Transfiguration

Warning!

At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened & Hogwarts Legacy.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

"Point me!"
This article is about transfiguration in general. You may be looking for the subject taught in wizarding schools.

"I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"

— Hermione Granger expressing her eagerness to learn Transfiguration^[src]

Transfiguration was a branch of magic that focused on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, animal or person. It was taught as a core subject at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and other wizarding schools.

Nature[]

Horace Slughorn, disguise himself as a chair — Horace Slughorn disguised as a chair by the use of human Transfiguration

Transfiguration allowed a witch or wizard to change the form or appearance of their target via the alteration of its molecular structure.^[1] Transfiguration could be done to most (if not all) objects and, as with most forms of magic, it included — but was hardly limited to — Transfiguration spells; it could be used to change an object into a completely different object, change a living creature into an entirely different species, as well as change inanimate objects into living creatures and vice versa. It was also possible to change things back to their original form. Furthermore, Conjuring things out of thin air, making things vanish into thin air, and making two things switch places were also elements of transfiguration. Transfiguration spells were distinguished from charms in that a charm added to or changed the properties of an object, while transfiguration changed the object itself; it focused on altering what the object was as opposed to what the object did.^[2]

Transfiguration was a very difficult theory-based subject; a very systematic and exact magical discipline, deemed exceptionally hard work and regarded as more scientific than any other form of magic, working best for those of a scientifically-inclined mind. Furthermore, "when transfiguring, it is important to make firm and decisive wand movements. Do not wiggle or twirl your wand unnecessarily, or the Transfiguration will certainly be unsuccessful" as stated by Emeric Switch in A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. The practising witch or wizard had to get it exactly right for the transfiguration to be successful.^[3] A stark contrast to Charms, which afforded a much larger margin for personal creativity.^[4]

According to Professor Matilda Weasley, Transfiguration could take a lifetime to master. However, one did not need to feel daunted, as almost anything could be transformed, so long as one could see the potential within it.^[5]

There were a number of factors a wizard had to take into account when carrying out Transfiguration spells. The intended transformation (t) was directly influenced by body weight (a), viciousness (v), wand power (w), concentration (c) and a fifth unknown variable (Z), as described by the following mathematical formula (as taught to first-years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).^[6]

Limitations[]

Whilst Transfiguration was an exceedingly useful branch of magic, it naturally had its own set of limitations, both legal and practical.

Backfire2 — A poorly performed Transfiguration spell, in which the object is half-transformed

The first and foremost weakness of the art of Transfiguration was the difficulty of the art itself. When Harry Potter's class attempted to learn one of the simplest Transfiguration spells,^[7] changing a match into a needle, in their first year, no one other than the prodigious Hermione Granger was able to make any kind of significant change to their match. Furthermore, if the spell was done improperly, the Transfigured object could have become half-Transfigured into a rather absurd form, or at the very least retain a few features from its original form (i.e. when turning a mouse into a snuffbox, it might still have whiskers afterwards).^[8]

That being said, a wizard or witch attempting to perform a Transfiguration spell would often find it easier to transfigure one thing into something else when the targets original form was similar or had something in common with whatever it was to be transformed into (i.e. a statue of a dragon turning into an actual dragon, albeit the same size as it was when it was a statue). One also had to consider the overall mass and size of the object or entity to be transfigured; it was stated by Hermione Granger that it was extremely difficult to transfigure something as large as a dragon (the smallest breed having an average length of 15 ft),^[9] even for a skilled transfiguration expert like Professor McGonagall.

Another limitation was that Conjuration was principally limited by the Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. The first (and only known) of these was the restriction that one could not conjure food (though, pre-existing food could be charmed in certain ways — it could be enlarged, summoned from another location, or even multiplied. However, food could not be "made from thin air").^[10] Similarly, Wizarding law set legal limitations on what one was and wasn't allowed to conjure.^[11] Finally, even if it was both possible and legal to conjure something, it would ultimately never last.^[11]

Strangely, whilst there were a variety of limits placed on Conjuration, the branch referred to as Vanishment seemed to be completely unrestricted (this also appears true of Untransfiguration).

