Chapter 805 Animagus
"Pretending to be Dumbledore?"
"I'm not going!"
In the carriage, Kyle quickly threw the envelope to Professor McGonagall, and at the same time, he was secretly wondering who had come up with this stupid idea.
Pretending to be Dumbledore is really a bold idea. What if the Death Eaters suddenly attack Hogwarts? Although the probability of this happening is very small, it is not completely impossible.
After all, Voldemort has already got the Elder Wand. What if he becomes overconfident and decides to start a decisive battle right away? At that time, the first person Voldemort will look for will definitely be Dumbledore. Wouldn’t he be doomed then?
And taking a step further, even if the Death Eaters did not attack Hogwarts, it would be embarrassing enough if he was exposed when he was pretending to be Dumbledore.
Thinking of this, Kyle even wanted to open the window and jump out to run away.
"Don't be so quick to refuse." Professor McGonagall put the letter back on the table.
"Dumbledore specifically asked you to take on this task, which means he believes you can do it well and you are the most suitable person for it."
"No, no, no, I think you can do it too, Professor McGonagall." Kyle refused again.
"I can't." Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I still have classes to attend, and I have to attend the opening banquet. I don't have time at all."
"Then Professor Flitwick..."
"They are all the same." Professor McGonagall interrupted Kyle, "Including all the professors at Hogwarts, they are not suitable for this task."
"What about Sirius?" Kyle immediately thought of someone outside the school. "I see he's pretty idle all day, teaching Harry the Animagus Transfiguration, but there's been no progress so far."
"No." Professor McGonagall continued to shake her head, "Dumbledore doesn't want too many people to know that he is not in school, including members of the Order of the Phoenix."
"But……"
"Dumbledore said he would give you a satisfactory reward."
"..."
"What reward?"
"I don't know." Professor McGonagall shook her head. "In fact, what I just said is exactly what he said in the letter. If you can convince everyone that he is still in school, he will give you a reward that will absolutely satisfy you... You will know for yourself when you see it."
Kyle stopped talking.
To be honest, Dumbledore's words are always reliable... a reward that satisfies him...
Subconsciously, Kyle picked up the envelope on the table.
"You agree?" Professor McGonagall chuckled.
"Besides, let me take a look first." Kyle opened the envelope. "Let me make it clear first, even if I agree, it's not for any reward. I just don't want to see everyone anxious."
"No need to explain."
"I believe you."
"Yes."
The three deans all agreed with pursed lips.
I have to purse my lips. The thing isn't done yet. It would be bad if I smile.
At the same time, Kyle had also taken out the letter that Dumbledore had given him. The content was similar to what Professor McGonagall had said, asking him to pretend to be him and show up in school without getting caught. He would be rewarded satisfactorily afterwards.
There was a small bag under the envelope, which contained a bottle of potion and a bunch of hair. It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a small amount either. Kyle counted them roughly and there were about fifty strands.
But to be honest, it's not easy for a man of Dumbledore's age to cut so much hair.
There is also a small note inside.
“Use it for transformation, and remember to put it in the box Nico gave you for future use.
"Also: It shouldn't be difficult for you to get Polyjuice Potion, so I only prepared one bottle. (Don't go to Severus, he doesn't know what I'm doing.)"
"Good luck."
"Ha, you really think highly of me." Kyle picked up the bottle and took a look at it.
This amount can only last about two hours, just enough to last through the entrance banquet in the evening.
How stingy! Didn't he consider that it would take a month to prepare the polyjuice decoction, and that African tree snake skin was not easy to get. What if someone came to him during this period?
Kyle shook his head and put the bag aside.
Another point that concerned him was that Dumbledore did not seem to have told Snape about this. He was the only dean who did not come to escort the students today.
Is there any other arrangement? Or is he worried that he will reveal the secret... It shouldn't be possible. With Snape's level of brain occlumency, Voldemort should not be able to see through it.
Kyle frowned, but still couldn't guess what Dumbledore was thinking.
But this puts him in a bit of trouble.
Kyle originally wanted to ask Snape for Polyjuice Potion, but now that he had to keep it a secret from him, this method was no longer feasible.
Or he could go and see Slughorn. Kyle remembered that at the beginning of last year's school year, he brewed a large pot of Polyjuice Potion in order to demonstrate his superb potion skills to his students.
Maybe this year will be the same process.
Or you could look for Fred and George. They had Polyjuice Potion in their shop before, and even though it was destroyed by Death Eaters once, they should still have stock... After all, this kind of potion is difficult to brew and takes a long time, so usually potion merchants use the largest crucibles to make a lot at a time and sell them slowly.
