Wandless magic

Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in:Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery &Hogwarts Legacy. As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

Wandless magic^[1] was the performance ofmagic without the use of awand. Such magic was often difficult to perform for those who didn't take the time to learn the skill, and could have unexpected or volatile results if not done properly. Usually,witches and wizards accustomed to using wands could only reliably perform wandless magic if they possessed great skill.^[1] However, within regions of thewizarding world that historically did not use wands, wandless magic was considered the norm, and using one was optional.^[1][2]

Nature and practice[]

Wands were used bywitches and wizards to channel theirmagic, making theirspells more accurate and potent.^[1] Within cultures where wands were ubiquitous, only the most powerful and disciplined wizards and witches could perform wandless magic reliably.^[1]Transfiguration andcharms were particularly difficult to perform without a wand.^[1]

However, thewand was aEuropean invention, and some cultures did not traditionally rely upon such tools for performing magic.^[1][2]Native Americans had their own practices that predated European colonisation, and did not require a wand;^[1]African witches and wizards only adopted the wand in the20th century, and even in the modern era, wands were not necessary for many of their practices.^[2]

Wandless magic was not officially taught atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; however, books on the subject were found in theRestricted Section of theHogwarts Library.^[3]

Wandless magic could also be performednonverbally, but this increased the level of difficulty to the point that only practitioners of exceptional skill could perform more than the most basic magic.Albus Dumbledore, generally considered the greatest wizard of all time, was known for performing magic in this manner.^[4]Quirinus Quirrell whilst possessed byLord Voldemort was also capable of both nonverbal and wandless spells, as shown with theIncarcerous Spell which he used onHarry Potter in theUnderground Chambers.^[4]

Gellert Grindelwald, an infamousDark wizard active in theGlobal Wizarding War, was also extremely skilled with wandless magic, having performed it numerous times without difficulty during the conflict.^[5][6]

Underage magic[]

Main article:Underage magic

Wandless spells were often used in cases ofunderage magic, in which children under the age of eleven, who had no wands, sometimes used magic. This was known as Accidental Wandless Magic. On most of these occasions, the children had no control over their abilities, and wouldunintentionally use magic when upset or in danger.

Some children, however,exerted some control over their magic, but they were untrained in proper spells. For example,Tom Riddle was able to hurt people and influence animals before he even knew of the existence of thewizarding world,^[7] andLily Evans was able to use magic to stop herself falling as fast as normal and also to accelerate the growth of a flower.^[8]

On2 August1995,Harry Potter unknowingly performed underage wandless magic in analleyway inLittle Whinging due to thepresence ofDementors, with Harry speaking theincantation for theWand-Lighting Charm aloud (Lumos) despite not holdinghis wand which he had dropped in the darkness, which instantly illuminated his wand, allowing him to find it.^[9]

Known practitioners[]

The following wizards and witches were known to have been able to performspells intentionally without use of awand:

• Andros the Invincible^[10]
• Uagadou students^[2]
• Eleazar Fig^[11]
• Gellert Grindelwald^[5][6]
• Queenie Goldstein^[5][6]
• Carlotta Pinkstone^[10]
• Jacob's sibling^[12][13][14]
• Liz Tuttle's mother^[3]
• Merula Snyde^[3]
• Jacob^[3]
• Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde^[15]
• Vega^[16]
• Ben Copper^[17]
• Albus Dumbledore^{[4][18][7][19]}
• Alastor Moody^[20]
• Bartemius Crouch Junior^[21]
• Severus Snape^[22]
• Filius Flitwick^[23]
• Quirinus Quirrell^[4]
• Minerva McGonagall^[24]
• Harry Potter^[9][25][26]
• Remus Lupin^[27]
• Tom^[28]
• Wizard in the Leaky Cauldron^[29]
• Fenrir Greyback^[30]
• Tom Marvolo Riddle^[7]
• Hermione Granger^[31]
• Delphini^[26]
• Todd Cribb^[32]

Possible practitioners[]

The following wizards and witches may or may not have intentionally performed spells without use of a wand:

• Altheda (fictional)^[33]
• Draco Malfoy^[34]

Non-human wandless magic[]

Main articles:House-elf magic andGoblin magic

House-elves,goblins, and othernon-humans were able to perform magic without wands.^[35]

Goblins sometimes referred to wizards and witches as "wand bearers" and humans' refusal to share wand knowledge with goblins was a source of great ill-feeling between the two species.^[36]

Behind the scenes[]

• In thefilm andvideo game adaptations ofHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,Hermione Granger casts theConfundus Charm atCormac McLaggen whispering the words into her hand. She was merely holding her wand while casting theAvis later in the film and merely spoke theOppugno Jinx to make the conjured birds shoot at Ron like bullets instead of pointing her wand at him as she did in the novel.
• Thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban showed more instances of wandless magic compared to other films, being:
  • Dumbledore flicking the flame of a candle during his speech at the Great Hall.
  • Dumbledore casting theSlowing Charm.
  • Lupin opening the lock of a trunk containing theBoggart during Harry'sAnti-Dementor lessons.
  • Lupin relighting candles during these lessons.
• Rowling describes wandless magic as sophisticated and requiring more talent than magic performed using a wand.^[37]
• Albus Dumbledore has only demonstrated wandless magic a couple of times in theHarry Potter books. He demonstrated more wandless magic in the film adaptations ofHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, andHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Notable uses of his ability throughout the films were transfiguring theSlytherin banners in theGreat Hall to that ofGryffindor's, savingHarry Potter from falling to hisdeath during a Quidditch match, extinguishing and re-igniting a candle with a wave of his hand, repeatedly sending Harry Potter flying away from his duel with Lord Voldemort without touching him, summoning the chain ofThe Cave boat from theThe Cave lake to his hand (causing the water to bubble) and setting a young Tom Riddle's wardrobe on fire respectively. He also dimmed the Great Hall's light sources when summoning the Champions' names from theGoblet of Fire into his open hand, and dimmed the lights in his office when Harry first used thePensieve to view Dumbledore's memories ofTom Riddle. In each instance, except his encounter with the young Tom Riddle he would extend, wave or otherwise gesture with his hand, while he was not even looking at Tom's wardrobe when he made it engulfed in fire. He even attempted to summonSlytherin's Locket from the basin withEmerald Potion atThe Cave island, but it only caused the potion to ripple inside the basin and forced Dumbledore to have to drink it.
• Tom Riddle, a.k.a Lord Voldemort, also only performed wandless magic in the films, not counting the controlled magic he performed prior to going to Hogwarts. In thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort wandlessly knocked Harry to the ground when waving his hand in front of Harry's face, deflected Harry'sDisarming Charm by waving his hand, and magically lifted Harry from the ground with one hand, applying force to the latter's face from a distance whilst pulling him to his feet. He again used wandless magic on Harry in thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, impatiently disarming the boy with a wave of his wand-free hand. InHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Voldemort again used wandless magic to move a dead giant out of the way (possible withMobilicorpus) and tomake his cloak extend and restrain Harry.
• In thefilm adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,Draco Malfoy appears to close the shutters on theHogwarts Express without a wand,^[34] though it is possible another form of magic was used to close the curtains, not performed by Malfoy.
• Altheda from the fairy taleThe Fountain of Fair Fortune may have been able to perform wandless magic, as she was able to brew a potion when her wand was stolen.^[33] In the in-universe reality, this would require her to cast apotion-making spell, though Beedle the Bard may have ignored this fact as part of his fairy tale.

Appearances[]

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard(Possible appearance)
• Pottermore
• HarryPotter.com
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Hogwarts Legacy

Notes and references[]