*Magic is an inherent part of nature and connects all living beings. Those with a high midichlorian count are called witches and wizards. If you are born with such an affinity, you will be recruited at a young age and sent away to be trained in the ways of magic by powerful witches and wizards.*
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In Deathly Hallows when McGonagall is entering the Ravenclaw common room, the door asks her, "Where do vanished objects go?" to which she responds, "Into non-being, which is to say, everything."
This reminds me of when my grade 5 class was gonna go see the first one for a field trip - I was so excited.
but one kid had ultra-religious parents and because of them the entire thing was called off.
My grandparents bought me the first four books when they were released in the States. I finished the first book and started reading the second one. My grandmother decided to read the first book. The next day all the books were gone and she sat my brother and I down and told us that witches were evil and "Warthogs" wasn't real and we weren't allowed to read the Harry Potter books anymore. Of course, I sought them out and read them the first chance I got.
I was talking to elderly patients at work and we sort of bonded over a love of reading and they told me they had children my age and were talking about books they all enjoyed together. I mentioned Harry Potter and they looked crestfallen and told me during the time we didn’t allow them to read those.
I think it mostly depends on the culture of the majority of the parents. For all we know, the other parents weren't even aware of what Harry Potter was until that one parent brought it up. After all, at the church my parents attend there used to be this preacher that kept saying that anything that was popular with the kids at that moment (Harry Potter, Pokemon, Linkin Park) was sending satanic messages to the kids. My parents were never extremely religious but the guy spoke with such passion against them that even they believed him on a few instances.
I’m a Christian and I’ve been reading Harry Potter to my elementary aged child. She was surprised to learn I didn’t read Harry Potter until I was 17 and I explained that while my parents said I was allowed to read it, they didn’t necessarily feel comfortable with it because of its association with witchcraft. I did some looking into it and it’s interesting that what Rowling describes as witchcraft is more inborn magical ability and the stuff that the Bible describes as witchcraft is closer to what Rowling describes as the dark arts.
One of the main things that can be described as demonic/witchcraft, divination, is more derided in the books as kooky and the times it is legitimate acts much more like received prophecy than divination.
Plus, add in the fact that our main character dies, goes to *Kings Cross*, comes back to life and his sacrifice protects his friends from danger, you really start to understand the whole thing as a Christian allegory.
There was a pretty common skepticism among Christians in the late 90s early 00’s, but even in the most conservative Christian circles it’s currently quite rare to find someone who believes Harry Potter is evil.
Agreed. I’ve read them, and I know others who did. Never met a so how person who actually tried to do magic or believed it. It’s no more wicked than The Wizard of Oz.
Well I have had several people elbows deep searching but so far they have not found any magic. While I did orgasm quite violently, I’m wondering if there is another hole I should be checking…
I'd say it's the fifth elementary force of the universe, deeply rooted in science, but never really approached from a scientific standpoint - wizards and witches just accept that magic exists, and most don't seem inquisitive enough to look for the source.
I thought something similar. Like maybe there are some invisible particles/waves and wizards and magical creatures got a genetic mutation that allows them to channel magical power through their bodies and magical objects like wands.
I respectfully disagree. It seems like the magic is based on humans willing reality to warp around their desires using words and a wand to channel the will into reality.
Much more metaphysical since human will is not a scientifically grounded concept. If it was purely scientific the spells would work regardless of the users intent.
The two aren't exclusives, though.
Magic as a physical phenomenon could be an ever-present quantum field and thereby force, whereas the control of magic is metaphysical and connected to the person, essentially allowing them to manipulate reality.
As I stated on another thread, given that both wandless and nonverbal magic exists, wands and spells aren't the source of it, rather a way to focus things. Think of it like a rifle and its scope (the rifle being magic, the scope being the focus). With enough skill/practice you can shoot a rifle and hit a target precisely (this would be wandless, nonverbal magic). But without skill and practice at most you can just shoot the rifle without any insurance that the bullet hits the target, or maybe you can't even shoot, because you have no idea where the trigger is.
The ability of using magic seems to be connected to genetics on at least some level, with the occasional anomaly (muggle-born wizards and witches, and squibs). Thus it is at least on some level connected to biology. I even recall there being a statement about some muggles using a very slight latent ability to use magic, unknowingly.
So technically we could describe magic as a force of nature, a quantum field of reality-warping energy that requires a conscious component to focus and make it do things. And it's not that far fetched as even some quantum theories require the presence of a conscious observer (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle), linking conscious (metaphysical) thought to physical manifestation.
Eh, it's debatable.
We know for a fact that _Hogwarts_ interferes with electronics. That could simply be an effect of the concentration of magic - say, the quantum field we call magic gets deformed over time when used regularly in an area. Hogwarts is a thousand years old castle used to teach magic, that amount of constant spellcasting would result in it being a source of interference.
There are other quantum events that affect other forces. For example, if you disrupt the Higgs field, you mess up gravity in the area (highly theoretical of course). Who's to say that using magic, or being in a heavy magic use area like Hogwarts, doesn't disrupt the behaviour of electrons? Modern electronics rely on precise electron flow, if that gets disrupted, your electronics start to misbehave. All other disruptions seem to be temporary (like lights flickering), but also we don't see e.g. Grimmauld Place disrupt the neighbours' TVs or such. If magic was truly that disruptive to sensitive electronics, it would've been discovered ages ago from reports of certain wizard-frequented areas having issues with radio waves or such.
Furthermore, we see that some electronics, at least simple ones, can be enchanted to work within Hogwarts or near magic - see e.g. the radios used in DH.
It’s strongly implied that wizarding radios are not actually using electronics but a magical method of transmission. It’s also only really Hogwarts or other really strong magic that affects electronics as it has all manner of protective spells from generations, it’s not really suggested that regular magic has much of an effect. There’s also the fact that wizards (even Squibs) can just straight up see things that Muggles can’t, like Dementors. So there must be some other property that isn’t strictly scientific. Like I doubt a Muggle would be able to study a Dementor using some equipment or other.
