Having successfully completed his Animagus transformation, Aiden changed back to human form. "I don't know why, but I always feel remarkably comfortable as a dragon."
Professor McGonagall fixed Aiden with a stern look, her lips pursed in disapproval.
"It seems you're overtired. You need to rest, and a new academic paper should help you get rid of the dragon consciousness's lingering influence."
Professor McGonagall assigned the task with practiced ease, and Aiden already felt a painful sense of dread about his immediate future.
After speaking, she turned and left with a decisive sweep of her robes. Dumbledore approached and patted Aiden's shoulder with sympathy.
"Why did you have to go and provoke her like that?" Dumbledore teased, his eyes twinkling.
"I..." Aiden was choked with a sense of profound injustice.
Over the next few weeks, Aiden once again found himself on the path of a hardcore grinder, spending countless hours in the library while an interesting drama unfolded in Gryffindor.
The big black dog had successfully won the heart of Lada's new little sister, Crookshanks.
Crookshanks's focus during this period shifted entirely to catching rats with the stray dog. This new development left Lada feeling abandoned, and she frequently poured out her woes to Aiden. Unfortunately, Aiden, completely immersed in his heavy thesis work, had no time for her, which made the little cat angry for quite a while.
On Friday, the two furry creatures cooperated as usual.
Crookshanks was responsible for chasing Scabbers out of the Gryffindor dormitory, while the big black dog waited outside to ambush him.
Crookshanks chased the fat rat with all his might, but just as he was about to pounce, a large hand scooped Scabbers to safety.
"Merlin's beard, Hermione! Can't you control that damned cat of yours?" Ron said, cradling Scabbers protectively.
"Perhaps you should take better care of that fat rat of yours. After all, besides Crookshanks, the owls coming and going here also eat rats," Hermione retorted coolly.
Harry was caught between the two, not wanting to take sides, but both of his friends were staring at him expectantly.
"Um, I think everyone should just take care of their own pets," the young savior said, experiencing a dramatic showdown between his closest friends for the very first time.
"Hmph." Both Ron and Hermione turned away in a huff.
The peaceful days passed one by one until Aiden once again knocked on Professor McGonagall's door, holding another thick stack of parchment.
"Hmm, the arguments are very detailed, and the logic is rigorous. But do you really want to publicize the Prewetts' family secrets?"
Professor McGonagall was referring to Aiden's decision to write about the Prewetts' extensive research on magical creature transfiguration in his paper.
"Professor, exploring this level of transfiguration isn't something that can be completed in one generation. If other families rely solely on intergenerational accumulation to complete this transformation, they'll never be able to outrun the Prewetts," Aiden said with a confident smile.
"So?" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"So the real purpose of publicizing this information is to inspire a small number of geniuses, so that more and better magical innovations can be bred."
"Have you considered returning to teach Transfiguration in the future?" Professor McGonagall asked, already imagining a beautiful future where, upon becoming Headmistress, she could immediately dump all her teaching responsibilities on Aiden.
"I'll... consider it," Aiden replied, lowering his head diplomatically.
Professor McGonagall felt it was a bit too early to discuss this with a third-year wizard, so she didn't press the matter further.
"Alright, I'll expedite these two papers to 'Transfiguration Today' in my name. You'll need to come with me to the Ministry of Magic to register the discoveries shortly," Professor McGonagall said, her gaze firm.
Aiden blinked. "..."
The next day, the two returned from the Ministry of Magic, dropping countless jaws along the way. Simultaneously, 'Transfiguration Today' published Aiden's two groundbreaking papers, and a corresponding headline appeared in the Daily Prophet.
A huge storm of public opinion swept the wizarding world, but fortunately, the Dementors guarding Hogwarts blocked this particular storm from entering the school.
"My god, Aiden, you actually completed a magical creature transformation!" Edmund exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Ron, Hermione, Harry, Edmund, and Ethan cornered Aiden the moment he returned to school.
"Mum will be overjoyed, but when you go back for the holidays, you'll have to figure out how to face her yelling," Ron said, his calm tone heralding an impending storm at the Burrow.
