36 A Gamble with Malfoy

In the blink of an eye, it was November and the weather was turning cold.

Ivan's Potions level, during his daily academic discussions with Hermione, was close to Level Four, and it would not be long before he reached the lowest level of brewing the Bloodline-Fusion Potion.

In order to avoid the awkward situation of having his memory stolen again, Ivan took the time to sneak back into the Restricted Section, where he used the accumulated achievement points he had accumulated over the past few weeks to upgrade his Occlumency to Level 2 in just a few nights.

However, before Ivan could be happy, he was once again troubled by the large amount of ingredients needed to brew the Bloodline Fusion Potion.

He only had three Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and twenty or so Bronze Knuts. Even if he managed to sneak into Hogsmeade through the secret passage, he would not be able to afford all the materials he needed.

He also had to thank his mother, whom he had never met, for sending him a letter. Otherwise, he would not have had any Galleons.

"Do you guys think there's a way to make lots and lots of Galleons in a month?" Ivan asked the crowd on the way to the Great Hall.

"What do you say we go rob the Gringotts? You can count me in," Ron joked.

"Oh, come on, you'll be thrown into Azkaban by the goblins there before you can do anything about it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she explained why Gringotts was supposedly the safest place in the wizarding world.

In addition to the various defences, it is said to be guarded by a dragon…

Harry and Ron listened with great interest, while Ivan, who knew the whole story, grumbled to himself.

Come on, this is the safest place you've ever been. Lord Voldemort's Cino broke into it only this year, and you'll be breaching it again within a few years.

Gringotts' defence system was still a nightmare for Ivan, and Ron was the only one who could suggest something so unreliable.

"By the way, Ivan, what are you going to do with all these Galleons?" Harry asked, suddenly curious.

"I got some from the vault before I came to Hogwarts. If you don't need much, I can lend you some."

Harry then enthusiastically grabbed a dozen Galleons from the pocket of his wizarding robes and placed them in front of Ivan, stating that they were not enough and that he had placed many more in the dormitory…

He was blinded by Harry's generosity, and Ivan, who had read the book, realised that the "little bit" of gold that Harry had extracted from the vault was worth over a hundred!

No matter how many potions were needed to brew the Bloodline-Fusion Potion, this amount of Galleons was more than enough, to the point where Harry had enough to put in front of him.

Seeing the sincerity in Harry's eyes, Yvonne was touched. They had known each other for only half a term, and Harry's actions were definitely righteous!

Of course, this also had to do with the fact that Harry had no concept of money…

"Forget it, I'm just saying. You can't spend as much Galleons as you want here." Despite the fact that there were plenty of Galleons lying around, Ivan shook his head and declined Harry's offer.

In many people's minds, this might seem stupid, as one could achieve one's goal by simply stretching out one's hand, and no matter how much money one borrowed, one could simply return it in the future.

Ivan, however, disagreed, as he believed that accepting Harry's offer now meant that he owed him a favour, which was not good for Ivan, who did not want to get too involved in Dumbledore's schemes.

Besides, there was still time. He could always borrow money from Harry when he ran out of ideas.

With Ivan's deliberate change of subject, Harry soon forgot about it, and the group drifted off to talk about the upcoming Quidditch game.

As Gryffindor House's hidden trump card, Harry was not as confident as everyone thought he would be, but rather nervous.

He could not imagine how disappointed Wood would be if Gryffindor lost the match because he could not catch the Golden Snitch.

Ivan, on the other hand, was full of confidence in Harry's ability to fly, as no one knew better than him, and with Harry's own luck, Gryffindor would have a hard time losing unless it was a plot kill.

Given Harry's loyalty, Ivan was even more prepared to keep an eye on Chino on the day of the match to avoid any mishaps.

They unknowingly arrived at the Great Hall of Hogwarts, and Ivan was about to enjoy his lunch at the Gryffindor table when he heard Malfoy, sitting at the next table, jeering at Gryffindor's repeated defeats by Slytherin.

Infuriated, Ron tried to beat Malfoy up, but Harry and Hermione managed to stop him, and a brawl broke out in the Great Hall.

While the trio argued, Ivan approached Malfoy.

At the Slytherin table, Malfoy, who was still ranting, saw Ivan approaching and his smile turned to one of disgust and a hint of fear.

After all, news of Ivan killing the troll had spread like wildfire around the house, and even Professor McGonagall had admitted that Malfoy feared Ivan was after him.

Malfoy soon realised that they were at the Slytherin table, and Ivan was unlikely to get into trouble with him there, so he had the courage to reprimand him sternly.

"Hales, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to make a bet with you." Ivan smiled as he took out three Galleons and placed them on the table.

"Let's bet on Harry catching the Golden Snitch and winning the next game!" said Ivan.

Malfoy looked at the three Galleons on the table and did not immediately agree.

This small amount of money was nothing to Malfoy, but he still remembered being scammed by Ivan, so Malfoy had to wonder if Ivan was up to something.

As for Harry's role as Gryffindor's secret weapon, it was revealed during his training sessions with Malfoy.

"It's fine if you don't want to gamble. I thought you'd make a profit on what little money you have." Ivan shook his head nonchalantly, put away the Galleons, and prepared to leave.

"Wait…"

Malfoy wasn't sure of Ivan's attitude, but he was able to glean a message of interest from Ivan's words…