[HPforGrownups] Re: Question re: muggles and dementors

[Rick H. Kennerly]

No: HPFGUIDX 187964

You guys are makin' my head hurt by confusing parentage with magical 
powers with what they're called:

justcarol67 wrote:
>  
>
>
>
> If two Muggles have a magical child, it's a Muggle-born.  [Magical]
> If two Muggles have a nonmagical child, it's a Muggle. [non-Magical]
> If two magical parents have a magical child [Magical]
> or one magical and one Muggle parent have a magical child, it's a 
> Pure-blood  [Magical]
> Half-Blood Witch or Wizard. [Magical]
> If two magical parents have a nonmagical child [non-Magical]
> or one magical and one Muggle parent have a nonmagical child, it's a 
> Squib. [non-Magical]
>


As far as magical powers go, however, there is still a continuum. It's 
clear that any combination of magical and non-magical parents can produce:

1. magical person,
2. a non-magical person.

But clearly there is no AUTOMATIC difference between a half-blooded 
magical person and a pure-blooded magical person, regarding magical 
powers, only in what they're called.  Even within the category of 
"magical" there is a continuum of powers in the JKR book i.e. spells 
that magical people couldn't or wouldn't do.  Or, said better perhaps, 
there disciplines/interests of magic that one can do better than 
another.  Neville WRT knowledge of magical plants vs wand work is a good 
example.

JKR muddies the waters somewhat by going on to say that while squibs 
have no magical powers they do have access to magical creatures and 
objects--which gives them, one would think some level of magical 
powers--but then Figg could have and see magical creatures like Kneazles 
but not see the Dementors:

Squibs would not be able to attend Hogwarts as students. They are often 
doomed to a rather sad kind of half-life (yes, you should be feeling 
sorry for Filch), as their parentage often means that they will be 
exposed to, if not immersed in, the wizarding community, but can never 
truly join it. Sometimes they find a way to fit in; Filch has carved 
himself a niche at Hogwarts and Arabella Figg operates as Dumbledore's 
liaison between the magical and Muggle worlds. Neither of these 
characters can perform magic (Filch's Kwikspell course never worked), 
but they still function within the wizarding world because they have 
access to certain magical objects and creatures that can help them 
(Arabella Figg does a roaring trade in cross-bred cats and Kneazles, and 
if you don't know what a Kneazle is yet, shame on you). Incidentally, 
Arabella Figg never saw the Dementors that attacked Harry and Dudley, 
but she had enough magical knowledge to identify correctly the 
sensations they created in the alleyway.
-- 

Rick Kennerly
Virginia Beach, VA
www.mouseherder.com 
<http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1213141578&ref=name>



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