Magic Harry Potter: Encyclopedia II - Magic Harry Potter - Magical abilities

Magic Harry Potter - Magical abilities

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

Magic Harry Potter - Animagi transformation

An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can turn into a particular animal at will. This ability is not innate, it must be acquired by magical means, perhaps through a potion or transformation. Animagi must also register at a central authority; it is illegal to obtain this ability without registering, although most animagi described in the books are unregistered. Animagi are explicitly differentiated from werewolves in that Animagi can control their transformations whereas werewolves have no choice on the matter, and experience personality changes. An Animagus cannot choose what animal to become, but becomes that animal best suited to him or her.

For more details, as well as a listing of all known characters with this ability, consult the main article on Animagi.

Magic Harry Potter - Metamorphmagi transformation

A Metamorphmagus is a witch or wizard born with the innate ability to change all or some of their appearance at will. The talent cannot be acquired, nor is it inherited: It is apparently the result of a genetic mutation or some other non-hereditary anomaly, and is possessed from birth.

Metamorphmagi appear to differ from Animagi in three ways:

• They have more granular control over their transformations, being able to change any portion of their appearance independently. (Animagi are restricted to being entirely untransformed or entirely transformed.)
• They are restricted to human forms, whereas Animagi are restricted to non-human forms.
• They can take any human form they desire; Animagi are limited to a single animal.

Nymphadora Tonks is currently the only known metamorphmagus. She has been known to change her hair color and style in accordance with her mood.

Magic Harry Potter - Speaking parseltongue

Parseltongue is the language of snakes. It is almost exclusively associated with Dark magic, and those possessing the ability to speak it ("parselmouths") are very rare. It appears to be a skill acquired not through learning, but through genetic inheritance or application of certain Dark magic. Harry Potter himself is a parselmouth, despite the fact that he is not a Dark wizard, and it is speculated at various points in the series that his acquisition of this skill was one of the many by-products of Lord Voldemort's attempt on his life when he was a child.

Other known parselmouths include: Salazar Slytherin and his descendants, including the Gaunts (Marvolo, Morfin, Merope), Lord Voldemort, and Herpo the Foul. Albus Dumbledore, another notable non-Dark wizard, can understand parseltongue, but it is not known if he can also speak it.

Ginny Weasley is not a parselmouth, despite the fact that at points in Chamber of Secrets she appeared to speak in parseltongue: she was at the time being possessed by the spirit of Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort as a teenager), who was himself a parselmouth.

Magic Harry Potter - Legilimency and Occlumency

Legilimency is the offensive magical skill of extracting feelings and memories from another person's mind — a limited form of magical "mind-reading." It also allows one to convey visions or memories to another person, whether real or imaginary. A witch or wizard possessing this skill is called a legilimens, and can, for example, detect lies and deceit in another person, witness memories in another person's past, or "plant" false visions in another's mind. See more at Legilimency.

The corresponding defensive skill to legilimency is Occlumency, by which one can prevent a legilimens from discovering thoughts or memories which contradict one's spoken words or actions, or defend against intrusive visions. See more at Occlumency.

Lord Voldemort, Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore are all known to be quite skilled in both Legilimency and Occlumency.

The skills are first mentioned in Order of the Phoenix, wherein Snape is instructed by Dumbledore to give Harry lessons in Occlumency. Whether as a result of negligence in Snape's instruction, or poor receptivity on Harry's part, Harry never quite mastered the skill, and as a result he was lured by Voldemort through a carefully calculated vision he falsely believed to be real.

Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy may also have some skill in Occlumency, since Bellatrix was said to have taught Draco to shield his thoughts from Snape during the events of Half-Blood Prince.

Magic Harry Potter - Apparition

Apparition is a magical form of teleportation, by which a witch or wizard can disappear ("disapparate") from one location and instantly reappear ("apparate") in another. It is accompanied by a distinctive cracking or popping sound, possibly caused by the abrupt movement of air as a result of the nearly instantaneous displacement of the body. The act is also accompanied by a very unpleasant squeezing sensation, as though being sent through a tight rubber tube, according to Harry ^[HP6].

Apparition is an activity licensed by the Ministry of Magic when a witch or wizard reaches 17 years of age, similarly to the way Muggle governments license individuals for their ability to drive a motor vehicle. Students attend Ministry lessons in Apparition during their sixth year, after the completion of which they have the opportunity to take their licensing examination, on or after their 17th birthday.

The training is difficult, and students run the risk of splinching — being physically split between the origin and destination — which during lessons requires the assistance of the Ministry's Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to undo. Splinching is quite common during lessons, and can be uncomfortable depending on the body parts splinched, but is ultimately harmless if properly reversed.

Apparition is considered unreliable over long distances, and even experienced users of the technique sometimes prefer other means of transport, such as broomsticks.

For reasons of security, the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are protected by ancient anti-apparition and -disapparition spells, which prevent anyone from apparating or disapparating on school grounds. This spell does not appear to extend to house-elves, however, as both Dobby and Kreacher are able to apparate around the school unhindered. Nor does it appear to extend to Albus Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes, as Dumbledore at one point escapes the Minister of Magic by grabbing Fawkes's tail and disappearing ^[HP5].

As one might expect, it is considered quite rude to apparate into a private area such as a residence. For this reason, as well as for reasons of security, many private residences also have anti-apparition spells protecting them from uninvited intrusions. Therefore the most reliable (and most polite) way to travel to most locations is to apparate somewhere public nearby and proceed to the final destination on foot.

It is also possible to prevent individuals from apparating, presumably through magic similar to that used to protect large areas, but on a smaller scale. In Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore restrained a group of Death Eaters using an anti-apparition ring, which held them until Ministry officials could take them into custody.

The books also suggest that Apparition is more difficult under circumstances where visibility in the destination is low. In Order of the Phoenix, Fred and George Weasley, fresh from their apparition exams, apparate from room to room in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. At one point they apparate into the darkened room where Ron and Harry are sleeping, accidentally sitting painfully on Ron's knee rather than on the edge of his bed. They apologize by claiming that apparition is harder in the dark.

In the books, the words "Apparate" and "Disapparate," like many other neologisms used by Rowling, are capitalized, whereas established English words such as "jinx" and "hex" are not.

Magic Harry Potter - Veela charm

An ability attributed to veelas and those of veela heritage, such as Fleur Delacour. It is used to charm males, much like the Sirens in The Odyssey.

Magic Harry Potter - Magic resistance

This is the ability to repel hexes and spells found in powerful creatures such as trolls and giants. Hagrid is also immune to certain spells, like stunners, due to his giant blood.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Magical abilities", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki