I am re-reading the series (again) and on Book 2, Chamber of Secrets.
I just noted that back in Tom Riddle’s day, while the headmaster was Armando Dippett, Dumbledore was the Transfiguration teacher.
What animal does he change into?
Why would he have an animal to change into? He’s not an animagus.
As far as I know, Transfiguration and being an Animagus are two completely different things - the fact that McGonagall introduces the subject to her students by transforming into a cat strikes me as evidence that Rowling didn’t plan out the books completely beforehand.
That’s no surprise, but I think you’re conclusion is more correct than your principle: we can probably guess that turning yourself into an animal for a trick is still a branch of the “turn things into something else” magic .
She happened to be an animagus- the animagus spell is a transfiguration spell and so it was handy for getting a room of 11 year olds excited about the subject.
But not everyone who can cast transfiguration magic, and not even everyone who specializes in transfiguration magic, is going to be an animagus.
Edit: Beaten by Bandit.
He was a bunny, of course,
and he had real big fangs,
and lived in a cave,
and didn’t particularly care for certain Royals,
Or their coconut clopping entourage.
I can certainly see the confusion this would cause. Dumbledore wouldn’t need to change into an animal because he could do the disillusionment charm and move about without being seen.
I am certain that it’s canon that being an animagus is an application of Transfiguration. Something like Dumbledore, upon discovering that James was a animagus, mentions that he was a genius at Transfiguration.
I’ve read speculation that he can turn into a bumblebee.
I agree that McGonagall is an animagus, registered, and uses that to impress the kids in Transfiguration. It’s not an easy thing to learn, however, nothing like turning a mouse into a teacup or whatever it was they were trying to do.
Given that he’s Dumbledore. Probably whatever the hell he wants.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Obviously he turns into a dog and hangs out with a certain Muggle family and their preturnaturally bright (possibly Wizard) child.
It’s not just that the animagus process is particularly difficult: It’s also very dangerous. If you get it wrong, you might end up just turning yourself permanently into some sort of hybrid, or possibly just a formless blob.