Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 148 Snape's Discovery

"You're late." Snape's attitude remained unchanged, cold and indifferent. Ike, however, was already used to it and casually pulled up a chair and sat down.

"It's a long walk from the eighth floor to here," Ike replied.

"But the second floor is very close to here."

"Sorry, I still need to take Hermione back to her dorm, which is on the eighth floor." Ike shrugged. "You didn't invite her."

"Hmph!" Snape snorted, casually tossing a card over. "You already know what this is, so don't lose it!"

"Don't worry, Professor, I'll keep it safe." Ike put the card directly into his pocket and patted it.

"You better do it." Snape's tone was still very harsh, but Ike laughed, took a small bottle out of his pocket, and placed it on the table.

"This is for you, Professor."

"Felix Felicis? Hmph, Stradivarius, do you think I need such a thing?" Snape glared at Ike. "Or do you think I can't brew it?"

"Of course not," Ike replied. "It's just a gift from your best student..."

"That's right, it's a gift."

Snape didn't speak, only looked at Ike with a scrutinizing gaze. After a long while, he slowly said, "Something's wrong with you, Strayle..."

"It seems some very interesting things happened during the holidays..."

Suddenly, Snape's hand lunged at Ike's left arm, but Ike dodged it.

"Roll up your sleeves, Strayder!" Snape took out his wand, cast a spell at the door of his office, and shouted.

Ike shook his head and put his left hand directly into his pocket.

"You...do you know what you're doing?!" Snape looked furious, pointing his wand directly at Ike. "I could send you to Azkaban right now!"

"How dare you...how dare you!"

"Come with me to see Dumbledore, now!"

"No, Professor." Ike dodged Snape's outstretched hand again.

"What did you say?" Snape's face was grim.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but this is my decision," Ike said.

"You're playing with your life!"

"So I need your help, Professor." Ike looked at Snape without flinching, the determination in his eyes leaving Snape speechless for a moment.

It took Snape quite a while to sit back down in his seat.

"What do you need, Ike?"

"The blood of a unicorn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Snape stood up again, turned around and went into his storeroom, where he soon left a large bottle filled with silver liquid.

"What else?"

"That's all." Ike shook his head, put the bottle away, and casually dispelled the spell Snape had just cast on the door. "See you in class, Professor."

"I'll tell Dumbledore about this." Snape's voice rang out from behind before Snape even reached the door.

Ike stopped and lowered his head slightly.

"I know, Professor." With that, he opened the door and left.

Ike knew very well that his vacation couldn't be hidden from Snape. There was a strange connection between those who possessed the Dark Mark, and this connection was much clearer than before now that Voldemort had a body that he could use temporarily.

This is a magical form of identification, and one cannot lie about it.

Ike already knew this when they were at Gaunt's old house, and Snape's reaction was not unexpected, but to be honest, he was a little surprised that Snape calmed down so quickly.

He was already prepared to "compete" with Snape.

Judging from this situation, I'm definitely not going to have any peace this semester...

Back in the dorm, Stewart and Terry were still awake, and Michael and Anthony had also come over, excitedly discussing the Triwizard Tournament.

Upon seeing Ike return, Stuart immediately asked, "Ike, where did you go?"

"Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Snape—I got a few trinkets from them." Ike lifted his suitcase off the bed and put it down, then pulled two cards and a piece of paper from his pocket. "The Club, you know it, right?"

"Three!" Terry and Michael exclaimed in unison, "There's even one for Snape!"

"Of course." Ike nodded with a smile. "I think it suits my status as the top student in my grade."

"Damn it!" Terry said menacingly. "You'll get what's coming to you, Ike!"

"Wow, is this a curse?!" Ike exaggeratedly flopped onto the bed, shouting to Stuart beside him, "Quick, get me to the school hospital! I need to see Mrs. Pomfrey!"

Seeing Ike's expression, Stewart and the others laughed. After playing around for a while, Michael and Anthony left.

Lying in bed, just as Ike was about to drift off to sleep, Terry, in the bed next to him, suddenly asked, "Ike, are you sure you have enough time? You know, you still have twelve courses to take this year."

"No problem, Terry," Ike replied, turning over.

"You got that thing again, didn't you?" Terry asked. Seeing that Ike didn't reply, he understood and secretly scolded himself for being stupid and forgetting about the time-tamper.

The next day, quite naturally, everyone threw themselves into their intensive studies.

As Professor McGonagall said, the course schedule this semester is very tight because of the Triwizard Tournament, with almost no free time in the mornings and afternoons.

After the History of Magic course, Herbalism class followed immediately, with an additional elective before lunch: Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Arithmetic Divination. In just one morning, Ike regained the feeling from the previous semester, immediately activating his "clone" mode.

Hermione, who also took all twelve courses like Ike, met him at the Room of Requirement after the second class, just as the two had planned.

Thus, "the room that only Ike Strayder and those he approves of can enter" became "the room that only Ike Strayder and Hermione Granger and those they approve of can enter".

Um... two beds.

The fourth-grade material is significantly more difficult than the third-grade material, though most people wouldn't notice. Only those who listen attentively and prepare beforehand will notice the professors occasionally digressing into seemingly unrelated topics during class. Although it's just a brief mention, Ike knows perfectly well that it's material covered in the fifth-grade OWL exams.

Just like in the afternoon Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall would always say "This is important" "This is very important," and those were the kinds of things that fifth graders would learn.

Of course, some added their own twists, while others remained the same as before; Hagrid's Fantastic Beasts Protection class was even more "watered down" than before.

Fried conch?

Ike had no idea what use learning about these magical creatures that Hagrid had cultivated himself was.

Just to hear a sound?

(End of this chapter)