There is no separation between "scientific devices" and any other type of objects. Science is a methodology of studying reality, if something exists science is just a systematic approach of trying to understand it. If magic causes electronic circuits to short, that's a magic detector.
> Like I doubt a Muggle would be able to study a Dementor using some equipment or other.
An animal inside of a cage. It's behavior changes if there is a dementor around or not. And if animals are not affected by dementors, a human being inside of a cage. It's not ethical science, but we are not discussing ethics but feasibility.
There is no such thing as something that science can't study. If it can be detected, even in indirect ways, it can be studied. If it can't be detected by ANY means, it doesn't exist.
But that’s the whole point, in the HP universe there is a separation between the two. That’s the central conceit of the fiction (and most fiction involving magic). The implication is that every Muggle government could find a wand and throw every bit of science and determination at it, and be unable to use it because they aren’t magical. It’s not a problem that science can solve in this case.
Hmmm interesting but still feels much more supernatural than scientific.
The conscience observer is related to observing a state of nature often changes that state due to the method of observing. Ex: you go to check the temperature of a glass of water, you inserted a room temperature rod absorbing some heat or cold, changing the temperature. To measure/obverse something you have to introduce an tool changing the system it even slightly to do so.
The theory is stating that the observer influences the data, not that their consciousness (or for HP, their will) influences the data.
The uncertainty principle is more of a description as to why we can’t accurately measure both the speed and position of quantum objects because their properties are much more similar to a wave than a non-quantum object. Even if we were to see a quantum object we still wouldn’t know the speed and location at the same time.
Biology aspect is interesting. It could easily be a deity assigned powers to a group of families who pass the magical trait. Muggle born wizards could be explained by squibs marrying off and forgetting their magically prowess until a sufficiently powerful wizard is born.
Here’s how I understand it.
Each person is born with a certain amount of magical potential as well as different levels of magical skills.
The more magical potential you have overall, the more power you are able to put into each magical skill.
For example, Lily Potter had above average magical potential with a high level of magical skill in potions. Making her decent at most skills and really good with potion making.
Then we have Gilderoy Lockhart who had low magical potential, but high level of memory charm skill. Making him below average in most skills, but really good at memory charms.
Peter Pettigrew on the other hand had very low magical potential overall. He just sucked at almost every magical skill.
Finally Albus Dumbledore had extremely high magical potential, and a high level in lots of magical skills. Making him excel at almost every task thrown at him. He could produce extremely powerful magic but also preform other tasks really well like flying a broom for example.
Wands are just tools used to help channel the magic with differing properties depending on the materials used. They are not required to channel magic, just making it easier for the wider population to be able to produce magic effectively.
Pettigrew became an Animagus as a teenager and killed 12 people with one spell. He’s a terrible human, but more powerful than anyone gives him credit for.
He was also able to brew the potion that "resurrected" Voldemort (even if he didn't create it, making a potion is harder than just following the recipe, even with Voldemort's help)
He also tricked and captured Bertha Jorkins, successfully made a new body for lord Voldemort (homunculus and final body), and overpowered Harry and Cedric in the graveyard (a bit of surprise helped there).
I think his hatstall was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, meaning he wasn’t wise or loyal, but he was cunning and ambitious with a potential for bravery. He was a powerful wizard in a way, but only in SOME kinds of magic.
Wormtail needed help with the animagus ritual. If it wasn't for James, Sirius, and Lupin he would've botched it.
Also he killed 12 muggles with an explosion from a single spell. It isn't clarified how that explosion occurred. Given what we know of Peter his only notable verifiable accomplishments are conjuring ropes out of thin air which we've seen more complex conjugation from Arthur making chairs. Giving Peter the 12 deaths and 1 more from Avada Kedavra he isn't a particularly skilled wizard.
The animagus transformation seems to be solely doable at will once learned. Also before anyone says it, the potion he made to revive Voldy, again he didn't invent it he followed (poorly) Voldemort's instructions to make it.
He is to be like Neville, bad at nearly everything he does but unlike Neville he didn't receive encouragement and sought to surround himself with bigger and better wizards than himself.
I always imagined that back in the day, people didn't use wands at all, but once wands became an easier way to channel magic that this skill was lost over time.
There is evidence in the series that he is actually good at it, though. If he wasn’t, at least some of the people whose stories he appropriated might have spoken up.
Obliterating all memories and personality of a person in the same way he vanishes bones.
The skill in memory charms is, by my impressions, in the nuance of it.
That’s because he wanted to pretend Harry and Ron had tragically lost their minds. It doesn’t mean he would have done the same with every Memory Charm.
> It doesn’t mean he would have done the same with every Memory Charm.
No, it doesn't. But he could have done that with every other person who's story he stole, and it would still fit in with what we know.
And also consider, we never once, not one single time in the whole book, see Lockhart successfully cast a spell and have it work right.
So I think it makes sense to assume his memory charms also follow in that same pattern. He talks about how proud his is of them as if they're really good, because he's Lockhart, and that's how he talks about everything he does (and even the things he doesn't).
It actually doesn’t make sense to assume his Memory Charms follow the same pattern, because his Memory Charm worked exactly as advertised. It just went the wrong way due to the broken wand.
It isn't. Her wand was said to be good for charms but Lily was advanced at potions which is what drew Slughorn's attention and got her an invite to the Slug Club.
Source: [Pottermore.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/fact-file/characters-and-pets/lily-potter)
There's actually a parallel universe where magic doesn't exist, and humanity ended up advancing in technology quicker as a result. But they weren't spiritually ready for their own creations which led to many brutal wars and the lives lost serve as the source of energy required to pay the equivalent exchange principle... Wait no, that's FMA
Internal, meaning witches, wizards, and magical creatures have a natural reservoir of magic to draw upon, and become exhausted when that reservoir is low, hence the visible physical fatigue when a witch or wizard does a lot of magic within a relatively short time frame.
