Third Years | transfiguration

WEEK ONE

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Let’s get straight to business then, shall we? You’ve all been in transfiguration for quite a while now, and you’re ready to move on from the more basic spells and party tricks. Before we can learn about Switching Spells and metamorphagi, however, we need to understand the basic branches of transfiguration…

Transformation: This is the most basic type of transfiguration, and certainly, the one you’ll be the most familiar with. Transformation is the simple act of altering the physical features of an object. As first years, when you turned matches into needles, you were performing transformation based transfiguration. There are a few sub-categories of transformation: switches (swapping physical features), human transfiguration, and cross-species transfiguration.
Vanishment: Moderately difficult, vanishment takes an object out of existence. It’s a bit puzzling to think about, the notion that something can stop to exist. The idea though is that an object that doesn’t exist have to go somewhere, and there is nowhere for them to go, so they go everywhere.
Conjuration: More challenging that vanishment, conjuration seems to make things out of nothing. As you’ll learn next year, if you take a fourth year of transfiguration, objects that are conjured just from air tend to fade away quickly. Interestingly enough, it is quite easy to conjure birds and snakes…
Untransfiguration: Just as the name implies, this is simply turning something back into what it used to be. Some witches and wizards believe that untransfiguration is impossible if you don’t know what the object used to be, though that theory is still being debated today. The most common example of untransfiguration is Reparifarge, a spell taught to beginners to reverse most errors in transfiguration.

Together, just about any spell in transfiguration you can name can be classified under one of these categories. We’ll be exploring transformation some more this year, and next year, we’ll be tackling the other three.

Homework

Please come up with an example of a situation in which each type of transfiguration could be used. Be specific as to the situation and why this branch of transfiguration is appropriate to use!

WEEK TWO

Last week, we learned about the main branches of transfiguration. And because everything must be overly complicated when it comes to classifying things, each branch has sub-branches. These sub-branches are a more specific area of one of the branches, and today, we’re going to be looking at the sub-branch of switching.

Switching falls under transformation based transfiguration, and it details switching two objects. For example, you could switch the fangs of a snake with gummy worms. You could also switch the ink in your inkwell with butterbeer in a glass.

Of course, there are a few points to note that distinguish switching from just transformation spells. The switch occurs simultaneously—there isn’t a delay between the objects, as the atoms that make up the object are transferred and rearranged at the same exact moment. And of course, given this, one object cannot change without the other object changing. The wand movement for any switching spell is a diagonal slash down to the right, an upward slash, and then a downward slash to the left—it sort of makes the cartoon fish shape.

Similar to switching spells, we also have cross-species switches. This is when you switch the features of characteristics of two different species. For example, switching the tail of a cat with the tail of a cow would be considered a cross-species switch. If the two species are similar, then the spell becomes much, much, much easier!

And remember, even though these spells fall under different categories, the transfiguration formula continues to apply. We need to consider viciousness, wand power, concentration, and bodyweight with each spell that we cast, otherwise, the results may not be all too desirable.

Homework

What are some of the biggest differences between switching spells and general transformation spells? (Consider how incantations are formed, effects, precision, difficulty, and so forth…)

WEEK THREE

Everyone came up with some lovely ideas last week about the differences between switching spells and general transformation spells. This week, we’re going to be putting our switching spells into practice!

Many of you noted that the –fors suffix won’t quite work in this case, and you’re correct. The general pattern that we use for a general transformation spell is for turning one thing into another. It doesn’t take into account anything to do with swapping characteristics of two things! Some witches and wizards speculate that all you need to do is say, for example, “water into rum” and the spell will work. Others, however, wish to go back to the Latin… Ultimately, the rules when it comes to switching spells are still being discovered, and new methods for coming up with incantations are discovered every day.

However, we do know the wand movement for switching spells! Remember, it appears to be like the cartoon fish shape we discussed last week. It is a bit of a blessing to have that stay the same for every spell, as it allows for us to be precise and exact.

Now, let’s see… Ah, yes! Thank you, my dear, I’ll be using your tie and your quill. Watch carefully, everyone.

*Professor Kathleen waves her wand at the tie, concentrating intently”
et calamum vinculum!

There, everyone, take a look. Do you see how the tie and the quill swapped places? I did just as I taught you, only for my incantation, I used Latin for quill and tie, symbolizing the exchange of the two objects.

Now, that’s enough lecturing! Let’s get some practice in, shall we?

Homework

Please switch the pages of these two books, and then the teeth of this cat and this rat. If one of these is difficult for you, that is perfectly alright, as long as you put in your best effort. :)

WEEK FOUR

Today, we are going to be concluding our study of switching spells. I saw some interesting attempts last week, and if you need me to fix your textbooks for you after class, please just let me know. ;) I completely understand if you’d rather not have your Herbology textbook and your Potions textbook permanently switched!

Many of you noticed while practicing that switches are easier to accomplish when the objects are similar. For example, it was quite easy to switch the pages of books! Imagine how difficult it would have been if you were swapping your owl’s talons with frozen butterbeer. The two objects have almost nothing in common, and even visualizing that process is incredibly difficult.

A general rule of switching, thus, is that the more similar the two objects are, the easier it will be. That is our first limitation. We can look towards other limitations, such as by examining the transfiguration formula. Aggressiveness from the object in question can be a factor, as well as your own skill with transfiguration.

If you proceed to study transfiguration at the O.W.L. level, you will study Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Essentially, this boils down to the idea that there are certain things transfiguration cannot do. While these laws primarily apply to conjuring, it seems logical that there must be a similar set of laws that govern switching.

