The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

“I was watching the Thestrals living in the Forbidden Forest, and they often take flight,” Luna said, readily sharing her discovery.

“Really? It’s a pity I can’t see the Thestrals,” Scott said.

Thestrals are such wondrous creatures that only those who have witnessed death can see them.

Scott is not included in this list for the time being.

"What a pity," Luna said regretfully. "I think they're kind of cute."

If someone else expressed regret that Scott couldn't see the Thestrals, he would assume they were regretting that he hadn't witnessed death.

But what about this strange little witch in front of me?

Scott felt she probably wouldn't think that way.

Moreover, he had seen pictures of Thestrals in books, but he didn't find any of those emaciated magical creatures cute at all.

But he just smiled and didn't offer any comment.

“I was thinking of going to the Forbidden Forest to look for the Curved-nosed Snort Beast, but my dad said that such a magical creature can only be found in Sweden.” Luna’s voice grew increasingly faint. “I wonder if there are Bubble-nosed Monsters in the Forbidden Forest.”

"You can try looking for it."

Although he had never heard of these two magical creatures, Scott did not shatter the little girl's fairytale fantasy.

He simply reminded her, "But you're only a first-grader, going to the Forbidden Forest might be a bit dangerous."

"Thank you, I'll be ready to go again."

Luna accepted his suggestion, and then she suddenly sneezed loudly.

"Oh! It's a bit cold, I should go change my clothes!"

She rubbed her nose, and her bare feet emerged from under her long nightgown.

Goodbye, Scott.

After saying that, she jumped off the windowsill, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and skipped away.

Scott shook his head and stretched out a big yawn in front of the window.

Just then, a wisp of morning mist drifted past the window, and under the warm sunlight, the mist surged with magnificent colors.

The distant Forbidden Forest and the nearby castle are faintly outlined in the colors, hazy and layered, like an impressionistic splashed-ink painting.

Got it!

Scott's eyes lit up.

Splashing paint!

He immediately abandoned his plan to go for a walk and turned back to his dormitory.

He diluted more pigment with linseed oil and then used Transfiguration to create several small buckets to hold it.

To make the paint more fluid, he added some water.

Scott picked up the largest paintbrush and dipped it in plenty of paint.

Just as he was about to put pen to paper, he threw it aside and instead grabbed his wand once more.

He decided to use transfiguration to complete the painting, making it more magical.

He turned and leaned back in the armchair, repeatedly simulating the desired visual effect in his mind. Until the image of the painting became increasingly clear in his mind.

Then, without hesitation, he waved his wand.

The paint in the small bucket on the ground immediately came to life, with different colors of paint flying out of the bucket, gathering together in the air, and blending together.

Then, the paint splashed onto the canvas, filling the blank canvas.

As the paint flowed, the image gradually took shape, overlapping with the scene Scott had envisioned in his mind.

finished.

Scott stood up, looked at the painting that had been completed in an instant, and nodded in satisfaction.

His thoughts were interrupted by applause from behind him.

It turns out that he had woken up his roommate while he was engrossed in his painting.

"That's awesome, Scott!"

Milton was so excited he almost jumped for joy. He didn't even have time to put on his slippers and ran over barefoot.

"Fantastic!" He looked at Scott's work with shining eyes. "How lucky I am to have witnessed the birth of such a painting the moment I opened my eyes today! Oh! I don't know how to describe it, but you've done so much better than I imagined! Congratulations!"

Roger and Eddie also came over.

Roger praised him, saying, "Oh, Scott! You've given us another amazing experience."

Unlike last time, he could understand this painting, so his praise this time was genuine.

Eddie immediately chimed in, "I never imagined a portrait could be painted like this, isn't it amazing?"

He took two more steps closer and continued, "I've also seen the painting you gave to Professor Frivi, but to be honest, I can't see anything about it at all."

He shrugged.

"But when I saw this painting, perhaps because it depicted Professor McGonagall's specific image, I suddenly felt that 'this is Professor McGonagall's magic'!"

