Wizarding world
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The wizarding world is a fictional universe and the setting of the Harry Potter series. The term "world" is, however, not entirely correct, as, at least geographically, the series' world is our own. The plot of the series is set in contemporary Great Britain, but in a secluded and disparate shadow society in which magic is real, and those who can use it live in enforced seclusion, hiding their talents from the mundane world. The term is used to refer to the society where wizards and witches live, and by extension all magical things, in sharp contrast to the society and the things of the non-magical, ("Muggle"), people. Although the terms "wizarding world" and "Muggle world" are used, they refer to different perspectives rather than separate planets or universes.
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[edit] Fundamentals
The society of the wizarding world is centred around two facts. The first and most obvious one is that its members can use magic. Presented as an inborn capability to do otherwise impossible things, magic is honed through study and training into a skill. It permeates every facet of the wizarding world, both as a near-universal tool and imbued in objects, such as wands, vital amplifying/focusing devices for spells, and creatures, including dragons and Phoenixes. Spells can have almost any effect, from finding lost objects and turning on lights, to healing and murder. About the only feats disallowed by magic are the conjuration (creation from nothing) of permanent objects and the resurrection of the dead.
Secondly, it is not considered possible for the Muggle world to peacefully coexist with the wizarding one. As such, a great deal of effort is expended in keeping up the Muggles' ignorance about magic. Enchantment of Muggle artifacts is forbidden, underage students are restricted from using magic in front of muggles or in muggle areas, and any deliberate revelation of magical ability is, naturally, punishable. These laws are enforced by the Ministry of Magic, while a special arm of it, the Obliviators, has the job of making certain that Muggles who have seen magic in action will be left with no incriminating memories.
Exceptions to the secrecy include wizards' Muggle relatives and the highest political leaders, such as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (first mentioned in Prisoner of Azkaban when the then-Minister of Magic Fudge notifies the Muggle Prime Minister of Sirius Black's escape and first seen in Chapter 1 of Half-Blood Prince). Another exception is in the defence of one's life or the lives of others.
Some aspects of the Wizarding world appear less than modern in character; others (for example the role of women in wizarding society) at least equal to muggle society. The technological development of the wizarding world is ostensibly behind muggle technological development - in fact, a large number of technologically complex devices have been shown to exist, and the use of magic (a clean, renewable and easily used energy source) makes other muggle convenience technologies unnecessary. Magic and electricity appear to share similarities: electronic equipment generally fails or 'goes haywire' around Hogwarts, and muggle devices (such as cameras and radios) are able to power themselves on ambient magic. Such examples are rare, however: wizards rarely make use of muggle technologies, nor have much wish to.
[edit] Geography
There is no "magical land" in the Harry Potter universe. The wizarding world not only exists alongside ours, but is embedded within it. Only one village in Great Britain, the small Scottish town of Hogsmeade, possesses an entirely magical population. The vast majority of Wizard locations are isolated within the wider non-magical area. The Wizard emporium Diagon Alley, for instance, lies in central London, just off Charing Cross Road. The train to Hogwarts School departs from the very real King's Cross Station, albeit from Platform 9¾. The all-Wizard Weasley family live in the Muggle village of Ottery St. Catchpole, presumably near the real town of Ottery St. Mary, in Devon. These locations are hidden by a combination of magical protections (many magical locations, such as the island of Drear off the coast of Scotland, and the wizarding prison, Azkaban Fortress, are rendered Unplottable, or impossible to locate on a map) and the natural tendency of everyday, non-magical people to ignore anything they cannot explain or understand. Rather implausibly, although wizarding society lives for the most part directly amongst muggles, few wizards are aware of basic muggle culture (for example, as a rule, wizards do not understand muggle clothing customs. What they wear under their robes, if not such clothing, has never been explained), and a sizeable number are proud of their ignorance.
[edit] Population
The terms wizard and witch are used in magical society more or less the same way the terms boy/man and girl/woman are used in the Muggle world. Mage and similar words are rare and usually only seen in titles or such.
