Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 179, Section 178: Arrest Rita! Illegal Animagus!

Even though they already knew that Squibs could become shamans, and Filch was proof of that, the students who had never been able to establish a connection with the elements were still incredibly upset when they saw that even Squibs, who couldn't use magic, could succeed.

The idea of ​​Muggles being able to use magic is still in the future, and it's uncertain whether it will even succeed, but the changes to Squibs are right before our eyes...

Fred and George were trying to comfort their sister, but it didn't seem to be working very well. After all, the two of them had indeed become the new shamans, while Ginny felt nothing at all—and Luna, Ginny's good friend, was also comforting her beside her.

Then Ginny cried even harder.

There were many students like Ginny. The entire shaman class was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected incident, with cries heard everywhere. The students walked in groups toward the castle, and the professors who had come to listen out of curiosity kept comforting them.

Well, no matter how upset the students are, it's beyond Harry's control; he's giving a lecture to his new apprentices.

Although the apprentices in this world are quite different from those in Azeroth, and Harry doesn't have to be too responsible for them, it's best to avoid making some mistakes if possible.

The warnings for the new apprentices were no different from last year's, but unlike last year, Harry no longer had to go back to the castle with them after they left.

Harry moved all the desks, chairs, and other miscellaneous items he had used in class back to his office—the interior of that huge totem. Since shaman classes rarely had indoor sessions, Harry decorated the place very warmly.

It's so cozy it hardly feels like an office; it's more like another home... which is understandable, since Hogwarts professors have tenure, so apart from a few professors with annual tenure, the other professors' offices can indeed be considered their second home.

Harry added a few more pieces of firewood to the fireplace and sat down in the armchair to wait. To celebrate the successful start of his good friend and drinking buddy's teaching career, Hagrid insisted that the two of them have a good drink tonight. He even went to the Forbidden Forest to hunt a wild deer to prepare to show off his culinary skills, and refused Harry's request to come along.

Given Hagrid's firm resolve, Harry abandoned the idea of ​​helping out... all he needed to do was bring out the Potter family's finest wine.

The fire burned brightly after the firewood was added, and Harry could see the fire element dancing merrily within it. The crackling sound of the fire was very soothing and lulling.

"...You know what? Every exploration of this world only makes me have more questions..."

In the empty office, Harry suddenly spoke up.

"It's not just the illusory realm, which is a unique space that should be considered a place for the dead to return to, but also many kinds of magic that point directly to the essence of the world, such as the Transfiguration spell, the Unseen Stretching spell, or the Restoration spell, which can achieve the effect of reversing time."

"Even though the vast majority of the planet is controlled by Muggles who don't understand magic, and wizards seem to be living in hiding from Muggles, appearing quite pitiful, from another perspective, you'll find that wizards' research into the world has entered another level."

"Thoughts, soul, universe, time...aren't these topics fascinating? If a real mage were to come to this world, he would probably jump for joy—unfortunately, I am not that kind of mage, I am just a shaman."

"But I really love the magic of this world. Looking at this world from different angles reveals different things. And after reading so many books, I've finally come to a conclusion: perhaps because it's so commonplace, wizards have overlooked a world right before their eyes..."

He was completely bewitched. Even though Harry was the only one sitting by the fireplace in the office, he kept talking as if he were explaining something to someone.

But there was definitely something listening, or more accurately, it was a person.

Not far from Harry's chair, in the space where a large hole had been deliberately left to serve as a window for the building, a beetle the size of a thumb was perched. It was bright green with delicate patterns on its wings, not much different from the beetles that could be found everywhere in nature, except that it was a bit prettier.

It could hear Harry's words clearly and also noticed the strange feeling, so much so that it slightly vibrated its wings and moved its limbs back, as if hesitating whether to leave.

“...That’s the Astral Plane,” Harry continued on the other end. “Like the Mystic Realm, a unique world that covers almost the entire world and attracts the souls of dead wizards, the Astral Plane also covers the entire world.”

The beetle stopped moving, seemingly captivated by the information Harry had revealed.

"But the astral plane is too thin, like the skin covering the surface of human muscles, only a thin layer, so ethereal that it is almost undetectable—unless someone knows of its existence beforehand and deliberately seeks it out."

"The wizards were unaware of the existence of the astral plane, but by chance, they inadvertently discovered a way to utilize it: Apparition. This spell opens a passage through the astral plane and teleports the wizard there. However, because the astral plane covering the world's surface is so thin, the wizards experience a feeling of being squeezed, compressed, and rotated."

"Throughout the entire Apparition process, what the wizard is essentially doing is temporarily transforming his physical body into an Astral Body, which is a phantom energy body, and then transforming it back into a physical body after arriving at the destination."

“Some highly skilled mages can also do this. They use this magic to travel through the astral plane and go to other worlds... Ah, sorry, I seem to have said a bit too much. You should be able to understand this feeling, right? When you get excited, your active mind will be out of your control.”

"Although I hate to admit it, after gradually experiencing the fun of magic, I seem to be becoming more and more like Jaina, haha."

As he spoke, Harry himself started laughing.

