Food and Figg

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 56693

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Cristina Rebelo Angelo"
<cristina_angelo at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> > When a wizard conjures food, he is conjuring a temporary
> > illusion.  ...edited..
> >
> >
> > Zach
> 
> Me:
> 
> In Hogwarts, the food is conjured up from the kitchen, ...edited...
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> Also, why don't they conjure away the pesty little creatures in
> their garden? ...edited...
> 
> **************************
> Cristina Rebelo Ângelo


bboy_mn:

You are using a much broader definition of 'conjuring' than is used in
 the general context of this discussion. Your use is techincally
correct; that is, it fits the dictionary definition. But the way we
are using it (or at least, I thought we were) in this discussion, it
means to make something appear, but appear in the sense of creating
something out of nothing. 

Technically, all magic could be considered conjuring, but to conjure
some food for this discussion, means to make some food magically
appear with the implication that the food was magically made out of
nothing. 

What the elves do is magically transfer already prepared food from the
kitchens below to the dining tables above. Dumbledore (I assume) does
the same thing when he transfers tea and cake to Hagrid's cabin.

JKR confirmed in an interview that anything magically created from
nothing, has no permanence. It soon returns to nothing. So eat food
conjured in this sense and you will starve to death.

I don't dispute anything you said because technically you were right.
I just wanted to point out this subtle distinction in the context of
the use of the word 'conjure' in this converstion.

Hope that's OK.

bboy_mn