When he came back from school on the Monday afternoon he closed the curtains, put the hat on his head and got to work. He didn't want any neighbours looking in and thinking he was loony for wearing a hat that looked out of place whilst doing odd tasks. There was a grey apartment block facing the side his bathroom window faced from across the street whom Harry could see into the living rooms of when he looked through windows in that direction, which were only the bathroom and kitchen. He could see rooms of beige coloured carpet, a heater, a clothes wrack, a tv, a small coffee desk with remotes, bowls of fruit or candy, magazines, stationary, old socks or papers lying around, from the living rooms of the apartment across the road. He was sure that as much as he could see into them, they could also see into his apartment block and he didn't want to be seen as a loony.
Thankfully the bedroom curtain was thick light green cotton that blocked out sight, the bathroom curtain was lacey, white and fluttery, but Harry felt still obscured him from view so that the neighbours might just see a blur and if they happened to glimpse him, they might assume the hat was something else, or not catch onto what he was doing as much. The kitchen had cotton floral yellow curtains that blocked out sight and overall Harry felt better hid from view for this tests of magic. The window still blew in underneath the curtains however as he didn't shut the windows but he was content for now.
He repeated the same trick with the paper, this time expecting it to go anywhere. The paper was picked up by a gust of wind, tumbled of the table, and then rocketed upwards where it shot straight for his nose. Harry felt it ram up like someone else was jamming it up there and he quickly willed it to stop with a sense of fright pooling in his stomach before it went far enough to give him a nosebleed. The curtains stopped their fluttering as the wind fell for a couple of seconds, the paper thankfully stopped it's path. It didn't give him a nosebleed but was higher than it should be and made himself feel uncomfortable. He picked it out and threw it in the bin, massaging his nose a little.
Why does the paper do such unpredictable things? He thought into the hat. I know the wind can blow paper in lots of directions. But why is it always so unpredictable and unpleasant.
The wind has never blew bits of paper up anyone's nose. That wasn't because the magic modeled itself of how the wind and your own emotions of frustration worked like yesterday. But because the magic was modelling itself of your idea of magic. Yesterday you came to the conclusion that magic was unpredictable, it created a tumbling of paper towards the floor that modeled how you imagined paper to tumble, but could not match it exactly. Just close enough that unless someone was looking very carefully they would not realise the movement wasn't completely natural to how a bit of paper fell. You saw and understood the difference. You knew that when you cast spells and magic, it doesn't replicate things happening in real life. It just replicates your imagination of how they happen in real life, but close enough to create the same effect. This means whatever happened wasn't actually 'gravity acting on the paper in real life', but your imagination of gravity acting on the paper in real life. A magical imagination of that. This meant magic was actually modeled of your imagination. Just that you can imagine things close enough to real life they replicate the effects.
Magic also channels your emotions. You felt frustrated yesterday, so the paper flew away from you. It was like the magical spell modeled itself of your imagination in one component, and also of your emotions in another component. You realised this yesterday, and saw that magic was unpredictable. Because your emotions were unpredictable. If you were happy perhaps the paper may have floated around like confetti. If you were sad perhaps it may have crumbled itself up. Since you were frustrated, the paper could have slapped itself against your face, pelted itself against your head, disappeared beneath a crack under the furniture. There were a number of ways magic could've expressed your frustration, and the paper flying way from you was just one way. So magic is unpredictable. You understood this yesterday. So today this spell mirrored your own understanding of it, and showed you how unpredictable magic was. By having the paper go up your nose. You couldn't have predicted it, but magic is unpredictable.
The hat had given a very long speech that made sense to Harry.
Harry began thinking back an answer.
So as far as I know there's two components of magic. The first is that it doesn't replicate anything that happens in real life. It doesn't actually make gravity act on the paper and for it to tumble in the path it should. If I did a magical spell to create splashes of water in the kitchen sink the droplets wouldn't actually mirror how water splashes in real life. It would just be based of my imagination of them. Which if I've observed these things happening enough times in real life, might be close enough that someone who wasn't looking at it closely might not be able to notice the difference from sight. But it's not ultimately real life. But the water would still end up in the sink, whereas before it might've been in a cup. So if I wanted to transport water from the cup to the sink, it still has the same effects, just it cannot actually be equal to real life.
The second component is that magic takes into account my emotion at the time of casting, and the effects mirror that. But it's a little unpredictable. It's not like it does the same thing every time I cast the same spell.
