"What are the brewing steps for Calming Draught? Do you stir left or right first? How long should the first stir last?"
Hermione held up the Potions textbook and gave Ron a stern look. Ron's eyes wandered as he tried to remember the answer, but all he could think of were stories about King Arthur.
All he could recall about Calming Draught was that the finished potion was light blue.
"Wrong. The most standard finished product should also have flecks of silver light. Professor Snape won't be merciful when grading your inadequate answers."
Hermione dismissed Ron's answer with a sigh and shook her head.
"I think we don't need to be so nervous... Hermione, why not look at other first-year students? I dare say Ron's level can already surpass them."
Padma lounged at the table, reading the latest newspaper. She spoke in a relaxed tone, and Ron gave her a grateful look.
"Oh, yes, I won't deny that." Hermione readily nodded.
After his training in Utopia to improve his dueling skills, Ron's spells already set him apart from other first years. Now that he had what Sterling called 'Knight Magic,' even Hermione and Harry struggled to keep up with him.
Ron was now only behind Sterling and Terry in terms of combat skills. Even Harry could only manage a tie against him.
It made sense. Hero Magic could be very powerful or not, depending on the user. Without strong emotions, magical weapons just couldn't break through Ron's knight lance.
When it came to direct attacks, Ron was second only to Sterling. But against Terry, he was always outmaneuvered. After tiring himself out without landing a hit, Terry would finish the duel with a single Stunning Spell.
"But you can't expect to get 'Outstanding' in Potions through dueling... no, that's too ambitious. 'Exceeds Expectations.' By Professor Snape's grading standards, you and Harry getting 'Exceeds Expectations' can be considered having 'Outstanding' level."
"Also History of Magic, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Herbology... All things considered, you can only guarantee 'Outstanding' in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Flying."
Hermione ticked off each subject on her fingers. Ron groaned in frustration and slumped back into his pile of notebooks next to Harry.
"Speaking of which... where did Sterling go?"
"Don't know. Terry's also missing. But I remember they seemed to leave the common room together? What's wrong, Hermione? You're not worrying about their grades, are you?"
Padma set aside the Daily Prophet and picked up The Quibbler instead.
"How's that possible... If there's a subject Sterling can't get 'Outstanding' in, it's definitely because the professor's hand was shaking while grading." Hermione waved her hand. "I want to borrow his Transfiguration notes. Though I've already read them, I think reading a few more times is safer, right?"
Thunder rumbled overhead. Neville, who was studying next to Harry, looked up in confusion and blinked.
It was the first rain of the month.
"Right! Ron! You still haven't memorized these key potion ingredients! Stop looking at lightning!"
A flash of lightning startled a squirrel in the treetop, causing it to fall. Terry, who had already seen this coming, caught the squirrel and gently set it down on a pile of leaves.
"Sterling, did Professor McGonagall bury the potion this far?"
"Because it requires a place untouched by humans. Previously, maybe wouldn't have needed to bury this deep, but you know the Weasley twins. Though Professor McGonagall never caught evidence against them, the Forbidden Forest's shallow areas probably became their backyard."
Sterling pushed aside a branch in his way. He found himself missing the feeling of using 'Nature Elf' Thirteen Magic against Voldemort, when the whole forest seemed to clear a path for him.
He didn't regret giving up Elf Magic. For him, it was just an extra skill that made his magic more interesting. For the Forbidden Forest, though, it was like bringing dead wood back to life. He had even received a reward from the forest.
In this Forbidden Forest, Sterling felt his magic power was more active.
The Forbidden Forest now felt like it was on his side, almost as if it favored" Sterling without him realizing it.
"Terry, want to try punching me?"
"Who? Me?" Terry pointed at himself. "Please have some awareness of your body. Did you forget Ron trying to elbow you before? He ended up clutching his arm, crying out for ages."
"That happened?" Sterling scratched his head. "Then throw a Knockback Jinx at me?"
"So weird... You don't suddenly have some spell-reflecting magic, do you?"
Terry cautiously drew his wand. But before finishing the incantation, his foot slipped. If Sterling hadn't pulled him in time, he'd have immediately fallen in the mud.
His wand naturally flew from his hand. It spun in the air, then was caught by Sterling and returned to Terry.
This was what favoritism felt like. Suddenly, Sterling felt a little guilty about giving up Elf Magic.
That magic had made everything go his way. Sterling snapped out of his regret and gave himself a light slap on the face.
I still believe my action was correct.
"We're here. Did Professor McGonagall say we can't use magic to dig up the potion?"
"Probably not," Terry said. "This potion's magic reaction seems to last until the storm arrives. Since rain's already falling, it's no different from an ordinary bottled potion. Otherwise, coming here, wouldn't we have already destroyed the 'no human traces' condition?"
"Most importantly, Professor McGonagall didn't have us prepare shovels. This couldn't be Professor McGonagall's oversight, right?"
That explanation made more sense to Sterling than the earlier ones. He raised his wand, and with a bit of magic, a small bottle glowing with blood-red light dropped into his hand.
"Like a ruby. But I remember Professor McGonagall said the finished product should be deep brown?"
Sterling hesitated, unsure if he should drink it.
Terry forcefully imagined curiosity about "what would happen if Sterling drank this potion." Then the future he was curious about appeared before him.
"Did it... fail?" Terry tried to make sense of the future he had just seen. Sterling was too unusual, so the vision was blurry and unclear. All he could make out was a silhouette.