There is no completely definitive knowledge about the demography of the Wizarding world. We do know that on the year Harry Potter entered Hogwarts, there were 39 students that started school with him[HP1] - Rowling having produced a list to this effect. This seems to indicate a very low birth rate, or a very low number of witches and wizards in Great Britain and Ireland, or a combination of both.
Additionally, J.K. Rowling has stated that she imagines the Wizarding population of the UK to be around 3,000. This estimate, although to muggle eyes amazingly small, is understandable: a larger population would be far harder to hide from muggle knowledge.
However, points have been raised:
- There are a large number of governmental departments (even Arthur Weasley's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office is staffed by two people), and Harry observes "hundreds" of witches and wizards in the Ministry's Atrium alone - although Harry is admittedly a rather poor judge of numbers (having once seen 200 Slytherin students). This would appear rather too large for such a small population.
- The Quidditch World Cup stadium could hold 100,000 and was built by a "Ministry task force of five hundred". It seems unlikely that a sixth of the entire country worked for a full year on one project.
Also, it could be noted that not every creature in the magical community is a witch or wizard. Below exists a list of beasts, beings and spirits - many of which co-exist and co-work with the wizarding community. Examples are Ghosts, werewolves, Goblins and house elves. This would create more wizarding citizens to account for.
[edit] History
Readers have so far learned very little about the history of the magical world. The teaching of History in Hogwarts is conducted in a distinctly lack-lustre manner, leading to most students drowsing during lessons; since the reader depends upon Harry (who has no interest in history at all) for information, the reader gains little knowledge of the topic. Wizarding records also seem confusingly erratic in their accuracy: Ollivander's, a local wand shop, gives a precise date of 382 BC as its inception; however, the founding of Hogwarts (a seminal event in British magical history) is given a vague date of roughly a thousand years before present events. The various Quidditch teams in the United Kingdom trace their founding to the 14th century and earlier. Floo powder, one of the mainstays of Wizard transportation, was invented in the 13th century; however, the name 'floo' would indicate a later origin (after the introduction of the flue chimney). There are many hints that wizard history has paralleled Muggle history to some extent. Dumbledore is noted for having defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, the year of the Allied victory in World War II - although, again, no other history about this supposedly relevant magical event has been mentioned.
The broad swathe of Wizard history can be gleaned from the books: until the Middle Ages, Wizards and Muggles appear to have co-existed, albeit grudgingly. Hogwarts School, which was built at some point in the tenth or eleventh century, owes its isolation to its founders' fears of Muggle intrusion. During the Middle Ages, witch persecutions increased (although witches were rarely burned in Britain, this being a punishment for heretics), and in 1642, magical peoples gathered from around the world to sign the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, which permanently split off the Wizard world (as well as magical creatures such as dragons and unicorns) from the Muggle world.
[edit] Government and politics
The Ministry of Magic is the British wizarding world's central authority, bureaucracy and law enforcement, led by the Minister for Magic. The Ministry does not answer to any part of the Muggle government, but its head is obliged to inform the Prime Minister of events that could cause Muggle notice, such as escaped criminals or the importation of highly dangerous magical creatures; otherwise, the general Ministry policy is to keep Muggles in ignorance of magical events at all costs (for example, the supposed murder of twelve muggles by Sirius Black was passed off to the grieving relatives as a gas explosion). The Ministry's stated job is to uphold secrecy and order in wizarding Britain, and it maintains a large number of departments, offices and so forth.
Politically, many aspects of the British wizarding world are very different to the current muggle political system. The position of Minister is filled by appointment rather than election; the Wizengamot, an unelected Court of fifty-odd wizards and witches, serves as the judiciary, whilst the Ministry serves as the executive. Legislative power is divided between the Wizengamot and the Ministry - the precise divisions are undefined.
Although the position of Minister is non-electable, public opinion appears to matter greatly to the success of a Minister, especially one who cares about such things: at the end of 'The Goblet of Fire', Cornelius Fudge dreaded the media and public reaction to any suggestion that he believed Voldemort to have returned; in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after he has been forced to resign, he comments that the whole wizarding community had been 'screaming for his resignation for a fortnight'.
