Defence Against the Dark Arts

In J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series, magic is depicted as a supernatural force that can be used to override the usual laws of nature. Many fictional magical creatures exist in the series, while ordinary creatures also sometimes exhibit magical properties. Magical objects are also described. Witches and wizards refer to the rest of the population, who are generally unaware of magic, as "Muggles" in the United Kingdom and "No-Maj" in the United States.

In humans, magic or the lack thereof is an inborn attribute. It is usually inherited, carried on "dominant resilient genes". Magic is the norm for the children of magical couples and less common in those of Muggles. Exceptions exist: those unable to do magic who are born to magical parents are known as Squibs, whereas a witch or wizard born to Muggle parents is known as a Muggle-born, or by the derogatory term "Mudblood". While Muggle-borns are quite common, Squibs are extremely rare.

Rowling based many magical elements of the ''Harry Potter'' universe on real-world mythology and magic. She has described this as "a way of giving texture to the world". The books present the idea that the Muggle interpretation of these stories is a distorted version of what goes on in the wizarding world.

The magic of ''Harry Potter'' became the subject of a 2017 British Library exhibition and accompanying documentary. The exhibition, entitled ''Harry Potter: A History of Magic'', is the first at the British Library to be inspired by a single series by a living author.

Using magic

Witches and wizards train to learn how to control their magic. With young and untrained children, magic will manifest itself subconsciously in moments of strong apprehension, fear, anger and sadness. For example, Harry Potter once made his hair grow back after a bad haircut, set a boa constrictor on his cousin Dudley at the London Zoo, and made Aunt Marge inflate to an enormous size. While this reaction is usually uncontrollable, as an untrained child, Tom Marvolo Riddle was able to make things move without touching them, make animals do what he wanted without training them, make "bad things happen" to people who annoyed him, or make them hurt if he wanted to., chapter 13 In addition, Lily Evans was able to guide and control the blooming of a flower simply by wanting it to happen.

Almost all magic is done with the use of a wand. On the subject of wandless magic, Rowling says:

A wizard or witch is only at their best when using their own wand. When using another's wand, one's spells are not as strong as they normally would be.

Within the books, technical details of magic are obscure. Of Harry's lessons, only those involving magical beasts magical creatures, potions or divination are given in any detail.

Severus Snape once told Harry Potter that "Time and space matter in magic" during Harry's first Occlumency lesson in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' and Albus Dumbledore told Harry after finding the magically concealed boat to reach the locket Horcrux that "Magic always leaves traces, sometimes very distinctive traces."

Spellcasting

Spells are the every-purpose tools of a wizard or witch; short bursts of magic used to accomplish single specialised tasks such as opening locks or creating fire. Typically casting requires an incantation, most often in a modified form of Latin (see Dog Latin), and gesturing with a wand. However, Rowling has revealed that particularly talented wizards can cast spells without the aid of wand, although magic produced with one is generally more precise and powerful. Spells can also be cast non-verbally, but with a magical wand. This special technique is taught in the sixth year of study at Hogwarts and requires the caster to concentrate on the incantation. Some spells (e.g., ''Levicorpus'') are apparently designed to be used non-verbally. While most magic shown in the books requires the caster to use their voice, some do not (and this may depend on the witch or wizard). Dumbledore has been known to do impressive feats of magic without speaking, such as conjuring enough squashy purple sleeping bags to accommodate the entire student population or during his duel with Voldemort towards the end of ''Order of the Phoenix''.

It is possible to use a wand without holding it. In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Harry himself performs ''Lumos'' to light his wand when it is lying on the ground somewhere near him. Additionally, Animagi and Metamorphmagi do not need wands to undergo their transformations.

Spells are divided into rough categories, such as "charms", "curses", "hexes", or "jinxes". Although offensive and potentially dangerous curses exist in number, three are considered usable only for great evil, which earns them the special classification of "Unforgivable Curses".

The limits of magic

Before publishing the first ''Harry Potter'' novel, Rowling spent five years establishing the limitations of magic—determining what it could and could not do. "The most important thing to decide when you're creating a fantasy world," she said in 2000, "is what the characters ''can't'' do." For instance, while it is possible to conjure things out of thin air, it is far more tricky to create something that fits an exact specification rather than a general one; moreover, any objects so conjured tend not to last.

Death

Rowling has described death as the most important theme in the books. Consequently, as Dumbledore states in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', there is no spell that can truly bring the dead back to life. While corpses can be transformed into obedient Inferi on a living wizard's command, they are little more than zombies with no soul or will of their own. However, there are some methods of communicating with the dead, though with limited results. For example, all Hogwarts headmasters appear in a portrait when they die, allowing consultation by future generations. It is also possible through the rare Priori Incantatem effect to converse with ghost-like "shadows" of magically murdered people. The Resurrection Stone also allows one to talk to the dead, but those brought back by the Stone are not corporeal, nor do they wish to be disturbed from their peaceful rest. Throughout the series, this limit is continually mentioned, and wizards try to transcend it at their own peril.

Likewise, it is not possible to make oneself immortal unless one makes use of an object of great power to sustain life, such as the Philosopher's Stone or Horcruxes. If one were to possess the three Deathly Hallows, it is fabled that they would possess the tools to become the "master of death". However, it is hinted that to be a true "master of death" is to be willing to accept that death is inevitable. Other methods of extending life include drinking unicorn blood, which will keep a person alive even if death is imminent, but at the terrible price of being cursed forever. Being magical can contribute to one's longevity, as there are several characters in the series who are unusually long-lived (such as Griselda Marchbanks, who was an invigilator during Albus Dumbledore's O.W.L examinations). It is revealed by Nearly Headless Nick in the fifth book that all witches and wizards have the choice of becoming ghosts upon dying; however, it is described as "a pale imitation of life". Snape states that a ghost is merely "the imprint of a departed soul left upon the earth".

