Animagi, animals and other puzzles

[Renee Daniels]

No: HPFGUIDX 60193

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "arrowsmithbt" 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
> Kneasy ( me ) wrote
> 
> Why are Animagi registered? Registered, note, not just pass a test 
like Apparating.
> 
> Taryn wrote suggesting that it lessens the chance of spying when 
they can be 
> identified by markings etc.
> 
> Me now:
> Not sure that cracks it. If it were so, invisibility cloaks would 
be licensed and so would 
> wizards like Dumbledore who can become invisible without such a 
cloak. It would be 
> more convenient too; after all your animal alter ego could be 
totally inappropriate. A 
> stag, for example, is not much of a prospect as a secret agent in 
the MoM offices. A 
> lot would depend on when registration was first required. An old 
law or more recent?
> 
> I think I'll stick with the theory that there's more to be revealed 
about Animagi.

Me:
I think that one of the reasons Animagi have to be registered is that 
it's entirely internal magic. You dont need a wand, word, or physical 
artifact, you just do it, and +pop+ you're a dog. Its a security 
nightmare, expecicialy since i'm pretty sure its undetectable unless 
you happen to see the wizard in question shift. There's no way in 
heck Sirius could have gotten an invis cloak or a wand into Azkaban, 
but he could always turn himself into a dog, and since nobody knew 
about it, nobody was watching for it.

~Calimora (Wondering why *glasses* are often physical markers on 
animagi even when they're not actually part of the witch.)