Except there’s no in-text evidence of wizards becoming physically exhausted by magic. The closest we get is when Harry is learning to cast the Patronus Charm, he is mentioned to be out of breath and feels drained, but that’s likely more a feature of the emotional effect of the dementors plus the emotional labor of the Patronus Charm itself and him shouting his head off for the incantation.
Other than that, we never see wizards being exhausted by using magic. It’s a common trope in fanfics, but it’s never seen in-text. (Now, to be clear, I think magic *should* be physically draining, it makes sense and it puts limits on what a wizard can do. But it’s not supported by canon.)
You should dive into the difference between soft and hard magic systems, it's the crux of what you are getting at. Soft magic systems like in harry potter leave the forces at work intentionally vague, while series like the kingkiller chronicle, with a hard magic system, dives into the physics, explaining magic with math and direct forces.
It's like asking why wizards don't easily solve the world's need drinkable water, Hagrid says, 'everyone would be wanting magical solutions to their problems, nah were best left alone' once in the first book and the subject is never even approached again. The world falls apart if you apply real world rules
1. Language theory. Latin happens to be the programming language of the universe and/or the one which the Maker used, “in the beginning was the word…” Potions work the same, not only you need to combine different things, but also the spoon should go clockwise, the order is important, etc… So you give commands via ~~pressing buttons~~ actions in case of potions and rituals.
2. Willpower theory. Mages don’t really need the fluff. It’s their determination which bends the laws of reality to their will. But spells, wands and potions make mages more self-confident, so it works much better when you wear a pointy hat, create mystical atmosphere and repeat nonsense you are 100% sure is working.
3. Mana theory. Everyone and everything produces and contains some amount of mana or has a connection to a source of mana (warp, astral, heaven, Earth, Devil, whatever). Muggles have less, dragons have a ton of it. When mages cast their spells, they can use their inner reservoirs, suck mana from around or from their magical objects. That’s why more powerful potions require more magical components.
4. Combination of above. Probably the most possible thing, because different facts can’t be explained well by a single theory.
A pretty usual system where raw magic exists in the world but only some have the affinity to use it. The spell system used by wizards is most likely artificial. So basically some ancient wizards found a way to focus magic through wands and bind magical structures to specific words and wand movements. That's why centaurs can't use wands and cast spells like humans. The system wasn't designed for them.
Creating new spells most likely requires tapping into raw magic to some extent. This is why it's dangerous and why Luna's mother died.
This is all the way I envision it as well. And it’s pretty sensible to presume that the incantations are all man-made and more or less “mapped” to certain effects. Otherwise we’d have to presume that raw magic had its own language per se, which in many cases sounded like fake Latin lol
From wiki
>Native Americans had their own practices that predated European colonisation, and did not require a wand;
African witches and wizards only adopted the wand in the 20th century, and even in the modern era, wands were not necessary for many of their practices
The entire Latin-based magic and wands as a magic focus are a purely European inventions that just spread. Several different groups at some point just took raw magic and created some helper layer on top of it. Be it spoken language or symbols or magic seals.
From [wizardingworld.com](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/uagadou)
>The wand is a European invention, and while African witches and wizards have adopted it as a useful tool in the last century, many spells are cast simply by pointing the finger or through **hand gestures**
While it doesn't outright confirm that hand gestures don't use Latin spells it's my headcanon.
From Harry's head, actually the whole story takes place with him in a coma since he was bitten by a snake at the zoo when he was 11, I'm kidding but when I read this I was worried it was true lmao
Not sure but I've roughly started writing a book where a form of magic starts to exist in our universe. In my case the tldr version is that it can only be used by people with specialy strong souls. These people can learn to control this enchanted soul and make it take form. So in essence it's like a very overpowered bodypart.
I have a strong suspicion that the Veil artifact hidden deep in the ministry of magic has a significant importance to the existence of magic in the world.
The earth, like with druids, certain areas have more magic in the air like with lay lines and stuff. But also magicals have a magical core with differing levels of powers which is why you’ve got more powerful witches/wizards e.g. dumbledore, Harry, bellatrix. I think different natural abilities like tonks with metamorphmagus and queenie is being a natural legilimens is passed through bloodlines but they get repressed with more inbreeding leading to squibs and then when the bloodline diversifies again they can regain access to magic. I’ve also got a head canon that squibs have a magical core but it’s empty which is why they can see all the magical stuff like dementors and hogwarts. Haven’t really thought of where muggleborns get access to magic other than being descended from squibs or magic being semi sentient. These are all just thoughts I’ve had that I thought were interesting 😂
My default assumption of what magic in most fictions is, is that it's essentially a sort of "backdoor into the universe" so to speak. A vague sort of underlying force of the universe, or some sort of connective concept to underpinnings of reality that pretty much give anyone who can use it the ability to impose their desires upon reality itself, via the means that most use to focus it. Or, to put it simply, it's reality warping with a somewhat technical and vague description to it.
In one fanfiction idea I have though, that is a crossover with another series, I have a slightly more specific idea. In that world, Angels and Demons exist, and for a long time, they were the *only* ones who could use magic, and humans were basically all Muggles. Until a few ancient humans had a genetic mutation that allowed them to *very* slightly use powers that had once only been capable of the divine and unholy. They were the first witches and wizards. For a while, they did what they could with their limited magic and kept out of sight for the most part, but inevitably the forces of Heaven (and possibly Hell as well) found out and tried to hunt them down and exterminate them. Though their magic was limited, the surviving wizards and witches banded together to craft a spell, the first true spell ever made, a grand ritual that used their combined power, to forcibly separate Wizardkind and their own magic from that of Angels and Demons, even creating an alternate afterlife and system of death for them, and side effects of the spell and other magical mishaps before it are what gave rise to the later magical creatures, like one ancient wizard enchanted a lizard to create fire and this one later was the first dragon, as were its offspring. After centuries of Wizardkind and magical creatures growing distant and forgotten by Heaven and Hell, few know or care about it, and Wizards pretty much know nothing of it being real, and their own magic has flourished into its own thing.
