From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

Each college's dining table was set with refreshing drinks and ice cream, indicating that the principal didn't mind students satisfying their stomachs with desserts before the main meals were served, not to mention that he himself was a fan of sweets.

Once everyone was seated and scooping ice cream from their plates, Dumbledore tapped his gold goblet with his silver spoon, making a sound loud enough to echo throughout the Great Hall.

"Watch out!" Dumbledore's voice was cheerful, and Ivy thought it was all thanks to the large spoonful of buttered peanut ice cream he had just swallowed.

The auditorium fell silent. Many students held their spoons, hesitant and unsure whether to make a sound or continue stuffing their ice cream into their mouths.

"The school year is coming to an end," Dumbledore said, standing up with a cheerful air. "Although it's not time for you to leave school yet, this old codger still has a few clichés to say."

Everyone in the restaurant stared at the tall, white-bearded old man. Goyle, sitting at the Slytherin table, was so engrossed that he let a melted ice cream stick to his robe collar. Ivy was sure Snape had seen it too, and he pursed his lips in Goyle's direction.

Although Snape was the head of Slytherin, he didn't really like those who weren't very bright, even if they were members of Slytherin.

"What a wonderful year this has been!" Dumbledore's voice continued. "We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and will likely have the best class of students in decades. In addition, the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors have agreed to build a magical creature facility in the Forbidden Forest. Construction will take place over the summer, and you may see a completely new Hogwarts when school starts next year."

Dumbledore's words undoubtedly confirmed several rumors that had been circulating in the castle for some time. The young wizards hurriedly swallowed their ice cream and began to chatter excitedly.

“Ivy is telling the truth!” Ron whispered to Harry beside him, “They’re going to have that dragon at Hogwarts next school year.”

“But Hagrid is still under investigation by the Ministry of Magic, isn’t he?” Harry put a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in his mouth. “They won’t let him have any contact with magical creatures.”

“Ivy always finds a way, doesn’t he?” Hermione said. “It’s just that I haven’t seen him in the library much lately. I wonder what he’s been up to.”

“Of course, we feed that little dragon.” Ron scooped a few more spoonfuls of ice cream from the large bowl in the middle of the long table for his friends. “It’s in the castle now, remember?”

"...Your little minds are certainly a bit richer than before... You have a whole summer ahead of you, which will allow you to digest all that information and clear your heads before the next term begins." Dumbledore ignored the noise in the Great Hall and continued, "Also, I'm glad you've all been obedient and haven't barged into the room at the end of the fourth-floor corridor. There was a very valuable item kept there, and the professors all did their part to protect it."

"Now that the treasure has been taken, only the professors' protective measures remain. I think, even though we've already experienced an incredibly intense Quidditch match, why not hold another grand event?"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, the murmurs in the Great Hall grew even louder.

“Impossible!” Ron groaned. “Who would want to face a dog with three heads?”

“Quirok and Snape would do it,” Harry shrugged. “They might even be willing to rip their own legs off and play a fetch game with that dog.”

"That's too dangerous!" Hermione exclaimed. "The professors' magic is far beyond what we first-year students can match. You two wouldn't be so foolish as to walk right into their trap, would you?"

"...The young wizard who passes all the tests and reaches the final stage will have two hundred points added to his orphanage!"

“Albus!” Professor McGonagall interrupted Dumbledore angrily as soon as he announced his decision. “How dare you! They’ll be bitten to death by that dog!”

“Of course, just in case, I’ve removed anything truly dangerous from that room.” Dumbledore winked at Professor McGonagall. “This activity will take place tonight, but the professors patrolling the castle won’t rest. If you happen to get caught…”

Dumbledore made an apologetic gesture: "Then it's up to the professor who caught you to decide what punishment you should receive—deductions, solitary confinement, or expulsion?"

"Hahaha, of course, the last one was just a joke." Apart from Snape, it seemed no one in the entire Great Hall understood Dumbledore's inappropriate joke. Snape gave Harry a sinister smile, as if he could already picture Harry being expelled from school.

"That's all I have to say!" Dumbledore waved his hand hidden in his sleeve, and the ice cream on each house table vanished instantly, replaced by a sumptuous dinner. "Now, enjoy your dinner!"

"How many points are we behind Slytherin?" Harry asked in a low voice, forgetting about his meal.

“Definitely over two hundred points, and don’t forget the Quidditch Cup.” Ron stuck a large lamb chop onto his plate and said casually, “Dude, we’re only freshmen, you’re not thinking of trying to pass the professors’ tests, are you?”

“If you get caught, you’ll lose points, and if Professor Snape catches you, you’re doomed,” Hermione advised. “If you factor in the Quidditch Cup, we should be exactly 210 points behind. Even if you do reach the last room, Gryffindor will still have failed.”

“Malfoy!” Harry growled. “Have you forgotten? We’re going to teach him a lesson, for Neville’s hat and hair.”

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Ron held up a large chicken leg to his mouth. "When we make our move, we'll definitely beat him black and blue!"

“No! We won’t do it.” Harry suddenly laughed, a sly laugh. “Remember that duel in October? If it weren’t for Ivy, we would have been caught by Filch. We can lure him out, and the duel will be in the room where Dumbledore hides the Philosopher’s Stone…”

“You’re so wicked, Harry!” Ron gasped. “You have the Invisibility Cloak. If we let the professors on night patrol catch Malfoy, and then we pass their tests… the 210-point difference will be wiped out in an instant!”

"That's just an ideal scenario." Hermione rolled her eyes. "If Ivy gets involved, neither of you can even dream of getting any extra points!"

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and said in unison, "So we need to figure out a way to stall Ivy!"

"Hmph... He's resting in the Slytherin dungeons. I don't think you can do anything to keep him occupied..." Hermione continued to pour cold water on the idea, then immediately noticed that the two men's eyes were no longer on the table. "Why are you staring at me?"

Chapter 128 Night Watch at the Castle

"Albus! You're encouraging them to break the school rules!" Professor McGonagall's face turned ashen; she hadn't expected Dumbledore to pull off such a stunt.

Listening to the cheers of the students in the Great Hall, Dumbledore chuckled and used twisted logic to persuade Professor McGonagall: "If the professors increase their patrols, the students will have nowhere to escape, and then they will understand that the school rules are not a joke."

Entrapment by law enforcement.

These were the only words Ivy could think of.

He had already taken the magic stone from the Mirror of Eris beforehand; he wasn't about to go through all the challenges the professors had set up again just for a mere two hundred points.

Not to mention there's a giant there that's long since died. So much time has passed, and it's summer now. Ivy can't even imagine what it must taste like inside.

“Professor Victor,” Professor McGonagall seemed to have been persuaded by Dumbledore, “I would also like to trouble you to conduct one last night patrol before you leave Hogwarts, how about Thursday night?”

“Okay.” Ivy nodded.

“That’s great.” Professor McGonagall seemed relieved. “I’ll arrange for two professors to patrol at the same time. We mustn’t let any audacious fellow escape. By the way, Professor Victor, I’ll apply to the board of directors for your professorship and performance bonus as soon as possible. We’ve all seen your hard work.”

“A performance bonus?” Avicie asked, having never heard of the term before.

"It's about the OWLs and NEWT exams. This year's students must have done exceptionally well in Defense Against the Dark Arts. That's largely thanks to your unique teaching methods," Professor McGonagall smiled at him.

"Do your job well for every minute you're in office," Ivy said nonchalantly. Ever since he got the Philosopher's Stone, which could produce 10,000 gold coins a day, he didn't care much about the small amount of money he earned as a Hogwarts professor. "I'm just trying my best to fulfill my responsibilities."

After several days and nights of magical research, Ivy received a letter from Professor McGonagall in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Along with the letter was a small bag of Galleons. Although it didn't feel heavy in her hand, when Ivy opened it, she found that it was a bag that had been enchanted with a tamper spell. As for its weight, it had probably been reduced by another spell.

Ivy had quite a lot of Galleons in his pocket. He did a quick calculation and realized it was roughly equivalent to the two hours he spent crafting the Philosopher's Stone.

The salaries of Hogwarts faculty and staff are clearly linked to their teaching quality. Someone like Trelawney, whose teaching isn't particularly good, naturally earns less per week than the four Heads of the House. And the Heads of the House certainly don't earn as much as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Why? Because Defense Against the Dark Arts is the most dangerous position at Hogwarts. Ever since Voldemort failed to obtain it, no professor has held that position for more than a year. If Dumbledore hadn't been willing to pay a high salary for the position, probably no one would have dared to apply.

Not to mention, Ivy also received a bonus for the outstanding performance of her fifth and seventh graders in the OWLs and NEWT exams.

Ivy opened Professor McGonagall's letter. It first thanked Ivy for his efforts in the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, then expressed his regret that he would not be able to work with him next school year, and finally reminded Ivy that it was Thursday and it was his turn to patrol.

After seeing all this, what else could Ivy say? He could only use teleportation to command the house-elves in the kitchen to prepare a delicious meal for him, then went to the faculty restroom for a refreshing shower, and then began to wander aimlessly around the school.

Professor McGonagall knew all too well what foolish things her students were capable of, so on the very night that Dumbledore announced that the students could go up to the fourth floor to take on the challenge, she disguised herself as a tabby cat and waited in the corridor for them to come to her.

On Saturday, as Ivy passed the hourglass at the entrance of the Great Hall, she was surprised to find that the gems in the hourglasses of all four houses had decreased to varying degrees. It seemed Professor McGonagall had made quite a haul.

