Laws of the universe (was Harry Potter a worthwhile series)

[katilian]

No: HPFGUIDX 33749

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Alexander <lav at t...> wrote:
<<<What you are talking about is not Absolute Truth, but
Physical Law. Both in CSL and JRRT worlds there are limits
of what one can do. Even Aslan is bound by the laws of
nature.  But isn't the situation in Potterverse the same? Limits of
what Rowling characters can do are even more strong than
that of Lewis heroes.>>>>

Going off in a completely different direction here...

I *think* it was Orson Scott Card who said that one of the keys to creating a believable sf/fantasy universe was to create consistent laws by which magic/technology/etc. worked with that universe.  For example, magic can work by willing something to happen (without spells, etc.), by saying spells, by saying spells and performing specific actions, by mixing potions and using other objects, or by some combination of the above, but one shouldn't have it *only* work one way one time and *only* work another way another time, or else the reader won't believe in the universe.  (Card-or-whoever was much clearer in his explanation :-))

When I read Alexander's statement (quoted above), I started thinking about Rowling's use of 'laws' to govern her universe.  It seems to me that the magic system is a mixture of magic-by-will (for example, Harry 'teleports' himself to the school roof to get away from Dudley&co. and he makes the glass around the snake cage disappear, both before he even knows he can do magic) and magic-by-spells-plus-actions (they all seem to say words and point/wave wands) *and* magic-by-potions (the polyjuice potion, the fact that they take a potions class, etc.).

I'm not sure, though, were the actual rules lie.  Are the words-and-wands simply a means to focus the magic user's will so that weird things don't happen?  Harry's use of magic prior to Hogwarts does seem to be random and to have unexpected consequences, so maybe a specific focus is required to keep the magic from doing bizarre and unexpected things.  That would make sense in light of the fact that Ron's magic went awry when his wand was broken.  On the other hand, wouldn't that imply that a sufficiently determined magic user could perform spells without the wands-and-words (at least in situations where he/she focused completely on the desired outcome) *without* having things go nuts?  

Or are the wands-and-words something that strengthen the magic act?  For example, Harry has an inherent magical ability that he can use in times of stress, but for 'everyday activities', he needs the wand with its magical core element, as well as the word(s) that describe the action he wants to have happen, in order to give his magic the extra push required to get something done?

And while I'm here, does anyone know if there are websites discussing or listing the spells/potions/etc. used in HP?

Katie