Transfiguration Notebook - Year One
written by Elizabeth Black
Here are my notes from Transfiguration year one! The last chapter has links to the rest of my books of notes for the other subjects, so be sure to check those out as well!
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
10
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593
Lesson Two
Chapter 2
The Four Branches
• four branches of transfiguration
• defined in 1651 by a German transfigurist
• different wizards claimed credit
• including Fritz Holtz, whose notes disappeared in a mysterious fire the day before the big transfiguration conference
• Others had similar claims to their original notes disappearing
• still extremely relevant to transfiguration today
• Branches:
- transformation
- vanishment
- conjuration
- untransfiguration
• have their own spells that fall within them
• taught during different years
• four years with me will focus on transformation (year 1-4)
• Fifth Year will discuss vanishmen
• conjuration and untransfiguration will be N.E.W.T. level subjects *year 6+7*
Conjuration
• Conjured items are formed by pulling together the particles around us to create the object we desire *taking molecules and making it into a shape*
• Accomplishing this requires the transfigurist (person practicing transfiguration) to take into account all of the details of the object they are trying to conjure
• extensive laws restricting what can and cannot be conjured and things that are • conjured also will not last forever *IMPORTANT*
• whatever you wish to conjure must first exist in the world *cant conjure anything from space etc.*
Transformation
• most common form
• what people initially think of when hearing the word “transfiguration.” *people preform this branch the most*
• causes things to actually change from their original state into another, or alters the form of them
• contains some of the darkest transfiguration knowledge
• three sub-branches:
- trans-species transformations
- switching
- human transfiguration
• do not include general transformations
• breaks down further into four general categories that are:
- inanimate to inanimate
- inanimate to animate
- animate to inanimate
- animate to animate transformations
• fuzzy distinguishing lines *not really clear
• Switching spells are spells that either switch the physical location of two items or one essential detail of an object (detail in Year Four)
• transformation that to some degree changes the species of the target.
• human transfiguration is exactly what it sounds like: the act of transfiguring the human body
• extremely complex form of transformation
not be discussed until your Seventh Year
• several different types of human transfiguration:
- cross-species (switches directed at human targets)
- animagus
- metamorphmagus
- werewolf
Animagi
• Animagi are human beings with the capability of fully turning themselves into an animal at will while keeping their human sentience.
• completely voluntary and learned skill,
extremely difficult
• not be teaching this skill in this class
• only able to turn into one form of animal for their shape and this animal will bear some identifying mark related to their human features
*I hate to interrupt this lesson, but here is a link to my book about becoming an Animagus (step by step): *
• permanent body altering will also be noted in the animagus form
• Animagi are required to register with the Ministry of Magic.
Metamorphmagi
• are human beings with the capability of changing parts of their appearance at will
not a skill that can be learned
believed to be genetic
• Nymphadora Tonks, who frequently altered her facial features for the purposes of disguise and amusement, among others
change almost anything in their appearance,
• from sex and age to something as simple as hair or eye color
• not require a wand
Werewolves
• they do not have a choice in their transformations
• forced to change at every full moon
• the person does not keep their human mind
werewolves are incredibly dangerous and will attack any human on sight
• potion that allows someone to keep their human mind during the full moon, though the transformation will still take place:
- Wolfsbane Potion, which was created by Damocles.
Vanishment
• branch of transfiguration that allows the transfigurist to cause an object to disappear from the world
• theories on what actually happens to items that have vanished
• disappear all together and can never be returned
• most popular opinion is that the objects are disassembled and the particles scattered throughout the world
• broken down into such a small amount that they appear to “no longer exist.”
• they cannot truly cease to exist due to the law which states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed
Untransfiguration
• It is a series of spells that allow you to undo previous transfigurations
• this is mostly for transformations, as vanishment cannot be undone, and things that are conjured disappear naturally after a matter of time