Saturday night was the night of Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick. One was a master of Legilimency, and the other was a dueling champion. Their keen senses were far beyond what the young wizards still studying in school could match, so they captured a large number of young wizards who wanted to see the world.

The Sunday night patrol was scheduled between Professor Sprout and Professor Sinesta, the astronomy professor. Although Professor Sprout was an easy-going person, Professor Sinesta, who always taught at night, was a complete night owl. Perhaps she considered arresting students as her morning exercise.

Thursday finally arrived, and it was Ivy's turn to take charge, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but the school suddenly became quiet.

After several days of cat-and-mouse games, the young wizards at the school more or less realized that it was impossible to break through the professors' serious defenses. Therefore, Ivy, who had just received her salary from Professor McGonagall and was ready to make a big splash, couldn't even find a single young wizard out for a night stroll.

However, this could also be because the last Quidditch match had just ended.

Thanks to the efforts of Nimbus 2000, sponsored by Harry and Professor McGonagall, Gryffindor undoubtedly achieved a great victory, but in the blink of an eye, the Slytherin Quidditch team stood on the podium.

With the final Quidditch match over, the school will award the Quidditch Cup to the team with the highest points in the double round-robin tournament.

As the coach of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Ivy was naturally invited to the awards ceremony. However, he felt that standing on the wooden platform with the trophy and grinning foolishly was not appropriate for him, so he had Lucius's son, who sponsored seven Nimbus 2001s, attend in his place.

Although Gryffindor did not win the Quidditch Cup, cheering for their team and holding celebrations in the common room was quite tiring, so these troublemakers all collapsed on the soft beds in the Gryffindor Tower and did not get up to participate in the activities.

“Meow…” Ivy heard a hoarse meow. It was the cat owned by Filch, the castle caretaker. This skinny cat and its owner were Ivy’s night patrol partners for today.

"Professor Victor!" Old Filch, hunched over, emerged from the shadows of the stairs to greet him. "It's you! I thought it was some troublesome brat. How did you fare? Did you run into any of those nocturnal rascals?"

Ivy shook her head.

“Of course, of course!” Filch laughed, revealing a set of ugly yellow teeth. “You are a powerful wizard, how dare they run around in front of you? In my opinion, tonight is undoubtedly a peaceful night.”

Chapter 129 Night Wanderer

Time always flies when you're in a quiet castle.

Ivy hid at the entrance of the fourth-floor corridor and casually conjured up a comfortable armchair to sit on.

He cast a disillusionment spell on himself, letting the icy magic flow from head to toe, turning his body and the chair beneath him into a blurry, semi-transparent curtain that blended into the corridor walls.

He's going to stay here tonight, as long as he doesn't let anyone through; there's no need to wander around the whole castle. He might even be able to take a nap in his armchair.

Filch took his cat to patrol elsewhere. In his words, even if the little rascals didn't intend to break into the fourth floor, they might still go to other parts of the castle. So, in order to catch the little wizards wandering around the castle at night as much as possible, he not only had to patrol the castle, but also had to split up with Lady Lorris.

After Filch left, Ivy sat there in the dim light of the fourth-floor corridor, casting no shadow on the ground.

It was already quite late; even the professors' night patrols wouldn't continue until the wee hours. Ivy was about to pack up and leave when she heard a strange noise in the quiet corridor.

That was the sound of leather shoes hitting the floor. Although the owner of the shoes tried to handle them gently, he still made a noise by accident.

"There's no one here..." The voice sounded like a whisper, not far from Ivy. He recognized the voice; it belonged to Harry.

"Malfoy isn't here either?" asked Ronald Weasley, the red-haired member of the magical trio. "Should we wait for him here?"

"I must have been out of my mind to get out of bed and come here on this adventure with you!" Hermione's voice was clearly suppressing her anger. No one would have thought that these Gryffindors would still have the energy for a night out after a day of intense activities.

“That’s because you can’t just stand by and watch Slytherin take the House Cup,” Harry advised. “This is our last chance. Don’t you want to see Professor McGonagall laugh out loud?”

Professor McGonagall always presents a serious and earnest expression, and all the Gryffindor students are curious about what she looks like when she laughs. Everyone agrees that as long as Slytherin's seven-year winning streak of the House Cup is broken, they will be able to see another side of Professor McGonagall that she has hidden.

"Hoo—" Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled. "If we get fired, don't blame me for not warning you... Let's review the plan one more time..."

"Are you serious? Even in a place like this?" Ron was furious, angry that Hermione didn't trust them.

Hermione ignored him, and Harry began to whisper his plan: "We provoked Malfoy at the Quidditch Awards, and he should be here. Now we need a professor or someone else to deduct Slytherin's points, and Ivy can't be there when this happens."

“Yes, yes, yes…” Ron repeated weakly, “So I went to lure old Filch’s cat, Hermione went to hold off Ivy, and then you were left alone with the Invisibility Cloak to face Malfoy.”