Questions tagged [magic]
For questions referring to powers obtained by supernatural or spiritual means outside of science or technology. Can also be used to signify that the question contains magical elements when asking in relation to an identification question: [story-identification], [episode-identification], [character-identification] and [object-identification].
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Can wizards create their own spells?
In the Harry Potter series, are wizards capable of creating their own spells, or are they limited to the spells that they're taught/learn? I seem to remember something about Snape creating ...
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Rich Wizards, Poor Muggles
Why, oh why, don't the Weasleys "conjure" up some diamonds/gold/etc, sell 'em to Muggles, and get rich? They could buy a mansion (like the Malfoys), and live there happily ever after.
I know there's ...
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Are there any spells that a wizard/witch can cast without a wand in the Harry Potter universe?
In the beginning of the series, it's mentioned that Muggle-born wizards/witches are identified due to inadvertent spell-casting. However, it seems like later in the book, disarmed wizards/witches are ...
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How do Muggle-borns end up with magical ability?
Inheriting the magical blood down the line, via a wizard father or a witch mother is understandable in case of Half-Bloods.
I am wondering as to how Muggle-borns end up with magical ability?
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People can transfer physical and/or mental abilities to another person through magic
I read a fantasy novel years back. I honestly don't remember much of the plot (it was SEVERAL years back) but I remember the magic system that was used.
It was possible for an individual to grant ...
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What Are the Other Four Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?
In reading Why does the Aguamenti spell work? question, Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration came up in DVK's answer.
‘It’s quite straightforward, really,’ said Neville modestly. ‘I’d been in ...
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Why were there so many spells cast in the movies without saying the words to the spell?
From my memory of the last Harry Potter movie I saw, I've seen many wizards cast spells without saying the spell at all. During the final battle in Hogwarts, many wizards just swung their wands and ...
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Is a spell forever?
Looking at the questions and answer to these two questions. Why is the Burrow so cramped on the inside? & Why are there "dilapidated" buildings in Harry Potter? and neither mentions the ...
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Why does Harry Potter wear glasses?
Is there some in-Universe (or somewhat canonical) explanation for why Harry wears glasses - either 100% of the time, or at least, when playing Quiddich?
Surely, given assorted spells, there should be ...
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Manga about a member of the hero's party who dies of old age, and is reincarnated hundreds of years later
I am looking for an isekai manga I read some time ago. An old man who was one of the party members in the hero's party dies due to old age. He gets reincarnated after 300 or some years after, I am not ...
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Book about mages who can harvest magical energy from the environment
I have a vague recollection of a book I devoured while in college; it was from the late 80's or early 90's. I remember that there were two 'classes' of mages, the ones who could harvest magical energy ...
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Magic is based on words of power, which series?
I read a book of this series probably around 2000. I think the series was quite new then but not sure.
The main thing I remember about it is that magic is based on words of power. If you knew one ...
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YA book about a young powerful female caster attending a school that trains in magical arts and duels
I read a young adult novel around the turn of the century. This story features a young female protagonist that is very naturally gifted in magic. She is attending a wizarding school to learn mastery ...
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What book has a man in a world on the brink of an ice age with a wizard mentor?
I'm trying to find the title of an old fantasy book I read at least 20 years ago, but I have very little to help identify it.
Obviously I don't remember the author name, I think it was written in the ...
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Could the Horcruxes be destroyed with Avada Kedavra?
In The Deathly Hallows Hermione says this about destroying Horcruxes:
“It doesn’t have to be a basilisk fang,” said Hermione patiently.
“It has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can’...
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Why can't you just duplicate money in the Harry Potter universe?
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione duplicated a locket using the Geminio charm. Why couldn't someone use the Geminio charm to duplicate money? Or do they have seals on them like muggle ...
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Why didn't Dumbledore Apparate?
In the movie, unlike the book, Harry and Dumbledore Disapparate from the Astronomy Tower. "Being me has its privileges," Dumbledore said. When they returned from the cave and Draco disarmed Dumbledore ...
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Book about a boy who travels to a parallel universe to get a book
I can't remember the gender of the main character.
I remember bits and pieces from different books, but I think they're all part of the same series. The pieces may not be in order or from multiple ...
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Fantasy Book Series; Boy trained by wizard in a tower
I am looking for a fantasy book:
What I vaguely recall is:
A boy is sick with the root cause being magic within himself. He is semi-cured by someone and is told he needs to train with the wizards in ...
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Why did it seem like only Voldemort and Snape could fly?
In the seven books, flying is an ability we only see from Voldemort and Snape. Why is that so? and How do they do that?
Moreover, why couldn't anyone in the Order of Phoenix fly?
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Why does Hermione say she hadn't used a memory charm before?
After the wedding, Hermione has to use a memory charm on two Death Eaters, where she states that she has never done it before, but she knows the theory. However, she states that before she left on her ...
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Was Voldemort a Better Wizard Than Dumbledore?
Pursuant to Why Could Young Tom Riddle Do Wandless Magic, I have a somewhat related question.
The majority of Harry Potter readers automatically assume that Dumbledore must be a better wizard than ...
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Why did Harry's father emerge before his mother in HP and the Goblet of Fire?
In Harry Potter book 4 (Goblet of Fire) Harry's wand 'links' with Voldemort's during their duel, and Voldemort's wand begins 'spitting out' each spell it had cast, in reverse order. This produces ...
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Book about a famous wizard before he was famous
I read at least two books in this series, within the last 10 years.
A scribe finds the famous wizard in an inn somewhere living in hiding and can't believe his luck in finding the famous wizard. He ...
