How do you become an Animagus?

你怎么能成为一个阿尼马格斯？

译者：小初初

 

It turns out becoming an Animagus is about as dangerous and unpredictable as a midnight stroll in the Forbidden Forest…

事实证明，变成阿尼马格斯就像午夜在禁林漫步一样危险…

 

Definition: An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can transform at will into an animal.

定义：阿尼马格斯是一个男巫或女巫，可以随意转化为动物。

 

Notable Animagi: Minerva McGonagall, Rita Skeeter, James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew

著名的阿尼马吉：米勒娃·麦格，丽塔·斯基特，詹姆·波特，小天狼星布莱克，彼得·佩蒂格鲁

 

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin shared that it took his fellow Marauders – James, Sirius and Peter – until their fifth year at Hogwarts to finally become Animagi and keep him company in his werewolf form. But how did they manage it? And why did it take them so long to learn how to transform into animals?

在《哈利波特与阿兹卡班的囚徒》一书中，莱姆斯·卢平说，他的伙伴们詹姆斯、小天狼星和彼得在霍格沃茨呆了五年，才最终成为阿尼马吉，并以动物的形式陪伴他。但他们是怎么做到的？为什么他们花了这么长时间才学会如何变成动物？

 

Here’s a witch or wizard’s step-by-step guide to Animagus transformation, but we’re warning you – it makes for some grizzly reading.

这是对阿尼马格斯转变的一步一步的指导，但我警告你，这会让你读到一些刺激的故事。

 

Step 1: Do your homework…

…in Transfiguration and Potions at least. Becoming an Animagus requires a witch or wizard to be skilled in both these areas in order to stand a chance of achieving such a complex transformation.

第一步：做作业……

…至少在变形和药剂方面。成为阿尼马格斯需要一个女巫或男巫在这两个方面都很熟练，才能实现如此复杂的转变。

 

Step 2: Carry a single Mandrake leaf in your mouth…

…for an entire month – from full moon to full moon to be precise. Yes, we’re serious. If you swallow the leaf or remove it from your mouth at any point, you have to start the whole thing again (no-one likes to see that happen). You then have to find a ‘small crystal phial that receives the pure rays of the moon’, put your saliva-filled leaf inside, and add one of your own hairs.

第二步：嘴里叼着一片曼德拉叶…

……整整一个月——准确地说是从一个满月到下一个满月。是的，我们是认真的。如果你在任何时候吞下叶子或把它从嘴里拿出来，你必须重新开始整个过程（没有人希望这种情况发生）。然后你必须找到一个“小水晶瓶，它能接收月亮的光线”，把充满唾液的叶子放进去，再加上你自己的一根头发。

 

Step 3: Add a silver teaspoon of dew from a place that neither sunlight nor human feet have touched…

…for a full seven days. And if that wasn’t hard enough, you then have to add the chrysalis of a Death’s-head Hawk Moth to the crystal phial as well. Then put ‘this mixture in a quiet, dark place’ and leave it alone until the next electrical storm. And really leave it alone – don’t even look at it. Don’t even think about looking at it.

第三步：加入一银茶匙的在一个阳光和人的脚都没有接触过的地方的露水…

…整整七天。如果这还不够困难，你还得把一只死鹰蛾的蛹加到水晶瓶里。然后把这种混合物放在一个安静、黑暗的地方，直到下一次电风暴。真的别管它了-别看它。别看它了。

 

Step 4: While waiting for the storm, you must place your wand tip over your heart…

…every sunrise and sundown and speak the following incantation: ‘Amato Animo Animato Animagus’. If you keep repeating your incantation, ‘there will come a time when, with the touch of the wand-tip to the chest, a second heartbeat may be sensed.’ Don’t change anything! Keep going. Keep waiting for that storm!

