How does Harry Potter's world work?

[Mega Gigan]

Now, I've only watched the movies myself. Which might explain that I don't have all the backround details as I probably should. Though, I read a lot on-line and frankly; I don't like books. The feel, the look... ugh. Anyway, I'm just asking and I'm in no way trying to poke holes into the story. I just want to know more!

Quidditch - Is this a dumb sport? The way I see it, is if a seek finds the golden snitch, it's all over. One small ball. So really... the other scores don't mean a damn thing. That's like if foot ball had 2 balls. One was really hard to find. Two teams going at it, scoring points, while you had two large guys from the teams looking in the dirt for a small ball. It just doesn't make sense.

Why take a Train - In the beginning of every movie, they always take a train to Hogwarts. ...Am I missing something? Just teleport there. Seriously. At Ron's house, they had a powder and they would walk into a fireplace and say where they wanted to go and poof, they were there. Why is Hogwarts any different?

Fighting - It seems "noble" to fight in the wizard world. Like each person gets a turn at it. What stops a Wizard from throwing a whole bunch of spells at another in order to overwhelm them? I've never seen it happen. It's more or less like two pirates fighting and one swings and then waits for the other to make his/her move.

Spells/potions - It seems so random. There is no spell to grow bones, but there are spells to make them vanish. You can't fix a car with a repair spell, but yet you can fix glasses. You can levitate some things, but you can't levitate others. You can cast a spell to make another person throw up snails, but there is no counter spell or potion to fix it. There is no spell to look like someone else, but there is a potion for it (Not a very good one, might I add. It only lasted for like 15 minutes).

I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of them at the moment. Is there any explaination for these things that aren't in the movie?

 

[outlander]

frankly; I don't like books. The feel, the look... ugh.

<sigh> I am a dinosaur. A fossil. I didn't notice it sneaking up on me. Just one day I turned around ... and it was there. :unsure

 

[CTF]

I don't like books. The feel, the look... ugh.

:lol

I think?

 

[JediG60racer]

Get a kindle, download them, read.

There. No worries about the feel or the look. Enjoy your TNG pad reading.

 

[CessnaDriver]

It's all part of that wonderful "Pullitoutofmyassimus!" magic of these films/books.

Needless to say, my wife the Potter fan hates my critiques and questions. LOL

 

[JoMamma_Smurf]

Quidditch- There is one seeker on each team trying to catch the snitch...If one of them does catch it...that team wins....If neither catches it then it goes by the other score. The snitch is very hard to catch.

The train- Nobody but Dumbledore can aparate (teleport) in and out of Hogwarts. There are other places that are protected by spells (like Hogwarts) from letting anyone aparate in and out. You physically have to enter and some spells don't even allow that. The train is sort of a magical gateway to that world. Students dont learn to aparate until 6th year because it's very dangerous...you'll see Ron get hurt in the next movie because he screws up.

Fighting- Only one spell or curse can be used at one time...Thats why it's called dueling. If they cast them at the same time they will come together in the middle and it will depend on the wizards power from there. Did you even watch goblet of fire??

Spells/potions- Yes there is a potion to grow bones called bonegrow. Turning bones into mush is different then growing them. The spell altered what was already there... Just like not being able to produce food with magic...can't do it. Curses are different than regular spells. A curse is usually something you can't reverse because it is intended to harm. And polyjuice potion lasts for an hour I think. A lot of spells and potions are created by individual witches and wizards over the years. Some spells can be undone some stronger ones cant..Some potions or curses are similar to poisons or venom in our world. Some poisons we ingest or are exposed to we can't be cured from and some things we can.

It's all magical man!! We'll never understand all the intricacies :lol

 

[outlander]

Spells/potions- Yes there is a potion to grow bones called bonegrow. :lol

Skelegrow?

 

[LizardJedi]

Also on the Quidditch, there is a scoring system in place, catching the Snitch is like, 150 points, so usually the team that catches it wins, but it is possible to catch it and lose, if your team was terrible.

The train thing is a security measure.

 

[Mega Gigan]

I didn't know I'd get so much reaction to the fact I don't like to read books! It's just I grew up with technology and I prefer the monitor. I guess books make me feel like I'm in school or something. Also, working in tech industry only makes me more prone to looking at monitors and not books.

But thanks JoMomma Smurf. That cleared things up for me. I did see the Goblet of Fire, but I forgot about that. I guess I just didn't understand that Witches and Wizards can make their own spells. I wasn't aware they had a crafting of different spells they could do. Though it only makes sense.

Although, I do remember them magically making food come out of thin air in one of the movies. I thought that was "Creating it".

Also, I know that a lot of this deals with magic so right from the start I know I'm going to have to swallow a lot without know how it works. I was just wondering if there are certain reasons for things to happen or not happen.

 

[Flachzange]

Also on the Quidditch, there is a scoring system in place, catching the Snitch is like, 150 points, so usually the team that catches it wins, but it is possible to catch it and lose, if your team was terrible.

Yup, the man is correct:

The Golden Snitch, often referred to as simply the Snitch, is a small golden ball the approximate size of a walnut (roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter). The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover and dart around the pitch, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of the playing area. Each team has a designated Seeker, whose only task is to capture the Snitch. The team who catches the Snitch wins 150 points, and only the capture of the Snitch will end the game. Games have been known to last for months, so it is of key importance to catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible.

 

[outlander]

They were conjuring the food from elsewhere.

 

[Arwyniel]

Get a kindle, download them, read.

There. No worries about the feel or the look. Enjoy your TNG pad reading.

I think I read somewhere that J K Rowling isn't giving a license out for an ebook/digital version of her books.

 

[TK-Fett]

yeah the food that appears at the feast in beginning of the movies is created with a spell, its simply moved from the kitchen to the tables, and if I remember correctly its magic by the Hogwarts house elves, who have an entire different magic than the wizards.

 

[Nwerke]

Also on the Quidditch, there is a scoring system in place, catching the Snitch is like, 150 points, so usually the team that catches it wins, but it is possible to catch it and lose, if your team was terrible.

The train thing is a security measure.

Your team can be terrible, or unlucky, or suffering under biased refereeing or the like. So if the other team is more than 150 points ahead of yours, and you can catch the Snitch, don't do it.

As for the potions and spells things, isn't there a passage that specifically references "research wizards and witches"? New spells and potions are being invented all the time, as well as refinements to existing ones. As well as official research there are lots of amateurs, like Luna Lovegood's (dead) mother.

 

[Darklighter]

Quidditch- There is one seeker on each team trying to catch the snitch...If one of them does catch it...that team wins....If neither catches it then it goes by the other score. The snitch is very hard to catch.

You almost have it, the Snitch must be caught in order to end the game. If the snitch isn't caught the game isn't over.

from wiki:
Some games can go on for days, and even months, if the Snitch is not caught. The longest game recorded supposedly lasted three months

 

[cayman shen]

<sigh> I am a dinosaur. A fossil. I didn't notice it sneaking up on me. Just one day I turned around ... and it was there. :unsure

I actually think I winced. So hello, fellow dinosaur.

 

[firesprite]

I think I read somewhere that J K Rowling isn't giving a license out for an ebook/digital version of her books.

There are still audio books. I prefer the ones read by Jim Dale. He's awesome.

 

[firesprite]

I actually think I winced. So hello, fellow dinosaur.

Hi, my name is Heather, and I'm also a dinosaur.

Although I'm getting a Kindle, it's primarily because of its ease of having a WIDE variety of books on hand at any given time rather than a feeling that books are 'icky' or not fun.

 

[BDK]

Wooo I'm a dinosaur! I actually print crap out instead of reading it on screen because it feels easier on the eyes and I can hold it and feel it, not just cold screen.

 

[Kerr Avon]

A Wizard did it.