Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 210, page 209: Animagus and the Real Minotaur!

“I do hope my Animagus form will be the one I desire,” Harry said, a rare expression of longing or anticipation appearing on his face. “That way, I’ll be a real minotaur.”

For many years in Azeroth, especially when Harry was young, this was his deepest desire.

Yes, he could indeed distinguish that his true race was human, and he could understand that the minotaur he usually called himself was just a psychological identification—but deep down, Harry always wanted to truly be one of the Shuhari, no different from his family.

Even though Father Kane and his family never minded this, nor did the Minotaur tribe who supported him, and even Professor Magatha eventually stopped caring and regarded him as one of his own, Harry still felt some regret.

But now, thanks to the magical wizardry, this regret seems to finally have a chance to be remedied.

“It’s all about minotaurs again!” Sirius couldn’t help but complain. “Okay, if your Animagus form really is a minotaur, then as your godfather, I have to be one too—give me a pair diagonally opposite! Harry! The kind that’s similar to the Weasley twins, preferably the kind that can glow!”

“Wait, what do you mean by glowing—what did they do?” Harry’s eyes sharpened.

"You should think carefully about what you've said, Sirius," Lupin said, looking at him with disapproval. "What do you mean by 'Harry is also you'? No godfather acts like a godson."

"Never mind such trivial matters, Remus," Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "The important thing now is what to do about the storm!"

"Just wait, isn't that enough?" Lupin said helplessly. "There's no specific time limit for this last step. The only problem is that Harry will have a tough time."

“As long as the storm hasn’t come, Harry has to point the tip of his wand at his heart and chant the spell every day at sunrise and sunset, without fail,” Lupin said, pressing his forehead. “You haven’t forgotten, have you, Sirius? If you’re not lucky, the wait for the storm in this stage can be months or even years—well, Professor McGonagall should be able to answer that simple question easily.”

There was no answer; neither Harry nor Sirius spoke, and this reaction immediately made Lupin realize something.

"Wait, Professor McGonagall doesn't know yet?" Lupin's eyes widened. "Isn't Harry already a professor? He shouldn't be subject to any restrictions now that he's not a student."

“You know, Remus, if Professor McGonagall finds out Harry… or that I’ve learned Animagus, she’ll force us to register with the Ministry of Magic.” Sirius looked annoyed at the mention of the Ministry of Magic. “I don’t want to register, and neither does Harry—after all, you’re the best student among us, and you’re even a prefect.”

"We learned how to transform into Animagus under your guidance, so you were the first person I thought of when we encountered difficulties," Sirius shrugged and said. "Hurry up and think of a solution, Remus. I can't wait a few years, and neither can Harry."

"Thank you so much," Lupin said, rolling his eyes. "I thought you missed me a lot."

“Oh, of course I miss you… but this is certainly a good opportunity, isn’t it?” Sirius stood up, strode over to Lupin, and opened his arms. “At least I can face you again.”

“…Me too,” Lupin said softly, standing up and giving Sirius a tight hug.

For the two of them, after going through so much hardship, this is the best possible outcome.

And so, Harry took Lupin to Dumbledore's office again. Fortunately, strangers were frequently coming and going from the castle during this time, so Lupin's appearance did not attract too much attention.

Seeing Lupin again was indeed a great surprise to Dumbledore. For Lupin, Dumbledore's willingness to take risks to send a werewolf child like him to school was an extremely profound favor. As for the hardships he experienced after graduation, they had nothing to do with Dumbledore. As an adult, Lupin would not allow Dumbledore to take care of him for the rest of his life.

The two reminisced for a while, and eventually, Dumbledore agreed to let Lupin stay at Hogwarts temporarily as a shamanic assistant, without having to pay him a separate salary—incidentally, Sirius Black was also staying at Hogwarts in the same capacity.

As the most successful member of the former bandit quartet, Lupin still remembers more of the problems and solutions they encountered when they were learning Animagus in their youth.

After entering the Mulgore world of the suitcase, Lupin suggested simulating a storm in the suitcase world for the ritual. After all, even if it failed, it would just be a matter of taking a leaf and starting over. Summer was still a long way off.

Harry agreed.

Following the method agreed upon by Lupin and Sirius, he soaked the mandrake leaves, which had been ingested for a month, into a crystal bottle filled with saliva. He then processed the potion according to the proper procedures and finally placed it in a dark and quiet cave in Mulgore.

Then it's just a matter of waiting for the magic to change.

The Animagus ritual at this stage requires more than just a dramatic storm; it also requires the shapeshifter to cast spells on themselves daily until that special transformation occurs.

On the seventh day...

"Amado, Animo, Animado, Animagus".

As the sun set, Harry lowered his wand from his heart—unlike any other time, this time, as the spell was uttered and the tip of the wand touched his chest, Harry felt, for the first time, a second heartbeat emanating from the depths of his chest.

It was as if there was another person inside his body. The heartbeat was completely different from his original heartbeat rhythm. It was slower and heavier, with a long interval between each beat, but it sounded particularly powerful.

The heartbeat was much stronger than Harry's original one, as if it might leap out of his chest at any moment.

No further prompting was needed; Harry had a clear premonition—it was time.

