Hogwarts letter/Perkins/'tolerant' Hufflepuffs?/Animagus Cat/Animagus Sex

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 90982

Sawsan wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90599 :

<<What if there is a child who is a witch or wizard, but is not
allowed to go to Hogwarts, or any other wizarding school? (snip) what
if a parent just said no way!! You can't take my kid!! At first, I
thought, that's silly they just won't have to go. But imagine all the
trouble that child could get into if they were untrained, the MoM
would have to be modifying so many memories and fixing things that
child might have messed up unintentionally. >>

Me, I imagine that if Muggle parents were opposed to their magic child
going to Hogwarts, then Dumbledore or his helpers would put spells on
the parents to make them less resistant. Not Imperius -- that's an
Unforgiveable -- but maybe Confundus to make them believe that
Hogwarts specialized in something they liked more than magic, or to
make them believe that they like magic ... his motive would be for the
child's sake, to let him/her realise hiser potential, not so much to
protect the worlds from untrained magic. I mean, all the people who
don't want to allow Muggle-borns to attend Hogwarts (from Salazar
Slytherin to Lucius Malfoy) must think that untrained magic people are
not a danger ... maybe the magic goes away over time if it isn't
regularly exercised ...  

Bohcoo wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90802 :

<< (What a riot -- purrfectly -- hope Perkins isn't allergic!) >>

How can he be, when his name is Purrrkins?

<< By the way, while we are on the subject of Mr. Perkins, did the
books mention somewhere that he is a warlock? >>

In CoS, the chapter in which Weasleys in Flying Car rescue Harry from
Dursleys (chapter 3?), when Ron is telling Harry about Arthur's job:
"Dad was going frantic - it's only him and an old warlock called
Perkins in the office".

My theory is that "warlock" is the wizarding word for a politician,
and Perkins being "an old warlock" means he's a retired (defeated)
politicians whose non-retired buddies used their clout to get him a
secure job.

Angela P wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90821 :

<< Maybe this is done to illustrate Hufflepuffs as accepting,
non-discriminatory, or open-minded. >>

It seems to me that Hufflepuffs have not particularly been depicted as
accepting, non-discriminatory, or open-minded. In CoS, Ernie Macmillan
convinced his Housemates that Harry was the attacker with this logic:
"Hannah," said the stout boy solemnly, "he's a Parselmouth. Everyone
knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a
decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself
Serpent-tongue." 

Sawsan wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90823 :

<< Maybe the person becomes the animal, for lack of a better phrase,
that is inside of them, or at least what would fit them best. >>

Yes! JKR has confirmed in interviews that the Animagus doesn't get to
choose his/her animal form, but instead the animal form is a
reflection of his/her personality.

http://www.geocities.com/aberforths_goat/October_2
000_Live_Chat_America_Online.htm
Q: Does the animal one turns into as an Animagi reflect your
personality?
JKR: Very well deduced, Narri! I personally would like to think that 
I would transform into an otter, which is my favorite animal. Imagine
how horrible it would be if I turned out to be a cockroach! 

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript2.htm
Q: If you were Animagus, what kind of animal would you be?
A: I'd like to be an otter -- that's my favourite animal. It would be
depressing if I turned out to be a slug or something.

<< McGonnagall is very strict and proper, but who knows if there
really isn't a pussycat deep down inside. >>

I think McGonagall is an excellent cat, very private and dignified in
public, and all the thnings that Frost Indri wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90840 and I
suppose she has a feline appreciation of sensual (which doesn't
necessarily mean sexual) pleasure when she's in her own living
quarters ... I imagine her luxuriating soaking in a hot bath the way
cats luxuriate sleeping in a sunny spot ... purring about a backrub
.. 

SnapessRaven in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90610 started the
thread on:

<< Do animagi maintain their human gender? I mean, do men always
change into male animals, and women vice versa?>> 

I think it is an absolute that Animagi maintain their human gender,
thus proving that male Crookshanks is not female Mrs Figg as an
Animagus. 

<< Are animagi, while in their animal form, able to reproduce? >> 

I have very firm and even less canonical opinions on this: YES! I say,
the male Animagus in animal form can inpregnate a female of that
animal, whether the female is a natural animal or an Animagus, and the
male Animagus in human form can inpregnate a human female. The female
Animagus in animal form can conceive with a male of that animal,
whether a natural animal or an Animagus in animal form, and can
conceive with a human male when in human form. 

And one of the *many* ways in which it is better to be an Animagus
than a werewolf is that, in my universe, the Animagus can carry a
pregnancy to term and the werewolf can't. The female werewolf's fetus
is killed by the stress of the monthly transformation. But the female
Animagus's fetus transforms safely whenever she transforms. (Even if
she's a cat when she conceives, she drops only a human number of eggs
... can you imagine a poor sow Animagus with twenty fetuses in human
form?) 

Her child is a human if she (and it) are in human form when she goes
into labor, and an unusually intelligent animal if she (and it) are in
animal form when she goes into labor. Her pregnancy advances at human
rate when in human form and at animal rate when in animal form, so a
cat Animagus could reduce her pregnancy to six weeks by spending it
all in cat form, but then she runs the risk of labor taking her by
surprise in cat form and dooming her child to be a mere Beast. The
child does not inherit shape-shifting ability: unlike Metamorphmagery,
it is learned not born.

Dave Hardenbrook wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/90784 :

<< Assuming the theories that Sirius is gay are correct, is he still
gay as a dog, or might he have mated with a bitch (a canine one, not
Umbridge)? >>

I've been a Sirius/Remus shipper since forever, but I always figured
Sirius as bi, not gay. I'm sure that as a naturally horny and proudly
rule-breaking teenager, he would have tried having dog sex with an
available female dog at least once (was there an outbreak of furry
black puppies in Hogsmeade?). Whether he did it again would depend on
whether it was fun ... Animagi retain their human minds and thus would
not be biologically controlled by the scent of a bitch in heat ...