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Can anyone identify this 90s teen-fantasy series, gems in backbone, big magic, evil king?
I've been trying to find this darn series of books for ages, I read them back in early 2001-02 and can't really remember much of them. I think there were 10-ish books, it was an easy read but a long ...
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What are the limits of the Room of Requirement?
Can the Room of Requirement provide anything if needed? For example:
James Potter wanted to hide from Voldemort, it would have served as a perfect hiding place.
Harry Potter wanted all the Hocruxes, ...
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6
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Can the Elves do magic?
It's mentioned many times throughout Tolkien's work that the Elves (High Elves mostly) are in some way more powerful than Men. We hear many times, for example, that Rivendell and Lórien are mostly ...
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If Diary Tom Riddle Had Succeeded, How Would He Have Strengthened the Present Day Voldemort?
Specifically, if diary Tom Riddle had succeeded, how would he have strengthened the present day Voldemort?
In If diary Tom Riddle had succeeded, would there have been two Voldemorts?, @...
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Urban Fantasy novel: magic, the internet, and laptop trolls
I recall being somewhat impressed by a novel I read a few years back – this book may be less than five years old – which featured a college-aged man. He had a laptop which transformed into a troll ...
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Aside from the Force, is there magic in Star Wars?
Is there any sort of magic, besides the Force, existing in the Star Wars universe?
What triggered me to ask this question were the Nightsisters. The Wookieepedia article refers to their powers as "...
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What Is the History of the Unforgivable Curses?
What is the history of the Unforgivable curses?
‘Now ... those three curses – Avada Kedavra, Imperius and Cruciatus – are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow ...
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YA novel series involving "magical" student warrior
I think this was more of a fantasy series, though it was more subtle than The Lord of the Rings IIRC. Set in modern times - though there was some alternate realm thing that was less modern I think.
...
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Why aren't Muggles extinct?
One of the basic premises of the Potterverse is that Muggles are much, much more common than wizards. This is what in part necessitates the need for the Wizarding world to hide itself away because, ...
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What objects can be used as wand substitutes?
We know that wizards need a wand to focus their magic (wizards can cast spells without a wand, but they are unfocused and weaker). But some wizards aren't known to carry wands. Instead they carry ...
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What's the Difference Between a Charm, an Enchantment, a Spell, and a Curse?
From a recent question, I know a curse is intended to harm people, and I think a charm is an object with a special power, but I also think I remember the word having a different meaning in Harry ...
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Precisely How Does the Fidelius Charm Work?
I've read J.K. Rowling's website and FAQ. I've read every interview with her that I know of. I've read all the books many, many times. I've read the HP Wikia, the Lexicon, essays, fan fiction, and ...
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Man can do magic by writing spells on the inside of his mind
I'm trying to identify a fantasy fiction (possibly epic fantasy) book I read several years ago, although I'm sure it was out well before then. It may or may not be in a series, but it was a decently ...
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How does Compounding work?
In The Alloy of Law, Miles Hundred-Lives is a double gold twinborn.
This means he can burn gold to see visions of his possible alternative past, (Allomancy) and tap/fill gold to retrieve/store health ...
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Fantasy book with shape shifting dragon warriors
Set in a fantasy world with shape shifting Dragon kings and their warriors. They terrorize the humans, and kill those with magic.
The protagonist is the great-grandson of a powerful warlock. He ...
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A cynical demon writing annotations into the book for puny human readers
One of the first series I've ever read was about a young boy who was learning to become a mage. In this world it was possible to summon demons of different categories, ranging from small and not very ...
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Was Harry Potter killed and then brought back to life?
In the last movie, Harry was struck by the Avada Kedavra spell cast by Voldemort. Really, he should be dead. But obviously he was not dead because when Narcissa Malfoy (Draco's mother) asked about the ...
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Why did Dumbledore contemplate discontinuing Divination at Hogwarts?
In Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore tells Harry
'I did,' said Dumbledore. 'On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head inn. I had gone there to see an applicant ...
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How did Voldemort get his body back?
In the first book it seems that Voldemort has been reduced to nothing but a ghostly wisp. But IIRC by the fourth book he somehow has a body that is carried around by Wormtail. In the first book he ...
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Magic and Men in Lord of the Rings
In both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, it is suggested that
men can learn to use magic. Quotes demonstrating this follow:
(from The Lord of the Rings):
The Lieutenant of the Tower of ...
user20895
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Book with a main character who uses bells to dispel the dead
I'm trying to remember a book set in an alternate England with a walled-off section that contains undead and other magical phenomenons, which can be controlled and dispelled by playing special musical ...
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The rules of Transfiguration: examples of making the inedible edible?
Information from the official website of J.K.Rowling is generally considered canon. I remember at least one case when she 'changed her mind' after a particular rule has been published on her website (...
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What book features dragons, song-driven magic, and talking otters?
Read these books when I was a youth and loved them. I haven't been able to remember what they were at all for years.
The details I do remember are this:
They had talking Otters who raised the main ...
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Can a Squib Own a Wand?
KWIKSPELL
A Correspondence Course in
Beginners’ Magic
Intrigued, Harry flicked the envelope open and pulled out the sheaf of parchment inside. More curly silver writing on the front page said:
...
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Suicide by balefire
In the Wheel of Time series, is it possible to commit suicide by balefire, or would the time-erasing properties of balefire undo your suicide, leaving you alive?
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Do offensive spells and similar "missile" spells have range?
A lot of the spells in Harry Potter, including just about every offensive one like Stupefy are what I would call "missile" spells (if there's a better term for it, please tell me). That is, they ...
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