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ADMIN MOD. I made a list of examples of racism, prejudice, and stereotypes in the HP books. Kingsley SHACKLEBOLT is black, tall, bald, with a deep voice, and has a single gold hoop earring. He is wise and gentle. (References: Slavery; black men are tall and physically hyper-masculine; the "magical negro"/"numinous negro" trope of wise, purely ...
- Overview
- Nature
- Transmission
- History of magic
- Spellcasting
- Limitations
- Magical relations
- Study of magic
- Magical items
- The wizarding world
"I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to."
— A young Tom Riddle describing his magical skills to Albus Dumbledore
Magic was a supernatural force that changed aspects of the world at fundamental levels. The ability for humans to use magic was a hereditary trait passed down from a person's ancestors, which allowed witches and wizards to practise it. Rather than being a mystical or unnatural pursuit that defied the laws of nature, however, magic simply allowed those who could wield it to exploit them in very specific and creative ways that Muggle science were unable to replicate.
One example of this, for example, was in how vanishment did not actually make objects cease to exist, but rather, according to Professor McGonagall, go "into non-being, which is to say, everything", which was consistent with the law of conservation of matter and energy. Magic also followed its own set of rules with respect to what it could do, such as how Conjured objects could only exist for a temporary period of time, and objects couldn't be enlarged beyond a certain point without becoming unstable and/or exploding.
The basic concepts of magic were fairly simple — even a two-year-old wizard could do some form of magic — but the inherent power and potential for misuse were great indeed. It was for this reason that promising young witches and wizards were sent to schools of magic, such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to refine their craft and learn the art and responsibility of their power. There, they learned a variety of magical specialities, general theory and the history of magic in their world.
Magic was unable to be performed by non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles), which was what separated the Muggle world from the wizarding world. As a substitute for magic, Muggles used technology, but in the same sense, many wizards were ignorant of the workings of most Muggle devices, including electricity. Both Muggles and wizards viewed their choice of tool as completely and utterly logical and ordinary, although each would find the other's tools fascinating or even mysterious.
Squibs were also unable to perform magic, but they were in a unique position, as they were born into wizarding families, which gave them the option to choose between living in the wizarding world like a second-class citizen, or living in the Muggle world while concealing everything they knew about magic.
As per the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, wizards and witches must constantly hide their magic abilities from the Muggle world, and thus most Muggles were unaware that magic existed.
"Elf magic isn't like wizard's magic, is it?"
— Ron Weasley contrasts different types of magic
Ancient cultures
Like the human race itself, magic was supposed to have originated in Africa. Wizards and witches were known to society at large and were held in awe and high esteem due to their unique powers. Ancient Egyptian wizards placed curses to protect their tombs from plunderers. Ancient Indian wizards created the Snake Summons Spell. The wand was invented in Europe during the B.C. era. Dark Magic was practised and evident in ancient Greece, with Herpo the Foul being infamous for pioneering a multitude of forbidden practices, including creating the first known Basilisk, as well as the first known Horcrux.
Circa 1000 AD
By about the 10th century in Europe, non-magical people slowly became more wary of witches and wizards due to their unique gift. Sensing the growing distrust, four of the greatest British witches and wizards of the age founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. One of the founders, Salazar Slytherin, built the Chamber of Secrets after his belief that only pure-blood wizards should be allowed into Hogwarts was dismissed. While this idea was considered radical at the time and dismissed, the separation of the two cultures continued and grew over the next 700 years.
11th–13th century
During this time, the magical population was governed by the Wizard's Council (sometimes referred to as the Warlock's Council). As their relationship with Muggles strained, witches and wizards began to fraternise with their own kin and grow closer with each other. The Triwizard Tournament and Quidditch became national and international events. Quidditch became such a huge part of wizarding culture that Quidditch World Cup were frequenlty held and attended by thousands.
"There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words."
— Learning the difficulty in spell-casting
Spells were the every-purpose tools of a wizard or witch; short bursts of magic used to accomplish single specialised tasks such as opening locks or creating fire. Spells were divided into rough categories, such as "charms", "curses", "hexes", or "jinxes". Typically casting required an incantation, most often in a modified form of Latin and gesturing with a wand in the case of humans. However, these seemed to be aids to the will only; wands merely focused a person's magic. It was evidently also possible to use a wand without holding it. Harry himself performed Lumos to light his wand when it was lying on the ground somewhere near him. Additionally, Animagi and Metamorphagi did not need wands to undergo their transformations.
A wand focused magic to such a significant degree, that the vast majority of witches and wizards were often powerless without one. However, one could do magic without a wand, though it was often unfocused and uncontrolled. Still, few wizards could perform directed magic without a wand if they had enough skill and power, but it was still more difficult and tiring. A wizard or witch was at their best when using their own wand: when using another's, one's spells were not as strong as they normally would be, as dictated by the laws of wandlore.
Spells could be cast non-verbally, but again, most still required a wand for this. This technique was taught in the sixth year of study at Hogwarts and required the caster to concentrate on the incantation. While most magic required the caster to use their voice, some such as Levicorpus did not, which were apparently designed to be used non-verbally. This might depend on the witch or wizard.
Some very skilled and powerful wizards and witches could use magic both wandlessly and wordlessly. Dumbledore had been known to do impressive feats of magic without speaking, such as conjuring enough squashy purple sleeping bags to accommodate the entire student population, or his attacks during his duel with Voldemort in the Atrium.
"No spell can reawaken the dead."
— The limits of magic and its application
While it was possible to conjure things out of nothing and duplicate items, it was far more tricky to create something that fit an exact specification rather than a general one. Moreover, a magically imitated object would never be as "real" as the genuine one, with duplicated food being less fulfilling than the real thing, and conjured creatures only demonstrating surface-level behaviour. Furthermore, magically imitated objects tended not to be as resistant to deterioration as the natural ones, being prone to breaking, cracking, melting, rusting, and other forms of breakdown.
It was almost impossible to make oneself truly immortal, only to extend one's lifespan using powerful magical means, such as with the Philosopher's Stone Creating at least one Horcrux was said to grant the person immortality, as a part of their soul was Earth-bound. However, it was considered the vilest of acts. Becoming a ghost was another option for wizards and witches; but it was said that this was "a pale imitation of life". Whether or not they were truly sentient beings of independent existence is unclear; as Severus Snape stated that a ghost was merely "the imprint of a departed soul left upon the earth".
Likewise, it was impossible to resurrect the dead. While corpses could be transformed into obedient Inferi on a living wizard's command, they were little more than zombies with no soul or will of their own. It was also possible via the rare Priori Incantatem effect to converse with ghost-like "shadows" of magically murdered people. The Resurrection Stone allowed one to talk to the dead, but those brought back by the Stone were not corporeal, nor did they wish to be disturbed from their peaceful rest. The result of such a summoning was usually detrimental to the summoner.
Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration
Emotions
"Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen." — The relationship between emotion and magic A witch or wizard's emotional state could affect their inherent abilities. For instance, an agent of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force was said to have been able to produce better results with their Inn Charm after they channelled the goodwill they received from inn-keepers they met on their travels into their spell-casting, and Gareth Greengrass, a senior researcher in the Department of Mysteries, at one point documented over seven hundred instances of spells being cast in anger, and found that they were all more powerful than even the casters themselves had thought themselves capable of producing. On the flip side, however, Nymphadora Tonks temporarily lost her power as a Metamorphmagus after suffering severe emotional turmoil and sadness over her grief for the death of Sirius Black, and when Remus Lupin would not return her affections, to the point of going on lethal mission to avoid contact. In effect, the form of her Patronus changed to a wolf (which matched the form of his) to reflect her love for Lupin. Similarly, the magical abilities of Merope Gaunt was greatly hampered by and only truly flourished once she was free from her father's oppression. Albus Dumbledore also noted that it was possible for a witch or wizard to be sapped of their magical power altogether if undergoing profound levels of despair. Wizardkind were also weakened when in the presence of Dementors for prolonged periods, as said creatures attacked their prey psychologically by making them recall their worst memories. This in turn left the victims physically vulnerable. Dementors sucked the happiness out of any one in their presence, making it hard to preform magic, as casting spells required a certain level of emotional stability. This was one of the reasons the Patronus Charm was considered such advanced magic. Several spells involved the use of emotion when casting them. The Patronus Charm required the caster to concentrate on a happy memory. Force of will under extenuating circumstances also helped in casting spells, and affected the force with which they were cast. An example of this was when Harry was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus when Sirius Black was in danger of being administered the Dementor's Kiss. Another example of magic and emotions was when Ron Weasley caused it to snow above him with his wand when he felt guilt over breaking up with Lavender Brown without using any worded spells. Many other examples of emotion-influenced magic included Ariana Dumbledore (Dumbledore's sister) being emotionally scarred at a young age and then her magic turned volatile and uncontrolled. In addition, Harry magically inflated his Aunt Marge wandlessly and nonverbally, out of sheer anger when she disrespected his parents by calling his father a drunk.
