Animagus

In the Harry Potter books, an Animagus is a wizard or witch capable of turning into an animal and back at will.

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Becoming an Animagus is difficult and the transformation can go horribly wrong.

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Animagi can assume only one form. Furthermore, the choice of animal is not up to the user, but instead reflects something of one's inner nature. The series features several Animagi, most famously Professor McGonagall who spends much of the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a cat.

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For historical information, see magus.

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It took

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James Potter and Sirius Black, said to be the cleverest students in their school, the best part

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of three years (between their second and fifth school years) to work out how to do it; it

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is not clear how long the process would take a fully-trained wizard or witch to accomplish.

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All Animagi are required to register themselves with the Ministry of Magic, as transforming into an animal can be extremely dangerous; also, registering their specific markings allows the Ministry to track crimes committed in animal form, or wizards/witches who might use an animal form to escape justice. The process does not appear to be very effective, likely due to the difficulty of enforcing it.

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Other wizards can force an Animagus to transform back to his/her human form using a wand which produces a flash of blue-white light ().

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Book: :This page is about bound sheets of paper. For the graph theory concept, see Book (graph theory). For the musical theater meaning, see Book (musical theater)....

Animal: :For the Muppet Show character, see Animal (Muppet). For the professional wrestler, see Joseph Laurinaitis....

Professor McGonagall: REDIRECT Hogwarts staff#Minerva McGonagall...