Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing the 10 most powerful wizarding ABILITIES.
In a world full of magic there’s certainly no shortage of spells, and with some wizards
and witches possessing the ability to create them, that list is only growing.
But with such a vast list of abilities, spanning a seemingly infinite number of functionalities,
which are the most powerful?
I’d also like to just clarify that we’re not strictly discussing battle scenarios here.
‘Power’ can be defined in a lot of ways, and it doesn’t always have to be discussed
under the context of fighting or duelling.
The abilities featured on this list may allow an individual to escape the ‘mundane’-
at least, from a muggle-centric viewpoint.
Most will also possess some sort of utilitarian component- bearing a means of achieving something
that is otherwise unachievable or cumbersome.
These abilities can all be achieved WITHOUT the use of additional magical equipment, other
than a wand of course.
Before we get started PAUSE the video and comment YOUR top 10..Or even top 5, down below.
Without further ado- here are my 10 most POWERFUL wizarding abilities:
10.
Choranaptyxis
Have you ever been crammed into a small space with too many people?
Have you ever not QUITE been able to fit in to those jeans?
Or, on the contrary, have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t quite reach
something?
Where you just needed to be a LITTLE BIT bigger?
This (rather unknown) ability can help you there.
Choranaptyxis refers to the ability to SHRINK and GROW.
We see this ability in multiple magical creatures, such as Occamies and Mokes, but there is speculation
that this ability can be honed by witches and wizards as well.
One important distinction to be made, however, is that Choranaptyxic creatures like OCCAMIES
will grow/shrink to fit available space, whereas MOKES can shrink/grow as they desire.
I can imagine that only the second type would be useful.
9.
The Sight
The ‘Sight’ is an ability held by only a select few in the wizarding world, and it
refers to the ability to see the future.
Those who possess this ability are referred to as ‘Seers’.
‘The Sight’ is under the magical umbrella of ‘Divination’, and can be amplified
through becoming versed in things like: tea leaves, Fire-omens, Crystal balls, Palmistry,
Cartomancy, astrology, and Dream interpretations.
Many believe that seers, such as Sybil Trelawney, were frauds- simply ‘pretending’ to predict
the future.
But if Trelawney’s track record is anything to go by, this ability is very much REAL.
In the 1993-1994 school year, Harry meets Trelawney properly for the first time:
"So you may have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts.
I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little
I will be able to teach you.
Books can take you only so far in this field...."
It’s here that Trelawney explicitly warns her class- if you don’t possess ‘the sight’,
you won’t get very far in Divination- at least as far as making prophecies goes.
However, I’d imagine it’d still be quite a fascinating area of study.
The ability isn’t higher up on the list because, though it’d be tempting to use,
I’m not sure I’d want to always know what the future holds.
Ironically, it’s also not very easy to ‘predict’ when your predictions will come.
8.
Obliviate
Have you ever done something horribly embarrassing in front of people and WISHED that you could
wipe their memories?
Well, Obliviate, aka the ‘Forgetfulness Charm’ is the spell for you.
This charm allows the caster to erase specific memories from an individual's mind, and was
used EXCESSIVELY by famous fraudster Gilderoy Lockhart, who erased the memories of accomplished
witches and wizards and laid claim to their accomplishments.
Memory charms were primarily used by the Ministry of Magic in response to breaches of the International
Statute of Secrecy, like if a muggle saw a flying car, but the ability itself was known
to many.
The major downside to this ability is that, if performed INCORRECTLY, it could cause brain
damage.
7.
Accio
TV Remote too far away?
Want an EDGE in your sport?
Then Accio is the spell for you.
Simply put, Accio, aka the Summoning Charm, allows the caster to SUMMON an object towards
them.
With the object clear in the caster’s mind, an object, in or out of their line of sight,
could be summoned towards them.
This ability may seem fairly innocuous compared to some of the others on this list, but I
bet you’d use it more than anything else.
6.
Horcrux Creation
"Tamper with the deepest mysteries — the source of life, the essence of self — only
if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind."
A horcrux is an object in which a dark witch or wizard imparts a piece of their soul in
order to achieve immortality.
A horcrux can only be created after committing an act of murder and is considered to be the
most terrible form of dark magic.
Charms and jinxes are often put in place to further protect horcruxes after they are created,
and the appeal of them is that if your main physical form is destroyed your soul/existence
lives on in these objects.
Eternal life at your fingertips is certainly INCREDIBLY powerful, but I’d imagine that
most wouldn’t want it, which is why it’s lower down on the list.
5.
Invisibility
Have you ever been at the grocery store and seen someone walk in that you do NOT want
to talk to?
When you’re out of the house and VULNERABLE to unwanted conversation, there always seems
to be someone lurking around.
I can’t be alone here.
Well, if you’re anything like me, then this ability may come in handy.
Invisibility refers to the ability to be UNSEEN by others, despite actually being there.
There are a few ways of going about this in Harry Potter, with the most known method being
via the invisibility cloak, one of the three Deathly Hallows.
But there IS a way of achieving this WITHOUT any kind of equipment- the Disillusionment
Charm.
This useful charm that Dumbledore’s fond of results in the caster taking on the exact
colours and textures of their environment, much like a chameleon.
The result is that you are basically invisible.
4.
Flying
But not the broom-kind of flying..I said no equipment!
I’m talking about unsupported flight.
"And then Harry saw him.
Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him,
his snake-like face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again —"
JK Rowling is reported to have stated that ALL wizards have the power of flight innately,
but that the vast vast majority need a broom to achieve it.
In Voldemort’s case, he was so focused and powerful that he was able to channel the power
to fly unsupported- harnessing the energy through himself rather than the broom.
Snape was also able to learn this ability- using absolutely NO equipment to launch himself
through the air.
I don’t know about all of you, but for me flying would come in handy all of the time.
Miss the bus?
Fly.
Going on a trip?
Fly.
We also certainly can’t ignore the fact that flying would be great fun.
3.
Transfiguration / Shapeshifting
Transfiguration is defined as the art of changing the form or appearance of an object or person.
Of the abilities on this list, transfiguration is by-far the most diverse, as there are many
forms of magic that fit under this umbrella.
However, I want to focus on the branches of Transfiguration involved with changing the
appearance of people- otherwise known in the muggle world as ‘SHAPESHIFTING’.
‘Animagus’ refers to a witch or wizard who is able to transform in to an animal at
will.
Becoming an animagus is a learned skill, and the witch or wizard who possesses this ability
does NOT have the power to decide what animal their animagus form will be.
‘Metamorphmagus’ refers to a witch or wizard BORN with the ability to transform
/ change their physical appearance at will.
Metamorphmagi CAN change their entire physical appearance like an animagus, but also possess
the ability to hone in on specific parts of their appearance and change only those things.
This is an extremely advanced ability reserved for a fortunate few.
Like I said earlier, ‘transfiguration’ is far too broad an area of magic for me to
include all of it, but if I had to pick an AREA of transfiguration to have as an ability,
I’d definitely go with shapeshifting.
2.
Teleportation
Teleportation, also known as Apparition in Harry Potter, is a magical means of transportation
where the caster is able to instantly travel from one location to another.
It’s a fairly advanced skill which not all witches and wizards are able to perform, and
for those that attempt it but don’t quite get it right, there can be dire consequences.
Many witches and wizards simply PREFER conventional means of transport like brooms, floo powder,
and portkeys, but for those special few that have honed this ability and enjoy doing it,
apparition is certainly the way to go.
From a utilitarian standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than being able to INSTANTLY
transport to your desired location with the snap of your fingers.
If I had to choose a magical ability from this list for MYSELF, this would probably
be the one.
1.
Legilimency (mind-reading)
"The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure.
Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader.
The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter.
Or at least most minds are...
It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions,
to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly."
Mind-reading, or Legilimency, is essentially the art of magically navigating through people’s
minds.
This massively invasive ability allows you to see into people’s minds and read their
thoughts.
While this ability is accessible to any witch or wizard, only few have mastered it- with
Voldemort being an expert on the subject.
Using his skill in legilimency, Voldemort could almost always tell who was lying to
him, and often knew what you were thinking before you uttered a word.
Only incredibly good liars like Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy were able to lie to Voldemort
successfully.
The counter to Legilimency is occlumency, which is the practice of magically closing
one’s mind AGAINST legilimency.
With the exception of Severus Snape and Dumbledore, Voldemort was basically able to access anyone’s
mind if he so desired.
As invasive as it is, reading the thoughts of others is certainly one of if not THE most
powerful ability in the wizarding world, as if you know what people are thinking, you
have the powerful to control almost anybody.
And that’s it for this video!
What do you guys think of my list?
What would you change?
Are there any abilities that I MISSED?
Leave a comment down below.
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Until next time
Remember
Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic