A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

After a brief moment, Hermione finally figured out how to transform back to her human form. She smoothed out her disheveled hair and, while picking up her wand, shot Felix an irritated glare.

"Professor, you sure came prepared," she said indignantly, still miffed that she almost couldn't resist the temptation to taste the peas. She couldn't fathom how Felix had thought of that.

"After transforming, your taste buds change," Felix explained briefly, still keeping his gaze fixed on Hermione. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, unable to tolerate the tension.

"Um... Professor? What did you find?" Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly, her face feeling warm.

"Soul nodes," Felix murmured.

"What?"

"I'm not sure," Felix pondered for a moment. "A wizard's soul is evidently different from that of a regular person. I suspect magic plays a crucial role in it. One piece of evidence is that even ghosts possess magic, giving them the ability to mildly interact with physical objects. So what makes a wizard's soul so unique, and what serves as the link between the soul and the body?"

"Do you think it's magic?" Hermione asked softly, while Harry and Ron exchanged surprised looks.

"It's just a guess," Felix shrugged. Raindrops pattered against the leaves, and after a while, he turned to look at the Forbidden Forest. Draco Malfoy emerged from the forest edge, nearly ten minutes behind Hermione.

Harry and Ron's mouths dropped open.

"Such a show-off," Ron muttered under his breath. Harry thought he hit the nail on the head.

Learning that Hermione had completed her Animagus transformation, Draco was slightly surprised, but he didn't mind having an extra audience. Moments later, he proudly displayed his gorgeous peacock feathers, even tasting a couple of pears provided by Professor Slughorn.

As soon as Draco transformed back, Ron wasted no time in mercilessly mocking his brief lapse in judgment. "Now he won't be showing off in front of us anymore," he foresaw, sagely telling Harry.

"I was just testing out the peacock's taste buds," Draco retorted, his face reddening. Harry and Ron smirked, deciding they wouldn't acknowledge anything Draco said.

Professor McGonagall paid no mind to the childish banter. She approached Felix, her gaze worriedly fixed on the darkened Forbidden Forest.

"Felix... Hannah Abbott and Neville Longbottom haven't returned yet."

"That's not right," Felix said, equally puzzled. "I know roughly where they hid the crystal vials. It's not far from here, and even with the heavy rain, they should have been back by now."

"Do you think they got lost?" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

They exchanged incredulous glances. Two students getting lost together? While it seemed improbable, it was a possibility. Professor McGonagall instructed Harry and the others to stay put while she and Felix ventured into the Forbidden Forest to search.

"You stay here. I don't want to wait for Longbottom and Abbott to come back, and then you three go missing," Professor McGonagall said, as Felix left Valen behind, conjuring two brooms from his ring. Professor McGonagall eagerly soared into the sky, and the two of them glided through the pouring rain.

"There."

After a few minutes of searching, Felix's magical sight proved useful as they found Neville and Hannah about two kilometers from the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Astonished, Professor McGonagall landed angrily, then her jaw dropped in surprise, not even noticing the rainwater entering her mouth.

Two students—or more accurately, only one person present—Neville was struggling through the muddy ground, holding a red squirrel. Rainwater streamed down his hair, and when he saw Felix and Professor McGonagall, Neville seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness – Professor, you've finally arrived. Hannah, Hannah's here." Neville showed the two professors the red squirrel lying peacefully in his arms.

"Longbottom, what's going on?" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, glaring at the red squirrel. "Is this Hannah Abbott? Did she take the potion early? Didn't I tell you to bring the potion back and take it under supervision?"

The red squirrel trembled.

"All right." Professor McGonagall sighed, pityingly taking the red squirrel from Neville's arms and soothingly moving aside to comfort Hannah.

Neville then stuttered as he explained what had just happened.

"After I got the potion, I was heading back when I saw Hannah passing by from a distance, through a direction deeper into the Forbidden Forest. I thought I was mistaken..." "So you decided to follow to confirm," Felix interjected. "Yes, Professor," Neville said softly. "Hannah was running fast, and with poor visibility in the rain, I nearly lost her a few times. But I figured out she was lost."

"We figured that out too, but why did she take the potion against the rules?"

"Oh, Professor..." At this point, Hannah successfully regained her human form under Professor McGonagall's guidance. She sniffled as she spoke, "I'm so sorry. I, I got lost... I was worried I wouldn't make it back in time, so I decided, I decided..."

"You decided to transform in a secluded corner," Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Yes, that's it," Hannah cried. "I'm sorry, I was so scared. I was worried all my months of hard work would go to waste, so in a moment of panic, I, I performed well in the Care of Magical Creatures class..."

"Miss Abbott, the courses prepared by Professor Hagrid and me are not meant for you to use as an excuse for recklessness," Professor McGonagall said firmly.

"Professor," Neville bravely spoke up, "Hannah actually regained her senses on her own, and I felt she should return to the grounds—"

"You two certainly have ideas," Professor McGonagall huffed. She looked up at the sky; nearly an hour had passed, and the clouds were beginning to thin, with the outline of a thunderbird faintly visible.

"You've wasted too much time before, Mr. Longbottom. I suggest you transform here under our supervision. Do you still have your potion?"

Neville nodded hastily.

A few minutes later, he transformed into a tortoiseshell cat, identical to his Patronus. The cat meowed a couple of times, and Professor McGonagall's tense face softened into a smile, though it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

So when Felix and Professor McGonagall returned from the Forbidden Forest, all four students had completed their Animagus transformations. Professor McGonagall didn't mention Hannah's mistake in front of Harry and the others; she simply told them that due to time constraints, Hannah and Neville had completed their transformations in the forest.

"Really cool!" Ron exclaimed enviously.

The atmosphere on the way back was very relaxed. Ron kept asking Neville and Hermione about their transformation experience, "Was it different from regular Transfiguration?" By the time they returned to the castle, Hannah was already chatting and laughing.

"You all have a good night's rest tonight. Don't attempt any unauthorized transformations," Professor McGonagall said. "Tomorrow morning, come to my office. I'll use the next two days over the weekend to help you familiarize yourselves with transformation, and also—you have a stack of forms to fill out."

She conjured some hot cocoa with her wand, supervised them as they drank it, then let them go.

"Miller, don't be too harsh. At least the outcome was good—" Felix stuttered, seeing Professor McGonagall suddenly break into a smile. She exclaimed joyfully, "It's a day worth celebrating, Felix! I must go back for a drink."

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