Dumbledore's Apprentice

Chapter 7

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall as Harry entered the transfiguration classroom.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Harry replied politely.

McGonagall studied her star pupil as he sat down. It had been a little over a month since the school year had ended and Harry had begun his apprenticeship with Dumbledore. In that month, she had seen extraordinary progress from Harry.

Over his first five years at Hogwarts, Harry had shown talent for transfiguration, but nothing compared to the prodigious abilities he was now demonstrating. In fact, McGonagall had been slightly disappointed with his performance in class. Harry was the son of James Potter, one of the most talented transfiguration students she had ever taught. In fact, James, along with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, had managed to perfect the Animagus transformation in secret during their fifth year. The Animagus transformation was, perhaps, the pinnacle of Transfiguration achievement. Only a master could achieve the transformation, and James Potter had achieved it as a schoolboy.

When Harry came to Hogwarts, she had expected that same kind of talent, but she saw none of it. Instead, she saw a normal, sometimes lazy boy who often became caught up in crazy adventures. Granted, he sometimes showed glimpses of greatness, but that was a departure from his normative behavior.

Over the past month, however, he had completely changed. He had learned the transfigurations and conjurations for sixth and seventh years as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Not even James Potter could have done it with such ease. He had also developed a keen talent for dueling. Not only was he fast and accurate, he was creative. He would use transfigurations and charms in duels in ways that she had never before considered. The scariest part was how fast he improved. Every single day, he was markedly better than the day before. Sometimes, it seemed like he had been a master duelist in a past life and was just shaking off the rust.

In addition, McGonagall could see a shift in his personality. Before, Harry would have been content with mediocrity in his schoolwork; now, he would settle for nothing but the best. She had seen his ambition and was astounded by it.

She had thought long and hard over the past few days about what she could continue teaching Harry. He was rapidly approaching the point at which she could not teach him anything new; his future progress would come from practice and experience.

There was, however, one thing that she could still teach him: the Animagus transformation. She was confident that, given his recent strides in transfiguration, he would be able to master the transformation relatively quickly.

As he sat down at his desk at the front of the classroom, Professor McGonagall withdrew a potion from her drawer and placed it on top of the desk. Harry raised an eyebrow in curiosity but did not comment.

"Today we will be doing something a little different," explained McGonagall. "There is an aspect of transfiguration that you have yet to explore, one that I am certain will interest you immensely."

Harry immediately sat forward in his seat, intrigued by the possibilities.

"I believe that you have the capacity to master the Animagus transformation," she said, causing Harry to grin wildly. "Today, I wish for you to complete the first step, which is to discover your Animagus form by taking the Animagus revealing potion."

Harry nodded, slightly confused. "Professor, I think that I already know which form I have. My Patronus is a stag, just like my dad's Animagus. I am willing to bet that I will be the same."

McGonagall shook her head. "While it is true that Animagus forms and Patroni are based off of personal characteristics and qualities, they are not always the same for an individual."