The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"No!" Fred nimbly dodged the spell. "These are our medals!"

“This is also evidence of Wood’s persecution of us!” George shouted.

"Have you been training every day lately?" Roger asked.

Fred nodded. "That's right, rain or shine. We think Wood has gone mad."

“He would wake us up before dawn every day,” George said with a pained expression.

"It seems Gryffindor is determined to win this year's Quidditch trophy?" Roger laughed. "But I think the trophy will belong to Ravenclaw."

Fred immediately sneered, "Oh, don't brag, Roger!"

“I remember you Ravenclaws haven’t won the Quidditch trophy in a long time!” George made a disdainful gesture.

"Hey!" Roger protested. "This year's Ravenclaw will definitely surprise you!"

"To our surprise?"

Fred and George exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time. They quickly grabbed Roger's hands from the left and right.

"So, Ravenclaw's new rookies this year are really good?"

"Or did Bruce come up with a new formation?"

"Tell us quickly, Roger."

"No, let me go!" Roger began to struggle desperately. "Give up, I will never tell you!"

"That's not up to you, hehehe."

The twins simultaneously reached out their wicked hands, moving nimbly across Roger's body, setting him ablaze.

"Hahahaha... Let me go... Hahaha..."

Roger, who was being tickled, immediately burst into laughter and almost lost his balance.

"Gentlemen, class is about to start."

Scott, standing to the side, offered a helpless reminder.

He waved the copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in his hand. "If you're late, Professor Kettleburn will probably make you stay there to feed the Flobber Caterpillars."

After saying that, he turned and continued walking towards the Forbidden Forest.

“What have you been up to lately, Scott?” Fred immediately released Roger and walked to Scott’s side, pretending to be serious.

George also let go of Roger, who was feeling a bit weak, and straightened his mud-splattered robe. "It's been a month since school started, and we've never seen you during the wonderful night tours."

Scott chuckled, "He's really persistent with nighttime outings."

In fact, Scott, who had already fully satisfied his curiosity during the nighttime excursions in first and second grade, had completely lost interest in this activity.

Because that's not actually interesting.

He suspects the twins' continued enthusiasm for this nighttime activity stems primarily from their enjoyment of outsmarting Filch.

But his later plans regarding the diary and the basilisk also required the twins' involvement, so he explained, "Sorry, I have a lot of papers to write lately, and I also have to attend Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall's after-school club."

"Oh! Writing a paper!"

"Join the after-school club!"

"Truly a good student of Ravenclaw."

"Professor McGonagall's little darling!"

The twins started saying sarcastic and sarcastic things in unison again.

"I know you've changed your mind, Scott!"

"And we're still foolishly reminiscing about the wonderful nights we spent together."

“Shut up, what you’re saying is absolutely disgusting.” Scott was lucky he hadn’t been choked by what the two guys were saying.

"It is a bit disgusting."

Fred made a vomiting face and then changed the subject.

"By the way, one of your Ravenclaw freshmen has recently become famous."

George laughed and said, "Jacob Kent, known as Davis II of Ravenclaw."

"What happened?" Roger Davis I was still completely bewildered.

“Because many people saw that the boy was getting close to several different girls. There were rumors that he was dating several girlfriends at the same time,” Fred said.

“This inevitably brings to mind you, Roger,” George said. “After all, your speed in changing girlfriends is quite well-known among Hogwarts students.”

"You know what? I've been single for three months now!" Roger protested loudly.

"..." Scott looked at his roommate speechlessly. "So? You want us to praise you?"

“No, I just want to say that I’m different from that Jacob kid.” Roger flicked his hair back with a cool gesture. “After all, I’m a very loyal guy when it comes to relationships. I only date one girl at a time.”

"..."

This time, not only Scott, but even the twins were so shocked by Roger's boast that they were speechless for a while.

After a long silence, Fred frowned and said, "These kinds of statements that make you want to refute them, but you can't... to be honest, are a bit disgusting."

“As expected of Davis I of Ravenclaw, we have lost this time.” George bowed to Roger in a mock manner.

Roger strode forward triumphantly, head held high, but as he passed Scott, he secretly gave him a wink.

