Chapter 225: The Second Heartbeat and the Image

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To be on the safe side, Allen chanted the spell two extra times; he had already confirmed this with Professor McGonagall: one could chant the spell more times, but never fewer.

While chanting, he felt his heartbeat quicken slightly, though he wasn't sure if it was just an illusion.

Additionally, he sensed something else amiss: whenever he chanted the spell, an image of a panda appeared in his mind; with each recitation, this image grew clearer, yet by the fourth and fifth times, its clarity ceased to improve.

This left Allen dumbfounded; Professor McGonagall had never mentioned such a phenomenon, and the second heartbeat he perceived had appeared far too early—she had said it would only manifest after some time.

Yet Allen had no immediate solution, so after finishing breakfast, he sent a letter to Professor McGonagall describing his situation that day; as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, she could not possibly stay with him every day at Scamander Manor, having returned to Hogwarts the previous night.

Professor McGonagall arrived again at Scamander Manor in the evening.

Under her witness, Allen completed the sunset chanting for the day.

During the chanting, Allen felt the second heartbeat even more distinctly, while the panda image in his mind grew sharper with each of the three recitations, every detail rendered with perfect clarity.

Professor McGonagall's expression turned serious; she had just observed the emergence of Allen's second heartbeat through the spell.

"The appearance of your second heartbeat is undoubtedly the earliest on record, but this is not necessarily a bad thing," Professor McGonagall comforted Allen.

Allen then told her about the panda image appearing in his mind.

After listening patiently, Professor McGonagall fell into deep thought.

It was quite a while before she regained her composure: "I have read every book concerning Animagi, yet none mentions a phenomenon like yours."

"However, since the Animagus form you chose is a panda, this might be related; perhaps this is also a good thing," Professor McGonagall speculated.

"Alright!" Allen accepted Professor McGonagall's explanation; the two anomalies of the day had caused him no discomfort.

Professor McGonagall went to check the warning and protective charms beneath the large tree before departing Scamander Manor.

The next day, Allen rose early again; this time, he caught Mr. Scamander's attention, for today he had randomly manifested a pair of brown wings, which greatly intrigued Mr. Scamander.

"These are the wings of some kind of eagle," Mr. Scamander concluded.

Indeed, Allen's daily random transformations continued unabated, not ceasing despite his undergoing the Animagus ritual.

Allen flapped the wings on his back a few times; he had no intention of taking flight, preferring to remain cautious during this period.

He went to the same spot as yesterday and, facing the rising sun, chanted the spell five times.

Then he felt something amiss again: the second heartbeat reappeared, but this time it differed markedly from yesterday's—it lacked yesterday's strength yet beat much faster.

The second heartbeat was acceptable, with plausible explanations available, but the image in his mind had changed again—the panda image from yesterday had vanished without a trace, while an eagle's image grew increasingly clear within his consciousness.

Allen gained some insight: the wings of the eagle image in his mind closely resembled the wings he had randomly manifested today, suggesting that the images in his mind were linked to his innate talent.

He then recalled that yesterday's random organ had been a pair of black, round, furry ears; at the time, he hadn't paid it much attention, but now he realized those were precisely a panda's ears!

For a moment, he didn't know what to do, but since his body felt no discomfort or abnormality, he could only let things take their natural course, merely writing to inform Professor McGonagall of the matter.

On the third day, Allen randomly manifested a long-awaited turtle shell; when he went to chant the spell on schedule, the second heartbeat appeared once more, only this time its rhythm was very slow.

An image of a turtle also appeared in Allen's mind.

Now Allen finally understood: the second heartbeat seemed connected to the image in his mind; knowledge from his past life told him that a slow heartbeat was one of the keys to a turtle's longevity, and today's sluggish second heartbeat matched perfectly with the turtle image in his mind.

However, he couldn't fully confirm the relationship; he needed more data.

On the fourth day, a heavy snow fell upon Scamander Manor, cloaking the entire estate in silver; this was normal enough, as January had arrived and the weather had become extremely cold.

Today, Allen's manifestation was even more exaggerated: numerous long, sharp spines grew on his back, and after he chanted the spell, sure enough, an image of a hedgehog appeared in his mind.

However, this time he could not verify the connection between the heartbeat and the image.

On the fifth day, Allen randomly manifested a pair of long ears; after chanting the spell, a giraffe's image appeared in his mind, yet this time the second heartbeat became incredibly powerful, making him feel as though a drum were beating inside his chest.

This strongly supported his hypothesis, for a giraffe's blood pressure is three times that of a human, resulting in a much stronger heartbeat.

During this period, Allen also attempted to use his ability of designated transformation, but to his surprise, he found it no longer worked; his daily innate transformations were now entirely random.

He still did not know what purpose these images appearing in his mind might serve, but he vaguely hoped to randomly manifest the organ of a magical creature.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore arrived at Scamander Manor over the weekend, bringing greetings from many people.

They examined Allen's body in detail, finding no abnormalities, and finally advised him to continue with the ritual.

Allen readily accepted this suggestion.

Days passed; located in Dorset, England, Scamander Manor experiences a typical temperate oceanic climate; during this period, one or two more snowfalls occurred, yet no stormy weather with thunder and lightning had appeared.

The organs of magical creatures he awaited never manifested, yet his mindset grew increasingly peaceful with the passage of time, as he chanted the spell punctually at every sunrise and sunset.

Mr. Scamander possessed a vast collection of books, which Allen kept reading during his leisure time.

Additionally, he discovered that ever since he began chanting the spell while focusing on his heart, the animals corresponding to his random transformation results had never repeated—a thing that had never happened before.

Time quickly entered February; the air grew damp and chilly, and Professor McGonagall wrote to remind Allen that the rainy season had begun, with a high probability of encountering stormy weather accompanied by thunder and lightning.

On this day, while Allen was reading in the living room, Mr. Scamander suddenly walked in and said to him, "Allen, get ready; the Thunderbird Frank just informed me that a storm with thunder and lightning will occur tonight. I have already notified Hogwarts."

Allen set down his book with a calm expression; this day had finally arrived...