Ghosts?

[h2so3f]

No: HPFGUIDX 143636

nymphandoracallel wrote: 
"CH3ed wrote: (unless your fear of death causes you to become a 
ghost).

Is this true? Is that how you become a ghost? "


CH3ed:
Well, in "The Second War Begins" chapter of OotP Nearly Headless 
Nick told Harry that :
  "Wizards can leave an imprint of themselves upon the earth, to 
walk palely where their living selves once trod, but very few 
wizards choose that path."
and 
"I was afraid of death, I chose to remain behind. I sometimes wonder 
whether I oughtn't have..... Well, that is neither here nor there... 
In fact, I am neither here nor there... I know nothing of the 
secrets of death, Harry, for I chose my feeble imitation of life 
instead. I believe learned wizards study the matter in the 
Department of Mysteries --"

  So I'm relying on Nick's words (tho perhaps the Unspeakables at 
the DoM would know more Nick does). Also in HBP, Snape defines 
ghosts as imprints of departed soul when he was covering ghosts and 
inferi in class (I don't have the exact quote at the moment. A 
friend is borrowing my copy of HBP). So the soul is gone but the 
consciousness remains behind as an imprint, perhaps? It would not be 
the same as horcrux making where a soul piece is kept separated from 
the body to anchor the person to this earth. 

I don't think this choice to remain behind as a ghost is made before 
one is killed but afterward. Perhaps right after you die there is a 
short grace period where your realize that you are moving behind the 
veil, and if you are too afraid to go to that unknown world you 
become a ghost?


NymphandoraCallel wrote:
"Can ghosts perform magic? What sort of powers do they have, if any, 
and have there been any mentions of dark wizards who have become 
ghosts and are now able to forever be in LV's army??"


CH3ed: I don't think ghost can do magic as they have neither soul 
nor body. Poltergeists like Peeves seem to be different, tho. I 
think JKR wrote on her site somewhere that Peeves the Poltergeist is 
the spirit of chaos who was never alive to begin with and that's why 
he cannot be expelled from Hogwarts. LV uses inferi (bewitched 
corpses), but they are like zombies under the control of a dark 
wizard. They haven't got a soul or consciousness or anything IMO. I 
don't know what exactly "echos" like those that came out of LV's 
wand during "Priori Incantatem" in GoF are.

 :O) CH3ed is heading off to bed after his 3rd post of the day. 
G'night folks!