Ivan was about to ask another question, but the enthusiastic applause from the tables below had already erupted. Swallowing his many questions, he placed the Sorting Hat back on the stool and walked down the steps.
Seeing him approach, a few of the older students at the Gryffindor table shuffled over to make room for him.
A pair of identical twins with fiery red hair familiarly pulled Ivan into the empty spot between them. One of them spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"Blimey, I'd bet you're the first first-year ever to show that much cheek to Professor McGonagall during the Sorting Ceremony. That was truly…"
"Truly what?" Ivan asked, confused.
"Truly brilliant!" the other twin finished the thought.
"You're destined to become a House legend!" they declared in unison, looking at each other.
Ivan nearly choked. He couldn't quite follow the twins' bizarre logic.
"Alright, thanks…" Ivan replied politely, acknowledging the twins' "blessing" before asking, "I'm Ivan Hals. And you are?"
"I'm George Weasley, and that one over there is Fred," one of the twins said first, winking at Ivan. "You'd better remember that. Fred here hates it when people get our names mixed up…"
"Of course, George. I don't think I'll get it wrong," Ivan said, seeing right through their classic identity-swapping prank. He turned to the other twin. "Isn't that right, Fred?"
Fred, who had been planning to trick the new student with his brother, was left speechless. George, who had spoken first, also looked stunned for a moment before asking, "Wait, how did you know I was George?"
"It was an easy guess, wasn't it? What first-year doesn't know about the Weasley twins and your love for pranks?" Of course, Ivan couldn't admit he knew from a book, so he had to quickly come up with an excuse to fob them off.
"Merlin's beard, are we that famous already? Even the first-years know about us?" George and Fred said in delighted surprise, feeling that their years of dedicated battle against the Hogwarts school rules had finally paid off.
"Pfft—" Nearby, Ron, who was stuffing his face, nearly sprayed a mouthful of food. Since when were his two brothers that famous among the new students? Why hadn't he heard about it?
George and Fred, meanwhile, were curious about the whispered conversation Ivan had with the Sorting Hat on the platform. It was the first time they had ever seen someone chat with the hat for so long.
Ivan gave them a half-true, vague answer. After all, knowing the Dark Arts wasn't exactly something to brag about in Gryffindor.
Taking the opportunity, Ivan skillfully steered the conversation toward George and Fred's various adventures at Hogwarts, casually probing for information about the school's secret passages.
Having read the original books, Ivan knew that George and Fred possessed a magical map that showed most of Hogwarts' secret passages and could even track the people within the castle. With it, one could navigate the magical castle freely without worrying about being caught by professors or the caretaker.
Although Ivan knew many of Hogwarts' secrets from his past life, he couldn't remember everything perfectly. A map like that would be incredibly useful.
The Weasley twins, faced with a "fan" like Ivan, naturally let a great deal of information slip without any suspicion. They even tried to recruit him into their grand enterprise of pranking.
However, they didn't breathe a single word about the magical map.
Ivan wasn't surprised. It was their first meeting, after all. No matter how well they got along, they wouldn't reveal such an important secret. For now, Ivan was just trying to build some goodwill for the future.
Just then, however, a strange voice sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Host has acquired secret information. Generating task...
Task Objective: Explore Hogwarts
Current Progress: 2/100
Task Description: A curiosity for the unknown is a quality every young wizard should possess. The thousand-year-old castle holds countless secrets. Please explore and understand them. When your exploration progress reaches certain milestones, you will receive rewards based on your performance.]
The sudden message made Ivan freeze, and his conversation with the Weasley twins came to a halt.
A system? A cheat?
It only took a moment for Ivan to realize what was happening, and a wave of pure elation washed over him.
While he had been happy and grateful for a second chance at life after his inexplicable穿越 to Hogwarts, he had also felt a deep sense of unease in this strange new world—an anxiety he had forcefully suppressed to maintain his cover.
Now, he felt a profound sense of relief.
Ivan casually brushed off the Weasley twins, who were still eager to share more of their adventures. He turned his focus inward, exploring this newfound system. After trying various methods from the novels to call it forth, a stream of information finally appeared before his eyes.
[Ivan Hals
Occupation: Wizard
Magic Tab: Fear Hex Lv. 1 (3/200)
Knowledge & Theory: Magical Item Crafting Lv. 0 (435/500)
Magical Items:
Wand (Yew, Unicorn hair, eleven and three-quarter inches)
Magic Power: Medium
Compatibility: 72.5%
Academic Points: None
...]
The status screen was what he expected, but some of its contents were a surprise.
"Fear Hex? Magical Item Crafting?" Ivan muttered to himself. As a wizard who had just crossed over and hadn't even fully grasped his situation, these two abilities certainly hadn't come with him.
Remembering the fragmented memories that had surfaced on the platform, Ivan instantly understood. These must be the skills learned by the original Ivan Hals, the young wizard whose body he now occupied, before he had even started school.
This wasn't entirely uncommon among young wizards. Even the Muggle-born Hermione Granger had managed to master some simple spells through self-study before her first year, let alone those who came from wizarding families.
Still, the "Fear Hex" was a spell Ivan couldn't recall, no matter how hard he thought. It didn't seem to be a spell that appeared in the original books.
He wasn't too surprised. After all, Harry Potter was just a novel, showing only a corner of the wizarding world. It couldn't possibly showcase every single spell. The Dark Arts featured in the original story were particularly scarce; a real dark wizard couldn't possibly survive with just a handful of curses. The Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library alone likely held countless books on the Dark Arts.
Of course, what made Ivan more curious—and worried—was the original Ivan's family situation. A family that taught their child Dark Magic before they even attended school was clearly not the friendly type.
Ivan was deeply concerned for his own safety. If anyone discovered that the young wizard Ivan Hals was now possessed by a soul from another world, Merlin only knew what kind of dark magic would be waiting for him...