[HPforGrownups] Spells

[James Sharman]

No: HPFGUIDX 82515

Eclipse Asked: 

Someone mentioned that Hermione should have used a stunning spell rather
than a silencing spell at the battle at the Ministry at the of OOP. I was
just wondering if she knew that he would still be able to complete the
spell? I can't remember a spell that used a wand that didn't need words.
There is Anagmi transfermations and apparation that don't need words, if I
remember correctly. (Don't have my books with me.) So I was wondering if
this is something new or if a wizard or a witch gets better with magic, they
don't need the words, just the thoughts? Thanks.

James Said:

I have given this one quite a bit of thought and I have come up with a
theory. 

What have we been told have an influence on spells?
- Wand Motion (swish and flick etc..)
- Incantation (crucio / accio etc..)
- Mental focus on the task (wanting to cause real pain with the crucio
curse)

My theory is that only the last one actually matters, The first two serve as
a mental tool to create the focus (sort of like a mnemonic tool). For
example, if you are taking a photo of a group of people it's common for the
photographer to ask the subjects to "say cheese", not because the
vocalisation has the slightest effect on the photograph but a side effect is
the slightly open mouthed natural mouth shape that seems to work well in
photographs.