Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 99 Cold

Perhaps it was only half a month into the holiday, but Hermione had the same dream every night before falling asleep.

In my dream, I was standing in front of a dilapidated house, surrounded by darkness, with flashes of green or red light appearing intermittently.

The lights flickered and crackled, each flash of green light growing brighter. I don't know how long I was in the dream, but then everything vanished.

There was no light, no house, just pure darkness.

Hermione would wake up startled every time this happened, and it would take her a while to come to her senses. Fortunately, the dream wouldn't reappear after she fell back asleep; she was just a little annoyed by the disturbance.

Another half month passed, and the dream took a new turn.

The house was gone, the light was gone, and only two blurry figures could be seen facing each other.

One was slightly taller, the other slightly shorter, but no matter what Hermione did, she couldn't make out their faces. Then, at the end of August, the dream changed again, and it was this change that led Hermione to suspect Ike.

In the pale world, two people of similar height were walking one after the other. Suddenly, the one in front turned around, and then there was a blinding white light.

Only a faint incantation could be heard, but what it was could not be made out at all.

In fact, Hermione had only some suspicions at first, and only asked Ike tentatively. Who knew that Ike would slip up and make things clear.

Seeing the furious Hermione before him, Ike had no intention of revealing the truth. He never expected his Oblivion Charm to be so weak; Level 3 was practically nonexistent.

With no other option, he immediately grabbed the book and ice cream, and with a flick of his right hand, the magic wand appeared in his hand.

"Ike Streid!"

Hermione slammed her hand on the table, only to see Ike vanish right before her eyes. She quickly reached out to grab him, but grasped nothing. Turning around abruptly, she saw the door of Florin's Ice Cream Shop open by itself, and a passerby outside the window stumbled as if bumped into something unseen.

"Illusion Spell... Hmph!"

The little witch looked truly terrifying, and no one in the room dared to utter a sound. Hermione angrily scratched her head, then stormed out the door.

School is about to start soon; you can run for a while, but you can't run forever.

Hermione wasn't in a hurry at all.

On the other side, Ike didn't linger outside any longer and went straight back to the Leaky Cauldron. He closed the door, determined not to come out again until the day he boarded the train; there was still one day left, he could just bear with it.

But this incident served as a wake-up call for Ike. The levels on the useless notebook system cannot be completely trusted, especially at lower levels. The actual effects of magic may not be as good as he thought, especially magic that involves a person's mind and soul, such as the Oblivion Curse and the Soul-Stealing Curse. He must be extremely careful and attentive when using them.

Magic is not something that can be done simply by chanting a spell.

Ike stayed in the room for a whole day, and it wasn't until September 1st that he finally came out.

He still didn't want to meet Hermione. The little witch's persistent questioning made him a little scared, so he simply got up early, skipped breakfast, dragged his luggage, paid Old Tom's bill, and headed straight to King's Cross Station.

As soon as the Ministry of Magic activated the station's magic, Ike was the first to rush in. He randomly picked a carriage and a compartment and slipped inside. To be on the safe side, he even cast Illusion Charms on his belongings and locked the compartment door.

Nobody is allowed in.

Anyway, there were plenty of compartments on the train that couldn't be opened, so no one cared if one more or one less was a big deal. It's normal for a train that's been running for decades to have some problems. Even the student council president and class monitor who were patrolling just reached out and pulled on the door, and then ignored it once they found it wouldn't open.

Ike remained silent, enchanted by the Disillusionment Charm, nestled in his seat, gazing out the window. He only breathed a slight sigh of relief once the train started moving.

He didn't go out; he didn't plan to show up before arriving at the station. He would wait until he got to the school to discuss everything.

Anyway, when the time comes, everyone's attention will naturally be drawn to something else.

The train slowly started moving, and gradually the aisle filled with people, mostly visiting each other's rooms or looking for their friends. Ike saw Stuart and the others pass by twice, and Henri dragged the silent Harry and Ron back and forth four times, the last time even arguing with Draco and the others at the compartment door.

Unlike the previous two years, there wasn't a major conflict. The Gryffindor prefects, trusting their leader, performed their duties well and stopped the group in time. However, Harry and his friends didn't escalate the situation with Draco; instead, Ron and Percy got into an argument, and it was the Weasley twins who dragged them away at the last minute.

He watched the commotion with great enjoyment, which relieved some of his boredom. He couldn't even read a book while the Disillusionment Charm was active, which must have been incredibly boring. A while after the conflict ended, Ike simply closed his eyes and took a short nap.

Of course, I didn't forget to cast another illusion spell before going to sleep.

Trains always sway when they're moving, and even though the Hogwarts Express is a magical train, that doesn't change that. But this swaying sensation is actually quite soothing; I drifted off to sleep in no time, feeling dizzy.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly felt someone push him, jolting him awake. He looked around blankly and realized the train had stopped.

Frowning, Ike glanced at the frost slowly creeping up the window and fully regained his senses. He checked the Disillusionment Charm on his body; it hadn't worn off. Without relaxing, he gripped his wand and stared straight down the corridor.

"They're here!"

Silently, Ike tensed. One by one, dark figures floated slowly forward, each wearing a tattered cloak. From beneath the cloak emerged a pair of scabbed hands, emaciated and bony, resembling dried corpses.

Even through the glass, Ike still felt a sense of oppression. Just like in the book, it was a feeling of happiness being sucked away, as if nothing else mattered.

Ike activated Occlumency; he didn't know if the spell would work, but it certainly calmed him down. However, this also attracted the attention of the Dementor outside the door.

Dementors are very sensitive to human emotions. The sudden disappearance of a faint sense of fear will naturally arouse their curiosity.

The desiccated hands clung to the glass, and the tattered cloak slowly pressed against it. One hand slowly lowered, landing on the handle, but didn't open it. This seemed to anger it, for it slowly turned its head, and its cloak suddenly rippled rapidly.

A moment later, two more Dementors floated over from the other end of the corridor and completely blocked the window.

"Crunch, crunch..."

The doorknob clicked rhythmically, but the door remained tightly shut, which only enraged the Dementors.

"Slap, slap, slap..."

The doors to the private rooms were struck hard, spreading fear and causing the young wizards in the adjacent rooms to huddle together in fear.

Silently, Ike dispelled his Disillusionment Charm, his eyes staring blankly at the three terrifying figures. His right hand, holding the wand, hung down naturally, but the tip of the wand faintly emitted specks of white light.

As the white light flashed, the Dementors increased the frequency of their pounding on the glass, their cloaks billowing wildly.

"So...you guys can't see it..."

(End of this chapter)