I will be gentle

At the end of the experiments, Atlas was drained. The researchers would have liked to do a lot more experiments with him, but Professor McGonagall shut them down again. In the end, they asked to come back in around a year after they had processed the new information and done a few more tests by themselves. Some even offered to send him letters with new theories for him to explore. Atlas accepted their proposals but made it clear that his focus would be on his upcoming exams before diving back into any experiments. Even Newt hopped into their boat on the way back to the castle, extending an invitation for weekend research, but Atlas politely declined. He now had more than just some basic knowledge regarding his form, and finding a solution to save Hermione, or at least her soul, would take priority. While thinking about it, a question emerged in his mind. What was the difference between the spirits he felt in the trees or even his wand compared to souls of humans?

Frustratingly, Newt couldn't give him an answer to that as the existence of these spirits was something that was only proven the day before, so there was no existing research regarding the topic yet, and to add to that, he wasn't really a specialist regarding souls.

Atlas looked questioningly at Dumbledore, who should be one of the most knowledgeable regarding the topic, but the headmaster was carefully picking a new lemon drop from his half-full package, showing no interest in giving him a hypothesis. As the matter was so important to Atlas, he didn't want to end it there and directly asked the headmaster.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir," Atlas began, his tone respectful and composed, "would it be possible for you to offer a hypothesis on this topic?"

The headmaster waited a few seconds before looking into his eyes. This time Atlas felt something on his occlumency barriers. It was like a soft wind trying to find entry through a window. The feeling immediately disappeared when he showed a shocked expression. Cold sweat began to roll down Atlas's neck. While Atlas hadn't forgotten that Dumbledore was one of the two most powerful wizards in this world, it was scary to realize that if the headmaster really wanted to, he could effortlessly drill through his defenses. The physical and mental ones. He wouldn't even have noticed the feeling if he wasn't actively concentrating on his barriers as a precaution because of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore himself acted as if nothing had happened and answered his previous question.

"As Newt already mentioned, there is no existing research on the topic," Dumbledore began, his voice carrying a note of speculation, "but if I were to offer a guess, I would say that these spirits are akin to souls. Underdeveloped by human standards, similar to the soul of a newborn, but a soul nonetheless."

The headmaster's words hung in the air, leaving Atlas hungry for more information. If Dumbledore's hypothesis held true, perhaps his bowtruckle form could be the key to unlocking a solution for Hermione. If he could interact with the souls of plants, there had to be a way to connect with human souls. However, it seemed that Dumbledore had no intention of delving further into the topic, remaining silent and simply studying Atlas with his gaze.

Atlas ventured to request more information. "If that is indeed the case, would it be possible for you to enlighten me further on the subject of souls? It would greatly aid my research, and the insights I could provide to Newt and the others would be much clearer if I had a deeper understanding of souls. Even access to books in the library would suffice, if you don't have the time to personally instruct me."

Dumbledore pondered for a moment before responding, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to teach you a bit about souls. However, your other studies take precedence. I will grant you access to the books starting next school year, and you may come to me with any questions. I must caution you, though, that the topic is far beyond the scope of any curriculum we teach at Hogwarts. With a few exceptions, possessing knowledge of the intrinsic mechanisms of souls may bring you little practical benefit."

Atlas was elated. This was more than he had hoped for, an opportunity to delve into the study of souls. However, there was one pressing issue he couldn't ignore. "Why must I wait until next year? I could begin right away. It would help advance the research at a faster pace and perhaps even revolutionize our understanding of souls."

Curiosity flickered in Dumbledore's eyes as he questioned Atlas, "But just moments ago, you were explaining that you had so much to do before the exams that you couldn't assist Newt on the weekends. What has changed?"

Atlas took a few moments to formulate a response. Indeed, he had provided various reasons for not dedicating his time to what he had deemed "useless" research. However, if spirits and souls were truly intertwined, then this research was far from useless. "I may have exaggerated a bit, I apologize. Reading a book or two in between wouldn't pose any problem, and if it's not every weekend, I might be able to help Newt. It's just that I wanted to spend some time with Hermione and the others on the weekends and didn't want to devote all of my free time to being in a lab or on Bowtruckle Island," Atlas explained, his gaze shifting to Hermione, who had been quietly listening to the conversation.

