The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

He continued flipping through the book without making a sound, listening to Roger and Eddie's conversation.

“No,” Roger said, puzzled. “A whole summer has passed, and I thought that Kachini’s resentment towards my breakup would have faded with time, but I don’t know why…”

"You've noticed she hates you even more?" Eddie asked with a hint of schadenfreude.

Milton suggested, "Perhaps you should talk to her."

Roger hesitated for a moment and said, "The way she's looking at me is really irrational. Maybe I should really talk to her."

At that moment, Scott really wanted to dissuade him from this idea, or simply tell him the truth.

But he held back.

He couldn't bring himself to ask Roger to cancel his plan to talk to Cachini.

He would never normally meddle in other people's feelings or offer unsolicited advice; it's not in line with his personality.

He also couldn't tell Roger the truth directly.

During the summer holidays, he sneaked back to England and did some very dangerous things. To be on the safe side, he couldn't let anyone know that he had been to England during the summer holidays.

Let this matter remain a complete unsolved mystery.

Finally, Scott felt both incredibly lonely and somewhat guilty.

Chapter 282 Regret, Inspiration, Appointment

"I can't believe what I missed yesterday!"

At breakfast time on Friday, Eddie hurriedly ran to the seat next to Scott, reached out and grabbed a piece of bread.

“You probably don’t know this yet…” He looked excited, his face beaming with anticipation as he eagerly shared the gossip.

Scott, Roger, and Milton all looked at him.

Eddie tore off a piece of bread, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and quickly swallowed it.

He couldn't wait to say, "Professor Black's Defense Against the Dark Arts class got off to a great start yesterday afternoon, but Professor Hagrid's first class on protecting magical creatures went awry!"

Scott asked, "Yesterday? What grade did Hagrid teach?"

“Third year,” Eddie said. “Hagrid brought a terrible beast to class and ended up injuring Malfoy.”

Roger chuckled and said, "I have to tell you, Eddie, we've all heard about it. I didn't expect that only you and Scott didn't know."

"Oh……"

Eddie looked incredulous.

"You know, I was busy with business yesterday," he said, trying to salvage his reputation as a "gossip expert."

Roger shrugged. "Yes, besides attending classes, you've been constantly running around the freshmen's dorms, trying to sell them your products."

“I’ve heard about it too,” Scott said, even though he hadn’t actually heard about it. “A hippogriff.”

"You knew that too?" Eddie was even more frustrated.

Scott said to Roger, "We're going to have to worry about our Magical Creatures Protection Class. No matter how badly Malfoy is hurt, I'm afraid old Malfoy won't let this go."

Roger said regretfully, "Yes, the most likely outcome is that we won't see the hippogriff. I heard that Potter rode one of those beasts and flew around the Black Lake."

Eddie was equally disappointed; he had also taken the course.

"Yes, Professor Kettleburn has never shown us any large magical creatures; that part of the teaching has always remained in the books, but Hagrid's view of animals is clearly very different from that of the average person."

Roger laughed and said, "Although it might be a little offensive to Professor Hagrid to say this, it's clear that his perspective is based on his own physique."

After breakfast, Scott attended an ancient runes class and an arithmetic divination class.

After the arithmetic divination class, Professor Victor asked Scott to stay behind.

“I have noticed, Mr. Trollope.”

Professor Victor, tall and thin, stared down at Scott.

His eyes appeared somewhat bulging through the thick lenses of his glasses.

"It seems you've made new progress in the magic of arithmetic divination," he said confidently.

Scott was somewhat surprised by his keen observation, but nodded nonetheless.

He said, "I changed the way arithmetic divination was done, moving away from quills and parchment, or really just becoming more skilled at it."

“I know you’ve used arithmetic and divination to help others solve problems, and you even recovered the Ravenclaw tiara,” Professor Victor said directly.

It seems this usually unassuming professor has been paying close attention to Scott.

"Come and show us your new method." He seemed a little impatient.

Scott nodded, took out his wand, and waved it, leaving a string of golden numbers in the air.

“I see.” Victor stared intently at Scott’s movements. “This is indeed a way to make arithmetic divination more convenient.”

After Scott finished demonstrating the entire arithmetic divination process, he immediately exclaimed, "That's great! Your method has inspired me too!"

