That kind of magic surge, and you're telling me it came from a fourteen-year-old student?
McGonagall looked from Arthur to Snape, expression saying loud and clear:
You? Raise a student this strong? Pull the other one, Severus.
She obviously didn't believe them.
Noticing the doubt in her eyes, Arthur spoke up.
"How about I give you another demonstration?"
McGonagall's face slid into a very clear "go ahead then, impress me" expression.
The sky was still blanketed with the storm clouds Arthur had summoned earlier. Seeing this, Arthur simply raised his hand and began gathering magic.
A sphere of pure mana formed in his palm, growing denser and denser as he kept pouring power into it and compressing it.
The originally transparent magic slowly deepened into blue.
By the time it hit a deep, oceanic shade, McGonagall had stopped doubting anything.
At this distance, she could feel it clearly—that terrifyingly concentrated magical power was radiating entirely from Arthur.
Not long after, Arthur stopped feeding it. The sphere in his hand was now a dark, almost ink-blue core of compressed power.
He cradled it lightly in his palm, then flicked it into the sky.
The orb shot up into the clouds and detonated with a blinding flash.
Everyone on the ground flinched, eyes squeezed shut against the light.
When the glow finally faded and they looked up again—there was not a single cloud left in the sky.
The storm had vanished as if it had never been, leaving only the newborn morning sun blazing in the east.
"Next time you decide to pull off something that can change the weather, give me a warning first," Snape said dryly.
Ever since he'd been inside the Zen Garden, Snape had built up a bit of resistance to this sort of spectacle. At worst he was… mildly shaken.
But the moment he remembered who was responsible, he found he couldn't even be bothered to act surprised.
It was Arthur. Of course it was Arthur.
"Next time, got it," Arthur replied.
McGonagall had just recovered from the shock when she heard their exchange.
Her mouth twitched.
Next time?
She would really prefer there not be a next time. She was getting on in years—her heart wasn't built for this level of scare.
"Alright… I believe you. Both of you," McGonagall finally said, exhaling slowly. "Then how, exactly, did Miss Granger manage to complete her Animagus transformation this quickly?"
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall," Arthur said politely, "that touches on some of my personal secrets. I can't tell you the details. But I can guarantee—it won't harm Hermione in any way."
McGonagall looked at Hermione.
Her student stood obediently by Arthur's side, eyes shining, lips curved into a delighted smile—still clearly riding the high of her Animagus success.
No signs of distress, no instability. Just pure, uncomplicated happiness.
McGonagall's expression softened slightly. "And why, then, was she able to perform magic in her Animagus form earlier?"
That was what bothered her the most.
Animagi were supposed to turn into ordinary animals. Hermione's form was quite clearly a cat—McGonagall had seen it herself. But that "ordinary" cat had been flying and firing spells like a seasoned duelist.
Was Hermione's Animagus some kind of magical creature instead?
But history was quite clear: any wizards who had tried to become magical creatures with their Animagus transformations had all failed. Without exception.
"I came across a rather special seal," Arthur explained. "It can turn a cat into a magical creature. Since Hermione's Animagus form is a cat, I simply… used it on her."
"Merlin's beard." McGonagall stared at him. "And you just experimented with that on a student? What if she hadn't been able to change back?"
Her tone carried a hint of scolding, but underneath it was nothing but sincere concern.
"Please don't worry, Professor," Arthur said. "I tested it on myself first. No side effects."
He knew McGonagall's temper and that she was really just worried about Hermione, so he offered himself up as the guinea pig.
He genuinely didn't mind McGonagall knowing his Animagus was a cat—
…as long as she didn't start asking him to transform in front of people.
McGonagall hesitated. Arthur's raw strength had been on full display just moments ago, and he clearly had more than a few cards up his sleeve. If he said it was safe… it probably was.
"Wait—" McGonagall suddenly caught something. "You said you tested it on yourself first. Does that mean your Animagus form is a cat as well?"
"Yes," Arthur answered, very calmly.
"No wonder you refused when I asked Hermione to invite you to learn Animagus together." McGonagall suddenly understood. "You'd already completed it."
She really hadn't expected it—herself, Hermione, and Arthur, and all three of their Animagi were cats.
By that logic, didn't that mean she could also be turned into a magical creature?
The thought lit a faint, unexpected spark of excitement in her chest.
After a moment of struggling with her dignity, McGonagall coughed lightly and asked, a little awkwardly, "Ahem… Arthur, does that seal of yours have any… limitations on who can use it?"
Arthur heard exactly what she was implying.
"There aren't any major restrictions," he replied. "It just needs a large amount of dragon blood to charge it for each use. If you'd like to try, Professor, I can lend it to you."
He took out the Dragonblood Tribe's inheritance stamp and held it out to her.
"Thank you," McGonagall said, carefully accepting it. "I'll compensate you properly."
Arthur shook his head. "You're Hermione's teacher. You helped her apply for a Time-Turner and you look after her every day. Letting you borrow a little trinket is nothing worth talking about. There's no need to mention payment."
"That won't do," McGonagall said immediately. "What kind of teacher takes advantage of their own student?"
