The End of the Holiday

Gryffindor, in a boys' dormitory.

Harry and Ron sat on the rug by the bed, turned to the side, engrossed in writing on parchment.

"From now on, I will definitely finish my homework before playing during holidays!"

"Me too! Whoever doesn't do their homework first is a dog!"

"The last time someone said that not doing homework is weird, I won't say who it was."

"Um?"

Harry squinted at Ron. What's going on? We're practically inseparable, sharing a bed and copying homework, and you're undermining me?

Ron was engrossed in his homework, his fingers aching and his face contorted in pain. He asked plaintively, "Why? It feels like I just started my holiday yesterday, and now it's already over tomorrow!"

Harry was even more indignant. "Why is the Easter Holiday shorter than the Christmas holiday, but there's almost three times more Christmas!"

Seamus and Neville lay on their beds watching the spectacle, their faces full of schadenfreude.

"Who told you to spend all your time on the court? You know, Loren and Neville finished their homework in just two days." Seamus rocked on the bed, making a creaking sound, with a leisurely rhythm.

He clicked his tongue in mockery, trying to rub salt into their wounds. "You should thank Loren and Neville properly; it was your job to take care of the Mandrake for Professor Sprout."

Neville, on the other bed, scratched his head and grinned Hānhan. "It's alright. The three of us actually Gryffindor."

"That's right, that's right!" Ron nodded in agreement, then suddenly leaned closer to look at what he was copying, and shouted, "Loren, come and see! What are you writing here? Your cursive is so messy, I can't recognize it."

"Which subject's homework?" Loren asked unhurriedly, lying on his bed with "Animagi Throughout History" in his hands, turning another page as he spoke.

Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Hearing this, Seamus thought for a moment, "Professor Black has left, Headmaster Dumbledore didn't announce Protestantism at the dinner party, so... we don't have to do the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, right?"

"Really..." Ron hesitated for only half a second before a cheerful smile immediately appeared on his face. "Oh dear, that's not a good idea."

Looking at Ron's insincere words, Harry rolled his eyes. "Then why did you put the pen down?"

Closing the book, Loren gazed out the window at the deep night sky, his eyes seemingly piercing through a black curtain, landing on the distant Muggle society, far removed from the Wizarding World.

Compared to the long summer and Christmas holidays, the Easter Holiday ended quietly, and Hogwarts started classes as usual on an ordinary Monday morning in April.

The first class this morning was Transfiguration. The reformed curriculum has broadened the scope of Transfiguration content, but deepened it, with much of the material only covering the basics. Advanced knowledge will either be incorporated into subsequent Transfiguration refresher courses or offered in the Transfiguration Club curriculum.

For aspiring wizards who don't plan to delve into the field of Transfiguration and have no intention of working in the Transfiguration industry in the future, the Transfiguration course has become much easier.

"This concludes the process of Transfiguration the mouse's fur. This process can be applied to other small furry animals of the same type, such as Transfiguration and Transfiguration."

Professor McGonagall tapped the podium. "Here's a post-class reflection exercise: Can the above methods be applied to the Transfiguration Transfiguration of bird feathers and fish and snake scales? What are the similarities and differences between these different Transfiguration?"

This isn't a formal assignment and doesn't need to be submitted as a paper. Interested students can discuss it further.

Upon hearing the following sentence, many of the young wizards who were writing down questions in their notebooks put down their quills and smiled broadly.

Homework that doesn't need to be submitted is homework that doesn't need to be done.

Loren turned his head to look to the side, and sure enough, Hermione was holding a quill pen, meticulously copying the questions into her notebook in neat handwriting.

Then I don't need to write anymore, so Loren packed up his books and put them in his backpack with a clear conscience.

Just as everyone was preparing to leave after class, Professor McGonagall called out again, "By the way, members of the Animagus class, please inform each other that the Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon has been changed to Teaching Class. Remember to be on time."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall!" the young wizards replied in unison.

Professor McGonagall had explained the value, challenges, and risks of Animagus in detail during her last open lecture, but the allure of Animagus was too great. This explanation did not dampen the students' enthusiasm, and not a single member of the Teaching Class chose to drop out. Even a small number of wavering young wizards wanted to experience formal instruction first.

