Transfiguration question/ Was: Identifying with Muggles in Potterver

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 158228

DA Jones said:
> Transfiguration spells seem to work by transfering something. For 
instance the turing teacups into mice requires that a whole mouse be 
swapped through space and with a teacup. Notice in transfiguration 
you generally need similar size items to swap. This is why for 
instance transfiguration is hard to use on large creatures such as a 
dragon or Giant. You'd hap to swap them with a whale or a 
skyscrapper and that takes a lot of power.
>  
>  If your partially transfigure something it still is attached to 
it other half but it must be through some sort of tunneling effect 
through space otherwise the partially transformed mouse would die 
and we don;t see that happening.
> 

Tonks:
I do not agree. First lets look at what the word means both inside 
and outside of the WW:
--------
Dictonary.com says that Transfiguration means:
–noun 
the act of transfiguring.
the state of being transfigured.
(initial capital letter ) the supernatural and glorified change in 
the appearance of Jesus on the mountain. Matt. 17:1–9.
(initial capital letter ) the church festival commemorating this, 
observed on August 6.
	
Crystal Reference Encyclopedia
An event described in the synoptic gospels when Jesus was 
temporarily changed in appearance on a mountain in front of his 
disciples Peter, James, and John, so that his clothes 
became `gleaming white' (Mark 9.2–3) and his face `shone' (Luke 9.28–
9; Matt 17.2). The revelation of glory is described as accompanied 
by an appearance of Elijah and Moses, and a heavenly voice similar 
to that at Jesus's baptism. Feast day 6 August. 

Wikipedia says:
Transfiguration may refer to: 
•	the Transfiguration of Jesus, an event reported by the 
Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus underwent transfiguration. 
•	In the Harry Potter books and films, transfiguration is the 
art of metamorphosis, changing of the form and appearance of an 
object, and the conjuring and creation of objects. 

HP Lexicon says:
Transfiguration is magic which changes one object into another. It 
is possible to change inanimate objects into animate ones and vice 
versa. Some Transfiguration spells alter a part of something, such 
as changing a person's ears from normal into rabbit ears. At 
Hogwarts, Transfiguration is taught by Professor McGonagall. Fifty 
years ago, Dumbledore was the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts 
(CS). Transfiguration spells were cast in ancient times as well. 
Circe, a Witch who lived in the Greek island of Aeaea, was famous 
for turning lost sailors into pigs (CS/g).  
The opposite of Transfiguration is Untransfiguration, which would be 
returning something to its proper form. (OP29) 
---------
It seems that it is a form of metamorphosis, not a transfering one 
object through time and space to another. It is, IMO, more like what 
happens to a butterfly.

And I think that the fact that it was a course that was taught by 
DD, our in-house 'saint' and by McGonagall who's first name 
means 'wisdom', is no accident. 

I think the key to this class is that at it's highest level one is 
taught to transform the self. I think it is a reference to the 
other "transfiguration" because of all the words JKR could have used 
she used one that in the RW has only one meaning. Also it is 
probably DD who can do it best and the reason that he does not need 
an invisibility cloak to be invisible.

Tonks_op