Hogwarts' White Lord

"But why didn't Dumbledore come? Will it be really okay?"

Mr. Weasley still seemed a bit uneasy, but with McGonagall and Moody remaining silent, he had no choice but to place his trust in Ivan.

"It's no big deal, just a small curse," Ivan said nonchalantly, as if he were describing something as trivial as eating or drinking water. His casual demeanor only deepened the embarrassment of the curse breakers present in the room.

The incident with the cursed gold coins was still fresh in their minds.

Back then, they had been completely stumped and could only seek Dumbledore's help. Ivan had accompanied the old headmaster at the time.

However, on that occasion, Ivan hadn't displayed much of his strength. He had merely shown a single spell to prove that his magical skills were on par with—if not far superior to—their own.

Now, Ivan had come alone.

McGonagall and Snape seemed more like his chaperones, there to oversee the visit to the Ministry of Magic, while Ivan himself was clearly the one taking charge.

"Hmm.. This curse is quite clever," Ivan commented as he inspected it.

"Ordinary wizards really wouldn't be able to deal with it. The root of the problem lies in your magic power."

In this context, "magic power" referred to the strength and depth of one's magical abilities.

Hearing such an explanation from a first-year wizard felt ironic to say the least.

A room full of elite adult wizards—trained professionals—was being schooled by a boy, and they couldn't help but question who among them was truly the experienced wizard.

"Of course, a little skill is needed."

Ivan did not use a wand. Since he was here to demonstrate his power, he naturally aimed to present his strongest capabilities.

First, Ivan waved his hand, and the culture tank containing Toad Fudge vanished into nothingness.

This move left all the Ministry of Magic officials present utterly stunned.

"A Vanishing Spell?"

"Silent and wandless Vanishing Spell?"

"But... wasn't that an alchemical item?"

The item in question was an alchemical creation with considerable magical resistance, yet it had been effortlessly erased by Ivan.

That alone was a display of magical prowess far beyond their comprehension.

"Croak~~"

With the culture tank gone, Toad Fudge floated midair for a brief moment before Ivan pointed casually.

The next moment, the toad began to twist and shift, morphing rapidly until Fudge fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Haa! What happened?"

"Where is this place?"

"..."

Fudge looked bewildered and frightened, his memory frozen at the moment when he had been transformed into a toad.

To him, it felt as though no time had passed at all—one moment he was a toad, and the next, he was standing here.

"Rufus? Barty? Amelia?"

Fudge scrambled to his feet, hastily tidying up his disheveled robes.

He scanned the room, noticing everyone staring at him, and immediately demanded to know the situation.

When Fudge learned that he had been cursed by a dark wizard and turned into a toad, his face turned an alarming shade of green with anger.

"Damn it!"

"Damn dark wizard! Damn robber!"

"Catch him! He must be caught and punished!!"

Having lost so much face, Fudge could barely contain his fury.

He wanted nothing more than to throw the perpetrator into Azkaban and have them subjected to a Dementor's Kiss.

"Excuse me, Mr. Minister." 

Noticing that Fudge was losing control, Ivan quickly cast a calming spell over him and continued, "I still need to remove the spell on Ms. Umbridge. Perhaps we can discuss other matters once she has been restored?"

"What?"

Fudge, still fuming, finally noticed Ivan—the young wizard standing before him.

His first instinct was to reprimand the boy for speaking so casually, but before he could, his colleagues quickly explained the situation to him.

It was Ivan who had broken the vicious curse placed upon him, succeeding where all the curse breakers in the Ministry of Magic had failed.

"This..."

Fudge was so shocked that he could barely speak. What stunned him even more was Ivan's identity.

He remembered Ivan coming with Dumbledore before. The young wizard was Dumbledore's favorite student and a successor that the headmaster had clearly placed great focus on training.

This point was only further emphasized by the fact that Dumbledore, despite the gravity of the situation, had not come in person to lift Fudge's curse. Instead, he had entrusted the task entirely to a first-year wizard.

This level of trust and responsibility spoke volumes about how much Dumbledore valued Ivan.

Fudge's magical ability might have been average, but his political instincts were razor-sharp. Almost immediately, he recognized the underlying threat.

Dumbledore sending Ivan here wasn't just to break the curse—it was also a move to elevate this boy's reputation.

And who would be the most impacted by Ivan's rising status and influence?

Obviously, Fudge himself—the current Minister of Magic!

What terrified Fudge even more was that two successive failures—the cursed gold incident and the Gringotts debacle—would utterly destroy his reputation if they became widely known.

Fudge was still preparing for re-election, and the idea of his name being dragged through the mud was utterly unacceptable.

But before Fudge could voice his thoughts, the Ministry officials around him interrupted his train of thought.

"Mr. Ambrosius, please," Scrimgeour said.

"Please remove the curse on Ms. Umbridge," added Amelia, the two high-ranking officials representing the Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Faced with their united front, even Fudge had no choice but to step back.

"Very well," Ivan said calmly, not sparing Fudge a glance.

He repeated the same spellwork he had used earlier, and in a moment, Umbridge was restored to her original form.

"Oh!"

"Oh, Merlin! How dreadful! That dark wizard!"

"Am I okay? Who saved me? Thank you so much!"

Umbridge's affected, overly-sweet voice, combined with her expression of exaggerated gratitude, nearly made Ivan gag on the breakfast he'd eaten earlier that day.

It was utterly revolting.

Ivan deeply regretted turning Umbridge back into her human form.

The toad-like appearance suited her perfectly. In fact, whether she was in human form or not, this woman still resembled a giant pink toad.

"The matter has been resolved, and the curse breakers will need to handle the subsequent recovery efforts," Ivan said calmly.

He understood the importance of a gradual approach, much like boiling a frog in warm water. Having now stepped onto the stage of the British wizarding world, Ivan knew there would be plenty of opportunities to make his mark in the future.

Especially after these two incidents, the entire Ministry of Magic would undoubtedly come to recognize the presence of an extraordinary little wizard from Hogwarts.

Ivan's immense magical power, his ability to effortlessly defeat trolls and dark wizards, and now his success in breaking a complex curse—all of it left an indelible impression.

It was inevitable that the Ministry of Magic would think of Ivan whenever they faced problems beyond their abilities in the future.

"Professors, shall we return?"

Ivan didn't hesitate, turning to leave.

McGonagall and Snape followed him without a word, and Amelia and the other officials didn't object.

After all, a young wizard like Ivan should be focusing on his studies, not spending his time solving problems for adults.

In their eyes, it was already embarrassing enough for the Ministry of Magic to rely on a child's help.

But Fudge saw things differently.

The Minister of Magic watched Ivan and the two professors depart; his expression was a mix of dark brooding, and he looked very ugly.

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