The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Scott began to select goods based on his intuition.

Of course, he didn't intend to buy all the magical items; instead, he carefully selected some.

After careful selection, he found that most of the magical items were not worth buying.

Compared to Lucio, Scott has no shortage of opportunities to learn rune circuits; he doesn't even need to spend points to exchange for them at the [Knowledge Bank].

Having an alchemy master like Ravenclaw as a mentor, his learning resources are far superior to anyone else's.

Under such circumstances, he did not think much of many basic alchemical works.

Finally, he picked out a few somewhat quirky items based on his intuition and interest.

A relatively well-preserved brass balance scale, still carrying a faint medicinal scent; a mirror that can only reflect a blurry human figure; and a tiny ring.

What interested him most was a bronze sailor's astrolabe covered in verdigris.

This Sailor's astrolabe looks like a Muggle antique, and it wasn't even the one Scott originally intended to choose.

Scott only noticed it when he was observing another item, and sensed a very faint magical fluctuation.

But his intuition told him that this might be the most valuable item in the store.

So Scott promptly picked it up.

As for the others he didn't like, he assigned them to Lucio.

Lucio was clearly a guy with plenty of money, and he bought all the items Scott pointed out.

The two then went to the darkest counter in the store to pay.

The owner of the secondhand shop was a tall, thin wizard who looked thinner than anyone Scott had ever seen.

His eye sockets were extremely sunken, his cheekbones were high and prominent, and his outstretched hands were particularly terrifying, like a dehydrated corpse.

"Oh……"

He glanced at the goods the two had brought, then slowly opened his mouth, revealing a few gold teeth.

With his droopy eyelids lifted, the boss looked at Scott with bulging eyes, as if he were glaring at him.

“I hate customers like you,” he said. “You’re so goal-oriented and don’t understand the joy of gambling at all.”

"Hehehe... Boss, I've bought so many things from you..."

Lucio quickly stepped forward and said a bunch of nice things with a grin.

"Hehe, I used to find you quite pleasing to the eye."

The boss chuckled dryly twice, then glanced at him.

"Don't you like it now?"

Lucio deliberately feigned a look of wanting to cry but having no tears.

"What do you say?"

Fortunately, although the boss complained a bit, he eventually sold the goods to them and did not deliberately raise the price.

Even Scott's favorite Sailor's horoscope was acquired for just one Galleon.

Although Scott wasn't entirely sure if he had gotten a bargain, that didn't stop him from being in a good mood.

Of course, Lucio was also very happy.

After leaving the secondhand shop, the two returned to the small boat. Lucio warmly invited Scott to try the local specialties, saying it was to thank Scott for helping him choose useful magical items.

“You’re welcome. Should I thank you again for inviting me here?” Scott said with a smile.

"Oh, no."

Lucio waved his hand.

"It's nothing, actually..."

He paused, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually... well, actually that's why I invited you here. I've heard about your abilities before; my cousin Gavin told me. Your magical perception and Transfiguration are quite famous at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I see. It's alright."

Scott was certainly not angry; in fact, he felt more at ease with such a reason.

Lucio laughed again. "But it's also a very interesting coincidence. I saw you in the bar, I just happened to have seen your picture, and you happen to be a member of the Scholars' Alliance, so we can exchange knowledge about alchemy."

He extended his hand to Scott. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you, Scott."

"Nice to meet you too."

Scott shook hands with him reluctantly.

"By the way, my name, my full name is Lucio... Gonzalez."

He rattled off a long list of middle names, but Scott's ears automatically filtered them out, and he ended up remembering only his given name and last name.

Of course, he could make sure that the expression on his face wouldn't betray the fact that he hadn't been paying attention to Lucio's full name.

Led by Lucio, Scott and Lucio sampled some Spanish specialties that Scott wasn't used to eating at a lively riverside restaurant.

Scott didn't actually dislike Spanish Muggle restaurants, but he always felt that Spanish wizard restaurants seemed to have gone astray.

In Spain, Muggle potato pancakes are made with eggs and potatoes, but Wizard's Restaurant uses snake eggs.

The Muggles' cold soup is made with tomatoes and vegetables, but the Wizard's Restaurant uses herbs like belladonna and sage, and it tastes like a magical potion.

The other foods also share this magical style.

If it weren't for the fact that Lucio was eating so enthusiastically, Scott would have thought he was messing with him.

In short, he smiled and put down his knife and fork after only a few bites.

Fortunately, the restaurant's drinks and desserts were decent, and Scott managed to get about half full.

Afterwards, the two left the underground water wizard street and returned to Madrid in an alchemically modified car driven by an alchemical doll, parting ways at the bar entrance.

