Hogwarts' White Lord

Life at Hogwarts settled back into its usual rhythms, and Ivan naturally resumed his role as the leader among the first years.

Since Quirrell had been dealt with early, Harry didn't develop suspicions about Snape, and Hagrid hadn't come into possession of a dragon. This meant that many of the events from the original timeline never took place.

There were definite benefits to this: Harry and the others in Gryffindor had a quieter first year. Although, perhaps Harry didn't feel as great about it.

Especially now that Snape was temporarily teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Snape is completely mad!"

Harry shouted in the Gryffindor common room. "He took twenty points off me in one class!"

"Calm down, Harry," Hermione said, trying to reassure him. "Nobody's blaming you. We all know Snape targets Gryffindor."

"She's right," Parvati added. "Besides, we still have Ivan and Hermione to help earn points back for us."

"Then he should at least have a better reason!" Harry fumed.

Unlike in the original timeline, Harry already knew why Snape had it out for him.

Snape held a grudge against Harry's father.

He still had a lingering affection for Harry's mother.

"A good man, yet he can't let go of some petty grudge and takes it out on an eleven-year-old!" Harry grumbled. "It's so ridiculous!"

"Potter, how long do you plan on dawdling? Five points from Gryffindor!"

"Potter, what is going on in that head of yours? Two more points from Gryffindor!"

"Blah Blah Blah!!"

"Does he even try to pretend he's fair?" Harry ranted to his friends. "Next, he'll probably take points for which foot I use to walk through the door first!"

Using one of Ivan's favorite phrases, Harry muttered, "This is unreasonable!"

Snape was really pushing things too far.

Right now, all Harry wanted was for Ivan to teach him a few powerful spells so he could march right up to Snape and stand his ground. If Snape wanted to punish him, well, he'd just have to try!

"You're not ready to take him on, Harry."

Ivan reluctantly rejected Harry's request. The gap in strength between the two sides was too big, and it was impossible to win.

Unless Ivan stepped in himself.

But knowing Harry, he'd never ask his friends to fight his battles for him.

"Snape, I just can't stand you!"

Harry finally muttered, completely deflated as he slumped onto the sofa, his face a mix of frustration and despair.

'Poor kid,' Ivan thought, unable to offer much comfort and preferring not to get too involved.

"Look, instead of getting worked up over Snape, why not focus on Quidditch training?" he suggested.

Harry had managed to secure a win against Slytherin in his first match, but the upcoming games with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff still awaited him.

"Cedric from Hufflepuff is tough competition, Harry. You'll need to be on your game."

Ivan had recently taken note of Cedric Diggory, who in the original timeline would go on to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament.

Cedric was known for being a friendly, sunny, and genuinely good-hearted guy.

Cedric was three years older than Ivan, in the same year as the Weasley twins and now a third-year student.

Ivan didn't have any particular connections within Hufflepuff, so he hadn't met Cedric personally, nor had they interacted much.

But…

With occasional bits of information filtering in from Hufflepuff, Ivan had pieced together a pretty good idea of Cedric's strengths and character.

Cedric Diggory was indeed a traditional wizard in the truest sense.

But "traditional" here didn't mean he was a pure-blood supremacist; rather, he was deeply rooted in the magic world, content with its customs and not particularly interested in the non-magical world.

If Ronald Weasley was the kind of wizard who didn't fully understand Muggles but didn't outright reject Muggle culture, the Diggorys were the opposite.

They represented a segment of wizarding society that saw themselves as beneficiaries of the current system and had little interest in the changes that Muggle culture might bring. As the influence of pure-bloods waned, families like the Diggorys saw themselves as the next dominant class in the wizarding world.

For people like them, the introduction of Muggle culture threatened their way of life and security. They neither knew much about Muggles nor cared to understand them.

To Ivan, they were like the literati from his previous life's history, individuals who benefited from their established position. While pure-bloods were like aristocrats of the old order, families like the Diggorys were rising, akin to bureaucrats who secured stable roles through "official" wizarding paths.

In practical terms, this meant that someone like Cedric, with the same qualifications as a Muggle-born like Penelope, would advance more smoothly within the Ministry of Magic. Meanwhile, Muggle-borns often encountered invisible barriers, subtle but pervasive.

"Cedric—I heard Wood mention him."

Finally, Harry redirected his focus toward Quidditch, allowing the others to relax. They no longer had to listen to him vent about Snape. Although everyone agreed Snape was unfair, his treatment of Harry was so frequent that they thought Harry would eventually grow accustomed to it.