But the shape was human, not an animal. Wasn't that a sign of Animagus failure?
"But your hair changed color. White or silver? Can't say clearly. Maybe this potion will help you awaken Metamorphmagus abilities?"
Terry joked. Metamorphmagus was an innate transformation talent—it couldn't be learned later. Supposedly, Merlin had this ability, so Merlin was considered outstanding in Transfiguration. Every Metamorphmagus was Transfiguration's darling, naturally close to the magic. Like recently, a Hufflepuff senior—her other classes were mediocre, but in Transfiguration, she was always in her element.
"Maybe my intuition is off this time?" Sterling said, though he still trusted his gut feeling.
"No mistake—this is the correct potion. It just underwent some small, adaptive changes."
Dumbledore appeared beside Terry like a ghost. He startled him.
Dumbledore, like Sterling and Terry, had a magical shield over his head to keep the rain off. He wore simple robes instead of his usual ornate ones and held a pocket watch. An old but lively voice came from inside it.
"Oh, Sterling! You should have complete trust in intuition. Intuition is a precious talent. Don't lose it and then regret it, like me and this old fellow."
Dumbledore shook the pocket watch with exasperation. "Compared to you, Nicolas, I'm practically a youth."
"Nicolas Flamel?" Terry was somewhat surprised, but not much. Sterling had long revealed he was studying alchemy with Nicolas Flamel.
Terry wasn't interested in alchemy. Like many Ravenclaws, he didn't care much for subjects he found boring.
"Adaptive changes? What's that?"
"Don't know. Attribute all unexplained things to Avalon."
The old man in the pocket watch shrugged, as if he had given up.
"Because of your blood, Sterling."
Finally, the relatively more reliable Dumbledore stepped forward. He explained to two curious students.
"Sterling, you should also realize your so-called 'Animagus' isn't at all the same as others' Animagus. Because Animagus is Transfiguration, turning wizards into animals. And you, Sterling... I know you once used your blood when bringing Ron and the others into Avalon. Then you should understand..."
"From a biological perspective, you're actually not 'human.'"
To Dumbledore's surprise, neither Sterling nor Terry seemed shocked. Sterling's reaction was only a little more dramatic than Terry's.
Sterling had suspected something ever since he saw his own blood, but being officially told he wasn't human still left him a bit surprised and confused.
Terry just nodded in understanding and let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, he thought, I've always said Sterling wasn't human. What first-year could be that talented at magic? Maybe he started learning before he was even born. Being a magical creature actually made sense.
After all, even a month-old phoenix could take on an adult wizard. That made Sterling seem almost normal.
Dumbledore realized he might not understand how young people think. Their reaction left him speechless, and he didn't even get to reassure Terry about their friendship.
Terry didn't mind at all. In fact, he thought having a magical creature as a friend was really cool.
"Professor Dumbledore, is Sterling Veela-blooded? Seems only this magical creature can birth children close to normal people? But Sterling doesn't seem to have Veela-level charm..."
Terry was already eager to figure out exactly what kind of magical creature Sterling was.
"Oh, Veela? No, no, no, Veela can't birth boys. And Terry, do you think with Veela's abilities, they could give Sterling such terrifying talent?"
Terry shook his head. Pure-blood Veela were just mascots for the Bulgarian Quidditch team. Usually, hybrids weren't as powerful as pure-blood magical creatures. If Sterling was already this strong, what kind of creature could be even more impressive?
"Another key thing you overlooked. I said Sterling doesn't count as biologically 'human,' but now we generally also include magical creature-wizard hybrids in the 'human' concept, as long as they have a relatively complete human form. Meaning Sterling isn't any hybrid. He's the purest pure-blood magical creature."
Now Terry was truly surprised. He had read 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' as a kid, but he couldn't think of any magical creature that looked exactly like a human.
Was Sterling a brand-new magical creature? Would future textbooks have a page just for his species?
"Then, Professor, do you know what magical creature I am?"
Sterling wasn't bothered by not being human anymore. In fact, he took it surprisingly well.
Vivian was a fairy. Ursula was a sea witch. Maleficent was said to have some dragon blood, but only from Avalonian dragons. Sterling had decided that modern dragons didn't count as real dragons.
Having grown up around non-humans, Sterling was comfortable with who he was.
He still thought of himself as human, and that was good enough for him.
"This question—perhaps after drinking this potion, you can get an answer."
Dumbledore pointed to the bottle in Sterling's hand. Nicolas, speaking from the pocket watch, added, "It's now a potion that brings out your bloodline. Actually, since you're pure-blood and not a hybrid, it's more about development than awakening anything hidden."
"Your 'Animagus' will present a peculiar form. It will become a kind of 'transforming into your originally proper appearance' Transfiguration."
"Sterling, magic is personal. Since you saw yourself as human, you've lived these years as one. Your 'Animagus' will show what you could have been if you'd always known your true identity."
Sterling looked at the potion, magnificent as liquid ruby. He uncorked the bottle and brought it to his lips, then drank it all in one swift motion..
A vast field of white flowers stretched out before him. In the middle stood a tall, lonely tower, its silhouette fixed against the evening sky.
He heard a voice, neither male nor female, whisper in his ear, and it seemed to carry the scent of flowers.
"Look, my 'brother.' You've finally discarded that meaningless disguise?"