Back home, Scott didn't even have time to answer Emilia's questions before he couldn't resist having a big meal.

Since Amelia and Michael were both curious about his new friend, Scott, after finally finishing his meal, imported the footage "captured" by the little lizard into the Magic Mirror to share his Barcelona Wizard Street trip with his parents.

“I thought you went to Venice…” Emilia looked at her reflection in the magic mirror. “Oh, this river is so beautiful!”

"Are there such strange fellows among wizards in every country?"

Michael, who had once visited Diagon Alley with Scott, watched the occasional passing wizards in the footage, dressed in strange clothes and with bizarre appearances.

Scott raised an eyebrow; he didn't know how to explain it either.

In short, in the magical world, many wizards turn into strange and grotesque forms in their old age.

This may be the result of their improper spellcasting over the years, or their reckless experimentation with spells.

"Oh no, my son."

After hearing Scott's explanation, Emilia quickly and earnestly took his hand.

She said earnestly, "Promise Mom that your handsome face won't turn out like this in the future."

Chapter 412 Scott's Summer Vacation Routine

In the days that followed, Scott continued his Ravenclaw tutor's lessons and completed the assignments she gave him. He also spent the rest of his time at home studying the trinkets he had found at the Zugalamudy thrift store.

Unfortunately, although these little gadgets look undamaged and only a bit worn, they have all been damaged to some extent and have lost their original magical effects.

Scott could only roughly determine their role, but he wasn't sure.

Apart from that one exceptionally small ring, Scott didn't have a single finger that he could wear.

After careful observation, Scott consulted some materials and discovered that this type of ring was not uncommon; it was a magical item used by some wizarding families to protect young wizards.

Its name is the "Nanny Ring," and it is typically used by wizarding families who do not want to trust house-elves.

It contains no powerful magic; its only purpose is to provide soft protection for young wizards when they stumble or accidentally injure themselves.

The reason this ring is so small is because it is usually worn by children.

After clarifying the situation, Scott put down the ring and continued to examine the other three items.

Mirror, brass scales, sailor's astrolabe.

However, because his alchemy skills were not very advanced, he often had to rely on his exceptional magical perception to make detections, so his progress was not very smooth.

Alchemy is an exceptionally complex magical art and a comprehensive magical discipline.

This subject will involve knowledge of other magical disciplines.

To master alchemy, you must be proficient in ancient runes. The rune circuits, which are composed of complex and varied ancient runes and produce magical effects, are the core of alchemy's magical power.

In addition, alchemists need to have a deep understanding of subjects such as potions, herbs, magical creatures, and spells, because mastering this knowledge is a prerequisite for alchemists to successfully create magical items.

Even if a wizard is proficient in ancient runes and knows how to inscribe an effective rune circuit, if he doesn't know how to combine various magical creatures, minerals, herbs, and other materials, and doesn't know how to use potions and spells to process these precious materials, then he will absolutely be unable to complete a successful alchemical work.

However, due to the vast amount of knowledge involved and its complexity, different alchemists naturally employ various techniques when performing alchemy, and there is no single standard.

Just like these old items that Scott picked up on a whim, they were clearly not made by the same alchemist.

If Scott wants to successfully disassemble and analyze their composition and decipher the magical runes within, he not only needs to understand these different alchemical techniques, but also needs to be extremely careful.

Brute-force attacks are not advisable. Even using traditional alchemical methods can easily lead to the complete breakdown of the magical runes circuits within the magical item.

Scott did seek help from his Ravenclaw mentor, but this time the mentor did not provide him with direct assistance as before.

"It's the holidays now, so I've adjusted your study schedule. So you have time to try to crack them on your own, my apprentice. Give it a try, and hopefully you'll have some fun and make some progress."

Scott readily agreed and was eager to give it a try.

Although he did not specialize in alchemy, Scott had his own "cheating" method—magic perception.

Since Scott's magical perception awakened after he entered Hogwarts in his first year, this innate ability has grown and strengthened significantly thanks to his effective training and the natural increase in his magical power as he develops.

Not only has the range of perception expanded, but the perception of subtle magic has also become more sensitive and refined.

Scott's method for deciphering magical artifacts is simple: he uses his magical perception to carefully sense the magical properties contained within the artifact, thereby deducing the structure of the magical circuits.

Different ancient runes exhibit different characteristics in perception, which gave Scott some advantages.

However, since many runes cannot be represented by only one form, the runes that make up the rune circuits also need to be combined in an extremely precise way, which undoubtedly adds a lot of trouble for Scott.

Although Scott had no shortage of opportunities to learn rune circuits, whether it was through Ravenclaw mentors or the Knowledge Bank, he also enjoyed the process of deciphering them.