Transfiguration question/ Was: Identifying with Muggles in Potterverse

[zanooda2]

No: HPFGUIDX 158243

> DA Jones:

> Vinegar and Wine are really the same thing. The difference is only 
> in  he fermentation period. Making Vinegar from Wine is a magic even 
> muggles could do, but to reverse the process and make Wine from 
> Vinegar would require true magic.


zanooda:

Thank you so much, it was exactly what I needed to understand what was
going on in this scene. Worked like a charm for me :-)! It seems weird
that after many (oh so many!) years of using vinegar in the kitchen I
had no idea that it was made from wine. Now I understand that, if the
spell doesn't really transform vinegar, but only reverses the process,
it should belong in Charms.

> DA Jones:

> The charm spells that we see in hogwarts are the closest thing to  
> illusion in the magic world. I always though they work by charming 
> the mind into believing something. So maybe the vinegar is not 
> transfered but the drinkers tastebuds are made to believe that it is
> wine? 

zanooda:

I never thought about Charms as illusion. It wouldn't be very magical,
would it? I like to think that when you say "wingardium leviosa", the
object really rises into the air, and when you say "alohomora", the
door really opens.

> DA Jones:

> Transfiguration is not changing but transfering. 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.


zanooda:

Never thought about transfiguration this way either. I'm in no way an
expert on magic, and I need to think about it some more, but it seems
to me that something doesn't fit here. Take for example Malfoy/ferret
transfiguration. The difference in size is quite significant. As for
dragons and giants, not only transfiguration spells (and we never saw
anyone try) but other spells (like Stunning) don't work on them. And
if it's true about giants, it's a shame, because I kind of hoped that
Hagrid's dad could transform Hagrid's mom into someone more suitable
for love during their relationship :-)

Once again, thank you for vinegar/wine tip.

zanooda