• Page Magic is what sets folks in the wizarding world apart from their Muggle neighbors. Magic is the heart and soul of the wizarding culture in the same way that science and technology are the heart and soul of Muggle culture. Where a Muggle would pound a stake into the ground… Read More
• Magical effects This spell causes magical chains to snake out of a chair and bind a person to it.  … Read More
• Transportation • Wizarding culture Witches and wizards use magical means to move from place to place. They can use spells, specifically Apparition, and personal devices such as brooms. However, various forms of public transit are also available. All forms of magical transportation, both personal and public, are regulated and controlled by the Department of Magical Transportation. Read More
• Article
Posted by in Essays
The way that witches and wizards think about everything, including spells, is completely different from the way we Muggles think about it. When we consider the mechanics of, say, aiming a spell at something, we ask “Muggle” questions like “Do you have to have line of sight?” that they would… Read More
• Source “MagSp” refers to a series of essays written by Rowling describing various aspects of magic in the Wizarding world, including alchemy, magical items and artifacts, potions, and Time-Turners. Alchemy Extension Charms Firebolt The Marauder’s… Read More
• Headlines and advertisements Making it Stick is a letter appearing on the Problem Page of the Daily Prophet (DP3). Elveira Elkins wrote to say that she is unable to get the Fixing Charms she attempts to cast to actually work properly. Household magic expert and author Zamira Gulch gave her both magical… Read More
• Character Narcissa Malfoy is Lucius’ wife and Draco’s mother, a blonde with blue eyes and a look on her face as if there were something smelly under her nose (GF8). She is fiercely protective of her son. Draco wanted to go to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts but Narcissa nixed this… Read More
• Magical objects This magical map of Hogwarts Castle shows the entire castle and grounds of Hogwarts, including seven secret passages out of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. However, it does not show the Room of Requirement or the Chamber of Secrets. The map also shows the location of people. It would seem that… Read More
• Character Minerva McGonagall was the Transfiguration professor and Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts for over forty years, and a powerful witch and Animagus (PS1, PS4). McGonagall has a stern exterior, keeping her classes strictly controlled and following the rules closely (PS8), yet has a warm heart and… Read More
• Communication In the basement of MACUSA memos write themselves, then fold into origami rats. They use the glass tubes to scurry to the offices above. On occasion they will start to fight and tear each other apart, leaving the intended recipient memo-less. Read More
• Wizarding culture Charms used to modify or erase a (portion of a) person’s memory. The spell used is “obliviate”. Read More
• Spells The Memory Modifying Charm is also called “Memory Charm”. Modifies or erases portions of a person’s memory. A person who has their memory erased can be described as “Obliviated” (WFT). Memory Modifying Charms are often used to uphold the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy and to avoid frightening Muggles. Officials… Read More
• Spells This unnamed messenger spell sends the caster’s corporeal Patronus to bring a message to others. Read More
• Headlines and advertisements Ministry Imposes Restrictions is a front page headline in the Daily Prophet about the Ministry of Magic’s plans to curb wizarding Hallowe’en celebrations (DP4). Hallowe’en is the one time of year when wizards can be “out and about” without arousing the suspicions of Muggles, so the plans announced… Read More
• Ministry of Magic • Wizarding culture Ministry of Magic licenses are issued for a number of activities which are deemed dangerous, which could be misused for nefarious purposes, or which require special training or actions to keep the wizarding world hidden from the Muggles. These include: Ownership of Crups (FB, JKR-W1) Sale of magical artifacts… Read More
• Character A Ministry wizard dressed in Muggle plus-fours was in charge of making sure that owners of the campgrounds at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup tournament did not notice the magic activity going on all around them. He did this by casting multiple Memory Modifying Charms on them. It was… Read More
• Character Famous author of the Standard Book of Spells series of books (Standard Book of Spells Grade One through [known] Grade Six) which are required textbooks for students at Hogwarts (PS5, PA4, GF10, OP9, HBP9). Read More
• Character Miranda Goshawk, who lived some two hundred years ago, grew up searching for a good, simple book of spells. Goshawk had a lot of older sisters who teased her by telling her the wrong incantations for spells as they were growing up. As Miranda put it, “Hand me down robes are merely… Read More
• Incantations Mischief Managed is the incantation which closes or “wipes” clean the Marauders Map (PA10). Read More
• Character Mnemone Radford was the first Obliviator employed at the Ministry of Magic and the inventor of Memory Modifying Charms (JKR, WoM). Read More
• Incantations incantation Moves a tree (PA10). The basic spell for moving something starts with the “Mobili-” prefix. It is up to the caster to be able to tack on the correct Latinate word for the object to be moved, in this case a tree. It seems unlikely that there is… Read More
• Incantations Moves a body. The basic spell for moving something starts with the “Mobili-” prefix. In this case, the Latin word for “body” is tacked on the end. Read More
• Event Merope Gaunt liked to wait by the window for a glimpse of handsome Tom Riddle Sr., a rich Muggle boy. Morfin Gaunt, Merope’s brother, mocked her for it and late one night he caught her at it. Just for spite, he hit Tom Riddle Sr. with a Hives Jinx. This… Read More
• Magical effects The Dark Mark spell conjures an immense glowing skull in the sky, comprised of green sparks. There is a snake coming out of the skull’s mouth. The spell was used by Death Eaters to announce their nefarious deeds, often displaying it above the scene of a murder. Read More
• Spells Charms magic, or even hexes, can be used to move objects in various ways. Locomotion Magic The basic spell for moving an object is Locomotor, which comes from two Latin words meaning roughly “move from its place.” First years learn to move objects by magic; the practical part of Flitwick’s… Read More
• Incantations Source: The Half-Blood Prince Fills the ears of target persons near the caster with an unidentifiable buzzing, so that the caster can hold lengthy conversations without being overheard. Read More
• Magical effects Music is a powerful magic often associated with healing and lifting the spirit. Read More