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"You must form a trusting relationship with your porcupine. It is easier to practise Transfiguration on a willing target."
— Professor McGonagall on the subject matter[src]

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[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, Chapter 9 (Wizards Unite!) - Transfiguration Lesson "Porcupine to Pin Cushion" (see this image)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, Chapter 9 (Wizards Unite!) - Transfiguration Lesson "Porcupine to Pin Cushion"

See also[]

Transfiguration (class)
COS Vera Verto demo
Branches of Transfiguration Transformation · Vanishment · Conjuration · Untransfiguration
Notable practitioners Circe · Emeric Switch · Falco Aesalon · Mirabella Plunkett · Thaddeus Thurkell
Professors Albus Dumbledore · Minerva McGonagall · Charles Rookwood · Matilda Weasley
Textbooks A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration · Intermediate Transfiguration · A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration
Transfiguration spells taught at Hogwarts
Colour Change Charm (Colovaria) · Change of hair colour and style (Crinus Muto) · Hardening Charm (Duro) · Mending Charm (Reparo) · Partial Vanishment · Reparifarge · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Switching Spell · Vanishing Spell (Evanesco)
Conjuring Spells Bird-Conjuring Charm (Avis) · Inanimatus Conjurus Spell · Bouquet Spell (Orchideous) · Snake Summons Spell (Serpensortia)
Transforming Spells Animal to water goblet (Vera Verto) · Armadillo to Pillow · Bowling Ball to Balloon · Beetle into Button · Cauldron to badger · Cat to cauldron (Felifors) · Cauldron Cakes to Cabbages · Chair to cat · Cross-Species Switches · Desk Into Pig · Fairy Cakes to Fairies · Feather Duster to Ferret · Ferret to Feather Duster · Gobstone to butterfly · Goldfinch to Golden Snitch · Flobberworm to Fritter · Gnomes to Lawn Gnomes · Guinea fowl to guinea pig · Gobstone to Skunk · Hedgehog to pincushion · King to Rook · 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 · Rubbish to Raccoon Dog · 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 into Gerbil · Teacup to Rat · Teapot to Tortoise · Thimble to Thestral · Toad to Toadstool · Tortoise to Trumpet · White rabbits to slippers
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