On the way back, Scott had been so rattled that he'd forgotten all about preparing a gift. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to find a girlfriend as soon as possible and enjoy a sweet romance.
So he carefully thought back over all the girls he knew, only to realize that his current situation was rather awkward.
Considering both his past and present lives, he was already in his thirties. But he was also, undeniably, only fourteen.
The mismatch between his physical and mental ages had created an awkward situation.
He couldn't fall for a girl his own age or younger, the way a normal boy could.
But if the girl was a little older than him... she probably wouldn't like him. He even thought the way the sixth- and seventh-year girls looked at younger boys was like they were looking at monkeys.
Never mind. He'd just let things happen naturally.
Scott thought to himself, feeling bitter, and soon reached the vicinity of Ravenclaw Tower.
A night breeze blew past, and the jumble of thoughts in Scott's head cleared somewhat. He remembered that he had two more important things to take care of.
One was to find Eddie and settle the score as soon as possible, tracking down the culprit who had secretly given him a nickname.
The other was to prepare a birthday gift for Professor McGonagall as soon as possible.
Scott kept walking into Ravenclaw Tower, but stopped again as he stepped onto the spiral staircase.
He sensed the magic of two students. They were hiding outside Ravenclaw Tower, in a corner where the tower joined the main castle.
Jasmine Travers and Caitlin Rowle.
One was a Slytherin first-year girl who made Scott wary and was very good at pretending. The other was a Ravenclaw first-year girl who had once clashed with Jacob Kent and was far too close to Travers.
Along with the information Eddie had later gathered, Scott and his roommates had recently been keeping an eye on the two little witches and their group of Pure-blood girls.
It was already past curfew, yet the two girls were lurking in the shadows. That was highly suspicious.
Since he'd run into them by chance, Scott decided to investigate for himself.
Scott drew his wand from his robes. With a turn of his wrist, he murmured an incantation and touched the wand tip to himself.
In an instant, the color and texture of his body became identical to the surroundings.
After using the Disillusionment Charm to blend completely into the environment, Scott waved his wand again and cast a Quietus Charm.
"Quietus."
Once he was ready, he turned and left Ravenclaw Tower. He went around the wall outside the tower and slowly headed toward the dark corner where the two girls were.
When he was ten paces from his targets, Scott stopped.
He was a little surprised.
He couldn't see his targets, and he couldn't hear them speaking.
The two first-year witches had also used a Disillusionment Charm and a Quietus Charm—or something similar.
If Scott's ability to sense magic hadn't been better than most people's, he might have passed right by them without noticing.
For a moment, Scott didn't know whether to marvel at how cautious they were at such a young age or at how advanced the upbringing in these old Pure-blood families seemed.
But he knew he couldn't blame the Pure-blood families' upbringing. Although there weren't many students at Hogwarts from Pure-blood families, they weren't exactly rare either. Other students were nowhere near as capable as Travers had been in their first year.
Though he couldn't see his targets, at this distance Scott could clearly sense that it was Travers who was using magic.
But Scott couldn't go any closer.
Many witches and wizards could sense magic within ten paces, and Scott even suspected Travers had that ability too.
But Scott wasn't about to give up.
He stood with his back against the stone wall of the tower, making himself blend into it, then took a small piece of ebony from the Moke Skin Pouch at his waist.
He placed the ebony in his left palm and gently tapped it with his wand.
The piece of ebony immediately began to transform. Before long, a tiny black wooden bat appeared in his palm.
Scott could already perform this level of basic Transfiguration silently, without an incantation.
But the black bat he'd transformed was still just a wooden carving, completely lifeless.
Scott didn't stop there. He pressed the tip of the wand in his right hand to the bat's back and lightly traced a few symbols. The ebony wand was like a carving tool, etching several simple symbols into the wooden bat's back.
Then Scott gave his wand another small wave. The wood grain on the bat carving immediately vanished, and black fur grew in its place.
Scott gently raised his hand, and the transformed creature, now exactly like a real bat, flew away without a sound.
What Scott had done might have seemed simple, but if Professor McGonagall had seen it, she would have been astonished.
What he had done was remarkably similar to a theory in Bill Weasley's paper, which they had discussed at the Transfiguration Club that day.
The theory that everyone at the club had considered impossible seemed to be unfolding right there in Scott's hands.
Though he had divided the transformation in the theory into several steps, and the effects achieved by Transfiguration and Ancient Runes had each been accomplished in separate stages, he hadn't used Charms at all.
Even so, it was still an achievement that could astonish people.
If Scott demonstrated it to the editor-in-chief of Transfiguration Today, the editor would surely award him the Most Promising Newcomer prize with the greatest enthusiasm!
Unfortunately, neither Professor McGonagall nor the editor-in-chief of Transfiguration Today had the chance to see it. Scott also wouldn't rashly show off what he considered a result that was only just beginning to take shape.
He didn't feel proud of what he had done at all. It was simply the reward for his ongoing, in-depth study and practice of the fundamentals of Transfiguration.
At that moment, Scott was looking up at the bat as it flew away.
The bat, almost indistinguishable from the night, silently reached the corner where the two girls were and hung upside down in a crack between the bricks above them.
At such close range, even with the Quietus Charm in place, the girls' voices inevitably reached the bat's ears clearly.
At almost the same time, Scott heard their conversation too.
"Jasmine, I... I'm not sure whether doing this will get you involved."
Caitlin Rowle sounded worried.
"And... and you know, I asked some older Ravenclaw students about him. Scott Trollope isn't easy to deal with, and... and he's friends with Roger Davies..."
Wow!
Scott raised his eyebrows high and opened his eyes wide.
What were the odds? They were talking about him!
"Don't worry, Caitlin."
Jasmine Travers spoke gently, her voice soft and soothing, as if it could comfort anyone.
But her pleasant voice was saying something far from pleasant. "Scott Trollope is just a Mudblood, and this is the Wizarding World. I only want to teach that arrogant Mudblood a lesson. He needs to understand once and for all that our affairs are none of his concern."
Tsk.
By this point, Scott had furrowed his brow.
He hadn't expected Miss Travers to be so arrogant in private.
"But... he hasn't done anything... has he?" Caitlin Rowle's voice grew timid.
"No, he's tried to talk to Jacob more than once when he was with us. That's an insult to us from a Mudblood like him."
Jasmine Travers's voice grew softer and softer.
"You said you'd always help me, didn't you, Caitlin?"
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