Harry finished thinking back the answer.
That's because you used magic to make the paper fall to the floor instead of letting gravity do the job. When you cast the spell you intended to magically control the paper's journey from the tabletop to the floor, you magically recreated the wind. Try casting the spell again to let the paper fall of the table, then leave gravity to do the rest.
The hat told Harry.
Harry did so and watched as a more natural looking tumble, but not one he could remember in all the detail to recreate perfectly in his imagination occurred once it left the tabletop and gravity did indeed do the rest of the work.
You're right. If I wanted the paper to fall down naturally I shouldn't magic it, but rather magic it to a place where gravity can do the job naturally.
Harry thought to the hat.
That's right. The hat told Harry. No, the same spells don't always do the same thing, because there's an element of unpredictability to almost every spell. Just that most witches and wizards get so good at controlling their emotions it does close enough to the same thing they can use those spells reliably and consistently to do the same job every time.
Harry focused on preparing to react to the bit of paper falling to the floor and floating back up to him where he could catch it. He tapped the paper with his wand, he magically controlled it of the table but let gravity do the rest - he preferred to see the natural tumble from gravity, it looked better to him, and then used his magic to will the paper up into the air where he snatched it out of the air as it came to chest-level, and redid it several times in a row.
I can do it consistently. He told the hat. So I suppose if I wanted to make paper float up to me, as a spell. Then I have mastered being able to do it the same time every time enough, I can use that spell for when I want paper to float up to myself.
That's true. The hat said. However you have to be in a certain frame of mind to cast spells correctly. You have to truly believe in magic to react to whatever it is you're casting as if it will really happen for spells to do something. Otherwise it will do nothing. You have to have a controlled amount of emotions. Usually a witch or wizard has them both and can cast the same spells consistently enough to do the job. But sometimes they don't, because their view of magic has changed deeply, they don't believe in magic anymore and don't react to it, or they are emotionally unsettled. Sometimes witches or wizards that have bad accidents, or lost their memories, have to completely relearn magic from scratch, or how to redo a lot of spells, in order to get to the same mentality they were in before. A witch or wizard can't cast magic permanently once they have the skill mastered. They must remain in the same mindset each time to do it. And if something changes they can only do the spell if they get back to that mindset. Just that most witches and wizards understand magic enough and don't have anything bad happen to them, they have the same mindset to cast those spells for the rest of their life. But some witches and wizards, if they have poor memory, or feel nothing but deep contentment as they approach their deaths, will not be able to cast magic. Many witches and wizards don't cast a single lick of magic before their death or towards the end of their lives.
Some cast magic until the end of their lives, if they feel it strongly. But it does change according to one's changing mentality.
The hat finished.
That make sense. So if I want to always be able to cast magical spells I'd have to make sure my memories aren't modified, I remember the theory of magic, I remember that I need to be prepared to react as if it will really happen for the spell to work, instead of just imagining it. I also need to be emotionally settled enough otherwise bad things could happen. I'll have to take care of myself then. Make sure I don't bump my head and lose my memories, or somehow become emotionally volatile or anything. Harry thought. There's a lot more safekeeping to a witch or wizard's abilities than I first thought. Safekeeping one's mindset.
Yes. Agreed the hat. Many skilled witches and wizards stay out of danger or extreme situations in order to keep the mindset they want and need for casting magic. They will never want to risk it.
Harry did some more experiments - making paper tumble, making water splash from a cup to the sink as he thought up.
I was right. When I cast the spell and tap my wand to make it all happen, it's not actually happening as if in real life. The paper isn't really tumbling, the water isn't really splashing. It's modeling itself of my imagination of all of it happening. But humans don't really truly notice these things don't they? They remember and can recreate it enough in their imaginations if another person wasn't thinking too much, they may see the paper fall, or the water splash, and just think of it as a bit of paper falling, water splashing from falling out of a cup. They my not notice it's not really happening as if in real life. But if someone was watching very closely, say they were tipped of, and they were watching to see if it looked real, they could probably spot the difference. So that's how you can tell if a witch or wizard has actually enchanted something. Because it doesn't match the real thing exactly, but looks like it.
Harry thought.
