Bargaining for a Portrait

Jacob jumped off the boat as quickly as he could and ran behind Scott.

"That..." he said with a vague tone, "when... we get back to Hogwarts, how are we going to handle it?"

Scott didn't slow his pace, saying with a tone of deep emotion, "Oh, Jacob, I think you can do just fine without my advice."

Seeing that Scott remained unmoved, Jacob could only say gloomily, "Fine, we'll talk about it when the time comes then."

"By the way."

Scott suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked down at Jacob.

"You know who started that nasty nickname for me recently, right?" he asked.

"Nickname? Oh, there is such a thing," Jacob replied, "but I've only heard people discussing you."

Scott was very surprised, "That damn nickname wasn't used by Travers to humiliate me?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, she only calls you that in private..."

[Mudblood.]

He mouthed the word to indicate it.

Scott said with a cold face, "Then, who exactly gave me that damn nickname?"

"Do you need me to find out for you?" Jacob blinked, "For a price."

"What do I need to pay for this?" Scott asked curiously.

Jacob's answer came out immediately, "I need you to tutor me in Transfiguration."

Just as Scott was about to refuse, Jacob held up three fingers at him.

"Three times, no less than two hours each time," he proactively set the limit.

Scott withdrew his refusal and nodded decisively, "It seems you know how to gauge things well. Fine, it's a deal."

Jacob smiled happily, "I'll get to the bottom of it."

Scott said with satisfaction, "I'll be waiting for you to bring me the answer."

After returning to the castle, Scott took out his pocket watch to check the time, then parted ways with Jacob and headed to the Transfiguration classroom alone.

When he sat in the Transfiguration classroom and met Professor McGonagall's gaze, he suddenly realized he had forgotten her birthday gift.

He quickly recalled the date; fortunately, it was October 1st, and there were still three days until Professor McGonagall's birthday.

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled naturally at Professor McGonagall, not letting her see his guilty conscience.

The content of this lesson was to turn a hedgehog into a pincushion.

Scott finished the transformation as fast as he could, and after adding 2 points to Ravenclaw, he began to think about the birthday gift.

Unfortunately, until the end of class, he still hadn't come up with any good ideas.

After dinner, back in the dormitory, Scott asked his three roommates to help him brainstorm.

He first explained the problem he was facing, then said with distress, "The main thing is... although I feel a bit boastful saying it, I have to say, it's mainly because the birthday gift I gave Professor Flitwick was too stunning."

When he said this, only Milton showed agreement.

However, Scott didn't care about the opinions of Roger and Eddie, because he believed they had no artistic sense.

He continued, "Do you think it would seem perfunctory if I gave Professor McGonagall a similar painting? If I can't give the same kind of painting, then what gift could compare to the ingenuity of that one?"

After hearing his distress, Milton nodded with empathy, "You're absolutely right."

Then he began to think seriously on Scott's behalf.

But Scott didn't want to let the other two distracted people off the hook.

He asked them, "Roger, Eddie, do you two have any good suggestions?"

"Maybe you could give her a Quidditch league ticket? As far as I know, Professor McGonagall is obsessed with Quidditch. Oh, a Gryffindor student told me that."

Roger was uncertain at first, then became more confident as he spoke.

Scott bypassed his answer without a second thought and turned to look at Eddie.

"Hmm, perhaps you could give Professor McGonagall a collection of jokes to make her a bit more humorous?" Eddie said seriously, "Or, just make her a little less serious."

"I knew you two wouldn't come up with any good ideas." Scott turned his head away in disdain.

Now he could only look forward to Milton's suggestion.

After a while, Milton said to him happily, "I've got it, Scott!"

"Thank you, Milton, tell me about it." Scott revealed an expectant look.

"You should continue to utilize your artistic talent and paint a portrait for Professor McGonagall!" Milton said.

"Another painting? But... a portrait?" Scott raised an eyebrow, "You mean a portrait?"

Milton nodded repeatedly, "Exactly. But this portrait should use the same expression of color as the painting you gave Professor Flitwick."

Scott understood what he meant.

"In other words, combine the way magic is expressed through color in that abstract painting with a character portrait?" He reached out and stroked his chin in thought.

Milton said with some excitement, "That's right, I think this is a great idea! If you can finish it, Professor McGonagall will definitely love it!"

"But... I only have two days to prepare." Scott shook his head. "Although tomorrow and the day after are the weekend, I'm afraid two days isn't enough for me to complete a painting like that."

"Oh! I think you don't have to paint it so realistically, or perhaps you could use an impressionist style?" Milton offered another suggestion.

Having grown up in the wizarding world, Milton originally didn't know what impressionism was.

The techniques for magical portraits in the wizarding world were similar to classical oil paintings in the Muggle world; both were realistic in style.

But ever since he admired the abstract painting Scott had given to Professor Flitwick, Milton had become deeply interested in all forms of art from the Muggle world.

And recently, Scott had lent him quite a few books on the subject.

"Good idea!" Scott nodded in agreement.

He was once again amazed by Milton's grasp of art.

He said gratefully, "Thank you, you've saved my reputation with Professor McGonagall, Milton!"

"Don't mention it, Scott."

Milton felt very happy that he could be of help.

Scott was also getting excited now; he couldn't wait to pick up his brush and start depicting this painting.

"I can't help but want to start painting right now!"

He turned and walked to his bedside, used Transfiguration to turn a coat rack into an easel, placed it in front of the dormitory window, and then took a new canvas and a box of oil paints out of his Moke Skin Pouch.

He envisioned what the finished painting would look like in his mind and mixed the base pigments with linseed oil.

However, the paint-covered brush in his hand stopped the moment it touched the canvas.

"That's not right." He pulled the brush back. "I shouldn't paint it this way."

He put down the brush, stood up, and began to pace back and forth in the dormitory.

"Scott?"

At this moment, his roommates were all looking at him strangely.

"Let me think!" Scott gestured for them to be quiet. "I just suddenly felt that I shouldn't paint it like this; there must be a more suitable way to express this painting."

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