He hoped that Dumbledore would see him as a regular student seeking to spend time with friends. Surprisingly, it was Professor McGonagall who chimed in. "Albus, just grant him access to the books. It's not as if he couldn't obtain permission from any other teacher. Every year, a few students ask for the same privilege, so it's nothing out of the ordinary. And for once, the student seeking permission has a valid reason."

Dumbledore scratched his beard, deep in thought. Minutes ticked by, wrinkles forming on his forehead as every eye in the boat remained fixed on him. Finally, he nodded.

As Newt departed the boat just seconds later, Atlas realized that they had arrived at the beach several minutes ago, his focus consumed by the conversation at hand.

With his hunger unsated by the snacks Professor McGonagall had provided and the revitalizing energy he had absorbed from the tree, Atlas and Hermione hastened to the Great Hall, where dinner had just begun. As he savored his meal, Atlas couldn't help but notice that Dumbledore's gaze often drifted in his direction. It made him feel uneasy, as if the headmaster had somehow caught onto something. However, upon closer reflection, Atlas realized that the only way Dumbledore could have any suspicions about him was if he had succeded to penetrate his mind with Legilimency. But based on his own observations, it seemed that the headmaster had backed off as soon as he encountered Atlas's protective barrier.

Thus, the curiosity in Dumbledore's eyes likely stemmed from two possible reasons: Atlas's animagus form and his keen interest in souls. While he couldn't completely dismiss the notion that Harry's presence in his life might also be a factor, Atlas found it unlikely, as Dumbledore's gaze did exclusively focus on him even when Harry was present. For now, Atlas resolved not to dwell on Dumbledore's curiosity unless the headmaster took any further action beyond mere observation.

Instead, Atlas turned his attention to devising a plan for his soul research. He was determined to bypass the initial stages of experimenting on plants and instead directly explore the possibilities of connecting with humans or animals. The key to his experiments lay in his wand. The fact that he could establish even a faint connection with the dragon heartstring core was evidence that forming a bond with a non-plant entity was possible.

The following day, Professor McGonagall handed Atlas the letter granting him permission to access the forbidden library. However, she issued a stern warning, emphasizing that he should only focus on books related to the discussed topic, as delving into other texts without the necessary expertise could be dangerous. She also reminded him not to neglect his transfiguration training and to continue studying ahead. Although she recommended a few books to him, she didn't impose any time limits or specific tasks, a departure from their usual lessons. These books would provide the theoretical foundation for human transformation, but Atlas couldn't help but sigh when he realized that he wouldn't have the time to fully immerse himself in them.

The constraints of his limited time in this universe weighed heavily on him once again. It saddened him to know that he couldn't simply abandon his mission and embrace a life of happiness here. The thought of indulging in the wonders of magic, exploring his bowtruckle form, growing old with Hermione, and perhaps even having children was undeniably alluring, but he knew that he wouldn't find peace knowing that the multiverse was going to get destroyed because he decided that his happiness was more important.

The thought didn't let him go when he sat in potions, and it was the first time ever that Snape had taken a few points from him because he ruined his potion. To say that the additional homework he got from Snape that day was a punishment wouldn't do it justice. For once, it wasn't even the difficulty but the sheer amount of work Snape gave him. It felt like he wanted to banish Atlas to the library until the next potion lesson. His teammates, who should spend all their time together again, were far from amused. The only one who didn't seem to care was Hermione. Once again, she approached Atlas with the suggestion of involving Harry in their more intense training, as she believed he might hold the key to defeating Voldemort. Although Atlas wanted to reject the idea, now that he was certain that Quirrell was indeed Voldemort and capable of reading Harry's mind, he lacked a reasonable excuse to dissuade Hermione. The only thing he asked her was to keep him in the dark for now and just teach and train him a little. The now forced time they would need to spend in the library would be the perfect opportunity to give Harry the theoretical knowledge in Defence against the Dark arts he was still lacking.

It was something that many students realized midterm. While Quirrell was a good teacher and encouraged the students to study on their own, he didn't teach them many new spells and instead taught them how to use the things they knew competently.

Professor Ward had a similar teaching method, but today, to everyone's surprise, Professor Ward wanted to teach them a spell, including a special version of that spell.

With an unexpected twist, Professor Ward introduced a new teaching method in their class. To everyone's surprise, he announced that he would be teaching them a spell, along with a special variant of it. The anticipation in the room was palpable as the students eagerly listened to their professor's words.

"Hello class," Professor Ward began, his voice filled with a mix of authority and enthusiasm. "I hope you used the weekend to reflect on your last performance. Reflecting on your own mistakes is key to avoiding them in the future and, in the best-case scenario, it can even prevent you from meeting a dire fate in a real fight." He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in.

