Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 184 Animagus Teaching Class

Hermione's long-awaited Transfiguration Club soon issued an announcement, and the list of recruited young wizards was posted on the bulletin board in the common room. The long list of names surprised many people.

"Neville Longbottom..."

Neville read the name on the bulletin board, and for a moment felt a strange unfamiliarity with it. Then, overwhelmed with elation, he grabbed Seamus with one hand and Dean with the other, using their shoulders for support as he jumped up and down with joy: "I passed! I passed!"

"Neville's joined the Transfiguration Club and wants to turn us into meat patties first!" Seamus and Dean shouted mischievously, raising their hands and fleeing in a panic.

Hermione tugged at Loren's sleeve, her eyes wide with excitement as she looked at their names on the announcement; both of them had passed.

"You don't want to jump on me like Neville did, do you? I can't take it." Loren twisted her hand away.

She couldn't resist patting his arm, but Hermione was in a good mood and didn't hold it against him.

Unsurprisingly, both Harry and Ron passed the test.

The Transfiguration Club's first activity was held in the Transfiguration classroom. The group arrived early, chose good seats in the front row, and waited for the classroom to gradually fill up with people.

Ron muttered, "Why are club activities just like regular classes? They've lost their novelty."

"Of course it's exciting! We're giving ourselves extra classes by taking exams," Loren laughed.

"Stop talking, or I won't want to go to class."

Gradually, every seat was filled with young wizards, with the younger students sitting in the front rows and the older students in the back.

There weren't many people. Transfiguration was the most difficult subject, and many young wizards struggled with it in regular classes; they didn't want to suffer through it again in the club.

One of the classic transfiguration spells is to turn a mouse into a goblet. The difficulty of this magic lies not only in turning a living creature into an inanimate one, but also in transforming all the mouse's fur into a smooth glass surface. Young wizards often conjure up fluffy goblets, and minimizing the amount of mouse fur residue is a problem every young wizard has to face.

There's an interesting story circulating in Hufflepuff:

Q: How can I reduce the amount of residual mouse hair?

A: The more hair you lose from being tortured, the less mouse fur you'll have.

Although it was just a joke, it gives you a sense of the pain of a young wizard who doesn't have the talent for Transfiguration.

Some students did not participate in the selection exam, and some did not pass the exam. The rest are the young wizards sitting here, about 100 people.

There were many familiar faces: the twin brothers, Percy and Penelope, Cedric, Rolf, and Slytherin's Marcus and Draco. There were no first-years; they had no foundation and weren't suited for club activities.

Outside the window, a light drizzle fell; the rain had been falling for days and showed no signs of stopping. Dark clouds and fog shrouded the sky and the open fields, creating a hazy, gray atmosphere. All the candlesticks on the walls were filled with brilliant candlelight, illuminating the entire classroom brightly and cheerfully.

Professor McGonagall strode into the classroom with a smile on her face: "Let's check the list first, starting with the second year: Loren Morgan, Hermione Granger..."

She called out the names of the club members one by one, and the young wizards whose names were called answered loudly, from second year to seventh year, without missing a single one. Loren felt that Professor McGonagall was much gentler than usual.

After checking the list, Professor McGonagall looked at the young wizards below, observing their vibrant energy: "I've told you before that Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous spell in Hogwarts. You might wonder, what's so dangerous about spells like turning a match into a needle, a beetle into a button, a teapot into a turtle, a guinea fowl into a guinea pig, or a plate into a mushroom?"

"Yes! What's so dangerous?" George asked loudly.

Professor McGonagall did not answer immediately, but instead asked another question: "Can anyone tell me what the branches of Transfiguration are?"

Hermione raised her hand in a flash, and after receiving a signal from Professor McGonagall, she stood up and answered loudly: "Transformation, Human Transformation, Summoning, Animagus, Manifestation, and Basic Transformation."

"Very good, Miss Granger. Gryffin—" Professor McGonagall interrupted in time, laughing, "I had forgotten that this is a club, there are no extra credits for class time."

"It's okay! We don't mind!" Fred shouted.

