"After that, we also obtained samples of the leaf and saliva after exposure to moonlight, the solution after adding hair, the solution after adding dew, the solution after adding a death's-head hawkmoth pupa, the solution left standing during the waiting period, the solution after exposure to lightning, and so on..."
"We measured hundreds of samples at different stages and gained a basic understanding of some of the changes involved in Animagus Transformation."
"First, we discovered that the 'ritual' of holding a mandrake leaf in the mouth from one full moon to the next established a magical connection between the wizard and the potion."
"During this process, the leaf served two purposes. As a potion ingredient, it mixed and fermented with the wizard's saliva, becoming a component of the Animagus Potion. At the same time, because the wizard continuously ingested components of the mandrake leaf over the course of a month, the leaf also became a link between the wizard and the potion, connecting the two."
"Second, the death's-head hawkmoth pupa symbolized 'transformation,' an 'embryo,' and 'gestation.'"
"We tested many solutions left standing during the waiting period and found that the wizard's hair dissolved quickly, disappearing completely within roughly a day or two. Using fluorescent markers, we detected components of the wizard's hair inside the death's-head hawkmoth pupa."
"It wasn't just the hair. Components of the leaf, saliva, and other ingredients added earlier also penetrated the death's-head hawkmoth pupa to varying degrees."
"It became an incubator and, through the connection the mandrake leaf had established with the wizard, became the wizard's 'two souls in one body.'"
"After roughly another two weeks, the death's-head hawkmoth pupa also dissolved. At that point, we detected DNA components in the solution that were entirely different from those of either a death's-head hawkmoth or a human."