Disclaimer: This is just a random thought, nothing I think is 'cool' or would love to read in FF.

Does an animagus form have to be that of an animal in existence in the current day? What about Dinosaur Animagus!Harry? T-Rex!Harry ftw.

Is this actually possible, canon wise. Educate me o Taure.

Thoughts?

:inspired by Sorrows profile page:

 

No idea

For all we know you can be anything, magical or not, real, extinct or imaginary.

Though all the forms we have seen so far seem to indicate mundane animals only. All we have to go on is that JKR says that the form reflects your personality. There's almost no other information other than that.

 

Also: although it seems mostly a fanon thing, it's interesting to note that McGonagall's Patronus is a cat, just like her Animagus form. Indeed, both are supposed to be animal forms reflecting your personality...

...which could mean a couple of things: one, Animagus forms and Patroni may be transmissible (Harry's Patronus is his father's Animagus form). Two, some Animagi might transform into mythical animals, as Dumbledore's Patronus is a phoenix.

 

McGonagall's form could have changed when she completed her first transformation, as forms change after significant personal experiences (Tonks). Dumbledore's may have changed to a phoenix when Fawkes became his familiar *shrug*.

 

I've got a theory that I wanted to use in a story but never did.
*Note flows from the idea that magic is a quantifiable energy and clashes with Taure's Magic as an immutable force theory. /Note*

Basic idea is that each to transfigure yourself into a creature you need to have both the magic necessary to shift your mass to their mass as well as your magic to their magic. This has to be done without shifting your base magic/mass levels as otherwise the transfiguration would be temporary. So the basic equation would be your mass*magical ratio + your magic >= mass of what your transforming into*magical ratio + what your turning into's innate magic.

Following this it would be possible to transform into something that was up to a certain amount larger than you as long as that thing was less magical than you by a degree. Extra magic leftover might even give the newly transformed animagus some unnatural abilities. of course this would mean that it would not be possible to transform into say a dragon, which is both larger and more magical than a human.

This also includes the idea that an anigagus from is not locked in but can be changed by the wizard up until the first transformation. I made this up for a fanfiction so take it however you'd like.

 

*sigh*

In before Taure.

 

Not really. He already said that it ignores my theories.

 

Like that stops you

 

Rofl, you have raptor listed as your animagus form, which gave me this idea.

Zombie, hush. Go 'way, no one likes you.

On that note, I am sure there was a reason for me to visit that profile page... can't remember what it was, but it was definitely there!

 

I think that each Animagus crafts his or her form over a period of time, stressing complete concentration when thinking of what the animal they want to be looks like. It's impossible to change one body part at a time because the person would easily lose concentration (consider Rita Skeeter changing her arm into one that is the size of an insect's legs), so they must do the entire transformation or no transformation at all. Then, once the person has learned it, they will have to be able to deal with the stress of staying in that form. It would be painful at first, but through time, the Animagus would only feel uncomfortable in their form.

A person picks the animal that it wants, but once it is used to being in that form, it's monumentally difficult to change it. However, over time, the person's memory can become skewed, and traits will begin to differ slightly from when the person first became an Animagus. For example, thanks to his long stay in Azkaban, Sirius' coat is shaggier and duller compared to when he was in Hogwarts.

 

I've always considered the Animagus process to be nothing more than the name given to a very-well learned bit of human-to-animal and back Transfiguration.

*Ahem*

The Animagus Transformation includes Transfiguring yourself into a certain animal and back into human form. The reason it is regarded so highly is that, one, it is a complete self-Transfiguration (seemingly one of the harder branches of the discipline), two, it must be done wandlessly, and three, it must be done perfectly, every time.

Although there is not as much discrete evidence for this as there is other theories, I do believe it fits nicely with the world and magic system of HP. I hold it as a fundamental principle that there is no difference in magic besides the use it is put to (if, indeed, it can be said to exist outside those uses; for example, Vanishing magic is magic used to vanish, Transfiguration is magic used to change composition, etc. Vanishing magic can be used to Transfigure, but then it becomes Transfiguration). Therefore, the idea that there is a special branch of magic waiting for someone to plug in the Animagus incantation and then it just happens seems to be in conflict with the greater setting. That the Animagus process is simply a highly developed form of mundane Transfiguration is much more elegant.

This theory also provides a simple and basic reason for the long period of training necessary to perform well. Instead of some weird waiting period before you can use a random potion to find out your destined form in a mystical dream-state, the time is taken up by old-fashioned practice.

I can also explain the reason behind the Animagus form, as well as the similarity to the Patronus. A wizard could choose any animal he wants to specialize in. However, keeping in mind that the expectation of success/confidence definitely helps in spellcasting, causal links between the two spells can be drawn.

