Start by logging into the Old Man's Ring at Hogwarts

Given the Ministry of Magic's practices at the time, they would have been more inclined to give the custody of Harry, the "Child of Prophecy," to Sirius Black rather than a group of Muggles.

Therefore, Dumbledore may have reached some kind of agreement with Fudge, directly sending Sirius Black to Azkaban. He sacrificed Sirius Black in exchange for Harry's safe upbringing.

This was indeed something Dumbledore was capable of doing.

After all, he has a good buddy who can say "for the greater good".

However, what kind of person Dumbledore was was irrelevant to Zicomo. What he was struggling with now was what use this new game the system had given him was to him.

After returning home last night, the system notified him that he had achieved the "Wizard Apprentice" achievement for the third year, and then gave him a new game, "Meow Quest".

There's no intention to be deliberately cute; this is just the game's name.

The game is set in a world full of cats and is an open-world action game.

Players control a cat as it explores the world in search of the evil Dracos and its kidnapped sister.

Compared to previous games, this one has a cute art style and is quite casual.

But it's just a traditional RPG, offering no real benefit to Zicomo beyond gameplay. There's nothing in the game that Zicomo particularly wants.

However, considering that it was just a small game, and the system hadn't said that every game would be helpful to him, Zicomo stopped worrying about it.

What's more, there are rewards for completing the game, so he's definitely the one who wins.

Zicomo also took the opportunity to update everyone's 'Aiped' and install the game.

Unexpectedly, the game received unanimous praise. Girls loved the cute cat art style, and even Lani played it with great enjoyment. Boys, on the other hand, enjoyed the thrill of fighting monsters, leveling up, and opening treasure chests to obtain equipment.

The new semester thus began with Zicomo's games.

…………

That day, Hermione came to Zicomo with a gold pocket watch-shaped pendant.

"Cousin, look what this is!" the little witch asked with a hint of pride.

Zicomo took the pendant, which had a small hourglass on it. Inside the hourglass, Zicomo felt a familiar power.

That is the power of time, which he often uses in the "Zen Garden".

"Huh? A time-twister? Professor McGonagall gave you a 4.5?"

Hermione's smug expression immediately fell. She had thought that Zicomo wouldn't know about this, so she could show it off to her cousin.

"Cousin, how do you know everything? Is there anything that can stump you?" the little witch said with a bitter face.

Zicomo lightly tapped Hermione's head: "Hmph, where do you get so many tricks up your sleeve, little girl? What good do I have for you?"

Hermione stuck out her tongue and didn't say anything. She couldn't very well say that she just wanted to see her all-powerful cousin get a taste of his own medicine, could she?

Seeing that Hermione didn't elaborate, Zicomo didn't press the matter, but instead asked, "So what does Professor McGonagall want with this? As far as I know, it's not supposed to be used for anything other than studying, is it?"

Zicomo was referring to the Ministry of Magic's regulations, which state that to possess a Time-Turner, a professor must write various letters of assurance to the Ministry, telling them that the owner is a model student at the school and will never use it for purposes other than academics.

Of course, it's fine if you use it secretly in private, as long as you don't get caught.

Zicomo couldn't understand why Professor McGonagall would give the Time-Turner to Hermione.

Chapter 131 The Animagus of Zicomo, Rita Comes Knocking

In the original book, Professor McGonagall gave Hermione the Time-Turner because Hermione asked Professor McGonagall if there was any way to have more study time, as she wanted to take all the third-year courses at the same time.

Professor McGonagall applied to the Ministry of Magic for special permission, which allowed Hermione to obtain a Time-Turner, enabling her to go back several hours to attend more classes.

But now, if Hermione wants more study time, she can simply go to his "Zen Garden".

Moreover, with Zicomo and Lani around, Hermione essentially has two private tutors, and top-tier ones at that.

If you don't understand something, just ask them directly; there's no need for a time converter at all.

Therefore, this was probably not Hermione's initiative in requesting it from Professor McGonagall.

“Professor McGonagall wanted to take me on as her apprentice, and I agreed. This is her gift to me,” Hermione said happily.

Zicomo was somewhat surprised, not expecting this reason.

He had heard a little about this matter. Ever since these professors learned that he had become Snape's apprentice, they had all regretted not making a move sooner.

Professor McGonagall, in particular, invited Zicomo to join her Transfiguration Club, even though Zicomo was a student at her college.

This is tantamount to sending a message to these professors: Zicomo is her chosen student.

Unexpectedly, Snape, lacking any sense of morality, secretly abducted her student.

Professor McGonagall had no choice but to settle for Hermione.

Of course, she did ask Lani, but Lani refused, saying that she already had a senior 30-year-old.

Zicomo learned from Lani that Professor McGonagall was interested in taking on a student.

“That’s something to be happy about, congratulations!” Zicomo said, smoothing Hermione’s hair.

