The learning difficulty of Animagus transformation is exceptionally high. Furthermore, once mastered, one cannot simply transform into any animal at will; the creature usually corresponds to the wizard's personality and physical traits.
Under normal circumstances, an individual can only transform into a single animal, which is restricted to non-magical creatures. Attempting to transform into magical beings such as phoenixes, dragons, or hippogriffs often leads to unpredictable and dangerous consequences.
During the practice of the Animagus transformation, a wizard can easily trigger a catastrophic accident with a single misstep, potentially rendering them permanently unable to return to human form. Consequently, the Ministry of Magic maintains strict control over this magic and does not readily share its practice methods.
However, this magic was also recorded in the Restricted Section. Makiya happened upon it by chance and became incredibly curious about exactly what kind of creature he would transform into.
The transformed animal is indistinguishable from a normal creature and is virtually undetectable by other wizards. For this reason, the Ministry requires all Animagi to be officially registered. Currently, there are only seven recorded Animagi, and Professor McGonagall's tabby cat form is one of them.
However, this does not mean that few people have mastered it. On the contrary, many who do choose to keep it hidden as a trump card that might save their lives in a critical moment.
In the original story, Peter Pettigrew's rat form, Rita Skeeter's beetle form, and Sirius Black's black dog form were all unregistered, and all three of their Animagus abilities played crucial roles.
Peter Pettigrew hid as a rat in Ron's house for twelve years without being discovered by a single person. Sirius Black successfully escaped Azkaban by transforming into a black dog. Rita Skeeter, as a journalist, used her beetle form to eavesdrop on many secrets, making her one of the most sought-after reporters for the Daily Prophet.
The steps to practice the Animagus transformation are incredibly tedious. Makiya was currently in the first stage: holding a single Mandrake leaf in his mouth for an entire month—from full moon to full moon. The leaf must not be swallowed or removed at any time; if it leaves the mouth, the entire process must be restarted from the beginning.
Fortunately, Makiya usually avoided idle chatter and never spoke useless nonsense. He had also requested leave from several professors in advance, and all had granted it.
Because Makiya's grades were consistently excellent, the professors were very fond of him—except for Snape, who stubbornly refused to approve the request.
Having no choice, Makiya chose to skip classes, and Snape used this excuse to deduct a significant number of points from Ravenclaw.
Makiya let him deduct as he pleased. He usually earned plenty of points in other classes, though more than half were docked by Snape. However, since the teacher had the right to deduct points and Makiya was indeed playing truant, he had nothing to say.
Just as Harry and the others were tracking Snape, Makiya finally completed the first stage. When he took out the Mandrake leaf, he felt as if the entire thing had turned foul.
Think about it: not being able to take it out for a month. Every bit of food eaten during that time had to pass over the leaf, and it even stayed in his mouth to ferment while he slept. The stench can only be imagined.
On the night of the full moon, Makiya removed the leaf and placed it in a small crystal phial filled with his saliva, letting it soak and exposing it to pure moonlight.
It was supposed to be a cloudy day, but if the leaf isn't exposed to moonlight immediately upon removal, everything is wasted and must be restarted.
Luckily, Makiya was prepared. Using his ability to control illness, he induced a bout of artificial rain and then unleashed flames to disperse the last of the clouds, barely managing to save the precious leaf in his mouth.
In a clearing near the Forbidden Forest, Makiya held the crystal phial illuminated by the moonlight and added a strand of his own hair along with a silver teaspoon of dew.
This dew had to be collected from a place that had not been touched by sunlight or humans for seven days. Backed by the vast Forbidden Forest, gathering it wasn't difficult for Makiya. After adding a Death's-head Hawkmoth chrysalis, Makiya found a quiet, dark spot in the Forbidden Forest and waited silently for a storm to arrive.
While waiting for the storm, every sunrise and sunset, Makiya did not forget to point his wand tip at his heart and chant the incantation: 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus.'
As the summer holidays approached, the weather became increasingly erratic. Makiya thought a thunderstorm would arrive quickly, but he waited a long time only to find it raining without any lightning.
Helpless, Makiya chose once again to give nature a little help.
To avoid magic interfering with the potion's effect, Makiya utilized knowledge shared by Hacker Makiya to release large amounts of fire far from Hogwarts. This created thermal air currents, influencing the cloud formations through convection.
Through Makiya's tireless efforts, finally, one night near the end of the term, a fierce wind howled and lightning crackled. The moment the first bolt of lightning tore through the sky, Makiya immediately headed to the spot in the Forbidden Forest where the phial was buried.
