Chapter 37: The Animagus Potion is So Disgusting, Can Anyone Really Drink It? (Edited)

Bell looked at Hermione strangely, unable to understand why the young witch was so angry. For him, when and how he completed his transfiguration task was his personal business, and he didn't see how it affected Hermione in any way.

"Hermione, everyone has their own preferences. I don't like drawing attention; I prefer to be alone and quietly read. That's why I didn't complete the transfiguration right away," Bell explained calmly. "Honestly, I don't see that I've done anything wrong. Why are you so angry?"

Upon hearing Bell's unexpected response, Hermione was left speechless.

Now, taking a moment to calm down and reflect, Hermione felt puzzled by her earlier reaction.

"Why did I get upset?" the young witch briefly thought.

She was baffled by her own lack of memory on the matter. The truth was that Bell's actions were entirely his own and had nothing to do with her.

Since arriving at Hogwarts, Hermione had felt off. Perhaps it was because it was the first time she was so far from home for studies. Maybe it was because she felt other students surpassed her in knowledge. Or perhaps it was the experience from the previous night in the common room that made her realize the stark difference between reality and her expectations. In any case, when she woke up this morning, Hermione barely recognized herself.

Hermione took a deep breath and apologized to Bell, "I'm sorry, Bell. I... don't know what to say, I..."

"It's okay, Hermione," Bell interrupted, noticing how uncomfortable the young witch felt. "I'm not blaming you for anything."

"It's normal to feel a bit confused after leaving your home and coming to such a distant place," Bell consoled Hermione in turn, understanding very well how the young witch felt (and thought).

"Don't look at me like that; in fact, my emotions are much more confusing than yours right now."

"Thank you, Bell."

Hermione looked at Bell with a somewhat complicated expression.

"No need to thank," said Bell, waving his hand. "Do you have plans for later? Would you like to go to the Great Hall for lunch together? Even if we're not at the same table."

Hermione, who already intended to go for lunch, nodded and accepted Bell's invitation. Together they headed to the Great Hall.

As they walked towards the Great Hall, Hermione brought up a question she had since the Transfiguration class.

"Bell, do you know what kind of magic Professor McGonagall used before the class? I mean, the one that turned her into a cat."

"That was Animagus."

"Animagus?"

Hermione pondered for a moment and confirmed she had never come across that word in her readings.

"Yes, Animagus is an advanced form of transformation magic that allows a wizard to turn into a specific animal," explained Bell. "However, you can only transform into a fixed animal form, which will be the same every time you do it. That's one of the limitations of Animagus magic. Of course, it also has its advantages. You can maintain the transformation for long periods, and it leaves no trace of magic, making it hard to detect."

"I see, Bell, can you also become an Animagus?"

"No, and I don't plan on learning that kind of magic, at least not for now."

"Why?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, first of all, Animagus magic has limitations. In most cases, if we need to transform into an animal to do something, we can use Transfiguration spells instead. Although Transfiguration spells have disadvantages like high energy consumption and leave traces of magic, you can still transfigure into different animals as needed, overall not worse than Animagus magic. Another reason is that completing an Animagus transformation requires drinking a very particular potion, and that potion is really disgusting!" said Bell with a disgusted expression.

He truly didn't understand how that potion had been invented; the inventor must have been very brave in various ways.

"What potion is so disgusting? Aren't all potions a bit unpleasant?" asked Hermione perplexed.

"..."

Bell was speechless, upon careful consideration of potion ingredients, most of them were quite unpleasant. He couldn't help but think he should eat something delicious to forget about that matter later.

"Well, first, you have to keep a Mandrake leaf in your mouth. For a whole month, you must carry it with you all the time, whether you're eating, sleeping, or doing anything else, it must be in your mouth. Then, on the full moon, you have to take out the leaf and put it in a jar, filling it with your saliva. Then, I won't describe the next steps in detail; in summary, you have to let your saliva ferment for several weeks or months before drinking it again."

Just thinking about it made Bell feel a bit queasy, and he rubbed goosebumps on his arms.

"Honestly, I'd prefer to drink a cockroach's slime rather than my own fermented saliva," he concluded.

Hermione thought about it for a moment but immediately interrupted her thoughts. She was about to have lunch, and if she kept thinking about it, she might ruin her appetite.

"Of course, those aren't the main reasons," Bell continued explaining. "In the current magical community, it is widely believed that Animagus transformation can only turn you into common animals, but I disagree. If you've read books related to this topic, you'll notice that the description of Animagus transformation says: 'If you want to transform into a magical creature, there will be unforeseen consequences.'"

"So, it doesn't mean you will fail, but you don't know what will happen. It could be 'wizards can't transform into magical creatures,' or it could be 'wizards who tried couldn't successfully transform into magical creatures.' After all, very few people study this magic, and even fewer delve deep into it, so there isn't enough information to make a judgment."

"If there are two possibilities, why do you think it's 'wizards failed' instead of 'can't transform'?"

Hermione looked at Bell confused.

"Because of the Patronus Charm."

Looking at the perplexed Hermione, Bell continued, "For now, don't worry about what the Patronus Charm is; you'll learn that later. What you need to know is that, in general, wizards believe that the Patronus summoned by the Patronus Charm can only be a common animal. Additionally, due to its high difficulty and usage limitations, very few wizards can master the Patronus Charm. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Doesn't it seem a lot like the situation with Animagus transformation?"

"However, there's an exception in the Patronus Charm. The greatest wizard of modern magic, our Professor Dumbledore, has a Phoenix as his Patronus, which is a magical creature. It's the only known case of a Patronus being a magical animal."

As Bell spoke about his magical research, his enthusiasm was evident, and his eyes sparkled. It was the first time he had shared his work with someone other than Shanna.