A Brief History of Magic
By Cronus Tempus
Chapter One: The Origins and Nature of Magic
Of all the physical phenomena in our world, one of the least understood and simultaneously vital is how certain humans are able to manipulate the forces of nature for their own benefit, using, for lack of a better word, magic. It is in a way fitting that that which defies logic has no logical explanation. Many witches and wizards who are born with magic simply take it as a given, considering it an immutable fact of life. The sky is blue, the Earth is round, and a fraction of the population has the ability to conjure, charm, enchant and curse using a force of unquestionable power.
This naive assertion does not stand up to the empirical, muggle, habit of thought. The sky is blue because water particles in the atmosphere scatter the light in a way that makes it appear so. The Earth is round because gravitational forces pull all the planets mass towards the center, evening it out to a rough sphere. Therefore, it holds true that there must be some explanation, some cause, for magical abilities.
Discovering that cause, however, has proven to be one of the greatest academic challenges the world has ever faced. This is not necessarily because of the difficulty of the problem, but the difficulty of finding someone who is willing to solve it. As many scholars have noted, the vast majority of the Wizarding population lacks even the most basic logical thought processes. To illustrate this point, consider that a Fidelius Charm meant to protect a families house could easily have one family member as the caster and another as the secret keeper, making their house invulnerable from attack,and that despite that most families choose an outside third party to be the secret keeper as a 'show of trust'.
As a direct result of this lack of inquisitive thought, there has been until recently virtually no research on how magic works. Due to the International Statute of Secrecy of 1692, the Wizarding and the Muggle communities have been completely separate. Perhaps as a result of their separation from magic, the muggles, or the non magical population, have refined the empirical habit of thought as their only weapon of survival. If the Muggle Academia ever discovered our existence, I do not doubt for a moment that they could discover the answer to our quandary conclusively and rapidly. Because of our reclusive nature, this eventuality is unlikely and to most members of the Magical World undesirable.
However, while there has been no grand muggle study into the nature of magic, there have been a handful of individuals, be they the parents of muggleborns, squibs, or peculiarly logical wizards, who have over the years compiled piecemeal data and made certain basic discoveries about the functioning of magic.
The low number of Muggleborns and the lower number of scientist relatives, as well as the shortage of scientifically inclined squibs, has limited research into the topic considerably. The greater challenge still is that the few individuals who are able to study magic logically must do so in secret.
What my muggle colleagues and I have been able to discover over the years is that there is a genetic explanation for magic. The 'Magic Gene' is unique in the human genome in the way that it is a dominant yet rare trait. The Magic gene was most likely the result of a mutation, roughly 100,000 years ago, the result of a DNA mistranslation that created 'magical enzymes' spread throughout the body capable of harnessing and manipulating magical energy. The date of 100,000 years is given as it is the earliest time period where fossilized human remains have been found with the residue of magical energy.
The gene has no apparent other function when correctly translated, and magical ability is only created when the error occurs. However, this error stays in the genetic code of the individual and will be almost invariably passed down to their offspring. Squibs occur when there is yet another error in the copying of genetic code into sex cells that corrects the mistranslation and renders the individual
non-magical. Muggleborns are created when the genetic glitch happens once more, and, contrary to pureblood belief, they are in no way inferior in terms of magical abilities.
After this fateful mutation in the original witch or wizard, more and more of their progeny survived and passed on their own genes. It is possible, although unproven, that at this point every human on Earth possesses the 'magic gene' and it is merely dormant within muggles rather than absent.
Even with the ability to harness magic, these proto-wizards were vastly different from their modern counterparts. Even for those who can harness magic, controlling it is extremely difficult. Modern wizards can focus their powers using incantations, wands and large amounts of practice, but, with the exception of the latter, none of these tools were available for the majority of human history. The extent of magical ability in most early wizards was the occasional bit of 'accidental magic' that so many wizarding children experience. These small benefits were still enough to become survival assets, and those who could preform occasional 'miracles' were awarded respect, authority and the premier choice of mates. The rejuvenating powers associated with even latent magical power meant that these individuals lived longer and healed more quickly than the average human.
As time went on, the magical population plateaued at roughly 5% of total humans (This ratio would eventually shrink significantly in the muggles favor). This ceiling was likely the result of the increasing tendency for magical individuals to breed with other magical individuals rather than 'lesser' humans. Were this not the case, there would likely be no difference between the Wizarding world, and those who we habitually refer to as muggles. As a result of this selective breeding, two human civilizations exist on our planet, one almost completely ignorant of the other.
After Humanity advanced into the precursory stages of civilization, a handful of magical beings were able to wandlessly manipulate their powers. These wizards often took the place of deities ( a notable example being Zues, the lightning master, who was one of a handful to master the secretive art of elemental magic.) These wizards and witches influenced muggle society long after their own deaths, and tales of their exploits remain famous to this day.
Human development of magic is also directly responsible for most of the more fantastic fauna and flora on our planet. Most, if not all, magical creatures are in fact the result of early wizards trying to breed domestic animals. The hydra, basilisk, pixie, phoenix, and cerberus were all examples of this. Many of them were used for the purpose of terrorizing the muggle population, or otherwise battling other wizards . It is speculated that the first parseltongue created the hydra and the basilisk. Each creature outlived its master and continued to breed afterward ,with the exception of those like the basilisk, which must be bred under specific circumstances by wizards. Goblins, Centaurs, and even house elves likely originated as humans who had irritated a particularly powerful wizard and then went on to reproduce. House elves were likely created as slaves, and continue to serve in that capacity today. The Acromantula have a traceable origin to Arachne, who affronted the witch Athena.
While the source of our ability to manipulate magic has been clearly defined, the source of magic itself is still a mystery. It is not derived from our own energy, otherwise we would exhaust that energy rapidly. Instead, when a wizard tires, it is because he has exhausted the store of energy in his body and cannot quickly generate more from his environment. The amount of energy a wizard can use at any point is vernacularly called the 'magical core' as the energy has a tendency to concentrate in the center of the body. Some magical cores are significantly larger than others, occasionally exponentially so, but the core is capable of significant growth through training and and experience.
The magical core is derived from the number and potency of the magical enzymes in a wizards body, specifically the magic enzyme responsible for the manipulation of magic. This manipulation is directed by the nervous system, with some systems being more attuned to their magic than others, and therefore more able to efficiently control it. While the core dictates a wizards power, the level of control dictates the ease with which he learns simpler spells.
At this point, witches and wizards were already using their magic in phenomenal ways, but they were approaching an enormous discovery that would exponentially increase their control and their power. And it all goes back to the story of Romulus and Remus of Rome.