'Hmm, the potion is translucent and blood-red, exactly as described in the books. It's a success.'
Although he no longer had a biological heart, the fact that the potion's appearance matched the description suggested that a wizard's physical structure wasn't crucial for the effect. The operation was more akin to a ritual magic.
Makiya lifted the phial to inspect the potion and, finding no issues, went to the open area he had scouted beforehand. He pointed his wand at his heart once more and recited the incantation.
Gulping down the potion, the long-absent sound of a heartbeat echoed through his entire body. Intense pain gradually spread through Makiya, and at the same time, the image of the creature he was about to become surfaced in his mind.
A massive, fiery-red bird stretched its wings in Makiya's mind. Between the wings, there seemed to be a flow of tangible flaming light. The feathers were crystal clear, and golden patterns spread down from its slender neck, covering its entire body.
The multicolored tail feathers shimmered, with faint orange-red flames flickering. The whole... the whole bird looked graceful, luxurious, and majestic.
'This is great! It's not an ordinary creature; it's a Fenghuang!'
Makiya was first filled with joy, then focused intently on the magical creature in his mind. Upon closer inspection, he realized that this Fenghuang was not the same species as the phoenixes in the Harry Potter world.
Speaking of which, this was partly due to Guo Moruo's influence, as he was the first to link the traditional Chinese mythical Fenghuang with the Western Phoenix.
In reality, the two were entirely different concepts. The Phoenix in the Harry Potter world was more accurately an immortal bird, far from being a true Fenghuang.
As the image of the Fenghuang solidified, Makiya's clothes began to tighten as if they were becoming part of his body. Then, the black in his hair vanished, and every strand grew straight, turning into bright red feathers.
Makiya kept the knowledge from the books in mind. During the transformation, he let go of physical resistance and constantly hypnotized himself that he was a Fenghuang, born with feathers, a beak, and sharp talons, remaining calm at all times.
At the same time, a peculiar ripple spread through the Forbidden Forest and even surged toward Hogwarts.
Whether it was the Golden Trio currently navigating the trials, Dumbledore observing from the shadows, Professor McGonagall scolding students, or the ghosts wandering the castle... no one noticed anything unusual. Instead, the many owls kept at the top of the castle began to grow restless.
They used their talons to open their own cages and, following a voice in their hearts, flew toward the aura that made them want to prostrate in worship.
Not just the owls kept at Hogwarts—among the wizarding population, almost everyone had an owl. Even wizards who preferred other animals chose an owl as a messenger. Simultaneously, a large number of the young wizards' owls left their cages and soared into the sky.
Even owls currently delivering mail trembled mid-flight and immediately turned around, clutching their letters as they flew toward the Forbidden Forest.
Such a widespread disturbance certainly caught the attention of many. Wizards looked up one after another, wondering where the owls were going and why.
One young wizard was looking expectantly at the sky, waiting for his owl to deliver the snacks his mother had made.
When he saw his owl diving down, he could almost smell the tempting scent of the treats. However, just as it was about to land, the owl flapped its wings and flew back into the sky with the package, disappearing from sight.
The young wizard was baffled. '???'
This was not an isolated incident. The chaos caused by the owl strike continued to escalate. On the other side, Makiya had completed the final step. He had transformed into a small Fenghuang about five meters long, flapping his wings among the trees and inspecting himself with curious phoenix eyes.
Suddenly, he felt a massive amount of strange information entering his mind. Was that the... thoughts of countless small creatures?
Immediately after, a swarm of owls landed on the large trees around Makiya, spreading their wings and prostrating themselves to show respect.
Besides the owls, other birds in the Forbidden Forest were also drawn in, circling and dancing around Makiya, chirping incessantly.
'Chirp, chirp, chirp?'
A familiar cry caught Makiya's attention. Looking down, he saw it was his own owl, Jimmy. This fellow had flown over at some point and was now trembling as it hopped beside Makiya's feet, its avian face full of confusion.
'Strange. It clearly smells like Master, so why...'
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office, Fawkes the phoenix could finally no longer resist the call in his heart. He spread his wings and soared out of the castle, flying toward Makiya's location.
Before leaving, Fawkes left a message for Dumbledore: 'I'm going to see the Great King. I'll be back soon.'
Dumbledore, receiving Fawkes's message, was full of questions. What was this 'Great King'? Was there a ruling class among the phoenixes?
But Harry and the others had already reached the final stage. Dumbledore couldn't leave for the moment and could only keep this matter in mind, planning to investigate it thoroughly later.