“Animagus, huh… to be honest, I actually tried learning that spell last year.”

A Gryffindor boy murmured to himself. “Unfortunately, I had to wait too long for a thunderstorm, and once I forgot to recite the incantation on myself, so it all ended in failure.”

He smacked his lips in regret but quickly smiled again and gave a thumbs-up to Dawn.

“But junior, the fact that you thought of using Animagus to solve permanent transformation issues—you’re way ahead of me!”

Dawn shrugged. He could tell this brown-haired boy had a very enthusiastic personality.

A Ravenclaw girl, flipping through the materials in her hands, didn’t even look up to greet the junior from her own house.

“Hmm, I don’t know much about Animagus either. You know I’ve never been fond of spells with such a high failure rate.”

Professor McGonagall nodded. She understood and agreed with the young witch’s perspective, then turned to the last member of the group across from her.

It was a slim, quiet boy from Slytherin. He stood up calmly and politely.

“Professor, could you give us a starting point? As you can see, we haven’t done any prior research on this.”

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and said, “Fair enough.”

She stood up and looked around at her promising students.

“Well then, before we start the discussion, let me first show you all the limitations of Transfiguration.”

As she spoke, she reached into the sleeve of her robe and gently brought out a Niffler, presenting it for everyone to see.

—The Niffler. Classified as a XXX-level magical creature by the Ministry of Magic.

Its body was covered in sleek, jet-black fur, resembling a mole in shape, with a flat, duck-bill-like snout. It was naturally drawn to shiny objects, making it an excellent “thief.”

“I’m sure you all recognize it.”

Professor McGonagall glanced at Dawn and, seeing that he didn’t look surprised, skipped the explanation and continued:

“I hired this Niffler from Professor Kettleburn for one Galleon. It’s agreed to cooperate with our Transfiguration attempts.”

“You may each try casting a Transfiguration spell on the little fellow in turn.”

As she placed the Niffler on the round table in front of them, she stopped the brown-haired boy next to her.

“Oh, Mr. Jones, please don’t be in such a rush!” she said, patting his shoulder.

“This Niffler has been with me the entire time… After the session, I’ll give everyone time to check their belongings.”

That comment made everyone glance toward the Gryffindor boy who was now frantically searching his robe.

Jones stood up, looking miserable.

“Professor, of course I trust you… but I have a token of love from Eva. If I lose it… she’ll definitely kill me!”

The Niffler widened its eyes and squealed loudly at Jones, as if being falsely accused.

The other two students chuckled quietly with unclear meaning.

Professor McGonagall sighed helplessly.

“Alright, Mr. Jones. I understand your situation. Please find your keepsake first—then you may go first for the demonstration.”

*Whoosh—!*

Suddenly.

A gust of wind slammed against the windows, followed by the patter of rain.

Dawn turned his head and glanced outside.

It had started to rain.

Professor McGonagall clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention back to her. She addressed Jones, who had just pulled a ring from his pocket.

“You all learned how to transfigure living creatures into non-living ones in the lower years. But I’m guessing none of you have ever tried it on a magical creature, have you?”

“Uh, that’s true.”

Jones recalled sneaking into the Forbidden Forest at night, but had only used Stunning Spells on magical creatures. He stood up, holding his wand. “Do we need to transform it into something specific?”

“Anything is fine,” McGonagall replied.

Jones thought for a moment, then waved his wand. The Niffler, which had been greedily eyeing his ring, was suddenly transformed into a sparkling stone.

“Ha!”

Jones chuckled mischievously, just as he reached out to toy with it—before his surprised eyes, the stone instantly reverted back into a Niffler.

“Less than a second,” the Ravenclaw girl frowned. “That’s short.”

“It’s magical resistance,” said Avery from Slytherin calmly.

“I’ve read about it in my family’s collection. Aside from the commonly acknowledged fire dragons, almost all creatures with magical power possess high resistance to Transfiguration.”

“Avery is absolutely right,” McGonagall nodded.

“Magical resistance, at its core, refers to the ability of magical beings to use their own will to channel magic and resist the effects of spells.”

“And Transfiguration cannot change the essence of something, nor can it affect the soul.”

“When we try to transform a magical creature—or even when the spell succeeds—their full magical power can resist and quickly nullify our limited magic.”

“That’s why, when dealing with magical creatures or even wizards, it’s often more effective to simply knock them unconscious with a Stunning Spell.”

She motioned for the brown-haired boy to sit down.

“Jones’s spell worked just now only because the Niffler was paid and its will to resist was low.”

Dawn narrowed his eyes.

From a certain perspective, Professor McGonagall’s words were indirect evidence of the connection between magic and the soul.

He then recalled how “Body Splitting Disorder” could increase one’s total magical power. He became curious—how exactly were magic, the body, and the soul connected?

*Bang—!*

A violent gust of wind suddenly blew the window open.

A few raindrops were carried inside and landed on their faces.

Professor McGonagall frowned and shut the window tightly. She turned back and continued:

“Now that we’ve discussed the flaws of Transfiguration, I’ll explain the origin of the Animagus spell.”

Dawn’s index finger and thumb unconsciously rubbed together as he sat up straight.

McGonagall glanced at him:

“Here’s what we know now—”

“When we cast Transfiguration, the effect fades as the magic dissipates.”

“And when we cast it on magical beings or wizards, their own will and magical resistance greatly weaken the effect.”

“So, some witches and wizards once proposed—why not just cast Transfiguration on ourselves?”

“That way, not only would we eliminate the problem of resisting willpower, but we could also use the magic within our own bodies to maintain the transformation.”

As McGonagall spoke, she dried the rainwater that had blown in.

“Of course, early on, wizards wanted to transform directly into magical creatures. But unsurprisingly, they all failed. In the end, they could only turn into ordinary animals.”

Jones blinked at her words. “That’s it?”

He picked up his wand and instinctively wanted to try casting the spell on himself.

“Idiot. Even thinking about it should tell you it’s impossible.”

The Slytherin boy sneered. “If it were that easy, why would Animagus require magical potions to complete?”

McGonagall nodded. “Mr. Avery is absolutely right.”

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