"{Petrificus Totalus}!"
As Ivan uttered the incantation for the Full Body-Bind Curse, a greyish-white beam of light shot from his wand towards the distant Malfoy.
In mid-air, the smug Malfoy had no time to anticipate Ivan's move. He was hit squarely by the curse. In less than half a second, his fair skin turned a stony grey, and his expression and movements were frozen at the moment of petrification.
In this state, Malfoy couldn't move a single finger, let alone control the broomstick beneath him. He immediately began to fall, stiff as a board, from the sky.
Of course, although his body was petrified, Malfoy's consciousness was still intact.
However, if he had a choice, Malfoy would have preferred to know nothing at all.
After all, falling from such a height, watching the ground get closer and closer—this feeling of approaching death was enough to make anyone break down. If he hadn't been petrified, Malfoy would have already been screaming at the top of his lungs.
The moment he hit Malfoy with the curse, Ivan turned his head and shouted to Hermione.
"Hermione, now!"
The clever little witch had understood his plan the moment he made his move. But now was clearly not the time to scold Ivan. She only had time to shoot him a glare before shouting...
"{Wingardium Leviosa}~"
At this point, Malfoy was at the peak of his terror, imagining himself shattering into several pieces upon impact.
Malfoy even thought about how, after he died, the elder Malfoy would torture Ivan, Harry, and the others to avenge him.
Just as Malfoy had begun to imagine the possible decline of the Malfoy family due to his unfortunate demise, his rapidly descending body came to a sudden halt. He was left dangling in mid-air...
Having successfully cast the spell in the nick of time, Miss Granger breathed a sigh of relief. Beside her, Ivan quietly lowered his wand.
"Malfoy..." As soon as Malfoy landed safely, the Slytherin students immediately surrounded him.
The Gryffindor students, on the other hand, were gloating. Malfoy's earlier arrogant behavior had been truly detestable.
The only one who was dissatisfied was Miss Granger.
"Ivan, how could you use the Full Body-Bind Curse on Malfoy... You know, you almost killed him!" Hermione glared at Ivan, her eyes full of disbelief.
"Which just goes to show your Levitation Charm is excellent. If Professor Flitwick saw that, he would definitely give you points," Ivan said with a smile.
Of course Malfoy wouldn't die from a simple curse like that; at most, he'd suffer a bit. Even if Hermione's spell had failed, wasn't he there as a backup?
"Yes... and he'd probably expel you while he's at it!" Hermione retorted angrily.
It wouldn't be that bad, would it? Ivan scratched his head, thinking it would probably just be a deduction of points, and at worst, polishing trophies or a trip to the Forbidden Forest?
If it was the latter, Ivan thought that would be pretty good...
Of course, Ivan had absolutely no intention of going into the Forbidden Forest this term. Not even if it killed him.
After all, Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, often liked to wander around in the Forbidden Forest. Who knew if he'd run into him by some stroke of bad luck...
So it was better to lie low. As long as he didn't actively court death, Hogwarts was quite safe before the fourth year.
Ivan thought back to his not-so-reliable "golden finger." With four years and the cheat of his system, he should have enough power to protect himself, right?
As Ivan was thinking, he walked towards Malfoy.
Halfway there, he was blocked by several Slytherin students. The leader was a Slytherin Ivan vaguely recognized, whose name seemed to be Blaise.
"Hals, what are you doing here?" Blaise asked, frowning as he clutched his wand.
When facing an external enemy, the Slytherins were quite united. Although Malfoy was usually arrogant, many students were now willing to stand up for him. A group of them seemed poised to surround Ivan.
The righteous lions of Gryffindor were even more ready, all standing behind Ivan with their wands drawn... even though these beginner spells were probably less effective than their fists.
Ivan shook his head, raised a hand to stop Ron, who was about to roll up his sleeves, and said to Blaise.
"I'm here to undo the curse on Malfoy. I believe you all saw what happened. Malfoy started it..."
Blaise hesitated, but after a moment's thought, he signaled for the others to step aside. Ivan, true to his word, released Malfoy from the Full Body-Bind Curse.
Having just experienced such a dramatic rise and fall, Malfoy's legs were still trembling. But to avoid losing face in front of everyone, he forced himself to stand up and shouted at Ivan with a stern voice.
"You dared to cast a spell on me! You're finished, Hals!"
"Am I?" Ivan said, looking at Draco Malfoy. "What do you think would happen if I told the professors about you stealing Neville's Remembrall and flying without permission?"
Ivan closed in on Malfoy step by step, his tone suddenly becoming serious.
"I heard that Filch loves to take disobedient children to his office, chain their hands, and hang them from the ceiling. Then he does some... strange things with whips and clubs..."
Malfoy was thoroughly frightened for a moment, because this rumor did indeed exist among the older students. He even forgot that if it were true, Ivan, who had also broken the rules, would have to enjoy the same treatment.
Seeing the effect was good, Ivan was about to press his advantage. But before he could speak, he heard Madam Hooch's voice from behind him.
"How... how dare you!"
Madam Hooch, who had rushed back immediately after taking Neville to the hospital wing, had seen Malfoy falling from the sky on her way. Now, seeing the Gryffindor and Slytherin students on the verge of a brawl, she was furious.
To make matters worse, Harry, holding the Remembrall, happened to land on his broom with a bewildered expression at that very moment, which only fueled Madam Hooch's anger.
Ivan covered his face with his hand in resignation. He had calculated everything but hadn't counted on Madam Hooch returning at this exact moment. He had been planning to have a nice "talk" with Malfoy, but now it seemed he was doomed...
Thinking about it carefully, Ivan realized he had probably dug this hole for himself. If he hadn't saved Neville with the Levitation Charm earlier, Madam Hooch would likely still be in the hospital wing worrying about him.