The Wizengamot, in its function as the wizarding court, appears to function without any basis in the large body of rules which have come into existence over the past thousand years: in Harry's trial, there was little consideration of evidence, the chief judge (Madam Bones) appears to have been willing to free Harry on the basis of a dubious account from a witness which she happened to believe, and there was no opportunity for the court (rather than a jury) to vote in secret. It has the power to imprison a witch or wizard without trial, chance of appeal, or lawyer. It also, apparently, does not require barristers or soliciters.
[edit] Relations
[edit] To the Muggle world
The Muggles remain - for the most part - oblivious to the wizarding world, a situation considered eminantly preferable to the alternative by wizards. Most things of magical nature are hidden or otherwise obscured from Muggles, others (such as Dementors or ghosts) simply cannot be seen by them.
To most magical people, the Muggle world is also basically - and rather inexplicably - unknown. Even if they know it is there somewhere, the regular wizard and witch is oblivious of the functionality and differences of the Muggle world. Their attempts to disguise themselves as Muggles, as when they have to venture out into "normal" streets, often have laughable and implausible results. A common running gag is the misconception of common Muggle terms like "telephone", "escalator," "plumber," "firearms" or "policeman," which are at various times mistakenly called "fellytone," "escamator," "pumble," "firelegs," and "pleese-men."
Muggle Studies is an option of study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, while some professions require its study, to others it is often considered a "soft option".
[edit] Internationally
The magical governments of the world are to some degree united in the International Confederation of Wizards. This organisation, the details of which have not been revealed in the books, plays an important role in maintaining the secrecy of the Wizarding World.
[edit] Internally
See also: Blood purity tensions, the Death Eaters.
Since a person's most important capability – magical aptitude – does not depend on sex, gender equality does not appear to have ever been a particular issue. Similarly, and for similar reasons, racism seems virtually non-existent. Hogwarts is multiracial and multicultural, yet rarely is this fact even mentioned in the novels, instead being taken for granted - and even bigots such as Draco Malfoy appear to have no objection to girls (e.g. Pansy Parkinson) or students from ethnic minorities (e.g. Blaise Zabini, who is black and part Italian). However, in other respects, prejudice and discrimination seem not only endemic to the Wizard world but in some cases ingrained to the level of apartheid. The most obvious example of wizard prejudice is a longstanding disdain (in some cases, genocidal hatred) for Muggles and wizards and witches of Muggle parentage (Muggle-borns, half-bloods). This has led to a eugenic philosophy among some of the older wizarding families, leading to a practice of "pure-blood" intermarriage that has exposed many of them (such as the Gaunt family) to the risks of mental instability.
Another fairly obvious prejudice, which echoes the condescending attitude taken by Victorians toward natives in conquered lands, is the suspicion or disregard for other species of human intelligence ("beings" in Wizard parlance). Voldemort and his allies frequently exploit these divisions to bring non-human magical creatures, particularly werewolves and giants, over to their cause.
Werewolves, who for most of the days in the month can function as reasonably normal human beings (whilst spending the remainder as terrifying murderous monsters), are so hated and despised that to reveal their affliction is to end all possibility of future employment; admittedly, some of the hatred and terror of werewolves is inspired by their wolf-form. Matters have been further worsened by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, a delusional, cannibalistic and humanly savage werewolf with a taste for children's flesh: he has made himself a name of terror in the wizarding world. Whether his attitude is in part a reaction to that of the wizarding world, or whether the attitude of the wizarding world is in part a reaction to his reputation, he has undoubtedly worsened the reputation of werewolves in the wizarding world.
Giants, normally solitary creatures given to territorial aggression, have been rendered nearly extinct by the refusal of Wizards to allow them near habitable land, which has forced the few of their species remaining to cluster together, leading to fights among themselves and further deaths.
House-elves, the brownie-like beings who inhabit houses and willingly (indeed joyfully) perform whatever tasks their wizard "masters" ask of them, have been exploited for centuries as a slave-class, often ruthlessly and thoughtlessly. The fact that most appear to like living in servitude has encouraged wizards take them for granted, to the point where some families even make it a tradition to place the heads of their dead house-elves on their wall. A house-elf can be cast out of a family on the slightest pretext, and their word is often not accepted as valid testimony in criminal cases. House-elves do not appear to be understood by either wizards or readers: the horror a house-elf will feel upon being 'clothed', and the desperate desire of most elves in such a position to find a new household, is unexplained.