Death is studied at the Department of Mysteries in a chamber containing an enigmatic veil, which Rowling has described as "the divide between life and death". With regard to what is on the other side, she elaborated: "Do I believe you go on? Yes, I do believe you go on. I do believe in an afterlife, although I'm absolutely doubt-ridden and always have been but there you are." Sirius falls through this veil in ''Order of the Phoenix'' after he is hit with a curse from Bellatrix.

Principal exceptions to Gamp's ''Law of Elemental Transfiguration''

The principal exceptions to Gamp's ''Law of Elemental Transfiguration'' is a magical theory mentioned by Hermione and later repeated by Ron in the final book. She explains that food is one of these: Witches or wizards can cook and prepare food using magic, and even multiply it, but not create it out of nothing.

There are numerous examples in the series of food ''seeming'' to have been conjured from nothing, such as the sudden materialization of ingredients in the pots of Molly Weasley's kitchen, and when Professor McGonagall creates a self-refilling plate of sandwiches for Harry and Ron in ''Chamber of Secrets''. In all cases, these events can be reasonably explained as food either being multiplied, or transported from elsewhere. One example of the latter is banqueting at Hogwarts – the food is prepared by elves in the kitchens and laid onto four replica tables, directly below the actual house tables in the Great Hall. The elves then magically transport the food from the replica tables up to the house tables.

This is the only exception mentioned explicitly in the series. However, Rowling herself has stated once in an interview that ''money'' is something wizards cannot simply materialize out of thin air, or the economic system of the wizarding world would then be gravely flawed and disrupted. While the Philosopher's Stone does permit alchemy, this is portrayed as an extremely rare, even unique object, whose owner does not exploit all its powers.

Emotion

As explained earlier, young untrained wizards can trigger uncontrolled magic when they are in the state of intense emotion. But emotions also affect trained witches and wizards and their magical abilities. For instance, in ''Half-Blood Prince'', a heartbroken Nymphadora Tonks temporarily loses her power as a Metamorphmagus when Remus Lupin starts distancing himself from her; the form of her Patronus changes to reflect her depression. Another example is Merope Gaunt, who only demonstrated any magical ability when removed from her father's oppression, but then lost it again when her husband abandoned her.

Several magical spells require the use of certain emotions when casting them. The Patronus charm, for example, requires the caster to concentrate on a happy memory.
Another example is the Cruciatus Curse, which causes immense pain; as Harry discovers during a duel with Bellatrix Lestrange, effective use of this forbidden dark magic requires sadistic desires.

Love (in its broadest meaning) is depicted as a particularly powerful form of magic. According to Dumbledore, love is a "force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature". Lily's voluntary sacrifice on Harry's behalf saves him from Voldemort as a baby, and Harry makes a similar sacrifice to save his friends at the end of ''Deathly Hallows''. A certain key prophecy in the series describes Harry as having "power the Dark Lord knows not", referencing his capacity for love.

True love is impossible to create magically; Amortentia, a love potion, can only create a powerful sense of infatuation and obsession.

Magical abilities

The following is a list of special abilities that a wizard or witch in the Harry Potter universe may have.

Animagi

An Animagus (portmanteau) is a witch or wizard who can turn into a particular animal or magical creature at will. This ability is not innate: it must be acquired by magical means. All Animagi must register at a central authority by law, though a number of characters are revealed over the course of the series to have remained unregistered illegally: James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Rita Skeeter. Minerva McGonagall was a Ministry-registered Animagus taking the form of a tabby cat.

Animagi transformation can be performed wandlessly. Sirius and Peter are left wandless for over 10 years, but both retain the ability with no apparent ill effects. When Animagi transform they take on the appearance, not necessarily all traits, of a normal animal. In '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'', it is noted that Ron's pet rat Scabbers (later revealed as Peter Pettigrew's Animagus form) has lived over twelve years when only expected to live three. Also, an Animagus in animal form retains the ability to think like a human, which is the principal difference between being an Animagus and being transfigured into an animal. Otherwise, they would forget that they were a wizard and be trapped, unknowingly, in this form unless transformed back by another wizard. Characteristics of an Animagus' human form can manifest themselves in the animal transformation; McGonagall and Rita Skeeter have markings around their eyes that resemble their glasses, while Pettigrew has a missing toe on one of his front paws representing his missing finger. When an Animagus registers, they must record all the defining physical traits of their animal form so that the Ministry can identify them.

Each Animagus has a specific animal form, and cannot transform into any other animal. The animal cannot be chosen: it is uniquely suited to that individual's personality, and in most cases the Animagus will change into the same animal used in the person's Patronus Charm.

Explicit emphasis is placed in the books on the differences between Animagi and werewolves. Animagi have full control over their transformations and retain their minds, whereas werewolves' transformations are involuntary and include severe changes in personality. After the person has transformed into a werewolf "...he no longer remembers who he is. He'd kill his best friend. The werewolf only responds to the call of his own kind." The only way that a werewolf can retain his sanity, intelligence and memory while transformed is using the Wolfsbane Potion.

Metamorphmagi

A Metamorphmagus (a portmanteau

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