Loren was surprised to find that the Miss Beetle had indeed become a teaching assistant.

Rita Skeeter was still wearing the black mask, her quirky blonde curls were now much neater, her jeweled glasses were gone, and she was now wearing the same thin black-rimmed glasses as Professor McGonagall, and her long, bright red fingernails had been cut short.

She held a stack of newspapers in her hands, handing them out one by one to each of the young wizards, then returned to the edge of the podium and stood quietly, like a normal teaching assistant.

Opening the newspaper, there was no text, only thirteen pages of lifelike pictures.

The ink, prepared with Developing Potion, undergoes a repeated process of fusion and separation on yellowed paper, resulting in the effect of people and animals constantly moving on the newspaper.

Owls, crows, Reticulated Python, Beetle, black dogs, tabby cats, alligators, haddock, Cod, cheetahs, cobras, rats, wolves.

Thirteen people continuously transformed into thirteen different animals, and then reverted back to human form from the animals.

Although some people concealed their faces, Loren still recognized many familiar faces: Nagini the Reticulated Python, Rita the Beetle, Sirius Black the black dog, Professor McGonagall the tabby cat, and Wormtail Peter.

Loren's fingers brushed across the ink on the illustration, but the content remained unchanged despite the touch. The magically imprinted book showed no signs of printing, and the parchment's natural resistance was pleasantly smooth.

I admire Professor McGonagall's teaching; the content in the booklet is incredibly comprehensive. It covers almost every kind of animal, from flying birds and slithering snakes to four-legged mammals and even amphibians. Professor McGonagall has done the best she could with the available information.

Hermione recognized several people as well. She looked up and exchanged a glance with Loren, then lowered her head again to continue looking at the picture.

The numerous images of animals and humans transforming into each other caused waves of amazement among the young wizards.

"Quiet, let me speak first." Professor McGonagall used her wand as a pointer, tapping it lightly on the lectern to silence the discussion below.

"The contents of this album are collected from various sources. Of the thirteen pictures, only the owl, crow, Beetle, black dog, tabby cat, alligator, and rat are normal Animagus. I wrote to invite some of them to record the Transfiguration process, while the rat's image is from the Ministry of Magic's criminal files. I believe you will recognize some familiar faces."

Fred shouted first, "I know, the black dog is Professor Black, and the tabby cat is you!"

This prompted a group of young wizards to shout excitedly.

"Hehehe..." George chuckled maliciously, turning his gaze to the pale-faced Percy, "And our dear Scabbers the mouse."

Percy ignored him, taking deep breaths in her seat and forcing herself not to think about those distant memories, which were even more terrifying than the illustrations in "The Terrifying Dark Wizard".

Ignoring their antics, Professor McGonagall continued explaining the contents of the atlas, "The Reticulated Python is a Blood Cursed Beastman. Just focus on her Transfiguration process; I won't go into details here. The Black-striped Cod is that poor Witch Mirabella Seer. You should have heard her story. This atlas was created by several Transfiguration scholars and Arithmancy in search of her whereabouts."

Another lively discussion ensued.

"I know, I got her picture from Chocolate Frog during the Christmas holidays."

"We never found her again; I guess she died in Loch Lomond."

"So pitiful..."

Professor McGonagall waited quietly for their discussion to end. "The two pictures of the cheetah and the cobra are from old shamans on the African continent. The principles of Human Transfiguration they use are different from those of the Animagus. We can learn something from them."

The hedgehog on the third page is Thaddeus Serkel's eldest son. What you're seeing is him being rescued by the Aurors and regaining his human form. Notice his eyes; his long-term fixed animal form has caused his beastly mind to overpower his human brain. His wild instincts have suppressed his rationality, and his primal animalistic nature has taken control of his body. Remember this scene, and learn from it!

The last picture was of a Werewolf in Transfiguration. Experiencing the rampant savagery in the picture was crucial for this key step in the Animagus! Professor McGonagall finished explaining the remaining pictures in one breath, then stood quietly on the podium, allowing the young wizards to slowly digest the information.

Wildness and rationality— Professor McGonagall repeatedly used this phrase, drawing the young wizards' attention to the pictures of a hedgehog and Werewolf, as they tried to glean some insight from the changes in their forms.

