"Uh ..."
Andy understood every word Professor McGonagall said, but not the meaning of the words when they were connected.
Four points of [Thinking] added for nothing?
Uh... it couldn't be said that way.
Professor McGonagall looked as if she had explained it clearly, but was glossing over the point of it, explaining it vaguely.
Transfiguration is dangerous.
Human transfiguration is the most dangerous.
Animagus is a special human transfiguration.
That's why we need to use the power of nature.
Makes sense!
But how does it work?
"Professor McGonagall, can you be more specific? What is the principle behind it when we resort to the power of nature ...?" Andy pursued.
"That is a special kind of magic."
Professor McGonagall said, "Magic is not a power unique to wizards. Magical creatures, dark creatures, other humanoid races ... they all possess magic power."
"Of course, magic also exists in nature as well."
"To complete the Animagus transfiguration, we need to use some special magic power to assist us in completing the transfiguration."
Special magic power...?
Magic power also existed in nature?
Andy suddenly thought of a word: heaven and earth aura.
Professor McGonagall continued to explain, "As for the magic potion, ... the magic potion's function is to make the magic power in our body reach the same frequency with the magic power in nature, as to complete the Animagus transfiguration with the power of nature."
Hearing this, Andy opened his mouth to ask about magic transfiguration. It's just that when the words came to his mouth, they were finally swallowed back by Andy.
Professor McGonagall was not Snape, nor was she Dumbledore.
If Andy dared to ask Professor McGonagall about magic transfiguration, it was estimated that he would be lectured by her for three or four hours.
"Thank you! Professor McGonagall." Andy said gratefully.
Professor McGonagall reservedly stated that she was just doing what a Transfiguration professor should do.
"Anyway, you can get ready from now on."
Professor McGonagall said solemnly, "The right time for Transfiguration needs some waiting, and in the meantime, you can come over and ask me any questions you don't understand."
"Thank you!"
Andy nodded, "If we are lucky, we will be able to complete the Animagus' transformation next month."
Professor McGonagall said lightly, "Next month is December, and it's already starting to snow in the Scottish Highlands."
Andy: "..."
In that case, wouldn't we have to wait until next year to start the first Animagus transformation?
"Uh ..." Andy's mouth twitched, this is too much hassle!
Professor McGonagall said, "The longer you prepare, the greater your advantage. Don't be in a hurry, the study of magic can't be rushed."
"En! I know." Andy nodded and answered.
"Right!"
It was rare to be able to ask Professor McGonagall for advice, Andy didn't want to miss such a good opportunity for nothing, "Professor McGonagall, you mentioned the magic power that exists in nature before ..."
"Can we utilize this power?"
Andy had never seen this observation in the book.
It was also unknown if he hadn't seen it temporarily, or if the idea was Professor McGonagall's wild theory.
Professor McGonagall smiled and explained, "Animagus is a method of utilizing the magic power of nature."
"We can't use this power directly, but we can indirectly utilize the magic power in nature for our use through some rituals."
Andy nodded in understanding, and then continued to ask, "Professor, why can Animagus only transfigure into one animal? Instead of being able to transfigure into multiple animals like the magic schools over in Africa."
Professor McGonagall said, "The animal that Animagus transfigures into has a lot to do with personality and mass of our body. Just like the Patronus Charm, everyone's patronus is influenced by their happy emotions as well, thus coalescing into a variety of different animals ..."
Andy asked several questions in a row, and seeing that the time was already very late, it was only then that he reluctantly offered his farewell.
***
Four days later at night, Andy successfully put the Mandrake leave in his mouth on the full moon night and began the preparations for the Animagus.
Andy had thought it would be easy, but soon, learned it the hard way.
Sleeping, brushing his teeth, eating, and talking with the mandrake leaf in his mouth all caused Andy great inconvenience.
Andy had to be careful every time for fear of accidentally swallowing the leaf along with water and food.
"Andy, what's wrong with you today? Not feeling well?" Hermione quickly noticed Andy's abnormality and asked strangely.
"It's fine."
Andy explained, "I'm doing preparations to learn the Animagus."
"Animagus?"
