Beetle Buttons

"He was supposed to be turning a beetle into a button, but all he managed to do was give his beetle a lot of exercise as it scuttled over the desk top avoiding his wand."

- Description

Beetle Buttons (incantation unknown) was a transforming spell that transfigured a beetle into a coat button.

On 3 September, 1992, the second year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry practiced this spell, although very few were successful. Harry Potter was unable to perform the spell because it kept running away from his wand, whereas Ronald Weasley could not cast it because his broken wand continuously engulfed him in foul-smelling grey smoke that obscured his vision and caused him to accidentally crush his beetle. He consequently had to ask Professor McGonagall for a replacement, a fact that she was not too happy about. Indeed, it seemed that only Hermione Granger knew how to cast it, and displayed her handful of perfect coat buttons at lunchtime, much to her classmates' chagrin.

Behind the scenes

 * As right before the spell is introduced it is mentioned that Harry forgot everything he had learned the previous year, it is possible that this is taught in first year rather than second.
 * There exists a spell to reverse this transformation.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter Trading Card Game
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)