Transfiguration: First Year: Week 1: Tuesday

Professor Minerva McGonagall
Tuesday
Gryffindor Time: 10:00
Ravenclaw Time: 9:00
Hufflepuff Time: 11:00
Slytherin Time: 9:00
Welcome to your first Transfiguration class, everyone. Before we start, I must warn you that I will not tolerate any nonsense from anyone. The art of Transfiguration is one that is too precise to fool around with.
The dictionary defines transfiguration as
" a) A marked change in form or appearance; a metamorphosis
or b)A change that glorifies or exalts."
You should be writting this down.
The dictionary also defines transfigure as
" a)to change in outward form or appearance; transform.
or b) to change so as to glorify or exalt."

Generally, when magical people talk about transfiguring, they are referring to a, not b.
In some cases, such as matches and needles, the transfigurations were entirely unnatural and never meant to be, while in other cases, such as transfiguring a nut to a tree, you are just speeding up to natural process.
Transfiguring living beings are yet another branch of transfiguration, but we won't get into that until later this year. In fact, you won't start transfiguring humans until your sixth year.
Then there is the branch of transfiguration that is called 'Switching Spells' and is only partial transfiguration.
Vanishing and Conjouring are obviously the art of making things vanish and creating things out of nothing. The spell to cause things to be invisible do not fall under this category, however.
The last type I ask you to learn today is the art of human-animal transformation. When I say this, I mean people who can transform themselves to aniamals and back at will. Animagi are quite rare and you will be learning about them in your third year.
Now I want you to learn the correct way for transformation. Before I even tell you the spell to transform a needle to a match, I want you to take one of these needles and follow these directions. Set the needle in front of you. Look at it and consentrate really hard on it turning into a match. This may seem impossible, and truly it is, but it is an exersise that helps you get into the correct frame of mind for when you try it with wands next class. You have ten minutes.



Ten minutes are up! Please pack up you quills and parchment and bring you needle up to me as you leave. Your Homework is to review your notes and do the mind exersise on an object of your choice. Class is dismissed.