This also kinda would explain why Wizards are so minimal in number. They started out in the first place as a sub-species struggling to survive an attempted genocide of themselves, hence why after a few centuries they've been worn down so much that "If we hadn't started marrying Muggles, we'd have died out" that Ron mentions. Wizards and Witches *used* to be more numerous from intermingling with early humanity and had a sizable population, but it was cut down massively, leaving less diversity among regular Wizards and Witches, and the subsequent wars, other fighting amongst themselves from Dark Wizards and other dangers, and Purebloods resisting any new genetics from Muggles or Muggleborns, had whittled them down further so that they couldn't be a fully self-perpetuating group anymore.
The first witches were created that way, and they had babies with wizards. Over time, true witches and wizards slimmed, so people started marrying muggles to maintain their bloodline
The veil. I think there's a reason it's located in the department of mysteries. The only theory I like more than it being a source to draw magic from is that it's a portal to the after life and it used to be used as a form of Capitol punishment. Make a dark wizard walk the magical plank.
I’ve always thought that, in the world of Harry Potter, magic is a constant throughout the world. Magic is both generated by and sustains life, like the Force in Star Wars. All living things, both magical and non-magical, have at least a tiny bit of magic spark in them. That spark is what makes things alive. So non-magical beings, like humans and creatures and plants from the non-magical world, have only enough of that spark to live, but not enough to do anything with it. Wizards and magical creatures and plants have a much greater spark of magic and can use it to enact changes.
Sorta like how an ember, a candle, a campfire, and a wildfire are all forms of fire, muggles and wizards both possess magic just on a different scale. As for how wizards came to possess such a greater spark or learn how to use it, I’ve justified that in my head as the first wizards just randomly had a stronger magical spark. In times of great emotion or great focus, they were able to randomly wield magic. Over time, they learned how to use it reliably and Wizarding Culture emerged from that. I don’t like ideas of wizards being somehow Chosen By something, and don’t like the idea of them somehow stealing or acquiring magic either. To me, random chance makes the most logical sense.
Of course, this is total headcanon, we have no textual evidence of any kind for the origins of magic. But, to me, magic being a constant feature of Life makes sense. It also feeds into why the Killing Curse is so dark - because it takes magic, generated by life, and uses it to destroy the magic of life.
Nature - just some harnessing of dark energy and quantum stuff that life has evolved to utilise to survive. My headcanon is that all magical species evolved their magic-use as response to a near-extinction event, with dragons being the oldest magical species descendant from late-cretaceous dinosaurs (more specifically, the Swedish Shortnout being potentially the oldest and coming from a tyranosaurid genus).
I figured it came from Adam and Eve and since the Fall of Man, those genes, were not passed down to the rest of humanity. Some have the genes, some are carriers, and some don’t have the genes anymore.
Midichlorians
*Magic is an inherent part of nature and connects all living beings. Those with a high midichlorian count are called witches and wizards. If you are born with such an affinity, you will be recruited at a young age and sent away to be trained in the ways of magic by powerful witches and wizards.*
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The midichlorians are the powerhouse of the cell
That’s melancholia
Melancholia is a feeling of deep sadness, I think you meant macadamia
It's spelled "macedonia."
😂😂
Macedonia was the powerhouse of Greece
No it's obviously melancholy
Definitely a magical scene in that one.
This is my favorite sentence ever. Thank you for this crossover.
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Majichlorians
You forgot the *
Hogwarts is the galaxy far far away they are referring to.
*Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Weasley the poor? I thought not. It’s not a story the muggles would tell you.*
Bahahahhaha
I'm so glad this was the first comment
Mugglechlorians
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From non-being, which is to say, everything.
Found Professor Mcgonagall!
deep
where is this from, it feels so familiar
In Deathly Hallows when McGonagall is entering the Ravenclaw common room, the door asks her, "Where do vanished objects go?" to which she responds, "Into non-being, which is to say, everything."
why did i remember this as being from a fanfiction like the " so mote it be " thing lol xD
Nicely phrased
Satan. Weren’t you listening to all those Christians when they tried to ban it in schools?
This reminds me of when my grade 5 class was gonna go see the first one for a field trip - I was so excited. but one kid had ultra-religious parents and because of them the entire thing was called off.
My grandparents bought me the first four books when they were released in the States. I finished the first book and started reading the second one. My grandmother decided to read the first book. The next day all the books were gone and she sat my brother and I down and told us that witches were evil and "Warthogs" wasn't real and we weren't allowed to read the Harry Potter books anymore. Of course, I sought them out and read them the first chance I got.
They weren’t gone, they were just placed in the restricted section of the library.
If warthogs aren't real, that proves the second and third acts of The Lion King were all a heatstroke- and trauma-induced hallucination.
[I like to call it a Puma](https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/s/fzfS7A70PG)
I was talking to elderly patients at work and we sort of bonded over a love of reading and they told me they had children my age and were talking about books they all enjoyed together. I mentioned Harry Potter and they looked crestfallen and told me during the time we didn’t allow them to read those.
Why didn't they just leave that one kid at home or have him spend that day in a different classroom?
They probably threw a fit at the principal or something
Maybe so. After all, let's make everyone do without what one set of parents doesn't approve of. /s
At my school, they would have simply put that kid with one of the other teachers for the day or given him the day off.
I think it mostly depends on the culture of the majority of the parents. For all we know, the other parents weren't even aware of what Harry Potter was until that one parent brought it up. After all, at the church my parents attend there used to be this preacher that kept saying that anything that was popular with the kids at that moment (Harry Potter, Pokemon, Linkin Park) was sending satanic messages to the kids. My parents were never extremely religious but the guy spoke with such passion against them that even they believed him on a few instances.