Goblins, while they appear to have at least a grudging co-existence with the wizard world, have nonetheless experienced much discrimination from wizards, and many have led significant uprisings against them in the past.
Ageism too seems somewhat endemic in the wizarding world, particularly towards the young. The opinions and thoughts of young people are often ignored by their elders, and teachers at Hogwarts are allowed to bully and maltreat students in a fashion that would be unthinkable in a modern Muggle school. Since wizards appear magically capable until advanced old age, there seems less prejudice toward the old, although Dumbledore's withered hand in book six is often cited by others as evidence of his declining reflexes.
[edit] Education
An untrained magical child will perform spontaneous magic intuitively when severely stressed or in danger, but acquiring the control and knowledge required to hone this into a usable skill takes years. A rare exception appears to be Voldemort, who had actually begun training himself as a child before he was accepted into Hogwarts and personally invited there by Albus Dumbledore, and the education he received there simply made him that much more powerful of a wizard when he eventually graduated.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is located in Scotland, and services the wizarding population of Great Britain and Ireland. Students join at the age of 11, and undertake seven years of training in a variety of subjects from the use of raw magical power to the history of the wizarding world. The schooling is tough, but effective.
Hogwarts is the main location featured in the 'Harry Potter' book series, a school of magic which is home to over a hundred house elves, and numerous ghosts. It is also the school of the famous Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and the current headmistress (as of June 1997) is Minerva McGonagall.
There is no subsequent standard education: those finishing Hogwarts are considered ready to function as adults, and any professions (such as Aurors) requiring additional training provide it themselves.
There is no official precursory education, either, and apparently parents home-school their children in basic non-magical topics, such as literacy. Muggle-borns go through an ordinary Muggle primary education before starting at Hogwarts, which could be viewed as a cognitive edge.
Magic is automatic grounds for admittance. Somewhere there exists a magical quill that writes down the name of those that are born with magical capabilities. Eleven years after a child's name is entered into the book, a letter is sent to the pure and halfblood children to explain that they have been admitted at Hogwarts and should attend on the following September 1st. The homes of Muggle-borns, or those students who are in exceptional circumstances (for example, Tom Marvolo Riddle) receive an envoy instead to explain the situation.
One of the Hogwarts policies is sorting the students into four Houses. This is done during the first year, on the first day at school. Students are divided by traits of personality or aspirations, or familial background, using the Sorting Hat.
[edit] Wizarding Examinations Authority
The Wizarding Examinations Authority is a fictional group in the Harry Potter series that examine Hogwarts students in their fifth and seventh years taking their O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams. The head, Griselda Marchbanks, is an elderly witch who examined a school-aged Albus Dumbledore in his N.E.W.T.s.
[edit] Known foreign schools
[edit] Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
- Headmistress: Olympe Maxime
- Location: Southern France
- Language: French
- Uniforms: Fine silk robes of pale blue
- Coat of Arms: Two golden wands, both shooting out three stars, crossed on a light-blue background.
[edit] Durmstrang Institute
- Headmaster: Igor Karkaroff (until the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
- Location: Secret, apparently somewhere in northern Europe, since the students' uniforms include fur cloaks and winter days are said to be shorter than in Scotland. Its catchment area may include Bulgaria, as the 1994 Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker Viktor Krum was the Durmstrang champion for the 1994 Triwizard Tournament (although Draco Malfoy's parents ostensibly considered sending him there).
- Uniforms: Blood red robes and heavy furs and staffs.
[edit] Salem Witches' Institute
- Headmaster: Unknown
- Location: United States, presumably in Salem, Massachusetts.
- Note: This may not be a school at all; the claim that it is a prominent example of Harry Potter fanon. There is a reference to several middle-aged American witches sitting under a banner reading "Salem Witches' Institute" outside the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of Fire, chapter 7. It could be that it is a parody of the Women's Institute.
