The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

With that in mind, Scott walked around the corner at a normal pace and met the "trio".

The moment they saw him, the three young wizards immediately shut up and stopped their discussion.

"Hello, Trolop."

Granger remembered his name and took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello, Granger."

Scott nodded, then said to the other two boys, “Hello, Potter and Weasley. I’m Scott Trollope, a fourth-grader in Ravenclaw.”

"Hello, Trolop."

Both boys seemed a little uncomfortable.

Scott noticed that Porter, in particular, had a somewhat evasive look in his eyes behind his glasses.

Although he could tell that the "savior" didn't seem to want to interact with strangers, Scott remained standing and said slowly, "Sorry, although I didn't mean to eavesdrop, you were indeed talking quite loudly."

Ignoring the three men's flushed faces, he asked directly, "Potter, did you hear strange noises in the castle? Can you tell me what they are?"

Potter opened his mouth with a troubled expression, but no sound came out.

Clearly, he didn't want to discuss this with strangers, but he didn't know how to refuse.

“Was I too abrupt?” Scott smiled at him amicably. “Perhaps you could satisfy my curiosity and tell me where you heard the sound coming from.”

“It’s over there.” Potter responded with a shy smile as if by reflex, pointing to a wall. “It seems to be coming from inside that wall.”

"Let me take a look."

Scott approached the wall, reached out and pulled out his wand, pointing it at himself.

"Super perception".

He first cast a super-sensory spell on himself, then carefully sensed the magic contained in the wall.

At the same time, he heard Weasley quietly asking his companion, "What is he doing?"

His tone was strange, as if he were saying Scott was a madman.

“Shut up, Ron!” Granger snapped at him. “Didn’t you notice? He’s sensing magic! Don’t tell me you didn’t know he became famous at the beginning of the semester for his ability to clearly sense magic.”

Potter's voice was hesitant. "I think I've heard about this, but I don't know who it is."

“All I know is that Fred and George are on good terms with him,” Weasley said.

“You never remember anything useful!” Granger complained about the two boys’ barren brains.

At this moment, Scott shook his head and turned away.

The three little wizards immediately quieted down.

“The castle itself possesses too much magic, and it’s also very mixed,” Scott said. “I can only vaguely sense that there are indeed traces of magic left behind by some kind of magical creature.”

Potter's eyes widened, and he exclaimed happily, "I knew it! The sound I heard wasn't a hallucination!"

Weasley scrunched up his face and asked suspiciously, "You mean there are magical creatures in the walls? Then why can't we hear them?"

“Perhaps Potter has a more acute hearing, Weasley,” Scott said with a laugh.

Granger couldn't help but ask curiously, "But... what kind of magical creature can hide inside a wall and even talk?"

“There are pipes in the wall,” Scott said. “Maybe it’s an eight-eyed spider? As far as I know, they can talk.”

“Spider…?” Weasley’s face turned pale, he shuddered, and quickly took several steps back.

Scott then put away his wand. He said goodbye to the three young wizards, “Anyway, thank you for telling me this; it may be an interesting discovery. Well then, goodbye.”

He waved and strode towards the library.

The moment he turned around, his expression turned serious. The fact that the basilisk had awakened gave him a sense of urgency.

……

Chapter 048 The Truth Behind the Plan and the Nickname

Once out of the sight of the three, Scott immediately pulled a small piece of ebony from the deformed lizard skin pouch at his waist.

He took out his wand again and used Transfiguration on the ebony, turning the block of wood into a wood carving.

Next, he inscribed a simple magic rune circuit. After the magic rune circuit was inscribed, he swung his staff once more, and the wooden sculpture gradually came to life, turning into a raven with its entire body in black.

The raven shook its feathers, hopped in Scott's palm, spread its wings and took flight, tasked with scouting ahead of Scott.

Scott gripped the wand tightly in his hand and followed the raven at a distance.

Basilisk, an extremely dangerous magical creature.

Any creature that makes direct eye contact with the basilisk will die instantly, and even those that make indirect eye contact will be petrified.

The basilisk left by Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets has lived for a thousand years.

Scott recalled the information about the basilisk, but he couldn't remember its state at this point in time—was it only traveling through the pipes, or could it climb out of the pipes at any time?

