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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17
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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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10
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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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9
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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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2
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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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8
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Why do wizards use such ineffective spells during serious situations in Harry Potter?
In Harry Potter, we can see many wizards in many really important situations/fights using very ineffective spells, and so later on they pay the price for that (e.g. somebody uses expelliarmus, but ...
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10
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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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6
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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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1
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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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13
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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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How could Ron possibly believe that "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow..." is a real spell?
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, George convinces Ron that the following nonsensical poem is a spell:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
But Ron ...
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49
votes
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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6
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Why did the Potters use Peter as a secret-keeper?
It was said in Prisoner of Azkaban that the Potters used Peter instead of Sirius as a Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm on their house because everyone would have expected them to use Sirius and so ...
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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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Was Ron's failed Transfiguration actually his fault?
In Chamber of Secrets, during one of the gang's Transfiguration classes, Ron is asked to demonstrate a spell on his pet, Scabbers, that is supposed to turn animals into fancy goblets.
Figure 2-1: ...
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7
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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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6
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In The Battle of Hogwarts, why didn't the Mandrakes do more damage?
In the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville tells Harry about a plan:
'Mandrakes!' Neville bellowed at Harry over his shoulder as he ran. 'Going to lob them over the walls - they won't like this!'
Harry ...
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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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Do the Kwikspell courses work?
In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again).
We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail.
The descriptions of Kwikspell ...
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8
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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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In Harry Potter, is it only children who can do 'instinctive magic'?
Before coming to Hogwarts, many child witches and wizards display some sort of latent magical ability, by performing magic instinctively: e.g. Harry making his hair grow incredibly fast or making a ...
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1
answer
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Origin of genies (from lamps) having a three wish limit?
In the original 1001 Nights (a.k.a. Arabian Nights) story "Aladdin" the titular character gets a lamp that contains a magical being called a "genie" that grants wishes. This is fairly common knowledge ...
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Did Hermione invent the Four-Point Spell herself?
Leading on from the question Did Harry Potter ever invent any spells?
specifically Himarm's answer and the comment thread underneath it, I
would like to ask:
Did Hermione invent the Four-Point Spell ...
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6
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Why didn't Cinderella's shoe vanish?
Everything Cinderella got by magic would last until 12 midnight. After she noticed that it was almost 12, she dropped the dance with prince and ran away (and lost one of her shoes at the palace).
At ...
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1
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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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2
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Is the Magic School Bus actually magic?
Is The Magic School Bus, of the The Magic School Bus franchise, actually magic? On one hand, it's called magic and does many things that science probably can't achieve. On the other hand, it is only ...
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A witch, a vampire and a pixie meet in a bar and talk about tomatoes eradicating humanity
I remember reading a series of books that took place in the Unites States in our time, but some 50 years ago or so there was a problem with genetically modified tomatoes eradicating most of humanity -...
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6
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Terry Pratchett's Discworld: is there an inconsistency in the treatment of magic?
In The Colour of Magic, we learn that:
"Can't tell you. Don't really want to talk about it. But frankly," he
sighed , "no spells are much good. It takes three months to commit
even a simple one ...
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6
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Why do acts of "accidental" magic only seem to happen around Muggles?
There are several times in the books (and movies) where it is either mentioned or depicted that magical people, in moments of stress, are capable of accidentally causing magic to happen. The biggest ...
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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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Using Taboo with Unforgivable Curses
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort and his Death Eaters used the Taboo curse with Voldemort's name, making the word "Voldemort" taboo. Whenever someone speaks a word that is taboo, the ...
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Invisibility Cloak - overrated much?
Why was a simple magical object like an Invisibility Cloak put with two other great magical objects like the Elder Wand, and the Resurrection Stone?
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Why didn't Umbridge use legilimency against Harry?
In the Order of the Phoenix, we see Dumbledore wants Harry to take extra lessons to learn Occlumency as a counter to Voldemort invading his mind, indicating that it is not something taught regularly ...
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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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Did Harry Potter ever invent any spells?
Many of the greatest wizards in the Harry Potter universe invented their own spells.
Dumbledore, acknowledged as one of the greatest wizards of the age:
"Examined him myself in Transfiguration and ...
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1
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Manga about a female worker who got dragged into another world together with this high school girl and she was just told she's not needed anymore
My phone broke and all the data is gone so I am looking for this manga. I can't remember the title but I remember the entire story.
Its description was it's all about this female worker with glasses ...
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Can someone under an Imperius Curse know what is happening?
If someone is put under an Imperius Curse, are they unaware for the duration - essentially unconscious while their body is under another's control? Or can they possibly remain conscious, able to ...
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How does the magic in "Liar Liar" work?
In Liar Liar, Jim Carrey gains the superpower of not being able to lie for 24 hours. Wikipedia defines lying as
... a statement used intentionally for the purpose of deception.
The practice of ...
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How common are magic rings?
In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Gandalf informs Bilbo that he knew he found a magic ring some time ago. Does Gandalf presume this is one of the 20 rings of power, or just some other ...
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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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4
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Why has so much magical knowledge been lost since ancient times?
In the Harry Potter universe, the most powerful magical artifacts or spells all seem to be very old, while there seems to be no more powerful works of magic being created in modern times.
For example:...
user32390
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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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4
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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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Spell casting in the Harry Potter series
In the Harry Potter universe, magically inclined children are sent to school where they start learning how to cast spells and other magic related activities. It's clearly shown that the children have ...
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Was Salazar Slytherin's whole "Don't teach muggle-born" idea less-than-brilliant?
Leaving aside ethical and moral considerations, the whole policy of Salazar Slytherin's "we should not teach muggle-born magic-capable children" seems to be completely counter-productive to the whole "...
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3
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In Harry Potter, What would the Muggle autopsy of a Killing Curse victim reveal?
What would the Muggle autopsy of a Killing Curse victim reveal?
Wouldn't it sound unusual to Muggles that a person died because of absolutely nothing?
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1
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Books about dragons and war from a cat-loving author
I remember reading a series consisting of three books a few years ago, maybe around 2010. The series was pretty new when I was reading it. It was set in your typical medieval fantasy world where magic ...
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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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7
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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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