July 19th, 1973, Thursday.
Shortly after the full moon, the three Little Lions of Gryffindor finally found time to gather for the first time at number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Sirius had clearly shared the story of the 'Invisible Book of Invisibility' with James and Remus. As soon as they met, James excitedly suggested going to Flourish and Blotts to search for the 'legacy of invisibility,' which made Regulus laugh uncontrollably.
To keep a low profile (at Regulus's strong insistence), the four of them grabbed snacks and moved their meeting to Sirius's room.
Sitting by the window, James seemed to have an endless stream of words, which showed how bored he had been in Godric's Hollow.
"Thank you for the Strengthening Solution, Regulus." Seeing James pulling Sirius and telling him about his experience of almost hitting an airplane while flying his broom, Remus seized the opportunity to thank Regulus, his warm eyes full of sincerity. However, he had just recovered from the full moon, and his complexion was still a little unnatural.
As soon as he finished speaking, the bedroom suddenly fell silent. James awkwardly scratched his head; he had almost forgotten that the main topic of this meeting was to discuss Remus's matter.
Regulus, of course, would not tell them now that some of the Potions were commissioned by him for Severus to make.
Snape brewing Potions for Lupin - how touching.
Seeing three pairs of eyes staring at him, Regulus cleared his throat and said in a deep voice:
"Regarding that 'hairy topic,' let's discuss it together today. For myself, I want to focus on the Potion aspect, because our Slytherin Head of House is a Potion Master (and the future Head of House will also be). Also, I know that my brother already has some good ideas—"
Three pairs of eyes focused on Sirius. Sirius paused, and in his usual pleasant voice, he said softly, "What I'm thinking about is the essence of this 'hairy thing'—that is, 'human Transfiguration.' Following this direction, I found information about 'Animagus' in a book."
"A...ni...magus?" James frowned, repeating uncertainly.
"Yes, Animagus," Sirius nodded and continued to explain, "It's a type of human Transfiguration. After successfully mastering it, a Wizard can freely switch between human and animal forms. And after an Animagus transforms into an animal form, besides not being able to speak human language, they still retain human thoughts and reasoning abilities—this is the fundamental difference between an Animagus and transforming oneself into an animal!"
"An Animagus, like Professor McGonagall, right?" Lupin said softly, "I've seen her turn into a cat."
"I see, it's like Babbitty in 'Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,' who can turn into a rabbit at will?" James quickly connected the story from 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' he had heard as a child with the current situation. "But, turning into a cat... or a rabbit... how can that help Remus?"
"A cat or a rabbit, of course not. Regarding the animals an Animagus Wizard can transform into—from my research, the animal that can be transformed into is related to many factors: weight, personality... and desire," Sirius said seriously. "I think... if we can transform into large animals, preferably those that are capable fighters, we can accompany Remus in non-human forms during the hairy period, for example—a big bear."
Apart from Regulus, the other two still looked a bit bewildered.
"As far as I know, in Werewolf form, werewolves only like to attack humans; other animals are less likely to be their targets," Regulus added.
Xiao Lupin nodded seriously.
Sirius had clearly done his homework. He continued, "There are a total of seven registered Animagi this century, and Professor McGonagall is one of them. Because practicing to become an Animagus, well, has a certain degree of difficulty and risk—the Ministry of Magic requires that the transformed animal and characteristics of all Animagi must be registered with the Ministry of Magic's Improper Use of magic Office."
"But many people don't register after mastering it," Regulus added from the side. "As Professor Dumbledore said: 'This type of magic is undoubtedly very useful for those who engage in sneaky, unspeakable activities, or even criminal activities.'"
"There are only seven in total this century—" Remus said uncertainly, "'a certain degree of difficulty and risk,' how difficult is that?"
"Very difficult, it might take... several years." There was a sense of confident ease in Sirius's eyes. "As Professor McGonagall said, 'Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts,' and human Transfiguration is among the best of them. When practicing, people might go astray, for example, only their ears turn into a cat's, and they can't turn back into a normal human..."
"Human Transfiguration is generally a sixth-year course, and Professor McGonagall's N.E.W.T. class only accepts students who have received 'Good' in their O.W.L.s," Regulus added again.
"So cool!" After a brief silence, James said belatedly, his Black eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is too cool, freely switching between animal and human forms! There are only seven in total this century!"
"I want to learn this!" he said decisively, looking at Xiao Lupin beside him. "And it can also help Remus!"
With his idea having supporters, Sirius seemed relieved, his tone firm and proud: "Me too, I think if others can do it, there's no reason we can't. Our Transfiguration grades are all good."
"Agreed, we have the two greatest Transfiguration gods at Hogwarts—" Regulus immediately raised both hands in agreement. "I'm talking, of course, about Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, and they are your Heads of House."
The Little Lions nodded frantically—they Gryffindors have always been excellent at Transfiguration.
Even without Remus, he would dream of learning to transform into animal form—what Animagus? In his gamer's view, this was a Druid from 'World of Warcraft'!
Back then, he was also a Balance Druid; Druid, the standard jack-of-all-trades.
Besides: Nature's power, animal forms, etc., how Hufflepuff is that.
Watching everyone's reactions, Sirius smiled and solemnly extended a hand in front of him: "Then we're agreed, Animagus, for Remus—"
Regulus placed his hand over his brother's: "Animagus, for Remus—"
James also quickly put his hand on top: "Animagus, for Remus—"
Remus's tightly pressed lips relaxed into a smile, and he placed his hand on top: "Animagus, thank you, my friends..."
...
The few Little Wizards talked about Potions, spells, future plans, and so on, before chatting about idle matters again.
"Andromeda cousin has given birth, a child with that Muggle Wizard," Sirius whispered. "It's a daughter, said to be very talented, a Metamorphmagus."
Nymphadora Tonks—a smile appeared on Regulus's face.
"Mother won't allow me to see them," Sirius said. "I need you to cover for me."
Andromeda Black cousin was Sirius's favorite cousin. Ever since she married the Muggle-born Wizard Ted Tonks, she had been disowned from their family tree by their mother.
"No problem. Let me think of a reason," Regulus said, looking at Xiao Lupin.
Hey, your wife is born!
Logically speaking, this was also his nephew-in-law.
Regulus playfully patted Remus's shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eye and cleared his throat: "This is a Metamorphmagus—a genius baby who can perform human Transfiguration naturally. How about we go see her together?"