There were also a number of practical and legal hurdles for a witch or wizard who wished to become an Animagus. The process of becoming one was not easy and allowed no room for error. Even if one did complete the process successfully, they would still only be able to transform into one particular animal species, predetermined by their inner qualities. Furthermore, after completing the process successfully, one had to register oneself at the Ministry of Magic (or face trial), due to the many potential uses of this kind of transfiguration in criminal activity.

It should be noted that there was no way to transfigure a witch or wizard into a Muggle; many criminals convicted of serious crimes had their wands taken away, but they still kept their magic itself. Likewise, non-magic people could not be turned into wizards, as parents were unable to do anything about their children being born as Squibs.

Finally, while there were a multitude of spells for transforming inanimate objects into living creatures, the fact remained that the dead could not be revived via magic. Therefore, one could not "transfigure" the dead back to life, no matter how recently the death occurred.

Dangers[]

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

— Minerva McGonagall lecturing first-years^[src]

Due to the applied, precise nature of Transfiguration magic, there was a large potential for it to go disastrously wrong, even for the experts. This was especially true if the practitioner wasn't taking things seriously and/or punching above their weight (with respect to the magic they are attempting to perform). If improperly performed, the Transfigured object could become half-Transfigured or permanently stuck in one state (whether fully or partially Transfigured).

GOF Viktor partial shark Transfiguration second task — Viktor Krum limited to a partial shark transfiguration

Another danger was that if a human was transformed into an animal, they took on the mental state of that animal. If the animal species in question was a creature of lower intelligence (which was more likely than not), then one would be entirely dependent on someone else to change them back, which meant the Transfigured person could have potentially been stuck in that animal form forever (which is why it was not recommended to cast this type of transfiguration on oneself).

The only known exception to this rule was an Animagus, a witch or wizard who had undergone a ritual to gain the ability (not to be confused with a spell) to transform into an animal and still think as they normally did.^[12] Of course the process of becoming an Animagus was very long and difficult and had to be done in a very specific way. If not done properly, a worst case scenario might be that one could have been permanently transformed into a human-animal hybrid.

Curiously, during the Second Task of The Triwizard Tournament in 1994, Viktor Krum half-Transfigured himself into a shark. While in this half shark form, he appeared to still think as he normally did.^[13]

Classification[]

Transfiguration was divided into four branches (though — whilst based on canonical information — the typology is conjectural); they were, in ascending order of difficulty: Transformation, Untransfiguration, Vanishment, and Conjuration. In these main four branches there were also sub-branches, such as human Transfiguration and Switching, which would be in the branch of Transformation.

Transformation[]

Main article: Transformation

Tortoise to Trumpet — A tortoise being transformed into a trumpet

Transformation or Transubstantial Transfiguration^[14] was a branch of Transfiguration that focused on altering or deforming the physical features or form of the target in some way. In other words, changing something into something else.

It should be noted that whilst this branch of transfiguration was the first covered in the Hogwarts curriculum, containing simple transfigurations such as Match to needle,^[15] it also pertained to the most complex and dangerous forms of transfiguration too.

Transformation could also be used to a lesser degree, like changing appearances of clothes, shown by Eulalie Hicks when she transfigured her and Jacob's clothes.

The branch Transformation also had three sub-branches, each with their own divisions and all of which overlapped with one another to some degree:

Switching[]

Main article: Switching

Switching was a sub-branch of transformation magic that involved transfiguring two targets at once, magically exchanging physical features between them so that they would transform into each other, effectively making them switch places. It differed from a regular transformation in two ways: firstly, switching targets affected two objects simultaneously instead of just one; secondly, the change in one of the pair was dependent on a change in the other.

It is difficult to gauge the relative difficulty of switches compared to other types of transfiguration because the exact year in which they were learned isn't known. However, Professor McGonagall was impressed when Hermione knew about switches as a first year student,^[15] but was disappointed in Neville for not being able to perform even simple switches by fourth year.^[16] Therefore, students must have started learning switches in second, third, or (early) fourth year (most likely third), earlier than almost all the other branches of transfiguration apart from transformation.

