While Maurise was lost in thought, Professor McGonagall asked, "To what level have you advanced your Transfiguration?"
"Hmm... about this level?"
Maurise drew his wand and gave it a precise flick, casting a Transfiguration spell on a wooden chair in the corner.
A second later, the chair stretched and morphed, seamlessly transforming into a small, realistic ostrich.
"This is the best transfiguration I can manage right now," Maurise stated calmly.
No sooner had he spoken than the ostrich began to run amok in the office. It immediately headbutted and overturned a nearby desk, sending a cascade of items crashing to the floor.
Professor McGonagall remained unfazed. She simply gave her wand a few sharp flicks. The mess was swiftly restored to its original state, and the panicked ostrich was rooted to the spot.
She then slowly circled the bird, observing it with intense scrutiny.
"There are almost no flaws," she evaluated with a nod. "Anyone would believe this is a real ostrich, Maurise."
Maurise nodded calmly.
In reality, his Transfiguration had recently hit a bottleneck. Lately, he had been trying to engineer his own methodology for casting Transfiguration spells, but progress had been slow. Transfiguration was easy to grasp at the beginner level, but incredibly difficult to truly master.
"With your current proficiency, you're more than capable of sitting for your O.W.L. exams," Professor McGonagall revealed a rare hint of satisfaction. "If you maintain this standard, getting an 'Outstanding' won't be a problem."
"I thought that was a fifth-year exam," Maurise noted.
"Yes, so you still have two full years to prepare," Professor McGonagall said smoothly. "There's no need to worry."
Maurise, of course, never worried about exams. That was his strongest suit.
Professor McGonagall gave her wand another gentle flick, releasing the ostrich. It quickly walked back to its original position and reverted into a wooden chair.
"Professor McGonagall," Maurise suddenly spoke up. "If I want to study the Animagus transformation, what procedures do I need to follow?"
"An Animagus?"
Professor McGonagall looked surprised. "Why on earth would you want to learn that? It's an extremely difficult and volatile piece of magic. I don't think you should bite off more than you can chew at your age."
Maurise frowned slightly. "Am I not allowed to even try?"
"Let me think."
Professor McGonagall fell silent, pacing slowly across her office.
Given the proficiency Maurise had just demonstrated, he did meet the minimum requirements to initiate Animagus training. But it was only the minimum.
After careful consideration, Professor McGonagall stopped in front of Maurise, her expression stern. "I can outline the requirements and procedures for the Animagus transformation. However, if you really want to try it, you must tell me in advance and conduct the entire process under my supervision."
"Because if you fail, you could permanently remain an animal, or worse, mutate into a grotesque half-human, half-animal monstrosity."
She knew this student too well. Even if she outright refused, Maurise would bypass her authority and get the Animagus methodology from questionable sources.
Rather than letting him conduct dangerous, unmonitored experiments in secret, it was safer to keep him under her supervision. More importantly, she needed to ensure he understood the profound dangers associated with this branch of magic.
At that moment, Maurise had no idea what Professor McGonagall was calculating in her mind. If he did, he would undoubtedly say: 'You understand me way too well.'
"Thank you, Professor," Maurise said sincerely.
Professor McGonagall gave a slight nod, turned toward her massive bookshelf, and began searching. "Fortunately, I kept my personal notes from when I underwent my own Animagus training. Perhaps you know this, but I've published several academic papers on the subject."
Maurise hadn't actually looked into that. He made a mental note to review her publications when he had free time. As a recognized master of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall's papers would undoubtedly be phenomenal reference material.
Two minutes later, Professor McGonagall pulled a thin, worn notebook from the corner of the shelf and handed it to Maurise.
The parchment cover had hardened and warped over the decades, and the edges were frayed. It obviously possessed significant age. Considering Professor McGonagall's tenure, however, this was expected.
Professor McGonagall smoothed her robes. "The underlying Transfiguration theory back then was slightly different, and several terms have since been updated. However, the core process of becoming an Animagus has remained unchanged. There is still time before the dinner feast; you can open it and review it now. This notebook details the complete process."
Maurise sat down in a nearby armchair and eagerly opened the notebook.
The handwriting was crisp and elegant, evidently penned by Professor McGonagall during her youth. The content mirrored her personality: concise and rigorous.
Notably, at the end of each step, there were detailed annotations highlighting safety precautions and potential failure points. These notes would undoubtedly prove valuable.
Just over ten minutes later, Maurise had skimmed through the entire manual.
Professor McGonagall hadn't been idle while he read; she had been sitting quietly behind her desk, processing a stack of paperwork. Seeing Maurise close the notebook, she set down her quill and looked up. "Well?"
Maurise answered honestly. "It's difficult, complex, and requires a massive investment of time."
He wasn't exaggerating.
The first step of the Animagus transformation required the practitioner to hold a single Mandrake leaf inside their mouth for an entire month—without swallowing it or removing it once.
The next steps were even more demanding and dependent on specific weather conditions. Suffice it to say, this wasn't magic you could casually complete over a weekend.
"Indeed it is," Professor McGonagall said with a faint smile. "To safely master this magic, one typically needs a minimum of several years of dedicated practice."
After a brief moment of calculation, Maurise concluded, "I think it's best to temporarily shelve my plans to learn the Animagus transformation."
Professor McGonagall didn't look surprised to hear this pragmatic decision.
"That is your prerogative. The Animagus transformation isn't a magic every wizard needs to attempt. In reality, the vast majority of the magical population will never even touch the theory in their lives."
"But if you ever do decide to attempt it one day, you must notify me first."
She was terrified that, after some random holiday break, Maurise would casually stroll into the Great Hall sporting a permanent animal head. The side effects of a botched Animagus transformation couldn't be cured by downing a few standard potions. Throughout history, countless arrogant wizards had met grim fates attempting this magic.
She refused to let her most talented student become a grim statistic.
"I understand, Professor," Maurise replied smoothly.
He certainly wouldn't be attempting it in the short term. At the earliest, he would wait until the Easter holidays in two months. There was no need to rush the process.
---
The second half of the Hogwarts academic term commenced.
Cushioned by the relaxing Christmas holidays, the panic generated by Sirius Black's intrusion last term had faded significantly across the student body.
Unfortunately, the man himself was still at large.
Maurise couldn't help but feel exasperated with the Ministry of Magic.
'This is the magical world! We have divination, tracking spells, and teleportation! Is it really this difficult to locate a single fugitive?'
Furthermore, Sirius Black's primary radius had already been established—he was lurking within the immediate vicinity of Hogwarts.
The Ministry's sheer incompetence was difficult to comprehend.
'Speaking of which, that peculiar Unspeakable had extended an invitation for me to join the Ministry's Department of Mysteries...'
'Yeah. That is an unappealing career prospect.'