Miss Know-It-All came online again, and the little witch detailed the steps involved and other information about Animagus before asking, "So ... you're holding a leaf of Mandrake in your mouth right now?"
"Uh-huh!" Andy nodded.
The thought of having to hold the leaf in his mouth for a month gave Andy a feeling of nausea to the point of wanting to vomit.
This was too unhygienic.
"Right, Andy ..."
Hermione suddenly looked around before approaching Andy and said mysteriously, "Do you have a feeling that Potter and Weasley seem to be a bit less normal lately?"
Harry and Ron?
If the two of them were normal, that would be a big deal.
"How are they being 'not normal'?" Andy asked.
"I can't put my finger on it."
Hermione said bitterly, "I've only met them a few times, and I don't really know them well. It's just that ... I met Potter and Weasley last night and felt that the two of them were a little off."
"Is that so?" Andy craned his head in the direction of the Gryffindor long table.
Harry and Ron were there as well.
It's just that Andy didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
The two of them were still inseparable and as close as if they were one person.
"Hermione, can you be more specific?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione shook her head, "Like I said, I don't know much about Potter and Weasley. It just seemed a little off, but I couldn't tell you what was wrong."
Andy said helplessly, "Fine! I'll find a chance to have a word with them later."
"I'll accompany you," Hermione said.
***
After breakfast, Andy sat in the Great Hall for a while longer.
When Harry and Ron had finished their breakfast as well, Andy and Hermione looked at each other and got up at the same time and headed out of the great hall.
"Hi! Harry, Ron."
Andy waved a greeting, "Good morning!"
"Good morning Andy!" Harry said enthusiastically.
"Good morning!" Ron greeted similarly.
The four of them chatted briefly before parting ways.
Standing in the corner of the corridor, Hermione looked at Andy and asked, "Andy, how was it? Isn't ... there is an indescribable sense of weirdness?"
----
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"Hm!" Andy nodded non-committally.
Harry and Ron ... did seem a bit weird.
How should I put it ...
Andy recalled the scene when he had just met with the two.
It was just a few words of pleasantries and the two seemed normal. But just as Hermione said, Andy also had a strange feeling that he couldn't describe.
Imperius Curse?
Harry and Ron were under the control of an Imperius Curse?
"That's impossible!" Andy shook his head.
Ron is okay, but Harry ... who can control Harry with an Imperius Curse under Dumbledore's nose?
"What's impossible?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I just thought of the Imperius Curse."
Andy spread his hands, "But I should have guessed wrong. With Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape keeping an eye on Harry, that person shouldn't have a chance to lay a finger on Harry."
Hermione nodded and said, "I've read in the books that the most advanced Imperius Curse can't be discerned by even the most familiar person."
If it was Voldemort's Horcrux who had cast the Imperius Curse on Harry, then Harry should have looked just like his normal self.
"Then I don't know."
Andy said indifferently, "Forget it, it's better to let Headmaster Dumbledore have a headache with this kind of thing! Maybe the two of them just fought."
Hermione raised an eyebrow and said, "Those two didn't look like they were quarrelling."
Hmm?
"What do they look like then?" Andy asked suddenly.
"Like ...," Hermione froze and then jerked her head around to look at Andy.
From the first day they came to Hogwarts, Harry and Ron were an inseparable pair of best friends. The two of them slept together, ate together, went to class together, and played games together.
The two of them were as good as one.
"Andy, I know what's wrong."
In this instant, Hermione was like being possessed by a certain Death Elementary student (Conan), "The way Weasley is looking at Potter is not right! It was a, a ..."
Andy added, "A look of prey?"
"Exactly! It's a look of looking at prey."
Hermione looked at Andy with a straight face, "Andy, Weasley is the one who was controlled by the dark magic item. We need to tell the professor about this!"
"Uh ..."
Andy spotted the blind spot, "Hermione, don't you think that Ron's being a little too obvious?"
"Obvious about what?" The young witch was a little anxious, she was losing her cool now.
"Ron's behaviour, of course."