[edit] Other schools
- Bill Weasley had a pen pal at an unknown school in Brazil, who took offence when Bill couldn't afford a student exchange programme and sent him a cursed hat that made his ears shrivel up.
[edit] Economy
Wizards have their own currency, based on coins in an initially puzzling non-decimal system. The three types of coins are Galleons (equivalent to British Imperial Gold Sovereigns), Sickles (equivalent to British Imperial silver shillings) and Knuts (equivalent to British Imperial pennies). Conversion rates are 17 Sickles to a Galleon, 29 Knuts to a Sickle and 493 Knuts to a Galleon. Since notes of exchange are not used, the handling of wizard money may be quite cumbersome.
The main economic entity in Britain is Gringotts, a wizard bank run by goblins with a high and rather lethal security system (including a vast subterranean maze and dragons). There are hundreds of vaults, each one with a unique key, whose possessor alone can open it. In these vaults a person can keep whatever he wants (like a security vault). Diagon Alley, where the bank is located, is crammed with shops and forms a commercial hub.
Based on statements in the Comic Relief novelty books 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through the Ages', the exchange rate would appear to be roughly three sickles, 6 knuts to every pound/£5.14 to every Galleon: the Galleon is therefore worth more than five times the £(see Estimates of worth in Harry Potter).
[edit] Medicine
Wizard medicine is in some ways ahead of its Muggle counterpart. While Muggle medicine largely attempts to stimulate the body's own healing and defence systems, magic can simply impose well-being. Healing is not as simple as ordinary spells, but should be able to cure minor injuries in a negligible amount of time and just about every other somatic problem (even missing or boneless limbs) given somewhat longer. Conventional ailments, save from large-scale neurological damage, appear to be very easy to fix. Of course, a number of problems in a setting like this don't qualify under conventional ailments. It is known that wizards may eat chocolate after confrontations with dementors (in [HP3] Professor Lupin gives Harry chocolate many times, and when Lupin and Harry are in the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey asks "Have they had chocolate yet?").
Wizards have had a cure for the common cold for years: it is known as Pepper-up Potion and is characterised by the patient emitting steam from their ears.
Wizards do not appear to make use of vaccinations, however: a common cause of death appears to be Dragon Pox.
Wizard doctors and surgeons are known as Healers. While Madam Pomfrey runs a mean hospital wing at Hogwarts, the central establishment for this purpose is the St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Various magical diseases, such as "dragonpox" and "vanishing disease", are mentioned in the books, but little is known about them.
Though never explicitly mentioned in the books, Rowling has admitted that the potential lifespan of a witch or wizard is longer than that of a Muggle. Albus Dumbledore, old by any standards, is approximately 150 years of age, and still alive by the time of his demise in HBP. In addition, the character Griselda Marchbanks appears in the fifth novel, stating that she once examined Dumbledore during his O.W.L.s. She would have to be at least a decade (or perhaps more) older than Dumbledore if this statement held true. As another example, Hagrid, who is portrayed as a relatively young adult, is actually in his sixties; he was expelled during his third year at Hogwarts, and this occurred about 50 years ago.[HP2] However, despite this claim, Rowling has not shown many long-lived wizards: indeed, the Black Family Tree shows most listed members dying at ages not even at average for muggles. Rowling has never given a specific average lifespan for a magical person, but it is at least understandable that magic may have profound effect on prolonging a witch or wizard's life.
[edit] Transportation
The Wizarding world is fragmented and disassociated in structure. It can be represented by a single small house in an entirely Muggle village, or a single street in the back alleys of London. The population is small and sparsely scattered. Wizard modes of transport, therefore, embody the necessity of covering large distances very quickly.
[edit] Floo Powder
Floo Powder is a green-coloured powder that is thrown into a lit fireplace. Its immediate effect is to turn the flames green. A witch or wizard then steps into the fireplace and clearly says aloud the name of the place they wish to go. This is followed by a spinning sensation. Floo Powder is a very popular method of transportation, and there is even a Floo Network. A fireplace must be on the Floo Network for one to travel to it. How exactly the Floo Network is operated is unclear, but we do know that Ministry officials are able to monitor it.
