The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

In the principal's office, Scott's expression was somewhat stiff.

Because he didn't know what he should say at that moment.

He certainly understood that Dumbledore meant well by telling him all this, but at this moment he was unwilling to lie, and he did not have any intention of changing himself because of it.

So he opened his mouth again, but in the end he could only remain silent.

Even so, Dumbledore remained amiable.

"Don't feel pressured," he said with a smile. "You can take it as advice from an elder, or you can take it as the rambling of an old man."

Scott pursed his lips and nodded slightly.

"I'll think about it carefully," he said softly.

“Of course,” Dumbledore said. “You have plenty of time to grow.”

After leaving the principal's office, Scott walked through the castle with mixed feelings.

He wondered if he should stop thinking about or participating in anything and focus solely on his studies.

After a while, he became somewhat discouraged.

He had a plan from the moment he entered the wizarding world after receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter at the age of 11.

At that time, his plan was to keep a low profile after enrollment, stay ordinary, avoid trouble, and focus on his studies.

He did it for the first three years, just as he planned, and he spent three happy and smooth years at Hogwarts.

When Harry Potter, the "savior," enrolled in his third year, he was completely uninvolved in the Philosopher's Stone incident.

Starting in fourth grade, as if some unseen force was interfering, Scott began to encounter troubles that he had to deal with using various means.

Originally, he only wanted to use a little trick to obtain proof of the basilisk's existence so that he could resolve the most threatening event for him this year.

Finally, on the eve of Christmas that year, he risked his life in a fight and ended up with a deadly wound.

Jasmine Travers' death was like flipping a switch, and from then on, a series of troubles began to unfold.

For Scott himself, this experience broke through his psychological defenses and was more like opening Pandora's box.

After that, he was able to decisively eliminate those who posed a threat to him without batting an eye, and even began to use his precognitive advantage to manipulate the development of events.

The final death of Travers, the struggle between three pure-blood families and the Ministry of Magic for Travers' family inheritance—perhaps orchestrating these events made him somewhat arrogant. When faced with Medea's threat to his freedom, Scott's most instinctive thought was to release Voldemort, Medea's prey and enemy.

As the headmaster and the current owner of this magical castle, Dumbledore may not have known exactly what Scott had done, but he may have been keenly aware of some of Scott's traits that the old headmaster disapproved of.

After thinking it over and over, Scott suddenly realized that the trigger for all of this was actually that kid Jacob.

Thinking of this, Scott shook his head helplessly.

Of course, this was just a joke; he knew very well that ultimately, his own personality determined his choices.

Unbeknownst to him, Scott found himself on the elevated stone bridge connecting the castle to the outside.

It was already getting dark, and night was about to fall.

After Potions class in the afternoon, Scott went to the headmaster's office with Snape, but he didn't have time for dinner.

Standing on the bridge in the howling wind, Scott tightened his robe and wrapped his scarf around his neck again.

Although he still had no desire to change himself, Dumbledore's words eventually made him begin to examine himself.

Before this conversation with the former principal, Scott had never felt there was anything wrong with what he was doing.

If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth.

Since others want to hurt him, he shouldn't blame them for striking first.

He had always thought this way and didn't think there was anything wrong with his ideas.

only……

Perhaps it was because of Dumbledore's words, or perhaps it was something else, but at that moment he suddenly remembered his past life.

Then he suddenly realized that he had changed after all.

Although he was vengeful in his past life, he only held grudges; he never took any real action to retaliate against anyone. After all, the people he held grudges against had only offended him to varying degrees and did not threaten his life.

Thinking of this, Scott sighed softly.

He could say that the chaotic magical world, so different from the peaceful and stable society of his previous life, changed him, or that he adapted to the environment, but such reasons did not completely convince him.

The cold wind howled, like the roar of some monster.

At that moment, Scott did not feel cold.

His previously chaotic thoughts began to gradually become clearer. His mind seemed to stand from another absolutely objective perspective, and he began to rationally analyze himself.