Trans-Species Transformation[]

Main article: Trans-Species Transformation

Trans-Species Transformation was a sub-branch of transformation magic in which one living organism was transformed into a living organism of a different species. It was noted one of the most difficult sub-branches of Transfiguration, with only Human Transfiguration noted to be more difficult.

This sub-branch included Cross-species Switches and hence had some overlap with switching magic.

Human Transfiguration[]

Main article: Human Transfiguration

Human Transfiguration was a sub-branch of transformation magic in which one transfigured human body parts or an entire human being into another form, allowing the practitioner or the target to take on an entirely different form or make various individual changes to their appearance. This branch of Transfiguration was noted to be more difficult than any other and is only taught at N.E.W.T.-level. One of the spells learned in sixth year at Hogwarts was the transfiguration of the colour of one's eyebrows.^[17]

Many general human Transfiguration spells existed, this category housed the following type of Transformation magic as well: Animagus (a wizard who had acquired the ability to turn into an animal while still thinking normally), Metamorphmagus (a wizard who had the rare ability to change physical appearance at will), and werewolves (victims of the disease known as Lycanthropy and changed into feral wolf-beasts every full moon).

Untransfiguration[]

Main article: Untransfiguration

Animagus reversal spell GIF — Sirius Black and Remus Lupin untransfigures Peter Pettigrew

Untransfiguration was a branch of transfiguration that dealt in reversing a previous transfiguration and changing the target back to its original and rightful form. As such, it was therefore considered both a transfiguration and a counter-spell.

Reparifarge was a general spell used to counter the effects of a Transformation spell that was poorly performed and only partially transfigured the object in question. This spell was covered in A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.^[18] It was known that untransfiguration for failed transformations was taught early.

Vanishment[]

Main article: Vanishment

Vipera Evanesca GIF — Severus Snape vanishes a snake

Vanishment was a branch of transfiguration that was used to make things Vanish into thin air; to "make things go into non-being, which is to say, everything". The difficulty of the Vanishment to be performed correlated with the complexity of the organism to be Vanished (for example, snails, as invertebrates, were easier to Vanish than mice, which are mammals).^[19] Vanishment was moderately difficult — learned in fifth year — and was considered one of the hardest transfigurations to be tested on in one's O.W.L.^[20]

Strangely, only one incantation was needed to Vanish any object - Evanesco , Latin for "disappear" (with the intent of the caster alone directing it), unlike conjurations (which could require a variety of complicated incantations). Of course, there were other Vanishment spells intended for specific targets, like the Snake-Vanishing Spell.

Conjuration[]

Main article: Conjuration

Serpensortia — Draco Malfoy conjures a live snake

Conjuration was a branch of transfiguration that allowed a witch or wizard to conjure things out of thin air ("bringing things into being") and hence was the opposite of Vanishment. It was more difficult than its counterpart, being a N.E.W.T.-level feat, and was taught to sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts.^[21]^[22] It was also considered to be very advanced magic, though some conjurations, like birds and snakes, were considered simpler then others.^[23]

There were numerous restrictions (both in Law and Nature) placed on the art of Conjuration, unlike Vanishment which appeared to be unrestricted. For example, something that was conjured would not last (or, "remain in being"), but it is unknown whether or not something that was vanished could forever remain in non-being if left to its own devices.

Teaching[]

Transfiguration class1 — A second-year Transfiguration lesson

There was a Transfiguration class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, devoted to the study of Trasfiguration, practising the correct way to cast the spells, and studying their effect's. This class started with simple and easy ones first, such as the Match to needle spell, then moved on to more advanced ones as they progressed in knowledge.

It was a core class and mandatory throughout the first five years of a students education.^[24] It was optional to N.E.W.T.-level students in their sixth and seventh-years to those who achieved a high enough grade on their Ordinary Wizarding Level exam.

Known Transfigurations[]

Human Transfiguration[]

"They had just embarked upon the immensely difficult topic of human Transfiguration; working in front of mirrors, they were supposed to be changing the colour of their own eyebrows."