Andy said, "Think about it, more than ten days have passed since the attack. During this time, Ron's behaviour has been normal. It was only yesterday that you suddenly realized that something wasn't quite right with the state of Harry and Ron ..."
"No matter how I think about it, I think it's a trap!"
Andy had felt something was weird before, but only now, did Andy finally understand where this weird feeling came from.
The weirdness wasn't in the way Ron was looking at Harry.
Rather, it was the fact that this matter had been discovered by Hermione.
It was a conspiracy!
"Are you saying that Weasley did it on purpose for others to notice?"
The young witch was smart, she quickly grasped Andy's meaning, "Andy, I think you're right. If Weasley had a problem, there's no way he wouldn't have been exposed until today."
Andy laughed lightly, "Voldemort probably couldn't wait!"
Dumbledore would never allow Voldemort's Horcrux to leave Hogwarts. So ... the Christmas holiday was a point in time that both sides tacitly agreed as the last day.
Before the Christmas holiday came, Dumbledore would definitely initiate his move. It would even be a large-scale search of the dormitories without regard for the privacy of the young wizard.
Because of this, whatever Voldemort's Horcrux wanted to do, he would have to do it before the Christmas holiday.
"A Imperius Curse? Or something else?" Hermione guessed.
Andy straightened his shoulders, "That depends, on what Voldemort really wants to gain ..."
***
After informing Snape of Ron's abnormality, Andy put the matter behind him.
If even the professor couldn't solve it, then he, a second-year wizard, would be even more incapable of solving it.
With that energy, he might as well learn a few more spells.
In the evening, Andy and Hermione walked out of the library and prepared to go to the Great Hall for dinner.
"Ah..."
Just after walking through a corridor, Andy overheard a high-decibel scream that spread throughout the entire floor.
Andy and Hermione looked at each other and quickly ran in the direction the sound came from.
At the entrance of the abandoned girls' lavatory, a girl wearing a Ravenclaw wizard's robe was lying in the middle of the stagnant water all over the floor. Her hair was strewn about, and her pale face was devoid of the slightest bit of blood.
In front of the girl, Harry and Ron stood with bewildered faces, and there was a crowd of people watching on the periphery.
Andy glanced at Ron first.
By this time, Ron had already returned to normal, no other emotions could be seen on his face other than bewilderment and shock.
As for Harry ... he seemed a little angry.
Andy set his eyes on the girl who had been attacked.
A third-year Ravenclaw student, Cho Chang's roommate, Andy had seen her a few times, but he wasn't too familiar with her.
"What are you guys gathering here for?" Professor McGonagall's voice came from behind them, as her office was on the first floor.
The small wizards automatically made a path.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward and the first thing she saw was the Ravenclaw girl collapsed in stagnant water.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Professor McGonagall's heartbeat slowed down by half a beat as she asked with a shocked look on her face, "Who was the first to spot her?"
The onlookers simultaneously set their eyes on Harry and Ron.
Professor McGonagall glanced at the two of them before darting over to the Ravenclaw girl. First, she checked the girl's breathing, before doing some emergency treatment with her wand.
"Thank goodness!" Professor McGonagall sighed in relief.
This child, like Justine who was attacked before, had a large amount of her life force sucked out of her by dark magic.
But similarly, they were both still alive.
The school's hospital wing was also on the first floor, and Madame Pomfrey, who had heard the noise, strode over as well.
"Oh, Merlin!"
Startled, Madam Pomfrey replaced Professor McGonagall and checked up on the girl.
"Mr. Collins ..." Professor McGonagall suddenly looked at Andy.
"Professor McGonagall?" Andy was a bit distressed.
What's wrong? Why did you suddenly call me out?
Andy was puzzled when he heard Professor McGonagall ask, "Did you find anything unusual when you came?"
In Professor McGonagall's opinion, Andy Collins was a very smart young wizard who might be able to make some distinct discoveries.
Andy smiled and glanced at Harry and Ron without a trace.
Ron's expression was a little odd, and Harry had an anxious look on his face - as if he wanted to say something.
Something funny going on!
Andy didn't rush to comment, but looked directly at Harry, "Harry, what do you want to say?"
----
Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!
Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!