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Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to be discussing a
question I presume that all of us wondered to ourselves as children: Can a Muggle BECOME
magical? I mean, what young Harry Potter fan didn’t secretly hope that their letter was on
its way from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on their eleventh – twelfth,
or maybe even thirteenth – birthday? Of course, I’m keenly aware that invitation letters to
Hogwarts are mailed out to children on their eleventh birthdays. But would it be so outside
the realm of possibility that a child or two had been overlooked on their eleventh birthday
and had to be contacted the next school year? Letters also get lost in the mail all the time!
You know, I’d almost go so far as to bet that each and every one of you watching this video – at one
time or another – wondered whether or not you could BECOME a witch or wizard – even without
your invitation to Hogwarts. Am I right? Or am I right? I’m pretty certain that…I’m RIGHT!
In any case, for a question that’s clearly been
asked by so many children – and perhaps the occasional adult or two – the answer is,
dare I say, a little complex. Let’s break it down, shall we?
To start, let’s spell out (pun intended, of course!) what we’re asking here:
Can someone born without magical powers, gain the ability to perform magic later in life? If I had
to give a one-word-answer, I would probably simply say, “No.” But I truly don’t believe
that that covers it. And, also, what a terribly lame and boring video that would be for you all!
Okay, so, anyway, J.K. Rowling has said that nobody knows exactly where magic comes from.
BUT she’s also shared that she views magic much like any other talent – popping up in
certain individuals, often inherited, but not always.
“Well, that’s that,” you may be thinking. “Either you’re born with it, or you’re not.”
But can’t certain talents be latent, only to be discovered and perfected later in life?
For example, someone with the gift of musicality or athleticism may be predisposed to be good at
those things – but then only really shows how gifted they are with a bit of practice. So,
wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that someone who was unaware that they had any magical powers,
could discover them later on and learn how to wield their gift?
Hmm, but again, I suppose that isn’t a Muggle BECOMING magical.
Simply a witch or wizard coming “late to the party” if you will.
Which brings us round to the topic of what makes a person magical to begin with.
Well, we’ve already covered that nobody truly knows where magic comes from.
But if we go on the assumption that the talent metaphor
best describes what it means to have magical abilities, where does one harbour those powers?
Since Rowling has also mentioned that the wizarding gene is a dominant one,
it seems fair to assume that magic is, in fact, present within a person’s biological make-up.
This would mean that wizarding DNA is fundamentally different from Muggle DNA,
as it suggests that magical people have certain, special genes that give them
their abilities. Which, of course, would mean that Muggles are lacking those same genes.
This could also explain why some witches and wizards are more powerful
and better at magic than others. Magic is in their genes – to varying degrees.
It would also explain why most magical children are born to witches and wizards,
rather than Muggle parents – that is, they inherit the magical genes.
As Rowling says, it’s a dominant gene, so this makes sense.
But just like the genes that decide a person’s hair colour or height can seemingly come out
of nowhere – such as a red-headed child born to two brunettes – magic can resurface
within a child born to non-magical people. I say “resurface” since, in this instance,
it’s most likely that a relative or two way back when would’ve possessed magic in their DNA. These
magical genes could’ve then been wiped out by the birth of a Squib – a non-magical child born
to a witch and wizard – who then married a Muggle, only to come back about a few generations later.
On the topic of Squibs – their very existence also puts a stop to the idea
that Muggles could BECOME magical. Because, let’s face it, if anyone without magical abilities would
want to gain the ability to perform magic, it would be a Squib. Without magical talents,
Squibs often live within the wizarding world as a sort of outsider.
Knowing about and surrounded by magic, without the means to perform it themselves,
sounds pretty miserable to me. So, if they COULD BECOME magical, wouldn’t they?
In any case, if you believe that magic comes from one’s DNA, it’s pretty hard to argue that someone
born WITHOUT the wizarding gene could later develop it. I think the only possibility here is
that a Muggle-born witch or wizard – who possesses the gene – doesn’t realize that they have magical
powers until they’re informed of it. This is likely the scenario that many Muggle-born students
experience after they receive their letter from Hogwarts or any other wizarding school.
However, if you don’t like the DNA explanation,
there is another fun fan theory that I’m rather fond of: that magic comes from one’s soul.
In this theory, the idea is that magic and your ability to perform it is directly linked to your
soul. This could explain a couple of specific instances in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
For one thing, it would account for the magical abilities that Harry possesses
only as a result of becoming one of Voldemort’s (accidental) Horcruxes. Typically, a Horcrux
is an object that’s been created by splitting a wizard’s soul into pieces to achieve immortality.
However, in this particular case, the piece of Voldemort’s soul latched onto the only other
living thing it could find – Harry – after he attempted to murder him as an infant.
And so, after taking up lodgings inside of Harry, the Horcrux, which is literally a piece
of Voldemort’s soul, seemed to provide Harry with magical abilities that were also the Dark Lord’s.
For example, Harry was able to speak Parseltongue,
the rare language of serpents that only a select few witches and wizards innately understand.
He could also perform Legilimency on Voldemort, meaning he could enter the Dark Lord’s mind and
sense what he was feeling – this was another magical gift that Voldemort also possessed.
In terms of today’s question, however, I don’t think it’s really possible to alter one’s soul
after birth. You’re likely born with one soul that remains the same throughout your life, don’t you
think? And so, even if magic is harboured in your soul, I still don’t think a Muggle
can become magical. I guess, UNLESS they were inadvertently made into a Horcrux like Harry was!
This leaves just one last thing to cover: the fact that in the trailer for the upcoming Fantastic
Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jacob Kowalski – the American No-Maj – is given a wand by Albus
Dumbledore. Of course, there are several plausible explanations for why Dumbledore may have given
Jacob a wand – which I’ve explored in great detail in the Harry Potter Theory video WHY Does Jacob
Have a Wand? – but there’s also the possibility that perhaps Jacob has BECOME magical – isn’t
there? Although, rather more likely, I think, is that – if he possesses any magic at all – it’s
been there all along and he just hasn’t been aware of it. Perhaps he has always had a tiny
bit of magic – just not enough to be invited to a wizarding school. This would align well with
the idea that every witch and wizard have varying degrees of magical abilities. So,
it’s possible to think that certain people could possess an almost undetectable amount of magic.
All in all, I think the answer to the question of whether or not a Muggle can BECOME magical
is a pretty resounding NO. Regardless of if you believe that magic comes from your genes or your
soul, I think it’s pretty unlikely that magic can be an acquired skill. True, young witches
and wizards must attend educational institutions to learn a variety of magical abilities.
But one thing remains clear: you must have a predisposition to magic in order to PERFORM it.
This is further proven by the fact that Muggles aren’t able to wield magical objects,
such as wands. For example, James Steward, the No-Maj co-founder of Ilvermorny School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had a wand rebel in response to him casually waving it in the air:
“As invariably happens when a No-Maj waves a wand, it rebelled. James was sent flying
backwards across the clearing, hit a tree and was knocked out cold.”
And so, sadly for all of our 11-year-old selves, I don’t believe it’s possible
for someone born without powers to gain the ability to do magic later in life,
whether through biology, theology, or education.
Which brings us to the end of today’s video! As always, I’d love to know what you think.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! And, as always,
if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel!
Until next time…
Remember
Imperfect understanding is often more dangerous than ignorance