A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the Polyjuice Potion had finally been completed.
Dumbledore cleared a patch of land at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and handed it over to Aiden to set up the complex alchemical matrix.
"Hagrid, snap out of it! Help me move the crystal stone at node fifteen back a bit," Aiden called out, his voice bringing the half-giant back to attention.
"Uh, okay, sorry," Hagrid mumbled, focusing his scattered attention on the work at hand.
"Hagrid, it's fine. It's just a hearing," Aiden said after finishing the setup, patting Hagrid's massive hand in comfort.
"But I'm worried I'll mess everything up. Hermione, she's doing everything she can to help me, and she's cried from exhaustion several times. I can't bear the thought of wasting her efforts," Hagrid murmured, his voice heavy with guilt.
"During the hearing, you can ask Dumbledore to apply for us to appear as witnesses in court," Aiden suggested helpfully.
"I'll try," Hagrid said, then walked out of the alchemical matrix with slumped shoulders.
Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived at the site, while Professor Lupin had been waiting nearby since early morning, pacing nervously.
"Do you really think he can do it, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked, worry evident in her voice.
"Give young people some space, Minerva. Perhaps they'll surpass us when we're not paying attention," Dumbledore replied with a knowing wink.
"Mr. Prewett, we will monitor your spellcasting throughout the entire process. Let's begin now," Professor McGonagall said formally.
"Please, Professor," Aiden gestured toward the matrix with practiced confidence.
"I'm counting on you, Aiden," Professor Lupin said, nodding as he walked into the center of the intricate magical circle.
Looking down from above, this section of the Forbidden Forest was surrounded by several enormous interlocking circles. The circular matrices were filled with ancient texts around their perimeters, with mercury serving as connecting pathways between different magical nodes.
"Professor, drink the Polyjuice Potion," Aiden commanded from his position outside the matrix.
Lupin added wolf hair to the bubbling Polyjuice Potion and drank it all in one determined gulp.
Hair immediately began sprouting across his body, and within moments he had transformed into a standing, furry creature. His face remained relatively flat, barely showing human contours, with his nose and mouth only partially transformed. Most notably, he had grown a tail and pointed ears.
"Ha, Professor, you look absolutely dreadful right now," Aiden teased with obvious amusement.
"There's worse to come. Do you want to see?" Lupin replied, managing a rare joke despite his condition.
"Mr. Prewett!" Professor McGonagall's sharp voice cut through their banter, her disapproving glare promising consequences.
"No rush, Professor. The moon hasn't reached the center of the sky yet," Aiden said, looking up to observe the lunar position.
After what felt like an eternity, midnight arrived, and the moon climbed to its highest point in the star-filled sky.
"Now," Aiden said, his staff materializing in his hand with a flash of silver light.
He thrust the staff forcefully into the earth, and brilliant silver radiance began spreading from where the ancient wood touched the ground. The glowing points in the three alchemical matrices connected with each other, forming a perfect Gyfu (ᚷ) rune.
The moon's magical power was drawn by the rune, continuously pouring into Lupin's transforming body like liquid starlight.
"Ah, uh... Awoo!" Professor Lupin completed the transformation from human to wolf, his voice becoming a haunting howl.
"Mr. Prewett, now's the time! He can't withstand the impact of beast consciousness much longer," Professor McGonagall urged.
Aiden made a grasping gesture with his palm, forcibly turning Lupin's lupine face toward him to establish eye contact. A transparent shadow departed from Aiden's consciousness island and flew directly into Professor Lupin's mind.
The transformation was complete, and a magnificent silver-white werewolf stood proudly under the moon's ethereal glow.
He possessed full, powerful muscles, thick arms, and strong hind legs that supported his upright stance. A gentle breeze brushed through his lustrous mane, making him appear incredibly mystical and otherworldly.
Aiden raised his hand and waved experimentally. The werewolf mirrored the gesture perfectly.
Aiden wiggled playfully, and the werewolf did the same.
Unable to watch this undignified display any longer, Professor McGonagall delivered a sharp chop to Aiden's head. He crouched defensively, holding his skull, and the werewolf in the matrix mimicked the exact same motion.
"Stop playing around, Aiden," Dumbledore said, stepping forward to mediate with barely concealed amusement.
"What about the final step, Mr. Prewett?" Professor McGonagall asked, her professional demeanor returning.
"Almost ready," Aiden replied, walking forward and pressing his wand against the werewolf's chest.