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

"As you've probably noticed, Hogwarts' curriculum mainly focuses on basic transfiguration, summoning, and cross-species transformation. It rarely involves spells related to the human body."

Professor McGonagall's words sparked a lively discussion, with Cedric, the young Hufflepuff wizard, asking loudly, "Yes, Professor, why is that?"

"This is related to a few special events that happened in the wizarding world," Professor McGonagall began to explain. "A witch named Mirabella Plunkett fell in love with a mermaid while vacationing at Loch Lomond, but her family vehemently opposed the marriage. So Mirabella transformed herself into a haddock and disappeared, never to be seen again."

"The Ministry of Magic suspected that there was something wrong with the Transfiguration spell she used on herself, that something unpredictable had happened, and that no one was there to break the spell in time, so she became one of the countless black-striped cod in Loch Lomond."

Professor McGonagall paused after telling the first story, watching the young wizards chatter amongst themselves.

Hermione suddenly remembered something, turned around and tugged at Loren's clothes: "We've seen Mirabella's picture, remember?"

"Hmm? When did we meet?" Loren had no recollection.

"Last year when I was investigating Nicolas Flamel, you tricked me into eating a lot of chocolate frogs, one of which was Mirabella."

Speaking of this, Hermione couldn't help but slap him, then sighed, "Such a beautiful witch, turned into a fish forever, what a pity."

Ron was puzzled: "Why didn't she turn into a mermaid? Aren't cod supposed to be unable to marry mermaids?"

"Transfiguration cannot turn a person into a magical creature; mermaids are also a type of magical creature," Loren explained.

"This is too much..."

The young wizards couldn't express how they felt. If Mirabella hadn't acted so impulsively, or if she had other wizards protecting her, perhaps this tragedy wouldn't have happened.

Or, if Mirabella hadn't understood human transformation or cross-species transformation, the tragedy wouldn't have happened.

Professor McGonagall began to tell the second story: "Thardius Serkel was a sorcerer whose seven sons were all Squibs. Out of disgust, he turned all seven sons into hedgehogs. Because they had lived as hedgehogs for so long, they were unable to think like normal people when they returned to human form."

Many young wizards became indignant, and even Slytherins found the behavior disgusting.

"In the past, Hogwarts' curriculum included topics such as Transfiguration and Animagus. After many tragedies resulted from Transfiguration, the Ministry of Magic issued a new educational decree, which significantly reduced the curriculum content."

"The rectification efforts have yielded significant results, with a substantial reduction in accidents caused by shapeshifting. However, the development of shapeshifting has also been greatly affected. While branches such as basic shapeshifting, summoning, and revealing have flourished, the development of branches such as human shapeshifting, Animagus shapeshifting, and cross-species shapeshifting has stagnated."

"For a long time, there were only a handful of registered Animagus. Headmaster Dumbledore was quite accomplished in the field of Transfiguration during his student days, publishing several articles in the magazine Transfiguration Today. Even he only had one article on the field of cross-species transformation."

At this point, Professor McGonagall's mood sombered, but looking at the young wizards below, her spirits lifted somewhat: "Transfiguration is a more complex and profound art than Charms. I firmly believe that a well-rounded development of Transfiguration will drive the advancement of the magical world!"

The young wizards were beginning to understand; the Transformation Club seemed to be focusing on the content that had been previously cut.

The lively chatter made Professor McGonagall even happier: "The main activity of the Transfiguration Club is teaching Transfiguration theory. I will hold another selection exam after we return to school for the Christmas holidays. The young wizards who pass the exam will be selected for the Animagus teaching class!"

boom!

A thunderous roar resounded in the young wizards' ears, sending them into a frenzy; some shouted excitedly.

"I want to be an owl!"

"I want to become a lion!"

"tiger!"

The first event of the Transformation Club didn't cover any substantial content. Professor McGonagall explained the teaching plan, the upcoming exams, and the schedule and locations for future events to the young wizards before concluding the event.

But the Animagus's influence didn't end there. The Transfiguration Club took over from the Charms Club, becoming the most popular topic among young wizards. At dinner, the entire Great Hall was abuzz with discussions about the Animagus.