Scott understood what he meant and nodded slightly without making a sound.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the group arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where Professor Kettleburn, who was in charge of teaching the course, was already waiting.

The elderly professor was left with only one arm and half a leg. Even though he used prosthetics for both legs, he still had to rely on crutches to move around.

"You've come!"

The old wizard was in good spirits.

"Come and see! Today's lesson is about learning about the Swallowtail Dog!"

Chapter 016 Swallowtail Dog, Painless Cutting Curse

The Crup is a breed of dog bred by wizards, very similar to the Jack Russell Terrier, but with a forked tail.

These dogs are extremely loyal to wizards, but are very ferocious to Muggles.

After the course began, Professor Kettleburn had the students work in groups of four to get to know a baby swallow-tailed dog.

"These little guys, they can eat almost anything."

Professor Kettleburn walked unsteadily among the students, occasionally bending down to affectionately pat the dogs' heads.

"Now, you can feed these little guys the food I prepared beforehand and try to build a bond with them."

Scott and Roger were in the same group as the Weasley twins, and Professor Kettleburn assigned them a small, dark-furred dog.

At this moment, they were squatting on the ground, surrounding the puppy.

The puppy whimpered uneasily, clearly wary of them. Only when Professor Kettleburn petted it would it wag its forked tail happily.

"Oh, little one?"

Fred frowned and used a twig to pick out some of the cow's entrails from a small bucket beside him.

"Want some, little one?"

The little black dog came over, sniffed it, and immediately pounced on it to devour it.

"See? The little guy's tail is wagging, which means he approves of me," Fred said smugly.

“I think we all need to get to know this little guy, so let’s take turns feeding him!” Roger followed suit, picking up a twig and sticking it into the barrel, stirring it among the disgusting entrails.

A foul stench hit him, and Scott covered his nose, taking two steps back in disgust.

"No, I don't need it!"

At this point, Professor Kettleburn loudly asked the students, "Can anyone tell me how to obtain a license from the Department of Magical Creatures Control if I want to legally keep a Swallowtail?"

Scott was invigorated.

It's time for extra credit in class!

With the spirit of "why not take it if it's free?", he quickly raised his hand.

“Then please…” Professor Kettleburn’s gaze swept over the students who had raised their hands, and finally called on Scott, “Mr. Trollope, please answer this question.”

Lucky you!

Scott stood up with a triumphant smile. "Yes, Professor."

He began to recite the text verbatim.

"Any wizard who wants to apply to keep a Swallowtail must complete a simple test before he can obtain a license from the Department of Magical Creatures Control."

Owners of swallowtail dogs are legally obligated to use a painless tail-cutting spell to remove their dog's unusual tail when it is six to eight weeks old, in order to prevent the dog from attracting the attention of Muggles.

Furthermore, wizards wishing to own a Swallowtail must prove they can control the breed within Muggle-populated areas.

“Well said, Mr. Trollope.” Professor Kettleburn gave Scott a thumbs-up with his only remaining hand. “I have nothing to add to this, and for that I give Ravenclaw ten points.”

This is Professor Kettleburn's usual practice in class. He only asks one question per class, and if a student answers correctly, he uses up all the extra credits for that class at once.

Moreover, these questions are usually not too difficult; whoever gets the question clicks on them usually earns the money.

This makes everyone eager to raise their hands in the class on protecting magical creatures.

“The swallowtail dogs you’re getting to know now are all five weeks old,” Professor Kettleburn continued the lesson. “Over the next two weeks, you should try to get to know them as well as possible.”

He announced with some excitement, "Two weeks from now, you will be the ones to remove their strange tails yourself, using a painless cutting spell!"

Amid the students' uproar, Professor Kettleburn said loudly, "So in these two weeks you will not only learn how to care for these little guys, you will also have to review spells in your spare time, and you must make sure that nothing goes wrong when you use the Painless Cutting Charm."

"Oh, poor little thing." George immediately patted the puppy's tail with ill intent. "You're about to lose half of your tail!"

Unfortunately, the puppy was engrossed in its meal and unaware of its impending tragic fate.

At the end of the class, Professor Kettleburn assigned homework—about the history of wizards breeding swallowtail dogs.

"The painless cutting spell? Is this it?"