Chapter 637: Discussion
Chapter 637: Discussion
The students left one by one, each carrying their materials, and the last one closed the door behind them.
Bang.
The staff room fell silent, with only Professor Binns snoring softly by the fireplace, his face serene. However, the tranquility was soon broken when Felix leaned back in his chair and asked, "Would anyone like a cup of tea?"
Professor Mcgonagall, Snape, and Grindelwald looked up, their expressions varied.
"I wouldn't mind", Grindelwald said casually. "The probation report can be written anytime."
Professor Mcgonagall's sharp gaze immediately shifted from Felix to a new point of interest. "I must remind you, Professor Bashat, you've been putting this off for several weeks now."
"Thank you, Minerva", Grindelwald replied politely. "Each time I think about it, I have new insights..."
"It seems Mr. Bashat is a perfectionist", Snape remarked dryly. "It's a shame we haven't heard of your reputation before."
"I haven't been in Britain for long. It's too confined, and the weather isn't great", Grindelwald said.
Snap.
They all turned their heads, and Felix calmly bit into a crisp cookie. By the time they had finished speaking, three plates of pastries, two teapots, and four cups had appeared on the table. "I don't think we need to worry about Professor Binns unless someone wants him to join the conversation..."
No one responded.
Grindelwald poured himself a cup of honey tea, while Snape stared at the faint halo of light on the table. The fourth plate was trying to slide off, and Felix pushed a bowl of chilled jelly with a cat's face to Professor Mcgonagall, making room for the exploding jam doughnuts.
"An alternative food summoning charm?" Snape asked.
"I invented it", Felix said. "The key is to discuss it with the house-elves in advance. I added a light effect to make it look more magical."
Professor Mcgonagall was somewhat unimpressed.
"Felix", she said, examining the soft, bouncy cat jelly for a moment before pursing her lips. "I need to discuss the lesson plan with you. Animagus transformation is extremely dangerous—"
"Minerva, I trust your judgment, and we'll be watching over them", Felix said. "Besides, I still believe the biggest challenge of becoming an animagus isn't the tedious preparation, but controlling the wild instincts that emerge during the first transformation. Ninety percent of the danger happens at that stage."
"I completely agree, Felix", Professor Mcgonagall said, then asked skeptically, "Have you mastered animagus transformation yourself?" She had assumed Felix had just compiled the Black Family's notes for the students.
"Sort of."
"Sort of?" Professor Mcgonagall gasped, knocking over her cup. She waved her wand, and the cup restored itself. Without looking up, she asked, "What is your animagus form?"
"A swift", Felix said without hesitation.
"I've never seen your name on the animagus registry", Professor Mcgonagall said sternly. "So, my teaching career has had a significant oversight, with four students practicing illegal animagus transformations right under my nose?"
"Cough, to be precise... I'm not sure if what I've done qualifies as an animagus. As for the registry... Hermione Granger has been so busy lately, I didn't want to bother her", Felix started making up excuses.
Professor Mcgonagall stared at Felix, her chest rising and falling rhythmically.
Snape and Grindelwald remained silent, listening intently to their conversation. As far as Snape knew, Felix had never learned animagus transformation during his school years, at least not at Hogwarts. He was always asking questions, earning him a nickname... something like a wandering sphinx?
But he might have done something privately during his breaks or after graduation. It was entirely possible.
Grindelwald, meanwhile, recalled Dumbledore's animagus form.
"...Therefore, if students can experience this feeling of nearly losing control, it will help them maintain their sanity during the actual Animagus transformation", Felix said, seeing that Professor Mcgonagall was still not convinced. He nodded at Snape.
“However,” Snape set down his teacup and said slowly, “how do you plan to strike the right balance? Don’t tell me… you got the idea from the Death Eaters’ punishment of students.”
Felix knew that Snape was referring to Barty Crouch Jr., who had impersonated Mad-Eye Moody and transformed Draco Malfoy into a ferret shortly after the start of the school year.
“Indeed,” Professor Mcgonagall said, her voice trembling slightly, “I doubt any of you have forgotten the unfortunate case of witch Hicks Clourain.”
Felix looked at her in confusion.
“What about her?”
“Clourain was a witch from the 1920s. During her first Animagus transformation, she made a serious mistake. The uncontrollable wildness in her mind overwhelmed her, and she lost her sanity. Her family only realized something was wrong a week later, after a storm had passed through the area. They discovered that their daughter had been practicing her Animagus transformation during that time.”
“And then?”
“They found Clourain and restored her to human form, but she was completely delirious. It took her three months of treatment at St. Mungo’s to recover.” Professor Mcgonagall said sternly, “She was lucky. There is evidence that at least seven wizards have gone missing over the past century, and their disappearances are suspected to be linked to failed Animagus transformations.”
Felix pondered this.
“I think this story tells us how important it is to have a reliable mind and supportive friends… Minerva, I’m more curious about how Clourain’s parents found her. Given her condition, she would have been indistinguishable from a real animal.”
Professor Mcgonagall glared at him angrily.
“Because Clourain’s parents insisted on casting the Revelio charm on every animal they saw for three days. Eventually, a mile away, they found a cow happily eating wild strawberries. The stripes on its body matched the pattern of their daughter’s favorite dress…”
“…The recovered Clourain was terrified by her experience and refused to attempt the Animagus transformation ever again. As a result, the Ministry of Magic did not register her name.”
Maybe her Animagus form wasn’t very useful… Felix thought to himself, but he said with a light tone:
“Alright, I admit the story is scary, and losing control of your body is terrible. But you can’t seriously think that with the two of us here, a student could just run off, can you? If you’re really concerned, we can set up a control group—think about it, Minerva. We can keep the risk to a reasonable level, and if we succeed, the new training method will significantly improve the safety of Animagus transformations.”
