Ch 6 History and origin of magicals

Magic was a supernatural force that changed aspects of the world at fundamental levels.

The ability for humans to use magic was a hereditary trait passed down from a person's ancestors, which allowed witches and wizards to practise it.

Rather than being a mystical or unnatural pursuit that defied the laws of nature, however, magic simply allowed those who could wield it to exploit them in very specific and creative ways that Muggle science were unable to replicate.

One example of this, for example, was in how vanishment did not actually make objects cease to exist, but rather, according to Professor McGonagall, go "into non-being, which is to say, everything", which was consistent with the law of conservation of matter and energy.

Magic also followed its own set of rules with respect to what it could do, such as how Conjured objects could only exist for a temporary period of time, and objects couldn't be enlarged beyond a certain point without becoming unstable and/or exploding.

The basic concepts of magic were fairly simple — even a two-year-old wizard could do some form of magic — but the inherent power and potential for misuse were great indeed.

It was for this reason that promising young witches and wizards were sent to schools of magic, such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to refine their craft and learn the art and responsibility of their power.

There, they learned a variety of magical specialities, general theory and the history of magic in their world.

Magic was unable to be performed by non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles), which was what separated the Muggle world from the wizarding world.

As a substitute for magic, Muggles used technology, but in the same sense, many wizards were ignorant of the workings of most Muggle devices, including electricity.

Both Muggles and wizards viewed their choice of tool as completely and utterly logical and ordinary, although each would find the other's tools fascinating or even mysterious.

In humans, the ability to perform magic, or lack thereof, was an inborn attribute. The former was the norm in the children of magical couples and rare in those of Muggles.

The wizarding gene (found in witches and wizards) was dominant, while the non-magical gene (found in Muggles and Squibs) was recessive.

Those unable to do magic who were born to magical parents were known as Squibs; this was when the non-magical gene resurfaced, causing the offspring to therefore be non-magical.

A witch or wizard born to Muggle parents was known as a Muggle-born. This was when a Muggle family was descended from a Squib, and the wizarding gene resurfaced many generations later.

Muggle-borns were far more common than Squibs, which might be a feature of the disparate sizes of the Muggle and wizarding populations.

Other intelligent magical beings in the wizarding world, such as veelas, goblins and house-elves, could also perform their own brand of magic, distinctly different from human magic.

Other magical creatures might possess their own forms of rudimentary magic, including fairies.

Like the human race itself, magic was supposed to have originated in Africa.

Wizards and witches were known to society at large and were held in awe and high esteem due to their unique powers. Ancient Egyptian wizards placed curses to protect their tombs from plunderers.

Ancient Indian wizards created the Snake Summons Spell. The wand was invented in Europe during the B.C. era.

Dark Magic was practised and evident in ancient Greece, with Herpo the Foul being infamous for pioneering a multitude of forbidden practices, including creating the first known Basilisk, as well as the first known Horcrux.

These genes were portions of human DNA that determined whether or not an individual had magical abilities.

Those people born with the genes active were witches and wizards, while those who were born with the gene but it was inactive were Squibs, and those who did not have the gene at all were Muggles.

Magic genes were described as being "dominant and resilient".Squibs, while unable to use magic, were often still able to function within the wizarding world to a limited degree.

The descendants of squibs who instead integrated into the Muggle world and married would usually be Muggles, although the magical abilities occasionally resurfaced in later generations, producing a Muggle-born witch or wizard.

This the muggles were actually descendents of purebloods ( squib) .

---------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 7 types of spells in the Harry Potter universe: charms, curses, transfigurations, healing spells, jinxes, hexes, and counter-spells. Each of these types have their own properties and purposes, all being able to be cast by a single wand.

_____________________________________________________________________________________