Editing Magic in Harry Potter (section)

==Using magic==
Wizards must learn how to control their magic. In young and untrained children, magical effects will occur spontaneously during moments of strong emotion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rowling |first=J. K. |title=Harry is a metamorphmagus |url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/rumours_view.cfm?id=41 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926035344/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/rumours_view.cfm?id=41 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |website= jkrowling.com| publisher= J. K. Rowling |access-date=27 February 2008}}</ref> For example, [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]] liberates a boa constrictor at the London Zoo and inflates his [[Dursley family#Marge Dursley|Aunt Marge]] to an enormous size. Although young children usually cannot control their magic, the young [[Voldemort]] could intentionally cause magical things to happen to other people.<ref>{{HPref|book=6|chapter=13}}</ref> In the novels, almost all intentional magic is performed with a [[Magical objects in Harry Potter#Wand|wand]].

Spells are the every-purpose tools of a wizard. They are generally short bursts of magic used to accomplish a specialised task, such as creating fire or unlocking a door. Casting a spell usually requires the movement of a wand and the uttering of an incantation. The language of the incantations in the ''Harry Potter'' novels has been described as [[Dog Latin|modified Latin]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Renfro |first=Kim |date=29 September 2020 |title=The real scientific meaning behind 13 'Harry Potter' spells |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/harry-potter-spells-latin-roots-meaning-2017-4 |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Andrea |date=2016-06-02 |title=The not-so-magical Latin origins of 'Harry Potter' spells |url=https://mashable.com/article/harry-potter-spells-latin |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> Although wizards in the novels almost always use a wand for casting spells, Rowling has used the [[Wizarding World Digital|''Wizarding World'']] website to describe certain wizarding cultures that practise magic without a wand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rowling |first=J. K. |date=29 January 2016 |title=Uagadou |url=https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/uagadou |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Wizarding World |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rowling |first=J. K. |date=8 March 2016 |title=Fourteenth Century – Seventeenth Century |url=https://www.pottermore.com/collection-episodic/history-of-magic-in-north-america-en |access-date=28 August 2024 |website=Wizarding World}}</ref> While most spells depicted in the books require the caster to use their voice, some do not. For example, Albus Dumbledore has been known to do impressive feats of magic without speaking. In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Harry performs ''lumos'' to light his wand when he is not holding it.<ref name="HP5">{{HPref|book=5}}</ref>