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is so small and has so many varieties that it's impossible to put them all on display.
If he really doesn't have it, he can also ask Dean Sasia... Of course, this cannot be purchased in his own name.
Kyle didn't realize that when he was thinking these things, he had actually agreed to help.
The three deans smiled at each other and tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again.
The train continued to move towards Hogwarts, and it was soon noon.
The snack cart squeaked to a stop at the door of the box.
"Kids, do you want to buy something to eat?"
Professor McGonagall opened the door to the box.
"Oh, Minerva." The old witch pushing the cart looked a little surprised, "It seems that the rumors are true. You will also take the train today."
"Yes, to protect the students," said Professor McGonagall.
"That's great. Want to buy something? I promise the liquorice wand will taste exactly the same as it did sixty years ago."
"That's indeed what I like to eat." Professor McGonagall had no intention of buying anything, but after hearing what the other party said, she couldn't help but buy a few licorice wands.
Then the cart squeaked and stopped in front of the box in front.
Professor McGonagall closed the door and distributed liquorice wands to everyone.
"Thank you, Professor," Kyle said, and put it aside.
He also noticed that Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout did the same thing, and it was obvious that they didn't like this snack that much either.
"She's right. It tastes exactly the same as it did sixty years ago." Professor McGonagall said with a smile as she took a small bite of the licorice wand.
"Sixty years ago?" Kyle asked curiously, "Was she on the train at that time?"
"Even earlier." Professor McGonagall explained, "In fact, she had been working for a long time when I was in school, and she has hardly changed at all."
"Then she must be over a hundred years old." Kyle looked outside the box in surprise.
"At least 170 years old," said Professor McGonagall, "because she was also the saleswoman on the train when Dumbledore was in school."
"She's really well maintained then," Kyle muttered.
Her appearance has not changed in sixty years, which can be considered as good maintenance.
"Kyle, it will take a long time to get to Hogwarts. Don't you want to buy something to eat?" Professor Sprout took out a few pies, "Fennel and beef filling. If you like, I can share one with you."
Not only her, Professor Flitwick also prepared lunch, which was apple pie, but there was only one. However, he generously said that if Kyle liked it, he could take half of it.
"No, no, I have one too." Kyle smiled and rejected their kindness.
Although he was suddenly dragged onto the train this time and had no prior preparation, he had a suitcase.
Under the shocked eyes of the professors, Kyle dragged out a whole cured ham, and the small table in the box was even unable to hold it.
"You carry this... with you?" Professor Flitwick couldn't help asking, holding his apple pie.
"Ah, a little snack." Kyle said casually.
This is not the end. After the pickled ham comes flour and water. This was originally prepared for the moon beasts. Although they can eat the herbs grown in the box, they also need special meals occasionally. The function of flour is to roll the food into balls for easy drying... This is what he learned from Newt.
But now these come in handy.
Under Kyle's command, the flour and water were mixed together and stirred continuously, and soon they were automatically divided into small doughs and turned into round pancakes.
Suddenly, a small flame appeared in the air, and the pancakes were slowly rotating on the flame.
"Gublai fairy fire!" The knowledgeable Professor McGonagall quickly recognized the origin of the flame.
Her voice rose slightly. "You use this precious magical item to bake pancakes?"
"Yeah, magic is meant to make life easier." Kyle nodded and said naturally, "And this thing is very efficient."
Just as he said, in just a few minutes, the surface of the dough turned a beautiful brown color.
Then several slices of ham lined up to pass over the flames and jumped into the dough that automatically split in the middle.
Since it is cured ham, there is no need to add seasoning.
"Professor, would you like to try it?" Kyle handed a meat patty to Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall took it and took a bite subconsciously.
To be honest, the taste is not that delicious, but it’s okay, and because of the Gublai fairy fire, this pancake has some extra points.
Even for her, it was the first time to eat bread baked with the Gublai fairy fire. The feeling was quite wonderful, and there was a strange luxury.
At this moment, Professor McGonagall somewhat understood why Dumbledore wanted Kell to replace him.
In a sense, they are quite similar. For example, they always do things that are incomprehensible... or to put it more bluntly, they are both mentally abnormal.
There are only a handful of wizards in the entire magical world who possess the Gubler Fire. Every one of them treats it as a treasure and carefully preserves it. It is estimated that there is no other person except Kyle who can take it out to bake pancakes.
Professor McGonagall looked at Kyle, who had already given the remaining two sandwiches to Professors Flitwick and Sprout and was now busy again.