Massive amounts of magical power flowed into the creature's body, and under the immense mental force, every magical pathway in the werewolf's form became clearly visible to Aiden's enhanced perception.
Using his wand like a quill, Aiden began hand-drawing the werewolf's intricate magical pathways in the air nearby, creating a glowing blueprint.
"Time to consider the compression problem. Please, both professors," Aiden said, making a gesture of invitation.
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall stepped forward and began carefully observing and recording the werewolf's complex magical pathways.
"A simple shrinking charm definitely won't work," Professor McGonagall observed, studying the patterns.
"But the capacity of the new organs isn't sufficient for storage either," Dumbledore mused, stroking his long beard thoughtfully.
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall's eyes lit up with inspiration.
"Mr. Prewett, do you know where we Animagi usually hide our animal forms?" she asked, voicing her breakthrough idea.
"You mean magically transformed organs?" Aiden caught on immediately.
But soon he shook his head. "Professor, magically transformed organs form linkages with other organs. Hiding magical pathways inside them will only cause distortion by our human body's own pathways."
"But, Mr. Prewett, you haven't noticed that the new organs are ordinary organs and won't interfere with the linkages of our existing wizard organs," Professor McGonagall explained patiently.
"You mean... magically transform the new organs, then hide the pathways inside them. As organs belonging to magical creatures themselves, even if magically transformed, they won't affect the magical creature's natural pathways."
Aiden's fist hit his palm as understanding dawned. "Brilliant!"
"So, the final question is how to quickly magically transform the new organs," Professor McGonagall said, looking expectantly at Dumbledore.
"Why are you looking at me? This old man has no solution," Dumbledore replied with an innocent shrug.
"Phoenix tears, do you have any more of it?" Aiden asked, extending his hand hopefully.
The headmaster stingily produced a small vial and handed it over reluctantly.
"Use it sparingly. After all, these are what Fawkes spent all night crying to produce," Dumbledore said with genuine heartbreak in his voice.
"We'll find alternative methods in the future. Relying on phoenix tears is far too costly," Aiden replied casually.
Aiden's staff began emitting brilliant light, as if another bright moon had been captured at its crystalline tip. The gathered lunar magical power rushed toward Professor Lupin's ears and tail in streams of silver energy.
Simultaneously, Aiden threw the precious phoenix tears into the magical confluence.
The magical power and tears combined, continuously changing, destroying, and repairing Professor Lupin's ears and tail in an endless cycle of transformation. Finally, as the moon began its descent toward the horizon, his ears and tail began emanating their own magical power.
The final step was compressing the intricate magical pathways covering the werewolf's body.
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall drew their wands with practiced precision. Under the combined efforts of all three masters, complex magical circuits were carefully installed within Professor Lupin's transformed ears and tail.
After everything was completed, Aiden withdrew his virtual personality. The poor construct had been severely deformed under the relentless impact of werewolf consciousness. He had to withdraw it back to his consciousness island and use his demigod-level soothing abilities to nurture it back to health.
After several tense minutes, Lupin's eyelids twitched.
He opened his eyes and looked at the three people watching him with barely contained anticipation.
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Aiden... was this successful?" Lupin asked, his voice hoarse but hopeful.
"Very successful," Aiden replied, secretly wiping cold sweat from his brow in relief.
"Try it, Remus," Dumbledore suggested gently.
Professor Lupin rose from the ground, clenched his fists in concentration, and white wolf fur sprouted across his skin once more. Soon, that magnificent werewolf appeared again, but this time with full conscious control.
"This is true magical creature transformation," Lupin marveled, examining his razor-sharp claws with wonder.
"What abilities do you have, Remus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.
"Let me test them," Lupin said, then began running with supernatural speed.
"Stupefy!" Aiden cast a stunning spell directly at him.
The running Lupin was struck by the red light, but aside from swaying slightly, nothing significant happened.
"Spell resistance greatly increased, and speed and strength also improved considerably," Aiden summarized with satisfaction.
"Excellent! This counts as a complete success. Congratulations, Aiden," Dumbledore said, offering his heartfelt congratulations.
"Congratulations for what?" Aiden asked, genuinely confused.
A pair of iron-strong hands suddenly grabbed Aiden by the back of his neck; it was Professor McGonagall.
"For the magical creature transformation thesis, of course," she said with a predatory smile.
Professor McGonagall began dragging the protesting young wizard toward the castle.
"Nooooo!" Aiden's miserable voice echoed through the Forbidden Forest, promising many long nights of academic writing ahead.