Death
Voldemort: "There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" Albus Dumbledore: "You are quite wrong. Indeed, your failure to understand there are much worse things than death has always been your weakness." — Discussion of the nature of death The phenomenon of death was studied in detail in a room (called the Death Chamber) of the Department of Mysteries containing an enigmatic veil. Sirius Black fell through this veil after he was hit with a spell from Bellatrix Lestrange and died. There were a few magical techniques that had been used to extend life. The Philosopher's Stone could be used to prepare a potion that postponed death for the rest of eternity, so long as the potion was drunk on a regular basis. Voldemort had availed himself of other methods, being one of the few wizards ever to use Horcruxes in his long sought attempt to "conquer death", and was believed to be the only one to use multiple Horcruxes. Legend held that if one were to possess the three Deathly Hallows, these tools would enable the possessor to become the "master of death". However, being a true "master of death" meant being willing to accept that death was inevitable. In addition, the drinking of unicorn blood would keep a person alive even if death was imminent, but at the terrible price of being cursed forever. Being magical could contribute to one's longevity, as there were several people who were quite long-lived (such as Albus Dumbledore, Bathilda Bagshot, and Griselda Marchbanks, who was an invigilator during Albus Dumbledore's O.W.L examinations). This could mainly be attributed to the speed and effectiveness of magical healing, such as potions that cured many sicknesses and ailments including the common cold, spells for instantaneous, scarless healing, and transportation to hospitals being a matter of a few seconds and a side-along apparator or a handful of Floo Powder. It was revealed by Nearly Headless Nick in 1995 that all witches and wizards had the choice of becoming ghosts when they passed away. The alternative was "passing on". Nick said that he became a ghost because he was foolish, "afraid of death". All Hogwarts headmasters appeared in a portrait when they died, allowing consultation by future generations. Dumbledore said that there was no spell that could truly bring the dead back to life; however, several cases of dead people becoming half-alive were known. Because of a connection between Harry and Voldemort's wands (Priori Incantatem), images of Voldemort's recent victims appeared and helped Harry escape during their duel in 1995. According to Harry, they seemed too solid to be ghosts. While wizards could linger as ghosts or animate dead bodies as the Inferi or Charmed skeletons, no magic was capable of bringing a dead person back to full and true life. The closest possibility was via the Resurrection Stone.
"The finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world."
— Rubeus Hagrid praising Hogwarts
It should be noted that, whilst the ability to perform magic usually revealed itself by age seven, there were exceptions when individuals remained mundane until quite late in life when — in extremely desperate circumstances — they suddenly revealed their magical capacity. However, such "late-bloomers" were rare, possibly more so than Squibs. For a person's ability to perform magic to be useful, a good deal of training was required to acquire the correct discipline. When "wild", typically with young and untrained children, magic would manifest itself subconsciously in moments of strong apprehension, fear or anger. A powerful or intelligent wizard or witch could direct this force in less random ways, like Lily Evans and Tom Riddle.
As magic was what governed the wizarding world, there were many people who made it their business to study the magical arts, as well as magic being taught to young witches and wizards. Main fields of magical study taught at the magical school of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were: Arithmancy, Charms, Dark Arts, Divination, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration.
Wands
Most human magic was done using a wand. The wand served as a tool to focus and control the magical energy of the spell. It was possible to cast spells without using a wand, but for most wizards results were unfocused. Wands were created from wood with some magical substance at its heart.
Broomsticks
Brooms were magical mode of transportation in the wizarding world. They were also used in the wizarding sport Quidditch. There were several different types of broomsticks, such the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt. Both of the mentioned broom were international standard. Broomsticks were also the worst kept wizarding secret.
Deathly Hallows
They were three items: the Elder Wand, Cloak of Invisibility, and Resurrection Stone. They were considered to be a great wizarding secret, and possession of all three was reputed to make the owner the Master of Death. The only known Masters of Death were Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter.
The wizarding society existed as a shadow society to the Muggle world and worked as hard as it could to keep its existence a secret, save for all but a few Muggles, those of whom included those who were related to witches and wizards, or important Muggles such as the Prime Minister. Most things of magical nature were hidden or otherwise obscured from Muggles; others (such as Dementors) simply couldn't be seen by them, but Muggles did feel the effects of them. There was also an office in the British Ministry of Magic for the misuse of Muggle artefacts that dealt with people charming objects typically found in a Muggle society.
The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was established in 1689 by the International Confederation of Wizards to safeguard wizards from persecution at the hands of Muggles. To most magical people, the Muggle world was unknown and their attempts to disguise themselves as Muggles often had mostly humourous results. Muggle Studies at Hogwarts was considered a soft option.
Aug 3, 2018 · Dumbledore’s Army in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Photo: Harry Potter Wikia. With the 40 students in Harry’s year (5 of whom are non-white), that places the white population at 90% and the non-white population at 10%, which is actually almost double the proportion of non-white people in Britain at the time.
This is my ranking of the 25 most important essential or main characters in Harry Potter. This ranking is solely based on tje 7 original books. Movies and Cursed Child are not on consideration. Harry Potter. Lord Voldemort. Ron Weasley. Hermione Granger. Severus Snape. Albus Dumbledore.
Jun 25, 2019 · The main law of magic in the wizarding world is the obvious one: don’t perform it in front of the Muggles! It’s sad that things came to this, but the International Statute of Secrecy is steeped in a chequered history - with events such as the Salem Witch Trials and various other hostile acts leading to this golden rule being decreed in 1692.
Harry and the Other 77. reader who is asked to condemn the racism of the wizarding world—not. only the distinction between “Mudbloods” and “pure bloods” voiced by. its more extreme ...
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Historical Context of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry Potter is set in Britain in the 1990s, and some academics have argued that the wizarding society in Harry Potter reflects some of the issues pulsing through Britain at the time. For instance, Lana A. Whited writes about the legacy of a racial and class caste system found in ...
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