— Harry Potter regarding the difficulty of Human Transfiguration^[src]

Prior to 1991[]

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Unknown	1473	During the Quidditch World Cup of 1473, all 700 fouls were committed, including one of the players transfiguring one of the Chasers on the opposite team into a polecat.
Thaddeus Thurkell	1600s	During the 1600s, Thaddeus Thurkell had seven sons, all of whom were Squibs. Thurkell was so angry he transfigured them all into hedgehogs.^[25]
Mirabella Plunkett	1800s	During the 1800s, it is possible that Mirabella Plunkett transfigured herself into a haddock in order to live with her merman lover, although it may be possible that she was an Animagus.^[25]
Gellert Grindelwald	1926	Using entirely the power of Human Transfiguration, Gellert Grindelwald disguised himself as MACUSA auror Percival Graves.^[26]
Circe	?	Circe, a witch who lived in ancient times, was famous for turning sailors into pigs.^[25]
McCliverts		According to legend, after Quintius MacBoon, head of the MacBoon clan, killed the head of a the rival McClivert clan, Dugald McClivert, in a drunken duel, the MacBoons were attacked by the McCliverts and the entire family was transfigured into Quintapeds.^[27]
D.J. Prod		D.J. Prod stated that he was able to turn his wife into a yak after he took a Kwikspell course.^[28]
Harry Potter	31 October, 1981	After travelling back in time Harry and Hermione used a transfiguration spell to disguise Harry as Lord Voldemort.^[29]
Hermione Granger	31 October, 1981
Merula Snyde	1989–1990	Attempted to transfigure herself into a Thunderbird to impress the Sphinx Club and establish her reputation as the most powerful witch at Hogwarts. The spell went wrong and transformed her into a flobberworm instead.^[30]
Jacob's sibling	1989–1990	Attempted to return Merula to human form after her flobberworm transformation, succeeded only in transforming her into a puffskein.^[30]

1991 to 1998[]

"Harry turned and saw something monstrous cutting through the water toward them: a human body in swimming trunks with the head of a shark.... It was Krum. He appeared to have transfigured himself — but badly."

— Description of Viktor Krum's use of human Transfiguration ^[src]

Caster(s)	Date	Notes
Rubeus Hagrid	1991	Rubeus Hagrid gave Dudley Dursley a pig's tail in response to his father insulting Albus Dumbledore. Hargid later told Harry Potter that he was attempting to turn Dudley fully into a pig but was unsuccessful. This may have been a joke.^[31]
Unidentified boy	1992	A Hogwarts student accidentally changed his classmate into a badger.^[32]
Fred Weasley	1994	Fred and George Weasley invented the Canary Cream, a prank item which, when eaten, automatically transfigures the eater into a large canary, which they used on Neville Longbottom.^[33]
George Weasley
Bartemius Crouch Junior		Bartemius Crouch Junior transfigured Draco Malfoy into a ferret,^[34] and in 1995, transfigured his father into a bone.^[35]
Gwenog Jones	?	Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies, was particularly skilled at transfiguring anyone who disagreed with her into wood lice.
Viktor Krum	1995	While competing in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, Viktor Krum attempted to transfigure himself fully or partially into a shark; ultimately, only his head was transfigured, the shark's teeth were misplaced.^[13]
Horace Slughorn	1996	Horace Slughorn transfigured himself into an over-stuffed armchair in order to avoid detection by Death Eaters. Was discovered by Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter.^[36]
Ron Weasley		During a Transfiguration lesson in 1996, Ron accidentally transfigured a moustache on to his face.^[17]
Harry Potter		In a Transfiguration lesson Harry Potter transfigured his eyebrow bright yellow.^[17]
Hermione Granger	1998	Hermione Granger used human Transfiguration to disguise Ron Weasley as "Dragomir Despard" before breaking in to the Lestrange Vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.^[37]
Percy Weasley	1998	During the Battle of Hogwarts, Percy Weasley shot a jinx at Pius Thicknesse, transfiguring him into some sort of sea urchin.^[38]