After leaving Potter and the other two out of sight, Scott immediately pulled a small piece of Ebony from the Moke Skin Pouch at his waist.
He took out his wand again and used Transfiguration on the Ebony, turning it into a wooden carving.
Next, he carved a simple Runes Circuit into it. Once the circuit was complete, he waved his wand again. The carving gradually came to life, transforming into a raven with jet-black feathers.
The raven shook out its feathers, hopped across Scott's palm, then spread its wings and took off to scout the way ahead.
Scott held his wand in his hand and followed the raven from a distance.
A Basilisk was an extremely dangerous Magical Creature.
Any creature that met a Basilisk's gaze directly would die instantly. Even catching its gaze indirectly would turn you to stone.
The Basilisk Salazar Slytherin had left in the Chamber of Secrets had been alive for a thousand years.
Scott recalled what he knew about Basilisks, but couldn't remember what state this one was in at this point in time—did it only travel through the pipes, or might it crawl out of them at any moment?
Perhaps the "original story" itself had never described it clearly. Perhaps he'd simply forgotten. But there was no doubt that the monster had been awakened.
Scott guessed that the thousand-year-old Basilisk spent most of its time asleep, and that it had only been awakened after the Diary, a Horcrux, arrived at Hogwarts.
His reasoning was that Potter had never heard any "strange voices" during the previous school year.
Scott hurried through the castle.
The raven always flew ahead of him. Whenever they came across other students, it would fly back and perch on his shoulder, pretending to be a pet.
He remembered that in the "original story," the Basilisk had only begun attacking students in the castle after Halloween.
But Scott thought that trusting the supposed "original story" too much could very well get him killed.
Of course, if he was careful, having Transfiguration creations and the ability to sense magic would make it easy to avoid turning a corner and running into the Basilisk.
Meanwhile, Scott began thinking about the plan he'd come up with to deal with the "Chamber of Secrets Incident."
Because of gaps in his memory, the plan he'd thought was complete had a prerequisite he hadn't accounted for.
He'd originally planned to act after Filch's cat was petrified on Halloween and the message from the "Heir of Slytherin" appeared.
At this point, if Scott didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, there wasn't much he could do.
There was no sign of the "Chamber of Secrets Incident" yet. Potter had only heard some "strange voices." Scott couldn't just take the initiative to do something or tell people without any evidence that a Basilisk was lurking in the castle.
Besides, Scott didn't want to give up on his original plan.
That left only one choice.
He would wait for the right moment while making sure he stayed safe.
If the "plot" didn't change, he would put an end to this annoying problem in one fell swoop after Halloween.
Once he'd thought it through, Scott made it to the library without incident and had the raven perch on a windowsill nearby.
But just as he found a new issue of an academic journal to read, Jacob suddenly came to see him.
Scott glanced at the librarian, Madam Pince, and whispered, "Looks like you've finished the job I asked you to do?"
"That's right." Jacob lowered his voice too. "I found out how that nickname you hate came about."
Scott smiled slightly. "Good. You were quick. Now..."
He noticed Madam Pince watching them with a hostile look.
The Hogwarts librarian was extremely alert to the slightest disturbance in the library.
"Let's go outside."
Scott stopped speaking, stood up, and put the journal back on the shelf. Then he beckoned for Jacob to come along and left the library.
"Let's go for a walk."
With a Basilisk around, Scott didn't want to wander through the castle.
He drew his wand and gave it a gentle wave. The raven on the nearby windowsill took flight again.
"Is that your pet?"
Jacob watched the black bird flying ahead to lead the way with curiosity.
"You could say that."
Scott smiled and didn't explain further.
After leaving the castle, the two of them made their way to the Atrium.
Seeing that there were no other students nearby, Scott stopped and said to Jacob, "Here will do. Tell me what you found."
"All right."
Jacob nodded, but a strange smile immediately appeared on his face.
"You'll never guess, Scott." He seemed to be trying hard not to laugh. "The reason behind this is completely different from what you thought."
Scott frowned at Jacob's expression.
"What do you mean?" He suddenly felt that investigating this might not have been such a good idea, and asked irritably.
Jacob seemed much more animated than usual. In an exaggerated tone, he said, "Oh! All I can say is that everyone understands language differently. The person who came up with the nickname only meant to praise you, but you thought it was an insult."
"Praise?" Scott's eyebrows shot up. "You're telling me they meant to praise me by comparing me to a dog?"
Jacob nodded. "Honestly, I don't think it's a big deal. All the Four Houses at Hogwarts have their own mascots."
"..."
Scott suddenly thought this might have been a misunderstanding.
His thinking still bore the imprint of his previous life, and he'd naturally assumed that being called a dog was an insult.
But as it turned out... they hadn't meant it that way?
Of course, he could tell Jacob wasn't lying. And there was no point in deceiving him about something so easy to verify.
Seeing that Jacob was about to say more, Scott raised a hand to stop him. "Wait. You don't need to tell me who came up with the nickname."
"...Really?" Jacob asked uncertainly. "Maybe you should want to know? The nickname came from a girl who admires you."
"I don't want to know who it was." Scott's feelings were complicated.
Jacob shrugged. "All right. But don't worry—I've already let her know how much you hate that nickname."
"That's good." Scott didn't want to discuss the subject any further.
Jacob asked, "Then what about my payment?"
Scott said helplessly, "It doesn't feel like a great deal anymore, but I won't go back on an agreement."
"Thank you." Jacob smiled sincerely.
Looking at his expression, Scott felt unusually aggrieved.
But as he'd said, he had no intention of going back on his word.
"Three Transfiguration lessons, right? Fine. Let me know when you need them."
After Scott said that, Jacob left, satisfied.
Scott no longer felt like going back to the library to read, so he decided to return to Ravenclaw Tower.
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