As a renowned journalist, Rita's article quickly stirred an uproar throughout the wizarding world.
Many parents who had assumed the attacks were nothing more than simple petrification wrote in one after another to confirm the truth. For an entire week, the feathers shaken off by the owls were enough to bury the Great Hall.
Thankfully, it was only feathers.
Still, just like earlier in the article, Rita's praise for Dumbledore in the latter half proved remarkably effective.
Parents were now advising their children to stay as close to Dumbledore as possible. Even if they were going on dates, they were told to do so near the entrance to the Headmaster's office.
But Tver wasn't paying attention to any of that. He had a far more pressing issue—
Hermione was almost fully recovered!
In fact, aside from a few stray whiskers on her face, she was essentially back to normal.
Once those were trimmed, she could be discharged. The pores would fade naturally in time.
Tver had simply kept her an extra day under the excuse of "preventing aftereffects."
But there was nothing left to study. He was mainly observing how the pores healed.
If this were Human Transfiguration, the pore marks would gradually shift back into normal skin.
But with Polyjuice Potion?
Tver watched eagerly, so intently that Hermione was nearly nodding off.
After two full weeks, she had become completely immune to the professor's research-focused staring.
Not even a hint of embarrassment—no emotional reaction at all.
There it is. Tver's eyes widened in delight.
Just as Hermione gave a tiny yawn and had her face gently turned toward him again, the pores on her skin began to be slowly enveloped by the surrounding tissue.
In moments, every pore vanished from sight.
Was it… being overwritten?
Tver frowned.
The change was far too subtle for the naked eye. All he could detect was the fading of residual magic, replaced by something new.
But one thing was clear—this was entirely different from Transfiguration.
Drawing on what little biology he remembered from his previous life, he suspected the Polyjuice Potion's effects reached the cellular level—
Human DNA contains the complete set of protein templates needed for the human body.
In simpler terms, every cell can use DNA to synthesize any protein the body requires.
Meaning that any cell can, through DNA, convert itself into another type of cell.
Even if the new cell isn't identical to the original.
If Tver's guess was right, Polyjuice Potion worked by inserting the transformed person's DNA into the rewriting process, altering the cells that needed changing into new ones.
Thus producing the transformation.
When the potion's effect ends, the cells are replaced or recompiled by the host's original DNA, restoring the person's true form.
Which explains why Polyjuice Potion requires a piece of the target's body—because it contains DNA.
It also explains why it can only transform someone into another human. Magical creatures or animals require proteins not encoded in normal human DNA.
And it explains why the transformation persists outside the body, or even after death. The effect doesn't disappear with the magic fading because the cells themselves have already "died"!
A thrill ran through Tver.
Transfiguration could grant him the appearance of magical creatures, but Polyjuice Potion—changing things at the cellular level—could grant him their abilities.
This also means that if he could combine the two, he would be able to perfectly transform into any creature he wanted.
(This part is a bit nonsensical—it's just my personal imagination. You don't need to think too hard about it; just know the protagonist's Human Transfiguration ability has become stronger.)
"Professor…?"
Seeing Tver's excited expression, Hermione spoke up, confused and a little frightened.
No one could stay calm when being treated like research material.
Her voice snapped Tver back to reality.
"Oh. You've fully recovered now. You should head back." He smoothed out his expression, returning to his usual gentle and refined look.
But Hermione was still unsettled inside.
"Thank you, Professor," she said quietly, head lowered.
Then she grabbed her little bag and fled the room at once.
Only when she reached the entrance to the common room did she finally exhale.
The Fat Lady glanced at the panting girl, expression flat. "Password."
"Crystal goblet."
"That was last month's password. Please give February's new one."
"But I've been in the hospital wing for a whole month!" Hermione's eyes widened.
"I've been stuck in a portrait my entire life." The Fat Lady shrugged.
Thankfully, Hermione didn't have to wait long. Soon, two people crawled out through the entrance.
"Hermione? I was just thinking of going to the Hospital Wing to get you!" Harry said the moment he saw her, backpack bulging behind him.
Ron followed, grinning as he looked her over carefully.
"Hard to believe you ever turned into a cat."
"If you don't mention it, no one will ever know," Hermione replied helplessly.
"But where are you two going?"
At that, Harry lifted the note in his hand, delighted.
"Hagrid invited us over at three. Probably for afternoon tea!"
"But he told us to bring the Invisibility Cloak, which is weird." Ron pointed at Harry's bulging backpack.
"Whatever. Let's just head over."
Because of the attacks, Hagrid had canceled their usual afternoon tea gatherings this year, so this was the first time they'd been able to visit his hut in a long while.
Harry could hardly contain his excitement.
On the way, Hermione told Harry and Ron about the strange feeling she'd had toward Professor Fawley while she was in the Hospital Wing.
"I just feel like, whether or not Professor is the Heir of Slytherin, the things he studies are way too disturbing."
"And the important part is—I suddenly remembered last year, when Professor tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I suspect…" She hesitated, then continued, "Professor has some kind of secret reason for staying at Hogwarts."
Harry looked troubled. After what he'd seen last year, it would be a lie to say he wasn't scared.
"But if he already has the Philosopher's Stone, why would he need to be the Chamber's heir?"
"Maybe there's treasure in the Chamber!" Ron's eyes sparkled. "Salazar Slytherin was the castle's original owner. Maybe the Chamber is filled with treasure he left behind—or powerful magic!"
Hermione and Harry didn't fully agree, but with no better explanation, they nodded anyway.
Before long, they reached Hagrid's hut. Harry, practically buzzing with excitement, stepped up and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Hagrid, it's us!"
...
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