Halfway back to Ravenclaw Tower, Scott was stopped by the two Mr. Weasleys.
"Scott!" Fred leaned in and winked at him. "I don't know if you remember, but we'll be taking Care of Magical Creatures together again soon."
Scott looked at him strangely. "Of course I remember. What about it...?"
George cut in at breakneck speed. "This week, we're going to officially cut off one of that poor little dog's tails!"
Scott suddenly realized what he meant. "Oh! The Painless Severing Charm! Sorry, I forgot."
Actually, I didn't forget, Scott thought.
It just wasn't high on his list of priorities, so he hadn't gotten around to it yet.
"Forgotten? Merlin!"
George deliberately put on a horrified expression. He looked at Scott as if he'd just seen Snape in a lace skirt.
In an exaggerated, disbelieving voice, he said, "You? Scott? Scott, the Ravenclaw House top student? You actually forgot to study!"
"Fred!" He turned to look at Fred. "Are we dreaming right now?"
"Maybe," Fred replied at once in a dreamy voice. "Or perhaps Scott's been hit with a powerful Confundus Charm!"
"All right, all right, it's my fault." Scott raised his hands in surrender and assured them, "Don't worry, I'll get it done before Care of Magical Creatures this week!"
He smiled. "Or maybe our other group member, Roger, has already learned it? I'll go ask him."
"Let's hope so." Fred winked. "At least one person in our group has to learn the spell. Otherwise, we'll have to use Diffindo to turn that little dog's two tails into eight!"
George grinned at his brother. "If we did that, maybe the Crup would bite your butt into eight pieces?"
Scott laughed too. "Now that you mention it, I'm looking forward to seeing that."
"Oh, you're wicked, Scott."
Fred suddenly reached out and grabbed the raven perched on Scott's shoulder.
"Is this your new pet, Scott?"
He ran his fingers over the raven's glossy black feathers a few times.
"What's its name?" George reached out and gently poked the raven's head with one finger. "Why doesn't it caw?"
Scott made something up on the spot. "Obviously, it's a wild bird, so it doesn't have a name yet."
He reached out, and the raven immediately hopped from Fred's hand into his palm.
"Maybe Filch and Hagrid have been so thorough with their pest control around the castle lately that it's running out of food and has decided to stick with me."
His hand gently stroked the raven's feathers, but a cruel smile suddenly appeared on his face. "The reason it doesn't caw is that its call is too loud and unpleasant, so I cut out its tongue."
Fred and George immediately covered their mouths and took a step back.
Just then, several short screams came from nearby.
A few younger Gryffindors happened to be passing by and had heard what Scott said. Now they were staring at him in terror, their eyes wide.
Fred and George immediately got into the spirit of things. Pretending to be frightened, they said in unison, "You looked like you wanted to cut out our tongues too!"
"I do feel that way a lot of the time." Scott's expression grew more and more sinister.
"Oh! Please spare us!" Fred and George pretended to tremble with fear.
At that moment, a red-haired little girl among the younger students bravely stepped forward.
"You... you can't do that!" She looked frightened, but still glared angrily at Scott.
"Red hair?" Scott glanced at her and deliberately began imitating Snape's manner of speaking. "Another Weasley?"
"Oh, Scott!"
Fred quickly pulled the little girl behind him, putting on a noble, self-sacrificing air.
"She's our innocent little sister!" George stepped forward too. "We won't let you hurt her!"
Scott glanced coldly at the little girl behind them.
"Is that so?" He was still using Snape's tone. "I'm not interested in your affairs, but you're disturbing me."
He drew his wand and lightly traced its tip over the raven's feathers.
He continued, "Just like this bird, your tongues are going to be cut out too."
"No!" Fred said indignantly. "You're too cruel! How are we supposed to cast spells without our tongues?"
Scott's mouth twitched.
Fred's enthusiasm for acting was so intense that he'd even started speaking in an operatic voice.
But when the corner of his eye caught sight of the first-years, Scott couldn't help but twitch his mouth again.
Judging from the expressions on these "audience members," they were even more caught up in the act than the "actors."
Scott continued the performance. "Cast spells? Don't worry. Maybe Madam Pomfrey can reattach your tongues. Just remember to remind her, so she doesn't mix up the two of yours."
Fred and George instantly looked disgusted.
But George immediately turned into a hero about to face his end. He turned to his sister and shouted, "Ginny, you go on ahead!"
Ginny Weasley's face had gone pale, and her eyes were red, but she still shakily pulled out her wand.
It seemed she wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with her brothers.
The other Gryffindor first-years didn't run off either. They all drew their wands with trembling hands.
Scott thought that if this went on, these young wizards might accidentally start a real fight. It wouldn't be good if they attracted a professor's attention, so he stopped the act.
His wand drew an arc, and he said the incantation for Reparo.
Afterward, the raven that had been moving around in his hand gradually stiffened, and the grain of wood appeared across its body.
"Oh! Is it over?" George asked with a grin.
"Is this your new prank?" Fred snatched the Raven Woodcarving from Scott's hand and turned it over and over as he examined it.
"I like this!" George clapped a few times, then offered a suggestion. "Your expression just now wasn't sinister enough, Scott."
He leaned in and whispered, "Just like the way you spoke, you could imitate that greasy old bat Snape."
"I'll try to improve next time." Scott nodded, accepting his advice.
"Fred! George!"
Ginny Weasley roared angrily and grabbed her book, hurling it at the Twins.
"You two idiots!" After throwing the book, she charged over and started punching and kicking them.
"Oh, Ginny!"
"You're exactly like Mum when you get angry!"
Fred and George hurriedly dodged, laughing.
Scott stood to one side, his gaze passing over the stunned young wizards as he secretly observed and sensed Ginny Weasley's furious state.
She was a key figure in the "Chamber of Secrets Incident."
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