"Let's get back to the astral plane. In short, once you recognize the existence of the astral plane and master a reliable way to enter it, you can observe the world around us through the astral perspective—a peculiar world completely different from what you see with the naked eye, revealing the most essential characteristics of everything."

"So here's the question: why do I see the most essential characteristic of a lady I know in a beetle? That—unique astral light." Suddenly, the beetle on the windowsill turned around at top speed, flapping its wings and flying out the window, but it was too late.

"A barrage of bullets."

Harry's casual incantation caused the green beetle's beady eyes to show utter terror. Every wizard who graduated from Hogwarts knew the effect of this spell: it would command an object or person to attack the victim, either by using a transformed object or other movable object—but it was just a beetle!

What a fragile beetle! Any rock or hard object could easily smash it into a pile of beetle mush!

Bang! !
Harry didn't even give the beetle much time to think. The spell was quick, and it wasn't in its usual form. Instead of several jumbled objects flying out the window, it was a glass jar as thick as an arm.

It caught up with the beetle's flying figure at an extremely fast speed, as if a hand had grabbed the jar. It scooped the beetle into the jar from the bottom up, and then a piece of cork flew in and completely blocked the mouth of the jar.

Finished!

As it landed at the bottom of the jar, despair instantly filled the beetle's eyes. In that instant, it thought of many things, from regretting its actions that day to its hatred for Potter, who was pretending to be innocent, and then to Azkaban... It had already considered the worst possible outcome.

No matter how pitiful the beetle inside the jar looked, flapping its wings and desperately trying to fly away, the glass jar was magically restored and flew back into the house, quietly landing in front of Harry.

“It’s been a long time, Miss Rita,” Harry said with a friendly smile, leaning back in his chair and bathed in the warm glow of the fireplace. “My apprentice, Mr. Filch, would probably love to see you again.”

Incredibly, upon hearing Harry's words, the beetle that had been frantically dancing in the glass jar suddenly stopped and fell straight to the bottom of the jar as if it were dead. This human-like behavior further confirmed its extraordinary nature.

Yes, in Harry's eyes, the beetle's name was Rita Skeeter, the reporter who was always looking for big news.

The astral perspective has revealed everything.

Indeed, all things have spirits. Harry was already used to the fact that, when viewed through the astral plane, even some toilet seats at Hogwarts seemed to have spirits, let alone the spirit of a beetle. The soul power of dead creatures could also reside in such small insects. Therefore, normally Harry would not care about such ubiquitous beetles.

But who could blame him when the radiance emanating from this beetle was exactly the same as Rita Skeeter in his memory?

“That answers my question about why you’re always able to produce some clandestine reports—you’re an illegal Animagus.” Harry looked with interest at the canned armored beetle on the table in front of him.

This was the first time he had ever seen an animal shapeshifter other than Professor McGonagall, and not a large animal like a cat or dog, but a beetle less than the size of a human finger... truly amazing magic.

Harry couldn't help but sigh again.

Why does Rita Skeeter always manage to reveal secrets, as if she were personally eavesdropping? For example, the many things related to shamans that came out of Filch's mouth. The old apprentice practically clung to Harry's leg, crying and insisting that he absolutely did not say anything wrong during the interview.

It was all because Rita had transformed into a beetle and was eavesdropping nearby; after all, no one would care about an insignificant little bug in their surroundings.

"Hmm, can't beetle form speak human language?" Harry said knowingly, after hearing only the sound of beetle flapping its wings. "I'm afraid I'll have to give you a chance to speak."

As he said this, Harry gently waved his hand and moved the table with the glass jar to the side, while the glass jar containing the beetle floated in mid-air, then turned upside down and fell to the ground, the cork disappearing.

The Silent Spell and the Wandless Spell made Rita's eyes even more terrifying. This boy didn't even use the shamanic spells he had taught in class, nor did he summon the wind elemental to do all this for him. Instead, he used magic from the wizarding system—which made Rita even more aware of the difficulty involved.

Only under such controlled circumstances did Rita's awe and fear of power reach their peak, so much so that after leaving the glass jar, she didn't even try to escape, but instead deactivated her transformation.

Unlike Professor McGonagall's transformation from a cat to a human, Harry felt that the entire process of a beetle transforming into a human was somewhat mentally disturbing, given the sheer abrupt change in scale.

“So, you’ve caught me, Potter,” Rita said, her face grim as she sat sideways on the ground.

She tried to force a smile and say something to regain control of the relationship, but meeting Harry's calm gaze, she couldn't manage a smile or say anything.

Because Rita already knew—she knew that the cowardly, kind, shy, and timid boy she remembered was just Harry Potter in disguise—yes, during her days secretly infiltrating Hogwarts, she had seen through Harry's disguise!
That timid and cowardly demeanor, where they can only seek help from themselves, is all an act. And that clueless, idiotic look is also an act!
Now! At this moment! This is the real him! This is the real Harry Potter!!

Completely different! Utterly opposite!!

Especially after overhearing what the boy had done the previous year among the students at school who idolized Harry Potter, as well as his usual behavior, and even witnessing what he was like as a professor, Rita realized that the Harry Potter she had known in the past was nothing but a lie!
Rita Skeeter was never a stupid person; a truly stupid person could never have lived a life unscathed after writing those articles and offending so many people.

(End of this chapter)