[edit] Apparation
Apparation and disapparation is another form of transport for witches and wizards. This is when they are able to disappear and appear at another place almost instantly. This particular mode of transportation is difficult to master and it becomes increasingly unreliable over long distances. It requires an ability to concentrate on the destination, focus that determination on the desired destination, and a sense of deliberation to reach your goal. Normally, only Apparation-licensed wizards, over the age of seventeen, may apparate at will. There is also "Side-Along Apparation", where a wizard unable, for whatever reason, takes hold of an arm of another wizard, who is able to apparate; the two can then apparate together entirely under the power of the able wizard. This can be used as a means of allowing an underaged wizard to legally apparate: it is used in book six when Harry and Dumbledore go to Professor Slughorn's residence.
Poor focus results in splinching, a term for the (apparently non-bloody) separation of body parts. Even experienced wizards hesitate when using this method to travel great distances —it is usually safer to use another method.
[edit] Broomsticks
The brooms wizards use have enchantments on them that enable them to fly. They are used to travel long distances, or for sport, particularly in the game Quidditch. Modern brooms have a Cushioning Charm (invented by Elliot Smethywick) to prevent great discomfort. For a greater knowledge of the evolution of broomsticks and of the various sports involving them, consult Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp.
Some modern broomsticks include the Comet series, Cleansweep series, Nimbus series, and the Firebolt.
[edit] The Knight Bus
The Knight Bus is a magical triple-decker bus. It is described as "violently purple", with "gold lettering over the windshield". To flag it down, all a witch or wizard must do is stick out their wand arm while standing on the sidewalk. The driver is Ernie Prang and the conductor was Stan Shunpike, who was imprisoned in Azkaban in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. For a more detailed description of the Knight Bus, and the magical abilities it possesses, consult Chapter Three of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
[edit] Flying creatures
A range of flying creatures are available for transport, although this appears not to be a common mode of travel among the wizarding community.
It is possible to travel using Hippogriffs. In Book 3, Harry and Sirius travelled using the Hippogriff Buckbeak.
Harry Potter used thestrals to travel in Book 5. The book also mentions that Dumbledore sometimes uses a thestral when he wishes to travel in secrecy.
Headmistress of Beauxbatons (Book 4) travels in a carriage drawn by several winged horses; but the coach itself may also have some flying ability, since it does not hang below the horses. It is possible that the horses only provide the propulsive power, but the actual situation is not clearly described in the book.
In Book 2, Harry and others are carried by Fawkes the Phoenix. The travellers hold on to his tail feathers. A different technique is used by Dumbledore in Book 5, where he grabs Fawkes' tail feathers and both vanish in a flash of fire.
[edit] Portkeys
Portkeys are ordinary objects that have been magically granted the power to transport people who touch them. Portkeys can be dangerous, as they can send unsuspecting people anywhere, and are thus illegal to operate without authorisation. Portkeys can be set to activate either at a prearranged time, or as soon the person comes in contact with them. To prevent Muggles from accidentally touching and activating Portkeys, wizards usually choose to enchant objects which are unlikely to be noticed or interfered with by muggles.
[edit] Other methods
- Hogwarts students are transported to and from Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express.
- Students from the wizarding school Durmstrang travelled to Hogwarts on a ship. Apparently, even though it suddenly appeared from a whirlpool in the Hogwarts lake, there is still rowing involved.
- Flying Carpets are a primary form of wizarding transport in Asia. Flying carpets are their equivalent to the broomstick. Flying Carpets are designated as contraband in Britain, under the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Act (broomsticks are not considered Muggle Artifacts).
- Very rarely, a Centaur will allow a human to ride on his back. This is the most solemn of events, offered only to highly honoured riders.
- In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Draco Malfoy finds a way to travel from the shop Borgin and Burkes to Hogwarts through the use of a vanishing cabinet.
[edit] Communication
A variety of magical communication methods are available to the wizarding world.