Say you learn the Patronus charm first, and your Patronus is a duck. You therefore associate a large measure of assurance and confidence, perhaps mostly unconscious, with the duck form. Presto, when you choose your Animagus form you naturally gravitate towards the duck. The opposite case is obvious.

Assuming this to be true, then it would be very possible to have multiple Animagus forms. As many retarded memories as it may conjure, its very possible for Dumbledore to have hundreds of Animagus forms. However, at that point it wouldn't really be fair to refer to them as Animagus forms - Dumbledore's just such a genius and has been practising Transfiguration so long that he can indeed turn into any animal he wants without much effort. For him and comparable wizards, the 'specialness' behind labeling the technique with a name no longer exists. Indeed, they may view it with a measure of contempt.

Tl;dr: Imagine Levitating is a very difficult application of magic. Most people don't take the time to develop their skills enough to levitate beyond a small rock. Someone who does practice enough is therefore a Levitamagus. Same concept.

As to whether Harry's Patronus form was inherited or due to plain chance, I have no clue. I'd favor the latter, and its not like he's lacking in luck.

EDIT:

Interesting. I'd say that change in form would have to be more conscious than unconscious, and that there would be definite limits on the magnitude of the change (i.e., shaggier fur, but not different color) or the incantation/spell would have to change, as we know there are limits on how far a spell can be stretched before a new one needs to be used.

 

Spanner in the works, which is a piece of JKR interview information I just remembered: a person doesn't know what their form is until they transform for the first time.

As cliche as it is, I do think the process is something like "bringing out your inner animal and letting it manifest". By process a wandless human-animal self transfiguration (it has to be wandless or you couldn't change back), but by technique something else entirely.

 

Well... I don't care. I guess its too late to resurrect that 'what do you count as canon' thread. JKR writes good magic only when she doesn't try to.

As to the wandless bit, yes, it certainly is a wandless spell back to human form, but not necessarily during the first half. The wand would certainly be in hand during the Transfiguration to animal form. Didn't Pettigrew need his wand to become a rat in PoA? Or was that the movie only?

OtOH, a wizard like Pettigrew needing a wand doesn't mean a more proficient wizard (say, Dumbledore) would.

 

Movie only, I think. Though since a person's personal affects change with the person themselves, I guess you could argue that if you transform while holding a wand you still have a wand on you when you're an animal.

 

I'm seeing quite a lot of posts that don't make much sense given the evidence in the story.

Being able to pick your form just doesn't make any sense at all.

Consider Pettigrew.

Why did he become an animagus? Because it was something to do with his friends and, supposedly, so that he could be with and help Lupin during his monthly transformations.

I seriously doubt he would choose to become a rat for two reasons. One, the form would be almost useless when faced with keeping a werewolf in check, which was the original goal of the animagus project. Two, who in their right mind would want to be a rat? I seriously doubt that Pettigrew wanted a form that was good for sneaking around and spying so early in his life.

Another theory that doesn't make any sense to me is that the animagus transformation is simply an advanced branch of transfiguration that is part of the logical order of learning the greater art of transfiguration.

Recall that there have only been a handful of witches and wizards that have registered as animagi in the past century. This lends credence to the theory that it is a very difficult and specialized undertaking that not many people are capable of achieving or are inclined to try to achieve.

If it were simply an advanced branch of transfiguration then I would expect that Dumbledore himself would be an animagus and registered, along with a number of other Hogwarts teachers and a good number of Death Eaters.

After all, if a few students can figure out how to perform such high level transfigurations then shouldn't a large number of full-fledged witches and wizards be capable of the same feat?

I refuse to believe that there are dozens upon dozens of unregistered animagi running around that we simply didn't catch a glimpse of in the books.

 

Having just watched the third movie, I can confidently say that Pettigrew did not in fact need his wand to transform: it was cursed from his hand. Then he turned to Harry, waved, and changed into a rat. He did leave his clothes behind though, which he apparently did not when he transformed before being revealed, as he was wearing clothes when he was forcibly revealed by Sirius. Also, if a wand is needed, how would Sirius transform on Azkaban?

 

How do you know many of them have not, and why should they want to? I've yet to see a really compelling arguement that becoming an animal, which could not do complicated magic due to the lack of a wand, is somehow better than staying as a human wizard in full control of his powers.

I doubt your serious doubt. Pettigrew, as he was cooperating with the other Marauders, would know that the muscle front was more than taken care of. I can easily see a rather cowardly individual like him liking the prospect of a small, unnoticable animal as an Animagus form: it is not a stretch to justify the scouting possibilities as more beneficial to his friends than just another large animal.