Honestly. I was browsing through the supply lists for each year at Hogwarts and I can honestly say I was very surprised at the list of spells that even a first year could learn from the Standard Grade Book of Spells 1.

But I'm honestly not sure on what kind of prowess each year would have in Transfiguration. I know in the first year textbook they learn the spell to return transfigured objects to their normal forms and the spell to turn statue's of a bird into a real bird. But other than that and the snuffbox and stuff I'm a little confused.

What kind of prowess would someone who had completed their first year have in free-form Transfiguration? And by that I mean transfiguring one object into another by just using a mental picture?

Is there a thread somewhere on this site where I can find what kind of prowess someone good at Transfiguration should be able to do at the end of each year?

 

I honestly have no idea. I bet Taure knows though.

 

Honestly, I have to agree. Taure's prowess with canon knowledge is unparalleled.

 

I'll hope Taure pops on by then lol.

 

Well, I've done a bit of thinking, and looking and put together what I think is the information we have available on what they are taught each year.

In first year they start with simple transformations, match to needle etc.

Second year has them doing presumably somewhat more complicated transformations, in this case beetle to button, and then later in the year rabbits into slippers.

Third year has the end of year exam including turning a teapot into a tortoise.

Fourth year, a fair amount of info for this one. Firstly, students are expected to be able to perform switching spells by this year, so they are presumably taught in an earlier year. They study hedgehog to pincushion, guinea fowl to guinea pig, and also cross species switching spells.

Fifth year they cover vanishing spells, which they are tested on in the OWLs. They also cover conjuration theory in fifth year.

NEWT level includes conjuration and human transfiguration.

 

Isn't the Switching Spell a 5th year spell aswell?

Anyway. What about free-form Transfiguration then? At what point do you think they'd be able to say change a rope into a chain or a large piece of wood into a blanket?

 

Well, if you look at the basic skills involved its reasonably easy to make assumptions of when the skills would be there.

Rope to chain is inanimate to inanimate, similar object to similar object. Fairly similar to match to needle. Maybe larger scale, but I don't know that the size of the transfiguration would make much difference to the process. So it could be said that a first year could accomplish it.

Wood to blanket, probably more complex. Its still inanimate to inanimate, however the properties of the objects are really quite different. So lets examine how transformation skills are delineated across the years. First year we've covered. Second year has animate to inanimate, with a level of visual similarity on both ends of the transfiguration (buttons and beetles look fairly similar etc). Third year has inanimate to animate, with significant visual differences.

On that basis I'd say wood to blanket might be either second or third year. It is inanimate to inanimate, but there are significant differences. If you required me to pin it somewhere, I'd guess at early third year to introduce the concept of a transfiguration between dissimilar objects.

That is the lesson I would draw from this, that whilst they are studying specific changes (match to needle, beetle to button etc) what they are actually learning is the skill set required for specific types of changes.

And regarding switching spells in 5th year, I didn't see anything about then when I was looking. Could be wrong of course, but I don't think they're covered after 4th year.

 

Interesting. That actually helps alot. I'm researching information on the skills a skilled post-first year could have and I'm actually quite impressed. The fic I have I'm researching for will have Harry out of the way of civilization and living in a forest/jungle area himself for a little while so I'm researching the spells he could have learned easily in first year to see how they could help him survive.

I mean a few first year charms here and there would allow him to make a rather comfortable camping spot. Such as Incendio to make a couple camp fires ad Spongify to make the ground beneath him soft to sleep on. Wingardium Leviosa with a bit of luck could allow him to catch fish swimming near the top of a lake/stream and Diffindo would work well to cut the fish head off and open it up to gut it. I've got quite a few good ideas for the charms, I just didn't have much of an idea of what Harry could do with Transfiguration this early on that could help him survive in the 'wilds'.

On that note. Do you know if Glacius is a first year spell or not? I can't remember but I think it's either first year or third year. And do you think Harry would be able to fashion a canteen of sorts with Transfiguration at this point?

 

Well, I think there might be a couple of issues with your charms ideas.

Incendio isn't established as a first year spell, and I really think it would be one from later years. The blue bell flame charm is what Hermione uses in first year, so I would advise sticking with that.

I wasn't familiar with spongify till looking it up, as it is from the games. I'd avoid it in all honesty, in part because its from the games, and also the described effects are to turn a given area into what amounts to a trampoline, not make the ground soft.

