Chapter 153: "Animagus Transformation"

Just reading the title "Animagus Ritual" hinted clearly at its purpose: to guide a witch or wizard through the process of transforming into a specific animal at will, while retaining human consciousness and intellect. Harry was well aware of several wizards and witches who had mastered this skill, including Professor McGonagall who could become a cat, Sirius Black who transformed into a dog, James Potter who took the form of a stag, Peter Pettigrew who became a rat, and Rita Skeeter who turned into a beetle.

Being an Animagus had cool benefits. Depending on the animal, it could let you sneak around unseen, make your senses better, or even give you special abilities like flying. It also let you talk to other animals, opening up a new world. There was no doubt that becoming an Animagus gave you lots of advantages.

Harry also remembered how Sirius, for many years, had expressed a desire to teach him this magical transformation. Sirius enjoyed his runs through the forest in his dog form, but he found it lonely without a companion. It was clear that he missed the thrilling escapades with his fellow Marauders when they would roam the woods together, each in their animal guise. So Sirius had kept pushing Harry to learn the change since he was good at Transfiguration.

Despite Sirius's constant encouragement and his own curiosity about the transformation, Harry was hesitant to undergo the process of becoming an Animagus, even though he found the idea intriguing. His reluctance stemmed from two main reasons.

First, Harry didn't like the hard preparation needed to become an Animagus. The process required keeping a mandrake leaf in your mouth for a whole lunar cycle, from one full moon to the next, without swallowing or even moving it, which made eating and daily life difficult. After this, a potion needed to be brewed and consumed along with a specific incantation.

The complexity and discomfort of the mandrake leaf were big turn-offs for Harry, as he felt it would mess up his daily routine and require intense focus, possibly distracting him from other important magic studies and adventures.

The second reason for his reluctance was his dissatisfaction with his potential Animagus form. Harry had discovered through various means, including his Patronus, that his Animagus form would be a lion. While majestic and powerful, a lion was far too conspicuous in Europe, where no lions roamed wild. Transforming into a lion could cause unwanted attention and alarm, nullifying any potential for stealth or subtlety.

Plus, many of the physical benefits of being a lion, such as enhanced senses, strength, and agility, were skills Harry had already developed through his rigorous knight training. He felt the small gains didn't justify the troublesome transformation process.

So Harry had decided against pursuing the Animagus transformation while still in school, choosing instead to spend his time on more productive magical studies. 

The discovery of a new Animagus ritual in the "Arcanum Rituales" book caught Harry's attention, offering a unique way to transform that was very different from traditional methods. This new approach got rid of the need for the annoying month-long process of holding a mandrake leaf in the mouth.

In this innovative ritual, using rare magical materials was key. These materials, when used during a ritual done on a full moon night, allowed the person to make contact with their inner "spirit" animal. This first contact could be followed by more attempts, allowing the individual to deepen their understanding of their inner self until they could transform into their animal form at will. This method was straightforward and had fewer risks than the traditional approach, which could cause permanent harm.

What really excited Harry about this ritual was its potential to connect him to a magical inner animal, opening the possibility of transforming into mystical creatures like phoenixes, basilisks, thunderbirds, unicorns, and more. 

The idea of becoming a magical creature like a phoenix, with powers to control fire and teleport, was really appealing to Harry, although he doubted his personality matched a phoenix's. However, the prospect of possibly transforming into any magical creature, maybe a dragon, thrilled him immensely.

Motivated by this possibility, Harry committed himself to thoroughly study the Animagus ritual. He intended to understand every detail to ensure a successful transformation into a magical animagus, exploring this exciting frontier of magic with careful preparation and eager anticipation.

After reading the page about the animagus ritual carefully, Harry thought deeply. The main points he learned were like this. Apart from what was mentioned earlier, an important part of the ritual was that the ability to connect with his magical inner animal, if it existed, was not guaranteed. 

It depended on the rare magical material used for the ritual, which was not fixed. The rarer the material sacrificed, the higher the chance of contacting your magical inner animal.

But Harry wasn't worried about this point. He had just the right thing in mind for this ritual. The materials he would get this coming year at Hogwarts were the rarest in the magical world. If parts of a 1000-year-old magical creature weren't enough for Harry to awaken his magical animagus, then Harry would call this ritual fake. 

With this in mind, Harry was very glad that he had asked Mira to find this book this year itself. If it had been later, his chances of transforming into a magical animagus wouldn't have been this high.

With this thought, Harry was very happy that he had asked Mira to find this special book for him this year itself. If he had waited longer, his chances of turning into a magical animagus form would not have been as high.

Next, Harry quickly flipped through the remaining pages of the book, making little marks next to the rituals that caught his interest. After finishing reading, he called it a night and went to bed to sleep.

The following morning, bright and early, Harry hurried over to Arcturus's room and showed him all the rituals he had marked. Arcturus was already familiar with many of them since he had performed some himself. He pointed out the best ones without any harmful side effects for Harry. However, he warned Harry to pace himself, do the rituals in moderation, and leave sometime in between to allow his body and magic to adjust to the changes.

Harry then did the same, seeking advice from Cordelia. Once he had finalized his list of rituals, he asked Mira to prepare all the materials needed for the rituals he planned to do this year. He had chosen two. One was a ritual that would make him immune to poisons, which he would really need this year. He would perform this one right away. The other ritual for the year was the animagus ritual, which he would perform when all the necessary materials for it were ready.

A few days later, after Mira had gathered all the required materials, Harry performed the poison immunity ritual. It was a relatively simple one, just a little costly since the major ingredients were basilisk venom and phoenix tears, which were quite rare and expensive. Nevertheless, Harry was pleased with the result. He was now immune to almost all poisons in the world.