The members of the Transfiguration Club, in particular, repeated Professor McGonagall's words with great enthusiasm, gesticulating wildly as they recounted two transfiguration tragedies, the Ministry of Magic's educational directives, and their determination to revitalize transfiguration.

The young wizard who had given up the club exam for an easy way out was now kicking himself. Although Transfiguration was a pain in the neck and boring, it was Animagus!

The students were determined to participate in next year's selection exam, no matter what.

Saturday night, Gryffindor common room.

Some time has passed, but the young wizards are still discussing club matters with great enthusiasm, not only the Animagus, but also the Charms Club and the Potions Club.

The Quidditch team had just returned from training. The fast twins, having washed off the mud and rain, were sitting in front of the fireplace to warm themselves, while a group of people gathered around the large square table next to them.

Loren sat on the carpet, examining the Deluminator blueprints Dumbledore had given him, and attempting to dismantle the alchemical array on them.

There's actually a faster and more convenient method: project the Deluminator into the Book of Fantasy, and Flamel could disassemble all the magic circles in minutes. However, since the blueprints are readily available, Loren wants to try it himself; after all, it's a necessary skill for every alchemist.

Hermione and he sat back to back, a thick tome spread across their laps. Ever since Professor McGonagall announced the selection process for the Animagus class, Hermione had immediately gone to the library to compile a reading list. Dozens of books were about human shapeshifting, cross-species shapeshifting, and Animagus, and she planned to finish reading them—or rather, memorize them—before Christmas.

Ron was trembling with fear. Is this the world of academic geniuses?

Harry had just returned from training and was still washing up. Hermione looked intimidating, so Ron could only ask Loren, "How are Harry's Potions Club activities going?"

Ginny, who was looking around for Harry, twitched her ears and moved closer to Ron, overhearing their conversation.

"We've been working on rue extract all day, with different tasks rotating among each grade. It's a bit tedious, but the atmosphere is pretty good." Loren looked away from the blueprints and rubbed his temples to relax his tense nerves.

The people in the Potions Club were not stupid; they quickly realized that this was an early adaptation to the work of apothecaries, and they not only did not complain but adapted well.

After becoming familiar with their assigned sections, students from different grades began rotating shifts, with the help of a seventh-year Ravenclaw student. It's estimated that the situation won't change until the first transaction is completed.

"Prefect, tell us what the upperclassmen of the Spells Club have been up to lately?" a third-year Gryffindor wizard asked.

Percy sighed and said, "Alas, Professor Flitwick is teaching us ancient magic."

"Cool!" exclaimed the group of younger wizards with envy.

"It's not cool at all. Ancient magic is chaotic and unstable, and it keeps exploding during every event."

Percy was very depressed. He and Penelope attended events together, and he always ended up covered in soot and looking disheveled. However, Penelope seemed to be getting closer to him.

Simo was even more envious, filled with envy.

"Ron! Loren! We should go!" Harry called from the exit of the common room, his hair still slightly damp from washing up.

Their confinement wasn't over yet; Ron was going to the trophy room to polish the trophies, Harry was going to help Lockhart copy envelopes, and Loren was going to learn the Oblivion Charm.

Ron got up and skipped over to Harry, pestering him with questions about Quidditch.

Loren turned around, stuffed the Deluminator blueprints into Hermione's large book, and then moved her to the side, letting the sofa back take his place so Hermione could lean against it.

"Don't wait for me in the lounge tonight, go to sleep early," Loren instructed.

Hermione was so engrossed in reciting her lessons that she didn't hear a word he said. She looked up at him with a dazed smile, then drifted back into her book. She looked as adorably silly as a little squirrel.

When they reached Harry, the three of them talked about Quidditch before emerging from the Gryffindor common room.

"George and Fred have been scouting the Slytherin team. According to their reports, the Slytherin members are riding Nimbus 2001. When they fly, they can only be seen as seven blurry pale green shadows, whizzing through the air like jet planes." Harry's expression was somber, and he seemed preoccupied.

Quidditch is not just a sport about speed...

"I know, but..."

Headaches over knowledge and studies, budding feelings of youth, worries about the ball games with the neighboring college—this is youth in school.

(End of this chapter)