The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

The event reporting inevitably veered towards entertainment, giving off a feeling of serious nonsense.

The Daily Prophet, everyone's a Rita Skeeter!

Scott picked up the day's new newspaper.

Rejoice, British wizards! The organizers for next year's Quidditch World Cup have been confirmed!

This front-page headline was filled with jubilation.

But this was hardly a surprise for Scott.

He only glanced at it briefly, and as he expected, the report was full of praise for the British Ministry of Magic, especially Minister Fudge.

Scott, uninterested, skipped the front page headline and browsed the other pages.

However, the majority of the newspaper's coverage was about celebrating the 1994 Quidditch World Cup being held in the UK.

The enthusiasm of British wizards for the Quidditch World Cup seems to have been ignited a year in advance.

Newspapers contained speculation about the Quidditch national team winning the championship, reports on the confirmed venues for the World Cup, and discussions about the strength of other national teams.

With this kind of setup, you'd think the World Cup was starting next week!

Scott pursed his lips and finally tossed the newspaper aside.

"Scott!"

Rimbaud flew down from the sky and landed on the windowsill.

"Breaking news, the Burke family has shown up," it told Scott.

"So it has appeared?" Scott raised an eyebrow. "There's definitely more than one person with this surname, Borgin Burke."

“But don’t worry,” Rimbaud said. “The rest of the Burke family aren’t close to Burkin Burke himself. They seem to think it’s a shame that Burkin Burke runs a dark magic shop in Knockturn Alley.”

Chapter 267 Casting the Curse of Unwavering Loyalty

Upon hearing the news brought by Rimbaud, Scott asked curiously, "Do you know how many people are left in the Burke family?"

"We'll probably find out most clearly at Mr. Boking's funeral," Rimbaud said.

“This is also quite important,” Scott instructed. “Send some of the smarter crows to find out more about it.”

Rimbaud flapped his wings and said proudly, "Of course, the crows that are now monitoring the Burke family are the crows that have been with me the longest. They are much smarter than ordinary crows."

"They found the Burke family's address?" Scott asked, somewhat surprised.

“The crows followed the Burkes all the way back,” Rimbaud replied.

Scott quickly figured it out as well.

The Burke family probably needs to transport a coffin, which requires some finesse and is not convenient to use the Floo Network or Apparition.

Rimbaud jumped down from the windowsill and landed on Scott's shoulder. "Unfortunately, the crows still haven't found the Yaxley family's manor, which means the information they've gathered is rather vague."

Scott thought for a moment and gave it an idea: "There's a great opportunity right now."

"What is it?" Rimbaud asked curiously.

Scott said, "Jack Yaxley has won the All England Wizarding Duel Championship, and the Yaxley family will definitely throw a big banquet and invite many guests to celebrate his victory."

"So?" Rimbaud tilted his head in confusion.

"Pure-blood families always inexplicably insist on some ancient traditions to show their heritage. I've heard that some families even ride flying carriages when attending banquets."

Scott smiled and touched Rimbaud's somewhat stiff wings.

"Once we figure out the date of the banquet and keep an eye out for wizard carriages appearing in various places, we can follow the clues to find the location of the Yaxley family manor."

“I understand!” Rimbaud nodded repeatedly.

"Although Jacques Yaxley won the championship the day before yesterday, pure-blood families always like to be particular about their banquets."

Scott continued.

"Whether it's sending invitations in person or mailing them out, we'll need to get a reply from the guests, so the banquet will probably be held in the next few days."

For a moment, Scott also considered infiltrating the dinner party himself and taking action against the Yaxley family.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

With his current strength, doing this is too risky and unnecessary.

take it easy.

He told himself this in his heart.

It would be better to wait and make a move after we have a clear understanding of the Yaxley family's true strength.

Scott smiled as he looked down at the vast forest before him.

He holds grudges very well.

After receiving Scott's advice, Rimbaud immediately took action.

Large numbers of crows flew out of the forest, and the territory suddenly became quiet.

Scott stayed by his unfinished potion, which required stirring every three hours, so he didn't sleep that night and finished his summer homework in the process.

The next morning, the ritual potion was finally completed, and Scott went straight to sleep.

Before nightfall, Rimbaud flew into the cabin and woke him up.

"Scott! Wake up! Wake up now!"

Scott heard the shouts and slowly opened his eyes.

"What's wrong, Rimbaud?"

He sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"New Moon Night!" Rimbaud flew to the windowsill again. "Don't forget, today is the New Moon Night."

"I almost forgot."

Scott threw off the blanket, walked barefoot to the door, and looked at the sun setting on the ground.

The cool evening breeze ruffled his hair, and he turned to the raven with a smile, saying, "Thank you, Rimbaud."

“You’re welcome.” Rimbaud raised his head. “After all, I’m also very curious to know how you hid your house!”

"Then please wait and see."

Scott hastily ate some food, then sat down on the floor by the door again, waiting for the new moon to rise.

“Oh, right, I have some news I haven’t told you yet.” Rimbaud also fell from the windowsill to the floor.

Scott leaned against the doorframe and turned to look at it.

“Boking Burke’s funeral was held three days later,” Rimbaud said. “By the way, his original name was Karaktakus Burke, but people usually called him Mr. Boking.”

"Well."

Scott simply responded with a soft "yes".

He didn't care what the real name of a dead person was.

Moreover, he was mentally simulating the process of casting the Crimson Loyalty Spell.

The sun was almost completely setting.

He must seize the fleeting opportunity presented by the rising new moon, which appears and disappears intermittently.

"It's about to begin."

As the last rays of the sun sank completely below the horizon, Scott stood up.

He went back inside, first activating the [severed arm bone], then picked up the ritual potion on the table and his wand.

"The new moon has appeared!" Rimbaud shouted excitedly.

Scott hurried outside and looked at the indistinct outline of the crescent moon on the horizon.

"Now is the time."

He tilted his head back and drank the potion in his hand.

Then, he began to concentrate on using his magic to harmonize the power of the potion.

At the same time, his wand traced a winding arc in the air, and he chanted a long, difficult, poetic incantation.

Gradually, Scott seemed to be enveloped in silver moonlight, draped in a thin veil of water.

That was the power of the magic potion.

At that moment, Scott was sketching out the secret he wanted to hide in detail—the cabin behind him.

As the incantation he was chanting neared its end, he suddenly turned his wand and pointed it at his own heart.

A silver light flew from the wand and connected to his heart.

The silver "moonlight" that enveloped him like a thin veil suddenly solidified, becoming increasingly transparent as time passed.

Scott felt as if he were sealed inside a huge, transparent crystal.

When he felt the power of the magic potion within him completely dissipate, the "crystal" surrounding him suddenly shattered, turning into specks of light that vanished completely.

"It's gone!" Rimbaud suddenly flew up and shouted, "It's really gone!"

Scott took a few breaths.

The spell of unwavering loyalty may seem simple, but the difficulty in casting it lies in how quickly one can blend one's own magic with the power of a potent potion.

If the potion's power becomes even slightly active, the spell will fail to be cast.

Fortunately, he possessed powerful perception and succeeded on his first try!

He turned around and looked behind him.

The cabin did indeed disappear before his eyes, and beneath his feet lay an empty, enormous bird's nest.

However, in the blink of an eye, as if a curtain had been drawn in the air, the cabin suddenly reappeared before him.

He was still standing on the floor in front of the wooden house.

“Come on up.” Scott held out his hand.