There was a moment of silence, and Professor Mcgonagall’s resolve wavered.
Although she was often strict, it was a habit she had developed dealing with mischievous students. She herself had Ravenclaw traits and had nearly been sorted into Ravenclaw House when she first arrived at Hogwarts. Her approach to knowledge was meticulous, and she was never short of courage.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have mastered the Animagus transformation.
What made her hesitate was the uncertainty of risking the students and the extent of that risk. She looked at Felix, who gave her a confident smile.
“Then show me your plan,” Professor Mcgonagall said, “and if there’s even the slightest issue, I won’t agree.”
“No problem,” Felix said cheerfully, “I bet those students won’t even read the materials, so we have plenty of time…”
The door was pushed open from the outside.
“What a lively scene, I could hear you from the hallway,” the portly Slughorn puffed as he squeezed in, carrying a small fruit basket, “I wondered where you all had vanished after dinner…” His face lit up when he saw Grindelwald.
“Horace,” Professor Mcgonagall said, a faint blush still on her cheeks, “did someone send you something again?”
“Oh, this?” Slughorn, unusually, did not boast about his connections. Instead, he fidgeted with the buttons on his vest, muttering nervously, “It’s from Carlotta Pincstone. I knew her when I was young, before she went mad… or rather, became so stubborn.”
He placed the small basket on the table, tore off the wrapping paper, and revealed the candies and preserves inside.
“Ah, my favorite… don’t be shy.” He said, his plump fingers deftly picking up a piece of pineapple covered in powdered sugar, and with his free hand, he poured himself a cup of tea, taking a whiff, “Honey tea, the perfect match.”
"So, what were you talking about? If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite you to a small Christmas party I’m organizing. There will be quite a few notable guests", he glanced slyly at Felix.
"Thanks, Horace", Professor Mcgonagall said nonchalantly. Having worked alongside Slughorn for many years, she was well aware of the Potions Master’s temperament. "It’s clear that retirement hasn’t dulled your teaching skills. You’re as adept as ever."
"To be honest, it’s a bit of an adjustment", Slughorn said with a smile. "A lot has changed since I retired. For instance, all the best students have been picked off, which is only natural. The school has seen the rise of many excellent colleagues..."
In the evening, Harry, Ron, and Ginny trudged back to the common room after their Quidditch practice, their steps heavy.
"Did the training go well?" Hermione asked, still engrossed in her Animagus notes. She waved her wand, and the dirt and grime on Harry and the others vanished, leaving them clean and fresh. She had become quite adept at casting non-verbal spells.
"Thanks", Ginny said listlessly. "Everyone except Harry and Katie has been inconsistent. If we’re lucky, we can score some impressive points. But if everyone’s having a bad day..." She shrugged.
Harry was too exhausted to speak. His throat ached from shouting tactics all day, and even swallowing was painful.
Hermione glanced up at them, her tone calm but firm. "Though it might sound harsh, I still suggest you set aside some time to go through the materials Professor gave us. You don’t want to be unprepared—"
"Hermione, we know what we’re doing", Ron said, slumping into a sofa chair. "The most important thing right now is Quidditch! You don’t understand, we’re up against Malfoy. I dream of hitting a Bludger right into his face."
"Planning to take over the Beater’s job? What about the goalposts? Are you going to teach them how to dodge the Quaffle?" Hermione said sharply.
Harry chuckled silently but quickly suppressed his smile. He thought it was wise to keep Ron’s spirits up.
"So I told Perks and Gut all about my dream in detail", Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione pulled a book from the stack and began reading from the middle. "They were very inspired and decided to help me achieve my goal. No need to thank me, Harry." He waved a hand at Harry.
Hermione snorted and picked up another book, carefully counting the pages before jotting down notes.
"Hermione, how do you do it?" Harry asked, his voice hoarse.
"Do what?"
"Read several books at once."
"They’re all related", Hermione explained. "Haven’t you gotten used to Professor’s style yet? He always likes—"
"Annotations too?" Ginny leaned over, peering at the notes in front of Hermione. "The reasons for maintaining a calm mind, see Chapter 12 of the ‘Spell Experiment Commissioner’s Complete Guide to Spell Research’—‘Do Not Conduct Magic Research When in a Bad Mood.’”
Harry exclaimed, his voice raspy, "The materials are full of this stuff?" He felt his throat starting to burn.
"Pretty much every page... oh, just the first third. The part provided by Professor Mcgonagall doesn’t have annotations; she wrote them herself. She mainly added safety precautions, failure cases, and her personal comments."
They looked at each other in silence. After a long moment, there was a loud thud as Ron toppled off his chair.
"Are you okay, Ron?" Harry asked, half-concerned and half-amused, helping him up. Ron’s face was still a picture of shock as he stood up.
"I was thinking of staying up all night to go through the materials after the match, but now it’s impossible", Ron said, his face pale. Then, as if seeing a lifeline, he added, "Hermione, you have to lend us your notes."
...
In what felt like the blink of an eye, it was the weekend.
The Great Hall’s ceiling was a clear blue sky, indicating a beautiful day. As Harry and the others descended the stairs, the Gryffindor students greeted them warmly. Harry spotted Luna and couldn’t help but hope for a miracle, like Professor Mcgonagall spontaneously deciding to officiate the match...
When he changed into his Quidditch robes in the locker room and led his nervous teammates onto the pitch, the cold wind whipped his hair. His heart had settled into a calm and focused state.
(End of Chapter)
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