"I have also taken the weekend to reflect on our lessons, and I've come to the realization that your limited repertoire of spells is hindering our training progress. Therefore, I have decided to teach you a new spell," Professor Ward continued, his tone determined.

The class leaned in, curious to know which spell they would be learning. Professor Ward explained, "The headmaster has forbidden me from teaching you anything overly destructive, considering your current skill level. Thus, I have chosen to teach you the Orbis jinx. It is a spell with unique properties."

He went on to explain the mechanics of the spell, describing how it pulls an enemy into the ground, immobilizing them. However, he emphasized that the depth to which the target is pulled depends on various factors.

While the proficiency of the wizard casting the spell naturally plays a role in how deep the target gets pulled, the much more important factor is how much time the spell has to prepare the ground, as the spell does more than physically slamming the target into the ground. The ground becomes super soft, and for the second, where the target hits the ground, the ground has a texture similar to cream cake."

"Normally, if you cast a spell, the effect is instant, but the Orbis spell has three distinct phases. The first phase is that the ground gets charged with magic so that a larger sphere of the ground gets affected and more energy can be used to actively envelope the target as fast as possible. The second phase is that the target gets pulled towards the ground, and the third is that as soon as contact between the target and the ground exists, the ground starts to use the excess energy to capture the target as quickly as possible. If all energy is used up the Earth gets hard again.

"The smart ones among you would have realized that normally the spell would go through all three phases in an instant, which would mean that the ground has no time to charge up and only the pull into the ground will have an effect, if at all. So Class, who knows what we can do to make a spell that would under normal circumstances only let someone trip a bit, be a strategic level spell?" Professor Ward held one of his famous lectures, and some were surprised that he for once asked a question to which he wanted an answer too.

A few hands went up, and it was a Slytherin girl that answered.

"If the spell charges while the ground and the target are separated, you could levitate the target to increase the time between the contact," she suggested, her voice brimming with confidence.

Professor Ward beamed, acknowledging her astute response. "Very good! That's exactly what the standard version of the spell would expect you to do. However, the challenge lies in the fact that you cannot levitate the target while simultaneously casting the Orbis spell. In order to achieve that, you would need a teammate's assistance," he explained, obviously happy about the answer.

He further clarified that, while impractical in a real fight, their training would initially focus on this collaborative approach. Professor Ward stressed the importance of mastering the standard version of the spell before moving on to the other variant he had mentioned earlier.

"Remember," he cautioned, "do not lift your teammates higher than half a meter. The spell becomes significantly more potent at greater heights, and the fall itself can be quite painful."

With those words, Professor Ward clapped his hands together, and to the amazement of the class, the instruction papers began to distribute themselves, seamlessly finding their way into the hands of each student. They had gotten an hour to practice before they would continue with the other version of the spell.

Atlas naturally formed a team with Hermione and they were immediately starting to read the instructions. The spell was not in their regular curriculum and normally was something you would skip over when looking at spell collections, so they had never heard of the spell before.

On the other side of the room, Neville teamed up with Daphne. It was clear that Daphne was apprehensive; her illness made her body weaker than most. The idea of being lifted into the air and then pulled to the ground didn't sit well with her. Neville, however, took it upon himself to calm her nerves, assuring her.

"I will be gentle, trust me."

The choice of words caused the whole group to look at Neville, who hadn't realized what he had said, and a completely flushed Daphne. When Atlas saw that Daphne was almost crying, he wanted to offer to change partners, but to his surprise, she just nodded and said they should get over it.

Ron whispered, quite audible to the rest of them, that this sentence had done more damage than any spell could have done.

Within five more minutes, Atlas and Hermione were ready to put the Orbis spell to the test. They started by casting the spell without lifting each other up, curious to see its effects. As they chanted the incantation, a subtle push washed over them, momentarily increasing their bodyweight. It felt as if someone had added an extra load to their shoulders for a split second. Their feet sunk ever so slightly into the ground, barely half a centimeter, and the earth climbed up their shoes by another fraction. It was underwhelming, confirming Professor Ward's earlier assessment that the spell would be no more than a stumbling block when the target was already in contact with the ground.

Undeterred, they tried the spell a few more times. Atlas even managed to cast the spell voiceless one time. Hermione already knew that he could do that and with all the yelling in the background from others that were trying the spell, it didn't get noticed by anyone else.

