======Animagus Registry======
=====Registry Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Ministry of Magic]] legal document; Public Record
  * **Administered By:** [[Ministry of Magic]], specifically the [[Improper Use of Magic Office]] (Pottermore)
  * **Purpose:** To officially monitor and regulate witches and wizards who have successfully mastered the complex magic of becoming an [[Animagus]].
=====Description and Contents=====
The [[Animagus Registry]] is a public record maintained by the [[Ministry of Magic]] that lists all witches and wizards who have legally registered their [[Animagus]] abilities. The primary purpose of the registry is to ensure that these powerful individuals do not abuse their abilities for illicit or criminal purposes, as the skill can be used for spying and other forms of deception.
For each registered [[Animagus]], the registry contains specific and crucial details, including:
  * The name of the witch or wizard.
  * The specific type of animal they can transform into.
  * Their distinguishing physical markings in their animal form.
A canonical example is the entry for [[Minerva McGonagall]], which notes that her tabby cat form has distinctive square spectacle markings around its eyes. This level of detail allows the [[Ministry of Magic]] to identify a registered [[Animagus]] even when they are transformed.
=====Legal Status and Registration=====
According to [[Wizarding law]], it is mandatory for any witch or wizard who acquires the ability to become an [[Animagus]] to register themselves with the [[Ministry of Magic]]. The process of becoming an [[Animagus]] is exceptionally difficult and requires great skill in [[Transfiguration]].
Failure to register is considered a serious crime, and those who are discovered to be unregistered [[Animagus|Animagi]] face severe penalties, including imprisonment in [[Azkaban]].
According to research conducted by [[Hermione Granger]] in the 1993-1994 [[Hogwarts]] school year, there were only seven legally registered [[Animagus|Animagi]] in the entire twentieth century.
  * **Known Registered [[Animagus|Animagi]]:**
    * [[Minerva McGonagall]] (Tabby Cat)
  * **Known Unregistered [[Animagus|Animagi]]:**
    * [[James Potter]] (Stag)
    * [[Sirius Black]] (Large black dog)
    * [[Peter Pettigrew]] (Rat)
    * [[Rita Skeeter]] (Beetle)
=====Role in the Story=====
The [[Animagus Registry]] plays a subtle but critical role in the series, primarily as a tool for investigation and leverage.
In //[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]//, [[Hermione Granger]] consults the registry while investigating how [[Sirius Black]] could have possibly entered [[Hogwarts]] undetected. She discovered that there were only seven registered [[Animagus|Animagi]] that century and that [[Sirius Black]] was not on the list. While this led her to a dead end at the time, it established the existence and rules of the registry, which later proved vital in understanding that Black, along with [[James Potter]] and [[Peter Pettigrew]], became [[Animagus|Animagi]] illegally to support their friend [[Remus Lupin]].
In //[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]//, Hermione's knowledge of the registry becomes a powerful weapon. After deducing that the intrusive journalist [[Rita Skeeter]] is an unregistered beetle [[Animagus]], Hermione captures her in a jar. She then uses the threat of exposing Skeeter to the [[Ministry of Magic]]—and the subsequent punishment of imprisonment in [[Azkaban]]—to force her to cease writing slanderous articles for the //[[Daily Prophet]]//.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * The Pottermore website confirms that the [[Animagus Registry]] is managed by the [[Improper Use of Magic Office]] at the [[Ministry of Magic]]. (Pottermore)
  * The process of becoming an [[Animagus]] is detailed on Pottermore and is described as being extremely lengthy and complex, involving holding a [[Mandrake]] leaf in one's mouth for an entire month and performing a complex incantation during an electrical storm, which may explain why so few individuals successfully register. (Pottermore)