Diffindo is first used in GoF as far as I recall. Maybe its learned earlier, but a good sign that it isn't a first year spell is that Hermione doesn't attempt it with the Devil's Snare.

And Glacius is also only a game spell, so I'd avoid it personally. But according to the lexicon its from the PA game.

With transfiguration you can get around some of these charms issues. You don't need a spell to cut the head off a fish and gut it, after first year you should be able to take an appropriately sized and shaped bit of wood or stone and put an edge on it, or more likely just turn it into a knife.

Honestly, you don't need soft ground to sleep on, and you rapidly get used to not doing so. So thats not an issue you need to worry about.

For carrying water, fashioning a cup/bowl is definitely feasible. And I suppose if he could find a similarly shaped enough bit of wood or rock he could transfigure a bottle. Add a cork and you've got yourself a canteen of some sort.

 

Actually, Incendio while not established as a first year charm is covered in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1. And so is Spongify. I don't want to go to out of the realm of possibilities for what spells Harry knows. So I'm only using spells that it's feasible he's learned and so far the only spells that come to mind are the spells from Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 and the Defense Against the Dark Arts text book. Along with the Finite spell which I'm pretty sure is the spell Harry learned from a counter Jinx book after being Jinxed by Peeves. Either way, Incendio is a needed charm for him to boil water or else he'd end up getting sick or dying of dehydration

As for not softening the ground to sleep on. Yes, while he'd get used to it trust me on saying sleeping on such a hard surface isn't really for his benefit in the long run. And it will be a while before he get's to sleep in a bed again. Harry doesn't have a tent or anything like that to sleep in I should point out, so softening the ground beneath him is the next best option to have a semi-comfortable sleep.

Diffindo is also in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1.

 

Hmm, having just checked on Pottermore, those spells are in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1. I hadn't thought they were.

I'd still be dubious of using them, if you're wanting to follow book canon. Hermione relies on the blue bell flame charm, even with the Devil's Snare. So she doesn't seem to know incendio. And as I said earlier, I'd presume she doesn't know diffindo because she doesn't try it on the Devil's Snare.

 

Incendio as I said before is kinda needed or else he'd die. I don't think Bluebell flames give off enough heat to boil or cook/start a campfire. And either way she knew what the Devil's Snare was and she knew that Diffindo wouldn't have worked on it.

Anyway. Both of them are going to be getting used for other things aswell. Because he's not just going to be surviving in the woods alone. There are going to be hundreds of creatures out and about that Harry has no hope of defeating alone. He needs these charms to make his campsite quickly so that he has no trouble abandoning it at a moments notice to run away.

And the spells Incendio, Fumos, Diffindo and Flipendo are going to be really his only way of protecting himself.

..I can't remember. Didn't Harry learn a few jinxes and hexes in first year aswell? Langlock and Locomotor motis? Or was that Malfoy who used them on Neville?

Edit: Never mind Langlock is one of Snape's Spells. But Locomotor Motis was used by Draco and was learned by Hermione and Ron incase 'Snape' attempted to jinx Harry during his Quidditch Matc again. Huh, I wonder if it's feasible to say Harry learned it along with them?

 

Locomotor Mortis was using in PS yes.

You seem to be drawing your canon from a much wider array than I personally would. The books are canon, movies yeah, and pottermore since its word of god.

But the computer games and the trading card game? Not canon mate, and best avoided as a source for anything.

 

The only thing that really applies to is Glacius though. The rest are in canon textbooks that Harry purchased for his first year.

 

Glacius, fumos, spongify. All from the games or TCG.

 

They are all in textbooks that are bought in canon, so even if they're not specifically listed in canon, the books being canon and by proxy making spells listed in those books canon.

Granted, so far I've only seen Glacius in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 3. Spongify is in the grade 1 book and Fumos is in the DADA textbook.

 

Really?

In the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 I can see the softening charm, that makes things soft. According to the lexicon the spongify charm is used, as I said early, essentially like a trampoline. Doesn't sound like the same effect to me.

And the DADA text has a defensive smokescreen spell, is that what you're assuming to be Fumos?

 

Oh wow, you're right lol. I got the effects of Spongify mixed up with the cushioning charm. And yeah the smokescreen spell's incantation is 'Fumos'.