Chapter 469 469. Christmas is coming

"No! This is different from the fact that we were deducted house points for our mischief at Hogwarts!"

Fred's face changed.

"You fought with that French guy, what does this have to do with the Triwizard Tournament? Those French guys did it on purpose! You were the first place before, and they wanted to pull you down!"

"Of course they did it on purpose." Scott said.

"Why didn't you protest?" Fred looked at Dumbledore.

"Well... deducting 5 points doesn't sound like a big deal at first, and it seems that the punishment is not serious."

Roger touched his chin.

"But think about it carefully, they are treating two unrelated things as one thing."

Others listened to the analysis of the two people and looked at Dumbledore, wanting to hear what he said.

Dumbledore walked to the head of the long table and sat down, saying in a gentle tone: "Yes, you are right, but the deduction of points is not unnecessary."

Most people looked puzzled.

Dumbledore smiled and said to Scott: "Scott, you tell me, if it's you, I believe you will understand."

Scott nodded.

He walked to Dumbledore, faced the others, and bowed.

"First of all, I want to apologize to everyone. The points in the game are related to the honor of Hogwarts, but because of my behavior, I was deducted points."

"What nonsense are you talking about! Scott!" Fred immediately said loudly, "You are our warrior, and the points are originally earned by you in the game!"

Roger said: "I don't think you did anything wrong."

Others also spoke up.

"Fred and Roger are right."

"You don't need to apologize to us, Scott."

"This matter is the fault of those French guys!"

"If you ask me, you are just unlucky."

...

Hearing everyone comforting himself, Scott couldn't help laughing.

To be honest, he would not feel guilty about this matter, and even if someone blamed him for this matter, he would not be touched at all.

But if others could stand by him, just like now, he would also feel happy.

He further expressed his thoughts, "The decision to deduct points was made by Mr. Jolly from the French Ministry of Magic. Although he is somewhat suspected of taking advantage of the situation, I don't think he has real bad intentions. In a way, he actually helped me."

"Why do you say that?" Fred asked in surprise.

"It's a bit unfair, but we need this unfair way of handling it."

Scott continued to analyze.

"The family behind Waldo may attack me at any time, and even Professor Girard is watching there. In short, deducting points can at least shut her up."

He stopped here and gave others time to think.

Most people were still thinking about Scott's words, but several Slytherin students immediately understood what he meant and nodded.

They explained to the others one by one--

"You already know that in France, the strength of the Girard family cannot be underestimated."

"As a pure-blood family that has been operating in the French magic world for hundreds of years, they can always influence the decisions of the Ministry of Magic authorities through some means."

"The current situation in the UK is not very good, and they may not have the energy to deal with things here."

"Not everyone in the British Ministry of Magic is willing to help. There are always intricate connections between pure-blood families."

The few Slytherins who came here were not descendants of Death Eaters, so they had no scruples when saying certain things.

"If the Girard family is ready to retaliate against Scott with all their strength, I am sure they will be able to do a lot of things."

"As long as they are willing to pay the price, they may be able to temporarily change the law, put illegal shackles on Scott, and try to put him in jail."

"Although this is a hypothesis, they may not succeed, but there is one thing that is beyond doubt, they have the ability to cause us huge trouble."

"In contrast, deducting points is the best option."

"Points have been deducted, and the jury representing the opinions of all parties has reached a consensus. This means that the incident has ended on the surface and has been defined."

"In other words, this incident has been truly defined as a fight between students. Although it violates discipline, it is definitely not illegal."

"Mr. Jolly and Mr. Lefebvre have confirmed the results of the handling. They represent the French Ministry of Magic."

"In this way, the Girard family can no longer cause trouble for us through the French Ministry of Magic, because they have lost the name of revenge on the surface."

"That's it." Scott gave them a thumbs up.

As expected of Slytherin, the reaction to such things is the fastest.

Roger said, "But... so, is it possible that the Girard family is secretly taking revenge on Scott?"

Several Slytherins nodded.

"So, in the next period of time, Scott had better not be alone and should not leave Beauxbatons."

"Don't eat anywhere else outside the tower."

"There are still several months before the end of the championship, and everyone can't relax."

"Stay alert at all times."

Their solemn warnings made everyone nervous.

But soon, Dumbledore's kind voice sounded.

"Don't worry, children, and don't be too vigilant. I will stay here for a while."

He sat there and looked at the students with peaceful eyes.

Fred asked, "Until the end of the tournament?"

"Yes, if nothing else." Dumbledore nodded lightly.

