https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-518-Quick-Write-It-All-Down-This-Is-the-Organization-s-Action-Plan-/13448776/
Chapter 519: Ivan: What? I Actually Have Ambitions to Achieve Great Things?
### Chapter 519: Ivan: What? I Actually Have Ambitions to Achieve Great Things? (Combined)
Asia's expression was rather peculiar. Does Hogwarts actually teach these things on a regular basis? Or is her child a natural-born leader?
Dawgert was also marveling at this.
Initially, he thought this meeting would just be a casual introduction, an opportunity for Ivan to gain some experience, and he was even prepared for Ivan to mess it up.
After all, among the thirty-odd Wizards present, apart from the seven werewolves including Fenrir, everyone else was meeting Ivan for the first time. They were all strangers, with no foundation of trust between them.
The dozen or so friends he brought along were all exceptionally shrewd, the type who wouldn't act without a good reason, making them difficult to deal with.
For a thirteen or fourteen-year-old young witches and wizards, gaining their approval in such a short time was nearly impossible!
Yet, Ivan managed to do it!
In less than an hour, he won over everyone with his formidable strength, unparalleled potential, and grand vision and determination!
Not to mention the listeners who were unaware of the situation, even Dawgert himself felt a strong urge to follow this child and achieve great things after hearing Ivan's speech!
Ivan couldn't help but smile when he received praise from Dawgert and Asia.
All the books he read in his previous life weren't for nothing; he had a wealth of theoretical knowledge, just lacking a practical application.
Of course, theory is one thing, and before this, his practical experience was virtually zero!
When he was bluffing those Wizards in the meeting room, Ivan's legs were almost shaking. If it weren't for his acting skills being so refined, he would have been exposed long ago.
"By the way, I forgot to introduce Dobby to you!" Ivan suddenly remembered something and snapped his fingers.
The sharp sound echoed in the meeting hall, startling Dawgert, who hadn't forgotten how Ivan had used a snap to kill Res Nott just a while ago.
Fortunately, this snap didn't unleash any such power. Instead, a small, wrinkled House-Elf appeared before them.
"Sir!" Dobby blinked his eyes, bowing to Ivan, and then looked at Asia, greeting her nervously. "Hello, Mrs. Hals!"
"Who is it?" Asia glanced curiously at Dobby and then turned to Ivan.
She had wanted to ask about the House-Elf when they first saw it in the alley, but with so many people around, she had held back.
"It's called Dobby. He used to be a House-Elf of the Malfoy Family, but he's free now", Ivan explained to Asia, recounting the events of the previous school year.
Given Dawgert's presence and not wanting to worry Asia too much, Ivan skipped over the details about the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets, only mentioning that Lucius Malfoy had sold him a dangerous Diary during the first-year summer.
This Dark Artifact was very special, possessing its own will. It had controlled the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, aiming to "purify" Hogwarts by killing Muggle-Borns with low bloodline status.
"Lucius Malfoy! How dare he harm you like that?!" Asia was furious upon hearing this.
As an expert in Alchemy, even without knowing about Horcruxes, she understood how powerful a Dark Magic Object with its own mind could be.
Thinking about it, Asia couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. She scolded Ivan, "Why didn't you tell me about this dangerous thing before? What if something went wrong?"
"I knew it was problematic, so I wanted to study it!" Ivan explained sheepishly, then added lightly that he had already destroyed it.
"So, when you asked me to teach you Fiendfyre, it was to destroy it?" Asia immediately recalled how Ivan had suddenly asked her to teach him the Fiendfyre curse, which now made sense as a method to destroy the Magic Item.
"Exactly! I tried many methods, but nothing worked. So, I thought of Fiendfyre!" Ivan nodded, explaining that with his fifth-level Occlumency and the Fiendfyre Ring, he had dared to keep the Horcrux for so long.
Although it almost went wrong in the end, the benefits were clear. His Magic skills had improved dramatically over the semester, and he successfully found a way to merge multiple bloodlines.
If we set aside other factors, Ivan had to admit that Tom was a great Master, and one who could be carried around at all times.
"Alright, Asia, I think Young Ivan has his own ideas. Hasn't he always handled things well?" Dawgert also chimed in to support Ivan. He didn't want Ivan and Asia to have a falling out over such a minor issue.
Ivan's various legendary experiences at school also left Dawgert utterly amazed. No wonder Ivan's strength increased significantly every time he returned; his school life was far too exciting.
Asia had calmed down by this point. She was merely upset about Ivan's risky behavior earlier.
Ivan continued, explaining how Dobby, worried about Harry's safety, had disobeyed orders and secretly informed him, ultimately being discovered and punished by Lucius.
"After I destroyed the Diary, I set a trap by placing a glove inside it and returning it to Lucius. As I expected, he threw the damaged Diary to Dobby", Ivan added.
Asia and Dawgert immediately understood.
House-elves are the slaves of Wizards. The only way for them to gain freedom is to receive a piece of clothing from their master.
However, for a typical House-elf, this is a disgrace because being cast out by their master means they lose their purpose in life.
But this House-elf was clearly an oddity. Dobby said proudly, "Yes, the great Lord Hals freed Dobby, making Dobby a free House-elf."
Dobby grew more and more excited, especially when he mentioned that Ivan was willing to pay him one Sickle per week as wages. His large, bulbous eyes filled with tears of gratitude, and his nose quivered.
Dawgert and Asia looked at Ivan with a mix of curiosity and amusement. Ivan quickly interrupted the House-elf's speech.
