The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Along with the experiments, the design of Horus and Golza took Scott even longer.

After experimenting multiple times to create golden eagles and Komodo dragons with single "skills," Scott, having gained some confidence, began to design corresponding multi-layered magic rune circuits based on his experience in practical applications.

At this stage, with the help of arithmetic divination, Scott's design process progressed faster.

By the time all four design drawings were completed, it was already the end of March.

To be on the safe side, Scott did not create the "summoned beast" directly. Instead, he summoned a portrait of Ravenclaw when no one was in his dormitory, hoping that his tutor could help him check for any oversights.

“Ravenclaw mentor…”

After the Ravenclaw portrait appeared, Scott explained his design and showed the drawings and materials given to him by Lucio.

After listening to his story, the Ravenclaw instructor casually remarked, "It's a pretty good toy."

Toys?

This assessment left Scott somewhat frustrated.

“There’s nothing to be discouraged about,” Ravenclaw said with a smile. “It proves that you’ve taken a crucial step, and you will continue to grow and refine them in practice.”

Scott nodded, understanding.

Although this wasn't the first time he'd tried something like this, this time, without the help of the one-time magic stone, it was indeed a crucial step for him.

Ravenclaw carefully examined the blueprints Scott presented and nodded slightly.

"I didn't find any errors."

She gave him an approving look.

"You're already quite proficient in using ancient runes and rune circuits. Any further progress will simply come from accumulating practical experience. There's nothing more I can teach you in this area."

As she spoke, she glanced at the materials in the box again and then made her assessment.

"Judging by sight alone, this material is acceptable, but that's about it."

"If you want them to be even stronger, you need better materials."

“Yes,” Scott replied. “I’ve been focusing on studying alchemy lately.”

Ravenclaw smiled slightly. "Now you should realize the importance of alchemy. I haven't reminded you because only by experiencing the differences can you truly understand it."

She's right.

Scott did not pay much attention to alchemy in the past because it was too complicated and costly in terms of time, money, and energy.

He figured that since he had Transfiguration, he could use it to change the properties of matter with magic, so alchemy didn't seem to be really necessary.

Just like in the first transformation lesson, where you turn a match into a needle.

Although Transfiguration cannot truly transform matter, under the influence of magic, the originally fragile match still possessed the appearance and hardness of an iron needle.

From this perspective, although alchemy's material transformation is more thorough, it seems that it can be replaced by Transfiguration, or one can directly seek out more robust Muggle materials.

But looking back now, that idea was undoubtedly wrong.

A good material not only reduces the difficulty of transformation and enhances the strength of the transformed product, but more importantly, it saves magic power and allows the transformed product to exist for a longer time.

If Scott merely conjured a fire crow from a stone, then it involved altering the properties of matter, changing its shape and structure, and giving the stone a false life.

The fire crows created in this way consume a lot of magic power to maintain the polymorph spell quickly. In addition, the losses caused by each operation of the spell circuit, as well as the problem of being easily destroyed, mean that they are destined not to exist for long.

While the inability to exist for long may not seem like a fatal flaw, the real issue is that such one-off metamorphic creations cannot accumulate experience and evolve their thinking like Rimbaud did.

However, suitable materials can solve those problems to some extent.

Materials specifically crafted using alchemy are not only sturdy, durable, and resistant to damage, but they also resonate with the magical runes he wishes to inscribe, producing a synergistic effect.

In short, alchemy had become an essential skill for Scott to learn.

It's just a bit expensive.

After the design was approved by his Ravenclaw mentor, Scott began the actual production.

Of course, in order to make the "summoned beasts" exist for a longer period of time, Scott could not complete the production of all four at once.

He estimated that without the help of a one-time magic stone, with his current magic power, he should be able to make one at a time with some spare capacity, but making two at a time would be beyond his capabilities, and he would have to wait until his magic power recovered before continuing.

After thinking it over, Scott decided to make Edgar the Fireraven, which he was most familiar with, first.

He took the red metal piece out of the small wooden box and placed it on the stone slab on the table, then drew his wand.

Recalling the settings that had solidified his resolve, Scott chanted the incantation, then raised his hand and resolutely waved his wand.

