A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts-Chapter 654: Solution - (1)
Outside the village of Hogsmeade, under the shimmering silver light of the full moon, a group of people bathed in its glow.
Felix observed the werewolves intently, his hands busy with a piece of parchment, jotting down notes and sketches. Among the fourteen individuals present, two had already completed the full transformation into werewolves and now lay on the ground, panting heavily. Despite their current state, their eyes remained alert, thanks to the Wolfsbane Potion they had been diligently taking for the past few days.
The remaining nine werewolves were in the midst of their transformation. Their bodies trembled unnaturally, and amidst agonizing roars, every part of their torsos stretched and elongated forcefully. Shoulders rose high, tearing through their clothes, while fat on their arms, now covered in black fur, hid amidst the intense transformation. Hands and feet curled into claw-like shapes, sharp nails gleaming in the moonlight.
"So, their transformation times vary slightly," Felix noted on the parchment, observing the werewolves as they struggled with brief moments of loss of control and pain, saliva dripping from their mouths.
To the ordinary person, this saliva would be nothing short of venomous.
The remaining three werewolves, still in human form, retreated timidly, wanting to keep their distance from their transformed counterparts. They watched Felix Harp, who seemed unfazed, diligently recording everything with apparent enthusiasm, and a strange emotion welled up within them.
The effects of war were far-reaching indeed.
In the early stages, many of their kind had been persuaded by agents of the Dark Lord, promising significant improvements in werewolf treatment post-war. The promises sounded good, but their credibility was questionable. After all, if the Dark Lord looked down upon even Muggle-born wizards, openly advocating for pure-blood supremacy, what chance did tainted beings like werewolves stand? Many wizards—quite a few of whom were either pure-blood or Death Eaters, or both—had even derogatorily referred to them as beasts.
The only somewhat credible promise came from Fenrir Greyback when he was recruiting them, claiming that once the Dark Lord emerged victorious, werewolves would be free to attack Muggles and expand their packs, a destiny arranged by the Dark Lord for young wizards from Muggle families.
However, such words only resonated with the fanatical werewolves. As far as they knew, those fanatical werewolves who had resisted magical persuasion and coercion before the war were now mostly locked away.
At this moment, Felix randomly selected one of the werewolves and stood before him. The werewolf, now towering over him, seemed capable of crushing his human skull with a mere tilt of his head. Yet, as Felix infused his magic into the werewolf's body, the creature made an effort to keep his clawed hands away from Harp's head.
It was purely out of respect for Galen.
The werewolf grumbled to himself, torn between resentment and obedience, as he reluctantly straightened his posture. With a weary sigh, he shifted his elongated jaw to the side, while his comrades, already transformed, lay on the ground, watching him gasp for breath. This was all thanks to the Wolfsbane Potion, which allowed werewolves to retain their sanity during the full moon while suppressing their wild instincts and energy, leaving them exhausted and unable to even take a stroll outside.
"Don't move," Felix instructed.
"I'm not moving!" the werewolf growled in dissatisfaction.
"Ah, I'm talking to the magic inside you—you could say I'm talking to myself," Felix explained.
The werewolf grudgingly redirected his gaze and obediently stretched out his hands, then returned to his own thoughts.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his spine, as if an invisible hand had reached in and was trying to pull it out of his body.
The werewolf emitted a groan of pain, lowering his head laboriously, to see Felix pulling threads of magic from him. Though unclear about the reason behind it, he gritted his teeth and endured until Felix finally extracted a blurry bundle of magic from him.
Finally unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed to the ground, his voice hoarse as he asked, "What is this?"
"I wish I knew," Felix replied.
He let the magic hang in the air, then approached the other werewolves one by one. In the meantime, three more werewolves underwent transformation. As the full moon rose high, there were now fourteen clusters of magic suspended before Felix.
He stretched out these magical clusters. They resembled irregular sheets, densely dotted with shimmering spots, much more intricate than Mandrake roots. Felix had to be careful not to disrupt the essential structure of the magic.
