Magic outside of school

[Kim]

No: HPFGUIDX 150543

I have a theory about underage magic being used before school and in Diagon Alley and on the Hogwarts express.  

Without dragging my sick and exhausted eyeballs through the books to find canon I can remember several instances of kids using magic before entering Hogwarts for the first time.  

Hermione learning all of her textbooks by heart before even entering Hogwarts and all of her spells working for her.

In the Quidditch World Cup a small child was prodding a slug with an engorgement charm before his mom stepped on it.  (parent's wand) Yuck!

Fred changing a teddy bear into a spider.

Ron trying to change his rat's color to yellow.

Snape knowing so much magic before even entering school.

There may be more.

My guess is that until a child enters school he may use magic at his parents' discretion, at their risk.  They are responsible for the results because they are the primary teachers and caregivers.

But when a child begins that first term at Hogwarts he or she is now goverened by new rules because Hogwarts is now their primary learning field and what they do can be harmful if it isn't learned fully or well.  Hogwarts could be in trouble if they messed up, even on vacation, because they are responsible for teaching the magic.

Once they enter Hogwarts property again, such as the Hogwarts Express, they are now allowed once again to use magic.  Maybe that's because the prefects are there to keep the peace.  

In Diagon Alley I'm guessing it's like others said, it's a wizard and witch packed place and the very air vibrates with magic so it wouldn't be possible to accurately police kids while they are there.

Anyway, those are the feelings I got when I came up with the same questions while reading the books.

Kim







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