Under the light of the Transfiguration spell, dense magical runes first appeared on the finger-sized red metal, which was then enveloped in a ball of fire.

The flames trembled, then began to move.

First came the tiny beak, then a pair of equally miniature wings. As the flames gradually died down, a small, dark red raven appeared on the stone slab.

The material was only the size of a finger joint, and the Edgar that was created was only one-fifth the size of Rimbaud, making him appear exceptionally small and miniature.

"Hello, Edgar."

Scott smiled slightly and extended his left hand.

"Gah...gagga..."

Edgar opened its mouth and let out a somewhat childish chirp, nuzzled against Scott's fingers, then flapped its wings and jumped onto his palm, settling down in his hand.

Scott immediately felt a warm sensation in his palms.

He raised his left hand, which was supporting Edgar, and gently stroked its feathers with his right hand.

Edgar seemed to enjoy being close to him, making cheerful noises.

Unlike Rimbaud, Edgar could not speak.

This wasn't because Scott couldn't do it, but because he did it on purpose.

Ultimately, it comes down to different positioning.

While Scott could be said to have accomplished what could only be done with the aid of a one-time use magic stone through his own abilities, this refers more to his combat performance.

In essence, the Philosopher's Stone still has its irreplaceable role—no matter how much Scott progresses, his transfiguration creations will never be as close to real life as Rimbaud's, nor will they be able to exist forever.

On the other hand, Rimbaud doesn't need to be involved in too many battles; Scott can treat him as his closest partner.

But Scott wasn't prepared to invest too much emotion in Edgar and his companions, who were required to fight.

Not only considering the damage during combat, Scott would also continuously upgrade and replace them, thus positioning them more as tools and weapons.

Scott looked down at Edgar, who was nestled in his palm, and said, "Shouldn't you give me a practical demonstration next, so I can see what you're capable of?"

Edgar opened his squinting eyes, stood up, and barked excitedly a few times.

Although it cannot speak, as a product of Scott's Transfiguration, it has a direct connection with him. Even if it is not as intelligent as Rimbaud, it can basically understand what he is saying.

“This won’t do,” Scott said. “We need to find somewhere where no one is around.”

With that, he put Edgar in his pocket, left the tower, walked along the lake for a distance, and finally came to a secluded valley.

This place is separated from Durmstrang's ghost ship by a small hill, blocking the view from the ship.

"Come out, Edgar."

"Gah..."

Edgar popped out of his pocket, flapped his wings, and flew up happily.

"Fly at full speed!"

Edgar accelerated instantly, circling Scott several times at a speed that Scott could not see with the naked eye.

"Arson!"

Edgar did not slow down; he simply transformed into a small fireball that flew about wildly.

"Fire!"

A thin white line flashed through the air, and a small, charred hole suddenly appeared on the tree trunk in front of Scott, which then began to smoke and burst into flames.

Scott quickly drew his wand.

"Clear water like a spring!"

After extinguishing the flames with water, Scott ordered again, "Normal mode, slow down."

Edgar immediately suppressed the flames covering his entire body and flew much slower.

“Very good, next is to test how big you can become.”

Scott waved his wand at Edgar.

"Grow bigger quickly!"

Edgar's small body instantly swelled, and then grew larger and larger.

Soon, its feet touched the ground, and its head was already above Scott's shoulders.

Scott then put away his wand.

“It seems this is the maximum size.” He nodded. “It’s enough.”

Edgar called out again.

As its size increased, its call also became harsher.

Scott pointed to the rocks nearby, "Try the fire line again."

Edgar opened his mouth, tilted his neck back, and then suddenly spat out a scorching line of fire.

At this moment, even Scott felt an unbearable heat and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Under the attack of the high-temperature fire line, the rock made a crackling sound and quickly cracked.

"stop."

Scott stopped Edgar and waved his wand to turn him back to his original size.

"here you go."

He gave a compliment.

Sure enough, the different materials resulted in different effects. The flames were hotter than the fire crows that had been conjured before, and the fire-breathing lasted for a longer period of time.

He was very satisfied with this.