Hasn't your paper tumbling gotten more realistic since you've cast the spell a few times to simply magic it of the kitchen table, and let gravity do the rest? You've specifically watched a bit of paper fall towards the ground when pulled by gravity more times in the past hour than you have your entire life. Your recreation of it in your imagination is more accurate, even if you didn't consciously pick it up. The hat told him.
That's true. So if a witch or wizard has spent a very long time studying something in their imagination, they could make it more realistic. Or at least harder for someone to pick out a difference. If a witch or wizard is casting magic to model something they're very familiar with, it'll look more realistic. Someone who has never been to the sea can't cast magic to mirror waves crashing on a beach well can they? Harry said.
They are all things which can be considered into account when deducing how magic works, but we have barely pushed the limits of it enough to truly say for sure. All we know is that magic doesn't recreate reality exactly or actually, it simply recreates it based on how the witch or wizard models it inside their head. The more detailed they perceive reality, such as having a very clear idea of what things like paper falling or water splashing, looks like in reality, the closer to reality it'll look like. But it's not it exactly. The more naturally familiar with the reality behind what they're trying to magically recreate the effects of, the greater the chances of success. They are all things which can and do affect magic, as we have found out. But there may be certain exceptions to these which you haven't found out yet. But generally, that's how it'll work for most spells. The hat said.
Most spells sound like light spells. Harry thought. If a witch or wizard tried to recreate water splashing or rolling around to wash things. Tried to recreate objects flying towards them to get something faster. They are things that don't recreate wind or gravity on water perfectly, but are modeled of the witch or wizard's imagination of them. They are things that the more familiar a witch or wizard is with them the more natural it looks. Someone who does those spells a lot around the household would create a more natural effect than someone who's entirely new to them. But that's common household spells. Where familiarity is needed to make it more natural or work better. There might be exceptions to those which...sound like uncommon or dark magic to be honest. Harry told the hat.
That's right. Just as magic can quickly be about modeling the familiar, getting small tasks and things done faster. It can also get dark quickly, and there are branches of magic others may find unethical, or horrible in nature. Magic isn't all good, light or happy Harry. It's a two-edged sword. It can be bad just as quickly as it can be good.
The wizard that killed my parents and tried to kill me. He was a dark wizard right? He tried to use dark magic to defeat me? Harry thought.
That's right. You'll have to understand how magic works in it's darker applications to understand him and ultimately outsmart him. The hat said.
Harry tried to charm his pencil into writing his homework for him. He found that he still had to know the answers and what he wanted to write, but he could control the pencil with magic instead of his hand. Sort of.
The pencil tottered around uselessly before making a faint mark, then falling towards the ground as Harry tried to react to it writing the word he wanted it to. It then picked itself up, turned around and flew straight towards his eyeballs as if to stab him when Harry felt his frustration increase.
Harry quickly imagined the pencil falling to the ground, he didn't move because he expected it to actually stop moving in real life, so his stillness was in essence, his reaction to the magic about to happen, and soon the pencil fell to the ground and the lead broke, but at least didn't pelt towards him anymore.
Harry picked it up, sharpened it, and then did his homework by hand.
It was harder to magic a pencil writing because I had to sort of imagine the pressure of my hand on the pencil, and the way my muscles moved it in all directions, but without my hand actually being there. It's like imagining wind acting on the pencil in all those pressures and directions in order to write what I wanted, and I couldn't do it. Because it's not as familiar to me. I don't really notice the pressure on the pencil as I write. I just do it. But it's easier to magic paper falling or water splashing because all I had to do was look at it, and recreate what I saw. Because usually when you see paper tumbling or water splashing or similar things, you're watching from a distance. But with a pencil, you're actually doing it. Which is one step higher to recreate. Harry thought.
That's right. It's easier for a witch or wizard to use magic to recreate things they simply see or observe. But if it's recreating actions they do it gets harder. There's different levels of difficulty to spells you want to cast. The hat said.
What if I tried to imagine the writing appearing on the page instead. Thought Harry, as he tapped his wand to the pencil and prepared to react to it. He felt so loony. In the sense that after he cast a spell, he fully expected it to work, and then it did. That was part of being a witch or wizard, he supposed, one didn't just cast spells and wait to see if it would work. One had to imagine it working and be prepared to react to it, with a certainty of belief that it was a real spell and would work for something to happen. So witches and wizards already believed in magic long before they cast it. And in a way, he felt quite loony. All witches and wizards casting spells would believe something would happen and be prepared to react to it when they did. There was no halfway, they were already believing they were magical before that. And for many people in the muggle world, as Harry knew from his sense of the teachers and classmates and few other muggles he'd met in his life so far, that would already be very crazy.
