The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

The silver treasure chest opened automatically, revealing the black crystal treasure chest inside.

Dumbledore took out the small black crystal chest.

Then, he took out an even smaller glass bottle from his pocket and dripped the clear liquid inside onto the closed eyes of the mermaid head carved on the black crystal treasure chest.

Soon, the mermaid head opened its eyes and sang a few ethereal lines.

"Click, click, click."

The black crystal chest opened automatically, revealing a small wooden box inside.

This is a small rectangular wooden box, similar to a magic wand box.

Unlike the previous three-tiered gold, silver, and black crystal treasure chests, this small wooden chest at the center looks extremely simple.

The log is plain wood, without any patterns or locks.

This time, Dumbledore didn't directly touch it, but instead waved his wand, causing the small wooden box to open by itself.

A roll of animal hide lay quietly inside the small wooden box.

"Open it and take a look!" Professor Binns said impatiently.

Dumbledore reached out and took the animal skin scroll, unfolding it. Scott leaned over to look at the writing on the scroll, which appeared to be carved with a knife.

It is ancient demonic script.

The text engraved on this animal skin scroll is all ancient magical script.

Scott carefully examined the ancient runes, then frowned.

As an ancient script, the ancient magic script is no longer complete when it is passed down to the modern era. Many characters on this animal skin scroll felt unfamiliar to him, and for the time being he could only barely understand a portion of them.

This animal hide marks a secret location, suggesting that someone built something there...

Scott suddenly realized that his knowledge was still very limited.

"It's Merlin!" Professor Binns suddenly exclaimed.

Dumbledore nodded, then turned to look at Scott.

“I wonder if this can be considered a coincidence,” he said with a smile. “We learned about the ‘Eye of a Thousand Miles’ mentioned in the prophecy from the animal skin scroll.”

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't understand it," Scott said somewhat embarrassedly.

“It’s alright, you still need to study,” Dumbledore said. “Mastering ancient runes requires long-term accumulation.”

Professor Flitwick patiently explained, "As you gain more experience or come into contact with more ancient texts, you will be able to understand the general meaning of such texts through reasoning and guessing, even if some characters are unfamiliar to you."

Scott nodded.

"Alright," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Scott must be eager to know the answer."

Scott nodded again.

Dumbledore shook the animal skin scroll in his hand. "It records that the legendary wizard Merlin once constructed a massive magical ritual called the 'Thousand-Mile Eye' on the island called Avalon. The sole purpose of this ritual was to see the future."

"See the future?" Scott's eyes widened.

An overwhelming sense of absurdity once again filled his heart.

Dumbledore nodded. "That's what it says on the animal skin. That's why Merlin has made countless clear predictions about the future."

“If this is true…” Professor Flitwick murmured, his voice gradually becoming shrill, “Merlin was actually able to complete such an incredible magical ritual; his magic has completely surpassed people’s imagination!”

"Yes, isn't it incredible?" Dumbledore said in an exclamation.

“But who recorded this?” Scott asked. “And who hid the box in the Requirement Room?”

Professor Binns said, "I've checked some of the old records kept at Hogwarts, and that troll specimen has been around for a long time; it was even once used as a teaching prop."

Seeing the somewhat surprised looks on the other three, he continued nonchalantly, "As you know, in the past, the relationship between wizards and magical creatures was much more hostile than it is now."

Finally, he concluded, "I think it was later when people were cleaning out the clutter that they put it in the Room of Requirement."

Professor Flitwick asked the question Scott wanted to ask, "Do you know who originally made that troll specimen?"

Professor Binns shook his head. "I haven't found any records on that. Perhaps you could ask Ms. Gray and Blood Man Barrow; they are the two longest-standing ghosts in this school."

“Then ask them.” Dumbledore stood up. “Ms. Grey, Mr. Barrow.”

His call seemed to possess a magical power, and the two ghosts he summoned instantly appeared before him.

This seems to be the privilege of the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Scott recalled what happened last year, when Dumbledore used magic to summon the ghosts of the four houses in front of him, attempting to control Medea through a special spell.

Although she failed to control Medea and she eventually escaped, Scott still vividly remembers the scene.

"What is it?" Blood Man Barrow asked coldly.

"Scott? What are you doing here?" Helena looked at Scott and the others with some surprise.

When she opened her mouth, the blood-man Barrow immediately shut up and silently stepped aside.

Helena didn't even glance at him, but instead floated in front of Scott.

“Oh, you look a bit disheveled, Felius.” She then looked down at Professor Flitwick.

