"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to head back to bed," Ivy said, knowing what was about to happen. It would probably be the usual chase and fight, leading to the end of the fourth-floor corridor where they would meet the three-headed dog Fluffy, and then encounter Nicolas Flamel and his Philosopher's Stone.
Ivy had no interest in the pain and immortality that the Stone could offer. After all, he still had 97 years to live—there was no need to think about his legacy just yet. While the ability to turn stone into gold was certainly an interesting skill, Ivy, being a wizard, didn't have much desire for money.
So, Ivy had neither the motivation nor the position to get involved in this matter.
Ivy was someone who did things according to his whims and interests. Right now, his focus was entirely on the spells provided by the Destruction Codex.
Especially since he was so close to reaching level three. He had been eyeing the spell called Moyov's Acid Arrow for a while, and by the way, he thought Fiery Ray was also pretty cool.
His current research topic was how to cast DND spells using wizard magic, though at this point, he still had no idea how to make it work.
"Oh, okay..." Malfoy stepped aside for Ivy to pass.
Just as Ivy was about to enter the common room, Malfoy suddenly called out, "Ivy!"
"What?" Ivy turned to look at Malfoy.
"Could you... Could you witness this duel?" Malfoy asked awkwardly, shrugging as though his back itched, "I mean... be a witness or a referee or something... Of course, if you're too tired, forget it... I'll handle Potter."
"I just think... if no one believes it afterward, that wouldn't be good," Malfoy continued, gaining confidence. "You see, Miss Waller never gets along with me. I bet she's trying hard to become a prefect in the future or something. So, if you could come and witness it..."
"Sure, I can do that. But what will you offer me in return?" Ivy said, his interest piqued, as he remembered that Malfoy hadn't shown up for the duel earlier. Ivy also didn't think he had sneaked out to report anyone, as this could have been done during the day. Besides, there were plenty of ways to manipulate the situation.
"Anything," Malfoy immediately replied.
"I think 'anything' is a bit too much for you," Ivy said, shaking his finger. "Let me think... A magic book? How about a magical book that Hogwarts doesn't have in its collection? It can be dark magic or something else. As long as it's not in the library."
"Of course! The Malfoy family has many collections you could never imagine!" Malfoy nodded enthusiastically, sealing the deal with Ivy.
The four of them climbed the spiral stairs from the dungeon and headed to the place they had agreed on earlier during dinner.
Along the way, Malfoy excitedly whispered a lot of things, most of them fantasizing about how to mock Harry after his failure; the rest were deliberate compliments directed at Ivy. The young Malfoy had not learned how to flatter others properly.
Soon, they arrived near the Trophy Room on the fourth floor.
But as soon as they stepped out of the stairs, a huge, noisy sound came from inside the Trophy Room, mixed with Filch's angry shouts and the screams of little wizards.
Ivy noticed that Malfoy's face immediately turned pale—this was all his doing.
Not only had Filch failed to catch Harry Potter and his companions, but he had also ruined the duel for tonight. More importantly, he had lost the chance to get closer to Ivy!
"What should we do?" Malfoy asked, sweat dripping down his face.
"Do you want to call off the duel for tonight, Mr. Malfoy?" Ivy asked.
"What? Of course not!" Malfoy jumped up as though pricked by a needle, but quickly slumped down again. "But if this causes Slytherin to lose points..."
"Simple," Ivy extended two fingers in the air, "Two magic books, or something of similar value in magical items."
"Deal!" Malfoy muttered quietly.
"Now," Ivy snapped his fingers, and a thin veil of magical curtains instantly enveloped the four of them. It was an Invisibility Charm. "Let's go."
The fleeing little wizards were running fast, almost recklessly. Unsurprisingly, they were also making quite a bit of noise. They had even attracted Peeves, who appeared from seemingly nowhere.
"They're such troublemakers," Malfoy mocked under the Invisibility Charm, while Crabbe and Goyle responded with deep, coarse laughter.
"They've gone in," Ivy said.
"Gone in? Where?" Malfoy lifted his head and looked around. Filch and Peeves were the only ones left in the hallway.
"The innermost room on the fourth floor," Ivy said slowly. "Remember? Dumbledore mentioned it at the beginning of the school year, the one that 'makes people encounter accidents and die in pain.'"
Malfoy's face turned even paler than before and then became ashen.
"Maybe..." Malfoy's throat felt dry and scratchy. "Maybe we should go back to bed and forget about this?"
"I'm not the only one who knows you were supposed to duel in the Trophy Room," Ivy pointed out mischievously.
Malfoy froze immediately, his eyes bulging unnaturally, as if someone had grabbed his throat.
"Help them..." His voice sounded as if he were drowning. "Ivy... please... help them..."
"Three books... no, no, five... or ten books... Anything, just save them!" Malfoy grabbed Ivy's robe, his fingers turning white as he squeezed.
Ivy smiled slightly and flicked his fingers in the air. Two flickering red lights struck Filch and Peeves, still arguing at the end of the hallway. They immediately froze into two lumps of ice, radiating cold.
Ivy pushed open the large door, and inside, four little wizards were staring in shock at the three-headed dog in the middle of the room, its six eyes locked on them.
"Quite an eventful and strange day, huh?" Ivy whispered as he leaned in close to them.
At such a tense moment, even the smallest sound would trigger an overreaction.
"Ahhh—" The four young wizards screamed, their voices piercing like a banshee's wail from a graveyard. And, naturally, the three-headed dog, now fully alert, joined in with its growls, making the sound a cacophony that would undoubtedly wake everyone in the castle.
"Silent," Ivy whispered, saving his hearing just before it failed him.
"Extend quickly." The iron chain securing the three-headed dog to the trapdoor quickly stretched, wrapping around the massive creature like a snake, tying it securely.
"The three-headed dog is incredibly strong. It won't be long before it breaks free. Before that happens, we should leave," Ivy said, pulling the four terrified young wizards out of the room.