The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"In today's theoretical section, we continue our in-depth study of Raymond Lule's work, *The Book of Nature's Mysteries: The Fifth Element*, turning to page 236..."

Scott and his two companions sat next to Lucio, listening attentively to his lecture through the book in his hand.

Anyway, let's finish this lesson first.

Soon, Fred began to drift off into thought, and a look of confusion appeared on Cedric's face.

Scott listened for a while and soon realized that he didn't understand much either.

Ultimately, the path Scott took was fundamentally different from alchemy.

Alchemy involves the true transformation of matter, while transmutation is a temporary transformation achieved through the magical effects of magic.

In comparison, the former is undoubtedly more complex.

To transform one substance into another using alchemy requires an extremely complicated process and a vast amount of knowledge.

However, transforming matter with transmutation only requires "I believe" and sufficient magical reserves.

Of course, alchemy has an irreplaceable place.

Transfiguration ultimately requires magic to maintain; if the magic dissipates, it will revert to its original state and will be unable to conjure substances that the wizard cannot comprehend.

Whether it's creating advanced magical items, developing new materials, or exploring the mysteries of new substances, alchemy is an indispensable magical discipline.

For Scott, alchemy only served as a reference in his magical system, so he never studied the subject in great depth.

As for Fred, although he and George are very good at inventing, they rely on the magical item making techniques passed down in the Weasley family, which are somewhat different from orthodox alchemy.

As for Cedric, he had absolutely no foundation whatsoever.

He was only interested in auditing the course because he loved Transfiguration and saw Scott incorporate alchemical concepts into it.

In short, Scott and Fred were "self-taught," and Cedric was a complete novice; the three of them had clearly come to the wrong place by coming to this advanced alchemy classroom.

It's all Lucio's fault.

Scott had never felt that a class was so long.

Out of respect, and for the sake of Hogwarts' reputation, both he and Fred had to sit obediently, afraid of disturbing others, and they couldn't doze off.

Not to mention Cedric, the model student.

The theoretical part of the lesson finally ended when Fred kept shifting his buttocks, wiggling gently like a bound flea.

Professor Russell assigned the students the experimental procedures, and Scott and his classmates were finally able to speak.

“I thought you guys would have some basic skills, especially Scott,” Lucio said with a grin as he fiddled with the tools and instruments on the table. “Looks like I overestimated your abilities.”

Scott said irritably, "Fine, my expertise is limited to the inscription and activation of rune circuits."

"So your alchemy is just activating rune circuits?" Lucio shook his head. "That's just one part of making magical items, and it's also the most rigid and simplest part of the alchemy system."

“Simple…is it really that simple?” Cedric’s eyes were full of questions.

“Oh, ancient runes are not simple at all,” Fred said with some dissatisfaction. “That was the class I took most seriously.”

Lucio glanced at him sideways.

“Ancient runes are not the same as alchemy.” He continued working his hands. “Oh… Scott will definitely understand. You explain.”

Fred and Cedric both looked at Scott.

Well, how should I put it?

Scott thought about it.

"Ancient Magic Script is a language course, and this language contains magic. Its complexity is unimaginable, and it is undoubtedly a very difficult thing to learn well."

Fred and Cedric nodded in agreement.

Scott continued, "While using alchemy to create magical items does involve knowledge of ancient runes, unless you aspire to be a great alchemist like Nicolas Flamel, you don't actually need to delve too deeply into ancient runes."

Lucio interjected, "Alchemy itself contains a vast amount of knowledge, including the transformation of matter, magical rituals, and elemental symbolism. Moreover, for alchemy, the transformation of matter is the most important and core part."

He placed a special crucible on a flat stone slab, dropped in several pieces of metal of different colors, and then picked up several test tubes to drip in liquids of different colors.

"Alchemists' main pursuit is not to create magical items; that is merely a means to earn Galleons and arm themselves."

He used pliers to pick up the crucible, moved it aside, and then picked up a piece of ore, quickly drawing a beautiful yet very regular pattern on the stone slab.

"The use of ancient runes mostly involves copying existing rune circuits. So I would say that's the simplest, but also the most rigid part."

He then picked up a few small crystal bottles and poured different colored powders into the patterns on the stone slab.