"Alright, let's call it a night," Ivan said, noticing it was getting late. He announced the end of their gathering, and soon everyone left the common room, heading back to their dormitories for rest.

Ivan followed his usual routine, opening the door to the secret realm inside his closet, ready for his nightly material collection expedition.

Neville, watching Ivan disappear into the closet, was no longer startled.

By now, Neville and Hermione had become close allies in Ivan's plans. After Hermione, Neville was the only other person aware of the hidden world accessible through the closet.

Living together as roommates, Neville often saw Ivan's nightly disappearances. Ivan couldn't very well cast a sleeping spell on Neville every night—that would eventually take a toll on Neville's health. So, he found an opportunity to let Neville in on the secret of the closet realm, explaining that he visited there every night to gather resources.

Originally, Ivan had planned to invite Neville to join him, but Neville's condition made that difficult. Due to a childhood forgetfulness charm, Neville often struggled with exhaustion by nightfall.

Staying awake through the night, like in the original story, was likely Neville's rare moment of courage and resilience.

"Meow~~"

In the quiet dormitory, Yuumi's soft meow drifted from above, breaking the silence as Ivan was gone for another night in the secret realm.

"Yuumi, aren't you supposed to be with Ivan?" Neville asked, watching Yuumi materialize out of thin air. Though he knew it was her new ability, he was still fascinated every time he saw it.

"Meow," Yuumi responded with a look of exasperation, almost human-like. She spread her paws as if to say she couldn't keep up with Ivan's nightly routines.

…

Not everyone could be like Ivan, who, thanks to his magical avatar, only needed a short amount of sleep to stay fully energized.

To Yuumi, her master seemed less human and more like a relentless, tireless creature.

"Ah-choo!"

Ivan sneezed suddenly in the secret realm. "Is someone talking about me behind my back?" He paused, a hunch crossing his mind.

"Yuumi?" he muttered, making a mental note to cut her dried fish treats by half tomorrow as punishment for badmouthing her master.

"Now, what should I work on today?" Ivan mused as he stood on the open grassland.

Around him were rows of small, one- and two-story wooden houses.

This was the secret village he had constructed with magic. Enclosed within a powerful protective barrier Ultron, Ivan had felt no need to set up additional defenses like walls.

"I remember there was a family of unicorns living in the forest to the east," Ivan murmured.

Unicorn hair was highly valued in the wizarding market and fetched a hefty price. After his recent success in the Muggle world's currency exchange, Ivan had turned his attention to acquiring wizarding gold—Galleons.

However, he had no plans to simply exchange Muggle gold for Galleons. With the amount of pounds he possessed, he could easily do so, but Ivan understood all too well the nature of goblins.

If he attempted to trade Muggle gold at Gringotts, the goblins would likely drive the price of Galleons down to rock bottom. One ton of Muggle gold for a single Galleon wouldn't be out of character for them.

Never underestimate goblin greed; they were a pervasive influence in the wizarding economy.

Goblins didn't produce any of the wealth stored at Gringotts, yet they controlled 90% of it, holding tight to all financial lifelines.

"The wizard who handed over Gringotts to the goblins should be strung up for it," Ivan muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

This wasn't the first time he'd found himself irked by the state of wizarding finance, and he was already developing a plan of his own.

Someday, when the opportunity arose, Ivan intended to visit Gringotts and see if he couldn't reclaim some of the Galleons sitting idle in the unclaimed vaults.

"According to goblin logic, any treasures they craft ultimately belong to them."

Yes, wizards bring their materials to goblins, pay hefty crafting fees, and receive their items. But in the goblins' view, the items are still theirs. Once a wizard dies, goblins often claim the items were never truly given to the wizard, asserting instead that they were stolen.

The vaults at Gringotts operate on a similar principle: if goblins can determine that a vault lacks heirs, they see no issue in absorbing its contents into their own assets.

"An absurd mindset, a robber's logic."

Ivan's disdain for goblins had been simmering for some time.

He hadn't taken action only because he couldn't be certain which vaults had already been quietly absorbed by goblins.

"Hogwarts arranged a trapdoor adventure on the third floor for Harry, Hermione, and the others," he mused. "Maybe I've found my own adventure."

Ivan wanted to see if he could slip into Gringotts and emerge with a bounty using his current magical skills.

"Even Quirrell managed to get in," Ivan smirked. "There's no reason I can't pull it off, right?"

_________

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