Animagus

[Fir wood, wizard hair, eleven and two-thirds inches]

[Status: Perfect]

[Traits: Transfiguration +10 (50)%

Disguise: Animagus transformation success rate +30%]

Silvan stared at the result he had spent the entire night making, his eyes shining.

There were thousands upon thousands of wands in Ollivanders Wand Shop, but this was the only one Silvan had ever seen that could directly increase the success rate of becoming an Animagus.

His grandfather could not make one. Even his great-grandmother, who had once used kelpie mane, had never made a wand related to Animagus transformation.

Silvan did not know whether such wands had existed in the past, but there definitely was not one among the three hundred and seventy-seven wands left in the shop's inventory. Otherwise, he would certainly have remembered it.

After all, Animagus transformation was the pinnacle of living transfiguration and had quite the reputation. If Silvan had seen one before, there was no way he would have forgotten it.

And a direct thirty percent boost to the success rate was simply unheard of.

That bonus was already considerable. Most new wands only had positive bonuses of around five to ten percent.

Professor McGonagall had been famous for many years, yet even the [Transfiguration Master] trait influenced by her herself only provided thirty percent.

Besides, becoming an Animagus was not ordinary transfiguration magic.

There were roughly more than three thousand wizards in the United Kingdom, yet only seven registered Animagi at the Ministry of Magic. Even counting the unregistered ones, there could not possibly be more than twenty.

A direct boost to an ultimate move—was this the true value of a transfiguration master?

The more Silvan looked at it, the more he liked it. With a casual wave, the quill on the table instantly transformed into a gleaming silver needle.

Silvan frowned.

How should he put it? It felt somewhat awkward to use, something he had never experienced before.

But that was probably the drawback of using wizard hair as a wand core.

Silvan looked at the other trait.

Transfiguration +10 (50)%

It was his first time seeing that as well, but it was not difficult to understand.

For everyone else, including its maker, the bonus was the base ten percent. But in Professor McGonagall's hands, it would become fifty percent.

In other words, this wand could only reach its full potential in Professor McGonagall's hands.

...After all, it was her hair.

Silvan hesitated briefly, then decided to keep the wand for a while instead of giving it to Professor McGonagall for the time being.

Traits related to the magic of "Animagus" were simply too rare. He did not know whether he would ever see a second one.

Although he was only a first-year and his transfiguration knowledge was still incomplete, meaning that even with the bonus he could not possibly master Animagus transformation, he could learn.

As a wandmaker who was not good at fighting and lacked the strength to truss a chicken, survival magic like Animagus transformation was very important. Ideally, he would master it before Voldemort returned.

Silvan had not had much confidence before. It was the pinnacle of living transfiguration, after all. But now that he had this wand, things became much simpler.

As long as he put more effort into transfiguration, he might really be able to learn this magic before Voldemort returned—perhaps even this year...

Ah, he was getting ahead of himself. Getting ahead of himself.

Silvan patted his cheeks, trying to wake himself from his daydream.

Becoming an Animagus was not something one could accomplish by merely reciting a spell. A solid grasp of basic transfiguration was an essential prerequisite.

It was like wanting to win the Quidditch World Cup—you had to at least know the rules and learn how to ride a broom first.

Those were not things a first-year could master.

Not to mention, Silvan had other things to do. He could not devote all his attention to transfiguration.

As for Professor McGonagall... he happened to have one of her hairs left. At worst, he could simply make another wand.

Besides, she was already proficient in Animagus transformation and did not need a wand's assistance.

Having made his decision, Silvan stood up and rubbed his forehead to clear his mind before leaving the dormitory.

The common room was quite lively.

As usual, Fred and George were peddling their prank products, along with all manner of quick-acting Skiving Snackboxes.

Little wizards like Silvan, who looked sleepy and clearly had not rested well, were their prime targets.

"Come try some Exploding Tooth Candy." Fred approached with a box in his hands, filled with more than a dozen brown toffees.

"It works in one second. Guaranteed to get you out of a boring classroom whenever you want."

"Back to the dormitory."

"To get some proper sleep."

"Or anywhere else you want to go."

The two took turns promoting their product.

"Thanks, but no." Silvan shook his head. "Our first class is History of Magic."

"Well, then you really do not need it." Fred put the candy away dejectedly.

Professor Binns, who taught History of Magic, was a ghost. He had taught at Hogwarts for many years, then one day fell asleep beside the fireplace in the staff room. When he went to teach the next day, he somehow forgot to bring his body along and died just like that.

Yet he did not stop teaching. He became Hogwarts's only ghost professor and continued teaching History of Magic to the students.

It had to be said, Hogwarts's board of governors was inhuman. They even exploited ghosts.

No need for rest, no need for food, no salary... If Hogwarts held professor evaluations, Professor Binns would definitely remain first place forever.

However, limited by the nature of being a ghost, this professor's teaching quality was rather poor. After losing his body and brain, all that remained of his lessons was reading from the textbook, and he never cared about what went on in class.

Students could sleep, chat, or play wizard chess. As long as they did not make too much noise, they could do whatever they wanted.

That was why History of Magic also had the lowest truancy rate.

With so much freedom in class, there was really no need to skip it. It would be far too unfair if another professor caught you instead.

For someone like Silvan who planned to catch up on sleep, History of Magic was also the best choice.

"I want to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. Is there still time?" Silvan asked casually.

"If you do not mind being late, then there is." Fred said. "By the way, you did not go to the Great Hall this morning, so you missed the most exciting part."

"What?" Silvan glanced at the time.

Class started in ten minutes. Going for breakfast now would definitely make him late, unless he could guarantee every staircase was in the right place.

But that was unlikely. Those staircases loved targeting first-years.

"Nimbus 2000!" George said excitedly. "Can you believe it? Someone gave Harry Potter the newest model of broom."

"And Wood told us he'll be Gryffindor's new Seeker."

"Professor McGonagall said he's the most talented Seeker."

"This year is Gryffindor's best chance. We'll definitely win the Quidditch Cup."

Watching the twins suddenly blaze with enthusiasm, Silvan silently took a step back and decisively chose to head to class first.

He really could not understand people who played ball games. What was there to get excited about over riding a piece of wood? It would only be interesting if it had a wand core added to it, and preferably if the rules were changed so magic could be used in the air.