[HPforGrownups] Animagi and human thought (WAS: Transfiguration)

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 41746

Nik had some questions:

The quote from Quidditch Through the Ages, under discussion:

> >" No spell yet devised enables wizards to fly unaided in human form.
> >Those few animagi who transform into whinged creatures may enjoy
> >flight, but they are a rarity. The witch or Wizard who finds him- or
> >herself transfigured into a bat may take flight, but having a bat's
> >brain, they are sure to forget where they want to go the moment they
> >take flight."

Nik asked
>
> This section caught my attention the first time I read that book. This
> doesn't make sense to me. Based on the animagi we have seen so far in the
> series, I have always had the impression that they've all retained their
> capacity for human thought processes. The above quote implies that they
> should lose that. A few contradicting examples (off the top of my head)
> would be:

<snip good examples>

The passage you cite bears careful reading. The answer is there. The
sentence in the passage which reads "Those few animagi who transform into
whinged creatures may enjoy flight, but they are a rarity" refers to
*animagi,* resulting from the Animagus spell. Animagi clearly *do,* as we
have seen and as illustrated in your examples, retain their ability to think
on a human level (although Sirius says his emotions are less complex when he
is a dog; perhaps a "filtering" effect of his form on what the dementors
could pick up; but I digress.)

The sentence which follows is "The witch or Wizard who finds him- or herself
transfigured into a bat may take flight, but having a bat's brain, they are
sure to forget where they want to go the moment they take flight." Read this
carefully. This is not talking about the animagus spell; this is talking
about *transfiguration* such as Moody did to Draco. Note the passive voice:
"finds him- or herself transfigured." Transfiguration is cast on you, not
something you do yourself. Transfigured humans do *not* retain their mental
faculties. One could not transfigure a friend into a cat and have them go
spy on someone; they'd have a cat's brain and not be able to do it. But a
friend with an animagus cat form could do it. I'd imagine this sort of
difference is why the animagus spell is so difficult and requires years of
study and registration.

To conclude, anyway, the passage is an opening sentence, and then two
sentences which each give a different example; they cover the two very
different ways that wizards can take on a form that flies. The confusion
arises because it is easy to read the passage as an opening, an example, and
then a continuation or amplification of that example.

Hope I helped,

Amanda L.O.O.N.