The weather in Spinner's End was always gloomy, and even in summer the clouds shifted endlessly.
When the heavy rain began drumming down again, Sean was still wrestling with a problem.
He hadn't fully mastered his Animagus transformation.
That wasn't just reflected in the lack of progress on his status panel; it showed in the fact that he simply couldn't turn back into his nundu form.
After all, Animagus forms are normally limited to non-magical creatures. Transforming into magical beings like phoenixes, dragons, or hippogriffs tends to produce… unpredictable consequences.
For Sean, that "consequence" was very simple: switching between human and animal was extremely hard.
He struggled not only to become a nundu, but also to change back into a wizard.
After several failed attempts, Sean quietly took out a Nundu Biscuit.
Sometimes a wizard does need a little external help…
Soon, a black cat whose paws didn't quite match its body was clambering along the wall of books.
It walked with a wobbly, drunken sway.
The firelight from the hearth washed over its fur, tinting it a dull amber. Noticing this, Snape slowly raised his newspaper to block it from view.
For nearly a week, Sean had done nothing but practice switching forms.
Sometimes he even stayed in nundu form for days at a time, just to increase his control over that body.
He would, for example, hop from shelf to shelf, or stand in the doorway using his whiskers to feel the humidity and temperature, trying to predict the change in weather.
"Tomorrow will be sunny."
The black cat leapt lightly and turned into a slender boy in black robes, muttering to himself.
On the sofa, Snape, half-hidden behind his paper, couldn't help a cold snort. He flicked his wand and the potion ingredients laid out on the balcony to dry flew neatly back inside.
After all, this particular black cat had managed to get the weather wrong for seven days in a row.
Which, in its own way, was almost impressive.
Sean was convinced he'd get it right this time—because he'd finally heard the panel chime:
[You have mastered a special type of soul transformation. Master-level proficiency +100]
[A special form has been unlocked. View?]
Sean was caught off guard. Ever since reaching Master in Transfiguration, every grind session had only given him one or three points at a time. Getting one hundred at once… he opened the panel eagerly.
[Transfiguration branches:
Material Transfiguration: Novice (10/300);
Magical Transfiguration: Novice (30/300);
Soul Transfiguration: Apprentice (60/90)]
[Evaluation: A newly minted Transfiguration Master; battle strength a solid "five" among Masters.]
Ignoring the "battle strength five" comment, Sean focused on the newly unlocked Soul Transfiguration.
He slowly stretched out his hand. In an instant, it shifted into a cat's paw—at the same moment, his whole body flowed smoothly into the shape of a black cat.
—Without using a Nundu Biscuit.
The cat stood on the floor, eyes thoughtful, staring off at nothing.
[Name: Sean Green]
[Special Forms Unlocked: Nundu
Locked: Unknown]
Locked special form?
So he really did have more than one soul avatar?
That subtle choice of words was enough to set Sean's imagination racing.
And so, as late July rolled in, beneath the golden light that only summer can pull from stone, Sean returned to Hogwarts.
There were no students in the castle, but most of the professors were still around.
Silence had become Hogwarts' defining feature in the holidays, giving Sean a clear space and time to lay out his plans under clear blue skies.
—Basilisk Biscuits.
To pull that off, Sean needed enough power to stand against the basilisk, and he had to further refine the Fairy Tale Biscuit ritual so that users could remain conscious.
After all, an uncontrollable basilisk could only be used under very special circumstances.
His ever-improving Transfiguration would help with the first, and Soul Transfiguration had just given him hope for the second.
Before the basilisk started attacking, Sean would have to be ready. The earlier, the better.
So on his very first day back, Sean went straight to Professor Tayra in the Alchemy classroom.
"Good to see you, my dear student. You finished your Animagus?"
Tayra caught the absence of the talking brooch at a glance, and spoke with a quiet hint of delight.
"Yes, Professor—but I have some problems."
Sean replied.
"Your shift isn't smooth? The animal instincts are too strong? Or you can't transform without your wand?"
Tayra sounded very experienced.
"My student, all of that is perfectly normal."
"All right, Professor—but what if the Animagus form is a magical creature?"
Sean asked carefully.
"A magical creature… a magical creature?!"
Tayra leaned in sharply, voice going hoarse.
"Let me see…"
After a long moment, Tayra's eyes were burning bright, and she could no longer hide it.
She sent off a white paper airplane and, with a faint tremor in her voice, said:
"I should have guessed… but to master it so quickly… You've entered the dreamscape? Tell me—what did you see?"
Understanding the "dream" was one of Sean's goals here. He answered slowly:
"I saw some vague shadows, and a black nundu… and a lot of mist.
Later, I became that nundu I had seen…"
He described as clearly as he could.
"Good. Very good. You've entered one of your soul avatars in the dreamscape. As for that place you were in—that is the most extraordinary place of all…
Listen to me, child. Even at Uagadou, very few witches or wizards fully understand that world. It's a place where time doesn't move; it simply is—a flat, empty presence.
Very few can truly step there—into the world beyond the Veil of Death, where a wizard's soul dwells.
Normally, only after death do you get a chance to go. If you refuse to move on, you become a ghost.
If you embrace it, you begin a great adventure.
But those who train Soul Transfiguration can glimpse the smallest corner of that world—and from that they gain certain unique powers.
For instance, staying fully conscious in transformed form. Or quickly grasping the true essence of self-transformation."
Tayra's voice flowed steadily on.
Sean's Quick-Quotes Quill scratched busily, recording every word.
"To step into that place—even just a corner—is extremely difficult. Nearly impossible through ordinary Animagus work,"
She emphasized "ordinary" ever so slightly, clearly hinting at something.
"But its benefits are enormous. So, my student—have you thought of how the witches and wizards of Uagadou manage it?"
~~~
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