Nonverbal spells
zgirnius
zgirnius at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 30 21:37:55 UTC 2005
No: HPFGUIDX 135720
> CathyD now:
> As well, Snape said "Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is
a question of concentration and mind power which some lack." If this
wasn't just a jab a Harry, and not all wizards can perform non-verbal
spells, why then were they expected in Transfiguration and Charms as
well? It would certainly lead to failure for some students, wouldn't
it?
zgirnius:
To be considered a basically qualified wizard in the WW, it suffices
to pick up a few OWLS. The requirement to cast nonverbal spells in
DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration (all the subjects, incidentally,
where spoken spells are used, unless there is something in
Arithmancy...in which case I would assume they are doing them there
as well!) is only introduced at the NEWT level. Yes, some people will
fail. And they will go on to careers in which they do not need high
scores on the NEWTs in these subjects.
I don't think we know enough about magic to speculate whether this is
a reasonable requirement. (Except in DADA. I think we have seen
enough to agree that this *is* an important skill in defense and
duelling. If we were hiring Aurors, all things being equal we would
prefer candidates who can do the nonverbal spells, and can anticipate
them when they are cast by others.)
But as for the other subjects...since we know the spell words are
apparently not necessary to some wizards...maybe in developing a new
spell you wouldn't necessarily start with a word and a gesture, and
then try to find a spell that goes with them? Maybe you think of a
desired effect, find a mental state/image which permits the
accomplishment of the desired effect, and then pick words/wand
gestures which work well with that to teach to people less gifted in
this area? This is just one (completely picked out of a hat, no canon
either way...) idea-if it *did* work this way, researchers in the
areas of DADA/Charms/Transfiguration would more or less *have* to be
able to do some magic nonverbally.
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