"Very good."

"This way, they must not dare to do anything more."

Everyone became happy after hearing Dumbledore's words.

This is Dumbledore. As long as this old man is here, they will be completely confident.

"Everyone can move freely from now on, no longer confined to the tower." Dumbledore said in a relaxed tone.

He stood up, "Scott, come with me."

Afterwards, Scott followed Dumbledore to the top floor of the tower, which belonged to Dumbledore's room.

"Sorry, Scott." Dumbledore said, "Forgive me, I have too many things to worry about. As an old man over a hundred years old, my energy is really low."

Scott watched him sit in the chair.

After leaving the crowd, Dumbledore no longer looked as energetic and energetic.

His face, including his voice, was full of exhaustion.

"There are indeed better solutions to your problems, including the previous ban on Animagus." Dumbledore whispered, "But I always choose the most time-saving and energy-saving response."

Scott shook his head, "It's not your fault, I caused the trouble myself, and you have done a good enough job."

He knew Dumbledore wasn't doing his best to fight for him, but he didn't blame him.

Although Dumbledore focused most of his energy on the British wizarding world and was somewhat perfunctory about the Triwizard Tournament, Scott believed that this was the right choice.

As Dumbledore himself said, he is already over a hundred years old, but he still has to put the future of the British wizarding world on his shoulders. It is not easy to think about it.

Maybe he just couldn't let go of those things, and he was tired because of his own choice.

But no one can deny that Dumbledore is a good man, and he sincerely wants to strive for a better future for most people in the British wizarding community.

Scott wouldn't blame such an old man.

"As long as you understand." Dumbledore smiled happily, "You don't have to worry about what happens next, someone will help you."

Scott had an idea, "Is it Professor Russell?"

Dumbledore nodded, "It seems you have seen something from his attitude."

Scott said: "In Madame Maxime's office, his help to me was not subtle, I just didn't know why."

"Can't you imagine why I helped you like that?" said Dumbledore. "You will soon find out."

At this moment, there was a loud "pop" behind Scott.

He turned around and saw a house elf wearing a Hogwarts tea towel suddenly appearing in front of him, holding Professor Russell's hand.

"Dear Mr. Principal, Lulu has brought your distinguished guest."

The house elf, whom Scott also knew, let go of Professor Russell's hand, bowed, and then quickly disappeared.

"Welcome, Professor Russell."

Dumbledore stood up and shook hands with Professor Russell.

"Just call me August, Professor Dumbledore."

Professor Russell said politely.

"Okay, August, of course, you can call me Albus. Please sit down."

"Thanks."

After the two professors took their seats, Scott also politely greeted Professor Russell.

"Good afternoon, Professor Russell, thank you for helping me."

Professor Russell nodded.

He took off his white gloves and reached out to take the hot tea handed to him by Dumbledore.

"You're welcome, Mr. Trollope." He said slowly, "According to the agreement, during your stay at Beauxbatons, I will provide you with help and protect your safety."

"Promise?" Scott turned to look at Dumbledore.

"It's an agreement with the great ancient alchemist, Ms. Ravenclaw." Professor Russell said.

"Mentor Ravenclaw?" Scott asked in surprise, "I haven't heard of it."

During his time at Beauxbatons, although not often, he had not communicated with the portrait of his Ravenclaw mentor.

But the Ravenclaw master didn't mention it.

Professor Russell said: "After the first round of the competition, I learned about the existence of the portrait of Ms. Ravenclaw during my communication with Deng...Albus."

Scott remembered that it was he who asked Professor Russell to ask Dumbledore.

But he didn't expect that Dumbledore would directly tell the other party about the existence of the Ravenclaw mentor's portrait.

"Augudus wishes to exchange alchemy with a Ravenclaw lady," Dumbledore told Scott.

"I'm asking for advice." Professor Russell said, "According to the historical records handed down by the family, Ms. Ravenclaw has gone further in alchemy than most alchemists."

Dumbledore did not refute his words, but said: "I conveyed Augustus' request to Lady Ravenclaw, and Lady Ravenclaw put forward the conditions for him to help you."

Only then did Scott understand the reason for the whole thing.

It turned out to be because of the Ravenclaw tutor, no wonder...

It is not difficult to explain why Professor Russell, who seems to be indifferent to most things, got involved in today's troubles.

Scott had always had doubts before. Even if Professor Russell's protégé Lucio was involved in the incident, there was no need for him to go to that extent.

"But thank you very much, Professor Russell."

