"By the way, Liam."
As the excitement from their successful experiment gradually settled, Professor McGonagall suddenly remembered something.
"The dragon you transformed into..."
She adjusted her glasses thoughtfully.
"Does it have anything to do with the enormous dragon that appeared above Hogwarts some time ago?"
Liam immediately understood what she meant.
"Oh, that."
He smiled.
"That's my Patronus."
McGonagall blinked.
"Your Patronus?"
"Professor Snape taught me the Patronus Charm."
Liam answered modestly.
While Snape had only provided him with the original spell and study materials, that foundation had been enough for Liam to understand the charm and eventually improve it.
The revelation instantly eased a concern that had lingered among the Hogwarts professors for quite some time.
The massive silver dragon had been beautiful.
But it had also been terrifying.
The overwhelming aura it emitted left many teachers feeling uneasy.
Now, however, things made much more sense.
After all, the Patronus Charm possessed one very important characteristic.
Dark-hearted individuals couldn't cast it.
Anyone attempting to force the spell would suffer severe backlash. At best, the charm would fail. At worst, their wand could turn against them and summon maggots to consume the caster's own magic.
The fact that Liam could produce such a powerful Patronus was proof in itself.
Whatever else he might become, he wasn't evil.
"You're full of surprises."
McGonagall smiled helplessly.
Liam immediately shook his head.
"It's because the professors teach so well."
The answer was so polite and sincere that McGonagall found herself smiling even more.
A child this talented was already rare.
One who remained respectful despite his talent was rarer still.
"Well then, Professor."
Liam gathered up his notes.
"I'll head back."
"Very well."
McGonagall nodded.
As she watched him leave the classroom, she couldn't help wondering just how far the boy would go in the future.
After leaving the Transfiguration classroom, Liam returned to the Slytherin common room.
A few students greeted him.
He nodded politely.
Then he entered his enchanted suitcase and immediately headed for the research area.
His mood was excellent.
The successful transformation had provided far more benefits than he had expected.
There was plenty to study.
The first thing that caught his attention was the phoenix's rebirth ability.
The passive immortality effect was extraordinary.
Unfortunately, it possessed one rather serious flaw.
After resurrection, the phoenix returned to infancy.
That might be acceptable for a magical creature.
For a wizard, it was a disaster.
A newborn body was fragile.
If someone discovered him during that vulnerable period, they could simply kill him again.
Even worse, Liam had no idea whether a second death immediately after rebirth would trigger another resurrection.
If it did, he might become trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth.
A true nightmare.
Before the ability could become practical, he would need to modify it and eliminate the regression effect.
The second subject interested him even more.
Dragon magic.
Specifically, the mysterious power that allowed him to instantly cast the Ancient Forbidden Spell: Eternal Frozen Earth.
Initially, he had assumed it was solely due to the increase in magical power.
Now he knew better.
Part of the reason was the white magical power generated by the dragon form.
The other part came from the dragon itself.
Dragon language magic.
An innate ability possessed by the silver dragon.
While transformed, Liam instinctively understood that nearly every spell could be cast instantly through dragon language magic.
Not only that.
The magical power consumption was dramatically reduced.
It was almost absurd.
From a wizard's perspective, dragon language magic could easily be considered one of the greatest magical talents imaginable.
The only unfortunate aspect was that he couldn't use it in human form.
At least not yet.
Overall, the magical creature Animagus transformation had exceeded every expectation.
His confidence in dealing with Voldemort had increased dramatically.
There was one final discovery he hadn't revealed to Professor McGonagall.
Liam raised his right hand.
A moment later, silver scales spread across his skin.
His fingers elongated.
Sharp claws emerged.
In the blink of an eye, his human hand transformed into a dragon's claw.
Local transformation.
Another ability granted by the modified Animagus spell.
The implications were enormous.
Liam flexed the claw experimentally.
The raw physical power was astonishing.
Nearby, a cursed dagger purchased from Borgin and Burkes floated toward him.
He grabbed the weapon with his left hand.
Then he swung.
Clang!
The blade struck the dragon scales directly.
A sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the room.
When Liam looked down, a gap had appeared in the dagger's edge.
The dragon scales, meanwhile, showed only a faint white mark.
Even that disappeared within seconds.
Liam's eyes brightened.
"Just as I thought."
The defensive capabilities were absurd.
With this ability alone, he would become terrifying in close combat.
Of course, physical defense wasn't enough.
Next came magical defense.
Liam picked up his wand.
Then he pointed it directly at one of the dragon scales.
"Severing Charm."
A sharp cutting sound filled the room.
Silver light flashed.
The spell struck perfectly.
When the light faded, Liam carefully inspected the result.
A tiny cut had appeared on one scale.
Tiny.
And it was already healing.
The damage vanished almost as quickly as it had formed.
Liam couldn't help smiling.
The transformed dragon possessed both extraordinary physical resistance and extraordinary magical resistance.
Combined together, the result was almost ridiculous.
At that moment, he felt far less concerned about Voldemort.
Still...
Something felt strange.
He frowned.
Did ordinary dragons really possess this level of defense?
That didn't seem right.
Dragons were powerful creatures, certainly.
But history contained numerous examples of skilled wizards capturing, controlling, and even breeding dragons.
Most of those wizards would have possessed magical power roughly comparable to Liam's former cyan-level magic.
Yet this dragon's scales could casually withstand attacks from someone of that level.
There was an obvious mismatch.
Even stranger, none of the books he had read contained any mention of a four-clawed silver dragon.
Dozens of dragon species were documented in magical literature.
Not one resembled his transformation.
What Liam didn't realize was that the creature he had become wasn't actually a dragon in the ordinary magical sense.
It was something far rarer.
A divine beast.
That was why it possessed weather manipulation.
That was why it possessed dragon language magic.
That was why its scales possessed such absurd defensive properties.
Unfortunately, nobody was around to explain that fact.
After several moments, Liam shrugged.
"No point overthinking it."
There was a more practical experiment waiting.
He wanted to examine the dragon scales themselves.
Perhaps they could be used as magical materials.
His left index finger tapped lightly against one of the scales.
Instantly, the scale detached.
The silver fragment landed neatly on the research table.
Although the scales were incredibly durable, Liam could remove them through sheer will while transformed.
Picking it up, he examined it closely.
The scale was beautiful.
Crystal-clear silver.
Smooth and elegant.
Almost like a gemstone.
Then Liam released the transformation.
The dragon claw vanished.
His hand returned to normal.
Or rather...
Almost normal.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of his hand.
Liam lowered his gaze.
The area where the scale had been removed was now missing a patch of skin.
Blood slowly seeped from the wound.
"...Ah."
That was unfortunate.
He immediately cast a healing spell.
Nothing happened.
The injury remained exactly the same.
Liam frowned and tried again.
Still nothing.
Meanwhile, the dragon scale sat quietly on the table, completely unaffected.
A few seconds later, he sighed.
"Of course."
There really was no such thing as a free lunch.
Apparently, any body part removed while transformed retained its properties after returning to human form.
The price was permanent injury.
Or at least semi-permanent injury.
More importantly, ordinary healing magic couldn't repair the damage.
The missing flesh would likely need to regenerate naturally over time.
Liam wrapped the wound with a bandage.
Then he looked at the silver dragon scale again.
Originally, he had entertained a rather ambitious idea.
Dragon-scale armor.
One set for himself.
One for Cassandra.
One for Hermione.
Now, however, that plan seemed much less appealing.
After all, crafting a full suit of armor would be equivalent to peeling himself alive.
....
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