What can kill a wizard?(was Re: Hagrid)

[Eustace_Scrubb]

No: HPFGUIDX 116488


Leon wrote:
>There certainly are other things that can kill wizards (or else why 
   >would St. Mungo's be so busy or have so many floors.)<snip>
>
>...anyone under duress (car crash, house collapsing, being chased by
>bullies, etc)is probably going to protect themselves whether they
know >the correct spell or not. 
<snip> 
>
>But once the magic is countered, circumvented or overwhelmed, I think
>wizards are as kill-able as the rest of us.

Now Eustace_Scrubb:
I agree.  I think it is far less likely for magic folk to be killed
accidentally than for muggles, but I don't think we've seen anything
that rules it out.  When Hagrid says that a car crash couldn't have
killed the Potters, I think he means that a) they wouldn't have been
driving a car in the first place, and b) they were particularly
powerful magic folk and probably had especially strong defenses
against such accidents.  I don't think it means that no wizard could
ever be killed in a car crash...quite likely Bertha Jorkins could have
been.

And if wizards _can't_ be killed in falls,then why does Dumbledore
bother to cushion Harry's fall from the broomstick in POA?  Neville's
bouncing notwithstanding, I think that the wrong fall from the wrong
height when one isn't expecting it could kill a wizard.  Madame
Pomfrey can regrow bones, but we've got no evidence she can reverse
severe head trauma from falling 50-100 feet from a broom.

I also think that wizards and witches would probably be vulnerable in
major muggle-created catastrophes, for example, a nuclear explosion in
their vicinity.

Cheers (if somewhat morbid cheers),

Eustace_Scrubb