Marauders learning to be animagi....

[gwendolyngrace]

No: HPFGUIDX 35718

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Felicia Rickmann" <felicia.rickmann at d...>
wrote:
>
> > > This really intrigues me. My initial, gut reaction says that, were
> > he to have started his work towards becoming an animagus when he was a
> > boy, he might well have been able to transform into something
other than a
> > wolf, something that better suited his nature.


So why do you feel that his lycanthropy makes his ability to change
forms different, now as opposed to then?

Is it because the wolf is so much a part of his nature, or is it
because lycanthropy and self-transfiguration can't work together, or
is it some other theory?

<snip> So I  would think that
> while the actual process of becoming an animal is
>  proably a magical skill that could be learned, the magic takes the
> personality traits of an animagus into account and governs to a
large extent
> what the person turns into.  As Remus is a werewolf, not an
>  animagus as James, Sirius and Peter were (who did it to keep him
> company...) I'm not sure how much of an animagus discussion can
legitimately
> be applied to him.
>

But can you elabourate on that? I began this discussion assuming that
it is speculative, that the personality is a huge factor in the form
of the transformation. Certainly, there may not be any reason for
Remus to attempt the transformation, but does that necessarily mean
that he cannot? What is it about Animagus and lycanthropy that makes
you think they are mutually exclusive?

That's really what I was asking with question one, and if they are NOT
mutually exclusive, then what aspects of Remus's true nature, not
governed by the wolf, would come into play in the transformation?

Jake suggested a bunny--I actually think he would be more likely a fox
or a smaller wildcat. While I think he's reconciled a lot of the wolf
in order to control it, I don't believe that the wolf is the beginning
and end of Lupin's character. Therefore, there must be enough
personality that is Lupin's and not the accident of his affliction,
that could be drawn on for transformation into an Animagus.

Speculation of this kind calls for a little more suspension of
disbelief. Again, as Felicia pointed out, there is no reason for Lupin
to actually attempt to become an Animagus--at least not yet. But to
answer Kyrstyne's question, there really aren't many similarities
between the Animagus transformation and the disease of lycanthropy as
they are presented to us in the books.

Animagus: Difficult and advanced magic, regulated by the Ministry.
Lists are kept of Animagi, their animal forms, and descriptions of
their markings. Can be reversed by force of a spell. The Animagus
transforms back and forth at will otherwise. Painless once mastered.
Animagi retain their ability to think as humans while in animal form.
No particulat stigma to being an Animagus--in fact it is regarded as
an achievement to be envied. Evidently magic accounts for the changes
in mass, since relatively large people (Rita, Peter) can become very
small animals (beetle, rat), presumably affected by personality or
core character issues.

Lycanthropy: Acquired by being bitten. Regulated by the Ministry,
including a support services office, a Registry, and a capture unit.
Considered dangerous and difficult to control. Prejudicial treatment
of werewolves makes it difficult for them to maintain a normal life in
wizarding society. Transformation occurs only upon the night of the
full moon, and is involuntary. Also painful and physically draining.
Werewolves do not retain their ability to think as humans while in
wolf form and specifically target humans as prey. No mention of other
forms of lycanthropes (werecats, werebears, werebats, etc.), so
presumably always wolves. Mass is apparently converted, though not
necessarily with any correlation to human size (we don't know how
large Lupin's wolf form is compared to his human one).

They don't seem to be very similar, in fact.

And heck, if Remus *did* turn into an Animagus wolf, wouldn't that
make his lycanthropy easier to disguise?

Seriously, I'm not suggesting this will happen. I'm more interested in
what people think about the nature of these two forms of magic: one
voluntary and character-driven; the other involuntary and apparently
static (always a wolf). How do they relate to one another? Is Felicia
right, that being a werewolf means that he would fail to achieve the
Animagus transformation, just because the "wolfishness" of his nature
would set up a conflict that the magic couldn't resolve? Or is Jake
closer, that the rigid control Remus exerts over his wolf would force
the magic in a different direction, as far away from a wolf as it can get?

Or is it somewhere in between, where the wolf may have become part of
his nature, but the magic can somehow distinguish between the "edge"
that is part of turning into a ravening beast once per month and the
"edge" that was always there, that was always part of Lupin maybe even
before he got bitten?

 Hm. Not that I'm trying to lead your answers, or anything. But I'd
like to hear some elabouration on these thoughts.

Gwen