Forum:The Physical Appearance of Spells

Here is a topic that I am suprised that no one else has yet brought up for open discussion. It regards all the details on the physical manifestations of spells i.e. what the spells themselves look like rather than their effect on the object/person being magicked. Rowling's style seems to include jets/flashes of light accompanied by loud sound-effects (namely 'bangs'). Sometimes it appears that a spell may not have any visible means of casting. Wingardium Leviosa is one spell in particular that is widely agreed upon to not be associated with any 'light shows', or so to speak. While, as I imagine, every Harry Potter fan has their own idea of what to visualize when thinking of the manifestation of certain spells, it is important to note that Rowling has shown some degree of either inconsistency or complexity in the way she presents a scene involving use of magic. For example, on several occasions Expelliarmus is said to merely cause a wand to "fly" out of a wizard's hand with the implication that the means by which the charm does this is invisible. However, in other scenes, such as in the famous Priori Incantatem segment between Voldemort's and Harry's wands, Rowling specifically states that the Expelliarmus charm appears as a jet of red light. You may ask,"Well, which is it?" It is hard to tell. This is not the only case of such an event occuring. During Harry's and Malfoy's duel in the "the Half-Blood Prince", Harry is said to cast the Leg-Locker curse at Malfoy which rebounds off the wall and destroys a toilet. How could Harry know about the "rebounding" part without the spell actually being visible (as is implied with the Leg-Locker Curse and the Jelly-Leg Jinx)? What do you think?--Yin&amp;Yang 12:11, 27 August 2009 (UTC)