The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"I can't control its shape."

He waved his wand again, and the Patronus transformed into silver smoke that slowly dissipated.

Rimbaud didn't know what the Patronus Charm was. After watching the peregrine falcon disappear, it flew to the desk next to Scott and landed.

“Alright, since you didn’t conjure it up on your own,” it said, “then you can’t be blamed.”

Scott nodded seriously.

"What brings you here all of a sudden?" Rimbaud asked again. "But I was just about to go to Hogwarts to find you."

Scott sat back down in his chair. "It seems you already know about Carol."

"Of course," Rimbaud said, "the Ministry of Magic staff have been talking about Carol and Roll these past few days. It's said that Carol has been on the run since he killed Roll."

“Oh, by the way.” It flapped its wings. “They said Carlo was arrested for breaking into Hogwarts and attacking a student. Was that you?”

“It’s me,” Scott said.

He recounted everything that had happened recently.

After listening, Rimbaud looked up at Scott, his tone filled with surprise, "I don't know when it started, but the unexpected events you've been encountering have been becoming more and more frequent. Could it really be because of that prophecy?"

When it came to this topic, Scott himself was somewhat uncertain.

He sighed, "No matter the reason, we have to face what we have to face."

He then inquired in detail about the current attitudes of the Ministry of Magic toward the Carol case.

After Rimbaud's explanation, he understood that his testimony in court the following week would just be a formality.

Even without the attack, Carlo was already beyond saving.

Caitlin Roll's death completely severed ties between the Roll family and their in-laws, the Carroll family.

The family members all come from the Carol family of Slytherin House and have always been loyal followers of Voldemort.

A significant portion of the Rolle family members attend Ravenclaw, which makes their stance relatively ambiguous, as they do not directly side with Voldemort.

All we can say is that they were close to Voldemort's side in the past, and it's hard to determine whether the Carroll family had any influence on that.

But since Caitlin Roll died at the hands of Elijah Caro, the Roll family has recently come under Medea's control.

Thus, with the plaintiff and defendant having roughly equal power, and with a third party, primarily the Department of Law Enforcement, acting impartially, the Ministry of Magic's Wizengamot trial was able to be conducted strictly in accordance with the law.

“Don’t go to the Ministry of Magic for a while,” Scott said to Rimbaud. “I’m always worried that you’ll be discovered by Medea, who’s hiding somewhere.”

When Scott mentioned Medea, Rimbaud shuddered.

It had been unknowingly struck by Medea's Confusion Spell, an event that left a deep scar on it.

Scott then said to it, "After Carlo is sent to Azkaban, you may need to make a trip there."

Rimbaud tilted his head. "Should we let him die in Azkaban? Just like Travers."

“There are still those two from the Yaxley family in Azkaban,” Scott said. “Perhaps we need to make our move on them soon, otherwise…”

Now much more astute, Rimbaud immediately understood his meaning.

It asked, "Are you worried that Voldemort might suddenly regain his power, storm Azkaban, and rescue his loyal servants?"

Scott nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll go to Azkaban after Carlo goes to jail,” Rimbaud said. “It’s the most suitable place for me to go; those Dementors will just ignore me.”

Scott spent the whole day in the oak cabin before being dropped off at the edge of the Forbidden Forest by Rimbaud just before dinner.

He walked alone through the Forbidden Forest, and after leaving the Forbidden Forest, he encountered Grapland again.

This time, Grapland didn't speak first; she simply gave Scott a meaningful smile.

"good afternoon."

Scott glanced at Grapland, gave her a curt greeting, and walked past her without a word, heading towards the castle without looking back.

“Scott,” Grapland called out to him.

Scott stopped and turned back to give her a questioning look.

"Mr. B has already contacted you, hasn't he?" Grapland said with a smile. "I just wanted to remind you that the help Mr. B can provide is beyond your imagination."

Scott showed no emotion whatsoever at her words; he remained uninterested.

“Mr. B?” he said. “Does that gentleman not have a formal name?”

Grapland was not angered by Scott's sarcasm.

"You'll find out." She still had a meaningful smile on her face.

Scott smiled and said, "Let's wait until that gentleman has an official name."

He ignored Grapland and turned back to the castle, entering the bustling hall.

