High Tower.
"Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus..." Will pointed his Wand at his heart and finished the incantation. A faint stirring arose in his chest, though he did not know whether it counted as a heartbeat.
According to the usual process, if he kept repeating the incantation at sunrise and sunset, there would come a moment when the tip of his Wand touched his chest and he felt a second heartbeat. Sometimes it was stronger than his own; sometimes it was weaker.
Will had begun feeling a faint, intermittent stirring a few days ago. Did that count as a heartbeat?
"It does. An Animagus's heartbeat is unusual. As far as we know, its rhythm varies, partly depending on the animal the person will become." Professor McGonagall looked grave. "So, Will, are you saying you've already reached that stage?"
Only then did Will relax.
After the Transfiguration Club meeting, Professor McGonagall answered Will's question, though she studied him with concern.
"Yes, Professor." Will did not hide it. Professor McGonagall was a renowned Animagus, and her experience was invaluable. "I also wanted to ask you about the final step—completing the transformation during a storm."
Professor McGonagall fell silent for several minutes. Every time she thought Will's talent could not become any more extraordinary, he proved her wrong. A second-year Wizard had already reached the final step of becoming an Animagus.
As time passed, talk of the attacks on students began to die down. Most people believed Professor Dumbledore's authority had made the Dark Wizard lurking in the shadows afraid to act again.
The heightened security remained, but things were much better than before.
The Wizarding World gradually fell quiet as well. Dumbledore had made his position clear. What more did anyone want?
Will spent the month focused on his own affairs, and