Is Harry a Metamorphmagus?

[ginnysthe1]

No: HPFGUIDX 116552


Finwitch wrote:

>[JKR] said that "Harry won't become an animagus like his father". 
While that could mean that Harry won't become an animagus at all, it 
could also mean that 1) Harry will become a *registered* animagus 
and/or taught how to do it by McGonagall - unlike his father;  that 
2) Harry's animagus form is NOT a stag.  Again, not like his father. 
<snip>

Kim here:

I can really see your interpretations of what JKR said (and hope 
you're right).  In any case it's pretty rare for her to come out and 
say *exactly* what she means anyway.

Finwitch:

>Hmm-mm... Howabout this: his glasses had been broken several times 
due to Dudley having punched his nose, covered in Sellotape. Harry's 
nose, however, does NOT have any sign of having been broken or hit.<

Kim again:

I think that's a very good observation about Harry's nose. One of 
those little details it's easy to miss or not take into account.  
Some might say his nose wasn't broken on account of the 
natural "indestructibility" of wizards (i.e. it's much harder to hurt 
them physically vs. how easy it would be to hurt a Muggle under the 
same conditions), but remember Harry did break his arm, so why then 
wouldn't his nose have been broken by a big ham-fist like Dudley's?  
Harry might have called on his innate Metamorphmagus ability as a 
quick self-defense mechanism to keep his nose from getting broken (or 
to repair itself instantly) and not even realized it at the time.  
The thing too about Harry's inborn magical abilities is that they 
would have shown themselves during the years before he ever knew he 
was a wizard, and in the company of the pea-brained-Muggle Dursleys, 
there was no nice wizard mom or dad there to say "Look at little 
Harry, he's a natural at ...."  Also wouldn't the kind of magical 
ability that would just "happen" tend to be the kind that's innate to 
that person?

Finwitch continued:

>Also: how did he turn his teacher's wig blue? What area of magic does
that belong, or was it Harry at all (I sure can imagine Dudley to put
dye into it and blame Harry)?  ... He made the sweater shrink.<

Kim again:

Wouldn't those be examples of transfiguration, like when Harry made 
the glass in the snake's cage disappear in SS/PS?  He "transfigured" 
an inanimate object into something else, as in making a brown(?) wig 
into a blue wig, a big sweater into a smaller sweater, or turning a 
sheet of glass into air.    If you can transfigure your own 
appearance at will, you're a Metamorphmagus.  If you can transfigure 
yourself into an animal, you're an Animagus.  They all seem to be 
part of the same basic ability.  And some folks are just naturally 
better at it than others.

Finwitch:  

>How did he 'jump' onto the school roof? Harry's description sounds
more like flying than apparition...? <snip>

Kim:

IMO that kind of jumping, if it's not a form of apparating, seems to 
point, as you say, to a natural ability to fly.  But Harry being a 
natural at flying on a broom is far dfferent from flying without a 
broom.  There hasn't been an example in the books of anyone flying 
without the aid of either a broom or a flying animal, has there?  
Which is kind of odd, considering it's the wizarding world.  Just one 
of those things maybe that JKR doesn't want in her version of a 
magical world, like not letting people come back from the dead; maybe 
she also doesn't want them to be able to just flap their arms and 
take off... 

Finwitch:

>Uhh.. what if Harry's a natural Phoenix-animagus, and has been since
birth? That way he sure wouldn't *become* animagus, because he's
always *been* one, he just didn't know it... Or maybe he'll be
Poly-animagus, and can turn into any animal he likes..<< 

Kim:

>Except for this, wouldn't Harry know he could turn into a Phoenix by 
now?  Harry's definitely like a Phoenix though, in that someone (he 
who must not be named) has tried to kill him and he didn't die.  Poly-
animagus is a really interesting idea too -- no reason why that 
couldn't apply to a talented wizard, though I guess that would be 
breaking the natural rules when it comes to animagus ability -- i.e. 
that your animagus is the animal reflection of your inner self -- so 
one would assume you could only be one animal.  But hey, what if 
you've got multiple "inner selves"...? ;-)  Plus I could see someone 
as old and wise (and talented) as Dumbledore being a Poly-animagus.

Best wishes,

Kim (who's having a bad hair day and really wishes she could be a 
metamorphmagus for about 2 minutes...)