Perhaps it's a drawback of having memories from a past life.

For Scott, before entering Hogwarts, the so-called wizarding world was just a story background in a novel, and he already had a preconceived notion about it.

Because of this impression, his subconscious mind would think that the magical world is unsafe and even prone to turmoil, which gives him some invisible pressure and insecurity.

These influences may be invisible, but they are subtly changing him, making his retaliation against malice particularly fierce.

In short, after careful analysis, Scott concluded that this was the main reason for his change.

Of course, there are other reasons as well.

For example, arrogance that comes with gaining power.

Honestly, if he weren't a wizard, if he were still living in the Muggle world, when he encountered someone who was malicious towards him or even threatened his life, he would still try to call the police if given the choice.

But after becoming a wizard, he began to prefer doing things himself.

Scott suddenly laughed silently.

Dumbledore called him stubborn and refused to change, but in fact he had changed a lot.

However, it wasn't changing for the better, he thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile.

But he quickly came to terms with it.

In the cold wind of a December night, Scott underwent a profound self-analysis and discovered some of his own problems.

However, he did not feel any unease because of this, nor did he show any intention of listening and correcting his behavior.

He reached out and rubbed his frozen face, smiled casually, then stamped his feet, which had become icy from standing for so long, and turned to walk towards the auditorium.

Everyone knows that truth, goodness, and beauty are good, and Scott certainly knows this too, but that doesn't mean he has to practice truth, goodness, and beauty.

The magical world is not some fairytale world of truth, goodness, and beauty.

That day, his conversation with Dumbledore finally had some impact on him, and he truly understood some things.

With the old principal's kind reminder, Scott truly came to know himself and readily accepted himself as he was.

Chapter 314 An Encounter in the Kitchen

After being exposed to the cold wind for a while, Scott hurried back to the castle.

Dinner time had already ended.

Hungry, Scott went straight to the corridor on the first basement floor of the castle, where the Hufflepuff lounge was located.

Under the knowing gazes of several Hufflepuff students, he reached out and scratched a pear in a still life painting of fruit.

The pear in the painting wriggled like someone being tickled, transforming into a metal doorknob.

Scott turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and went inside.

The kitchen was still brightly lit, and the house-elves of Hogwarts were busy at work.

Some of them are using magic to command dirty plates to jump into the sink one by one, some are simultaneously directing brooms and rags to clean, and some are already preparing ingredients for tomorrow.

Scott, who pushed open the door, immediately attracted all their attention.

All the house-elves stopped what they were doing, and many big, round eyes stared at him for a moment. The next second, a series of sharp voices rang out.

"Ah, it's the little wizard!"

"Good evening, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"It would be my pleasure to serve you, sir!"

Scott's gaze swept over them and soon spotted a familiar house-elf.

It's Lulu, the one Professor Flitwick once sent to protect the Jacob family.

“Lulu,” Scott called its name directly.

When he spoke, all the house-elves immediately fell silent.

"Yes, Lulu is here."

Lulu quickly pushed aside the other house-elves and ran to Scott.

He looked up at Scott, wiped his hands on the tea towel on his body, and then asked respectfully, "Is there anything you need, sir?"

“Give me some food.” Scott walked to the long table and sat down. “I haven’t had dinner yet.”

“Okay, of course, no problem, sir. What would you like to eat?” Lulu asked again.

"Potato patties, steak, sweet roasted apple crumble, hot cocoa."

Perhaps because it was too cold earlier, Scott ordered some high-calorie food.

After Lulu accepted Scott's menu, several house-elves helped Scott quickly get the food he wanted.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, the kitchen door was pushed open again.

Scott turned his head and saw Luna and Savannah walking in together.

Scott simply nodded to the two girls, as he was chewing food in his mouth.

Luna ran up to the house-elves, said a few words, and then took Savannah's hand and sat down next to Scott.

Good evening, Scott.

"Didn't you have dinner?" she asked.

Scott nodded again.

"Good evening," Savannah said softly.