Animagi and transfiguration

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 39792

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "marinafrants" <rusalka at i...> wrote:
> 
> Huh?  What does being registered on unregistered have to do with 
> retaining one's human intelligence while in Animagus form?  
> Registered just means you go down to the Ministry and fill out a 
> little form saying "I'm an Animagus, this is what I turn into."  
> It's a bureaucratic procedure, not an aspect of the transformation.
> 
I fear we have misunderstanding piled on misunderstanding.

The point is that in QTTA Whisp makes a distinction between 
transfiguration and the animagus transformation.  I don't have the 
book with me but the wording is pretty careful, and the sense is 
(speaking of finding ways to fly):

"One the one hand, very few wizards have ever managed the animagus 
transformation, so that is not a realistic option for most; on the 
other hand, transfiguration is not an option either, because if you 
are transfigured into a flying animal you only have the brain of that 
animal."

Clear?

Marianne's point, as I understand it, was merely that Rita is an 
animagus (as it happens, unregistered, which was Marianne's way of 
remembering that fact as it came up in earlier discussions here), and 
therefore keeps her faculties.

Much more difficult to explain, therefore, are 1) what Sirius means 
when he says he was able to fool the Dementors by transforming to a 
dog: explanations tend to be based on the distinction between 'mind' 
and 'emotions', a difficult one to maintain, IMO; and 2) how Krum 
could keep his wits when he partly transfigured himself into a 
shark.  The logical explanation would be that he thinks with another 
part of his anatomy than his brain - any suggestions? ;-)

Finally, one wonders how much of his 'punishment' Draco actually 
remembers.

David