Arthur smiled. "In that case, I should have the right to choose my 'payment,' yes? Hermione and I aren't exactly eager to go register our Animagus forms with the Ministry. If you could keep our forms a secret for us… that would be more than enough."
After a round of polite back-and-forth, McGonagall finally agreed.
In exchange for that favor and a future "I owe you one," she took the stamp and promised to keep both their Animagus forms confidential.
She lowered her head to examine the small golden seal in her palm. It looked utterly plain, almost unimpressive.
Hard to imagine this tiny thing could produce such an outrageous effect.
Thinking of how her own Animagus might soon become a magical creature, McGonagall suddenly couldn't wait to get back and start gathering dragon blood.
She suggested briskly, "Since everything has been explained, we should head back. You two as well—your first classes are about to start. Don't be late."
The last sentence was aimed at Arthur and Hermione.
Hermione had already finished familiarizing herself with her Animagus form and her new abilities, so there was no need to stay in the clearing.
Arthur and Hermione very sensibly followed the professors back to the castle.
Once inside, McGonagall broke off from the group and went straight for her office.
She had contacts to call—contacts that could supply her with dragon blood as soon as possible.
And because she was McGonagall, and took "Professor" very seriously, she didn't even consider just skipping class to go buy it herself.
Thanks to those connections, a shipment of dragon blood arrived that very same evening.
It wasn't until she completed her own transformation and burned the Dragonblood seal into her Animagus form that McGonagall realized—
Reforging a cat into a magical creature wasn't all the stamp did. It also carried a complete inheritance.
By the time she'd absorbed the knowledge, McGonagall knew one thing with painful clarity:
She owed Arthur a huge favor.
And she had no idea how to repay it.
She had also, firsthand, felt the level of power he possessed.
That single spell that changed the weather and blew apart the storm clouds—that was far, far beyond what she could ever hope to do. The best she could manage was minor, local shifts in the environment.
And when she looked at that, then thought about how he had helped Hermione complete Animagus transformation in a single night…
McGonagall couldn't help suspecting that Arthur's mastery of Transfiguration had already surpassed her own.
No wonder he'd stopped coming to her Transfiguration Club after second year.
She'd thought he was simply too busy with Snape's tutoring.
Now, in hindsight, it felt more like he'd realized the club had nothing left to offer him.
(Arthur: No, really, I was just too lazy to go.)
After turning it over for a long time, McGonagall still couldn't think of a way to repay what she'd taken.
In the end, she landed on the only thing she could do:
From this day on, she would give Hermione absolutely everything she had.
Not just as a teacher. As if Hermione were her own daughter.
Time slipped by quickly.
Soon, the weekend arrived.
Unlike the usual Hogwarts weekends, this particular Saturday was special—it was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year for third-years and above.
Assuming, of course, they'd brought along a signed permission form from their guardians.
Arthur was dragged out of bed by an excited Hermione and hauled to Professor McGonagall to hand over his permission slip.
Ranni followed behind them quietly and turned in hers as well.
Amusingly enough, when Ranni first applied to Hogwarts, her guardian's name had been filled in as "Arthur." So naturally, her permission form had been signed… by Arthur as well.
Hogsmeade was a pure-wizard village close to Hogwarts. According to a volume in the library—Historic Magical Settlements—the village had once served as headquarters during the goblin rebellion of 1612.
Given that it was now a wizard village, that clearly meant the goblins' rebellion had failed.
Arthur honestly couldn't understand why the wizards had still decided to hand over the entire banking system to a race that had already tried to revolt once.
But that was a problem for another time.
Since he'd finally gotten out of the castle, Arthur decided he might as well bring the whole family along.
All the pets and magical creatures who could safely appear in public were let out of the Zen Garden.
Ifrit and Raya claimed their usual spots on Arthur's shoulders, left and right, unceremoniously squeezing little Elo off and onto Hermione's shoulder instead.
Nagini and the basilisk were both shrunk down and coiled around Arthur's forearms.
(Don't ask why the basilisk wasn't petrifying anyone. If you ask, the answer is—magic.)
Loris the cat was cradled comfortably in Arthur's arms.
As for Crookshanks, he'd clearly taken a liking to Hermione and was sprawled lazily in her embrace.
Only Claudia, the unicorn, stayed behind in the Zen Garden. It wasn't that she couldn't come; she just preferred the quiet and didn't feel missing one village outing was any sort of loss.
A group of three—handsome boy, pretty girls—strolled down the main street of Hogsmeade, surrounded by an entourage of unusual creatures.
Wherever they went, they instantly became the most eye-catching sight around.
Especially Arthur.
He'd been yanked out of bed in a hurry, so he hadn't even taken off his Gryffindor badge. It was still pinned to his robes.
To everyone on the street, the scene was:
One strikingly good-looking student, very clearly wearing the lion crest of Gryffindor—
With two serpents, the emblem of Slytherin, coiled around his arms, and two lizard-like creatures sprawled over his shoulders—
One of whom was a deep red dragon with two pairs of wings growing from her back.
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