Animagus potion

Animagus potion
Potion information
Effect	Drinker became an Animagus
Side-effects	Failure to brew correctly could result in permanent half-human, half-animal mutations
Characteristics	Blood-red upon completion
Brewing time	Varies (at least one month)
Difficulty level	Advanced
Known ingredients	One Mandrake leaf Drinker's own hair Dew Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis

The Animagus potion was a potion that turned the drinker into an Animagus, a witch or wizard who could transform themselves into an animal that reflected their traits and personality, and back again at will.

This potion was a key step to becoming an Animagus, and was very difficult, complex, and time-consuming to brew correctly, with frightening consequences if done incorrectly. Because of this, many wizards and witches would instead opt to invest their time into more practical uses of magic.

Overview

Because an Animagus could transform at their will at any time, no one person had to brew this potion more than once.

The Animagus potion could not be bought from someone else, as brewing it involved including a piece of one's own hair and a Mandrake leaf soaked in the mouth of the person who was intended to drink it. Some of the ingredients, however, could be purchased.

Although the potion could not be mass-produced to be sold at retailers, it was not quite clear why a master potioneer could not simply be hired by another to brew the potion for them.

The potion was completely blood-red in colour. One batch made approximately a mouthful and only held enough for one person.

Recipe

Almost every ingredient involved in brewing the Animagus potion involved careful preparation. Overall, at least a month of preparation was required.

1. After keeping a Mandrake leaf in one's own mouth for an entire month (from full moon to full moon), the now saliva-soaked Mandrake leaf had to be placed in a small crystal phial and struck directly by the moon's pure light (if the night is cloudy or the moon is otherwise obscured, the entire Mandrake Leaf process will need to be repeated).
2. Add one strand of your own hair to the phial.
3. Add a silver teaspoon of dew to the phial, taken from a place that had not been touched by sunlight or human feet for at least seven days.
4. Add one Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis to the phial.
5. Place the phial in a dark, quiet place and leave it undisturbed until the next lightning storm, whenever that might be.

If executed correctly, the phial would be filled with a blood-red potion when lightning first struck during the next storm, signifying its completion.

Effects

It was advised to drink the potion in an open, out of sight area, so as to not disturb or startle those nearby who were unaware of the transformation the drinker was about to undergo. They may have felt uncomfortable or panicked in a new body, and this may have caused them to destroy their surroundings.

Instantly after consumption, they would feel "a fiery pain and an instense double heartbeat". The shape of the creature they would transform into would appear in their mind directly before the transformation.

If successful, the drinker would now have had the ability to transform from human to animal by envisioning the animal with the intent of transforming in mind, and vice versa. If unsuccessful, the drinker may have experienced gruesome half-human half-animal mutations that were permanent, and could not be fixed.

Successful users

Falco Aesalon - Falcon

Morgan le Fay - Bird

Cliodna - Seabird

Morrigan - Crow

Lisette de Lapin - White rabbit (possibly)

Patricia McManners - Calico cat (unregistered)

Minerva McGonagall -
Silver Tabby Cat (registered)

James Potter -
Stag (unregistered)

Sirius Black -
Black dog (unregistered)

Peter Pettigrew -
Grey Rat (unregistered)

Rita Skeeter -
Blue beetle (unregistered)

Talbott Winger's mother - White Swan (registered)

Talbott Winger - Eagle (unregistered)

Jacob's sibling - Brown dog, Black and white cat or an Eagle (unknown)

Olivier Kikkert - Frog (unregistered)

Unidentified registered Animagus -
Black cat (registered)

Adrian Tutley - gerbil (unknown)

Bly - Lemur (unknown)

Ambrose Turner - Butterfly (unknown)

Mudiwa Onai - African fish eagle

Natsai Onai's father - Giraffe

Natsai Onai - Gazelle

Unidentified 1920s Animagus - Duck (possibly)

Behind the scenes

• It is possible that James Potter, Sirius Black, or Peter Pettigrew did not have to brew the potion because one of the other two did it for them. However, they still would've had to have held the Mandrake Leaf in their mouths for a month.
• This appears to be the only potion identified in canon which is not brewed in a cauldron.

Appearances

• Pottermore Presents: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance) (First identified as Animagus potion)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)