"Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus."
In the early morning, Murphy recited the incantation to himself for what must have been the umpteenth time.
As he chanted, he further outlined his requirements in his mind.
Both the Charms and Transfiguration Research Group believed that guiding the process with his will as he recited the incantation to himself would better induce mutations in the Animagus Potion, steering it toward the changes he wanted.
"Retain my original human form, no changes to my appearance, preserve my original wizarding abilities, higher neuron density like that of birds, greater intelligence, quicker reactions, no harmful mutations, no deformities, no disease, no cancer, a more stable genetic structure, night vision, long-distance vision, flight, improved physical fitness..."
This was practically another kind of "incantation" he had used before.
The human validation trials for advanced Animagus transformation were not yet complete, but to save time, Murphy was carrying out his own Animagus transformation alongside them.
Over the past month or so, he had repeated this process dozens of times, usually without any noticeable changes.
This time, however, before he was even halfway through his mental outline, his heart suddenly gave a heavy thump.
Then a faint pulsation began deep within his chest.
"At some point, you will feel a second heartbeat within your body..."
Murphy immediately recalled that step in the Animagus transformation process.
In fact, he was already well behind the wizard undergoing the validation trial at the same time. The other man had felt the heartbeat a week earlier.
Murphy thought this might be because his incantation was more complex and he had more requirements...
This was no time for stray thoughts. Murphy reined in the jumble of ideas in his head and continued his mental outline to the end. "No loss of function, no changes to bodily