Perhaps the original work didn't describe it directly, or perhaps he forgot. But without a doubt, the monster has been awakened.

Scott guessed that the thousand-year-old basilisk was probably asleep most of the time, until the Horcrux, the diary, came to Hogwarts and awakened it.

His judgment was based on the fact that Potter had never heard any "strange noises" in the previous school year.

Scott walked briskly through the castle.

The raven always flew in front of him, and if it encountered other students, it would fly back and land on his shoulder, pretending to be a pet.

Although he remembered that in the "original story," the basilisk did not begin attacking the students in the castle until after Halloween.

But Scott felt that if he trusted the so-called "original" plot too much, he might end up ruining himself.

Of course, if he is careful, he can basically avoid encountering basilisks around corners when he has the product of Transfiguration and the power of perception.

Meanwhile, Scott began to think about the plan he had previously devised for the "locked room incident".

Due to a lapse in memory, the plan that he considered perfect actually had preconditions.

He originally planned to do it after Filch's cat was petrified on Halloween and the message "Slytherin Heir" appeared.

At this point in time, Scott doesn't have a good way to deal with the situation if he doesn't want to make too much of a splash.

At this point, nothing about the "locked room incident" is clear; Potter has only heard some "strange noises." It's impossible for Scott to jump out and do something under these circumstances, or to tell others without any basis that a basilisk is lurking in the castle.

Moreover, Scott was unwilling to abandon his original plan.

Then there's only one choice left.

He needs to ensure his own safety while waiting for the right opportunity.

If the "plot" continues as before, he will resolve this annoying problem once and for all after Halloween.

After thinking it through, Scott successfully arrived at the library and had the raven perch on a windowsill near the library.

Just as he was about to read a new issue of a basic academic journal, Jacob suddenly found him.

Scott glanced at Mrs. Pince, the librarian, and whispered, "Looks like you've completed my request?"

“That’s right.” Jacob also lowered his voice. “I’ve found out how that nickname you hate came about.”

Scott smiled slightly. "Very good, you're very efficient. Now..."

As he said this, he noticed that Mrs. Pince was staring at them with an unfriendly look.

This Hogwarts librarian was extremely perceptive of everything happening within the library.

"Let's talk outside."

Scott stopped talking, stood up, put the magazine back on the shelf, and called Jacob to walk out of the library together.

"Let's go for a walk."

Because of the basilisk's presence, Scott no longer wants to wander around the castle.

He drew his wand and waved it gently, and the raven that had been perched on the windowsill took flight again.

Is this your pet?

Jacob looked curiously at the black bird that was flying ahead and leading the way.

"You could say that."

Scott smiled but didn't offer any further explanation.

After leaving the castle, the two made their way to the central courtyard.

Seeing that there were no other students nearby, Scott stopped and said to Jacob, "Right here, tell me the results of your investigation."

"Ok."

Jacob nodded, but then a strange smile appeared on his face.

“You’ll never guess, Scott.” He seemed to be struggling to suppress a laugh. “The reason for this is completely different from what you think.”

Scott frowned as he looked at Jacob's expression.

"What do you mean?" He suddenly felt that perhaps investigating this matter was not a good idea, so he asked irritably.

Jacob seemed much more lively than usual, and he said in a somewhat exaggerated tone, "Oh! I can only say that everyone's understanding of language is different. The person who gave you the nickname just meant to praise you, but you took it as an insult."

“Praise?” Scott raised an eyebrow, asking incredulously, “Praise me for being like a dog?”

Jacob nodded affirmatively and explained, "Honestly, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. The four houses of Hogwarts also have their own representative animals."

"..."

Scott suddenly realized this might be a misunderstanding.

His perception was still marked by his past life, and he naturally believed that being called a dog was an insult.

But in the end... they didn't think that way?

Of course, he could also tell that Jacob wasn't lying to him. And there was no need to deceive him about such an easily verifiable fact.

Seeing that Jacob was about to say more, he raised his hand to stop him, "Stop, you don't need to tell me who gave him that nickname."

“…Really?” Jacob asked uncertainly. “Perhaps you should know? That nickname comes from a girl who idolizes you.”

“I don’t want to know who it is,” Scott said, his feelings complicated.