"Can you show us your Animagus? The newspaper said it's a dragon," Hermione asked with boundless curiosity.
Edmund and Ethan both nodded eagerly.
"It's too small here. Let's go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest," Aiden suggested.
The group made their way to a clearing on the outskirts of the dark woods. Aiden transformed, shifting into a magnificent silver dragon.
"Cool!" all five exclaimed in unison.
"Hey, what are you lot up to?" Hagrid's voice boomed as he emerged from the trees, having finished his patrol of the grounds.
"Merlin's magic... is... is that a dragon?" Hagrid's eyes were wide with pure amazement.
He walked forward in a daze, reaching out to stroke Aiden's shimmering scales.
"Roar!" Aiden snarled protectively.
"This little cutie is quite shy," Hagrid observed, completely undeterred.
Seeing Hagrid still attempting to hug him, Aiden quickly transformed back into his human form, causing Hagrid to pounce on empty air and tumble to the ground.
"Hahaha!" The onlookers erupted in laughter.
"Aiden?" Hagrid asked, finally realizing what had happened.
"Hagrid, haven't you read today's Daily Prophet yet?" Hermione laughed.
"No, can someone explain it to me?" Hagrid asked, still looking a bit confused.
"Aiden completed a magical creature Animagus transformation. Today's newspaper sales exploded—it's a rare event," Edmund, a young master of the media industry, explained with authority.
"That's really... amazing. Can you let me admire it again? I've never seen such a dragon species before," Hagrid said with a sincere, almost childlike expression.
"Is that really what you want to do... just admire it?" Aiden asked, speechless at the half-giant's enthusiasm.
After a while, the novelty wore off, and everyone returned to their classes.
Although the external storm of public opinion hadn't penetrated Hogwarts' walls, an internal storm had begun to sweep through the student body. Almost every young wizard Aiden encountered wanted to see his Animagus, reminding him of the disastrous situation when he had first issued the Silence Ban in his first year.
However, even the most persistent young wizard would find it difficult to catch a Spectator pathway demigod. Aiden's life remained relatively peaceful during this time.
But things were obviously not so peaceful for Harry. He'd originally thought that with the news about Aiden, Ron and Hermione would have moved on from their pet-related squabbles.
On Friday morning, however, Ron's rat went missing.
"No, my Scabbers!" A long, mournful cry echoed through the Gryffindor common room.
Harry rushed to Ron's bedside and saw bloodstains all over the sheets.
"It must be Crookshanks! That damned beast!" Ron was furious.
He stormed out of the dormitory and confronted Hermione in the common room. The two had a massive argument, their angry voices echoing through the tower.
Harry watched his two best friends, not knowing how to comfort them. He even thought the two might break up over this.
Helpless, Harry could only ask his resident problem-solver for help.
"Aiden," Harry said, looking at him with pitiful, pleading eyes.
"Even if you call me Doraemon, it's useless. One is my brother, the other is my friend. I can't just Manipulate them, can I?" Aiden replied, rolling his eyes.
"Manipulate?" Harry didn't understand.
"Alright, what you need now is a lubricant to try and smooth over the rusty relationship between the two," Aiden could only advise.
As he was about to send Harry away, he suddenly remembered someone who was currently acting as a psychologist.
"Ahem, okay, Harry, I have a suggestion for you," Aiden said, pretending to be profound.
"Okay," Harry nodded quickly, eager for any solution.
"You know about psychology, right?" Aiden asked.
"I know, it's a Muggle subject," Harry replied, thinking for a moment. He seemed to recall Vernon wanting Dudley to study it.
"Miss Astoria Greengrass of Slytherin seems to have quite a bit of research in this area. I recommend you seek her help," Aiden said with a 'serious' expression.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
For the sake of his two friends, Harry decided to go all out, preparing to swallow his pride and seek help from the Slytherins he hated most.
Watching the young man pluck up his courage and walk toward the Slytherin table, Aiden silently made the sign of the cross for him, knowing full well what he'd just set in motion.