Porcupine to Pin Cushion

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article.

Porcupine to Pin Cushion (Hystrifors) was a Transforming spell that transformed a porcupine into a pincushion.^[2]

History

During the 1985–1986 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Minerva McGonagall taught the spell to second year students in her Transfiguration class.^[2]

Etymology

From Latin "hystrix", meaning "porcupine", with the -fors suffix attached.

Behind the scenes

• The incantation is a misnomer, as it is indicative of a porcupine, but the spell transforms things into pincushions, and not into porcupines. For example, Lapifors turns the target into a rabbit and Avifors the target into a bird. This might be a mistake from Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery developers, where the spell appears.
• This may be related to the Hedgehog to pincushion spell, especially given that it works on any mammal with spines.
  • Despite the Hedgehog to Pincushion spell being taught to fourth years in the 1994–1995 school year curriculum, the porcupine version is taught to second years in the 1985–1986 school year curriculum.
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, while the lesson was listed as "Porcupine to Pin Cushion" ("Pin" and "Cushion" written separately) in the game's class directory and the header of the specific lesson; during the lesson itself, the descriptions about "pincushion" were all written as one word:
  • "Porcupine to Pincushion Demonstration"
  • "Memorise Pincushion Shape"
  • "Cast Porcupine to Pincushion"

Appearances

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)

Notes and references

Transfiguration (class)
Branches of Transfiguration	Transformation · Vanishment · Conjuration · Untransfiguration
Notable practitioners	Circe · Emeric Switch · Falco Aesalon · Mirabella Plunkett · Thaddeus Thurkell
Professors	Albus Dumbledore · Minerva McGonagall
Textbooks	A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration · Intermediate Transfiguration · A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration
Transfiguration spells studied at Hogwarts
Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Change of hair colour and style (Crinus Muto) · Hardening Charm (Duro) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Reparifarge · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Switching Spell · Vanishing Spell (Evanesco)
Conjuring Spells	Bird-Conjuring Charm (Avis) · Inanimatus Conjurus Spell · Orchideous · Snake Summons Spell (Serpentsortia)
Transforming Spells	Animal to Water Goblet (Vera Verto) · Beetle Buttons · Cat to Cauldron (Felifors) · Cauldron Cakes to Cabbages · Chair to cat · Cross-Species Switches · Desk Into Pig · Goldfinch to Golden Snitch · Flobberworm to Fritter · Gnomes to Lawn Gnomes · Guinea fowl to guinea pig spell · Gobstone to skunk · Hedgehog to pincushion spell · Lovebird to Love Note · Match to needle · Meddling Man to Monkey · Mice to Snuffboxes · Owl to Opera Glasses (Strigiforma) · Pawn to Queen · Porcupine to Pin Cushion (Hystrifors) · Puffskein to Paperweight · Small Child to Rat · Small Object to Dragon (Draconifors) · Snail to Teapot · Target to Bird (Avifors) · Target to matchbox (Flintifors) · Target to Rabbit (Lapifors) · Teacup to gerbil spell · Teacup to Rat · Teapot to tortoise spell · White Rabbits to Slippers