Chapter 271. Harry's Animagus
Hermione's arrival made Harry's summer come alive.
They could practise spells together here—even if Harry had something in his mouth and could barely pronounce the incantations correctly.
In the blink of an eye, it was 23 July.
The full moon Harry had been waiting for was tonight!
In the evening, under Adrian Wesson's guidance, Harry removed the Mandrake leaf from his mouth.
When he finished, he let out a long breath of relief. "To be honest, that tasted awful."
"But absolutely worth it," Hermione said, a little envious. "Maybe I could try this magic too. What animal do you think you'll become?"
"Probably a stag. A wizard's Animagus is likely to match his Patronus, and Harry's Patronus is a stag."
As he spoke, Wesson handed Harry a small pouch containing the ingredients for brewing the Animagus potion.
"Patronus!" Hermione started, staring hard at Harry. "When did you learn that?"
Harry felt a chill down his spine under Hermione's stare and hurried to explain. "Last term—Professor Lupin taught me. All right, we'll talk about it later. I need to prepare the potion now."
The method for brewing the Animagus potion was simple: place a Mandrake leaf that has been bathed in pure moonlight, dew from a place untouched by sunlight or human contact for seven days, a Death's-head hawkmoth pupa, one of his own hairs, and a teaspoon of silver powder into a crystal vial and mix.
Harry finished the potion quickly.
Staring at the murky, unknown liquid in the vial, Hermione looked a bit worried. "Is… that a success?"
"Not yet," Wesson shook his head. "Harry, next you must put the crystal vial in a quiet, dark place. At sunrise and sunset every day, point your wand at your heart and recite the incantation until the next thunderstorm. The potion will turn blood-red. Do you remember the words?"
"Amado, Animo, Animado, Animagus."
Harry spoke the incantation fluently—he had rehearsed it countless times in advance. Any mistake would mean all his efforts were wasted, and that was a price he couldn't afford.
Two weeks later.
On an open patch of ground in the plantation.
Wesson found the two of them playing with Rai.
"Almost time, Harry. When do you plan to officially attempt the Animagus transformation?"
"Attempt?" Hermione immediately pointed out, "We still need a thunderstorm, Professor. You said Animagus transformation must be performed during a thunderstorm, or the potion will fail."
Harry nodded and looked up at the clear, cloudless sky.
"There'll be a heavy thunderstorm later," Wesson explained. "I checked the weather forecast."
Yes, the wizarding world had weather forecasts too, provided by the Ministry of Magic's Meteorological Office—very precise, usually printed in the newspapers.
In fact, Rai could call down a thunderstorm, but Wesson believed that this kind of artificial interference in the weather would affect the success rate of the Animagus.
At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the clouds began to roll, and a distant, muffled thunder could be heard.
Harry stood alone on a wide stretch of open ground, gripping the crystal vial; the potion inside had already turned dark red.
Wesson and Hermione watched from far off—the Animagus transformation must not be disturbed by anyone.
"There shouldn't be a problem, right?" Hermione looked somewhat uneasy.
"Animagus requires firm resolve and a strong will," Wesson said lightly. "As it happens, Harry has both."
As Harry's teacher, Wesson wasn't worried at all. After all, he was the protagonist.
The sky gradually darkened. The wind began to howl, lifting the fallen leaves. In the distance, a streak of lightning split the heavens, followed by a deafening peal of thunder.
Harry's heart pounded—this was it!
He pointed the tip of his wand at his heart and decisively spoke the incantation: "Amado, Animo, Animado, Animagus."
Then he pulled out the stopper and, without hesitation, downed the blood-red potion in one gulp.
In an instant, Harry felt a surge of intense pain, as if a second heart were beating inside him. At the same time, the image of a stag appeared in his mind. He knew this was the animal form he was about to become.
Another bolt of lightning struck. In the blinding white light, Harry's body began to change violently.
His limbs twisted and lengthened, his spine arched into a different angle, and the glasses on his face and the clothes on his body slowly merged with his skin as deep-brown fur spread rapidly across it.
In a heartbeat, a young stag stood proudly in the rain.
"You did it, Harry!" Hermione couldn't help cheering; her voice cut through the curtain of rain to Harry's ears.
The stag—Harry—looked down in a daze at his own hooves and tentatively took a step forward.
New to his stag form, Harry lowered his head to examine his hooves, and after a few testing steps he quickly adapted to the feel of running on four legs. He bounded lightly to the two of them, not even bothering to pick up the wand he'd dropped.
Wesson smiled in satisfaction. "A perfect transformation, Harry. Try changing back. It isn't difficult—just picture your human form as clearly as you can in your mind."
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated.
A few seconds later, Harry Potter stood before them, soaked to the skin, his face alight with irrepressible excitement.
"Incredible," Harry panted, wiping rain from his face. "I felt like I wasn't even human." Hermione fetched his wand from a distance and handed it to him, asking eagerly, "Was the transformation very difficult?"
"Easier than I expected," Harry said, taking the wand, his eyes shining. "It hurt at first, but it was bearable."
Hermione nodded seriously. "That's very useful to know."
For such marvellous magic, she certainly wouldn't give up learning it.
"There's one more thing to keep in mind," Wesson reminded him solemnly. "Don't reveal your Animagus form unless the other person is someone you trust one hundred per cent. I'm guessing you won't want to register with the Ministry of Magic."
"Of course not," Harry said; the excitement still hadn't fully faded from his face.
Very soon, Harry could perform the Animagus transformation with ease.
Over the next few days, Wesson saw a stag running back and forth in the plantation almost every day.
It had to be said, Harry's talent was truly outstanding. It reminded Wesson of his own past—he hadn't run into any problems at all when he'd practised Animagus.
Meanwhile, Hermione grew envious of Harry's Animagus and began to try it herself.
Unfortunately, after nearly twenty attempts that ended with her swallowing the Mandrake leaf, she temporarily gave up on the idea.
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