For example, we could look at our early rule in regards to how similar the objects are, and we can say that is one of our rules. However, do other limitations come into play with switching? That’ll be for you to decide in the homework! ;)

Homework

Come up with a list of limitations (or rules) on switching. Please aim for 2-3 different rules beyond the one given in the lesson.

WEEK FIVE

Welcome back, I hope you all had a pleasant interim! We’re going to be switching gears slightly, and heading into the day-to-day applications of transfiguration. Some of you, I expect, are wondering why did I even take this class? What’s the point of it? How will it help me in life after school? For the remainder of this term, we’re going to attempt to answer those questions.

Most of you, back as first years, answered that you wanted to become an animagus when I asked about what interested you in transfiguration. Animagi are covered more extensively in the NEWT year of transfiguration, but we’re going to take some time to cover them rather briefly here. If this lesson interests you, you may want to consider taking a NEWT in transfiguration.

Simply put, an animagus is a witch or wizard who has the ability to turn into an animal at will. During this process, they are still aware of who they are and their surroundings. They keep their human mind. There are various reasons and benefits for becoming an animagi, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, they aren’t incredibly common! The process can take years of intense focus and practice, and for some witches and wizards, there is hardly any use in it.

Aurors benefit from becoming animagi, for example, as they can further their ability to disguise themselves. But if you’re working in the Department of Magical Transportation after school, being able to turn into that white rabbit doesn’t do much for you. Given how much time and effort it takes to become an animagus, it makes sense that people hardly do without receiving some sort of real benefit from it.

The form an animagus takes is determined from whom they are inside, or more simply put, their personality. Very happy and excitable people may find themselves as small, fluttering birds that zip through the air at record speeds, for example. There is some speculation that the form of one’s patronus would match one’s animagus form, though there are many witches and wizards out there where this isn’t the case. Professor Lara, for example, has a penguin patronus but a wolf animagus form!

And when it comes to identifying animagi, every animagus has some sort of unique mark. The famed Minerva McGonagall, for example, had spectacle like markings on her animagus form, and the criminal Peter Pettigrew had a bald spot. Upon becoming an animagus, a witch or wizard is expected to register with the ministry and provide their identifying mark, in the event the ministry needs to track them.

Homework

Brainstorm for me at least three major differences between transfiguring someone into an animal and turning into one’s animagus form.

WEEK SIX

Today, we are going to be discussing metamorphmagi. A metamorphmagus has the ability to change their appearance at will. Most witches and wizards need the help of a potion or spell to perform this task, and for an auror, being a metamorphmagus can be extremely helpful.

Of course, they are incredibly rare as well! They are able to change pretty much every factor of their appearance, and they can also train to become an animagus. Similarly to how an animagus can change at will, so can a metamorphmagus. Even at a young age, they are able to control this power, without any sort of training.

Interestingly enough, an animagus’ ability to change their appearance is affected by their emotional state. On some occasions, their appearance simply changes to reflect their emotions, such as perhaps their face turning red when they are enraged. In other cases, they are unable to alter their appearance at all, such as after a period of great depression and sadness. Some theorize that this occurs because when in shock or consumed by sadness, metamorphmagi have difficulty concentrating, and thus, are unable to change their appearance.

However, not everyone can be a metamorphmagus. Unlike becoming an animagus, this is not an ability you can train to obtain. It is a genetic one, and as some believe, hereditary. Nymphadora Tonks’ son, Teddy, inherited her ability, for example. More curiously, her parents did not exhibit the ability, suggesting that it is a recessive trait.

Homework

When might a metamorphmagus be unable to change their appearance?
Is a metamorphmagus able to be an animagus?
Name three benefits of being a metamorphmagus.
How does self-transfiguration differ from being a metamorphmagus? Give a few examples.

WEEK SEVEN

During today’s lesson, we’re going to be taking a look at the remaining occurrences of transfiguration in our lives, particularly in regards to defense. However, rather than you jotting down notes as I lecture, I thought something more hands on would be beneficial…

In a room on the side of the classroom, there is going to be an obstacle. Using the spells you’ve learned, as well as other transfiguration spells you can find in your textbooks (HP Wiki is a great resource!), your goal is to escape the room. If at any moment you find yourself in dire danger, merely send up red sparks from your wand and I shall come fetch you.

At this point in our education, we know how to do transformation spells and switching spells. For transformation spells, we just need the Latin word of the end result (what we’re turning something into) and the –fors suffix to add on. For switching, there isn’t a rule for crafting the incantation.

If you use an incantation we haven’t done in class, please justify it for me—explain what this incantation can do, and how you formed it!

Now, the room you’ll be entering is dark and musty, with broken desks and chairs all around. A singular person, wearing a black cloak, will be present. This person’s goal is to keep you in the room, and they’ve got a variety of spells that they know! A barricade of desks and chairs blocks the far door, and the door you entered through mysteriously vanishes instantly! The only windows are bolted shut.

So… Who’s first?

Homework

Escape the room using various methods of transfiguration! Explain to me how you go about it, making sure to include incantations and wand movements, and your reasoning!

WEEK EIGHT

Wow, another year has come and gone! I hope that you’ve been taking careful notes, as we covered a lot of material.

We’ve covered switching spells, animagi, metamorphmagi, and practical defense. All of these topics are likely to appear in some form on your exam, so please take this week to go through and review!

If you are missing any homework, now is an excellent time to catch up! Next week, the lessons will be taken down and you’ll need to hand in the exam before I can send you your homework to make up.

Homework

Summarize for me 2-3 major ideas we learned this year. This should ideally be more than three sentences total.