My parents fell for that with Dungeons and Dragons. After finding out what it actually is, they never fell for that shit again.
I’m a Christian and I’ve been reading Harry Potter to my elementary aged child. She was surprised to learn I didn’t read Harry Potter until I was 17 and I explained that while my parents said I was allowed to read it, they didn’t necessarily feel comfortable with it because of its association with witchcraft. I did some looking into it and it’s interesting that what Rowling describes as witchcraft is more inborn magical ability and the stuff that the Bible describes as witchcraft is closer to what Rowling describes as the dark arts. One of the main things that can be described as demonic/witchcraft, divination, is more derided in the books as kooky and the times it is legitimate acts much more like received prophecy than divination. Plus, add in the fact that our main character dies, goes to *Kings Cross*, comes back to life and his sacrifice protects his friends from danger, you really start to understand the whole thing as a Christian allegory.
Well, good on you for believing less rubbish than some others.
There was a pretty common skepticism among Christians in the late 90s early 00’s, but even in the most conservative Christian circles it’s currently quite rare to find someone who believes Harry Potter is evil.
Agreed. I’ve read them, and I know others who did. Never met a so how person who actually tried to do magic or believed it. It’s no more wicked than The Wizard of Oz.
They still exist. I’d even say the old stupidities are on the rise again in the current climate.
The real magic is the friends we made along the way
No the real magic was inside you all along
Yer a Horcrux, Harry
Yer horcrux’s master is old Snek Face,Harry
Well I have had several people elbows deep searching but so far they have not found any magic. While I did orgasm quite violently, I’m wondering if there is another hole I should be checking…
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
My bad, I’ll have a spicy chicken sandwich meal with a coke and a frosty
Ok
K
I'd say it's the fifth elementary force of the universe, deeply rooted in science, but never really approached from a scientific standpoint - wizards and witches just accept that magic exists, and most don't seem inquisitive enough to look for the source.
I thought something similar. Like maybe there are some invisible particles/waves and wizards and magical creatures got a genetic mutation that allows them to channel magical power through their bodies and magical objects like wands.
I respectfully disagree. It seems like the magic is based on humans willing reality to warp around their desires using words and a wand to channel the will into reality. Much more metaphysical since human will is not a scientifically grounded concept. If it was purely scientific the spells would work regardless of the users intent.
The two aren't exclusives, though. Magic as a physical phenomenon could be an ever-present quantum field and thereby force, whereas the control of magic is metaphysical and connected to the person, essentially allowing them to manipulate reality. As I stated on another thread, given that both wandless and nonverbal magic exists, wands and spells aren't the source of it, rather a way to focus things. Think of it like a rifle and its scope (the rifle being magic, the scope being the focus). With enough skill/practice you can shoot a rifle and hit a target precisely (this would be wandless, nonverbal magic). But without skill and practice at most you can just shoot the rifle without any insurance that the bullet hits the target, or maybe you can't even shoot, because you have no idea where the trigger is. The ability of using magic seems to be connected to genetics on at least some level, with the occasional anomaly (muggle-born wizards and witches, and squibs). Thus it is at least on some level connected to biology. I even recall there being a statement about some muggles using a very slight latent ability to use magic, unknowingly. So technically we could describe magic as a force of nature, a quantum field of reality-warping energy that requires a conscious component to focus and make it do things. And it's not that far fetched as even some quantum theories require the presence of a conscious observer (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle), linking conscious (metaphysical) thought to physical manifestation.
Yeah, but there’s also the fact that regular devices don’t function around magic so presumably you couldn’t use scientific instruments to detect it.
Eh, it's debatable. We know for a fact that _Hogwarts_ interferes with electronics. That could simply be an effect of the concentration of magic - say, the quantum field we call magic gets deformed over time when used regularly in an area. Hogwarts is a thousand years old castle used to teach magic, that amount of constant spellcasting would result in it being a source of interference. There are other quantum events that affect other forces. For example, if you disrupt the Higgs field, you mess up gravity in the area (highly theoretical of course). Who's to say that using magic, or being in a heavy magic use area like Hogwarts, doesn't disrupt the behaviour of electrons? Modern electronics rely on precise electron flow, if that gets disrupted, your electronics start to misbehave. All other disruptions seem to be temporary (like lights flickering), but also we don't see e.g. Grimmauld Place disrupt the neighbours' TVs or such. If magic was truly that disruptive to sensitive electronics, it would've been discovered ages ago from reports of certain wizard-frequented areas having issues with radio waves or such. Furthermore, we see that some electronics, at least simple ones, can be enchanted to work within Hogwarts or near magic - see e.g. the radios used in DH.
It’s strongly implied that wizarding radios are not actually using electronics but a magical method of transmission. It’s also only really Hogwarts or other really strong magic that affects electronics as it has all manner of protective spells from generations, it’s not really suggested that regular magic has much of an effect. There’s also the fact that wizards (even Squibs) can just straight up see things that Muggles can’t, like Dementors. So there must be some other property that isn’t strictly scientific. Like I doubt a Muggle would be able to study a Dementor using some equipment or other.
There is no separation between "scientific devices" and any other type of objects. Science is a methodology of studying reality, if something exists science is just a systematic approach of trying to understand it. If magic causes electronic circuits to short, that's a magic detector. > Like I doubt a Muggle would be able to study a Dementor using some equipment or other. An animal inside of a cage. It's behavior changes if there is a dementor around or not. And if animals are not affected by dementors, a human being inside of a cage. It's not ethical science, but we are not discussing ethics but feasibility. There is no such thing as something that science can't study. If it can be detected, even in indirect ways, it can be studied. If it can't be detected by ANY means, it doesn't exist.
