More stories left to tell

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 180408



Rita, the Catlady: "I say, before writing was invented in Sumer and
Egypt, the wizards were already in positions of power there. The
wizards were the priesthood and established the first wizarding school
in Sumer, the second in Egypt, maybe the third in China."

Don't forget India.

How peoples discover their skills has always been fascinating. Things
like the wheel I can understand, but how do more sophisticated things
get thought of? 

How did wizards figure out wands, for example? I can imagine a
wizarding shaman may have tied unicorn hair around sticks while making
a rattle or something  and discovering his powers increased while he
held it. The more curious shamans started playing around with the
concept. When they found that certain combinations worked better for
certain wizards, that led to more developments.

I've long believed that the incantations of Charms come from the
"sacred" language most cultures have; Latin is the closest we have in
the West, but many cultures have explicitly secret/sacred languages.
In other words, you say "Alohamora" to open a door with magic, because
"open the door" means reaching out with your hand and turning the
knob. It's always a question of focusing the mind.

Potions may have been the hardest to develop. I'm sure there were a
lot of fatalities on the way, but early wizards noticed that certain
ingredients always seemed to at least do *something,* and started
working with them. BTW, what do you think would happen if Muggles like
ourselves mixed a Potion exactly as prescribed, with all the same
ingredients and techniques? I say nothing would happen, the potion
wouldn't work. 

I believe modern magic had to develop in the order I just set down;
wands were needed to do charms and then potions.