Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 447, Section 441: The Unnecessary Animagus

The news of Durmstrang's closure caused quite a stir throughout the wizarding world.

This is one of the three most famous magic schools in Europe.

The high-ranking officials in various countries are not fools. If they could get away with it when the Ministry of Magic in Transylvania was under control, such an obvious anomaly would be obvious to even the blind and deaf.

However, none of the Aurors they sent to investigate returned alive, as if they had vanished without a trace.

This caused them panic.

The unknown is what's most frightening.

With the Death Eaters leading the way, many criminal wizards from various countries seemed to have found a beacon and direction, and began to emerge one after another, gathering towards Transylvania. The wizarding social order that had been painstakingly established began to gradually collapse.

It felt like stepping back decades to the past, a time of chaos and disorder dominated by Death Eaters.

Apart from the three established countries of France, Germany, and England, the Ministries of Magic in all European countries were affected and impacted by this event.

Incidentally, the Italian Ministry of Magic is considering surrendering.

However, only a month had passed.

Fudge has been rarely seen at Hogwarts lately. With the Death Eaters causing trouble, he, the Minister for Magic, has become quite busy. Recently, the wizarding crime rate in England has started to rise, but he has ruthlessly suppressed it.

All the wizards in England realized that Fudge now was completely different from the Fudge of the past.

He is decisive and efficient.

It seems to be gradually merging with the image of the wise and powerful Minister Fudge described in the Daily Prophet.

The criticisms of him gradually decreased, and people began to praise him generously. The stable society gave these wizards living in England an unparalleled sense of security, especially when compared with other countries, this sense of security was even stronger.

According to some unreliable rumor (source: Singing the Opposite), "Fudge" is indeed forming a fire spirit army.

In Hogwarts Gardens, Dudley was enjoying afternoon tea. The cookies were baked by Hermione herself, and although the taste was a little lacking, they were definitely hard enough.

Snap, snap, snap.

A series of sounds, like the clanging of metal, came from Dali's mouth.

"Harry, you've looked at me several times today and seemed hesitant to speak. What do you want to see me about?"

Dudley turned to look at Harry standing behind him, and seeing that Harry still had a half-hearted expression, he continued to add to the story.

"We're brothers, there's nothing wrong with talking about it."

"Brother D, there's something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

Harry thought for a moment, then spoke up: "Sirius wants to teach me Animagus, but this magic is extremely difficult and requires a lot of effort. It might affect my learning progress, so... so I don't know what to do."

Sirius said that Animagus is a very useful magic, and that's how he escaped from Azkaban.

Sirius Black wasn't wrong; he did indeed escape from Azkaban using Animagus.

but.

"Actually, there are other ways to escape from Azkaban besides the Animagus."

Dali took a sip of black tea and continued, "For example, the silent spellcasting you are learning now and the staffless magic you learned before."

"If he can cast spells without a wand, he can still cast the Patronus Charm to fight off the Dementors even if his wand is taken away. If he can cast spells without a wand, he can easily escape from Azkaban and return to England without having to cross the ocean in such a miserable way."

No prison can hold a wizard who can cast spells without a wand or without a sound.

Wandless spellcasting is a powerful safeguard when you lose your wand; silent spellcasting allows you to break free of binding spells on your own.

Grindelwald's ability to freely enter and leave Nurmengard is due to this.

"Harry, you need to understand one thing: what is the purpose of learning Animagus?"

"Is it better for stealth? Or does it enhance combat capabilities?"

The ability to conceal oneself is often the primary purpose of wizards learning Animagus. For example, it is relatively safe to hide after transforming into a common creature like a cat or a mouse. Some wizards' Animagus can enhance their combat abilities, such as suddenly transforming into a lion or tiger at close range, which can definitely give the opponent a surprise attack.

"In my opinion, Animagus doesn't offer much concealment. It's not even as useful as a Dispersion Charm or Shrink Charm, especially since it's easy for the other party to find a way to target you once they know your Animagus. For example, there was a wizard whose Animagus was a ladybug. If she was trapped in a glass, she wouldn't be able to get out even if she died."

Animagus has only two advantages: stealth (transforming into an animal and not being detected by Dementors) and the occasional boost to combat abilities, but it has a whole host of disadvantages.

First, what kind of creature will you become after transforming, and what characteristics will you possess? Your body may become extremely fragile, and the most terrifying thing is that your thought patterns will also change after transforming.

second

"This magic is too unpredictable. You can't specify what you transform into. What you transform into is entirely random. If you turn into a fly and get swatted dead, then you're really dead."

Just like the guardian deity image of the Guardian Spell, it is entirely random, random for all races.

The guardian spirit changes its form according to the caster's state of mind, but the Animagus cannot; once transformed, it remains fixed for life.

The third Animagus has another characteristic: it cannot transform into magical creatures.

Otherwise, the ability to transform into magical creatures would definitely become an essential spell for wizards.

But this is the fundamental rule of the Animagus; only by adhering to this rule can Animagus transformations be performed. Over the centuries, there have been those who attempted to change this rule, and all of them met untimely deaths.

The key is that Animagus is one of the most difficult spells to cast, and every year there are reports of wizards who have failed to cast Animagus spells and died as a result.

Well, it's also dangerous not to try to change this curse.

A wizard once transformed into a goldfish. He couldn't cast spells silently or without a wand, and he couldn't choose the location of the transformation, which was still in the desert. Most importantly, he didn't know how to transform back.

By the time others found him, he had already turned into a dried fish.

"The costs are too high, the returns are too low, and there are considerable risks involved. The expenditures and benefits are completely disproportionate."

"Therefore, I neither recommend nor support you wasting your time learning this magic."

This is why Dudley himself didn't study Animagus.

You can learn it, but there's no need to.

After Dudley's analysis, Harry thought he made a lot of sense and nodded repeatedly.

This makes Animagus seem rather useless.

(End of this chapter)