"Scott!"

Milton, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, immediately stood up to greet Scott upon seeing him.

“Scott, my father replied to me,” Milton said softly.

Scott changed direction and the two of them went to a secluded spot at the edge of the auditorium.

“My father said in his letter that he didn’t need to lift a finger; Carlo would definitely be imprisoned in Azkaban.” Milton’s expression was somewhat disappointed as he spoke. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if he said that because he didn’t want to help…”

“I think he’s right,” Scott said.

He patted Milton on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Professor Dumbledore told me about this. Don't worry, Carlo will definitely not escape the punishment he deserves, and your father really won't have to do anything extra."

"That's good!" Milton was finally pleased.

The day of Carlo's trial arrived quickly.

After breakfast that day, Scott arrived at the principal's office with well wishes from his friends.

Dumbledore was already waiting for him.

"Good morning, Scott, it's time for us to get going."

He stood up, walked to the fireplace in the office, and asked Scott, "Do you know how to use FlooNet?"

“I know, Professor,” Scott said.

"Very good, I'll be waiting for you on the other side."

Dumbledore grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and went into the fireplace, saying as he sprinkled it in, "Ministry of Magic."

Bang!

Green flames rose from the fireplace, and Dumbledore vanished without a trace.

Scott then grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and went into the fireplace.

"Ministry of Magic."

As he sprinkled Floo Powder, countless blurry scenes flashed by before his eyes, like a fleeting glimpse of a scene.

Soon, the scene before his eyes froze again, and at the same time, his body staggered two steps due to inertia.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, standing outside the fireplace.

“I’m fine, Professor,” Scott said, emerging from the fireplace.

He was now at one end of a magnificent hall, his feet resting on a gleaming dark wooden floor.

The peacock blue ceiling is inlaid with glittering gold symbols that are constantly moving and changing, like a giant high-altitude bulletin board.

The walls on all four sides were covered with dark, glossy black wood panels, and many gilded fireplaces were embedded in the panels.

Every few seconds, with a soft "poof," a wizard would suddenly emerge from one of the fireplaces on the left.

On the right, several people were queuing in front of each fireplace, waiting to leave.

"This is the entrance hall of the atrium located on the eighth basement level."

Dumbledore led him forward, explaining as he went.

"This is the Magic Brothers Fountain."

At this moment, they passed by the circular pool in the center of the hall.

Scott looked at it curiously for several moments.

In the middle of the pool stands a group of pure gold statues consisting of male and female witches, centaurs, goblins, and house-elves.

The tallest among them was a noble-looking male wizard, who held his wand high, pointing it straight to the sky.

Surrounding him was a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf.

Centaurs, goblins, and house-elves all looked at the two wizards with boundless adoration.

Glistening jets of water shot from the tip of the wizard's wand, the centaur's arrow, and the house-elves' ears.

Of course, centaurs and goblins wouldn't worship wizards like this in real life; the statue merely represents the wizards' wishful thinking.

Dumbledore whispered to Scott, "We wizards don't have a very good relationship with these creatures. I've always felt that the 'Fountain of Magical Brothers' isn't a 'Fountain of Brothers,' but rather a 'Fountain of Falsehood.'"

Scott smiled and glanced again at the shimmering silver Sickles and bronze Nats in the pool.

Next to it, a small, stained sign reads: "All proceeds from the Magic Brothers Fountain are donated to St. Mungo's Asylum of Magical Injuries."

He then followed Dumbledore to the security checkpoint.

With Dumbledore present, the staff responsible for security checks and visitor registration completed their work as quickly as possible.

Dumbledore responded to greetings from time to time and led Scott into another, smaller hall.

There are at least twenty elevators here, hidden behind exquisite gold-plated gates.

“We’re going to the courtroom on the ninth basement level,” Dumbledore told Scott. “It’s been abandoned for a long time, but I heard it’s been reopened recently.”

With a series of clanging and clattering sounds, an elevator descended in front of them.

They took the elevator down one floor.

When the elevator doors opened again, Scott followed Dumbledore out of the elevator.

Then they came to a corridor with empty walls, no doors and no windows.

At the end of the corridor was a simple black door, but Dumbledore led Scott to the left, where there was an opening leading to a staircase.