The time came for Atlas to be lifted into the air, and they realized their mistake. They had miscounted the number of participants needed for the exercise, resulting in a slightly embarrassing blunder. Unlike the other teams who had properly planned and split in groups of three, they lacked a third person for the lifting part. However, Atlas saw an opportunity for a different approach. He decided that, as it was just a training and not a fight, he could employ the Wingardium Leviosa charm on himself. Inspired by the tale of the inventor who tried to fly but only managed to hover due to the spell enchanting his clothes, he lifted one leg and positioned it as if stepping on an invisible stair. With a flick of his wand, he cast Wingardium Leviosa on his shoe.

To his surprise, it worked effortlessly on the first try. It felt as though the shoe was locked in the space in the air umoving in any direction and he confidently shifted his entire weight onto that foot. However, when he attempted to cast the charm on his other foot, disaster struck. Gravity reclaimed its hold, and he plummeted to the ground, his previous stability shattered. It became clear that casting the spell on both shoes simultaneously required him to cancel the charm on one foot before recasting it on the other.

After an unfortunate faceplant mishap while trying to cast the spell on both shoes mid-jump, they decided it would be safer for Hermione to cast the levitation charm on Atlas. This allowed him to find balance in the air before he could cast the spell on both his shoes himself.

With their revised approach in place, they resumed training the Orbis jinx. The results were nothing short of astonishing. The spell interacted with the levitation charm, canceling its effects, and it felt like his bodyweight had doubled for a second. The fall still hadn't hurt, as Atlas had only been ten centimeters in the air, but the danger was evident. Atlas immediately felt that he had sunken in at least to his ankle, but to his surprise, it didn't end there as the earth rose up to his knees within a second.

After the initial happiness because of the success, they realized that getting out of that without the counterspell was quite difficult. Hermione took a quick look at the flyer and quickly cast the counter spell to reverse it and let the earth retract itself to the ground again.

Further tests had shown that the spell created something like a stone armor around the target. But while it could theoretically function as armor, it was absolutely unmovable.

Atlas was in the middle of freeing up Hermione, who had just had half her body in an earth armor, when the others came and asked how they did the exercise with only two people.

Apparently the others had struggled much longer with even casting the spell normally and only now arrived at the levitation part.

Atlas explained his method to Harry, Ron, Neville, and Daphne, and he also noticed that even Professor Ward was looking at him with a satisfied expression.

Just when everyone in the group had experienced the charm after being lifted the full half meter, which essentially only left the head movable, Professor Ward summoned them again.

"So, I have seen that most of you have some initial success with the spell, and then I will now teach you the version that could be used in group combat. The trick for that is to separate the three phases of the spell further. While the spell is now more or less effective, I will teach you to channel the first phase of the spell. While the easiest way for beginners is to just cast the spell super slow, that's not real channeling and has quite a lot of limitations as you can only speak so slow." explained Professor Ward before following up with an explanation that Atlas could only classify as nonverball casting with extrastepps to make it easier and a theoretically infinite loop in the wand movements.

The interesting thing about that was that while the ground was fixed the moment he began casting the spell, the area was increasing with every second. When released, the spell skipped the second phase, and the earth started to climb up the target with as much vigor as if the target had been in the air. The spell still had a fatal weakness. If the other side saw that this spell was prepared, they could simply leave the area or immediately cast the counterspell, but even with that, the spell had one deciding advantage. First, it could target multiple enemies if they were close and the channeling was long enough, and second, it would go through normal shields. Another thing they had to find out the hard way was that channeling the spell was quite exhausting. Ron wanted to channel the spell for twenty seconds, but instead of making Harry a stone statue, he instead fell unconscious for a second, and the area stayed the way it was.

Professor Ward commented with a cold tone and said that each second would cost more energy than the previous one because an area was affected and inexperienced wizards tend to not know their limits.

It was the first time that Atlas heard about it or, after trying it himself, felt something like a limit to his magic. It was strange; while exhaustion was something he was familiar with, having used up his magic was more than just that. It was equally mentally and physically exhausting, and even if he hadn't strained himself till he got unconscious like Ron, he had a headache and felt like he had run a marathon. Surprisingly, this state only lasted for an hour. At least the headaches disappeared after Professor Ward had ended the lesson. After giving them a few calculations regarding the effectiveness and the energy expenditure of the Orbis jinx as homework, he started to feel better. So this magical energy was recovering faster.