Level 5 : Animagus Transformation

I had come so far in my training and now it was time to prove to myself and the testers that I was worthy of the certificate.

I stood in the center of the room, and closed my eyes and let all of the days stresses flow neatly from my body and soul. I had to stay calm and refreshed and let all the impurities escape my mind as a unicorn is one of the purest creatures on earth. It was difficult. I felt as though my mind was going to explode, yet I remembered my training and concentrated upon my breathing and allowing my mind to go blank.

Soon after I had begun, I started feeling a slight tingle over my skin. As this feeling got stronger, I pictured a unicorn in my mind. A pure white creature with a horn so pure, every small dent and curve, the look of the eyes, the feel of the tail in the wind, the grooves so perfect on the horn, the mane so soft… I pictured every miniscule detail as if I was staring straight at the creature. I made it come alive in my mind.

I breathed in the air and imagined myself patting the unicorn, slowly gaining its trust as I bent over and rubbed my cheek against its mane. I looked into its eyes and looked deep into its soul. I concentrated harder than ever as I felt my skin burn slightly, yet not unbearable.

I breathed in and out as I pictured myself in every miniscule detail like I had done with the magnificent creature, comparing my own human body to that of the creature in my mind.

Now I concentrated more than ever before. The burning sensation grew almost unbearable as the tingling swept across my whole body. I wanted to cry out, yet I knew I had to stay focused otherwise I wouldn’t achieve my goal.

Suddenly, the tingling stopped. The burning vanished. Still, my eyes were closed, yet I felt free. I took a wobbly step forward and again onto my other foot and again onto the third…

Opening my eyes I smiled and looked into the mirror in front of me. There, instead of the human I once was, stood a perfectly formed unicorn with blue and green eyes.

I stood in the center of the room and started to breath slowly. I had to get relaxed before I could attempt to change into my animal form. “You can do this” said a little encouraging voice in my head. “Just think about what you’re turning into”
I closed my eyes and tried to think about the dragon I was going to turn into, the Western Dragon. I tried to imagine what the dragon had looked like. Of course I have never seen one up close but there were always the pictures in my Care of Magical Creatures book. I first thought of what its head looked like, the wedge shaped head that made it so unique. Then I started to think about the rest of it, its long slender neck, four legs with claws protruding from the end, scaly bat wings that joined at the shoulders and the long slender tail. I have also seen many different colors of this type of creature but the ones that interested me the most were the red ones.
After having this picture firmly in my mind’s eye I took my wand out of my robes and with my eyes still closed I pictured myself slowly turning into this fantastic creature. As I did this I started to feel my skin start to tingle through out my body but I dared not open my eyes. As I focused more and more on turning into the dragon I started to feel strange but still I did not open my eyes. After standing in the middle of the room I started to feel my hands, arms, legs and face start to change and after a few more minutes I felt wings start to protrude from my back. Only after the tingling sensation had stopped had I dared to open my eyes.
As I did so I had noticed that my vision had increased drastically. It was as if I was seeing the world in a different perspective. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were replaced by red scaly ones with claws that were at least 3 inches long.
I walked on all fours (not trusting myself of being able to walk on two in case I lost balance and fell) and crawled over to the other side of the room where a mirror stood on the wall.
When I reached the mirror and looked into it and was amazed by what I saw. There were I should have been there was a dragon there instead. I waved and in the mirror the dragon waved backed. “Yes, I did it.” I thought as I flapped my wings. I looked at the dragon in the mirror even better and was able to tell right away my distinguishing mark, unlike most dragons whose eyes where yellow or some color close to that my eyes where the same color as the eyes on a husky dog.

This is it: it all comes down to this. After all those theory tests, after all my half-attempts at turning into my Animagus, I would now have to do so before a panel of certified witches and wizards, who would - I hoped - deem me worthy of a place in the Ministry's register. I was quite worried, as my previous attempts hadn't gone as planned. The last few times I tried, I'd ended up with just the great bushy tail, or the sly smile and snout or the slightly rounded, upright ears. Never had I turned completely into my Animagus, and I berated myself silently for attempting to prove myself when I wasn't yet sure of what I was capable.

Closing my eyes and trying to relax, I breathed in and out slowly. I envisioned the coyote, in all its cleverosity. I imagined a romp through a forest with the pack, howling on the mesa in the moonlight, slinking across darkened city alleyways, pawing through the trash. I thought hard about the excitement of plunging into an icy river and swimming to the other side. I felt my ears tingling, and prayed that I had done everything right. I waited a moment, standing absolutely still, and then opened my eyes.

Two witches on the panel were murmuring in each other's ears, shaking their heads. An old wizard on the far left was hastily scribbling on a bit of parchment. Were those good signs? I quickly looked down at myself and blushed. I had grown a bit of fur, and my ears had changed. But that was the extent of my transformation. I turned redder as I thought of going home without my place on the register. The panel was waiting, and I could feel the hint of impatience begin to stir.

