"My dear student."
Professor Tayra appeared in the armchair of the workshop's back room in the blink of an eye.
Quirrell was used to it by now. He still stood by the doorway, watching the clock—ten minutes until opening.
Sean, who had been waiting for her, tapped his brooch.
"Professor, do you know anything about soul transfiguration?"
Tayra paused at that. She didn't answer him directly; instead, she looked at the brooch with a hint of curiosity.
"Clever conversion, but the intent is still quite rough… You've already started the Animagus transformation ritual?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Sean admitted it.
"Until you finish the Animagus transformation, stay close to Minerva McGonagall."
…Or to me.
She swallowed the last part. That adoption ceremony that had happened right under her nose without her knowing still gnawed at her with regret.
"As for soul transfiguration… even at Uagadou, very few wizards truly realize what kind of transfiguration they are actually using. Even if they've once been carried by a dream messenger…"
She lifted a finger and tapped the air; several anti-eavesdropping charms settled around them.
Then, in a calm tone, she began to tell a story that had stretched across the African continent for thousands of years.
"Soul familiar. Dream messenger. Almost unknown on the European continent, but in Uagadou it has existed for more than a millennium.
Uagadou wizards believe the soul is the truest core of a wizard; even a wandering soul can carry all of that wizard's magic…"
Sean thought for a moment. It sounded very much like Voldemort's wandering-soul state.
Could that explain how Voldemort, once resurrected, instantly regained his full magical strength?
Tayra continued.
"In the magical school of Uagadou, located on Uganda's Mountains of the Moon, they accept students from across Africa.
Students admitted to Uagadou learn of it through a dream messenger. The dream messenger appears while the child sleeps and leaves a token from the headmaster—usually a stone engraved with runes.
When the child wakes up, they find it in their hand.
Surprising, isn't it?"
Her tone carried a faint tease.
Sean nodded. He'd never heard of a school recruiting students this way… What if someone simply didn't dream?
"Honestly, when I came to Hogwarts and saw you recruit children with a book and a quill, I felt exactly as surprised as you do now."
She went on.
"Now, can you guess what a dream messenger is?"
"The headmaster's soul familiar."
Sean replied without hesitation.
"A splendid answer! A dream messenger is the current headmaster's soul familiar.
It is also an animal form, because in dreams a wizard appears only as an animal, which allows them to ignore time and distance.
In dreams, spirits, ghosts, and familiars move freely; distance is no obstacle at all. People far apart can communicate instantly, usually in a half-dialogue, half-vision sort of way.
Very suitable for recruitment, I must admit…
But whenever the soul familiar appears, it also reveals something to the dreamer—some event, whether near-term or distant. In the case of Uagadou, that event is the offer of admission.
That is great enough to forge a link.
And at the moment that link is forged, the wizard naturally undergoes a kind of soul transfiguration."
She paused a moment, letting Sean connect soul transfiguration and soul familiars.
"What we call soul transfiguration is simply the wizard transforming into their own soul familiar. The soul itself hasn't changed in any way, so it's perfectly natural that the wizard's consciousness remains intact."
She continued.
"Uagadou wizards can freely change into animals because they've found and mastered their soul familiar.
As for how they train… I've already told you that part, my student.
Of course, you're not naïve enough to think that just sleeping is enough, are you? There are still rituals involved.
And another point: in dreams, some wizards may have more than one soul familiar.
For those with especially powerful soul transfiguration, they can easily take on any animal form. Their soul's ability to transform has reached such an extreme that it's no longer limited to a single animal.
I've only heard of one such wizard. I believe you know who I mean."
"Merlin."
Sean said.
"How should I compliment you, my student?"
Tayra smiled, genuinely pleased.
"What about the Druids?"
Sean suddenly asked.
"The ancient wizards who could turn into all sorts of animals? Oh, I don't know much about their magic. But one thing is clear:
Magic all leads to the same place. They may have used different methods to transform, but the principle must be similar—ultimately, it all comes back to the wizard's soul changing shape."
Tayra thought for a moment, then answered.
At that moment, the doorway of Fairy Tale Workshop erupted with noise. The invited guests were flooding in, eyes glowing as they stared at the lifelike magical-creature sculptures.
Mr Weasley's delighted face, Mrs Weasley's stunned disbelief, and that Uagadou witch who'd once tried to pay extra all appeared amid the crowd.
Sean spotted them easily through the crack in the door.
"They're opening…"
Tayra stood up.
"Since you're interested in soul transfiguration, I'll see if I can secure some books for you.
But, my student, you must understand one thing very clearly: meddling with the deepest secrets—the origin of life, the essence of the self—means being ready to bear the most extreme and dangerous consequences."
That was a quote from Magical Theory.
Sean nodded. He understood—what could be more "self" than the soul itself?
"Studying soul transfiguration is extremely risky. I'm sure you're already familiar with some of the failures.
The Quintaped, for example—and…"
Sean wasn't surprised.
The Quintaped is a XXXXX-class magical beast, only found on the Isle of Drear in northern Scotland. They're believed to be the result of a botched transfiguration, permanently stuck in a non-human form.
But Tayra's next example really did catch him off guard.
"The Blood Malediction."
"The Blood Malediction?"
Sean's mature-sounding voice echoed it back.
"The Blood Malediction is a mysterious and severe curse. It forces a person to switch involuntarily between human and animal form, and in the end they become permanently trapped as an animal, with no way to reverse it."
~~~
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