"thank you all!"

Scott said happily, "This is probably my most satisfying painting to date, not only because of its unique form of expression, but also because I have discovered new painting techniques!"

His face beamed with genuine joy, and he exclaimed with outstretched arms, "We are wizards! It's definitely more exciting to accomplish all this with magic!"

"You're absolutely right, Scott!"

Milton nodded in agreement.

“Using magic will not make your painting lose its artistry! For example, even if I had the same transformation ability as you, I could not paint a painting like this.”

He looked at the painting again, his eyes full of admiration.

"Because I can't imagine such a scene in my mind."

Scott accepted his praise at first, then smiled and said to him, "You should save your brilliant mind for music, Milton."

"music!"

Milton's green eyes grew even brighter.

"I've got it!"

He rushed to the desk beside his bed, quickly pulled out a quill pen and a piece of parchment, and began to write as fast as he could.

“It seems Milton has also had a new inspiration,” Roger said to Eddie.

"Isn't this quite common?"

Eddie, who was already used to this, gave him a questioning look.

"Haven't you noticed yet, Eddie?" Roger patted him on the shoulder with a serious expression. "We two are a bit out of place in this dorm."

Chapter 047 Gifts, Strange Sounds

On Monday, the day before Professor McGonagall's birthday, Scott came to Professor McGonagall's office after class to present his gift and birthday wishes.

Just as Milton said, Professor McGonagall really liked the birthday gift Scott gave her.

When she saw the painting, her usual stern expression vanished completely, replaced by a satisfied smile.

She happily said to Scott, "Thank you, Mr. Trollope. I love your gift!"

She emphasized further, "I think this painting is even better than the one Professor Frievy received!"

“Oh, is that so…” Scott suddenly felt something was wrong. “This painting comes from the latest inspiration, and Milton’s advice also helped. I used a completely different technique than before.”

He could already foresee that Professor McGonagall would definitely show off the gift to Professor Flitwick.

Professor McGonagall, however, was focused on the painting in front of her, and she felt it more deeply now. "I noticed that there are no brushstrokes in this painting. It's as if it was painted in one go, and it has a natural beauty."

Scott nodded. "Yes, I used morphology to create this painting."

Professor McGonagall immediately asked with great interest, "Oh? Tell me quickly, Mr. Trollope, how do you use metamorphosis in your paintings?"

"Of course, it's just a combination of the simplest and most basic spells in Transfiguration..."

Scott recounted in detail the process of creating this painting.

“It is indeed very simple.” Professor McGonagall nodded repeatedly. “But I still have to praise you for your ingenious idea.”

“Oh! Can I get extra points?” Scott joked.

He didn't expect that Professor McGonagall would ponder for a moment after hearing this, seemingly genuinely considering whether or not to give him extra points.

But in the end, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Trollope, this doesn't meet the criteria for bonus points. It's a personal gift, and Professor Flitwick has already given your painting bonus points."

As expected of Professor McGonagall, who is known for her strictness.

Scott smiled and nodded.

He was just joking, so of course there was no objection.

After saying goodbye to Professor McGonagall, Scott prepared to head to the Hogwarts Library to read the latest issues of several academic journals this month.

After walking through several corridors, he heard a loud discussion coming from the other side of a corner.

“Oh! Harry, we didn’t hear any of the strange noises you mentioned!” a girl said in a strange tone.

Scott recognized the voice; it must be Hermione Granger, the woman who had spoken to him on the train.

"If you ask me, you probably got so angry with Snape during Potions class this afternoon that you lost your mind!"

That voice… Scott guessed it was Fred and George’s “silly brother”.

“I really heard it!” a boy exclaimed. “More than once! And I heard the same thing the night I helped Lockhart reply to his letter!”

This is Harry Potter, the "savior".

Scott was suddenly startled.

So the basilisk monster escaped from the secret chamber so early?

Having only remembered the outline of the "story," he always thought that the "locked room incident" began on Halloween, after Filch's cat was petrified.