Ivan's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Professor McGonagall work her Transfiguration magic. He was a bit overwhelmed by her skills and found himself both surprised and deeply impressed. He could hardly believe how advanced her magic was.
"Professor," he said, still processing what he'd seen, "is this related to the nature of life itself?"
McGonagall looked at him, encouraging him to think it through. Ivan continued, forming his thoughts aloud, "For instance, the owl was shattered, so we think of it as dead, right?"
"But with the vines," he went on, "even if they're cut up and partly destroyed, some of them are still able to live. They hold their original form, unchanged."
With living things, there are different rules. If an owl were to lose a few feathers, those feathers would eventually regrow, meaning the minor damage wouldn't disrupt the Transfiguration spell at all. However, if the owl's wings were cut off, it might survive, but it would no longer be able to fly. In that case, the Transfiguration wouldn't hold.
The success and durability of Transfiguration depends a lot on the skill of the wizard performing it. Professor McGonagall, for example, had carefully applied several layers of stability to the owl during her transformation, making it far stronger than most transformations. This meant that even if someone were to cut into the owl, they would see real flesh and blood, as her spell was detailed and thorough enough to mimic a living creature in its entirety.
However, if a young wizard or beginner were to try the same Transfiguration, their owl would probably revert back to its original form with even a light touch or slight disturbance.
Ivan observed, "So the level of a wizard's Transfiguration skill affects how stable the transformation is." He thought for a moment, then added, "And any major change to the object would break the Transfiguration."
He gave an example: "For instance, if you cut off a transformed vine, as long as part of it remains, it can still grow back."
Professor McGonagall nodded, pleased with his understanding. "Exactly. In Transfiguration, there's a principle of 'mental intent' or focus. As long as you believe in the object's function, the spell can hold successfully. But if that main function or need is lost, the transformation naturally ends. Imagine a chair—it's meant for sitting, bread is meant for eating, and water is meant for drinking. Once these items can no longer serve their function, the spell has essentially fulfilled its purpose."
Ivan thought about it further, then asked, "Professor, what if I Transfigure a chair but only see it as a piece of wood that happens to look like a chair? Would that be different?"
"Yes, indeed," McGonagall replied. "If your intent was to make a chair, then breaking one of its legs would likely end the Transfiguration. But if you only needed it as wood shaped like a chair, the spell wouldn't break as easily."
When it came to defensive spells, McGonagall explained that if a wizard Transfigures a stone wall for protection, they may just need a sturdy wall or simply a solid piece of stone. "If you only need the stone itself, rather than a specific wall," she explained, "the Transfiguration is more stable. You could smash it into smaller pieces, but as long as the magic power remains, it would still be stone, and the transformation would hold."
McGonagall went on to discuss how Transfiguration differed between living and non-living objects. "Transforming living creatures requires much higher skill," she said. "The more experienced the wizard, the more stable the transformation."
"For non-living things," she added, "like food, drinks, tools, or materials, the stability of the spell depends on the wizard's need for that object." She explained that if the wizard's need for an object disappears, the Transfiguration will naturally end.
"Thank you, Professor. This is all making sense," Ivan said.
McGonagall smiled and asked, "Any other questions?"
"Yes, actually," Ivan replied. "I was wondering: how far can Transfiguration go in terms of giving objects new functions? Could it, for instance, turn a stone into a functioning watch? And if that's possible, what about more complex things—like a TV, a refrigerator, or a computer?"
McGonagall looked thoughtful. Although she wasn't entirely familiar with all the Muggle devices Ivan mentioned, she had heard of some Muggle inventions. "Yes, Transfiguration can create a phone," she confirmed, "and that phone would be able to power on and even allow communication."
Ivan was fascinated, feeling even more sure that Transfiguration was an incredibly powerful branch of magic. The fact that it could even handle things like electrical signals was surprising to him.
"This type of Transfiguration," McGonagall explained, "is what we call 'subjective transformation.' When a wizard performs this type of spell, they use magic to understand and analyze the object's structure. The more the wizard knows about the object, the better their transformation will be, with a higher rate of success."
In theory, a wizard who fully understood nuclear weapons could change one into a mushroom-shaped cloud of dust, but turning a stone into an actual nuclear bomb wasn't possible. Transfiguration could alter the appearance and state of an object, but not its fundamental nature.
"As I mentioned," McGonagall continued, "Transfiguration only changes an object's form, not its true nature. Permanent transformations are an exception, as they make real, irreversible changes to an object, but they cannot be undone by magic."
Ivan listened intently as she added, "This rule isn't really a limitation in the Muggle world, where machines like airplanes, tanks, and rockets exist without magic and meet the requirements for permanent Transfiguration."
"Professor, what about something called 'objective transformation'?" Ivan asked.
McGonagall explained, "Objective transformation depends on how others perceive or interpret the transformed object. This is about how people judge the appearance of your Transfiguration."
For example, if Ivan Transfigured a stone into an apple, others would recognize it by its appearance, texture, and taste. Similarly, if he transformed a stone to look like a nuclear bomb, detection devices would register it as real—even though it wouldn't actually function.
"Objective transformation essentially creates a kind of sensory deception," McGonagall explained, confirming Ivan's thoughts. "An apple fools people's senses, and a fake nuclear bomb can trick detection devices. These transformations are close to illusions that mimic real signals, creating an impression that the objects are what they appear to be, even though they aren't truly real."
Ivan realized that objective transformation was, in a way, an elaborate form of sensory illusion. Transfigured objects deceive not only people's senses but also the tools and devices that measure certain qualities.
This discovery sparked a whole new level of respect for Transfiguration in Ivan's mind. He was beginning to understand that this branch of magic was not only about changing shapes but also involved intricate, almost scientific elements that wizards like Professor McGonagall had mastered.
He thanked her again, feeling grateful for her patience and the depth of her knowledge. The conversation had opened up new ways of thinking about magic, and Ivan left with a lot to consider as he imagined what else could be possible with Transfiguration.
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