"Of course, only those who are proficient in ancient magic runes and have the ability to create new magic rune circuits can create unique and powerful magical items."

He then used pliers to hold the crucible and placed it back in the center of the stone slab.

"All right."

He stood up and gestured to Scott and the others.

"You'd better stay away."

Scott and his group stood up and took a few steps back.

Lucio drew his wand and gently waved it at the stone slab.

Bang.

The small piles of powder on the stone slab immediately burst into flames, forming several flames of different colors.

Lucio waved his wand again, and the small flames began to spread along the pattern he had drawn.

When flames of different colors meet and merge, they become pure white and then gather together toward the crucible in the center of the stone slab.

White flames roared, scorching the crucible.

Lucio muttered incantations and waved his wand towards the inside of the crucible.

Glug glug.

The metal inside the crucible melted almost instantly, turning into a colorful liquid.

A satisfied smile spread across Lucio's face.

"I really am a genius..."

He was gloating for only a second when the liquid in the crucible began to turn black and sparks flew out.

"not good!"

Lucio slammed his hand on the side of the workbench and pressed a metal button.

Bang!

The crucible exploded violently, billowing thick smoke.

But the explosion, including the thick smoke, was firmly contained within the suddenly appearing magical barrier.

Immediately afterwards...

Bang!Bang!bang...

Explosions rang out everywhere, almost creating a continuous cacophony.

"Looks like everyone failed," Lucio said with a grin.

Chapter 463 The First Round of the Competition Begins

After a confusing yet lively alchemy class, Scott and his two friends returned to the tower and promptly changed their schedules.

Following Professor Russell's advice, they chose the Durand Alchemy Classroom, which would start with the basics.

After experiencing it firsthand, they were relieved to finally be able to understand it.

Although it was a little awkward for them to be in class with the third-year students of Beauxbatons, Professor Durand, a chubby old man, was very kind and hospitable to them, his guests.

Clearly, this professor is very willing to teach students from outside the university, and he shares the same view as Professor Russell.

As Scott and his team finally settled into their studies and life in Beauxbatons, the day of the first round of the competition was quietly approaching.

In the days leading up to the competition, Scott himself and his teammates all began to get nervous.

Fred and Roger tried everything they could to befriend some of Beauxbatons' students in order to find out more about the match.

The others were equally impressive.

Cedric searched everywhere for information about the Three Kingdoms tournament from over a hundred years ago, hoping to find some useful clues from the matches.

Ethan and the others were always on edge, fearing that Scott might be attacked before the match, and wished they could protect him by his side at all times.

Even several Slytherin students participated in the effort to protect him.

Angelina, Kacchini, and several other girls would always remind Scott to check carefully when he went out to eat, so that he wouldn't be drugged.

Finally, they simply ate the food made by the house-elves of Hogwarts in the tower and stopped going to the dining halls in Beauxbatons.

Scott, who was originally in a calm mood, was somewhat amused and exasperated by their behavior, but he did not refuse their kindness and let them do as they pleased.

The only benefit of this action was that the students from the four houses in the Hogwarts delegation truly integrated into a unified whole, achieving an unexpected unity.

Even Dumbledore was pleased with this.

When Scott walked around the campus of Beauxbatons, he was always accompanied by a large group of "bodyguards," making him look particularly cool.

This prompted students from the other two schools to spontaneously organize themselves to protect their warriors.

In short, before the competition even started, the students from all three schools were already rolling up their sleeves.

With the competition approaching, it wasn't just the members of the delegation who were working hard to support Scott; even Scott's friends who remained at Hogwarts were taking action.

George sent a very long "paper" via the [magic phone].

The content is a summary of various news from the past three-way championships.

Cedric was even happier than Scott when he saw this "paper".

According to George, many people contributed to this effort, and Eddie used his expertise to gather the most information, even spending an afternoon in Professor Ghost Binns's office.

Hermione also helped organize some materials and co-authored a "paper" with Eddie.

Even Harry and Ron went to the library to browse through some books, although they only stayed for half a day.

In addition to this "paper," Milton said he had already written a piece to celebrate Scott's victory, and the Classical Music Club had begun rehearsals so that they could perform it when they returned to Hogwarts to celebrate.