The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"I see that many of the young wizards are not in good spirits, which deeply saddens me, Professor Lockhart, the most popular professor at Hogwarts."

Lockhart was still wearing a brightly colored robe, holding his head high with a confident air.

Scott noticed that the other professors on the faculty bench were looking at Lockhart, who had suddenly jumped out, with indescribable expressions.

Professor Snape, in particular, looked at Lockhart as if he were looking at a filamentous caterpillar. His expression was extremely unpleasant, as if he were reacting to seeing a hundred Harry Potters smiling at him.

Professor McGonagall kept giving Headmaster Dumbledore meaningful glances, while Dumbledore seemed hesitant to speak, and for some reason, he didn't stop Lockhart from speaking.

“I know you are worried about what happened yesterday. But you seem to have forgotten that you don’t actually need to worry.”

Lockhart was completely oblivious to the other professors' reactions, and he continued his performance with great enthusiasm.

“I am Gilderoy Lockhart, a third-class Sergeant of the Order of Merlin, an honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, and a five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award—but I don’t wear that on my sleeve. I don’t exorcise ghosts with a smile!”

He repeated his classic line, then raised his head high, seemingly waiting for the students' reaction.

However, he was disappointed. No one screamed or laughed at him. Even his most ardent admirers were not in the mood to cheer him on.

"He's a complete idiot," Roger muttered. "That grinning fool, doesn't he know everyone's waiting for Dumbledore to tell us the answer?!"

No one reacted, but Lockhart, standing on the teachers' bench, didn't feel embarrassed at all.

“Alright, alright, I know you’re in a bad mood.” He sighed dramatically. “But you shouldn’t forget that there happens to be a defense against the dark magic expert in the school right now.”

He spread his hands with a helpless expression. "Yes, I'm here. What do you have to worry about?"

He chuckled again, "Don't worry, don't worry, little wizards, this will be resolved soon, I promise you..."

"Very good, thank you for your remarks, Professor Lockhart."

Dumbledore finally stood up, clapped lightly, and nodded to Lohart, gesturing for him to sit down.

Lockhart's smile faltered for a moment after being interrupted, then he gave Dumbledore a nonchalant bow. When he looked up again, his smile returned to normal.

"I know everyone is concerned about what happened yesterday."

When Dumbledore began his speech, all the students in the Great Hall listened attentively.

“Our Miss Roll, Miss Avery, and Miss Traft have contracted an illness for unknown reasons and have been sent to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Injuries.”

Dumbledore spoke slowly, and the impatient students couldn't help but crane their necks.

"Unfortunately, we have not yet found the cause of their illness, nor have we developed a targeted treatment plan."

Upon hearing this, many students showed signs of fear.

Dumbledore continued, "Fortunately, none of the three ladies are in mortal danger. According to the therapists at St. Mungo's, with conservative treatment, they will recover in three months. At that time, we will welcome them back to school together."

“I see! Thank you, Merlin!” Tears welled up in Milton’s eyes again. “I thought… Thank goodness, it wasn’t a fatal disease after all…”

At this point, many students cheered. Until Professor McGonagall rang the glass again.

"While it's not too bad news, let's not forget that we still haven't found the cause."

Dumbledore pressed his hands down.

"I still hope that students will remain vigilant. If anyone discovers any relevant clues, please feel free to contact me or other professors. I believe that neither I nor other professors will hesitate to give them extra credit."

Chapter 029 Snape's Potions Class

"Finally, I want to emphasize one point," Dumbledore said to the students. "Although we do not know the specific cause of the illness of the three students, the healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Damage have determined that the disease is not contagious between people."

That's for sure, Scott thought.

If this virus can spread from person to person, things will escalate dramatically and attract even more attention, which is contrary to his expectations.

Now, who would have thought that this is a Muggle virus that can only be transmitted through certain types of mosquitoes?

Upon hearing the conclusion that the virus wouldn't spread between people, the students all smiled.

Just as they were about to cheer again, Dumbledore warned once more: "This means we haven't yet found the specific route of transmission for this disease. So I think the students should remain vigilant."

The students who had just been about to jump up and cheer fell silent, their high spirits immediately subsiding.

"Going forward, we will make every effort to prevent the disease from recurring."

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at the students again.

"First of all, our respected Head Nurse Madam Pomfrey and your Potions Professor Snape will conduct research on this disease, and I believe they will soon be able to invent a targeted treatment and potion."

At this point, both Mrs. Pomfrey and Professor Snape nodded.

“Very good, I have faith in their abilities.”

Dumbledore encouraged the two and continued, "Next, our castle caretaker, Mr. Filch, and our game caretaker, Mr. Hagrid, will be cleaning up Hogwarts Castle and its surroundings, dealing with small animals like disease-spreading insects and rats..."

Dumbledore methodically made arrangements for cleaning up the campus, but Scott paid no further attention.

