"Ivan, after dinner, you want to go back to the dorm and play some wizard's chess?" On Wednesday afternoon, after their last class, Ron asked Ivan through a mouthful of chicken leg in the common room.
Ivan slowly and methodically put the last piece of steak in his mouth. After a moment's thought, he shook his head and refused.
"No, I have to go to the library later. You and Harry can play."
"Harry's a terrible player, there's no challenge at all..." Ron first shook his head in disappointment, then seemed to suddenly process what Ivan had said. The chicken leg in his hand fell to the floor.
"My goodness! The library? I thought only one person in our entire year ever went there!"
"Hermione?" Ivan thought for a moment. The only young wizard who would run to the library every day just a few days after starting school had to be our Miss Know-It-All.
"Yeah, who else could it be?" Ron said in an exaggerated tone.
Nearby, Harry suddenly tugged on Ron's shoulder. Ron then noticed Hermione, holding a pile of books, was also in the common room. He quickly lowered his voice and continued telling everyone how much Hermione loved to lecture people and how conceited she was.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the distance, Hermione didn't react; she likely hadn't heard Ron's words.
Harry stood there awkwardly, listening. He really disliked this kind of back-talking, but the other young wizards seemed very interested.
It had to be said that in the few short days since school started, Miss Granger had made quite a name for herself in the student gossip circles with her bossy nature.
Ivan didn't join the discussion about Hermione, but he wasn't surprised by the situation.
After all, they were just eleven- and twelve-year-old kids. No one likes being lectured to their face, especially when the one doing the lecturing is a peer.
"Ivan, what are you going to the library for?" Harry asked curiously.
What's wrong? Are we not fun enough? Ron didn't speak, but his eyes clearly conveyed the message. Or is wizard's chess not entertaining enough?
It was like your buddy, who you played video games with every day after school, suddenly announcing he was going to the library to study.
The corner of Ivan's mouth twitched.
He didn't want to play wizard's chess. He was just trying something out to see if there were other ways to earn Academic Points.
It wasn't because wizard's chess was new and fun or anything...
"Haven't you guys noticed the homework the professors are assigning is getting harder? If we don't work hard now, what are we going to do during the final exams?" Ivan glanced at Harry, then sighed after a long moment.
Ivan knew his talent was mediocre, and with the disadvantage of his wand's poor allegiance, his spellcasting ability was basically in the lower-middle tier among the first-year students.
Under these circumstances, if he wanted to improve the professors' evaluations of him, his only option was to work on his knowledge.
If he increased his knowledge reserves and answered questions in class, he might even get some brownie points.
"Ron, you want to come?" Ivan asked after he finished eating and gathered his things.
Although Ron's magical talent was a bit better than his, it was at best mid-to-upper level. Compared to Harry, the gap was still quite obvious. Plus, Ron himself wasn't very diligent, which was why he would later become the weakest link in the Golden Trio.
So, out of goodwill, Ivan gave him a reminder.
Though Ivan didn't really expect Ron to agree...
Sure enough, Ron shook his head rapidly. "Are you kidding? We've only been here a few days. The final exams are ages away. What's the rush?"
"Alright then..." Ivan didn't mind and headed straight for the library.
"Just watch, Ivan will be back in an hour, tops. If not, I'll eat this chessboard..." Ron muttered, making a vow.
...
The Hogwarts library possessed the largest and most complete collection of magical books in all of Britain, and perhaps even all of Europe. From ordinary textbooks to profound forbidden spells and Dark Magic, it had everything!
Ivan, visiting the library for the first time, was stunned by the massive collection. Rows upon rows of bookshelves stood packed together, each holding as many as a thousand magical books. It was far more spectacular than what Ivan had seen in the movies in his past life.
Perhaps because the school year had just begun, there weren't many students in the library. A few were scattered here and there, leaning against bookshelves or in the corridors, leaving the central seating area mostly empty.
[Ding! The Library has been explored...]
The system's chime in his mind pulled Ivan's attention back. He focused and saw that the "Explore Hogwarts" quest in his quest tree had increased by five percent all at once.
More importantly, with these newly added Academic Points, he now had just enough to reach the 100 points needed to redeem the Scholar's Experience Card.
Ivan's gaze couldn't help but drift towards the Restricted Section. The spells he was looking for, like Legilimency and Occlumency, could all be found there...
"Child, are you looking for a specific book?" Madam Irma Pince, the librarian, walked over from the side and asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Madam. Could you tell me where the books related to Transfiguration are? Preferably the more basic ones," Ivan said, pulling his gaze away from the Restricted Section and turning to Madam Pince.
"Follow me..." Madam Pince led Ivan to a bookshelf, took out a book titled A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and handed it to him. Then she paused before continuing.
"You were looking at the Restricted Section just now. Unless you have authorization from a professor, you are not permitted to view or borrow any of those books."
"I was just curious, that's all. I wasn't actually planning to go in," Ivan said, taking the book and shrugging casually.
Ivan had no intention of reading those dangerous forbidden books anytime soon. After all, with his current magical foundation, it wasn't suitable for him to learn such advanced magic.
Anyway, he had a whole term. He could think about it some other time when he had the chance and the free time...
After giving Ivan her instructions, Madam Pince turned and left briskly. She still had to keep an eye on the older students, as almost every so often, some student would try to sneak into the Restricted Section.
Of course, before she left, Madam Pince didn't forget to remind Ivan that noise was forbidden in the library!
Ivan walked over to the seating area and sat down. He didn't rush to test the effect of the Scholar's Experience Card. Instead, he began to flip through the book on his own, planning to read in his normal state for a while first. Then, he could compare and see by how much the card boosted his learning efficiency.
Soon, the only sound in the seating area was the turning of pages, his concentration only occasionally broken by a slight noise from elsewhere.