Charms (and) What *Really* is the Purpose of Transfiguration?

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

No: HPFGUIDX 39677

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "aldrea279" <chetah27 at h...> wrote:

> And it seems that they deal with animals a lot in Transfiguration 
> also, eh? (snip)  Buttons to beetles, tea pots to  turtles, 
> porcupines to pincushions, desks to pigs... 

They also turn animals into inanimate objects e.g. turning a mouse 
into a snuffbox for final exam in Book 1. I don't know how this is 
useful, but it makes me wonder about lives and souls. When they turn 
an animal into a thing, is that killing the animal? If not, where 
does its life, soul, life-force go? When turning a thing into an 
animal, does that mean they are creating a life?
> 
> CAN you Transfigure something old looking into something new 
> looking? 

I would think that would be a Charm, defined as changing the 
appearance or behavior of something, rather than Transfiguration, 
defining as changing something into something else. I have some 
trouble determining which is which, such as I would have expected 
sticking wings on the keys to be a Transfiguration, but it was a 
Charm.
 
> If that were true, you wouldn't have much of a division between the 
> appearances of poor wizards and rich wizards.  Thus, money wouldn't 
> have that much of an influence, since you can transfigure things so 
> that they look good. Hmm...

I was thinking about that for a long time, especially in terms 
of Ron's dress robes and other shabby clothing, and Hermione not 
Charming her hair to behave itself. I thought maybe there is 
something at Hogwarts (maybe something in each doorway there) that 
removes Charms but not the effects of Potions or Transfigurations, 
but the Severing Charm on those dress robes didn't get reversed 
(causing the lace to come back) and the Reparo Charm on Harry's 
glasses didn't come undone. 

So then I thought, maybe the wizarding folk have an ability to SEE 
what Charms were done, and if they see that rotten dress robes were 
Charmed to look new, they say even more vicious and mocking things 
than they would have said about the rotten dress robes anyway. 

JKR wants to make the wizarding world have the same problems as the 
Muggle world, such as poverty, and class differences (and prejudice, 
and bullying, and stupidity), but I think it's illogical for any 
"fully-qualified" wizard or witch to live in poverty. *Surely* magic 
can create and/or improve houses and clothing and furniture and food. 
At least by Transfiguring them from old dead leaves and wild 
mushrooms.