The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

When the portrait was mentioned, the speaker's tone was very calm, and his expression was also very serene.

"I am the one who imprisons my soul."

"Father?"

Mr. Grevis stared at the portrait, somewhat dumbfounded.

But soon, he became angry again.

He shouted, "Why! Why won't you hand over that damned magical artifact to her? Is it more important than your life?"

At this moment, the portrait of old Mr. Grevis did not appear as cold and unapproachable as he actually was. Upon hearing Mr. Grevis's question, a smile appeared on his aged face.

“Because there are no magical items,” he said.

"what?"

Mr. Grevis and Milton both looked shocked.

“How foolish!” the portrait laughed. “Our family has only been passed down for three generations. How could we possibly have such a powerful magical item?”

Mr. Grevis said, "But...everyone says..."

"Because that's what I deliberately leaked," the portrait said with a smug look on his face.

“You are…” Mr. Grevis’s tone was uncertain.

The portrait nods.

"Yes, it was to intimidate others and to ensure the Grevis family's better development in the magical world. I deliberately mentioned that I possessed a powerful magical item."

"fake?"

Mr. Grevis looked at the portrait with incomprehension.

"No wonder Slytherin said she was just laughing at you. You actually lost your life because of a non-existent magical item? What were you thinking?"

The portrait replied, "I did say it was for the Grevis family."

"Why won't you tell us? Why don't you just admit you lied in the first place? Why don't you just state that we don't have that damned magical item in our house?"

Mr. Grevis was breathing heavily.

"You actually lost your life for such a ridiculous reason!"

“It’s worth it,” the portrait said. “We have to let people know that the Grevis family isn’t without cards to play.”

Mr. Grevis roared, "But now Slytherin knows! She knows your lies, and she'll tell her men! They might even spread the word about you like a joke!"

Faced with his anger, the portrait sighed.

"There was nothing I could do about it. My original plan was to take this secret to my grave and make everyone believe that the magical artifact really existed."

"Were you prepared all along?" Milton asked in a trembling voice. "You weren't prepared to survive?"

"That's it."

The way the portrait looks at Milton is different from the way the real Mr. Grevis looks at him; it is filled with affection.

"I know my house can't protect Slytherin. If I die protecting magical artifacts, she'll never know the truth. It's a pity..."

Scott couldn't help but ask, "Do you know how she got in?"

“I don’t know.” The portrait shook its head. “She suddenly appeared behind me and attacked me with the Imperius Curse. After she got the truth, she took my life.”

Scott then asked, "Even in this situation, you were prepared, weren't you?"

"What a perceptive child."

The portrait shows a somewhat helpless expression.

"It seems you've seen through my plan."

"Yes……"

Scott looked at the seemingly unconscious corpse on the sofa with a complicated expression.

"You've prepared for both scenarios."

"What do you mean?"

Mr. Grevis and Milton looked at Scott with puzzlement.

Scott looked at the portrait questioningly.

“There’s nothing I can’t say,” the portrait said. “I’ll need your help next.”

Scott then told Milton and his son.

“Old Mr. Grevis had made preparations long ago. He used his own corpse and soul as alchemical materials, wanting to leave the Grevis family with their true trump card.”

"What……"

Mr. Grevis and Milton both gaped in astonishment.

Scott walked up to the body of old Mr. Grevis.

As he used his magic to guide it, red patterns immediately appeared on the corpse's skin.

"It seems that Mr. Grevis hasn't used magic in a long time."

He said in a low voice.

"He inscribed magical runes on his skin, accumulating all his magic power within his body, along with magical rune circuits that imprison the soul."

“I have been preparing for this for three years,” the portrait said.

Scott said, "But that's not the end of it."

The portrait says, "Now there's only one last step left, Charles. Take my body to the basement. I've prepared everything; you'll be the one to complete the final step."

"No!"

Mr. Grevis clearly found this unacceptable.

"I cannot condone such a thing..."

"How foolish!" the portrait exclaimed. "Are you trying to make all my hard work go to waste?"

Mr. Grevis shook his head again.

Milton stared blankly at old Mr. Grevis's body, tears streaming silently down his face.

Scott silently left the room.

It was really not convenient for him to get involved in what happened next.

Whatever choice Mr. Grevis makes is a private matter for the Grevis family.

He looked towards the courtyard gate.

There was clearly a fight taking place outside the courtyard gate just now.

The battle was over by then, and Dumbledore and Moody had captured several Green Robes, including Lady Zabini.

Scott walked to the gate, activated the runes on the gate with magic, observed for a while, reached out and tapped a few nodes in the rune circuit, then pushed open the gate and went out.

“Professor, Mr. Moody, Tonks…”

He took the initiative to greet several people he knew.

"How's it going inside?" Tonks asked.

Scott shook his head. "When I entered, old Mr. Grevis had already been killed by Medea. Medea was still possessing the ceramic doll, and she left before I could do anything."

Tonks patted him on the shoulder. "This isn't your fault."

"I know."

Scott did not believe it was his fault.

He looked at Mrs. Zabini, who was being restrained.

"Excuse me, do you know how Medea appeared in the house?"

Mrs. Zabini smiled and said, "You can guess, boy."

“We asked her, but she wouldn’t say,” Tonks said. “Besides, her Occlumency technique is very advanced.”

“Can I use truth serum?” Scott asked.

Tonks shrugged. "That requires approval from above."

Mrs. Zabini said, "I haven't committed any crime; truth serum is illegal."

Everyone was looking at her.

"What's wrong?"

Mrs. Zabini was emboldened.

“I was just here to deal with a family dispute when I happened to witness the tragic murder of my father. This is obviously none of my business.”

Her gaze swept across the crowd.

“You can all testify for me, can’t you? I didn’t do anything…”

Moody immediately covered her mouth with his hand.

"We need to go in and take a look."

He waved and led the two Aurors into the courtyard.

But they came out not long after.

After that, Moody led the Aurors to escort the Green Man away.

Scott and Dumbledore stayed behind.

Aside from the death of Mr. Grevis, Scott did not tell Dumbledore about the non-existent magical items or Mr. Grevis's plans.

Of course, he didn't ask Mr. Grevis whether he intended to follow old Mr. Grevis's instructions and turn his body into the Grevis family's trump card.

Both he and Dumbledore offered only a few words of comfort.

After Mr. Grevis removed his father's body, Scott began to examine the house inch by inch, trying to figure out how Medea had gotten in.

To prevent Milton from becoming too upset, he let him search together and spoke to him smoothly.