[edit] Owls
By far the most popular method of communication is via owls. Owls are used for conveying packages, with multiple owls acting in concert for heavier ones; sending mail; delivering newspapers; and in general acting as a replacement for the Postal Service of the Muggle world. There is payment in some circumstances, with the owl requesting that coins be placed in a leather pouch attached to its leg, but this in inconsistent. Not only owls may be used; Sirius makes use of a tropical bird, likely a macaw, on one occasion.
How the owls find the recipients of the letters they carry is not specifically stated. In some circumstance, letters have extremely explicit addresses to them (specifying particular rooms or locations inside of a building). Other times, there is no mention of an address, and the owl is simply told to whom to deliver.
Also, though owls are portrayed as flying directly to the recipient of their package, it is implied that owl traffic can be monitored and even interrupted. There are several references to "the owls being watched" and Harry uses different owls to communicate with Sirius since his snowy owl, Hedwig, would supposedly attract too much attention. On one occasion Hedwig is injured after being intercepted and searched.
J.K. Rowling writes about owls and the reasons behind her choices of them on her official website.
[edit] Floo Network
This method of travelling is also used quite frequently to communicate; this is typically done by sticking your head, as opposed to your entire body, into the fireplace. However, this particular method is quite uncomfortable.
[edit] Other Methods
- There is wizarding radio; how this does not conflict with existing Muggle radio is unexplained. No mention is made of analogous television. However, this does not rule out the possibility.
- The Protean Charm allows objects to be attuned to the changes of a master object and change accordingly, thus allowing a broadcast message. Voldemort has used the charm to his advantage, as Death Eaters all share a common tattoo, and can be alerted by Lord Voldemort by his touching his own or one of the others.
- Paper aeroplanes are used for internal communication within the Ministry of Magic, as owls make too much mess.
- If magical portraits of an individual exist in multiple locations, the subject appears able to move between them, talking to others on each end and reporting on what is going on. The only personages shown thus far to have multiple portraits have been those in the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, several of whom have linked portraits in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, the Ministry of Magic, and Grimmauld Place. However, magical portraits appear generally to allow their occupants to visit each other, and to move from painting to painting. In both the book and film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban, this is shown when one of the characters in the paintings deserts her own picture when confronted by Sirius Black.
- Magical mirrors, in pairs, can communicate by one holder speaking the name of the other holder into the mirror.
- Fawkes the phoenix is capable of giving long-range warnings via his feathers.
- In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore makes a comment that members of the order "have more reliable methods of communicating" than the Floo Network. This refers to sending messages using the Patronus Charm. For example, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Nymphadora Tonks sends a corporeal Patronus as a message to say that Harry is safe, after finding him under his Invisibility Cloak on the Hogwarts Express.
[edit] Food and beverages
The following are food and beverages unique to the wizarding world:
[edit] Magical sweets
See Magical objects in Harry Potter#Magical Sweets
[edit] Butterbeer
Butterbeer is the drink of choice for younger wizards. Harry is first presented with the beverage in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Though marketed to children, it contains alcohol: it causes no noticeable drunkenness on a thirteen-year-old human (but does create a feeling of warmth in the drinker), but is strong enough to cause drunkenness in a house-elf, if consumed in large amounts; presumably, in very large amounts, the same would apply to a human. J. K. Rowling said in her interview to Bon Appetit magazine that she imagines it "to taste a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch". Butterbeer can be served cold or hot but either way it has a warming effect.
The mascot of the Quidditch team the Ballycastle Bats, Barny the Fruitbat, is used in butterbeer advertisements. In these advertisements, Barny says: "I'm just batty about Butterbeer!"
[edit] Firewhisky
Firewhisky is a type of alcohol that wizards under the age of 17 aren't allowed to drink. Ron wonders hopefully if he can get one (illegally) in the Hog's Head, but Hermione won't let him. Ron finally gets one in Half Blood Prince at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
[edit] Pumpkin juice
This beverage is served in the dining hall of Hogwarts.
