Devero glanced down at his watch.
There wasn't much time left.
Class was about to begin.
Quite a few students had already arrived in the classroom.
The room was growing noisy.
Devero waved to Hermione to let her know he was heading to the Slytherin table.
Then he turned and left.
Devero's appearance clearly took the Slytherin first-years by surprise.
They all stared at him, wide-eyed.
They had probably seen him get taken away by Snape yesterday before he'd even finished his meal.
They must have thought his expulsion was a foregone conclusion.
But here he was, alive and well!
Whispers about Devero began spreading among the students.
"What happened? He wasn't expelled after all. I thought there was no way I'd see him today!"
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe he got some other punishment? Like detention?"
"I don't get it!"
But Devero didn't care in the slightest what the kids thought of him.
He wasn't interested in them at all.
Even the Entries they had on them—
He'd already collected them all yesterday.
They'd been added to the Entry Library.
He casually found a seat near the front.
Although he still hadn't managed to acquire any Transfiguration Entries from anyone else,
He wanted to give it a try anyway.
Was his talent really that useless?
Well, he was determined to prove otherwise today!
So Devero was especially focused.
He was resolved to prove what he could do!
Of course, he'd also taken a seat in the front row
So he could get a good look at Professor McGonagall casting her most advanced form of Transfiguration.
The entire process of becoming an Animagus.
He wanted to see if he could understand all the details just by relying on the Magic Prodigy Entry.
Unfortunately,
He failed.
When the bell rang,
The tabby cat that had been lying on the teacher's desk immediately leapt down.
Its body twisted and flipped rapidly.
Before Devero could make out even a single detail,
A stern woman in dark green robes stood at the front of the classroom.
Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House, and a registered Animagus!
Professor Minerva McGonagall!
Devero was stunned!
That process wasn't magic!
Or rather,
It wasn't entirely magic!
Magic made up only a tiny part of it!
Devero could guarantee that, as a Magic Prodigy,
Professor McGonagall had used quite a bit of magic just then, but to complete a transformation that drastic—
Based on the little Transfiguration knowledge Devero had,
It should have been absolutely impossible!
Unless...
The caster had modified her own body!
Devero recalled the scattered references to Animagi in the original story.
He vaguely remembered
That the process required drinking a very complicated potion.
The requirements were extremely strict.
Then, under certain conditions and in a specific environment,
The potion had to be consumed.
So that meant being an Animagus
Was actually the result of combining Transfiguration and Potions!
That was why the transformation had such an effect.
Devero's eyes lit up at the thought.
He wasn't an expert in Transfiguration,
But as a Potion Spirit,
He was a professional when it came to inventing new potions!
Several possible potion ingredients that might produce the desired effects immediately came to mind.
He began arranging them in different combinations,
Trying to work out the potion's recipe on the spot.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound of someone rapping on a wooden desk jolted Devero out of his thoughts.
He looked up as if waking from a dream.
Professor McGonagall was glaring at him, looking furious.
"Mr. Alexander, could you tell me what you're thinking about?"
Devero immediately sat up straight.
A cat with its fur standing on end was truly terrifying!
"Professor, I was wondering whether an Animagus is the product of several disciplines working together."
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.
She didn't seem to have expected a first-year student to bring up Animagi.
"From what I observed, you used very little magic when you transformed. It didn't seem like enough for such a complicated transformation. So I suspect that advanced Human Transfiguration isn't accomplished through Transfiguration alone."
Professor McGonagall's anger faded. She watched Devero with some surprise.
It wasn't just that he knew the obscure technical term "Animagus."
More importantly, Devero had been able to tell how much magic she had used.
That was something she'd never seen before.
Now Professor McGonagall found herself curious about Devero's reasoning.
"Hmm, that's true. So what do you think makes Human Transfiguration possible?"
Devero breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he continued.
"My current theory is that Transfiguration can be combined with Potions. The method behind brewing Polyjuice Potion draws to some extent on the transformation principles of the rare Metamorphmagi in the Wizarding World. Perhaps the same idea can be developed further for Animagi. But this time, the potion would have to completely alter the drinker's bodily structure, rather than producing a temporary effect like Polyjuice Potion."
Professor McGonagall nodded slightly.
A rare smile appeared on her face.
"Your theory is quite close to the mainstream view in the academic community. Human Transfiguration is indeed deeply connected to Potions. However, becoming an Animagus is extremely dangerous. Potions and Transfiguration alone can turn a person into an animal, but they can't prevent the other problems that may arise during the process. You'll learn about that when you reach Sixth Year."
"Pay attention in class. You still have a lot to learn at school. Don't try to swallow everything in one bite."
