The Shocking Truth About Harry Potter’s Wandless Magic

Today we’ll be discussing the most powerful, wondrous magic within the wizarding world at large. Within the Harry Potter series, it’s hard to imagine the majority of the scenes that focus on magic without ones.

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The Importance of Wands

There are just so many important and pivotal scenes that all revolve around these magical devices.

From the more innocent scenes of the Philosopher’s Stone, when Harry Potter steps into Ollivander’s wand shop for the first time, and Hermione schools Ron and Harry on how to pronounce Wingardium Leviosa, to the more ominous plotlines that deal with the whole twin core thing, or Lord Voldemort’s pursuit of the most powerful wand known to exist, the Elder Wand.

These magic-wielding sticks are integral to the heart of the books and the films. And yet, despite all the great and terrible things that witches and wizards can do using wands, there are also quite a few other forms of extremely powerful, wondrous magic out there.

Wandless Magic

To begin with, magic performed by witches and wizards can, in fact, be done without the use of a wand. That is, wands themselves are not what produce magic; they are used merely as a conduit for a person’s power.

Something to release a witch or wizard’s magic in a controlled and intentional way.

Of course, this explains why young witches and wizards are able to accidentally expel magic before they acquire their first wand. These bursts of unintentional magic typically happen when a magical child is experiencing heightened emotions.

In these circumstances, they simply release their magic, which very often comes out rather chaotically.

The Chaos of Obscurial Magic

Presumably, this would also account for why the magic of an Obscurial is so chaotic and dangerous.

Obscurials are young witches and wizards who attempt to suppress their magic, and as a result, usually experience unwanted outbursts of strong, uncontrollable magic linked to their emotions.

We see this with both Ariana Dumbledore, Albus’ younger sister, and Credence Barebone in Fantastic Beasts.

While wondrous magic can be unpredictable and is certainly much more difficult to control than magic performed with a wand, it’s important to note that a wand is not actually necessary to do powerful, intentional magic.

Variations in Magic Across Cultures

In fact, the wand itself is an invention of Europe, and it is not pervasively used around the world.

For example, African witches and wizards who attend the magical school of Wargadu in the continent’s Mountains of the Moon are taught wondrous magic, as wands have only been adopted as a tool within the last 100 years.

All this to say that it’s rather unclear whether wondrous magic is any more or less powerful than magic performed using a wand.

At least within Europe, only the most skilled witches and wizards have been known to use it effectively, and their abilities with or without a wand are equally as formidable.

Notable Practitioners of Wandless Magic

The dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, Professor Albus Dumbledore, and Lord Voldemort are all examples of wizards who have been known to wield wandless magic effectively, with dramatic and tragic results.

From what I can tell though, wandless magic performed by a witch or wizard is the same as their wand magic, if they can control it well enough.

In any case, those who can perform wandless magic have a distinct advantage over those who cannot, in that they can wield their magic at any time.

The magic itself wouldn’t be any more potent, but it could be considered more powerful due to the considerable upper hand it gives to a witch or wizard over one who must rely on the use, and therefore the presence, of a wand.

The Power of Goblin Magic

Another form of wandless magic, and arguably more powerful than the wizarding world’s wandless magic, is that of goblins.

Throughout the Harry Potter series, we primarily see the goblin species whenever Harry makes a visit to Gringotts Wizarding Bank on London’s Diagon Alley, as there seems to be insurmountable tension between the two species who have not integrated with one another in other areas of their lives.

On each of these occasions, we learn a bit more about the goblins who run the wizarding world’s financial system. After each of these visits, there seems to be a couple main takeaways.

The primary thing of note is that goblins are extremely financially savvy with a keen eye for forgery and valuable items. They also have their own unique brand of wandless magic, which seems to differ from that performed by witches and wizards.

Goblin Magic in Action

We get a glimpse into some of their magical abilities each time Harry visits one of the bank’s, all of which have been protected by goblin magic. For example, Harry witnesses the goblin, Griphook, open a highly secure vault the very first time he visits Gringotts.

Stand back, said Griphook importantly. He stoked the door gently with one of his long fingers, and it simply melted away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they’d be sucked through the door and trapped in there,’ said Griphook.

There are several references throughout the series to the fact that goblins have formidable magic that should be feared. We see this in the way that Rubeus Hagrid tries to explain why Gringotts is such a safe place for witches and wizards to keep their valuables.

Yeah, so you’d be mad to try and rob it, I’ll tell you that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe. Except maybe Hogwarts.

Tension Between Wizards and Goblins

Despite the goblins’ skills and ability to keep the wizarding world’s valuables safe, there is notable animosity between wizards and goblins. The two species live rather segregated lives, with the exception of their interactions at the bank.

Most of wizardkind seem to treat goblins as second-class citizens. The main reason for this tension seems to boil down to one very big thing—WANDS.

Goblins have made it known that they believe that witches and wizards have intentionally kept wand magic from them in order to prevent goblinkind from becoming any more powerful than they already are.

The Impressive Ability of House Elves

With this in mind, I would say that, although goblin magic is fierce and effective, human wandless magic is likely more powerful.

That said, the last type of wandless magic that we’ll be looking at today is, at least in my opinion, even more powerful than the wandless magic of either wizards or goblins—the magic of house elves.

While it’s true that house elves are basically slaves serving human masters, their wandless brand of magic is quite often more advanced than that of wizardkind.

This is actually a comment that our dear boy Harry makes himself at one point during the series, for in order to wield their magic, they do not need wands, nor do they need to recite incantations.

This suggests that magic that is incredibly difficult and complex for humans to perform—spells without words or wands—is simply second nature to house elves. They also have the ability to perform their magic in places where witches and wizards cannot.

One such example is their ability to apparate and disapparate wherever they please. Despite the presence of protective magic in locations where it would make impossible for witches or wizards to do the same, such as on Hogwarts grounds, house elves can still perform their magic.

House elves can also cast spells that witches and wizards are incapable of breaking, meaning their magic must be stronger. Yet, despite having what appears to be superior magic, they are considered a lower class than witches and wizards.

Conclusion

In any case, it’s rather clear that the most powerful wandless magic in the wizarding world of Harry Potter is indeed house-elf magic.

What did you think? Do you agree that house-elves have the MOST powerful wandless magic? Or did I miss any other types of formidable magic that can be wielded without a wand?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.