Animagus Transformation / Snape's Animagus (was DD as Animagus)

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 182831

> Carol responds:
> 
> <snip> 
> At any rate, maybe the reason that the WW has so few Animagi
> (registered or otherwise) is a combination of related factors. 
> <snip>
> Similarly, you don't know what you'll become and consequently may
> not want to waste years of your life learning to acquire a form
> that may be loathsome or useless. Imagine becoming an elephant or
> a whale or a goldfish or, as JKR says in separate interviews, a
> slug or a warthog.

Mike:
The beauty of freeing yourself from taking JKR's interviews as canon 
is that in this kind of discussion, you are disencumbered by her 
conflicting interviews vs. your canon interpretation. Unless I've 
misremembered, nowhere in the books does it say that one has no 
choice in the form ones Animagus takes.

I know that James and Sirius were the type that would try to learn 
the Animagus transformation on a lark. But given the difficulty 
attributed to this particular feat, the purpose for which they were 
attempting it, and having to also teach an coach Peter through it, I 
seriously doubt they would have put forth all that effort if they had 
no way of knowing or controlling the form they would take. IOW, I 
believe that there is some portion of control as to what kind of 
animal one would become.

It seems that ones personality does take a part in the transformed 
animal form. Sirius seems to have many of the traits of mans best 
friend. Likewise James as a proud, strutting stag and Peter a 
snivelling, squeeky rat. For that matter, Rita does buzz around 
trying to pick up tidbits here and there and Minerva seems at times 
to have the indifferent personality of a feline. So that quality does 
play out to a degree in canon.

But if James had no way of controlling if he were to turn into a 
strutting peacock, do you think he would have spent the better part 
of three years figuring out how to become an Animagus? Similarly, 
would Rita put herself through that ordeal if there was a chance she 
would have turned into a crocodile?


> Carol:
> And if your Animagus form, unlike your Patronus, reveals
> your inner self, do you really want to know, and want others
> to know, what that form is?

Mike:
That's another good reason for believing that one has some degree of 
control of the form one takes. IOW, why would anyone attempt this 
transformation, knowing the dangers and difficulty involved, if one 
had no choice whether ones form would be useful, or worse, insulting?



> Carol:
> Another sidenote: Alla likes to think that Snape would turn into
> a cockroach, <snip>

Mike:
I think Alla was speaking a little tongue in cheek, don't you?

But this brings up another question, which I'm pretty sure was 
discussed previously, but I'm still wondering about. If, when Krum 
fished the beetle/Rita out of Hermione's hair he tried to squash it 
in his hand, could he? Can you kill a witch/wizard in her/his 
Animagus form as easily as you could kill a real animal of that 
species? What do y'all think? I think not, that there must be some 
sort of magical protection, but I'm not sold on that position after 
Hermione captured Rita in that jar.


> Carol:
> nor do I think that Snape's personality, even in its most
> unpleasant form, would take that shape. I can see him as a bat
> (highly useful for spying at night, and he wouldn't need LV to
> teach him how to fly) or as some form of snake

Mike:
Going strictly by personality, bat would be a good bet. Objectively, 
again on personality only, I see Severus as an Octupus. Extremely 
smart, able to change his colors at will (moving between LV's and 
DD's man), gets into and out of tight spots almost at will (some, 
like Bella or Sirius, would say able to slither out), and though 
would prefer to avoid confrontation, can give as good as he/it gets 
when in a fight.

However, given my premise of some control stated above, my guess is 
that Snape would take on the form of an owl, preferable an eagle owl. 
This would make him unobtrusive in the WW, able to move about swiftly 
yet silently and, taking Carol's premise that other animals have 
their own communication abilities, Snape could learn valuable things 
from other owls that they can't communicate to humans. All 
speculation of course, but fun. :-)

Mike, who would prefer a cheetah as his Animagus form, but would 
probably be stuck with being a common house cat if his theory doesn't 
hold water