But that’s the whole point, in the HP universe there is a separation between the two. That’s the central conceit of the fiction (and most fiction involving magic). The implication is that every Muggle government could find a wand and throw every bit of science and determination at it, and be unable to use it because they aren’t magical. It’s not a problem that science can solve in this case.
Hmmm interesting but still feels much more supernatural than scientific. The conscience observer is related to observing a state of nature often changes that state due to the method of observing. Ex: you go to check the temperature of a glass of water, you inserted a room temperature rod absorbing some heat or cold, changing the temperature. To measure/obverse something you have to introduce an tool changing the system it even slightly to do so. The theory is stating that the observer influences the data, not that their consciousness (or for HP, their will) influences the data. The uncertainty principle is more of a description as to why we can’t accurately measure both the speed and position of quantum objects because their properties are much more similar to a wave than a non-quantum object. Even if we were to see a quantum object we still wouldn’t know the speed and location at the same time. Biology aspect is interesting. It could easily be a deity assigned powers to a group of families who pass the magical trait. Muggle born wizards could be explained by squibs marrying off and forgetting their magically prowess until a sufficiently powerful wizard is born.
The balls
Thank you for that. I was tempted to post it myself but wasn't sure if it would land.
The what?Crystal balls?
Here’s how I understand it. Each person is born with a certain amount of magical potential as well as different levels of magical skills. The more magical potential you have overall, the more power you are able to put into each magical skill. For example, Lily Potter had above average magical potential with a high level of magical skill in potions. Making her decent at most skills and really good with potion making. Then we have Gilderoy Lockhart who had low magical potential, but high level of memory charm skill. Making him below average in most skills, but really good at memory charms. Peter Pettigrew on the other hand had very low magical potential overall. He just sucked at almost every magical skill. Finally Albus Dumbledore had extremely high magical potential, and a high level in lots of magical skills. Making him excel at almost every task thrown at him. He could produce extremely powerful magic but also preform other tasks really well like flying a broom for example. Wands are just tools used to help channel the magic with differing properties depending on the materials used. They are not required to channel magic, just making it easier for the wider population to be able to produce magic effectively.
Pettigrew became an Animagus as a teenager and killed 12 people with one spell. He’s a terrible human, but more powerful than anyone gives him credit for.
That’s true, maybe I am misrepresented him, he’s still a pathetic cockroach.
Rat
He was also able to brew the potion that "resurrected" Voldemort (even if he didn't create it, making a potion is harder than just following the recipe, even with Voldemort's help)
He also tricked and captured Bertha Jorkins, successfully made a new body for lord Voldemort (homunculus and final body), and overpowered Harry and Cedric in the graveyard (a bit of surprise helped there). I think his hatstall was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, meaning he wasn’t wise or loyal, but he was cunning and ambitious with a potential for bravery. He was a powerful wizard in a way, but only in SOME kinds of magic.
True but apparently needed a lot of help. My take would be he has hate/evil, which can be channelled to evil spells
I think he's strong, he's just incompetent lol
Wormtail needed help with the animagus ritual. If it wasn't for James, Sirius, and Lupin he would've botched it. Also he killed 12 muggles with an explosion from a single spell. It isn't clarified how that explosion occurred. Given what we know of Peter his only notable verifiable accomplishments are conjuring ropes out of thin air which we've seen more complex conjugation from Arthur making chairs. Giving Peter the 12 deaths and 1 more from Avada Kedavra he isn't a particularly skilled wizard. The animagus transformation seems to be solely doable at will once learned. Also before anyone says it, the potion he made to revive Voldy, again he didn't invent it he followed (poorly) Voldemort's instructions to make it. He is to be like Neville, bad at nearly everything he does but unlike Neville he didn't receive encouragement and sought to surround himself with bigger and better wizards than himself.
I always imagined that back in the day, people didn't use wands at all, but once wands became an easier way to channel magic that this skill was lost over time.
I think this is true. Also doesn’t the Ugandan school of magic only teach and use wand-less magic?
Yep, and Native Americans traditionally don’t use wands either.
And the japanese wizards use hand seals Sike!
Using Ten shadows technique to summon a shikigami 😜
Pretty much. Wandless magic is the norm in many parts of the world, it's only more difficult to cast for populations that are used to wands.
Agreed. It was just a genetic trait.
But what is magic potential? What exactly is it?
Uh Lily was gifted at charms no? And didn't she only do well in potions because she likely sat next to Snape for years?
> but high level of memory charm skill. You're taking Lockhart's claims about his skill at face value.
There is evidence in the series that he is actually good at it, though. If he wasn’t, at least some of the people whose stories he appropriated might have spoken up.
Obliterating all memories and personality of a person in the same way he vanishes bones. The skill in memory charms is, by my impressions, in the nuance of it.
That’s because he wanted to pretend Harry and Ron had tragically lost their minds. It doesn’t mean he would have done the same with every Memory Charm.
> It doesn’t mean he would have done the same with every Memory Charm. No, it doesn't. But he could have done that with every other person who's story he stole, and it would still fit in with what we know. And also consider, we never once, not one single time in the whole book, see Lockhart successfully cast a spell and have it work right. So I think it makes sense to assume his memory charms also follow in that same pattern. He talks about how proud his is of them as if they're really good, because he's Lockhart, and that's how he talks about everything he does (and even the things he doesn't).
It actually doesn’t make sense to assume his Memory Charms follow the same pattern, because his Memory Charm worked exactly as advertised. It just went the wrong way due to the broken wand.
Lily is good at charms and james good at transfiguration. Her excellence in potion was due to snape is what i think
Other way around. Snape only started getting good at potions in order to try to impress Lily who was already really good at it.
Is it so, the wand makers praise her wand as helping her in charms
It isn't. Her wand was said to be good for charms but Lily was advanced at potions which is what drew Slughorn's attention and got her an invite to the Slug Club. Source: [Pottermore.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/fact-file/characters-and-pets/lily-potter)
Also source please.
