Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Animagus
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Animagus | |
|---|---|
| Type | Class of wizard / witch |
| Features | Change oneself to an animal |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
An Animagus is a witch or wizard who has the rare ability to change into a particular animal at will. The spell used to become an Animagus is very difficult and dangerous, which is one of the reasons that all Animagi are required to be registered by the Ministry of Magic. Another reason is so the Ministry can make sure the Animagus does not use his or her power to do anything illegal while in their animal forms.
[edit] Extended Description
While the term is only presented and defined in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the ability of some witches or wizards to change into the shape of animals is seen in the very first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Here, Professor Dumbledore addresses a tabby cat as Professor McGonagall, and finds a woman sitting there when he looks again.
Animagi are extremely rare. It is revealed that Professor McGonagall is one of the only seven registered Animagi of the century.
However, we know of four unregistered Animagi: Peter Pettigrew (who can transform into a rat), Sirius Black (who can turn into a large, black dog), James Potter (who transformed into a stag), and Rita Skeeter (who becomes a beetle).
The Animagus transformation is one of a very few forms of magic that can be performed in a controlled manner without a Wand. Sirius and Wormtail have displayed the ability to transform into their Animagus shapes without wands.
[edit] Analysis
James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew all became Animagi after discovering that their friend Remus Lupin was a Werewolf. Because a werewolf is only a danger to humans, they decided that they could keep him company during his transformations by turning into animals. They used their power to wander around the Hogwarts grounds at night, while Lupin was in his wolf form.
Rita Skeeter, who is a reporter, became an Animagus perhaps so that she would be able to spy on people to get good stories for the papers she writes for, notably the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. Note that the witch or wizard performing the spell does not have control over the specific type of animal he will become; the form that the wizard's animal form takes will depend on his personality at the time he performs the spell. The fact that Rita became a beetle, so very close to the proverbial "fly on the wall", could only be providential – she could not have selected for it.
One must assume that the main purpose for a wizard to choose to become an Animagus is as a way of transforming into an innocuous beast, so as to avoid recognition while acting illegally. It is for this reason that the Ministry requires that all Animagi be registered, so that any Transformed wizard who chooses to act illegally may be identified.
As mentioned in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the Animagus transformation is a form of Transfiguration. There is a difference, though; a wizard who is Transfigured into an animal is fully an animal, with the animal's brain, comprehension, and abilities, which means that he must perforce remain an animal until some other wizard Transfigures him back into his original self. Following the Animagus transformation, the wizard retains his own intellect and abilities, and so can transform himself back to human.
It should perhaps be mentioned that Professor McGonagall has never done anything unlawful while in her Animagus state. Her sole reason for becoming Animagus was as part of her studies of Transfiguration.
[edit] Questions
- If a wizard performs the Animagus spell twice, can he or she then change into two different types of animal? Or would it change the type of animal he or she could transfigure into? Why?
- Could a wizard's Animagus form be the same as their Patronus?
- To become an Animagus, would you be more likely to use a spell or a potion?
- Do you choose the animal you transform into?
