[HPforGrownups] Re: Lots of Magic

[Monika Huebner]

No: HPFGUIDX 19901

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Amber [mailto:reanna20 at yahoo.com]
> Subject: Re: [HPforGrownups] Re: Lighting...and lots of magic

> While the fire is burning, does it draw upon her magical
> resources/strength? There doesn't seem to be any evidence of a wizard
> getting tired from maintaining too many spells. That seems to mean that
> magic is "free" and the only limitations are on the expertise and will
> of the wizard to cast the spell correctly.

I think that once the spell is cast, it is somehow "over". Sorry, I can't
say it better. It is as if you light a fire using a match: There has to
be some kind of energy to start the process, but once the fire is
burning, it burns on its own. The wizard only needs to discharge
energy to start it. I always saw the wand as a sort of catalyst, a
means to focus and direct the discharge of magic (=energy). So
the wizard might get tired by casting the spell, if it is a complex
one that needs a lot of concentration, but he doesn't have to
maintain the spell. Oh well, I hope this made sense.

> Does a forever-lasting enchantment/charm go kaput when the caster dies?

I don't think so, for the reasons mentioned above.

> How *does* Apparation work? It doesn't seem like one needs a wand to
> Apparate. Does it take so little strength in magic that the wizard
> doesn't need the amplification effects of the wand? That doesn't seem
> right. Or is this a talent inherent in wizard/witches? 

I don't think you need a wand to Apparate. And I think it needs 
a lot of strength in magic to do it. But since you do it with your
*own body*, you don't need your wand to focus the magic, it
just stays somehow inside yourself. I suppose this is the same
as with the Animagus transformation. You do something with your
own body, so no wand is needed to perform it. The magic doesn't
leave your body. And this is why Sirius could transform in his
Azkaban cell, there was nothing else he needed.

> But there are spells that can be cast to prevent
> Apparation. So there are spells that are more powerful than inherent
> talents? That seems rather odd.

The spells to prevent Apparition seem like force fields to me. Apparition
is not "just" an inherent talent, but powerful magic. Think about it.
You have to "dematerialize" your body and "rematerialize" it somewhere
else. I think the Anti-Apparition spells prevent that materialization
in some places. 
> 
> I must confess, I desperately want to know how the spell to turn one
> into an Animagi works. What does it involve, spells, incantations,
> potions? What makes it so difficult? Perhaps JKR will enlighten us in
> the future.

I hope so, too. I always thought it just needed an extraordinary
mental strength and concentration, and maybe an inborn talent
of the wizard for transfiguration. Maybe you have to cast a spell
the first time you do it, but I wouldn't be sure of this. I think this
is really a talent. A bit like a talent for composing music: everybody
is able to learn the sol-fa, but only a few people can compose an
opera.

Monika

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