"Wait," I said. "I'm going to try again..."

They nodded and sat back, waiting for me to get on with it. I must've done something wrong. What did I do wrong? Forehead creased in concentration, I suddenly realized my problem, and laughed out loud. Ofcourse. I didn't have to IMAGINE the coyote, I had to BE the coyote. It was that simple. I dropped to all fours, feeling like a complete idiot, and thought of how much I'd like to be outside, running with the wind in my fur. I could feel my ears pricked to listen, my tongue tasting a scent on the air... A tickle spread down my spine, and with a sudden burst of light and color, I felt like shouting in joy. I did so, and realized I was yipping...glancing down, I saw that my body was lean and covered with reddish fur, with a tiny patch of gray on my right shoulder. Sighing in relief, I decided that my change was complete.

Or not. My left hand was still a hand...with a little shiver, I jumped into the air and landed on all fours. I felt very cold for a moment, as if I had a fever, and then there was no doubt that I now possessed four paws. I wanted to run, leap and yell. I did all those things in quick succession, barking and yipping madly. Then, all at once, I remembered the panel. I sat back on my hind legs, facing them solemnly, but could not help a wide smile from spreading across my snout.

The day my first transformation happened was a special day, I will always remember. I was on a trip to the beach with my friends as a Welcome Summer party was under way there. I didn’t think anything special would come out of it besides good memories with awesome friends. However, I was wrong. We had just arrived and the beach party was in full swing, the music was blasting and everybody was dancing and having a great time. I quickly rushed over to the food table to grab a snack and chat with some people. Suddenly, people were screaming and running towards the ocean, fearing the worst I put down my food and ran with the crowd towards the water’s edge where there was a baby dolphin that was beached. Many people were reaching for their wands to summon some help or else apparating to spread the word. No one wanted to levitate the animal in case it was hurt. Without thinking I rushed into action, I ran into the water and remembered the steps to becoming an animagus I had learned in a training class earlier that week. The professor’s words seemed to echo in my head, “Concentrate, be the animal,” And as soon as I focused on those words my head started to swim and light engulfed me. My whole body was tingling as though I had pins and needles. My feet were snapped together and I fell over. Skin was wrapping my ankles and legs together and my clothes were being stretched beyond their limit as my body grew and lengthened to that of a dolphin. My face felt fuller and my nose and mouth stretched out into a snout. My arms were shortening and becoming flatter and my fingers became webbed. The whole time, I was concentrating immensely hard on being the animal. I kept saying to myself, “Be the dolphin, you are the dolphin” and I thought of the baby dolphin desperately awaiting help. As suddenly as it started the sensations and transformation stopped. And I was swimming, so easily and freely it was wonderful. I splashed and shrieked “Come, Come, Fallow” which came out in a language I did not know but still understood, if that makes sense. To my astonishment the baby dolphin turned and fallowed me, and accepted me as a friend as it swam up to me. Together we swam to find its pod. Who embraced and played with me like one of their own. I then turned around and swam back to shore where I returned to me to my original state as a human. Everybody was really impressed and I can’t wait to do it again.

"This is the day that I make my first transformation." I told myself. I was in the center of the room. I sat on the ground with my legs crossed. I cleared my mind and thought of nothing except about transforming into a phoenix. You can do this, Chris. I thought. I breathed slow deep breathes.

I thought about nothing but the phoenix and everything that it does. Then I got this funny feeling inside. I closed my eyes and pictured a phoenix in my mind. It felt as if my inside was becoming a phoenix and my outside hadn't yet become one. I thought like a phoenix and I even spoke like one.

A warm sensation came over my body and I began to grow red and golden feathers. My whole body started to tingle and it felt as if needles were poking me and then my whole body went numb for a second. I felt the warmth of fire, seeing as the phoenix represents fire. My mouth slowly formed into a golden beak. My legs slowly changed into a phoenix's legs. My feet slowly transformed into phoenix feet with golden talons. My arms transformed into wings and then my body slowly transfigured into a phoenix's body with crimson feathers covering it.

I thought that it was a little weird but awesome at this time. Transforming into an animal would have to be the coolest thing ever. I opened my eyes and loked around then I flew into the air and saw from a birds eye view. I flew around in circles and it felt as if everything was gone. Then my stomach started to tickle, I need to get used to that. I told myself.

This is so cool. I thought. I flew down and looked into the mirror that was in the room. I saw a phoenix, with crimson and golden feathers and shining blue eyes. I flew into the air circling the whole room in my excitement. I flew back down to the center of the room and closed my eyes.

I cleared my mind of everything and focused on turning back into a human. I felt the tingling and the numbness. My golden beak turned into a mouth. My crimson red and gold feathers disapeared and turned into skin. I started to get taller and my legs formed back into human legs and my head was back to its normal appearance. I was human again. The numbness disappeared and I could feel again.

Well done you have recieved 250 housepoints on the new grading system