It took quite a bit of head-patting from Glenn before the huffing Hermione finally cheered up, and the two of them reached the second-floor corridor.
"All right, time to recall it."
Hermione, who had been using part of her consciousness to control the Disillusionment Charm-concealed alchemical puppet, guided it back to rejoin her and Glenn.
"Release it."
Glenn said simply.
Hermione didn't question him and lifted the Disillusionment Charm from herself.
Simultaneously, Glenn instantly recalled Hermione's alchemical puppet into the Black Ring.
"Let's go."
He said this to Hermione, and together they followed the flow of students into the Transfiguration classroom.
Professor McGonagall hadn't arrived yet—Hermione guessed she was probably organizing today's lesson materials. After all, Professor McGonagall had quietly given her a hint about the topic yesterday.
Even though nearly half the students had arrived, the front-row seats remained empty. Hermione happily spotted a two-person seat and pulled Glenn over to sit down.
The girl was just about to open her book and continue reviewing when the hushed conversations filling the classroom caught her attention.
"What's everyone talking about? The atmosphere feels rather tense."
Hermione tilted her head, trying to position her ears to catch more information.
"Probably discussing what they learned in Divination class, or the prophecies Professor Sybill Trelawney made for them."
Glenn analyzed casually based on the facts, then placed both his and Hermione's textbooks on the desk and began flipping through them. He had no intention of using his enhanced senses for something like this—compared to the students' chatter, he was more interested in what Professor McGonagall would be teaching them next.
"Um... but I heard that Professor Trelawney is just a drunk who likes playing mystical tricks—though that's what an upperclassman told me, and quite a few people seem to think so. Would her prophecies really cause such a commotion?"
Hermione hesitated before voicing her thoughts.
To be honest, she'd actually bought Unfogging the Future, the required textbook for this term's Divination class, but the content left this academic completely bewildered.
Frankly, if this book hadn't appeared on Hogwarts' official curriculum list, Hermione wouldn't believe a word of it.
Well, she couldn't say she completely disbelieved it—after all, in a world of magic, anything was possible. It was better not to speak too definitively without seeing things firsthand...
But the "legends" about Professor Trelawney circulating among the students were quite real...
...Though she hadn't witnessed those personally either, so never mind...
After this mental storm, Hermione successfully convinced herself to stop worrying about whatever was causing her classmates' agitation. She turned and picked up her copy of Intermediate Transfiguration.
The topic Professor McGonagall would be covering—Animagus transformation—was extremely important knowledge.
It was the only branch of Transfiguration that Glenn, despite his average talent in the subject, desperately hoped to master quickly. So Hermione planned to dedicate serious effort to this spell this term, aiming to understand the principles of Animagus transformation first, digest and comprehend them, then guide Glenn. When the time was right, they'd attempt the Animagus transformation together.
As for the Ministry of Magic's strict prohibition against private study of this spell, Hermione had long since stopped caring.
Come on—if you weren't caught, it didn't count as breaking the rules. This principle had already taken root in Hermione's heart. Besides, she'd already used the Patronus Charm to obstruct the Ministry's tracking work right at the start of term, and Glenn had even completely annihilated all those Dementors without leaving a trace. Compared to that, secretly learning Animagus was child's play.
With this mindset, Hermione opened her Transfiguration textbook and began absorbing the knowledge within.
Glenn, seeing that Hermione was no longer concerned with their surroundings, also withdrew his scattered attention to focus entirely on studying Animagus-related knowledge.
This branch of Transfiguration was indeed extraordinarily useful—even throughout the entire wizarding world's magical history, it held a very special place.
The power of Animagus lay in allowing the caster to transform themselves into an animal. This was completely different from most living Transfiguration—Animagus transformation truly turned a person into an animal.
No magical aura whatsoever, undetectable by any magical sensing methods—just like any ordinary animal in nature.
This was the ultimate spell for intelligence gathering, infiltration, and assassination.
Even the most sophisticated concealment charms could be detected with enough magical skill, but Animagus was different. Once transformed, you were truly an animal. Unless your magical power was exhausted or another wizard cast Human-Revealing Spell, there was virtually no possibility of exposure.
This supreme concealment ability was precisely why the Ministry of Magic had banned private mastery of Animagus magic, requiring practitioners to report their animal characteristics to the Ministry's Improper Use of Magic Office for registration before being permitted to use it.
But what did that have to do with Glenn and Hermione? Reporting was impossible—they'd never report. Learning was definitely happening—they absolutely would learn it. Being discovered by the Ministry was impossible—they'd never be caught.
They'd already killed Dementors, and Glenn had mastered two of the three Unforgivable Curses. Why shouldn't they learn a mere Animagus transformation?
However, this was only one reason the Ministry prohibited private Animagus study. The second reason was what truly mattered for Glenn and Hermione.
When practicing Animagus, using incorrect methods could cause the practitioner to lose control—either becoming a grotesque hybrid creature or never being able to return to human form. That would be truly catastrophic.
So this couldn't be rushed. Only by completely mastering this spell before formally beginning Animagus transformation practice would be the correct approach.
"Given Hermione's talent in Transfiguration and her knowledge base, the time to begin practice probably won't be too far off."
Repeatedly chewing over and storing the Animagus page details in his mind, Glenn thought to himself.
Hermione's preparation in this area probably exceeded his imagination. Ever since Glenn had mentioned this to Hermione, the girl had devoted far more energy and time to studying Animagus than to any other spell or subject.
"This is something you asked me to help with—of course I'm giving it my all!"
Hermione's spirits had soared considerably after hearing Glenn's words back then.
"Mainly, I'm quite looking forward to being able to hold you in my hands and play with... I mean, cuddle the little animal version of you."
She'd said this last part quietly, but Glenn still heard it.
"Then I'll be relying on you greatly for this matter."
For some reason, Glenn had said this.
"Leave it to me," Hermione had responded, fully understanding Glenn's meaning.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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