Hermione took Zicomo's hand, her smile growing even brighter. It was as if Zicomo's congratulations were more gratifying than Professor McGonagall accepting her as a student.

"By the way, cousin, Professor McGonagall said I can start learning Animagus transformations now, and she asked me to ask you if you want to join. Speaking of which, it's been a long time since you went to the Transformers club."

Upon hearing this, Zicomo touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.

It seems that he hasn't been to the Transformation Club since the second grade.

Professor McGonagall assumed that it was because he was busy learning from Snape after Snape took him on as an apprentice, so she didn't pay any attention to him.

But in reality, Zicomo was just too lazy to go.

With his extraordinary talent, his comprehension is off the charts, meaning that as long as he studies step by step, he will not encounter any bottlenecks or difficulties.

Professor McGonagall's Metamorphosis Club was established to exchange experiences and solve problems.

But Zicomo could solve problems on his own, so over time he became too lazy to go.

“I’d rather not. I’m not very interested in Animagus,” Zicomo declined Professor McGonagall’s invitation.

Zicomo knew very well how to become an Animagus; it was a very grueling process.

First, you must begin when you are in a full moon, and hold a single leaf of mandrake in your mouth. You must not swallow the leaf or remove it from your mouth at any time. If the leaf leaves your mouth, the whole process must be started again.

This process takes a full month, meaning you have to keep this leaf in your mouth even when you're eating or sleeping.

You can only take it out on the full moon a month later, and then put it in a small bottle filled with your own saliva so that it can receive the pure moonlight.

Note that if the night is cloudy or there is no moon, you will have to start the steps from the beginning and repeat them all.

If the moon is bright that night, you can add a strand of your hair and a silver teaspoon of dew to it under the moonlight. The dew must be collected from a place that has not been exposed to sunlight or human contact for seven whole days.

Finally, add a pupa of a hawk moth, place the mixture in a quiet, dark place, preferably buried directly in the ground, and do not look at or disturb it until the next thunderstorm.

While waiting for the storm to come, he would point the tip of his wand at his heart at each sunrise and sunset, and chant the spell: Amado, Animo, Animado, Animagus.

If you feel a second heartbeat in your body while chanting the mantra, it means you are about to succeed.

At this point, you must continue chanting the incantation until the lightning of the storm tears through the sky, at which point you can quickly go to the place where the mixture is buried and retrieve it.

If the mixture turns into a mouthful of blood-red potion, you need to quickly go to a wide and safe place, drink the potion, and begin to transform.

During the transformation process, you will encounter the last challenge: to transform in accordance with the animal that appears in your mind, and after transforming, you must use your will to suppress the animal's bestial nature.

Otherwise, you might actually turn into an animal and forget your human identity.

Because unexpected events can occur throughout the process, such as swallowing leaves, missing a full moon, not being able to wait for a storm, or the bottle being exposed to sunlight, it's fair to say that Animagus is a magic that relies heavily on luck.

According to the registered Animagus, it takes each wizard several years to become an Animagus.

Zicomo knew all this because he had secretly completed the transformation of Animagus during the summer vacation.

Taking advantage of the convenience of the "Zen Garden," he saved a lot of time and finally, with the power of the gods, directly changed the weather in the local area, completing the transformation of Animagus in one fell swoop.

Zicomo didn't mention this because his Animagus was a very beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat. The kind of beautiful that even people who don't like cats would want to pet.

Zicomo thought it would damage his usual dignified and reliable image (which he didn't actually possess), so he didn't tell anyone except Lani.

Lani knew because she lived in the "Zen Garden" and happened to see Zicomo transform. Zicomo had no choice but to ask her to keep it a secret.

Zicomo never expected that his Animagus would be a cat.

But upon closer reflection, it seems quite reasonable.

Cats represent a free and unconventional group of people who like to go their own way, dislike following the rules, like to break the rules, will not obey the will of others, disdain things they are not interested in, and like to live as they please.

Zicomo perfectly fits the above criteria.

Fortunately, the Norwegian Forest Cat is a very large cat, larger than most small dogs, so Zicomo could barely accept his Animagus appearance.

But he still decided not to let others know about it easily.

If he wants to transform, the Mimicry Veil is a great choice. It allows the user to become anything, as long as the user has a specific image in their mind; even magical creatures can be transformed.

However, once transformed into a magical creature, it will not possess the characteristics of that creature. This is likely the reason for the distinction between wizards and magical creatures.

Sirius Black has returned the item, and he himself has left Hogwarts.

Firstly, Sirius Black has been exonerated and there is no need for him to hide in Hogwarts anymore. Secondly, this is a school after all, and he is not a professor at the school, so the school has no reason to take him in.

So he was kicked out by Snape, who disliked him.

To be honest, given the evil deeds Sirius Black and his group committed against Snape back then, it was already merciful of Snape not to report him as an illegal Animagus.