With that, he picked up the books from the podium, turned around, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Even knowing that Professor Victor was not good at interpersonal communication, Scott was still somewhat taken aback.

“I will study your method, and of course, I will share the results with you,” Professor Victor said suddenly as he reached the door.

"You should also work harder. Once you're more proficient in the magic of arithmetic divination, you can continue to simplify the process!"

After saying those words, he hurried away.

Scott smiled and left the arithmetic divination classroom.

He didn't mind Professor Victor studying the way he used it, after all, it was just the application of a simple spell.

He had a feeling that he might get even more in return from Professor Victor.

That evening, as usual, Scott found a table in the college library to write his paper, with Milton by his side.

During Potions class in the afternoon, Snape kept a close eye on Scott for a long time, which seriously implicated Scott's partner, Milton.

Under Snape's watchful eye, a nervous Milton accidentally ruined their potion.

Snape criticized and ridiculed the finished potion for a long time, and he even made them write an additional paper.

Of course, Scott and Milton were not the only ones to receive this treatment.

Snape seemed to be in a very bad mood, which made him even harsher on his students in class.

“I’m so sorry, Scott,” Milton kept apologizing to Scott. “It’s all my fault.”

Scott was writing his paper at a rapid pace when he heard this and glanced at the parchment in front of him.

He looked at Milton in surprise, "How come you've only written this much?"

Milton's only weakness in potion-making has always been his practical skills; his theoretical knowledge is probably fine.

“I must admit,” Milton said, “I didn’t listen to the lessons this afternoon.”

Scott finished his paper, put down his pen, and looked at Milton. "You seem to have something on your mind."

He suddenly realized that Milton's mistake in the afternoon Potions class might not have been solely due to Snape's close watch.

Milton said, "My father wrote to me to ask me to meet him in Hogsmeade."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "I remember the first Hogsmeade weekend was at the end of October, and it's only the beginning of September now."

Milton nodded. "Yes, he booked this meeting almost two months in advance."

“And you were already feeling anxious almost two months in advance?” Scott handed him his paper. “You should think about how to finish this potion paper first.”

Milton took the parchment and thanked him softly.

Seeing that he was still in a bad mood, Scott had no choice but to say, "You can't avoid meeting your father. If you really want to start living independently, you have to make things clear with him."

Scott couldn't tell Milton directly that perhaps every meeting would be the last, because Mr. Grevis and Mrs. Zabini's marriage was definitely riddled with problems.

Of course, Milton himself was well aware of Mrs. Zabini's past experiences.

But what Scott really can't say is that, even now, he doesn't understand why Medea wanted to arrange this marriage.

Milton's father, Mr. Grevis, was just an ordinary employee of the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters' Reversal of Accidents Unit at the Ministry of Magic, and their family was just an ordinary emerging wizarding family.

No matter how you look at it, Mr. Grevis was not worthy of Medea's instruction to Mrs. Zabini.

Chapter 283 A Pleasant Weekend

Early Saturday morning, Scott and Helena went to the Room of Requirement, Helena's study.

Scott let Helena go into the room where the Ravenclaw mentor's portrait was first, while he stayed in the study to talk to the girl Helena in the portrait.

"Don't you want to disturb Helena and her mother's private conversation?" the young Helena said with a smile. "You're so thoughtful."

“It’s just politeness,” Scott said modestly.

"Okay, that's polite."

The young girl, Helena, lifted her skirt and sat down on the grass in the landscape painting.

"How was your summer vacation, Scott?" she asked, looking at Scott curiously. "Tell me about all the fun things you did this summer!"

That's a bit too much.

Scott thought.

Does it count as killing a thief and assassinating three adult wizards?

Such thoughts were fleeting, and Scott told the girl Helena about her summer experiences in Spain.

What Scott found a boring experience, the girl in the painting listened with great interest.

"That's wonderful," she said, cupping her face in her hands. "Maybe I should have left more portraits of myself in other places, so I could travel through all of them!"

Scott looked helpless.

He only knows Muggle oil painting and knows nothing about magical portraiture.

To be precise, the art of magical portraiture is now monopolized by pure-blood families, and Scott had nowhere to learn it even if he wanted to.

He could certainly learn this magical skill from his Ravenclaw mentor, but he had much more to learn, and this unimportant yet very complex skill had been relegated to the back of his list.