In the world of Mulgore, time was shifted to a sweltering summer night, extremely dry, as if the air could ignite at any moment. As a rumble of thunder boomed in the sky, a bolt of lightning ripped through the heavens, and dense dark clouds blanketed the sky, Harry rushed to the cave where he had buried the crystal bottle.

Things went much more smoothly than Harry had anticipated. Lupin's advice was correct; the crystal bottle now contained only about a mouthful of the blood-red potion, which was a sign that the ritual had succeeded.

Without further hesitation, Harry took the potion to an open area. There were no dangerous magical creatures in the suitcase world… or rather, the most dangerous one was the Angry Horn, so he didn't need to worry about being eaten by the animal he transformed into. Pointing his wand to his heart again, Harry uttered the Animagus transfiguration spell one last time, and finally drank the potion from the crystal bottle.

The heartbeat he had heard earlier became exceptionally loud at this moment. For a moment, it was as if all Harry could hear was the violent heartbeat. He could feel the pain in his body, as if his flesh was melting and his bones were deforming—not the kind of deformation that you feel in ordinary human bodies.

Kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, Harry forced himself to recall the key points of Animagus transformation he had heard from Lupin and Sirius. If everything went smoothly, the creature he was about to transform into would appear in his mind.

The most important thing is not to resist or fear the changes that are about to come, but to adapt to them.

The worried voices of the elements, which only Harry could hear, kept surrounding him, but Harry, overwhelmed by pain, was unable to respond to them accurately.

The flickering firelight, glistening water droplets, flowing earth, and sweeping winds—these elements surrounded Harry, soothing his flesh and blood.

The intense pain felt as if Harry's body was being torn apart from the inside, as if every piece of his flesh was being turned inside out and expanded—and amidst this intense pain, one figure remained constantly in Harry's mind.

He was so strong that when the tribe was in dire straits, he resolutely stood up and led his people to survive the war against the centaurs and even win the final victory.

He was so reliable and possessed such profound personal charm that even the constantly fighting Tauren tribes were willing to acknowledge Thunder Bluff as the common home of all Tauren.

Kane Bloodhoof—the person Harry admires most in the world, the person he learns from, and the goal he aspires to become.

His figure, his arms—

The evaporating water vapor turned into white smoke and was blown away by the hot wind. Harry stood up and looked around blankly. The trees that he had to look up to see just a few minutes ago were now easy to see at eye level.

He has grown taller.

It also became stronger.

Harry could clearly feel the explosive power within his body at that moment; if he wanted, he could knock down the tree beside him at any time, or even uproot it.

Harry stretched out his hands blankly, examining his fingers—broad palms, three thick fingers with three joints, and the brownish-yellow hair on the back of his hands.

Overwhelmed with unprecedented excitement, Harry's outstretched hand trembled slightly. This was the first time Harry had ever been so excited that his breathing became rapid.

Without hesitation, he called upon the water elemental, and the omnipresent water elemental transformed into a water mirror, allowing Harry to finally see himself clearly at this moment.

The figure standing in this forest clearing had a face he knew all too well, without a doubt, truly—a robust, healthy-haired minotaur.

Standing over two meters tall, his fur pattern resembled the colors of Harry's previous clothes and accessories, and his strong muscles accentuated his beautiful lines.

Harry reached out and touched the horns on his head, his hand trembling. They weren't horns created by transfiguration or by artificial means; this time, they were real horns, formed from the internal structure of his body.

They were a pair of broad and enormous horns, extremely sharp, spreading outwards like wings, and baring their claws like blades, with the widest edge even reaching Harry's shoulder at that moment.

But what's even more eye-catching than the exaggerated bull horns are the elemental orbs surrounding them.

He didn't intentionally use magic to maintain it, but these elements were like a part of Harry's body. Apart from dyeing his eyes a fiery red, they freely wrapped around his strong arms like a veil, changing according to Harry's will.

For the first time on this planet that belongs solely to humans, a real minotaur has appeared, and it looks exactly like the one Harry has fantasized about countless times in the dark—the one he would look like if he were truly born as a minotaur into a tribe.

The traces of Cairne Bloodhoof can still be faintly seen on that huge bull face.

very nice.

Thinking this, a smile involuntarily crept onto Harry's lips.

Lightning flashed across the sky once more, and the storm arrived as expected. Harry inhaled the fragrance of the rain and the earth, then suddenly looked up. He could see the wings of the Angry Horn tearing through the dark clouds in the sky, before swooping down towards him amidst the screams of many, finally landing heavily in front of him.

At first, he cautiously examined this strange creature, which he had never seen before in the world of suitcases. Then, his nose twitched slightly, and he quickly smelled Harry's scent and recognized that the strange creature in front of him was Harry. So he happily sidled up to him.

Harry's massive frame now perfectly cradled the head of Angry Horn in his arms, creating a strangely harmonious scene.

During the mutual recognition between the man and the dragon, the few people who had been carried by the angry horn finally caught their breath from the dangerous dive.

"Harry?" After gagging a few times, Sirius Black looked immediately at his godson—or rather, his godson's possession—"What is this—are you really Harry? What is this? Good heavens! Is this the minotaur you always talk about?"

"Merlin's underwear, but how is this possible—Aren't Animagus only able to transform into non-magical creatures?! I thought you'd at most become a bull or something, maybe a bit stronger than a regular bull—Aha! Look at you! You're even standing on two legs now!!"

(End of this chapter)