However, this time he did not use the Gublei fairy fire, but used an ordinary fire magic. Several flames surrounded the dough, emitting heat evenly.
"Why did you change your method?" Professor McGonagall asked curiously.
"Ah, I just remembered that I used Gubler's fire to burn Dementors before," said Kyle. "If I use it to heat food, it will taste a bit weird."
The box fell into silence in an instant.
Professor Flitwick looked at the half-eaten meat pie in his hand, then looked at Kyle, his face fell, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I just remembered that too." Kyle said, "It's okay, this kind of flame is very clean, you can eat it without worry."
"Um... I'll just have my apple pie," said Professor Flitwick.
It would have been fine if Kyle hadn't said anything, but after he said this, he felt a little alienated.
The remaining two professors also put what they had in their hands on the table.
"Then don't waste this, take it back to Hogwarts and feed it to Fang. It's not picky."
……
While Kyle was busy, Professor McGonagall looked at him and suddenly asked, "By the way, you mentioned earlier that Sirius was teaching Potter Animagus?"
"Yeah, it's said that it's to give him an extra ability to protect himself." Kyle nodded, controlling the flame to rotate evenly under the cured ham.
"It's only been a month and there's been no progress at all... Of course, this has little to do with Sirius and more to do with Harry snacking on mandrake leaves.
"I estimate that he ate at least half a pound of mandrake leaves."
The prerequisite for learning Animagus is to hold a mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month, but Harry couldn't even last a day.
The longest time was eight hours. I spent the whole day very carefully. I could only drink porridge for meals, and then swallow the leaves before sleeping.
It was only because Sirius's family was wealthy that Harry could eat the expensive mandrake leaves as snacks.
"Speaking of this..." Professor McGonagall asked, "Are you interested in learning this magic? I believe your basic abilities will be no problem. If you want to learn, I can teach you this semester."
"Animagus?" Kyle was slightly stunned, then shook his head, "Forget it, I'm not interested."
"Not interested in?"
"It's mainly useless." Kyle looked up and said.
If Animagus could turn him into a magical creature, Kyle would learn it no matter what.
Not to mention the fire dragon, even top animals like the Nectarine, even if it turns into a Niffler, have the ability to easily pass through gaps.
But if it were just an ordinary animal, it wouldn't be that attractive.
Previously, Kyle thought that the greatest function of Animagus was its concealment. It could transform into an animal to gather information, or escape if it could not defeat the opponent.
But he couldn't use it in either situation.
A Niffler or Bowtruckle could also help him gather information, but in a safer and more discreet way.
As for escaping, it would have been possible five years ago, but now... To be honest, there are not many wizards who can force him to escape, and if he can't escape even with the ring, then turning into an animal is useless.
So at this stage, Animagus is a bit useless to him.
Moreover, this kind of magic has a biggest limitation, that is, after turning into an ordinary animal, one will be subject to various restrictions and cannot change back immediately.
For example, Rita Skeeter, after she turns into a beetle, an ordinary bottle can trap her.
And if Professor McGonagall's tabby cat was caught by someone, she would not be able to change back. If the other party wanted to, they could easily crush her to death.
This limitation is equivalent to finding a weakness for himself. It is also for this reason that Kyle has been hesitating whether to learn this magic.
Oh, by the way, Animagus is the only known ability to escape from Azkaban.
But Kyle doesn't need this either, he has someone he knows there... maybe he's gone, but he can squeeze in another one.
In short, it is much better than turning into an animal and escaping.
Kyle gave a brief explanation, and Professor McGonagall thought about it after listening and didn't say anything else.
Indeed, Animagus was of little help to Kyle. Although this magic could detect a wizard's level of Transfiguration, the superb level of Transfiguration he demonstrated at Lupin's wedding last time did not require Animagus to prove anything.
Kyle heaved a sigh of relief when Professor McGonagall didn't mention it again.
In fact, in addition to these, he has another reason that is not really a reason...
Although it has not been truly confirmed, in most cases a wizard's Patronus and Animagus form correspond.
If the Patronus is a cat, then the Animagus will most likely also be a cat... just like Professor McGonagall.
There is Sirius, whose patronus is a dog, and James Potter's patronus is a stag, which also corresponds to his nickname Prongs.
One could be said to be a coincidence, but when so many are like this, it’s hard to say.
Actually, this is nothing, but Kyle's patronus is a jellyfish, an aquatic animal. What if the Animagus also turns into a jellyfish?
It would be so embarrassing if he transformed and fell to the ground with a thud.
……