Regardless, the help is real.

If Professor Russell, whose family background was equal to or even better than Girard's, had not expressed his attitude, Professor Girard might not have been so easy to dismiss.

So Scott still said thank you.

Professor Russell nodded again, and then said: "I'm here to meet Ms. Ravenclaw."

"Of course it's no problem, since it was promised by Master Ravenclaw."

Scott said, taking out the photo-sized blank picture frame from the deformed lizard skin bag on his waist, and took out the wand.

He tapped the frame with his wand and called to Ravenclaw.

The blank picture frame was quickly dyed with color, and the dignified and beautiful figure of Ravenclaw emerged.

"tutor."

Scott put the picture frame on the table, and then softly recounted the current situation.

"I understand." Ravenclaw nodded slightly.

She did not make any comment on Scott's behavior, but looked directly at Professor Russell aside.

At this time, Professor Russell had already stood up from the sofa.

His eyes, which had always been unwavering, also changed drastically, and he was looking at the Ravenclaw in the painting with great respect.

"Hello, dear Lady Ravenclaw, I am Augustus Russell."

He spoke standard English and performed a wizard's salute gracefully.

"Hello, Russell." The Ravenclaw in the painting smiled slightly, "Thank you for helping to take care of my apprentice."

"This is my honor." Professor Russell said politely.

That's the end of the pleasantries.

Immediately afterwards, Professor Russell took two steps forward and couldn't wait to exchange alchemy with Ravenclaw.

"Dear Madam, there are several alchemical questions that have been bothering me. I hope to hear your answers here..."

At first, Scott listened with interest and was very curious about the content of their exchange.

But as their conversation deepened, Scott gradually couldn't keep up.

Although he could understand many words, he could not understand what they were saying specifically.

The conversation between the two was fast, and many alchemical terms and alphanumeric abbreviations were used in the sentences. Scott seemed to be listening to a book from heaven.

Since he didn't understand and didn't dare to disturb, he took a few steps back and stood aside.

When he saw Dumbledore but still listened with interest, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Dumbledore was indeed a genuine master of alchemy.

This exchange lasted for a long time, until night fell, and ended with Professor Russell's reluctance.

Ravenclaw said: "Roselle, you are a rare alchemical genius. You can come and communicate with me at any time during the days when Scott stays at Beauxbatons."

"Thank you for your generosity, my dear Lady Ravenclaw. In turn, I will ensure the safety of your apprentice at Beauxbatons."

Finally, Professor Russell left with a satisfied smile.

After he left, Scott solemnly thanked his mentor.

"It's just a piece of cake." Ravenclaw said, "Grow up faster, my apprentice."

She nodded to Dumbledore again and disappeared from the frame.

Over the next few days, Scott and the others resumed their normal pace.

The Christmas holidays have arrived and the first semester of the school year has come to an end.

Since they had to attend the Yule Ball, the students who no longer had classes did not leave, so the Beauxbatons campus was still very lively.

only……

Previous events were not without impact.

Although Waldo did not appear again, Waldo's followers seemed to be frightened by Scott and were secretly promoting his cruelty.

In the first round of the Triwizard Tournament, Scott was the best performer among the three warriors. He has always been very popular, and many Beauxbatons students would take the initiative to say hello to him.

But now his popularity has plummeted, and fewer people will take the initiative to say hello to him. The Beauxbatons students even secretly gave him a nickname.

"The Impaler of England."

When Lucio secretly told Scott this nickname, everyone couldn't stop laughing.

"They said that you chained Waldo with a chain full of thorns, making him covered in blood. Then you made him experience the feeling of being pierced by wooden stakes ten times, which made him extremely painful."

"..."

Scott could only be speechless.

Those people thought too highly of Waldo.

If he really let Waldo experience the feeling of being impaled on a stake ten times, would that guy still have a chance to survive?

"Everyone thinks you're imitating Vlad III. Even scarier than Vlad III."

Lucio also pretended to pat Scott on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, man, rumors just don't make sense."

Scott looked at him with dead fish eyes.

If the boy hadn't been shaking with laughter, he might have thought he was sincerely comforting him.

Not surprisingly, this inexplicable nickname also spread to the ears of other members of the Hogwarts delegation, and through them to Hogwarts itself.

"Here he comes! Lord Impaler of England, Vlad IV!"

Fred was always weird like this.

Even when Scott threatens to string him on a stake, he enjoys it.

In addition, before Christmas, Scott's brewing work began to enter the mashing process.

This step is not easy either.

First, Scott needs to crush the processed malt to make malt powder.

Then mix the malt powder with warm water and put it into the saccharification tank, allowing the saccharification feedback to occur naturally.

The difficulty in the mashing process is to control the temperature and time. Too high temperature or too long time will affect the quality of wort.

While continuing to make wine, Scott also remembered to prepare Christmas gifts for his friends.

He borrowed a mail order list from Lucio, selected some gifts with French characteristics, and selected all the Christmas gifts through mail order.

At that time, the store will package the gifts according to the address he left and send them directly to his friends.

And he only needs to spend a few more gold galleons in service fees for this.

Seeing Scott's operation, other members of the Hogwarts delegation also imitated him and used this method to get their gifts.

Christmas is coming in the midst of busyness.

The first thing Scott got was a surprise the day before Christmas.

Professor Flitwick came to Beauxbatons in person and brought him the best Christmas gift——

Already made magic potion.

Professor Flitwick told him, "It is very difficult to make magic-enhancing potions. Even a potion master like Damocles Belby never succeeded in the first attempt."

At this time, they were sitting on the top floor of the tower, in Dumbledore's room.

Scott was holding a bottle of magic potion in his hand.

The crystal bottle containing the potion is small, only as thick as a thumb. The potion in the bottle is as red as blood, extremely beautiful, and shines like ruby.

"Oh, is this the magic potion that Ms. Ravenclaw gave you?" Dumbledore also looked at the potion in Scott's hand curiously, "Try it quickly and let's see how it works. "

Scott nodded, peeled off the wax seal on the bottle, pulled out the cork, raised his head and drank the blood-red potion in the bottle.

Soon, he felt a hot flame appear in his body, burning from his abdominal cavity throughout his internal organs, limbs and bones.

The unbearable heat filled every blood vessel, every nerve, and even every cell.

"Um……"

Scott gritted his teeth, but couldn't help but let out a groan.

"Oh, Scott, how are you, are you okay?"

Professor Flitwick asked with concern.

Scott shook his head.

"Tolerable," he replied reluctantly.

"You don't need to speak," Professor Flitwick said, "Don't worry, Albus and I will be watching you."

"ah……"

Scott's mind suddenly went blank, and he couldn't help shouting.

When he regained consciousness, he found that his magic power was rioting.

The full magic power was boiling like boiling water, already making his body feel full.

But Scott himself was powerless, and he couldn't even control the magic of his rebellion.

Everything in the office flew up in an instant and kept spinning in the air.

At the same time, Scott himself was floating in the air.

Professor Flitwick and Dumbledore both jumped off the sofa and waved their wands to stabilize the items flying around.

"Hold on!" Dumbledore said, "Control your sudden increase in magic power with all your strength!"

Hearing his words, Scott started trying.

At first, his attempts had little success.

The magic power that used to be unusually obedient was like a scurrying rat, and he was like the incompetent person holding up his slippers who couldn't catch the rat.

But he didn't give up and still tried his best to control his magic power.

As time passed, perhaps because the effect of the medicine had worn off, or perhaps because of Scott's efforts, the magic finally calmed down.

The two professors waved their wands repeatedly to make the floating objects fall gently on the carpet. They also directed a sofa to move over and catch Scott who fell from the air.

Scott's back made contact with the soft sofa and bounced a few times.

He took a few breaths and finally regained his ability to move independently, so he immediately sat up.

"Oh Scott, how are you feeling?"

Professor Flitwick walked up to him and observed him carefully.

"Um……"

Scott closed his eyes to feel himself, then opened his eyes.

"The magic power has increased a lot, obviously." Scott opened his fingers and clenched his fist again, "Now I should be able to complete magic that I couldn't cast before."

Dumbledore on the side nodded, "Although I can't sense the situation inside your body, I can feel that the magic field around you has strengthened a lot."

"That's right, your magic power is already stronger than that of most adult wizards!" Professor Flitwick said excitedly, "Coupled with the continued growth brought about by physical development, you will have magic power that far exceeds that of others in the future! "

Scott said; "Thank you also, Professor Flitwick, for helping me contact the potion master and for coming all the way to give me the potion."

"This is nothing." Professor Flitwick waved his hand, "I wouldn't trust an owl to deliver such a precious potion."

Scott knew that although he would feel uneasy leaving it to an owl, Professor Flitwick could still ask a house elf to deliver it.

He nodded without saying much, keeping all his gratitude to Professor Flitwick in his heart.

