Hagrid and non-verbal spells

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 151560

Rachel wrote:
> As much as I love Hagrid, I'm not sure if he's clever enough to teach 
> himself non-verbal spells.  IMO, Dumbledore may have taught Hagrid 
> non-verbal spells so that he could help out around the grounds without 
> getting in trouble for using magic because, obviously, no one would
hear him speaking spells.  I think Dumbledore always knew it wasn't
Hagrid who opened the Chamber and felt bad that Dippet expelled him,
and so tried to help him out anyway he could.

Carol responds:
IIRC, Hagrid doesn't speak any spell when he tries to turn Dudley into
a pig (which might be one of several reasons why he only gives Dudley
a tail; surely "he was already too much like a pig anyway" is *not*
the true reason that the spell doesn't completely work). Also, he
starts the fire that he uses to toast the sausages without a spell.
(Tapping the bricks in Diagon Alley, though, probably doesn't require
a spell, only a wand--like the one concealed inside his umbrella.)
Granted, these events take place in SS/PS, and it could simply be that
JKR hadn't fully thought out the concept of nonverbal spells yet.
(Squibs don't appear yet, either, and Hagrid is referred to as "the
giant," which in Harry's POV he is, but according to the later
storyline, he isn't. So Hagrid's nonverbal spells could simply be not
so much a Flint as something that didn't concern JKR at that point.)

However, my view (not a theory as I don't have any canon support for
it) is that Hagrid is in some ways like a magical child who never
completely grew up (note his tendency to burst into tears and his
rudimentary magical education) but has passed beyond the point where
he "makes things happen" through accidental magic; he knows quite well
that his broken wand, fitted back together and concealed inside his
umbrella, can help him focus his magical abilities. Since he doesn't
want his concealed wand to be discovered and is not legally allowed to
do magic, I'm guessing that he practiced secretly at every
opportunity. He is, after all, nearly as old as Voldemort and has had
plenty of time to do it. 

Possibly Dumbledore (or McGonagall, who doesn't mind occasionally
breaking a rule if it aids someone sorted into Gryffindor) may have
helped him, but I think he's like the little boy who used Daddy's wand
to expand a slug in GoF, controlling his natural magic by sending his
*will* through his broken wand without necessarily using real spells.
After some fifty years of practice, using a wand that "chose" him in
the first place (and doesn't backfire like Ron's because the umbrella
holds it in place), he's become pretty good at it, IMO. Not as good as
if he had a magical education, probably, but good enough for his own
purposes. Of course, he's probably picked up a few real spells through
overhearing them, and as a member of the Order, he must have been
taught by DD to cast a Patronus to send a message. (Hope his Patronus
isn't Fluffy or Aragog!)

Carol, with apologies for not checking the pig quote, which I'm sure
is rather badly mangled