Jean Gardner had actually transformed into a peregrine falcon without using an incantation or a wand.
This astonished quite a few of the wizards present. The more perceptive among them turned their eyes toward the headmaster of Castelobruxo, while some others looked at Professor McGonagall.
Li Jinglong, the headmaster of Nanyang Magic School, happened to be beside Professor McGonagall-the two were on good terms and often sat close together, discussing cutting-edge theories of Transfiguration.
Watching Jean Gardner transform, Li Jinglong frowned slightly, then turned to Professor McGonagall beside him. "Minerva?"
"Yes, an Animagus." Professor McGonagall nodded in confirmation.
Quite a few people around her had already been looking her way. Hearing Professor McGonagall confirm it, they nodded in understanding.
That was the more reasonable possibility.
Although becoming an Animagus was also highly difficult magic, even surpassing Human Transfiguration in difficulty and complexity, a considerable part of that difficulty lay in self-knowledge and potions.
If those obstacles could be overcome, even young wizards could master this highly advanced magic.
In the United Kingdom, however, Animagus magic was strictly restricted, and both its study and research had to be reported to the Ministry of Magic.
Of course, that was only a requirement in theory. Previously, for instance, no one but Lupin had known Sirius was an Animagus, allowing him to escape Azkaban easily once he mastered transforming without a wand.
Of course, after his name was cleared, Sirius had been obliged to register his Animagus form with the Ministry of Magic. This was, of course, an utterly pointless exercise. After all, the newspapers had covered it extensively. There was probably not a single literate wizard in the United Kingdom who did not know Sirius was an Animagus.
By comparison, magical authorities in other countries did not regulate Animagi so strictly. An Animagus