
In addition, Lily Evans was able to guide and control the blooming of a flower by wanting to.Īlmost all magic is done with the use of a wand. While this reaction is usually uncontrollable, as an untrained child, Tom Marvolo Riddle was able to make things move without touching them, make animals do what he wanted without training them, make "bad things happen" to people who annoyed him, or make them hurt if he wanted to. For example, Harry Potter once made his hair grow back after a bad haircut, set a boa constrictor on his cousin Dudley at the London Zoo, and made Aunt Marge inflate to an enormous size.

With young and untrained children, magic will manifest itself subconsciously in moments of strong apprehension, fear, anger and sadness. Witches and wizards train to learn how to control their magic.

Rowling based many magical elements of the Harry Potter universe on real-world mythology and magic. While Muggle-borns are quite common, Squibs are extremely rare. Exceptions exist: those unable to do magic who are born to magical parents are known as Squibs, whereas a witch or wizard born to Muggle parents is known as a Muggle-born, or by the derogatory term "Mudblood". Magic is the norm for the children of magical couples and less common in those of Muggles. It is usually inherited, carried on "dominant resilient genes". In humans, magic or the lack thereof is an inborn attribute.

The small number of humans who are able to perform magic (witches and wizards) refer to the rest of the population, oblivious to the existence of magic, as " Muggles" in the United Kingdom and "No-Maj" in the United States. Many fictional magical creatures exist in the series, while ordinary creatures also sometimes exhibit magical properties. Rowling's Harry Potter series, magic is depicted as a supernatural force that can be used to override the usual laws of nature.
