Chapter : 152 Bloody Baron
“Take these Canary Cream biscuits with you, little Green. We should at least give them something in return.
“Pist and I are going to visit that idiot… Bruce… in the hospital wing. Hopefully he’s dead.”
Senior Leon and Senior Pist left the greenhouse.
The five of them wrapped themselves in their thick robes and headed back toward the castle.
“Oh, Merlin… I have to say, Shane, your Transfiguration is incredible!”
Ron gestured excitedly as he mimicked the snowman, imagining himself mastering the same spell and then punching Malfoy square in the face.
The thought made him grin foolishly.
“Keep working at it, Ron. Your Transfiguration hasn’t even reached apprentice level yet.”
Harry shattered his daydream.
Ron’s face was already flushed with excitement.
“I will, Harry.”
Beside him, Justin curiously examined the Canary Cream biscuit in his hand. He still found it hard to believe that it could actually transform someone into a canary.
Shane also studied one of the biscuits.
He could sense the magical circuitry hidden inside it, and it reminded him of his current objective:
To raise his Transfiguration of living creatures into living creatures to the proficient level.
Inside the House of Requirement.
Shane flicked his wand.
In the blink of an eye, a beetle transformed into an owl. It flapped its wings, circled the room several times, and then reverted back into a beetle.
Several thick robes were drying beside the fireplace.
The room was filled with the warm, sweet aroma of steaming pumpkin pastries drifting between the chairs.
Shane could hear Justin enthusiastically telling Hermione about everything that had happened in the greenhouse.
Hermione occasionally gasped in surprise, while Harry and Ron eagerly interrupted to add more details.
The room was noisy.
Yet somehow, it wasn’t annoying at all.
After today’s experience, Shane finally had a rough idea of his current limits.
At his absolute maximum, he could make a snowman several meters tall move for about five minutes.
If he didn’t worry about precise control and only gave it a single simple command, both its size and duration could increase dramatically.
The snowman’s durability was also surprisingly flexible.
Its body could be made of loose, powdery snow…
Or compacted snow that had accumulated over many years, as hard as stone.
Perhaps this was the true nature of magic.
It obeyed the wizard’s will.
Of course, advanced Transfiguration demanded both precision and experience.
At the moment, the only advanced animated constructs Shane knew how to create were snowmen and fire salamanders.
Perhaps it was time to learn something new.
Animated armor…
Or animated stone guardians…
The warmth from the fireplace gently stirred the vines and notebooks spread across Shane’s desk.
One of Professor McGonagall’s notes slowly turned to another page.
His eyes landed on a familiar incantation.
Piertotum Locomotor.
Piertotum Locomotor is classified as advanced Transfiguration. Its primary purpose is to grant movement and combat capability to inorganic constructs such as stone statues and suits of armor.
While the spell remains active, the animated objects can execute physical actions such as slashing, charging, and defending. Once the protective magical structure sustaining the spell collapses, the object returns to its original motionless state.
This spell requires exceptional magical precision and continuous control from the caster in order to maintain the animation.
Reading Professor McGonagall’s lengthy explanation, Shane could clearly appreciate how difficult this branch of Transfiguration truly was.
The logic behind transforming objects into magical constructs had always been straightforward.
The larger the object…
The harder the spell.
The more complex the object…
The harder the spell.
The more complicated the instructions…
The harder the spell.
Because of that, Shane still had an extremely long road ahead before he could perform Transfiguration on the same overwhelming scale seen during the Battle of Hogwarts.
For now…
It was time to head to Professor McGonagall’s office.
Along the corridor, snow slipped from the edges of the stained-glass windows, falling with crisp little sounds.
“Oh—little Green!”
Whenever he passed by, the Fat Lady would always stop Shane to chat about Professor McGonagall.
Sometimes Violet would join in and add amusing little stories.
For example…
On McGonagall’s very first Transfiguration lesson, she had transformed a matchstick into a silver needle.
By her second lesson…
She was already turning mice into snuffboxes.
The longer Shane listened…
The stranger it all began to feel.
Then he noticed both ladies staring directly at him.
“You know, little Green,” the Fat Lady sighed, “if someone told me you and little McGonagall were related somehow… I’d believe it without question. Merlin bless us, to think that…”
“Oh—don’t say it—you’ll ruin—”
Violet hurriedly whispered.
The Fat Lady immediately covered her mouth.
“Ah… ah… it’s nothing…”
she said awkwardly.
Shane looked at her suspiciously.
The Fat Lady immediately began stammering.
“Ah… ah… the weather… yes… the weather is wonderful today… and the sun is shining so brightly…”
“There isn’t any sun today.”
Violet quickly corrected her.
“Oh! I mean… at least… it isn’t raining…”
“It is!”
Sir Cadogan shouted as he passed by.
“It’s sleet!”
“You wretched knight!”
The Fat Lady seemed grateful for the interruption.
The three portraits quickly drifted away from above Shane’s head.
Shane frowned.
Something definitely seemed unusual.
Recently…
Professor McGonagall had been acting strangely.
She was constantly writing letters.
Writing…
Receiving…
Sending…
It had become part of her daily routine.
Every once in a while, Shane caught sight of the signature at the bottom.
Roland.
He felt as though he had seen that name somewhere before.
Yet he couldn’t remember where.
It was as if the owner of that name had only left the faintest trace in his past.
The mystery only made him more curious.
The afternoon corridors were unusually lively.
Shane stepped onto the carpet.
Professor McGonagall’s office was only a short distance away.
Just then…
A wide face with a huge mouth and bright round eyes suddenly poked out from the wall.
The figure wore brightly colored clothes, a necktie, and a hat, and was secretly tugging at the carpet.
Shane was about to speak…
When another ghost emerged through the wall.
He was frighteningly thin.
His vacant eyes stared blankly ahead.
Silver blood covered his robes.
It was the Bloody Baron.
The Bloody Baron glanced at Shane…
Then let out a strange, eerie chuckle.
Peeves gasped in horror, nearly tumbling out of the air.
He barely managed to steady himself, hovering about a foot above the staircase.
“S-Sorry, Your Bloodiness! Mr. Baron! My Lord!”
he said in the sweetest voice he could manage.
“My fault! Entirely my fault! I didn’t see you just now! Of course I couldn’t—you were invisible! Please forgive little Peeves for this tiny little joke, my lord!”
But it was no use.
The Bloody Baron floated after him.
“I’m done for—!”
Peeves wailed miserably.
Every young wizard who witnessed the scene burst into laughter.
After studying at Hogwarts for so long, it was rare to see Peeves suffering such terrible luck.
Normally, he was the one tormenting everyone else.
Now that the tables had turned, many students eagerly chased after the ghosts to see what would happen next.
Meanwhile…
Shane silently watched everything unfold.
He had actually been planning to seek out the Bloody Baron himself.
Yet the ghost had appeared on his own.
