Passive... skill?
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly, raising her eyebrows as she examined Erina.
This sentence was practically equivalent to an uncomfortable response like, "I was born this cute."
And what frustrated Professor McGonagall the most was that, even though she subconsciously raised her guard, her gaze would still soften slightly when it met Erina's face – the child was indeed especially well-behaved when eating.
"Alright, Miss Kaslana, you know why you're here."
McGonagall cleared her throat, her expression serious.
"Professor Dumbledore hopes that I will guide you in completing the Animagus transformation and find a way to solve the problem of you being unable to cast normal Transfiguration spells. I hope you can adopt a proper attitude and not play the little tricks you pulled in class before..."
"Mmm." Erina swallowed the biscuit she had been using to swear, and nodded.
Of course, she knew what Professor McGonagall was referring to—
If it hadn't been for the fact that the snails could move, she would have almost successfully bluffed her way through Transfiguration class last semester with her ingenious "binary architecture modification magic," and wouldn't have ended up having to attend remedial classes here every weekend.
"Then, I have a small question, Professor."
Erina raised her hand, her gaze sweeping around the small room.
"Isn't it a bit too small here? Perhaps we should move to a more spacious area?"
"Perhaps later, but not for the time being—"
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow, tapping her wand lightly on the desk.
Immediately, the desk rapidly extended outward, sprouting an extra desk.
"Before starting magical experiments, I think we should return to the initial step – the basics of Transfiguration. Perhaps you have your own understanding, but I hope that from now on, you can try to forget that knowledge and relearn it. Think like a modern wizard, rather than based on the framework formed by the alchemical knowledge in your head..."
Professor McGonagall paused for a few seconds, took a light breath, and said softly.
"Ancient alchemy may be more wondrous, but I think the role of Transfiguration is still irreplaceable, isn't it?"
"Obviously, Professor," Erina said.
A spell is a controllable use of magic, presented in a supernatural way, with the aim of influencing all things in the world.
Among these, Transfiguration is clearly the most special category – the Hogwarts curriculum clearly demonstrates this uniqueness. Apart from Transfiguration spells, most spell teachings are unified in Charms class.
On the other hand, this is also the only magical ability that Erina has yet to master.
As a "special witch" who deeply understands the microscopic material realm and chemical bond transformations, she really couldn't find an opportunity in her mind to understand Transfiguration magic. Her previous attempts had only resulted in a different outcome for the magic.
Nicolas Flamel, and the alchemical magic that those ancient wizards were good at, rather than Transfiguration.
This also led to a conclusion: changing the molecular structure of an object to change its form is not the essence of modern Transfiguration. The "world truth" hidden behind Transfiguration should be a different logical principle.
"Alright, Transfiguration, let's go back to the beginning... Do you know how many subcategories Transfiguration is divided into?"
Professor McGonagall raised her wand, and paper and pen appeared beside Erina.
Along with the parchment and quill, there was also a complete set of Transfiguration textbooks, from first year to seventh year.
"Um... seven? Or eight types?"
Erina counted silently for a few seconds, not opening the book, and replied, ticking off on her fingers.
"Ordinary Transfiguration (transformation), Human Transfiguration (humantransfiguration), Untransfiguration (untransfiguration), Switching (switching), Trans-species Transformation (trans-speciestransformation), Vanishment (vanishment), Conjuration (Conjuration) — and, Animagus (Animagus)?"
She looked at Professor McGonagall uncertainly, wondering if her categorization covered all types.
Since talking with Nearly Headless Nick, Erina was very sure that Human Transfiguration could not turn into animals.
Professor McGonagall stared at Erina for a while, her lips seeming not as tightly pursed as before.
"Almost correct, except for the last one – Animagus refers to a wizard who can transform into a certain animal while retaining magical power. If categorizing Transfiguration, it should be called Animagi (Animagi)—"
"If? What does that mean, doesn't it belong to a subcategory of Transfiguration?"
“Strictly speaking, it’s slightly different from other Transfiguration spells —”
"Because Animagi doesn't belong to Transfiguration spell?"
Erina reacted quickly, keenly catching the information in Professor McGonagall's words.
"I must say, your comprehension is very high, Miss Kaslana."
Professor McGonagall said softly, a hint of appreciation flashing in her eyes behind her square glasses.
"Animagi is undoubtedly an advanced type of Transfiguration magic, but it does not rely on the casting logic and casting actions of common Transfiguration spells to achieve its purpose. This is why we call this class a parallel teaching attempt."
Professor McGonagall paused for a few seconds, waiting for Erina to write down the notes on the parchment, and then continued.
"Unlike regular Transfiguration spells, the secret of Animagus lies in potion, a time-consuming, cumbersome, and mysterious special magical potion. It can bypass understanding and casting actions, and directly present the desired result of the transformation..."
"First of all, for an entire month – from full moon to full moon – you must continuously hold a single leaf of a Mandrake in your mouth."
Professor McGonagall glanced at Erina, adding, "Note, you must not swallow the leaf or take it out of your mouth at any time. If the leaf leaves your mouth, the entire process must be started over."
"...So troublesome? Well, okay, so what is the second step..."
Erina looked at Professor McGonagall suspiciously, she had good reason to suspect that this aged cat woman was implying something about her.
However, judging from the expression on Professor McGonagall's face, there was no sign of prank or teasing.
"Next is the second step. At the full moon, take out the leaf, fill a small crystal vial with saliva, and soak the leaf in it to receive pure moonlight. If it is cloudy that night, you will have to find a new Mandrake leaf and start over again.
