Gift, Strange Sound

On Monday, the day before Professor McGonagall's birthday, Scott went to her office after class to present his gift and birthday wishes.

Just as Milton had said, Professor McGonagall was indeed very fond of the gift Scott had brought.

When she saw the painting, the usual stern expression vanished from her face, replaced by a satisfied smile.

She said happily to Scott, "Thank you, Mr. Trollope. I like this gift of yours very much!"

She then emphasized, "I think this painting is even better than the one Professor Flitwick received!"

"Oh, is that so..." Scott suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. "This painting came from a new inspiration, and Milton's suggestions were helpful; I used techniques completely different from before."

He could already foresee that Professor McGonagall would certainly show off this gift to Professor Flitwick.

Professor McGonagall, however, was focused on the painting before her, her feelings deepening as she looked. "I noticed that there are no visible brushstrokes on this painting at all, as if it were done in one go, possessing a natural beauty."

Scott nodded. "Yes, I used Transfiguration to create this painting."

Professor McGonagall immediately asked with great interest, "Oh? Tell me, Mr. Trollope, how did you apply Transfiguration to painting?"

"Of course, it's just a combination of the simplest and most basic spells in Transfiguration..."

Scott explained the process of creating the painting in detail.

"It is indeed simple." Professor McGonagall nodded repeatedly as she listened. "But I must still commend you for your ingenuity."

"Oh! Can I get house points for it?" Scott joked.

He hadn't expected Professor McGonagall to ponder for a moment after hearing this, as if she were genuinely considering whether to award him points.

But in the end, she shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Trollope. It doesn't comply with the regulations for awarding points. This is a private gift, and besides, Professor Flitwick has already awarded you points for your artwork."

She was truly the stern Professor McGonagall, as expected.

Scott nodded with a smile.

He was only joking, so he naturally had no objections.

After bidding farewell to Professor McGonagall, Scott prepared to head to the Hogwarts library to read the new issues of some academic journals for the month.

Passing through several corridors, he heard a loud discussion coming from around a corner.

"Oh! Harry, none of us heard the strange voice you were talking about!" a girl said with a puzzled tone.

Scott still remembered this voice; it should be Hermione Granger, who had spoken to him on the train.

"If you ask me, you might have been driven mad by Snape during Potions class this afternoon!"

This voice... Scott guessed it was the "silly younger brother" of Fred and George Weasley.

"I really heard it!" a boy said loudly. "More than once! And I heard the same voice on the night I was helping Lockhart answer letters!"

This was the "Boy Who Lived," Harry Potter.

Scott was suddenly struck with horror.

Had the Basilisk already escaped from the Chamber of Secrets this early?

Only remembering the outline of the "story," he had always assumed the "Chamber of Secrets incident" began on Halloween, after Filch's cat was petrified.

Thinking of this, Scott walked past the corner at a normal pace and encountered the "trio."

The moment they saw him, the three young wizards immediately shut their mouths and stopped their discussion.

"Hello, Trollope."

Granger still remembered his name and took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello, Granger."

Scott nodded and said to the other two boys, "Hello, Potter, Weasley. I am Scott Trollope, a fourth-year Ravenclaw."

"Hello, Trollope."

Both boys looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Especially Potter; Scott noticed the look in his eyes behind his glasses was somewhat evasive.

Although he could see that the "Boy Who Lived" didn't seem to want to interact with strangers, Scott remained where he was and said unhurriedly, "Sorry, although I didn't mean to eavesdrop, you were indeed speaking quite loudly."

Ignoring their flushed faces, he asked directly, "Potter, you heard a strange voice in the castle? Can you tell me what's going on?"

Potter opened his mouth, looking troubled, but no sound came out.

Clearly, he didn't want to discuss this with a stranger, but he didn't know how to refuse.

"Was I too abrupt?" Scott smiled at him in a friendly manner. "Perhaps you could satisfy my curiosity and tell me where the voice was coming from."

"It was over there." Potter responded with a shy smile as a reflex, reaching out to point at a wall. "It seemed to be coming from inside that wall."

"Let me take a look."

Scott walked up to the wall and reached out to pull out his wand, pointing it at himself.

"Sensory Enhancement Charm."

He first cast a Sensory Enhancement Charm on himself, then carefully sensed the magic contained within the wall.

At the same time, he heard Weasley whispering to his companions, "What is he doing?"

His tone was strange, as if he were saying that Scott was a madman.

"Shut up, Ron!" Granger hissed at him, "Can't you tell? He's sensing magic! Don't tell me you didn't know; he became famous for being able to clearly perceive magic back at the start of the term."

Potter's voice was hesitant, "I think I've heard of that, but I didn't know who it was."

"I only know that Fred and George have a good relationship with him," Weasley said.

"You two never remember anything useful!" Granger complained about the boys' barren brains.

At this moment, Scott shook his head and turned around.

The three young wizards immediately fell silent.

"The magic possessed by the castle itself is too powerful and also quite chaotic," Scott said, "I can only vaguely perceive that there are indeed traces of magic left behind by some kind of magical creature."

Potter's eyes widened, and he said happily, "I knew it! The voice I heard wasn't a hallucination!"

Weasley, however, scrunched his face up and asked skeptically, "You mean there's a magical creature inside the walls? Then why can't we hear it?"

"Perhaps Potter's hearing is just more acute, Weasley," Scott said with a smile.

Granger couldn't help but ask curiously, "But... what kind of magical creature could hide in the walls? And talk, too?"

"There are pipes within the walls," Scott said, "Perhaps an Acromantula? As far as I know, they can talk."

"S-spider?" Weasley's face turned pale, and he shuddered, quickly taking several steps back.

At this point, Scott retracted his wand. He bid farewell to the three young wizards, "Anyway, thank you for telling me about this; it might be an interesting discovery. Well then, goodbye."

He waved his hand and strode off in the direction of the library.

The moment he turned away, his expression became somewhat grave; the fact that the Basilisk had already awakened gave him a sense of urgency.

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