"Now, let me explain some important points." Professor McGonagall scanned the classroom, her serious expression radiating a powerful aura that silenced all the whispers. "The book can be viewed by members outside the Teaching Class, but unauthorized copying is prohibited, and it is forbidden to take it out of the school. The book contains restrictive magic that resists Reparation Charm, and it will spontaneously combust and burn if it leaves the school grounds. Anyone who violates these rules will be expelled from the Teaching Class and will never be re-enrolled."

From Professor McGonagall's expression, the young wizards understood the importance of this matter and solemnly agreed to the promise.

"Finally, let's give a round of applause to Assistant Professor Skeeter, whose magical printing skills have made this book possible."

Rita looked up at Professor McGonagall in surprise, seemingly unable to believe that she would say such a thing.

The vast majority of young wizards applauded enthusiastically. Some loyal readers of the Daily Prophet, though they had heard of Rita Skeeter, did not recognize the name Skeeter as a prominent surname and did not associate the sensationalist journalist with this teaching assistant.

Aside from Hermione, she turned to look at her deskmate, Loren, her eyes filled with clear confusion.

"Shh," Loren put his index finger to his lips, "Professor McGonagall certainly has her own reasons, we don't need to worry about them."

Hermione pursed her lips... Oh well, this is class, and as a student, I should just focus on my studies.

Just then, Professor McGonagall called her name: "Hermione?"

"I'm here!" Hermione straightened her back.

Professor McGonagall handed her a cloth bag. "Distribute Mandrake leaves, one leaf for each person."

"Okay!" Hermione picked up the bag and quickly sorted out the leaves she had collected.

Every little wizard who received the leaf couldn't help but smile with excitement, yet they forced themselves to suppress their excitement and carefully protect the fragile leaf.

"I think you have all reviewed the first step of the Animagus Ritual. I will repeat it again: you must keep a single Mandrake leaf in your mouth from one Full Moon to the next, for a whole Full Moon. You must not swallow the Mandrake or remove it from your mouth at any time. If the leaf leaves your mouth, the whole process must be started again."

"The leaves for this month have been distributed to you. Those who failed need to re-register and will receive their leaves next month. Do you have any further questions?" Professor McGonagall looked at the group of young wizards.

Fred raised his right hand high. "Professor, what if I accidentally bite the leaf and crush it?"

"Then we'll declare it a failure and start again next Full Moon."

George then asked, "Professor, can I take several tablets at once? Would that increase my success rate?"

"No, the process must strictly follow the ritual."

"Professor, if I accidentally swallowed it, is it okay to take it out?"

"No."

"Professor, can I use the Sticking Charm?"

Loren was amazed by the creativity of his seniors; those who managed to get in were truly talented.

Professor McGonagall patiently answered these wildly imaginative questions, but the answer was always no; there was no shortcut in the entire ritual.

After confirming that these clever little devils had no other schemes, Professor McGonagall made the arrangements. "Tomorrow, Tuesday, is the Full Moon Night. They can start sucking on the leaves after the moon rises, but no later than midnight..."

Professor McGonagall explained some basic precautions, and after the bell rang, she packed up her books and the leaves in her bag and left, her movements swift and decisive.

Rita picked up the remaining picture book and quickly followed Professor McGonagall towards her office.

"Most of them will fail!" Rita said firmly in a deep voice. She knew Animagus well, having gone through the process of holding Mandrake in her mouth, and understood the difficulty involved.

Professor McGonagall continued walking without even glancing at her, "I know."

"Then why did you do it?"

In the classroom, after checking twice, Hermione confirmed that she had written down all the precautions Professor McGonagall had just mentioned. Closing her notebook, Hermione turned to look at Loren, her eyes filled with some doubt. "Don't you think it's a little strange? Professor McGonagall explained the ritual and precautions very carefully, but she told us to find time to hold the leaf ourselves."

"Given Professor McGonagall's meticulous nature, you think she should gather us together and supervise us as we begin the ceremony, right?" Loren chuckled.

Hermione nodded.

"It's to help us learn from our failures and to discourage those who are hesitant."