The great white wizard did not seem to think there was anything wrong with Ivan's words. After hearing that Ivan used the iron thorns that he "happened" to bring with him and the Transfiguration Spell to complete a counterattack within ten seconds, Dumbledore clapped his hands, and his expression and tone did not conceal his admiration.
"It was a wonderful battle! You are better than I thought. I think Severus is right. Hogwarts School has gained a new genius!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
A young wizard who had only been in school for a few months was able to remain calm when facing the troll for the first time. He also cleverly used what he had in his hands to easily defeat it. He had not seen such an outstanding young wizard in decades.
Ivan felt a little uncomfortable after being praised by Dumbledore. After all, this meant that he was being targeted by the old professor, which was not a good thing.
The conversation that followed became increasingly relaxed. There was none of the intrigue or tit-for-tat suspicion that Ivan had imagined. Apart from the Legilimency at the beginning, Dumbledore was as amiable as an old man next door chatting about family matters.
This made Ivan maliciously suspect that Dumbledore was suffering from Alzheimer's disease?
However, during the conversation, Dumbledore inadvertently mentioned Ivan's mother, Asia Hals, which aroused Ivan's interest.
"Professor, do you know my mother?" Ivan asked, pretending to be curious.
"Yes, your mother was a student here. She was very impressive." Dumbledore blinked at Ivan and said meaningfully. "No matter in which aspect..."
Ivan was very annoyed by Dumbledore's half-spoken behavior. He didn't know whether it was because of his lack of intelligence, or perhaps it was simply a way of communication between smart people that they understood in seconds...
But he really couldn't understand!
Ivan could only force out an awkward but polite smile...
Finally, after some indirect questioning by Ivan, he only got the information that his mother had studied at Slytherin House. Ivan did not ask about his father because there was no relevant information in his messy memory. It would be bad if he asked rashly and made mistakes.
Dumbledore seemed to have deliberately avoided this topic. After a brief chat, he smiled and said to Ivan, "Okay, kid, you can go back now. I believe there will be a surprise waiting for you later."
Ivan did not hold out any hope for the surprise Dumbledore had mentioned. The news that he could go back was already a surprise enough for him.
So, Ivan left in an elegant and quick manner. Dumbledore, sitting on the chair, comforted Fawkes with one hand, looking at Ivan's receding back, wondering what he was thinking.
"Dessert soufflé!"
In front of the Hogwarts lounge, Ivan shouted a command, and the Fat Lady who was in charge of guarding the place nodded and stepped aside to reveal a circular passage.
Every time Ivan climbed, he couldn't help but complain about the designer of this passage. Why did he have to make it into a pipe when there were so many other designs?
The Gryffindor common room was pitch black at midnight. The dark brown fireplace on the right, which was always burning brightly, had been extinguished at some point, and the surrounding magic lights were not turned on. The silence was abnormal.
Ivan walked forward slowly with an unchanged expression, but his right hand had gradually slipped down and grasped the wand at his waist.
Bang!
Just as Ivan walked to the middle, a blazing flame suddenly rose from the fireplace, followed by dazzling white light from the surrounding magic lamps. The red lion flag representing Gryffindor on the ceiling slowly unfolded in the air, and strings of colorful unidentified objects slowly fell.
The Weasley twins, dressed in strange uniforms, rushed out of the dormitory, threw a large ball of festive ribbons made of torn sheets on Ivan's head, and then shouted behind them.
"Let us welcome back the heroes of Gryffindor!"
Gryffindor's hero? Who? How dare he be so arrogant?
Ivan thought it was a Halloween celebration late at night, so he was stunned when the Weasley twins spoke. But before Ivan could react, dozens of young wizards from lower grades rushed into the dormitory entrance.
Harry and Ron were in the front row. They worked together to lift Ivan down. Then the Weasley twins also laughed wickedly and threw Ivan high up in the air...
"Hail to the return of our Gryffindor hero!" shouted Fred at the top of his lungs.
The little Gryffindor lions nearby also excitedly followed suit.
"Hero Hals~"
"Troll Killer!"
Ivan was tossed around by the crowd until his body was almost falling apart. After a long while, the little lions, whose excitement had subsided, finally let Ivan go.
Taking advantage of this time, Ivan had figured out what had happened through questioning. It turned out that after Harry and Ron returned to the dormitory, the loudmouthed Ron exaggerated the story of Ivan killing the troll head-on and rescuing Hermione.
Because of the troll incident, the little wizards who could only spend Halloween in the lounge had never heard such exciting news.
The news spread quickly from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, becoming more and more exaggerated, and Ivan was touted as a hero of Gryffindor. As for the welcome party, it was of course organized by the Weasley twins who loved to stir up trouble.
After understanding what happened, Ivan was still a little confused. After all, Harry and Ron, who defeated the troll in the original book, did not receive such treatment.
However, Ivan forgot that he was fundamentally different from Harry and Ron. Although they both successfully knocked the troll out, not only did they look embarrassed afterwards, but their means of defeating the troll were not very glorious. It was purely luck.
To bystanders, Ivan was a textbook example of a hero saving a girl, and his method of killing the giant monster was quick and efficient.
In addition, the troll happened to fall in front of Ivan, and his death with his head pierced was extremely legendary. After Ron exaggerated it, it caused such a big response!
Ivan could even see some little witches in the crowd flirting with him, and some of the bravest ones even approached him to ask about the details of how he killed the troll.
Ivan was so attentive that he almost wanted to go to the library to find Madam Pince again in the middle of the night...
The extremely energetic Gryffindor little lions played until the late night, and only returned to their respective dormitories considering that they had classes the next day.
As the protagonist of the welcome party, Ivan was already exhausted and thirsty.
"This surprise is really big..." Ivan couldn't help but complain when he thought of the last words Dumbledore said before he left.
But even though he complained, Ivan couldn't help but smile.