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"And without warning, Dumbledore swooped, plunging the tip of his wand into the seat of the overstuffed armchair, which yelled, “Ouch!""
Albus Dumbledore Untransfiguring Horace Slughorn[src]

Untransfiguration was a branch of Transfiguration magic and a type of counter-spell, which involved returning something to its proper form, reversing the effects of a Transfiguration.[1]

Untransfiguration was covered in beginner-level spellbooks such as A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. Learning Untransfiguration was mandatory at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1926 onward.[2] Failure to at least attempt to Untransfigure a wrongly-done Transfiguration was considered irresponsible.

Methods[]

Ferret to human GIF

Professor McGonagall Untransfiguring Draco Malfoy in 1994

Reparifarge seemed to be a general Untransfigurative spell used to counter the effects of a Transformation spell that was poorly performed and only partially Transfigured the object in question. The spell was located in A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch.[1]

There existed a spell which could change Animagi wizards and witches back into their human form from their animal form.[3]

The Revelio Charm could be used to Untransfigure a Transfigured human.[4]

Aurors working for the British Ministry of Magic often had to Untransfigure transformed objects in their line of work.[5]

Known instances[]

During the 1890–1891 school year, fifth-year students were taught a transformation spell which an unidentified student was able to use against Animagus poachers in order to revert them into their original form, even in the midst of a battle.[6]

In the aftermath of the arrest of Percival Graves in the New York subway in 1926, Newton Scamander used the Revelio Charm to reveal that it was actually the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, who had used Human Transfiguration to take the appearance of the MACUSA official.[4]

In Harry Potter's first Transfiguration class in 1991, Professor Minerva McGonagall Transfigured her desk into a pig, and the pig back to a desk.[7]

In 1994, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black changed Peter Pettigrew from a rat back into his usual human appearance, during the Encounter at the Shrieking Shack.[3]

At the start of the 1994–1995 school year at Hogwarts, when the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) Transfigured Draco Malfoy into a ferret on the Marble Staircase, Minerva McGonagall Transfigured him back into a human.[8]

In 1996, Albus Dumbledore had to Untransfigure Horace Slughorn after Slughorn had transformed himself into an armchair, whilst he was hiding in a Muggle house in Budleigh Babberton from the Death Eaters.[9]

Known practitioners[]

Behind the scenes[]

According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may not be possible to Untransfigure a person or object without knowing what they were originally. However, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Draco Malfoy is turned into a ferret, Professor McGonagall Untransfigures him while only knowing that it was a student, not who it was specifically. This implies that either one does not need to know very specific details about what the object was before Transfiguration or that she guessed it was Malfoy due to his absence from his usual gang.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

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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