Professor Flitwick quickly explained, "It's like this..."

Then, he recounted in detail everything about the box.

“I see.” Helena glanced at Scott. “Why do you always run into these kinds of things?”

Scott looked helpless and shrugged.

“A troll specimen.” Helena was already deep in thought. “Let me think, maybe I can remember.”

“It is Henry Gaunt, son of Medea,” the Blood Man Barrow suddenly spoke.

Helena didn't look at him, but said to herself, "Who would do such a thing? I mean, make troll specimens. Trolls all stink."

Her face showed an expression of utter disgust.

“It’s him,” Blood Man Barrow said again. “He studied at Hogwarts and later served as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for a period of time. The specimen was made during his time as a professor.”

Judging from what he said, he seemed to know some inside information.

Chapter 366 Merlin's Former Servant

Helena turned around and looked directly at the blood-soaked Barrow for the first time.

Although she held her chin high and acted arrogantly when facing the blood-man Barrow.

"What do you know?" she asked coldly.

Barrow seemed somewhat excited. "I know a lot, Helena."

"Tell me about the troll specimen," Helena said impatiently.

“Okay.” Blood Man Barrow quickly agreed. “Because of Medea, even though I had become a ghost at the time, I still took care of Henry after he enrolled in Hogwarts.”

"Tell me about the troll specimen!" Helena grew increasingly impatient.

The translucent body of the Blood Man Barrow became somewhat hunched, as if his shoulders had been crushed by blood-red shackles and chains.

“Henry was a grumpy fellow, and despite his talent and Slytherin lineage, he was never very popular at school,” he said. “Even after he became a professor, the students still didn’t like him much.”

At this moment, the infamous Slytherin Ghost, the aloof and taciturn Blood Man Barrow, was completely devoid of his usual coldness and silence.

“I know all of this. Not to mention the students, I don’t even like that guy.” Helena’s voice grew colder.

“Perhaps in an attempt to salvage his dignity, Henry created a monstrous specimen and brought it to class,” Barrow the Blood Man said in a low voice. “This only made the students hate him even more…”

Helena interrupted him, "Now we all know the real reason he made the specimen was to hide the box!"

“What was his purpose in doing this?” Scott was increasingly puzzled. “Was it Medea’s order to him? What’s the point of hiding the box at Hogwarts?”

He really couldn't figure it out.

Barrow the Blood said, "The Gaunt family and Merlin are related."

Again!

Scott's eyes widened.

Why are the news I've been hearing lately getting more and more absurd?

Blood Man Barrow clearly couldn't understand Scott's thoughts, and he continued, "In the time when Merlin assisted King Arthur, the ancestors of the Gaunt family were Merlin's servants in the court and learned some magic from him."

Scott looked around and realized that he wasn't the only one who was surprised; everyone was shocked.

It seems this is the first time everyone has heard this.

"Medea once told me that she didn't want to marry into the Gaunt family for this reason," Blood Man Barrow continued to reveal.

"Wait!" Helena exclaimed in shock. "You mean Medea married into the Gaunt family for this reason? For something related to Merlin?"

Barrow, the blood-soaked man, nodded with difficulty, the chains binding him clanging.

Because he was in shackles, nodding was not an easy task for him.

“Because the ancestors of the Gaunt family were once servants of Merlin, he knew about Merlin’s construction of the ‘Eye of the Far East’?” Scott muttered to himself.

But this still doesn't explain why Medea's son, Henry Gaunt, went to such lengths to hide the chest at Hogwarts.

Knowing everyone's doubts, Barrow the Blood Man spoke again: "As far as I know, Medea and Henry did not have a good relationship. Henry even confided his troubles to me when he was in school."

The meaning he was trying to convey was clear to everyone present.

"You mean, Henry hid the box at Hogwarts not because of Medea, but because of the Gaunt family?" Professor Binns asked.

“That’s what I think,” said Barrow the Blood Man.

That concludes Barrow's revelations.

What exactly happened between Medea and the Gaunt family in the past remains a mystery to anyone except Medea herself.

Scott had many guesses, but guesses that couldn't be proven were meaningless.

Since Trelawney made her prophecy, the clues that have been emerging are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps only when all the pieces are in place will Scott be able to piece everything together.

Scott thought about it for a long time, until the evening when the Spell Club event ended, before finally deciding to contact Medea.

For safety, he went up to the eighth floor and asked the House of Requirement for a lounge to contact the resurrected witch.