Is your Patronus the same as your Animagus?

[Grey Wolf]

No: HPFGUIDX 127084


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "greenfirespike" <feenyjam at m...> wrote:
><snip>
> This implies a character's Animagus reflects her/his personality in 
> some fashion, the animal spirit of that particular character.  
> Although we have no official formula or theory as to how a 
> character's Patronus is formed, all examples show that it also takes 
> the form of an animal.  
> 
> We know that a character cannot chose what animal their Animagus is, 
> and nothing suggests that a character may select what 
> animal/shape/object her/his Patronus undertakes, thusly I suggest 
> that a character will have the same animal as both her/his Patronus 
> and Animagus.  
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> Greenfirespike

The only thing we know for certain about patronus is that Harry's a stag - 
or is it? In fact, we know something else, that the stag is his father's 
animagus form. Now, when I was thinking about your theory, something
was discordant. Harry is *not* a stag - while his father, from what we can 
deduce from Snape's memories, was very much the kind of jock you get 
in American teenager movies (particularly at the time he undertook his 
first animagus transformation, back in fifth year when, IIRC, the memories 
were happening), and which I can associte perfectly with the stag as an 
animal - proud, strong, head up high, etc.*

This actually suggests to me that the Patronus is not your animagus form, 
but the animagus form of the person who you "conjure" to serve as your 
protector (patronus means, I think, protector). And a protector it is indeed.
Why did Harry get his father? The most obvious answer is that we all tend
to rely in our parents for protection from a very early age, and that does 
leave an imprint. Such things in the WW are usually even more strongly 
linked - and we know that Harry's parents died protecting him, and he 
knows that too, very well. Really, the choice is reduced to two - James and 
Lily. Why James? Maybe Lily's animagus form was/would have been a dove
or something equally cute but hardly what Harry would expect to be 
protected by :D

In short, I think that while the animagus form reflects your own spirit, the 
form of the patronus reflect the spirit of who you call to protect you - and 
Harry, in particular, calls upon his father.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf, who has hopefully managed to format this message so it looks 
ok in web view

*So what would Harry's animagus form actually be? A lion, maybe? Harry 
can be described as calm and self-effacing except when push comes to 
shove, when he becomes a tremendous fighter. Now, I just have to try 
and match that to an animal...