Myron Wagtail (myronwagtail_) wrote, @ 2020-03-29 23:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | posts: random essays |
Becoming An Animagus
So let me just start by saying, this essay is purely for fun. It's not going to be part of my character, I'm just horrendously bored and have way too much fucking time on my hands. Enjoy the nerdiness. I better get so many fucking house points for this.Animagi are rare, and it's no wonder when you consider how tedious the task is. It requires an immense amount of talent and patience, and if you don't do everything right, things can take a turn for the worst. At its core, becoming an Animagus is a test of your transfiguration skills and potion brewing.
First, you have to make the potion. This requires the chrysallis of a Death's-Head hawkmoth, a silver teaspoon of dew from a room that has had no exposure to the sun or human feet for seven days, and a mandrake leaf, and that's just to begin with.
There's some symbolism behind each of these ingredients and why they're necessary for the potion. To start off, we'll talk about the mandrake leaf.
Mandrakes, also known as mandragora, have powerful restorative properties. Using mandrake can revive those who have been transfigured or cursed back to their original state.
For the Animagus potion, you need only a leaf, soaked in your mouth from one full moon to the next. During this time, the leaf cannot be swallowed or leave your mouth in any way.
You must eat with it in your mouth, you must keep it in your mouth while you sleep. If you fail to keep it in your mouth for the full month, you have to start from where you began.
After the leaf has been properly soaked in your saliva, it acts as your primary gateway back to humanity after you've transformed.
As for the dew, the ability to turn into an animal is a hidden ability, which is why it is monitored by the Ministry of Magic.
The moon is a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. The sun illuminates everything in its path, but you can always hide in the shadows if the moon is out. Dew needs a precise humidity and temperature to form, and it is pure, so it cannot be contaminated by sunlight or human feet.
The teaspoon has to be silver because silver also represents purity; a common treatment for injuries inflicted by a werewolf is a mixture of dittany and silver.
If the moon represents your hidden animal side, the sun represents your human side, your natural side.
The Death's-Head hawkmoth chrysallis, obviously, represents the process of metamorphosis.
Moths are a symbol of death and transformation. When a caterpillar reaches the end of its lifespan, it covers itself in a protective shell and waits to be reborn as something new. This is symbolic of the change an aspiring Animagus undergoes. Because the Death's-Head hawkmoth has a skull-shaped marking, it is most closely associated with death.
Once these three ingredients have been gathered (and prepared, in the leaf's case), you must put them in a vial, while bathed in the full moon's rays. If the moon is covered by clouds that night, however, the process must begin again from the beginning.
Assuming you were successful with your planning, you must also put one strand of your own hair into the mixture - this is your secondary gateway back to your human form. This mixture must be left untouched in a quiet, dark place until the next electrical storm, and it cannot be disturbed in any way.
While the potion is stored away, until the storm comes you must cast a spell, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus", on yourself every day at sunrise and sundown. Your wand tip must be placed over your heart when you use this incantation.
When the day or night of the electrical storm comes, the witch or wizard must move to a large and secure place, cast the incantation one last time and then drink the potion.
There is a bit of pain involved with the process - the witch or wizard may feel an intense heat in their chest, and even a double heartbeat.
An Animagus has no choice over their animal form, it will coincide with their deepest personality traits and will have a distinguishing mark that gives a clue to their human self, such as spectacle markings around their eyes if they wear glasses. Their form will not change, though if they sustain injuries such as a loss of limb, their animal form will change to reflect the loss.