Add a strand of your hair and a silver teaspoon of dew to the crystal vial illuminated by moonlight – the dew must be collected from a place that has not been exposed to sunlight or human contact for seven full days.
Finally, add a pupa of a Death's-head Hawkmoth. Place this mixture in a quiet, dark place and do not look at it or disturb it until the next thunderstorm with lightning strikes."
Professor McGonagall said fluently, with an especially serious expression.
But no matter how serious Professor McGonagall was, these procedures sounded more like some kind of ancient witchcraft than magic to Erina.
There were too many mysterious and strange requirements, completely different from the style of the courses in school.
Even, at one moment, she once thought that she was learning how to brew a magical version of kuchikamizake (chewed-in-the-mouth sake), instead of how to master Animagus.
"So...did you also complete these procedures when you completed Animagus back then?"
"That's right, the first two steps of preparation are more cumbersome, and I also failed twice before I was able to complete it." McGonagall said, "The steps of Animagi cannot be ignored, Erina, this is especially important for the success of the magic."
"In other words, a completely black-box principle of mysterious magic ritual..."
Erina quickly wrote in her notebook, thoughtfully pondering.
Given the population base of the wizarding world, and the birth rate of Animagus, there is obviously no large-scale controlled variable method experiment.
Then, which of these rituals played a role is a question worth exploring.
Obviously, they absolutely hide some element that can interpret the essence of "transformation."
"Then what other...rituals are there?"
Professor McGonagall glanced at Erina's notebook, seeming to have some disagreement with the girl's description.
"The rest is waiting, Miss Kaslana, waiting for the storm to come. And every sunrise and sunset, point the tip of your wand at your heart, and chant the spell: 【AmatoAnimoAnimatoAnimagus】.
During this period, the crystal vial must remain completely undisturbed and out of contact with the sun. Sunlight contamination will lead to the most terrible mutations—"
"What kind of...terrible mutations?" Erina asked curiously.
"Death, or something worse than that, no one knows what will happen—"
Professor McGonagall looked at Erina for a while, and then slowly opened her mouth, as if considering every word.
"Over the years, no one has told us what will happen, I think that's enough to explain the problem. Restrain your curiosity, this is the most important thing in becoming an Animagus, and I don't want to get the answer from you—"
"Sometimes, the wrong result may be more important than the same correct one."
Erina muttered in a low voice, noting this point in her notebook.
This is undoubtedly a Pandora's box, she now has the ability to explore the truth, but...
At the same time, on the other side, Professor McGonagall returned to the previous topic and continued.
"If you continue to chant the spell repeatedly at sunrise and sunset, you will encounter a certain moment when the tip of the wand touches your chest, you will feel a second heartbeat, sometimes stronger than the original heartbeat, sometimes weaker. Everything must remain the same without change. The spell must be chanted the correct number of times, without omitting any one time."
"Then, at the moment when lightning flashes across the sky, immediately go to the place where you buried the crystal vial. If you have correctly completed all the above steps, you will find a mouthful of blood-red potion inside..."
"What if...the order is reversed?"
Erina frowned, looking at the contents of the notebook, and asked thoughtfully.
"The fermentation process of the potion in the crystal vial does not seem to be objectively bound to the spells at sunrise and sunset – so it means that this is an independent spell, and its purpose is most likely to elicit the Animagus form, is that so?"
"There is such a possibility, if...cough! Cough, cough—"
Professor McGonagall subconsciously replied, then quickly came back to her senses and coughed heavily.
"Miss Kaslana, I am teaching you how to complete Animagus under safe and reliable guidance! Not discussing with you what the principle behind this magic is, this is not what you should be considering now."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading!
"Alright, stop interrupting me—"
Professor McGonagall gave Erina a stern look, and quickly continued.
"Where was I? Oh, right. After you find that bottle of blood-red potion, immediately go to a wide and safe place, making sure that the transformation process will not attract attention or put your body in danger. Then point the tip of your wand at your heart, say the spell 【AmatoAnimoAnimatoAnimagus】and drink the potion."
"If all goes well, you will feel intense pain and two intense heartbeats."
"Your brain will conjure up the creature you are about to transform into. Then...you will complete your first transformation – after the transformation, you will find that you have adapted to the new body, and to return to human form, you only need to imagine your human form as clearly as possible..."
"Wait! There is a very strange question in this, if it is an animal body, will your thinking not be affected?"
Erina looked at Professor McGonagall, gently touching her lips with one finger, her eyes gleaming.
"The brain capacity of animals should not be able to support complex logical thinking abilities – for example, when you become a cat, where exactly are you doing 'human' thinking, and...will your body be affected by certain animal instincts? If none of these situations exist, then it means that there is another 'human' body running faithfully..."
"I think I said just now, don't ask these redundant and dangerous questions, Miss Kaslana!"
Professor McGonagall's expression gradually cooled down.
These questions, she had not prepared the corresponding answers beforehand – she was a teacher, not a student!
From just now, McGonagall began to feel vaguely that something was wrong, Erina Kaslana, this half-Veela was not learning any magical knowledge – it was that feeling from a year ago, this girl was deliberately looking for trouble, right?
However, Erina didn't care about Professor McGonagall's dissatisfaction, vaguely, she seemed to have grasped the root of the problem.
And now she was still missing some more direct, lightning-like stimulation to make that answer emerge—
She sat up straight, gently licked her lips, and looked at Professor McGonagall expectantly.
"So...Professor McGonagall, can you perform that again?"
————
————
Yay!