第四步：当你等待暴风雨来临时，你必须把魔杖尖放在你的心脏上…

…每一个日出和日落，都会说下面的咒语：“阿玛托·阿尼莫·阿尼马格斯”。如果你不断重复你的咒语，“总有一天，当魔杖尖触到胸口时，你会感觉到第二次心跳，”不要改变任何行动！继续等暴风雨！

 

Step 5: As soon as lightning appears in the sky, go to the place where…

…you’ve hidden your crystal phial. At last! If you’ve done everything right then you will ‘discover a mouthful of blood-red potion inside it.’ Then move somewhere where you aren’t going to alarm anyone or place yourself in physical danger during your transformation. An Animagus transformation party is definitely a bad idea.

第五步：闪电一出现在天空，就去…

……你把水晶瓶藏起来了。最后！如果你做的每件事都是对的，那么你会“在里面发现一点血红色的药水”，然后搬到一个在你的转变过程中不会惊动任何人或让自己处于身体危险的地方。阿尼马格斯改造派对绝对是个坏主意。

 

Step 6: Place your wand-tip against your heart and speak…

…the incantation ‘Amato Animo Animato Animagus’ and drink the potion. You will then feel fiery pain – lucky you – and an intense double heartbeat.

第六步：把你的魔杖尖抵住你的心脏说…

……咒语“阿玛托·阿尼莫·阿尼马格斯”，喝下药水。然后你会感到火热的疼痛-幸运的是你-和强烈的双心跳。

 

Step 7: The shape of the creature into which you will shortly transform will appear…

…in your mind. The instructions then warn: ‘You must show no fear/ It is too late now, to escape the change you have willed’. Yikes!

第七步：你将很快转变成的生物的形状将会出现…

…在你心里。指示随后警告说：“你必须表现得无所畏惧，现在为时已晚去逃避你所希望的改变。”哎呀！

 

Step 8: When your transformation is complete you are strongly advised to pick up your wand…

…and hide it somewhere safe, so you can find it post-transformation. To return to human form, visualise your human self as clearly as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t change back immediately, ‘with practice, you will be able to slip in and out of your animal form at will, simply by visualising the creature’. Once you’re an advanced Animagus, you should be able to transform without your wand.

第八步：当你的转变完成后，强烈建议你拿起魔杖…

……把它藏在安全的地方，这样你就能在改造后找到它。为了回到人类形态，尽可能清晰地想象你的人类自我。如果你不马上改变，不要担心，“通过练习，你将能够随意地变换你的动物形态，只需将动物形象化。”。一旦你是一个厉害的阿尼马格斯，你应该能够转换没有你的魔杖。

 

The (many) things to be wary of…

When the process of becoming an Animagus goes wrong, it often goes seriously wrong. We’re talking horrible half-human, half-animal mutations here, with no known cure.

要小心的（很多）事情…

当变成阿尼马格斯的步骤出错时，它往往会有严重后果。我说的是可怕的半人半兽突变，目前没有已知的治疗方法。

 

The first transformation is usually ‘uncomfortable and frightening. Clothing and items such as glasses or jewellery meld to the skin and become one with fur, scales or spikes.’

第一个变化通常是“不舒服和可怕的”。衣服和诸如眼镜或珠宝之类的东西与皮肤融合在一起，变成有毛皮、鳞片或钉子的东西

 

When you first transform, try to avoid panicking otherwise the animal mind ‘may gain the ascendancy’ and you could do something stupid or dangerous.

当你第一次转变时，尽量避免惊慌失措，否则动物的思维“可能获得优势”，你可能会做一些愚蠢或危险的事情。

 

‘Generally, wizards prefer to have their clothes Transfigure with them, to escape the embarrassment of reappearing naked’.

“一般来说，巫师们更喜欢让自己的衣服和他们一起变身，以逃避裸体重现的尴尬。”

 

Don’t forget to log your personal details and Animagus appearance on the Animagus Registry. Failure to do this might land you in Azkaban prison.

别忘了把你的个人信息和阿尼马格斯的形态登录在阿尼马格斯注册表上。否则你可能会被关进阿兹卡班监狱。