That afternoon, the news that two first-year Slytherin girls had fallen ill during Potions class sent Hogwarts into an uproar.
According to the first-year students who had been in class with them, if Professor Snape hadn't reacted quickly and used magic, the two girls might have fallen headfirst into a cauldron full of boiling Cure for Boils.
Never mind the curious question of how two girls could fit into a single cauldron. Hogwarts students always seemed to exaggerate everything they witnessed as much as possible.
In any case, after Madam Pomfrey confirmed that the two girls' symptoms were almost identical to Caitlin Rowle's, the professors immediately sent them to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries without hesitation.
Meanwhile, visible panic spread rapidly throughout Hogwarts.
The students were saying that some terrifying, unprecedented contagious disease was rampaging through Hogwarts, and no one knew who the next unlucky victim would be.
In such circumstances, many students couldn't sit still. They sent letters home by owl, asking their parents and families to come get them from school.
At that moment, Scott was walking alone through the chaotic castle.
He knew the professors would soon step in to bring order to the school, but he had to take advantage of the confusion to do something and eliminate the hidden danger once and for all.
Three anxious Slytherin students hurried along a corridor leading down to the castle's dungeons.
"I've already written to my dad! He'll come get me as soon as he can!"
Draco Malfoy shouted, his face covered by a dark green scarf.
"My dad will, too!"
"And mine!"
His two sidekicks immediately echoed him.
They were Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, two boys whose appearance suggested they might be closely related to trolls.
At that moment, they looked even more ridiculous than Malfoy. Their dark green scarves were wrapped tightly around their enormous heads, leaving only their eyes visible, squeezed into slits by their chubby cheeks.
The three Slytherin boys were clearly panicking. They didn't notice that not far away, Scott was hurrying along as well. After passing a thick pillar, he vanished completely from sight.
"Come on! Crabbe, Goyle!" Malfoy quickened his pace. "From now on, we have to stay quietly in the Common Room and wait for our fathers to come get us."
The three boys broke into a run.
Concealed by a Disillusionment Charm, Scott followed them unhurriedly down into the dungeons, eventually reaching the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.
Scott leaned against a nearby wall and watched as the three boys shouted the password.
By then, he had reconnected with the bat he'd left in Travers's dormitory the previous night, but that wasn't enough to make the bat move.
After Malfoy and the others entered the Common Room, Scott quietly drew his wand and gave it a small wave.
"Super Perception."
With the help of the Sensory Enhancement Charm, Scott sensed the bat stirring among the folds of the bed curtains in the dormitory.
It flapped its wings and flew through the empty dormitory, passing through a hidden owl passage in the ceiling until it reached the Common Room.
"Vanishing Spell."
Scott raised his wand and cast a Vanishing Spell on the bat, then immediately turned to leave.
With the Sensory Enhancement Charm strengthening his senses, he could already feel Professor Snape's magic drawing closer.
Thank goodness for the maze of passageways inside Hogwarts Castle. Scott hurried into the winding corridors of the dungeon on the other side, avoiding any chance of running into Snape.
But when Scott finally made it back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, Professor Flitwick caught him.
"Oh! Where have you been, Scott?"
Professor Flitwick looked somewhat haggard. The anxious expression hadn't yet left his face, but the moment he saw Scott, he visibly relaxed.
"I'm sorry, Professor."
Seeing Professor Flitwick like this made Scott feel a little guilty.
"You shouldn't be wandering around at a time like this."
Flitwick scolded him briefly, but didn't press him about where he'd been.
"Dumbledore is taking this seriously. The professors will investigate the matter thoroughly today. Stay in your dormitory and don't go out. I've already informed the Prefects." He hurriedly gave a few more instructions, then left.
Scott could feel how much Professor Flitwick trusted him, which only made him feel a little guiltier.
But that was all it was: guilt. He didn't regret what he'd done.
Scott looked around. There weren't many people gathered in the Ravenclaw Common Room. Most of the students had apparently retreated to their dormitories.
He spotted Dylan and Kayla, the couple.
Kayla sat on the sofa, sobbing, while Dylan crouched in front of her, holding her hand.
"Don't worry, Kayla," Dylan gently reassured his girlfriend. "Only three people have shown symptoms so far. Maybe it isn't contagious."
"No, it is contagious, just like I said at lunch!" Kayla was terrified. She'd never known she had the gift of Prophecy.
Scott walked past the couple.
Of course he wasn't going to use a contagious disease that could affect so many people.
He returned to his dormitory via the staircase behind the statue of the Founder, Rowena Ravenclaw.
He pushed open the dormitory door, and Milton immediately stood to greet him. "You're back, Scott. I was so worried, but Roger said there was no need to look for you."
Although Scott was used to Milton's sentimental nature, the sight of his red-rimmed eyes still startled him.
"I'm fine, Milton. Thank you," he said, his voice flat.
"That's good."
Milton smiled, then sighed dejectedly. "What will happen to Hogwarts after something like this?"
"Don't worry, Milton. It'll be fine. Our Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick are more than capable of handling this." Roger said.
He was lying on his bed with one leg raised, flipping through a Quidditch magazine. Unlike Milton, he remained optimistic about the situation.
The other member of the dormitory, Eddie, was sorting through his collection of bottles and jars.
"I think this is a good thing," he said.
As the others turned their attention to him, Eddie continued, "We all know those three girls were usually together. Whatever caused them to collapse, the fact that they had the same symptoms tells us a lot."
Scott understood what he meant.
"You're saying that if the professors investigate the cause of their illness thoroughly, the group of pure-blood little witches organized by Travers will be exposed to them completely."
"Exactly." Eddie grinned. "Then we won't have to waste our time keeping an eye on a bunch of younger girls."
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