In the fictional universe of Harry Potter, magic is depicted as a supernatural force that overrides the laws of nature.
[1] J. K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, based many magical elements in her fictional universe on real-world mythology and folklore.
The exhibition, entitled Harry Potter: A History of Magic, was the first at the British Library to be based on a single series by a living author.
In young and untrained children, magical effects will occur spontaneously during moments of strong emotion.
[4] For example, Harry Potter liberates a boa constrictor at the London Zoo and inflates his Aunt Marge to an enormous size.
They are generally short bursts of magic used to accomplish a specialised task, such as creating fire or unlocking a door.
[10] Before publishing the first Harry Potter novel, Rowling spent five years establishing the limitations of magic – determining what it can and cannot do.
[11] In Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbledore tells Harry that magic cannot truly and permanently bring dead individuals back to life.
Likewise, it is not possible to make oneself immortal unless one uses an object of great power to sustain life, such as the Philosopher's Stone or a Horcrux.
Other methods of extending life include drinking unicorn blood, which will keep a person alive even if death is imminent, but at the price of being cursed forever.
It is revealed by Nearly Headless Nick in the fifth novel that all wizards have the choice of becoming ghosts upon dying; however, it is described as "a pale imitation of life".
[12][13] As explained earlier, young untrained wizards can trigger uncontrolled magic when they are in a state of intense emotion.
For instance, in Half-Blood Prince, a heartbroken Nymphadora Tonks temporarily loses her power as a Metamorphmagus when Remus Lupin starts distancing himself from her; the form of her Patronus changes to reflect her depression.
Another example is Merope Gaunt, who only demonstrated any magical ability when removed from her father's oppression, but then lost it again when her husband abandoned her.
[14] A certain key prophecy in the series describes Harry as having "power the Dark Lord knows not", referencing his capacity for love.
During the course of the series, several unregistered animagi are depicted, including James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Rita Skeeter.
According to Harry, Apparition feels like being squeezed through a tight rubber tube, and Dumbledore explains to him that most students vomit their first time apparating.
To remedy a splinch requires the assistance of the Ministry's Accidental Magic Reversal Squad or essence of dittany.
A wizard possessing this skill is called a Legilimens, and can, for example, detect deceit in another person, witness their memories, or plant visions in their mind.
The predictions given through this ability can sometimes be self-fulfilling prophecies, and Dumbledore states in Order of the Phoenix that not all of them come true, depending on the choices made by those involved.
Another notable seer is Gellert Grindelwald, an infamous dark wizard, who acquired the ability of precognition from an enchantment incorporating the sacrifice of a qilin.
The most prominent Dark wizard is Voldemort (having previously been Grindelwald until his defeat to Dumbledore in 1945), who has followers called Death Eaters.
Inferi appear in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in the cave where one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (the locket of Salazar Slytherin) is kept.
To create a Horcrux, a witch or wizard must first prepare the chosen object[26] in a ritual which Rowling described only as "too horrible to go into detail about".
Following that, further dark rituals are required in order to remove the soul shard from the maker and place it into the prepared object.
These compulsory subjects are Astronomy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration.
In the Harry Potter series, characters depicted in painted portraits can move, interact with living observers, speak and demonstrate emotion and personality.