As the instigator of this incident, he certainly wasn't worried about any illness. On the contrary, for him, most of the dangers posing a threat to himself had already been successfully eliminated, leaving only one last thing.

Scott turned to look at Jacob Kent, who was sitting at the end of the long table.

He remembered Jasmine Travers saying something like "get him to finish that," but he didn't know what she would have Jacob do, or if the kid would still do it now.

Seemingly sensing Scott's gaze, Jacob, who had been keeping his head down, looked up and met Scott's eyes.

Scott slightly raised the corners of his mouth and gave Jacob a barely perceptible smile.

Jacob's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head again.

Scott stared at him for a few more seconds before looking away.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make any more moves with this boy. After all, every action leaves a trace, and the more he did, the easier it would be to be exposed.

Scott, however, wasn't worried. He could glean a lot from a wizard's magical state, and Jacob was undoubtedly a clever fellow. At this point, he probably wouldn't dare do anything more.

After Dumbledore finished speaking, Scott and the others were finally able to have breakfast.

After breakfast, the three deans, except for Professor McGonagall, each called some students from their respective colleges' groups.

Although the stated reason was that they had recently been in close contact with three patients and needed to undergo medical examinations, Scott astutely noticed that most of the students called away were young witches in lower grades.

Sure enough, the professors had already discovered Travers's clique.

Scott's roommates also discovered this fact.

[I knew it!]

Eddie winked at Scott and his friends, a smug look on his face.

Scott and his two companions ignored him, separated from Eddie, and went to the potions classroom located in the castle's basement.

Ravenclaw attended Potions class with Hufflepuff as usual. The students sat in their usual groups, and since Professor Snape hadn't arrived yet, everyone was excitedly discussing Dumbledore's morning speech.

Scott and Milton sat together. Roger had somehow gotten to know another Hufflepuff student, and they sat in front of Scott and Milton, whispering to each other.

Meanwhile, Roger's ex-girlfriend, Miss Mill, sitting on the other side, kept turning her head to glare at the two of them.

“What we’re going to try to concoct today is an antidote.” Milton opened his textbook. “I need to review the steps again.”

“I remember you’ve already reviewed it three times, Milton.” Scott hurriedly placed the potion-making tools within easy reach.

Milton didn't even look up. "No, every time Professor Snape stands next to me, my memory goes haywire, and I forget what I'm supposed to do next."

“I don’t think it has anything to do with memory,” Scott said helplessly. “You’re just too easily stressed. Don’t worry about Professor Snape. Remember we’re in a group. I’ll give you a hint.”

Milton gave him a grateful look. "Oh, thank you, Scott! But I'll still have to look at it again."

Scott was speechless. It was always the same. Whenever he partnered with Milton in Potions class, Scott was always the one who had to save the day.

Because Snape would always be gliding around the classroom, staring at each student with a sullen face. Students with weaker mental fortitude would find it difficult not to make mistakes under his gaze.

For example, Milton.

Whenever someone made a mistake, Snape would curl his upper lip and begin to spew venom in his distinctive tone—which would often make the student who made the mistake even more panicked.

Students who make mistakes again will definitely have points deducted by Snape.

Scott strongly suspected that Snape was deliberately using this method to find an opportunity to deduct all the house points from the three houses other than Slytherin.

Incidentally, Milton was one of Snape's main targets for keeping an eye on people in class.

However, because Scott always came to the rescue, Snape rarely managed to deduct points from Milton. This was the reason Scott felt Snape disliked him.

As for Scott's own potion-making skills, they were neither good nor bad. He was only at the level of being able to make potions strictly according to the steps in the textbook.

"rigid! Completely lacking in creativity!"

This is Snape's assessment of him.

Scott never took it seriously.

He didn't intend to study potions in depth, nor did he have high expectations for himself.

He felt that it would be enough if he could successfully make it according to the existing recipe.

"Quiet!"

Snape suddenly pushed open the classroom door and strode toward the podium. His wide black robes billowed, like a gathering cloud of black smoke.

"Open your textbooks."

His dark, empty eyes swept across the classroom, and the students all lowered their heads, none of them wanting to meet his gaze.

“Antidote potion. I think you've all previewed the textbook content,” he said. “Now! Each group, send one student over to collect your potion ingredients!”

Chapter 030 An Unexpected Incident on the Quidditch Field

Upon hearing Professor Snape's command, the students immediately sprang into action.

“I’ll go,” Scott said, standing up.

“Okay.” Milton smiled sheepishly. “Thank you for your help, Scott.”

Scott understood that he didn't want to get close to Snape unless absolutely necessary.

Scott walked to the cabinet next to the classroom and began to take out the potion ingredients he needed.

The students around them were also orderly and did not panic because they did not know what materials to take.

After all, everyone is already in fourth grade, and Snape won't give them another chance to lose points on something like this.

After everyone had taken their materials and returned to their seats, Snape took out his wand and waved it, and writing appeared on the blackboard behind him.