With that,
Professor McGonagall turned and went back to the teacher's desk.
Devero nodded his thanks.
The professor had probably let him off because it was his first offense and his thoughts were somewhat related to the lesson.
But the other young wizards were completely bewildered.
"What were they talking about?"
"Yeah, what's an Animagus? I've never even heard of it!"
"From what the professor said, it sounds like Sixth Year material!"
"Wait, did I walk into the wrong classroom? Is this really a first-year Transfiguration class?"
"What first-year? That's definitely not something first-years should be discussing!"
"Oh my goodness, this is the very first lesson, and the professor is already discussing Sixth Year material with another student? What are we even supposed to learn?"
Even the Slytherins who had been gossiping about Devero were beginning to question who he was.
"Could he be the illegitimate son of some pure-blood family?"
"Maybe! How else would he know so much?"
"And he hit Malfoy... but he still wasn't expelled or anything..."
"Yeah, so what are we supposed to do later..."
Malfoy's face twisted with rage when he heard that.
Seeing Devero steal the spotlight
Was even worse than being insulted himself!
Clearly, these young wizards, who had barely seen anything of the world,
Had been thrown into the deep end for the first time!
"Transfiguration is the most complicated and dangerous subject you'll study at Hogwarts,"
Professor McGonagall said from the front of the classroom.
"Anyone who misbehaves or falls asleep in my class will be asked to leave, and will never be allowed back in. I'm warning you now."
As she spoke, she gave Devero a pointed glance.
Devero could only shrug helplessly.
Now the actual lesson was beginning.
Professor McGonagall transformed her desk into a pig, then changed it back again.
She performed several more transformations in quick succession.
The young wizards in the room immediately grew quite interested in the subject.
Perhaps even more excited than they'd been when they saw Professor McGonagall change from a cat into a person.
Maybe they thought turning themselves into animals wouldn't be so great?
In any case, their interest had been piqued.
Devero watched with great interest, too.
He had to admit,
A teacher with the Good Mentor Entry
Certainly knew how to engage a class.
Professor McGonagall then began explaining the various precautions.
"Transfiguration is an extremely complicated form of magic, and that means it's also extremely dangerous. Why is that?"
Professor McGonagall waved her wand.
A shower of multicolored powder burst from its tip.
The particles instantly came together into something like a three-dimensional holographic image.
The powder kept transforming into all kinds of contorted human bodies.
Bodies that were a fusion of humans and animals.
Even grotesque, completely collapsed masses of flesh!
The gruesome sights left the young wizards in the room deathly pale.
Devero watched thoughtfully.
So these were the consequences of performing Transfiguration incorrectly?
The risks really were considerable!
If he tried it recklessly,
He might turn himself into some kind of monster.
He'd have to think carefully before attempting to become an Animagus.
"These are all tragedies caused by forgetting Transfiguration's most important principle while performing the spell,"
Professor McGonagall said, stressing the point with utmost seriousness.
"The most important principle is caution! They all used Transfiguration on themselves or others without making thorough preparations, and in the end, it led to disastrous consequences!"
"According to legend, Anubis, the guardian of Egypt, was an immensely powerful wizard. He could even bring people back from the dead. But despite his great power, he once recklessly used Human Transfiguration and was ultimately unable to turn his head back from that of a jackal, losing half his sanity!"
"There are far too many examples like this: the Sphinx, half human and half lion; the Minotaur, with a bull's head and a human body; the Centaurs, who became half human and half horse in their quest to gain a horse's stamina; and many others."
"So I hope you'll remain cautious and focused throughout your study of Transfiguration."
Devero listened.
He nodded slightly.
Earlier, when he'd seen the entry for Transfiguration Prodigy,
he'd wondered
why caution was the most important quality for a Transfiguration master.
Now he understood.
Without caution, you probably wouldn't even become a master.
You'd go straight to meet Death.
The young wizards who'd been eager to give it a try just moments ago
all looked a little crestfallen.
It seemed they were terrified of meeting such a fate.
Once the students had been given a sobering talk,
they moved on to the theory.
Just as it was described in the original story,
the notes on Transfiguration
were incredibly abstruse and obscure!
Even now, with the Exam Prodigy title,
he still found them a bit of a struggle.
Of course, he was still doing much better than the first-year sitting beside him.
Devero could glance back and see Malfoy gnawing on his quill in frustration over the lesson.
That made him feel a little better.
After the dull, tedious theory,
they finally reached the practical lesson Devero had been eagerly anticipating.
He was going to find out for himself just how good his Transfiguration talent really was!
Before you continue