Underage wizards

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165107

Vexingconfection wrote:
>
<snip> Mundungus disaparated in front of the Dursleys right before the
 dementor incident, the bang that Harry and the other residents of
Privet Drive heard. Since no one came then-wouldn't that be due to
adult magic?  And the flying car was also magic although it was
bewitched by Mr. Weasley and  not his children there was still magic
in that area-right? But then the MoM  didn't send an owl when Dobby
aparated or disaparated from the home-only the hover charm.... Someone
stop me I am getting headache...so is aparating  and disaparating not
considered part of the ministry's target  watch? The "Hover Charm" was
a charm so is there a difference maybe  between charms, spells,
bewitchments, etc.? And what about all those  things Harry did before
he knew he was a wizard? His hair grew back from  bad hair cuts, he
found himself on top of a  building, set a snake free, things  like
that?  Thank you all for you tremendous insight-it's been very helpful.

> Vexies

Carol:
I think that the MoM can detect spells, whether they're charms, hexes,
jinxes, curses, countercurses, or Transfiguration spells--i.e., the
types of magic usually performed with a wand. (Dobby's Hover Charm,
though wandless, is exactly the same spell that a wizard would use
even though its wandless, so it registers as a Hover Charm and the MoM
assumes that Harry, the only wizard in the area, must have cast it.)
Later, when Arthur Weasley and the Order members perform magic in
Harry's house, I'm pretty sure that Arthur has permission from his
connections at the MoM, the same ones who allowed him to connect the
Dursleys' house to the Floo Network, possibly, to bend the rules. (As
for the Ton-Tongue Toffees, the Engorgement Charm had already been
performed on them at Hogwarts, and they wouldn't be detected. The same
is true for the Flying Ford Anglia, which was enchanted by Arthur
Weasley at the Burrow. The MoM (and Snape) are later concerned about
its being *seen* by Muggles but not about the magic used to fly it.) I
don't think that Apparation registers at the MoM, or if it does, the
MoM would know that it was being performed by an adult wizard, not
Harry. (I don't think it's detectable since it isn't mentioned at
Harry's hearing, just as Dobby's Apparation isn't mentioned along with
the Hover Charm.) 

Now granted, JKR isn't absolutely consistent, and her explanations
don't always resolve the inconsistencies (for example, how Lily was
able to Transfigure teacups or whatever without getting a reprimand),
but I think, in general, some areas are watched more closely than
others, the MoM can't tell adult magic from underage magic or wizard
magic from house-elf magic, and Arthur pulled some strings to allow
magic to be performed in Harry's house in GoF and OoP. And, of course,
Dumbledore can cover his tracks and conjure dusty bottles of mead or
whatever he likes without being detected.

Carol, who thinks that possibly Hermione's early experiments
registered as a child's accidental magic and were ignored