I suppose witches and wizards are really crazy then. Or just...very steeped in magic, to even be able to cast things. There's such a huge difference.
A tiny bit of lead broke of the end of the pencil and wrote the letters Harry imagined it writing. The lead was so small all Harry saw was the letters appearing as he imagined it in his head, as if a pencil was writing them, but the pencil lay still.
Suppose you charmed the pencil to dance whilst the lead was moving. Harry thought as he recast it but this time prepared to react to the pencil doing a stupid jig as the lead moved. A bit of the lead broke of and wrote the sentences he wanted, and the pencil danced about a few millimetres above it, looking as if it was writing the letters. The movement of the pencil didn't look like how it would if a hand was using it to right it, but it did look like how a person might imagine a charmed pencil would write letters, moving from left to right a little, jigging on the spot, as it followed the letters, and with a sort of merry rhythm.
Then it does look like the pencil is writing the words. Or at least if you've never thought too much about it it would. If a witch or wizard could figure out how to consistently get a pencil to look like it was writing realistically enough, but make it actually write, say what the speaker wanted, the words coming out of their mouth, then they could sell the spell. And maybe witches and wizards that never thought too much about it would say it really was writing. They can't tell the difference until they think more carefully. Lots of spells and things used in the wizarding world can probably be broken down into smaller things if you really studied them in depth. Just that most don't. The hat told him.
Magic is complicated. Thought Harry.
Which means it's beautiful. Complications need great knowledge to fully understand them. Knowledge is but a beautiful thing. Magic is something that inherently required great knowledge to understand past it's veneer. It's a beautiful thing to be born into and understand. Knowledge is beauty. The hat hummed those words happily into Harry's mind.
I thought I'd need to say words to a spell. Harry thought as he continued writing his homework by hand.
You also thought that you needed to go to a magical school in order to learn the words of a spell. Since you have no memories or belief that you did you would not believe you knew the correct words to a spell. So you would not have been able to cast the spell without knowing the right incantation because you would not truly believe you were casting it correctly. You can't just say 'hocus pocus' and tap your wand because you wouldn't believe that's the right incantation. That's why the only spell that could've worked for you were ones without an incantation. That was how you were able to move the paper, or make the water splash, or make the pencil write. Because all that was needed was your belief in magic and the reaction that it would happen, and your wand, which you have upon your person. Two things you do have. But not knowledge of the incantation which you'd only learn from the school. The hat said.
I'm sure there's a spell to make writing happen you learn at the school. That means there's another non-verbal version of it that I just did? Because it was the only thing I could do without knowledge of the actual incantation? Harry said.
You did some form of non-verbal magic just then. Because you do not have the incantations for it. Some non-verbal magic involves simply saying the incantation inside your head. But there are some forms that don't need an incantation. You did one of those. The hat told him.
That makes sense, for some magic I could do without going to the school. Harry said.
Do you believe in magic now? The hat asked him.
Yes. Harry said. Now I definitely do. I don't know the limits of it, all the rules or laws. But after seeing how logical it all was, and what we learnt then. I definitely do believe something happens when I want to cast magic, and do react to it. I believe in it.
Good. Do you want to seek greater knowledge of how it all works. Asked the hat.
Of course. With knowledge and belief in the existence of magic and a glimpse at how mysterious and yet structured and logical it is. Of course.
But yet there was a sense of sadness to this all the same that Harry couldn't quite put in direct words.
When a human finds a life's purpose there is only greater sorrow or tragedy upon it not being achieved. The hat told him wisely. It makes one's life more interesting, allows one to live it to a fuller extent, but also brings with it it's own heaviness and tragedy.
Author's Note: In response to a reviewer, Harry's prioritising everyone's lives and safety in this story so he will do a lot more of it alone than in the original series so that no one dies or goes through an awful time this time around. But there will be more mentioned about this in the story so read on more to see those points addressed. But there will be a strong focus on how magic works here so it might not be many chapters later that your concern gets addressed. I hope you enjoy the exploration of magic enough until then that it keeps you reading because the majority of the story will most likely be about the magic. So if you don't enjoy it you might not enjoy this story much :(