Professor Flitwick sighed, "It's a pity that such a potion is so rare. Even a potions master like Belby who always likes to use precious materials has difficulty collecting enough medicinal materials. In short, the magic potion does not have the conditions for universality.”

"It is indeed a pity." Dumbledore said, "If it can be popularized, the magic level of young wizards will increase rapidly, and more geniuses will appear in the wizarding world."

Professor Flitwick said: "Belby did not disclose the secret recipe of the potion. He believed that the potion would further widen the gap between wizards at different levels and further enhance the ambitions of some people."

"He is right." Dumbledore sat down again. "The high price of magic potion means that only a few wizards can own it. Most wizards in the wizarding world can neither afford the medicine nor have the means to hire a potion master. Produce.”

Professor Flitwick said: "Belby is trying to improve the secret recipe, but of course, there is no progress so far. After all, the same is true for the wolfsbane potion he invented. Because it is expensive, it has not been popularized among werewolves."

Scott also felt very lucky when he listened to the conversation between the two.

If the secret recipe for the potion didn't come from his hands, there would be no way for him to get it.

But now that he had obtained it, and the secret recipe for the potion had been handed over to Damocles Belby as agreed, he didn't care about the rest.

Since he had to rush back to Hogwarts for Christmas, Professor Flitwick did not stay in Beauxbatons for too long. After confirming the results of Scott drinking the magic potion, he left in a hurry.

On Christmas Day, when Scott woke up from bed, there were already piles of gifts under his bed.

Fred was awake too, rubbing his eyes and looking at his own pile.

"Those owls are working really hard," he muttered.

As Scott got straight into opening presents in his pajamas, Roger got up too.

"Oh, there are always no surprises in Mom's gifts."

Fred pulled a red sweater from among the gifts.

"It seems Mrs. Weasley has prepared a gift for me too."

Scott saw the same box in front of him.

After opening it, he got a blue sweater.

The color of this sweater is very bright, and there is a large bronze trophy pattern on the chest. Below the trophy are capital letters spelling out the word "Champion".

"Isn't it too arrogant?" Scott gestured with the sweater in front of him, "If I wear it before I actually win the championship, I will be laughed at."

Fred said: "No, even if you win the championship, I will still laugh at you. Only Percy would stick all the honors he got on his body!"

"What you said makes sense."

Scott put down his sweater and started looking through other people's gifts.

Eddie sent him a written article.

[If you succeed in winning the championship, this article will be published on the front page of the Daily Prophet in Hollingworth's name. ]

Scott glanced at it and found that the entire article was full of praise for him, but it was written in such a witty way that it made him laugh.

But before Fred and Roger looked over, he put the parchment away as quickly as possible.

If they saw it, it would be too shameful, and it would definitely be publicized and ridiculed.

The gift from Milton was a music box.

[This is what I tried to make myself. This song called "Come on, Scott" is also specially written for you. Come on, Scott! ]

Scott opened the lid of the music box, tightened the winding, and listened to the sweet melody coming from it, and couldn't help but feel guilty.

Because the gifts Eddie and Milton prepared were more thoughtful than the gifts he himself prepared for them.

Next comes a gift from Luna.

The gifts Luna prepared were always full of whimsy, and this time it was no surprise.

Her gift was a silver tiara with a huge gold seven-pointed star in front of it, inlaid with eight white pearls and a square red gem.

Of course, these gold, silver, gems, pearls and other materials are not real, but cardboard painted with corresponding colors.

Scott always felt that this crown looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

So he found the small note written by Luna from the gift box.

[This is a tiara I made myself, based on the pattern on the portrait of Vlad III. I believe it can bring you good luck. Come on, Scott. ]

good luck? Where did it come from?

Scott was speechless for a moment.

But he still put the tiara on his head.

Soon, he had finished opening all the other gifts, and nothing more interesting appeared.

Fred and Roger, who were in the same room with him, gave each other regular mail-order gifts, which had long since lost their surprise.

"Oh Scott, what's that on your head?"

Fred stared curiously at the silver crown on Scott's head.

"Can't you see?" Scott shook his head.

"It looks familiar, but I can't remember it right now." Roger also looked over.

Scott shrugged, "This is Vlad III's crown, a gift made by Luna herself."

Fred and Roger both laughed.

Fred said regretfully: "Why didn't I think of that? I should have given you a long sharp wooden stake, the Impaler of England."

"It's not too late for you to cut down a tree now. As long as you dare to give it to me, I will take it." Scott said unhappily, "Then I will use it to string you on the top of the tower."