The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Finally, he could only advise Milton to always take care of his health and to keep some energy-boosting potions on hand.

Milton gratefully agreed.

In the following days, he continued to leave early and return late every day, and could not be seen except when he was in class or sleeping.

Scott could only use his magical senses to probe his physical condition each time they met, in an attempt to figure out what was going on with that strange oath.

Milton took Scott's advice, prepared energy-boosting potions, and his physical condition improved significantly.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

But to Scott's utter surprise, the very thing he had been worried about was completely resolved just a few days later.

The matter wasn't resolved by anyone; rather, it was the group of music-obsessed musicians at the classical music club who gave up on it themselves.

Scott was stunned for a long time after hearing the news.

Make fun of me!

He was screaming inwardly, feeling a lump in his throat.

"Why did you give up?" he asked Milton.

Perhaps his tone was too complicated, which drew surprised looks from Roger and Eddie.

Scott, however, had no time to explain to them his complex feelings—a feeling of emptiness and loneliness that came after seemingly battling with thin air.

“We tried our best, but we just couldn’t bring out the true essence of that piece.”

Milton said somewhat reluctantly.

“Gideon suggested that we give up, and in order not to tarnish such beautiful music, we decided to try again in the future when our skills have improved.”

"..."

Is it for that reason?

Scott suddenly realized that this was indeed something these artistic men and women would do.

Scott agreed with this reasoning.

He sighed and said to Milton, "It's better to give up. You were already exhausted by that piece of music, and your health was deteriorating. If this continues, it will only lead to a vicious cycle."

“Thank you, Scott, that’s what we thought too.” Milton smiled easily.

Because he had been under a lot of pressure recently, Scott and his team hadn't seen him so relaxed in a long time.

After that, everything went smoothly, and nothing else bothered Scott.

He temporarily put the matter out of his mind and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the second modification of the Raven Rimbaud's design.

The reason I say "temporarily" is because...

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like this matter wasn't over yet.

But Scott deliberately ignored this feeling.

For him, the most important thing at this stage is the progress in transfiguration.

Regarding Rimbaud, Scott believed that his previous failure stemmed from his excessive pursuit of perfection.

To make Rimbaud more "useful," his character is not only portrayed as being able to speak, but also possessing the intelligence of an adult, rich combat experience, and a flight speed exceeding that of most birds...

These added conditions clearly and significantly increase the difficulty of performing Transfiguration.

Scott himself has not yet reached the corresponding level in terms of Transfiguration skills and magical abilities.

So the result was that Rimbaud appeared briefly and then disappeared, while he himself fell into a coma due to overload.

Having thought all this through, Scott decided to change his approach.

That is to let Rimbaud evolve step by step as he progresses.

In this way, the initial version only needs to have the simplest capabilities set.

After deliberating for several days, Scott finally made his decision.

He set Rimbaud as a raven with no other abilities besides talking, and his intelligence was reduced to about the same level as that of an ordinary owl.

As for memories and experiences, they have been greatly simplified.

This time he succeeded.

"Scott!"

The newly "born" Rimbaud called out Scott's name, flew to his shoulder, and rubbed his face against his head twice.

"Hello, Rimbaud."

Scott reached out and let the raven sit in his palm.

"Hello, Scott!"

Rimbaud flapped his wings, looking very happy.

Scott gently stroked the raven's glossy black feathers, his smile somewhat formulaic.

Although this initial version of Rimbaud looks almost indistinguishable from the real thing, it is still just an ordinary intelligent robot.

It was completely different from the ultimate version that he originally wanted, one that closely resembled a real creature.

Looking at the raven in his hand, Scott had finally figured it out.

Transfiguration is ultimately just Transfiguration.

He actually wanted to challenge the "Creator's" "Divine Realm" as an apprentice wizard!

That's incredibly arrogant.

He guessed that the raven that had briefly appeared in the previous attempt was probably far from meeting the expected standard.

But Scott was not prepared to give up.

Because wizards have always been this arrogant!

Historical records show that magical creatures born from the hands of wizards are not uncommon.

The most typical example is the basilisk monster bred by the infamous black wizard "Herbo" of ancient Greece.

Scott believed that magic itself has no limits; the only limit is that of wizards.

Dumbledore once said that using magic comes at a price.

He's just not able to pay the price yet.

Composing himself, Scott used his Transfiguration ability to create a bonsai shaped like a withered branch.

He placed the bonsai on the bookshelf by his bedside, allowing Rimbaud to perch on the withered branches.

After settling Rimbaud in, Scott unfolded a piece of parchment and began to carefully consider writing a reply to Bill Weasley.

He ultimately decided to conceal his initial success in combining transfiguration and ancient runes through a clever trick.

Although he used a step-by-step, tedious method, and although his results may not seem significant, they were still revolutionary.

Scott was eager to exchange knowledge with Bill Weasley on this subject, as the latter was currently in Egypt and possessed a wealth of firsthand research materials from the pyramids.

But he was not familiar with the other party, and there was no basis for trust between them.

Out of his habitual caution, he ultimately decided to wait and see.

He did not want to rely on the descriptions in the "original text" to define a living wizard.

In the letter, he only expressed his gratitude and regret, while also taking the initiative to discuss other issues related to transfiguration with the other party.

These questions should be substantive, able to pique the other party's interest in discussion, and, to some extent, demonstrate one's own genius.

In this way, the other party should reply and communicate with him.

As they interacted more and became more familiar with each other, Scott was able to understand what kind of person Bill Weasley really was.

Scott folded the letter he had written, put it in an envelope, and decided to go to the school's owl hut to mail it.

Just then, Eddie suddenly pushed open the door and rushed into the dormitory.

“I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “Guess what I found? It’s absolutely shocking!”

Scott didn't speak, but just looked at him with calm eyes.

Eddie clapped his hands suddenly. "Okay, maybe I should give you a hint."

He walked over to Scott's desk and said mysteriously, "This has to do with Lockhart, and you'll never guess what he's planning!"

“Sorry, I’m not interested in anything about that idiot.” Scott turned his head away.

He was fed up with Lockhart's theatrical performances in class and the homework assignments of writing hymns.

“Alright,” Eddie offered to explain the details, “Lockhart deliberately bumped into Dumbledore while he was taking a walk, and someone overheard him asking Dumbledore to let him start a dueling club!”

Is another "original work" incident about to unfold?

Scott turned to look at Eddie.

"Dumbledore rejected him!"

Eddie spoke with even more enthusiasm.

“Lockhart kept pestering him and even touted his status as an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Magic League.”

You refused?

Scott was somewhat surprised.

However, it wasn't too surprising.

Now that the "locked room incident" has been completely resolved, the students no longer need a temporary duel club to improve their combat skills.

"...At this moment, the most shocking thing happened!"

While Scott was lost in thought, Eddie's mouth never stopped.

“Snape showed up!” Eddie said, a hint of self-doubt in his voice. “He actually spoke up for that Lockhart!”

I know how to do this.

Scott thought.

Snape simply wanted to take this opportunity to teach Lockhart a lesson for taking away his desired position.