Bab 108: Chapter 108: Animagus and the Path of the Legendary Wizard
Outside Hogwarts Castle.
Professor McGonagall stood by the Black Lake, pleased, and said, "It went more smoothly than I imagined, and it's even a rare black swan. You can move around now, in the lake or the sky, your choice. I'll be waiting here for you to transform back!"
Hearing this, Ino tried to stand up. Although swans also walk on two legs, having an extra pair of wings made it a bit awkward.
But there's a saying, if you're beautiful, even clumsiness is seen as charming.
The same applied to Ino. Although he wobbled as he walked, the elegant posture and inherent nobility of the black swan turned all his shortcomings into cuteness.
Professor McGonagall couldn't help but want to reach out and support the stumbling swan in front of her.
But she held back at the last moment, knowing that this was Ino's first time adapting to his Animagus form. Just like a child learning to walk, this step must be taken on his own.
On the other hand, after several attempts, Ino finally... "Plop" fell into the Black Lake.
But unlike what he had imagined, after floundering for a while and realizing that he couldn't sink, he began to try moving his feet to glide through the water.
Thanks to the physiological structure of the swan, both his feathers and feet allowed him to move freely on the lake's surface.
Playing in the water seemed to be addictive. Ino had a lot of fun but forgot about Professor McGonagall on the shore.
After about ten minutes, Professor McGonagall couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "The first transformation is to get you familiar with your body. You're not a fish! How long do you plan to play in the lake? Swans are meant to fly!"
Hearing this, Ino quickly put away his playful thoughts but also realized that in the Animagus state, he was easily influenced by the animal's instincts.
Just like how turning into a swan made him love the water.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Professor McGonagall, imagining her as a tabby cat...
The elegant swan's neck swayed gently as Ino shook off the impolite thoughts from his mind.
He then spread his wings, preparing to attempt flight.
For his first flight, he wasn't clear about the exact steps for a swan's takeoff, but he knew a bit about the widely known "Nine Steps and Eighteen Flaps."
This refers to swans running on the water surface multiple times to adjust their posture and gather strength before flapping their wings to take off.
...
Under the cover of night, the Black Lake lay still like a deep mirror, quietly basking in the moonlight.
The bright full moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft silver glow.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the lake's surface.
A beautiful black swan stretched its elegant neck, then began to flap its wings vigorously, breaking the lake's tranquility with a "thwack, thwack" sound.
With each powerful flap of its wings, the swan's body began to rise lightly.
Like a black sprite dancing in the air, it traced beautiful arcs in the sky.
On the shore, Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.
In mid-air, as Ino soared, he instinctively learned to fly, just as he had instinctively learned to swim when he fell into the water.
Flying and swimming were innate abilities of swans. Once activated and briefly adapted, they could be mastered skillfully.
Enjoying freedom, unrestricted.
At this moment, he truly experienced the wind and the eagle.
Hogwarts Castle grew smaller in his eyes, and his flight height increased.
Stratosphere, also known as the tropopause.
At an altitude of over ten thousand meters, among known birds, only swans can reach such heights. Even bar-headed geese only fly up to nine thousand meters.
After a short excitement, Ino in the sky began to reflect on his recent experiences.
Firstly, the greatly underestimated matchstick, the last relic left by Old John's daughter in the icy wilderness, was not just a memento. It seemed more like a miracle.
"Perhaps it surpasses magic…"
In his black swan form, Ino thought to himself.
But he quickly dismissed this absurd idea. How could someone who hadn't even stepped into the hall of magic evaluate something as surpassing magic?
However, no matter what, the match from Old John was the most powerful and mysterious item he had encountered so far.
Even though Professor Hans's divination dice were practical, they did not compare to the grandeur of the burning matchstick.
If he had to find a comparison, only Dumbledore had a similar quality to the matchstick.
It was a pure kind of love, boundless love.
The difference was that Dumbledore's love was for one person.
While the gentle, small flame of the burning matchstick seemed to gather the love from countless fairy tales, folklore, and stories over the centuries.
Thinking of this, Ino's mind gradually conjured up the image of the protagonist of this world's story, Harry Potter.
A story that began and ended with love.
Voldemort cleverly broke Lily's protective magic but ultimately lost to love.
Perhaps it was the effect of Felix Felicis.
Ino felt as if he had understood a lot, seemingly lifting a corner of the veil of the magical world, yet this also brought more questions.
Four houses, four founders: cleverness, bravery, wisdom, loyalty.
Professor Hans's rejection of greed, Dumbledore's boundless love…
It seemed these legendary figures always found their own path, or rather, carved out their own path.
...
"What is my quality…"
Ino couldn't help but sigh. Freedom wasn't a quality, although he yearned for it, it was merely a lifestyle and attitude.
However, one thing he was fairly certain of was that other people's qualities were not suitable for him.
Because throughout the centuries, there had never been a legendary wizard who inherited the qualities of all four founders.
The most vivid example was Dumbledore. Becoming a legendary wizard, he didn't inherit Gryffindor's bravery. Or rather, after reaching the extreme of bravery, he found the path that was truly his.
Ino thought of Professor Flitwick's talk about magical emotions and Dumbledore's challenging life…
However, as he tried to ponder more, the feeling of effortless insight and serendipity vanished.
A sense of loss.
But after the brief disappointment, there was more joy because he had discovered the proper use of Felix Felicis.
This miraculous potion wasn't meant to be used for playing Quidditch, being a goalkeeper, or solving cases like an Auror.
That would be a waste.
The true purpose of Felix Felicis was likely for thinking and learning.
Felix Felicis, in a way, seemed to offer guidance, like signposts at a crossroads, helping one easily find the correct path and reach the destination smoothly.
"My dear Professor Snape…"
At this moment, Ino thought of his house head. Whether it was the powerful Sectumsempra or his exceptional potion skills, they were unparalleled.
If not for his first Animagus transformation still ongoing, he would have flown back to the castle to seek out Snape to learn the making of Felix Felicis.
Perhaps he wasn't confident enough before, but now he felt brave enough to try.
After all, Draco used Levicorpus not only to hang up someone with the surname Potter but also his followers.
The most important part was that everything was done openly and honorably.
No sneak attacks, no taking advantage of unpreparedness. All actions were completed on the dueling ground, under the watchful eyes of everyone.
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone