Magic in Harry Potter

In the fictional universe of Harry Potter, magic is depicted as a supernatural force that overrides the laws of nature. In humans, magical ability is inborn and is usually inherited. Most children of magical parents are magical themselves. These are called Half-Bloods/Purebloods and are common. Some children of "Muggle" (non-magical) parents also display magical abilities. These are called Muggleborns and these are uncommon. Children who are born to wizard parents but cannot perform magic are called Squibs although these are very rare. Known Squibs in Harry Potter are Mrs Figg and Argus Filch.

J. K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, based many magical elements in her fictional universe on real-world mythology and folklore. She has described this derivation as "a way of giving texture to the world". The magic of Harry Potter was the subject of a 2017 British Library exhibition and an accompanying documentary. The exhibition, entitled Harry Potter: A History of Magic, was the first at the British Library to be based on a single series by a living author.

Using magic

Wizards must learn how to control their magic. In young and untrained children, magical effects will occur spontaneously during moments of strong emotion. In the novels, almost all intentional magic is performed with a wand.

Spells are the every-purpose tools of a wizard. They are generally short bursts of magic used to accomplish a specialised task, such as creating fire or unlocking a door. Casting a spell usually requires the movement of a wand and the uttering of an incantation. The language of the incantations in the Harry Potter novels has been described as modified Latin. Although wizards in the novels almost always use a wand for casting spells, Rowling has used the Wizarding World website to describe certain wizarding cultures that practise magic without a wand. While most spells depicted in the books require the caster to use their voice, some do not.

The limits of magic

Before publishing the first Harry Potter novel, Rowling spent five years establishing the limitations of magic – determining what it can and cannot do. "The most important thing to decide when you're creating a fantasy world," she said in 2000, "is what the characters can't do." In the novels, the character Hermione Granger explains that food cannot be conjured out of thin air. Wizards can prepare it using magic and even multiply it, but they cannot create it. According to Rowling, money also cannot be conjured from nothing.

Death

In Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbledore tells Harry that magic cannot truly and permanently bring dead individuals back to life. However, there are methods of communicating with the dead in a limited way. For example, all Hogwarts headmasters appear in a magical portrait when they die, which allows future generations to consult with them. However, the portrait is a reflection of who the wizard was, and is not a link to their spirit. The Resurrection Stone allows the bearer to speak with the dead, but it cannot bring the dead back into the living world.

Likewise, it is not possible to make oneself immortal unless one uses an object of great power to sustain life, such as the Philosopher's Stone or a Horcrux. If one were to possess the three Deathly Hallows, it is fabled that they would possess the tools to become the "master of death". Other methods of extending life include drinking unicorn blood, which will keep a person alive even if death is imminent, but at the price of being cursed forever. Being magical can contribute to one's longevity, as there are several characters in the series who are unusually long-lived. It is revealed by Nearly Headless Nick in the fifth novel that all wizards have the choice of becoming ghosts upon dying; however, it is described as "a pale imitation of life". Rowling has stated that death is the most important theme in the novels.

Magical abilities

Animagus

An animagus is a wizard who can turn into a particular animal at will. This ability is acquired by magical means. By law, all British animagi must register with the Ministry of Magic. During the course of the series, several unregistered animagi are depicted, including James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Rita Skeeter. Minerva McGonagall is a registered animagus who takes the form of a domestic cat. A wizard's animagus form is determined by their personality.

Apparition

Apparition is a magical form of teleportation, by which a wizard can disappear ("disapparate") from one location and reappear ("apparate") in another. According to Harry, apparition feels like being squeezed through a tight rubber tube, and Dumbledore explains to him that most students vomit their first time apparating. A wizard must be at least 17 years old to apparate, and students at Hogwarts may take Apparition lessons during their sixth year. Wizards without an Apparition licence can use "side-along apparition" to travel with someone who does.

Apparition is considered unreliable over long distances, and even experienced practitioners sometimes prefer other means of transport. Rowling has stated that cross-continental apparition "would almost certainly result in severe injury or death."

Magical devices such as the Floo Network, Portkeys and Vanishing Cabinets also provide forms of teleportation.

Parselmouth

Parseltongue is the language of snakes. Those who can speak parseltongue are called parselmouths. The ability is rare, and the only parselmouths mentioned in the novels are Harry Potter, Salazar Slytherin, and Slytherin's descendants (which includes Voldemort). Rowling said she derived the term "parselmouth" from "an old word for someone who has a problem with the mouth, like a hare lip".

Dark Arts

The Dark Arts are magical spells and practices that are usually used for malicious purposes. Practitioners of the Dark Arts are referred to as Dark wizards. Two prominent Dark wizards are Grindelwald and Voldemort. Voldemort's followers are called Death Eaters. The type of spells characteristic of the Dark Arts are known as curses, which usually cause harm to the target.

In the wizarding world, use of the Dark Arts is strongly stigmatised, and certain spells are illegal. Hogwarts and other schools instruct students in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Some schools, such as Durmstrang, teach Dark magic. While Hogwarts is under Death Eaters' control, a Dark Arts class is taught.

Unforgivable Curses

Three "Unforgivable Curses" are introduced in Harry Potter, which are punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban prison. These are the "Killing Curse" (avada kedavra) causing immediate death, the "Cruciatus Curse" (crucio) causing intense pain, and the "Imperius Curse" (imperio) used for mind control or hypnosis.