"Professor." Cedric stood up. "May I ask, when you said 'look beyond the appearance of physical form,' did you mean that what Scott painted was actually your magic?"
Professor Flitwick smiled and gestured toward Scott. "Why don't we let Mr. Trollope answer that question himself?"
At Professor Flitwick's gesture, Scott stood too. "That's right. Just as Professor Flitwick said, everyone's magic is different."
He turned to look at Cedric.
"To be precise, after sensing Professor Flitwick's magic, I painted what I felt about it."
"Was it a sight you saw?" Cedric asked him.
Scott shook his head. "I didn't really see anything. It was a kind of perception, but a very clear one. I simply recorded what I felt in the form of a painting."
"Yes, Magic Perception!"
Professor Flitwick cried out in his shrill voice.
"Mr. Trollope has done something most adult wizards can't!
"He not only clearly sensed my magic, but also used an unprecedentedly creative approach to accurately express what he felt through painting!
"Although this is a Muggle oil painting, I believe its significance is even greater than that of a moving Magical portrait!"
"Professor," Cedric asked again, "do you mean that not everyone can achieve this through a deep study of magic?"
"Yes. It requires a talent for perception."
Professor Flitwick made no attempt to deny it.
He went on to explain, "Basically, everyone can sense magic, but some can only do so vaguely, while others can clearly perceive the information contained in a wizard's magic..."
"Is that why you can always tell who's approaching you before they get there?" Roger whispered to Scott.
Scott nodded. "I think Milton has the same talent."
Roger agreed. "Yes, Milton, you've always been very perceptive."
"I'm nowhere near as good as Scott."
Milton was in a good mood now, and seemed to have forgotten last night's "failure."
He even joked about himself. "Besides, most people just say I'm too sensitive."
It was time for class to begin.
Professor Flitwick immediately ended the discussion about Magic Perception and told everyone to open their textbooks.
"Please turn to the first chapter. Today, we'll be learning Accio..."
Scott didn't know whether anyone else had noticed that he could use his perception of magic to roughly judge someone's personality and inner character.
Milton's interpretation of the painting had made that clear.
It was also why he had thought Jacob Kent wasn't lying.
At the same time, he wondered, In the original story, Tom Riddle hadn't yet become Voldemort, and all his teachers at school adored him. Yet Dumbledore never trusted him. Perhaps Riddle's magic gave Dumbledore reason to doubt him.
When the midday sun shone through the classroom windows and fell on everyone, the morning's double Charms lesson came to an end.
"Thank you for the gift, Scott. Now I'm going to show the other professors what one of our students has accomplished!"
After saying this to Scott privately, Flitwick waved his wand, making the painting float behind him, then left the classroom with his head held high.
"Oh! You're going to be famous now, Scott." Roger slapped Scott on the shoulder, drawing his attention to the way the other students were looking at him.
"This is great. Scott has this kind of talent, so he should show it off." Milton was happy for him.
Their Ravenclaw classmates also came over to congratulate Scott.
"Congratulations, Scott."
"Well done, Scott."
Ravenclaw students usually admired people who went further than others, whatever the field.
They understood that Scott's achievement couldn't be summed up by simply saying he was talented.
Talent needed to be built on enough knowledge and experience before it could become real ability.
"Thank you," Scott said calmly.
"Scott, you've done something unexpected again."
Cedric from Hufflepuff came over with a smile.
Scott and Cedric were both members of Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Club, and they got along well.
They belonged to different houses and were both highly talented at Transfiguration. They were friends as well as rivals.
Cedric patted Scott on the shoulder too. "Don't leave the rest of us behind, will you?"
"I'm not going to stop moving forward, Cedric," Scott said with a smile.
Cedric sighed. "Looks like I'll have to work even harder."
Four days passed in the blink of an eye.
On Sunday, Roger woke everyone in the dormitory early in the morning.
"What is it, Roger?"
Scott leaned against his pillow, unwilling to move. He only opened his eyes to look at Roger.
Roger was already dressed in his full Quidditch uniform and protective gear, his broom in hand.
"Come on, let's go to the pitch with me and see whether Ravenclaw has any decent new players this year," Roger urged his three roommates.
"Please..." Milton mumbled with his eyes closed. "I thought Quidditch tryouts were on the second weekend?"
"Captain Bruce decided to scout the newcomers interested in trying out a week early and give them some pointers," Roger said. "He hopes they'll do better at next week's tryouts."
Eddie, who had just sat up, flopped back onto his bed with a thump. "That's all? What's that got to do with us!"
"Come on, friends! You're all Ravenclaws!" Roger raised his voice. "I think you should know more about our house team."
Scott thought Roger's reasoning made no sense. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
"We're not going!"
But Scott and the others ended up at the Quidditch Pitch anyway, sitting in the stands.
"Merlin! Roger is so annoying! He murdered our sleep!"
Eddie munched on a sandwich as he kept complaining.
Milton sat slumped in his seat, his eyes vacant as he gazed up at the sky, still hazy with morning mist.
Scott also took a piece of bread and ate it slowly. Neither he nor Milton showed any sign of responding to Eddie.
But Eddie didn't seem to mind. He appeared quite happy talking to himself.
"Yesterday morning, the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams got into a fight here over who got to use the pitch."
He showed off what he'd heard to Scott and Milton.
"Second-year Malfoy is their new Seeker, because his father, Lucius Malfoy, sponsored the whole team with the latest brooms on the market, Nimbus 2001!"
When Scott and Milton still didn't respond, he turned to the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team before them.
"If you ask me, Ravenclaw's most promising Quidditch star this year is third-year Cho Chang. It's just a pity she wants to be a Seeker, and our Seeker won't graduate until next year. Maybe she'll be a reserve Seeker for now?"
Before you continue