Ever since Harry moved into the small bedroom on the second floor, a month had passed in the blink of an eye. Harry felt that this had been his busiest holiday ever.
Yes, although during every previous holiday, he had had to spend a great deal of effort and time playing "Catch Harry" with Dudley and his little gang.
Compared with this holiday, though, those past expenditures of energy and time seemed insignificant.
But unlike before, he was enjoying himself now. All he had to do each day was clean up a little, practice controlling magic, and read interesting magic books. Nothing could have been more fulfilling.
Unlike Harry, Mu En felt that this past month or so had been unbearably long and torturous.
It began when he found some accounts of Merlin in History of Modern Magic. The book introduced this "Jehovah of Wizards" as an Animagus.
And one capable of transforming into multiple animals.
In other words, a so-called Animal Wizard.
There was no doubt that this spell immediately caught his attention.
It was not as though he could not transform into an animal, but those methods were either Transformation Spells used for deception or conversions into animals achieved through the Human Transmutation Array on his body.
Yet the book recorded that when Madam Mim transformed into a fire dragon, Merlin had seized the opportunity to transform into a pathogen, enter her body, attack her from within, and claim victory.
In other words, this spell's upper limit... seemed absurdly powerful.
Especially given Mu En's current condition. His head had become that of a cat, and even his strength had declined considerably because of it. This had troubled him greatly. This magic that altered the body gave him a glimpse of a way out.
Although the book stated that every Animagus could transform into only one animal, Merlin was clearly an exception... In the world of magic, nothing was absolute.
After all, magic was, in essence, the creation of the impossible.
Of course, that was assuming one did not get oneself killed in the process.
So after finding the relevant procedure and working through it using potion theory, he began experimenting at once.
The first step was to hold a Mandrake Root leaf in one's mouth on the day of a full moon and keep it there until the next full moon.
During that time, the leaf could not be swallowed or spat out under any circumstances. The moment it left the mouth, the entire process had to begin again.
That was why he had hardly spoken at all over the past month.
But tonight, he could finally be free.
Today was the full moon!!
The night was already deep. Though it was only eight in the evening, the sky was filled with stars.
Under the moonlight, Harry continuously practiced controlling his magic. He no longer used a dummy as a target to unleash his magic. With the aid of potions, he had already gained a preliminary grasp of the technique for bursting forth with magic.
What he was doing now was trying to ignite the scraps of paper in the brazier before him.
It had a target, a specific direction for casting, and no emotional boost. He had to rely solely on the desire to cast.
It was far more difficult than simply focusing all his thoughts on knocking down a dummy.
"Burn!!" Harry suddenly raised his hand and pointed, his eyes fixed firmly on the brazier.
Though saying such words aloud was somewhat embarrassing, they could indeed provide a degree of subjective guidance.
A spark appeared atop the paper scraps in the brazier, and Harry's face lit up with joy. Unfortunately, it went out in the blink of an eye.
"Hey—burn for me!!" Harry growled again. He had been doing this training for some time, and this was the first time he had seen a spark.
He could feel that he was just one step away.
Veins bulged on his forehead, every muscle in his body tensed, and he stared intensely at the scraps of paper.
With a whoosh, flames suddenly sprang up from the paper scraps for no apparent reason, like flames suddenly bursting up from an overheated pan.
"I did it!" Harry stared at the flames in the brazier in disbelief. They were weak and swayed constantly in the mountain breeze, but he had truly succeeded.
Click—
The door slowly opened. Harry turned and saw Uncle Mu En emerge. He hurriedly said, "Uncle Mu En, I did it."
Mu En glanced at the flame and said approvingly, "Not bad."
Huh?
Harry froze as well. When was the last time he had heard Uncle Mu En speak?
It had been a very, very long time.
He remembered that on the third day after he moved to the second floor, Uncle Mu En had suddenly stopped speaking.
When Harry asked why, Uncle Mu En had merely opened a book and shown him the first step of practicing Animagus magic.
So he had to keep a Mandrake Root leaf in his mouth, which was why he could not speak.
From then on, Harry had never heard Uncle Mu En's voice again.
Actually, Harry had secretly tried putting a leaf in his own mouth to see whether he could still speak. The answer he got was—he could.
But he would slur his words.
So Harry guessed that Uncle Mu En thought slurring his words would damage his suave and dashing image, so he simply chose not to speak at all.
The kid really was clever. If Mu En had known, he would definitely have given him a good thrashing.
"Uncle Mu En, you can talk again?!" Harry asked happily.
Mu En nodded and looked up at the moon. The summer night breeze was pleasant, and the weather was clear. The bright full moon hung in the sky, generously scattering its radiance over the world.
Mu En took the Mandrake Root leaf from his mouth and placed it into a small transparent glass bottle. Then he added a teaspoon of collected dew and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawkmoth.
Lastly, he added one of his own hairs—no, a whisker.
He did not have hair anymore.
At first, he had intended to use fur, but the fur on his face was thick and dense, so in the end, he chose his whiskers, the equivalent of hair on a human body.
After finishing all that, Mu En recalled the remaining details. The potion had to be hidden somewhere dark and secluded, but not inside one's residence. It also had to be protected from all prying eyes and sunlight.
Mu En had already made plans for this. With a flick of his hand, he dug through the air toward the roots of a redwood beside the castle. With a crack of splintering wood, a large hole was revealed.
This was the wilderness, so the potion could absorb natural energy on its own. Yet the redwood and the hole kept sunlight from reaching it.
After placing the small bottle inside, he sealed the opening again. Then he drew out his wand and began setting up defensive arrays to prevent any accidents.
He had no desire to do this all over again. Keeping a leaf in his mouth for an entire month was truly torturous.
Mu En did not hide any of this from Harry. Harry walked over now, his eyes shining. "Uncle Mu En, is this Animagus? Why does it seem more like brewing a potion when it's clearly magic?"
Mu En nodded. "Animagus is clearly an advanced form of magic that combines potions and Transfiguration.
There is no need to be surprised. Magic has many forms of expression. Do you remember what I said a month ago in Knockturn Alley?"
Harry thought for a moment, then answered bluntly, "You said they were all trash."
Mu En opened his mouth, then shook his head. "No, not that. The part about magic."
Harry thought again. Then the memory suddenly surged back, his eyes brightened, and he said loudly, "You said they were still using 'blasts' to express magic.
At the end, Harry added, "All trash!"
Mu En nodded and rubbed Harry's head. "That's right. So remember this: magic has many forms of expression. Never become someone who only knows how to fire blasts."
Before you continue