a stretch for both of you. It’s time to let go and welcome a new partner, Mr. Longbottom.”

“But Professor… my grandmother…” Neville looked hesitant, clutching his wand tightly with both hands, unwilling to let go.

“I will tell Professor McGonagall about this. Perhaps she will be willing to write a letter to persuade Mrs. Longbottom on your behalf.” Ivy understood his predicament, but at most she would tell the headmaster of Gryffindor, because she always believed that one must walk one’s own path, for better or for worse.

“That’s enough. We still have other things to take care of.” Ivy ignored Neville’s hesitant expression and turned to look at Cassandra in the crowd. If it wasn’t Neville who did it, then only this little witch he had personally marked with the Dark Magic mark could have done it.

“Miss Worley, please come to my office after class,” Ivy said to the culprit who caused the disturbance.

Cassandra was about to say something to defend herself when the bell rang, interrupting her.

Ivy immediately chanted a spell to restore the wall and quickly announced the end of get out of class. He wouldn't let the class run overtime, after all, he also had his time to spare.

“Professor Victor!” a little witch suddenly called out. Ivy turned to see Hermione. “You haven’t assigned any homework yet! Neither last week nor the week before!”

Ivy's reason for not assigning homework is simple: he's too lazy to check and grade it. Whether it's the teaching syllabus or the test papers given to fifth and seventh graders for classroom quizzes and peer review, Ivy adheres to one principle: to keep students from bothering him during breaks.

But Hermione, the queen of queens, was clearly not used to this rough management style. After the first two weeks, she finally couldn't hold back and made a demand in this class that made everyone glare at her.

“There is no homework in my class,” Ivy’s words immediately drew cheers from the young wizards, but they quickly quieted down under Ivy’s gaze. “If someone wants to excel in this class, they will work hard on their own; I don’t need to remind them. Besides, the syllabus has already clearly listed what you will learn in this class, which is why I teach you practical spell applications in class and don’t assign homework.”

"Do you understand, Miss Granger?" Ivy asked, noticing Hermione nodding her head repeatedly. It seemed Hermione strongly agreed that students needed to work hard on their own. "Alright, get out of class dismissed."

“Come with me, Miss Worre.” Ivy called out to Cassandra, who was trying to slip away with the crowd. The latter’s nonchalant back stiffened, and she turned around expressionlessly.

Ivy's disguise was so excellent that, to this day, no one in Hogwarts, except for Dumbledore, knows that their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a first-year student.

The first-year wizards in the classroom vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only two dark wizards, one big and one small.

Ivy raised her hand to seal the classroom door and used a silencing spell to block the transmission of sound. Then she shed Professor Victor's disguise and revealed her true identity.

“Demonstrate the magic you used in class again,” Ivy commanded.

Cassandra's eyes widened when she saw Professor Victor's true face: "Lord Doom?"

However, she quickly regained her composure and tried her best to replicate her previous mistake.

In just a short time, a surge of magic erupted from Cassandra. This time, no other young wizards distracted Ivy, and he could see it clearly.

The training dummies shattered once again, and Ivy concluded that the magic Cassandra used to destroy the training dummies was a level 0 trick from the D&D universe: Mana Burst.

Chapter 106 Contract Master

In the D&D universe, there are numerous spells with varying effects. These spells are either learned by mages through studying arcane tomes, passed down through the magical bloodlines within warlocks, or bestowed by gods with supreme divine power...