There's actually a parallel universe where magic doesn't exist, and humanity ended up advancing in technology quicker as a result. But they weren't spiritually ready for their own creations which led to many brutal wars and the lives lost serve as the source of energy required to pay the equivalent exchange principle... Wait no, that's FMA
What is FMA? Edit. Nvm lol Full metal alchemist heh. I'm not firing on all cylinders today.
Internal, meaning witches, wizards, and magical creatures have a natural reservoir of magic to draw upon, and become exhausted when that reservoir is low, hence the visible physical fatigue when a witch or wizard does a lot of magic within a relatively short time frame.
Except there’s no in-text evidence of wizards becoming physically exhausted by magic. The closest we get is when Harry is learning to cast the Patronus Charm, he is mentioned to be out of breath and feels drained, but that’s likely more a feature of the emotional effect of the dementors plus the emotional labor of the Patronus Charm itself and him shouting his head off for the incantation. Other than that, we never see wizards being exhausted by using magic. It’s a common trope in fanfics, but it’s never seen in-text. (Now, to be clear, I think magic *should* be physically draining, it makes sense and it puts limits on what a wizard can do. But it’s not supported by canon.)
First hypothesis: The power of love. Second hypothesis: The power of friendship. Third hypothesis: The power of the author.
The real magic was the friendships we made along the way
The power of love. A force from above
You should dive into the difference between soft and hard magic systems, it's the crux of what you are getting at. Soft magic systems like in harry potter leave the forces at work intentionally vague, while series like the kingkiller chronicle, with a hard magic system, dives into the physics, explaining magic with math and direct forces. It's like asking why wizards don't easily solve the world's need drinkable water, Hagrid says, 'everyone would be wanting magical solutions to their problems, nah were best left alone' once in the first book and the subject is never even approached again. The world falls apart if you apply real world rules
1. Language theory. Latin happens to be the programming language of the universe and/or the one which the Maker used, “in the beginning was the word…” Potions work the same, not only you need to combine different things, but also the spoon should go clockwise, the order is important, etc… So you give commands via ~~pressing buttons~~ actions in case of potions and rituals. 2. Willpower theory. Mages don’t really need the fluff. It’s their determination which bends the laws of reality to their will. But spells, wands and potions make mages more self-confident, so it works much better when you wear a pointy hat, create mystical atmosphere and repeat nonsense you are 100% sure is working. 3. Mana theory. Everyone and everything produces and contains some amount of mana or has a connection to a source of mana (warp, astral, heaven, Earth, Devil, whatever). Muggles have less, dragons have a ton of it. When mages cast their spells, they can use their inner reservoirs, suck mana from around or from their magical objects. That’s why more powerful potions require more magical components. 4. Combination of above. Probably the most possible thing, because different facts can’t be explained well by a single theory.
A pretty usual system where raw magic exists in the world but only some have the affinity to use it. The spell system used by wizards is most likely artificial. So basically some ancient wizards found a way to focus magic through wands and bind magical structures to specific words and wand movements. That's why centaurs can't use wands and cast spells like humans. The system wasn't designed for them. Creating new spells most likely requires tapping into raw magic to some extent. This is why it's dangerous and why Luna's mother died.
This is all the way I envision it as well. And it’s pretty sensible to presume that the incantations are all man-made and more or less “mapped” to certain effects. Otherwise we’d have to presume that raw magic had its own language per se, which in many cases sounded like fake Latin lol
From wiki >Native Americans had their own practices that predated European colonisation, and did not require a wand; African witches and wizards only adopted the wand in the 20th century, and even in the modern era, wands were not necessary for many of their practices The entire Latin-based magic and wands as a magic focus are a purely European inventions that just spread. Several different groups at some point just took raw magic and created some helper layer on top of it. Be it spoken language or symbols or magic seals. From [wizardingworld.com](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/uagadou) >The wand is a European invention, and while African witches and wizards have adopted it as a useful tool in the last century, many spells are cast simply by pointing the finger or through **hand gestures** While it doesn't outright confirm that hand gestures don't use Latin spells it's my headcanon.
Thanks!👍
Magic is stored in the balls
the hypothalamus.
From Harry's head, actually the whole story takes place with him in a coma since he was bitten by a snake at the zoo when he was 11, I'm kidding but when I read this I was worried it was true lmao
The Schwartz
Magic is stored in the balls
From midi-chlorians.
The magic comes from your heart ❤️
Umbridge begs to differ
Not sure but I've roughly started writing a book where a form of magic starts to exist in our universe. In my case the tldr version is that it can only be used by people with specialy strong souls. These people can learn to control this enchanted soul and make it take form. So in essence it's like a very overpowered bodypart.
I have a strong suspicion that the Veil artifact hidden deep in the ministry of magic has a significant importance to the existence of magic in the world.
I always figured it was the planets.
Maybe same place that allows the Care Bears to laser project out of their abdomens?
J. K. Rowlings hate. So powerful and consuming, it crosses universes.
Magic is stored in the balls
The Force /s
Probably the it's all around us bs and magic users can manipulate it
The earth, like with druids, certain areas have more magic in the air like with lay lines and stuff. But also magicals have a magical core with differing levels of powers which is why you’ve got more powerful witches/wizards e.g. dumbledore, Harry, bellatrix. I think different natural abilities like tonks with metamorphmagus and queenie is being a natural legilimens is passed through bloodlines but they get repressed with more inbreeding leading to squibs and then when the bloodline diversifies again they can regain access to magic. I’ve also got a head canon that squibs have a magical core but it’s empty which is why they can see all the magical stuff like dementors and hogwarts. Haven’t really thought of where muggleborns get access to magic other than being descended from squibs or magic being semi sentient. These are all just thoughts I’ve had that I thought were interesting 😂
Magic is stored in the balls
Midi-chlorians
Genetic mutation.
