Cursed With Curious Minds | Hp Next Generation

11 - Do You Want to be an Animagus?

Delilah was still worried about James's disappearance from the day before, but became suddenly relieved when she saw him sitting in his seat in transfiguration on Monday morning.

"Where the hell did you go yesterday?" she hissed at him, when she sat down.

He turned around, "It's a long story."

"Well it can't be that long, since I was there for most of it!" Delilah argued.

Delilah's argument was cut short, however, as McGonagall walked into the room.

"Oh this can't be good," James said, as he turned back around. Astrid thought he was right; why on earth would the head teacher be in their transfiguration lesson? Where was Professor Munslow?

"I can see the worried looks on all your faces," McGonagall began, "but don't worry – I don't bring bad news."

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief.

"In fact, I bring quite the opposite," McGonagall continued, "I am launching the animagus program!"

There was an air of excitement in the room – especially around the area Astrid was sitting. She and Delilah had been waiting for this, as they had agreed from third year – after their first animagus lesson - to become animagi together when they got the opportunity.

"This is a completely optional program, but if you have a passion for transfiguration – I highly recommend you take part. You will develop a deeper knowledge for this subject, and also come understand yourself far more." There was a pause as McGonagall let the information sink in. "As many of you know, I was once the transfiguration teacher, and am also an animagus myself. When I was instated as headmaster of Hogwarts, becoming an animagus was sadly falling out of 'fashion' and I worried that one day it would become a lost art. To reignite the flame, if you will, I launched this program! Furthermore, I am proud to say that in the 20 or so years of running this, I have helped 32 students successfully become animagi – the most animagi the wizarding community has ever seen in a long time. We will take this lesson to talk about the theory and practicality of becoming an animagus, and those of you who wish to take me up on my offer can come to me at the end and we can discuss meetings. Any questions?"

James's hand shot up.

"Yes, Mr Potter?"

"Is there any way to determine what your animagus form will be before you transform?" he asked.

"A good question, Mr Potter." James smiled a McGonagall's comment. "There are ways of gaining an idea, but no concrete methods – no. For example, your animagus form is dependent mostly on your personality, your values, what kind of a person you are. By learning about yourself, you can have an idea of where to begin. Another good indication would be by what form your patronus takes – however casting a patronus charm is very advanced magic and I don't expect any of you in this room to be able to do it. However, someone's patronus is not always the same as their animagus. Your patronus can change, whereas your animagus form cannot. Although, they are usually one in the same. Does that answer your question?"

James nodded.

"Good," she said, "Any more questions?"

This time Delilah volunteered.

"Yes, Miss Jones?"

"Professor, why did you want to become an animagus?"

McGonagall sat back and thought about the question for a while. "I told myself at the time that it was to further my transfiguration studies, which isn't untrue – but I think I've realised it's more than that. I wanted to understand myself in a time when I didn't know who I was at all. You should know – being a teenager is hard, and a lot of that growth is understanding who you are as a person, becoming an animagus helped me deal with that, and gain control of myself and who I was."