[edit] Creatures
There are a lot of magical creatures in the wizarding world. These are described in Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. There is a general classification of creatures into three main fields: beings, beasts, and spirits
[edit] Beings
See also: being (Harry Potter)
- Humans
- Banshees
- Goblins
- House-elves
- Hags
- Ogres
- Vampires
- Giants
- Veela
- Wood Nymphs
- Dwarves
- Werewolves (Considered Beasts while in wolf form, and Beings while in human form)
Not officially Beings, but would meet the classification if they so desired:
- Centaurs
- Merpeople
- Leprechauns
Centaurs and Merpeople were originally classified as Beings, but requested reclassification as Beasts due to their wish to remain as separate as possible from humans (and such creatures as Vampires and Hags). Leprechauns have never bothered to apply for reclassification from Beasts to Beings.
[edit] Beasts
See also: Magical beasts (Harry Potter) and Minor Harry Potter beasts
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Acromantulas, Manticores, and Sphinxes are sentient but too inherently and untrainably aggressive to be given Being status. Sphinxes, specifically, fly into a rage when given the wrong answer to one of their riddles.
[edit] Spirits
The Spirit division of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was created to deal with ghosts, who found the classification of "Being" to be cruel, as they are so clearly has-beens.
[edit] Status unclear or unknown
- Dementors
- Hinkypunk
- Boggart
- Poltergeists
Hinkypunks and Boggarts are not mentioned in "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them", yet do not seem to possess the requesite intelligence to be Beings. Certainly no regard is given to their legal rights, as demonstrated by their casual use in Professor Lupin's classes (which was fatal to at least one of the Boggarts, who was extinguished by laughter). It is possible that they are considered Spirits. Poltergeists like Peeves have been referred to by Rowling as "spirits". Similarly, dementors do not seem to be entirely physical. However, only ghosts have so far been clearly stated to belong to the Spirit Division.
[edit] Plants
[edit] Religion
Christian holidays constitute the only explicit mention of religion in the series, other than the dedication of London's Wizarding hospital to Saint Mungo. Christmas and Easter are celebrated amongst wizards, though the celebrations mainly cover the non-religious portions of the holidays, such as: Father Christmas, Christmas trees, gift giving, and Easter eggs. However, a Hogwarts suit of armour is referred to in The Goblet of Fire as singing Oh Come, All Ye Faithful, a religious Christmas carol. In OotP, Sirius Black chants what is evidently a wizard-carol or even an invention/improvisation of his own ("God rest ye merry Hippogriffs"). It is likely that the subject is merely avoided by the author, rather than entirely irrelevant to the wizarding world. It is known that witches and wizards bury their dead, and that Harry Potter was christened and has a godfather. The existence of souls is taken as a given: an extensive discussion of souls, and the risks involved in splitting them, takes place in HBP. The assumption seems to be that wizards can be members of any "Muggle" faith, and no specifically magical religions are mentioned.
Christianity is not the only religion alluded to. The Hogwarts students (and twins) Parvati and Padma Patil have very traditional Hindu names, implying that they are in fact Hindus. They also retain some cultural influences, including wearing chudidars to the Yule Ball (as depicted in the movie adaptation of Goblet of Fire). This may or may not be canonical, as it is depicted in the film, but Rowling does in fact describe Parvati as wearing something akin to a sari in the novel.
[edit] Holidays
Wizarding holidays include Christmas and Easter; Halloween seems to be held in higher esteem by wizards than Muggles, as it is the only holiday, apart from Christmas, to have a banquet to its honour. School holidays include a Summer Vacation, and a two week holiday at Christmas and Easter like the English schools.
[edit] See also
- Spells in Harry Potter
- Magic in Harry Potter
- Magical beasts (Harry Potter)
- Magical objects in Harry Potter
| J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosopher's Stone | book | film | game | soundtrack | |
| Chamber of Secrets | book | film | game | soundtrack | |
| Prisoner of Azkaban | book | film | game | soundtrack | |
| Goblet of Fire | book | film | game | soundtrack | |
| Order of the Phoenix | book | (film) | (game) | ||
| Half-Blood Prince | book | (film) | |||
| Book Seven | (book) | ||||
| Other books | Other games | ||||
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup | ||||
| Quidditch Through the Ages | |||||
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Plot – Characters – Places – Spells – Translations – Fandom – Related articles - Quidditch |
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