"Now that I can cast it with my wand, I can work on mastering it wandlessly." Harry smiled as he released the Charm and the Guardian faded into silvery mist before disappearing entirely.
"That may be far more difficult than even learning the Charm itself." Remus mused and Harry shrugged.
"I don't like to leave spells un-mastered." Harry stated simply. "Also, have you given any thought to helping Sirius and I with the Animagus Transformation?"
"Why did Sirius put that idea in your head?" Remus sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Because it's a very useful bit of Magic," Harry reminded his surrogate uncle. "Also because he's Sirius and he did it while in Hogwarts so he thinks I should too."
"Right, of course," Remus chuckled as he shook his head. "I'll explain the process, Harry; but know that it is very advanced Magic that requires a long time to make work. If any step is skipped, missed, or forgotten, you'll have to start over from the very beginning again."
"Sirius said it took him and my dad almost three years to get it right." Harry recalled and Remus confirmed that it did.
"The process is extremely difficult and can result in disaster." Remus began the explanation. "There have been cases such as permanent half-human, half-animal mutations if the process is done incorrectly. To begin you have to keep a single mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month, from one full moon to the next full moon. So a full Lunar Month is required."
"Even a Mandrake Leaf should dissolve from saliva in that amount of time, shouldn't it?" Harry questioned curiously.
"Mandrake Leaves aren't broken down so easily," Remus shook his head. "They usually require physical processing to break them down for Potion-making."
"Huh, we only went over their care in Herbology, so I guess Snape just decided not to teach us that." Harry sighed at what a crap teacher Snape was to students that didn't have a talent or excessive knowledge of Potions.
"Continuing on, if the leaf is removed or swallowed, the witch or wizard will have to start over again. During the next visible full moon, visible is very literal here so if the night happens to be cloudy, the one attempting the process will have to start over," Harry's eyes widened at having to rely on the weather to be a certain way for this process to work! "But if the weather is proper then the one attempting the process has to spit the leaf in a phial while under the moon's pure rays. To the moon-struck phial, the wizard or witch must add one of their own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven full days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. The mixture has to then be put in a quiet, dark place, and can't be disturbed in any way." Remus' had to hold back a chuckle at Harry's incredulous look.
"Why is this so obscure? Who came up with this specific method?" Harry felt like scratching his head in frustration. Trust Magic to be as weird and specific as it wants to be, while other times it was simple and straight forward.
"The next step that has to happen is for the one attempting to wait for an electrical storm, whenever that might be. During this waiting period the attempter will have to, at both sunrise and sunset without fail, chant the incantation 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' with the tip of their wand placed over the heart. When next there is a lightning storm, the attempter will need to move immediately to a large and secure place, recite the incantation one final time, and then drink the potion." Remus couldn't stop the snicker that came as he saw Harry's incredulous look.
"Are… Are you making that up?" Harry questioned as he looked at Remus for any signs he was being pranked. "That sounds like you're making it up!"
"Unfortunately not, Harry," Remus held up his hands. "That's the only available method that is guaranteed to work. That is, unless you want to transfer to Uagadou down in Africa? They specialize in Self-Transfiguration, in fact a good number of their students are Animagus before they graduate."
"Well, I have been pondering on if it would be worthwhile to attend Hogwarts for all seven years recently." Harry admitted and Remus face-palmed at his words.
"You're very advanced for your age, Harry, to be sure." Remus agreed. "You can take your O.W.L.s and even N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry early; but if you fail you'll have to stay at Hogwarts all seven years to be given a chance to attempt them again."
"I'd just go for the Core Classes along with Runes and Arithmancy for O.W.L.s and then focus on Charms, DADA, Runes, Arithmancy, and maybe Transfiguration for N.E.W.T.s if I did that." Harry shrugged. He knew he could easily pass any Practical Exam for O.W.L.s and possibly even N.E.W.T.s when it came to spell casting, or rune work.
"Let's shelve that conversation for later then?" Remus suggested and Harry agreed. "Now, let's see you cast the Patronus again!"
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry cast and his Guardian emerged from the tip of his wand again. This time Harry poured more of his mana into the spell. His Patronus reflected this by being eight meters long this time. The silvery-white Eastern Dragon flew through the air in large circular motions around the classroom.
"Very good, Harry, very good indeed." Remus smiled at the progress. "As an interesting little side note to our Animagus discussion; the few Witches and Wizards that have been known as Animagus and capable of casting a corporeal Patronus as well, often have similar forms."
"I assume there aren't many examples of this, based on how difficult each one is to accomplish." Harry inquired as he let his Patronus disperse.
✨ Want to read the next chapters early?
Unlock 20+ advance chapters and get exclusive perks by joining my Patreon!
🔗 Join here: 👉 NIXERION
---
💎 Patreon Tiers
🥉 Tier 1 — $10
📖 Access to 20 advance chapters
🥈 Tier 2 — $20
📚 Access to 30 advance chapters
🎁 Extra exclusive benefits
---
🔥 Patreon Benefits
📚 Read 40+ advance chapters early
👥 Join a private fan community
📝 Access exclusive unreleased novels
🚫 Enjoy a 100% ad-free reading experience