Gradually, even the most obtuse among them realized that though these magical clusters came from different werewolves, they bore striking similarities in shape. If one ignored the edges and corners, a three-dimensional tower-like structure could be discerned, or more precisely—
"Is that... the spine of a werewolf?" one werewolf asked laboriously.
Felix paced among the fallen werewolves, lost in thought. His face was tinged with a faint blue glow, as if he were speaking to himself, yet it seemed like he was delivering a speech under the moonlight. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Magic... within wizards' bodies and magical creatures operates distinctly."
"Magic within magical creatures often follows specific patterns related to their anatomy, exerting its effects through magical patterns, or what we call their magical aptitude... Wizards' magic, however, is free, flexible, unrestricted. When werewolf saliva mixes with wizard blood, a magical transformation occurs, irreversibly turning the wizard into a werewolf. Some call it an incurable magical toxin, or lycanthropy..."
"To me, werewolf transformation is an uncontrolled process of wizards transitioning into magical creatures, oh... unlike Animagi, though. Animagi can only transform into ordinary animals. Though, they share a common trait—the transformation process is beyond the control of the wizard."
"The principle... is not important!"
"Animagus transformation involves highly advanced knowledge of human transfiguration. If wizards could experience this process repeatedly, even without understanding the principle, they would excel in advanced transfiguration in the future."
"However, werewolves do not benefit similarly from their transformations."
"Perhaps because... the bodies of ordinary wizards are too fragile, regardless of their physical stature, it's about their magic. They cannot withstand their 'magical creature' transformation, hence they not only gain no benefits but also suffer greatly..."
Under the moonlight, Felix took out his book of magical texts, one hand supporting the spine while the other flipped through the pages rapidly, drowning out the nocturnal winds with a 'whoosh' sound. His slender hand gradually lifted, pulling out a segment of 'spine' composed of magical texts from the book.
The werewolves gasped in astonishment.
Felix gazed at his creation for a moment, then pressed it against his own body.
His heart began to pound, his body elongated bit by bit, and his mane cascaded down—he turned into a werewolf. The werewolves on the ground watched in awe.
"You—You—"
"Another form of transformation," the werewolf under the moonlight grinned, seemingly amused, but the other werewolves looked at him with reverence. As Felix transformed back and changed into a new set of clothes, he began to adjust the spine-shaped magical text sequence.
"To improve efficiency, find the key within."
But even so, Felix could only temporarily adjust the order, trimming some unnecessary magical texts, but he couldn't simplify the overall complexity of the structure. So theoretically, Felix had just acquired an exceedingly complex ancient magic—werewolf transformation.
It must be clarified: Felix transforming himself into a magical creature and converting magical creature-like magic into ancient magic were actually two different things—the former was Felix advancing the field of ancient magical texts to unprecedented levels, gaining abilities after 'magical creature' transformation. In short, Felix considered himself 'magically-embodied'.
He could interchange a part of his body between flesh and magical texts.
It was because of this reason that Felix could transform himself into magical creatures. He believed Dumbledore could do the same, but not relying on 'magical embodiment' but rather transfiguration. As for whether Rowena Ravenclaw, who personally told him the term 'magical creature,' could do the same, Felix had his doubts; he believed Ms. Ravenclaw was more describing a state, after all, her research focus was not on this.
Take the Thunderbird, for example:
Felix himself could transform into a Thunderbird effortlessly, the principle being fundamentally different from transfiguration, but he couldn't teach others how to become a Thunderbird—there was no shortcut other than delving deep into ancient magical texts.
However, he could convert the Thunderbird's inherent magical aptitude—such as creating storms—into ancient magic and then teach it to others, who could completely learn it.
Transforming into a Thunderbird and controlling storms were fundamentally different. The former involved a fundamental change in a wizard's life essence, while the latter only required mastering a simple ancient magic.
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