"Dobby! From now on, don't mention the employment issue without my permission!"
He had worked hard to build an image of a caring master among the Wizards, and Ivan didn't want this to be ruined.
"Dobby understands, sir must not want people to know how kind he is to a House-elf", Dobby sniffled.
Dobby's peculiar logic left Ivan speechless. He shook his head and said nothing more, turning to Asia to ask if Dobby could stay at home.
Asia had no objections. She had been busy handling the Wizarding Market and had little time for household chores. Dobby's presence would fill this gap perfectly.
Dawgert, however, frowned, concerned about Dobby's loyalty. A House-elf who betrayed their original master wasn't exactly popular.
But then he remembered how Ivan had managed to convince so many Wizards in just one hour. He figured Ivan could handle a House-elf, so he relaxed.
After convincing Asia to accept Dobby, Ivan turned to the two and curiously asked about the events in Knockturn Alley over the past few months and how they had come into conflict with the Wizarding Market.
"After you left, Asia and I felt it was necessary to clean up Knockturn Alley before your return. This was one of the few things we could do to help you!" Dawgert proudly explained their achievements over the past few months.
They gathered enough manpower to deal with some unruly troublemakers. As for the numerous ordinary Wizards, they didn't bother with them, as those people were easy to handle and would naturally align themselves once they achieved ultimate victory.
"At first, I wanted to persuade the Nott Family to join us. If they had seen reason, I wouldn't have made things difficult for them. But that old man was stubborn and drove away the people I sent", Dawgert said with a cold smile. He had given them a chance, but they didn't appreciate it.
"Wait, Headmaster Dawgert, shouldn't the cause of the conflict be that we caused a ruckus at the Wizarding Market two years ago, and the Nott Family is retaliating?" Ivan, confused, interrupted Dawgert and asked.
"That's a pretty good explanation", Dawgert brightened. Why hadn't he thought of using this as a reason before?
Fortunately, it wasn't too late to make amends. Dawgert immediately admitted that he hadn't considered the impact of public opinion and would send people to gather evidence of the Nott Family's crimes tomorrow.
Asia seemed to have picked up on something and couldn't help but warn Ivan that to achieve greater ambitions, one needn't be too concerned with the righteousness of the means. If you want to accomplish something significant, being overly merciful just won't do!
Hearing their words, Ivan fell into a state of confusion.
What? I have greater ambitions and want to achieve something significant?
Why have I never known this?
"Who told you that?" Ivan was highly skeptical that Asia might have misunderstood something and couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, it was Bogrod! If he hadn't told me about your arrangements, I would have been kept in the dark!" Asia sighed, speaking with a sense of regret. Then, she glared at Ivan in dissatisfaction and continued.
"You shouldn't have told Bogrod about such a secret plan. If he had spread it, it would have been disastrous!"
"But I only talked to him about Alchemy, asking him how to set up a Secret Passage on a Magical Item." Ivan looked bewildered, completely at a loss. Could these two things be related somehow?
"That's why I always say that old guy is very shrewd. He guessed that you were planning to use the Secret Passage technique on the protective rings you sold to the Aurors, so you could take out the strongest force in the Ministry of Magic at the right time!" Dawgert explained.
When mentioning Bogrod, Dawgert still felt a lingering resentment, remembering how that old man had blown up his house.
Ivan was taken aback as he recalled the conversation he had with Bogrod.
Did I ever say something like that?
But he had only been cautious, to avoid being betrayed by the Magical Items he sold!
It was purely for self-protection and had nothing to do with any grand ambitions to rule Knockturn Alley!
After all, he and Asia had committed many violations of Wizarding World laws, and there was no telling when a large group of Aurors might come to arrest them.
Ivan wished he could use a Time-Turner to go back and wring Bogrod's neck, to prevent him from imagining all sorts of weird things and passing them on to Asia and others.
No wonder the task of unifying Knockturn Alley kept progressing while he was at Hogwarts. It turns out Asia had been duped by Bogrod.
With this thought, Ivan was about to explain.
However, before he could speak, Dawgert said admiringly, "Asia and I never would have guessed that you had such a meticulous plan all along!"
"Indeed, when Bogrod told me, I almost thought he had made a mistake. This kind of scheme doesn't seem like something a child could come up with", Asia added with a smile.
It was a mistake!
Ivan gave a bitter smile, but seeing Dawgert's admiring gaze and Asia's smile, he swallowed his words.
Ivan couldn't imagine how awkward it would be if he told them the truth now, revealing that their months of hard work had all been a misunderstanding.
All their efforts would be in vain!
Moreover, the Wizards they had gathered at great expense were already riled up and ready to strike after his speech.
If he told them now that it was all a misunderstanding and they should disband and go home, who knows what chaos might ensue!
Not to mention, their conflict with the Wizarding Market was already irreconcilable. Even if they were willing to stop now, the Nott Family would never let them off!
So, the only way forward was to see the original plan through, eliminate the threat, and ensure that the large sum of Galleons spent wouldn't be wasted!
Most importantly, Ivan recalled Trelawney's prophecy.
With Peter Pettigrew's escape from Azkaban, part of the prophecy had already come true. Ivan felt he needed to be prepared for the worst.
At such a time, having a group of strong and loyal followers was crucial!
Given this, Ivan had no idea how to explain things to Asia.
Should he tell her that although he was content with the status quo and had no grand ambitions, he still needed to cultivate a loyal group of followers to guard against the return of the previous Dark Lord?
That would be even worse than not explaining at all!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