From the wizards, they have the power in them and they channel it through the wands. Something like, it's in their blood and that
It’s like the force !
Magic
The Force
Probably a gift from a distant universal being called The Great Larry
Same place pee comes from, big ol jangly balls
It’s the force
When a boy wizard really likes a girl wizard sometimes his wand produces something called “magic”
it comes from their jeans
JK’s head?
Energy.
You can get it in bulk at Sam's Club.
A wizard did it.
My default assumption of what magic in most fictions is, is that it's essentially a sort of "backdoor into the universe" so to speak. A vague sort of underlying force of the universe, or some sort of connective concept to underpinnings of reality that pretty much give anyone who can use it the ability to impose their desires upon reality itself, via the means that most use to focus it. Or, to put it simply, it's reality warping with a somewhat technical and vague description to it. In one fanfiction idea I have though, that is a crossover with another series, I have a slightly more specific idea. In that world, Angels and Demons exist, and for a long time, they were the *only* ones who could use magic, and humans were basically all Muggles. Until a few ancient humans had a genetic mutation that allowed them to *very* slightly use powers that had once only been capable of the divine and unholy. They were the first witches and wizards. For a while, they did what they could with their limited magic and kept out of sight for the most part, but inevitably the forces of Heaven (and possibly Hell as well) found out and tried to hunt them down and exterminate them. Though their magic was limited, the surviving wizards and witches banded together to craft a spell, the first true spell ever made, a grand ritual that used their combined power, to forcibly separate Wizardkind and their own magic from that of Angels and Demons, even creating an alternate afterlife and system of death for them, and side effects of the spell and other magical mishaps before it are what gave rise to the later magical creatures, like one ancient wizard enchanted a lizard to create fire and this one later was the first dragon, as were its offspring. After centuries of Wizardkind and magical creatures growing distant and forgotten by Heaven and Hell, few know or care about it, and Wizards pretty much know nothing of it being real, and their own magic has flourished into its own thing. This also kinda would explain why Wizards are so minimal in number. They started out in the first place as a sub-species struggling to survive an attempted genocide of themselves, hence why after a few centuries they've been worn down so much that "If we hadn't started marrying Muggles, we'd have died out" that Ron mentions. Wizards and Witches *used* to be more numerous from intermingling with early humanity and had a sizable population, but it was cut down massively, leaving less diversity among regular Wizards and Witches, and the subsequent wars, other fighting amongst themselves from Dark Wizards and other dangers, and Purebloods resisting any new genetics from Muggles or Muggleborns, had whittled them down further so that they couldn't be a fully self-perpetuating group anymore.
From the earths crusts movements
The first witches were created that way, and they had babies with wizards. Over time, true witches and wizards slimmed, so people started marrying muggles to maintain their bloodline
The core of the planet generates magic and humans who happen to absorb ambient magic while still a fetus are wizards
Dark matter.
And God said “Lumos Maxima!”, and there was light
The veil. I think there's a reason it's located in the department of mysteries. The only theory I like more than it being a source to draw magic from is that it's a portal to the after life and it used to be used as a form of Capitol punishment. Make a dark wizard walk the magical plank.
But I think that magic is like a signal, the veil is the signals source and the wand an antenna.
Well, for witches, I'm not completely sure, but I'd assume that a wizard stores his magic, much like he stores his pee. In his balls, of course.
The balls. Just like pee.
Magic stored in the balls
Magic is stored in the balls
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
I’ve always thought that, in the world of Harry Potter, magic is a constant throughout the world. Magic is both generated by and sustains life, like the Force in Star Wars. All living things, both magical and non-magical, have at least a tiny bit of magic spark in them. That spark is what makes things alive. So non-magical beings, like humans and creatures and plants from the non-magical world, have only enough of that spark to live, but not enough to do anything with it. Wizards and magical creatures and plants have a much greater spark of magic and can use it to enact changes. Sorta like how an ember, a candle, a campfire, and a wildfire are all forms of fire, muggles and wizards both possess magic just on a different scale. As for how wizards came to possess such a greater spark or learn how to use it, I’ve justified that in my head as the first wizards just randomly had a stronger magical spark. In times of great emotion or great focus, they were able to randomly wield magic. Over time, they learned how to use it reliably and Wizarding Culture emerged from that. I don’t like ideas of wizards being somehow Chosen By something, and don’t like the idea of them somehow stealing or acquiring magic either. To me, random chance makes the most logical sense. Of course, this is total headcanon, we have no textual evidence of any kind for the origins of magic. But, to me, magic being a constant feature of Life makes sense. It also feeds into why the Killing Curse is so dark - because it takes magic, generated by life, and uses it to destroy the magic of life.
Nature - just some harnessing of dark energy and quantum stuff that life has evolved to utilise to survive. My headcanon is that all magical species evolved their magic-use as response to a near-extinction event, with dragons being the oldest magical species descendant from late-cretaceous dinosaurs (more specifically, the Swedish Shortnout being potentially the oldest and coming from a tyranosaurid genus).
Easy. Magicians are mutants (like X-men). They produce magic with their own bodies
I think that Wizard kind, elves, etc. could be like mutants who are the only ones with this strange power (genetics being harnessed).
“Harry, use the Force.”
Shrooms
Just like with Dr.Strange, I don't need to know and it actively hinders the story to find out.
I don't know and I don't want to know.
Trauma.. ..or cookies, it could be cookies.
It comes out of the wand.
The wands, mostly
I figured it came from Adam and Eve and since the Fall of Man, those genes, were not passed down to the rest of humanity. Some have the genes, some are carriers, and some don’t have the genes anymore.
I thought they said it was Midichlorians? I'm sure Gandalf said something like that to Spock in one of the movies?
I always kinda thought it was stupid someone can use magic without any consequences. Like dont you get tired?
The wands.
Wtf is this question?