Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 137 The fluctuating shapeshifting talent, and the professor's office

Siren was unaware that Harry and the others were already plotting to seize the Chamber of Secrets. His sudden departure had nothing to do with the three of them; it was due to something else entirely.

When he returned to his dormitory, he caught the last rays of the setting sun. Without hesitation, Xiren immediately took out his wand, pointed it at his heart, and whispered:
"Amado, Animo, Animato, Animagus."

This is the second step in learning Animagus transformations: at sunrise and sunset each day, one must point the wand at the heart and recite the incantation.

Xilun only rushed back to his dormitory because he noticed that the sunset was about to end.

"Dong dong..."

The familiar heartbeat came to my ears again, but this time there seemed to be something else in it.

It was a very subtle sound, like the sound of a raindrop falling from the tip of a leaf and hitting a puddle in the pouring rain. Covered by the heavy rain, the sound was almost imperceptible, yet it was undeniably real.

Xiren was certain he had heard it, heard the second sound, but when he focused intently to identify it, he could no longer hear it, as if everything he had just experienced was an illusion.

At this point, the spell's effect ended, and the surroundings returned to normal; he could hear other sounds again.

Xilun was excited. He knew it wasn't an illusion; although it was very faint, he really heard another heartbeat.

That was the heartbeat of his Animagus form, and the key to the second phase.

Hearing a second heartbeat proves that the mandrake has established a correct "channel." If a second heartbeat is not heard, then there is no need to proceed with the subsequent steps.

However, the heartbeat is still very weak. As long as he persists in chanting the incantation at sunrise and sunset, the heartbeat will become clearer and clearer.

This discovery thrilled Siron, but left Harry, who had come specifically for this purpose, completely baffled.

He had previously assumed that Xilen was unhappy, which was why she left the common room without looking back, but now...

Seeing Siren chuckle every now and then, Harry began to doubt himself... This didn't seem like he was unhappy.

"What's wrong?" Siren asked, looking at Harry who was standing there dumbfounded. "Did you want to see me about something?"

“No, no.” Harry shook his head instinctively, but then he suddenly remembered what they had said in the common room and blurted out, “Could you tell me where the Chamber of Secrets is?”

“No,” Siron said. “I promised Professor Dumbledore that I wouldn’t tell anyone my location.”

This……

Harry sighed. Just as Ron had said, even if Siren knew, he wouldn't tell them.

“Besides, it’s no use telling you,” Siren continued. “That place has been sealed off by the headmaster with magic, so even if you knew, you couldn’t get in.”

"No, I was just... just curious," Harry said, making a few excuses before quickly leaving.

Xilun didn't pay any attention.

The next day, he couldn't wait to tell Professor McGonagall what had happened the day before.

Unexpectedly, Professor McGonagall's reaction was even stronger than his; she jumped up from her chair in a flash.

"What? You heard a second heartbeat?" She looked at Siron in disbelief, her face filled with incredulity, as if someone had told her that Snape was a witch and had given Gryffindor a 200-point bonus.

“Yes, I heard you.” Xiren nodded.

Professor McGonagall looked at Siron, seemingly trying to read the signs of lying from his face.

But no, because it's true.

If the sound was faint last night, it was very clear this morning. There were two heartbeats, one loud and one soft, maintaining a certain magical pattern and rhythm.

After hearing Xilun's description, Professor McGonagall found it even more unbelievable.

"How long has it taken since you started chanting the incantation?" she asked.

"About half a month or so," Xilun said after thinking for a moment.

"More than half a month... and you felt the second heartbeat of the Animagus transformation?" Professor McGonagall sat back down in her chair.

This speed is already about the same as hers, or more accurately, even a little faster than when she was learning Animagus.

She took twenty days to complete this process, but as for Celen... if Professor McGonagall remembers correctly, Celen only completed the first phase of preparations three days before the Easter holiday.

By this calculation, Xilun was three days ahead of her.

But how could that be...?

Professor McGonagall didn't mean to look down on Siron, but his talent for Transfiguration wasn't actually that great.

If we were to describe it by grades, Siron's talent in Transfiguration would be E (Good), just a little short of the best grade, O (Excellent). The difference isn't huge, perhaps equivalent to the score on a single fill-in-the-blank question, but E and O represent two different things.

Take her for example. Professor McGonagall remembers that when she was in school, she learned to turn a match into a needle after reading it only once, mastered the entire contents of the "Elementary Transfiguration Guide" in three months, finished reading the "Intermediate Transfiguration Guide" in her first year, and began learning the "Advanced Transfiguration Guide" and human transformation in her second year.

Although Siren repeated the process this year, he devoted all his time to transfiguration.

More than one professor has said that Siron always sneaks peeks at Transfiguration books in their classes, and Gryffindor loses a lot of marks because of it.

“Come to my office tonight at sunset,” Professor McGonagall said, still somewhat skeptical.

“No problem,” Xiren said.

So after dinner, he didn't even go back to his dormitory, but went straight to Professor McGonagall's office and followed her to the school's Astronomy Tower.

As the sun set, Siron pointed his wand at his heart and chanted the spell once more.

"Amado, Animo, Animato, Animagus."

"Dong dong..."

“…thump…”

This time it was even clearer; Xilun heard two heartbeats, one after the other, in his ears.

Professor McGonagall couldn't hear the voice, but as an Animagus herself, she could sense the strange magical fluctuations around her.

Only Animagus possesses two completely synchronized yet distinct magical fluctuations.

When Professor McGonagall transformed into a tabby cat, the magical fluctuations became even more pronounced.

Xiren really did it, he wasn't kidding!

It's strange that when Siron was learning Animagus, his talent for Transfiguration suddenly became the best among the Omegas.

The thought flashed through Professor McGonagall's mind, and then quickly turned into relief.

According to official Ministry of Magic records, the youngest Animagus is nineteen years old, but according to Professor McGonagall's own information, it should be fifteen... after all, not everyone is willing to register.

But none of that matters anymore. Xilun, who is only in second grade this year, will definitely break this record... unless there are no storms for three consecutive years.

But that's impossible; at some point, we'll have to have it even if we don't have it.

When the spell's effect wore off and Siron opened his eyes, Professor McGonagall had already transformed back to normal.

“Come with me.” She led Xilen back to the office.

Professor McGonagall was no longer concerned about why Celion's talent fluctuated. After feeling the second heartbeat, it was like half the battle was won. At this point, she absolutely could not give up, and she could not relax any further.

“I’ll recommend some more books to you.” She pulled out a blank piece of parchment, quickly wrote down a string of book titles on it, and then signed her name on the back.

"These are all in the restricted book section. You must keep them safe and not let anyone see them."

Xilun took the parchment and glanced at it. There were seven books on it, each with a more frightening name than the last.

Below is the signature and borrowing time. Professor McGonagall simply drew a horizontal line here, and it's unclear what that means.

“I’ve also collected some good papers, all related to human deformities. You’d better take a look,” Professor McGonagall said, as she walked into the adjacent lounge.

Perhaps out of habit, she closed the door casually.

"Before the next storm comes, you must learn and master as much Transfiguration as possible..."

When the door was completely closed, Professor McGonagall's voice also disappeared.

I have to say, the soundproofing in the professor's office is really good, much better than the dormitory. Sometimes he can even hear the snoring from next door at night...

Xilun was thinking this, but the next second, something flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, Siren remembered that Harry had said he heard Lockhart talking to himself in the room when he was writing a reply on his behalf.

But that's not right.

Since it was all professors' offices, Professor McGonagall's voice was completely blocked out. So how could Harry hear Lockhart talking to himself in the room?

……

(End of this chapter)