Chapter 184: Chap.181 - Analyzing the ritual

It was Friday again, and in the morning Rigel got up very early, the sun hadn't even risen yet. He needed to prepare to chant the incantation, this time, it would actually be considered the first time he would truly do it.

Despite waking up several times due to the deaths he experienced in the Dragon's Dream, he still felt fine, the coffin's effect clearly showing.

He got out of bed without waking the others, took care of his hygiene, dressed, and went to the bedroom window. As soon as the sun began to rise, he pointed his wand at his chest and recited the incantation: "Amato Animo Animato Animagus"

The double heartbeat sound was heard again, it grew stronger quickly, but this time there was no potion. Even so, Rigel felt that something didn't seem right as the heartbeat accelerated.

It wasn't that he had failed, rather, Rigel felt he could actually force the transformation!

Rigel's brow furrowed as he thought, he almost gave in to the urge to transform, but he quickly regained control, not allowing himself to be carried away by it.

He had recovered all the memories he had lost, after realizing that he would transform into an anaconda no matter what he tried, he decided that it made no sense to keep them, so he remembered each transformation perfectly, to the point of believing that all those transformations had created some kind of physical memory in his body.

Rigel felt the double pounding in his chest slow down until it stopped, and the feeling that he could complete the transformation also passed, making him even more pensive.

Rigel stood there for a long time before gathering his materials and leaving the room. He didn't wake anyone, leaving the dormitory and heading straight for the seventh floor. He passed the Room of Requirement three times before a door formed.

Upon entering, he found himself in a simple, small room with a desk. Rigel went over and sat down, taking a blank piece of scroll and beginning to write down all the steps of the Animagus transformation.

When he finished, he stared at the paper for a long time without moving.

The initial step, the Mandrake leaf, is placed on the roof of the mouth.

Mandrake has a direct connection to transfiguration, being used in healing potions to reverse effects that would normally be difficult to reverse. This could link it to Animagus, as one of the catalysts for transformation.

Furthermore, if your theory of spirits is correct, the Mandrake could also demonstrate its role, after all, the Mandrake itself is one of the few types of magical plants with consciousness.

Seen in this way, the role of the Mandrake can be twofold, both assisting in the transformation and in the creation of the beast's spirit.

Spending a month with the leaf in the roof of the mouth may be a way to accumulate something of the wizard himself, be it his genes, soul fluctuations, or even magical energy.

With the potion, the effect of each item can also be evaluated individually.

The hair and saliva are clear, containing his DNA, which served as the basis for the transformation, making the potion deeply connected to him and serving to make the potion unique, this could also be related to why he turned into a snake.

He would like to look for records of Animagus in the future that focused on more than one generation, if he could find a connection to the lineage, he would be more certain that the effect is actually based more on the individual themselves than on mentality.

Unfortunately, since this type of magic is not widespread in that area, he would need to obtain those records from elsewhere, but nothing that money couldn't help with, he would just have to remember to ask Calypso about it later.

Making a note of this on paper, he continued to decipher the usefulness of the next steps.

The chrysalis of the Death's-head Hawk Moth may also relate to transfiguration, but in a more direct way. The Mandrake leaf was likely related to maintaining the original body, not just transforming it into an animal, but allowing it to transition between human and animal form.

A Death's-head Hawk Moth, on the other hand, should be the catalyst for the transformation, the function of the chrysalis in nature is to serve as protection while the insect undergoes metamorphosis, so it would also make sense for it to help during the change itself.

Dew is a bit more complicated, but after some thought and references to the use of dew in other potions, Rigel concluded that dew served to absorb the power of the full moon.

The full moon itself already had a connotation of change, as did the transformation into a werewolf, but beyond that, the full moon was almost like the closing and beginning of a cycle, the effect of the full moon was probably 'a new beginning'.

Rigel had managed to find a ritual that women could perform during the full moon to become extremely fertile for a short period of time, using the ritual basically doubled the chances of pregnancy. It was just a simple ritual with 'weak' effects, so it wasn't viewed very negatively.

However, what was important at that moment was precisely that: the full moon could signify both the end and the beginning. For the Animagus potion, Rigel believed that the reason for needing dew that hadn't been affected by the sun was to keep the dew pure, allowing it to absorb as much of the moon's 'power' as possible.

This power of the moon was then channeled into the wizard's body, bringing an 'end' to the human form and causing a new form to be born, it could even be linked to the emergence of the animal spirit, forcing its 'birth'.

Now, regarding the 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' incantation, Rigel initially didn't have many ideas, but after going through the first incantation in this morning, he began to think deeply about it.

First, the right time to do it.

Sunrise and sunset, as well as the effect of the full moon, sunrise and sunset is basically a reduced version of that, with a shorter time, the effect is less, but as the enchantment is repeated twice a day in this way, Rigel was increasingly certain that this served to keep the wizard's body in the ideal state, ready for the birth of the new form.

Thus, although time continues to pass, the initial effect of the full moon could be maintained in this way.

Furthermore, when he felt he could transform sooner, Rigel began to think that the incantation 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' actually also had a direct connection to the birth of the animagus spirit.

Amato means dear or beloved.

Animo means mind, spirit, or heart.

Animato means animated, alive, or full of life.

Finally, Animagus, which is, in effect, the result of the ritual, is the animagus itself.

The first word leads Rigel to believe that consciousness is indeed important to the process, and if related to the rest of the enchantment, it probably involves a mental aspect where the wizard needs to be mentally prepared for the transformation itself.

An animal that is in harmony with the wizard's psyche.

The concepts of Animo and Animato further convinced Rigel that it involved the creation of a second spirit within the body, Animo is the entity itself, while Animato is its emergence.

The enchantment itself is basically synchronizing the wizard with this spirit and is probably the final catalyst for its emergence.

The storm is the final external step of the ritual.

This step led Rigel to think deeply for a long time, he was unsure if this served to 'energize' the ritual, but his strongest suspicion was that a storm itself caused an energy imbalance.

Why was this imbalance necessary? Many possibilities: it could be because the Animagus needed to break the natural order of its form, it could be to deceive nature about the wizard's own form, it could be a connection between sky and earth, connecting the energy between the two points through lightning...

It was difficult for Rigel to define a clear purpose, but for him, the part about the storm wasn't extremely important.

Instead, he was focused on another point.

The enchantment: 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'

When he uttered it, he felt as if he could complete the transformation right there and then.

Without the catalyst from any of the other parts.

Rigel had no idea if this would work, but he could try it in the Dragon's Dream later. If it did work, Rigel would be pretty sure it was due to two factors, the first was that he had gone through the process several times in the Dragon's Dream.

The second was his transmuter class, due to the way his magic operated, the transformation could be completely accomplished purely through enchantment and experience.

Of course, all of this was just theory, he would soon put it to the test.