Love

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all."

- Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter about love

Love is a deep, powerful, and ineffable emotion of attachment to, and affection for, another person or people. It gives those who experience it the ability to do very great things. Someone full of hate cannot understand love.

This magic is also common in Muggle books and reality.

Love before 1980
In 1899, Albus Dumbledore's love for his brother and sister pushed him to turn against his old friend Gellert Grindelwald and attack him, finally defeating him in 1945.

In 1977, James Potter's love for Lily Evans changed his character a little, by the fact that he stopped hexing people just for the fun of it.



Love in the 1980s
"Shall I reveal what really happened that night thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? Yes, shall I? It was love. Yes, it was love. You see, when dear, sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son...she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch him. It was old magic. Something I should have foreseen."

- Voldemort reflecting on his first defeat

In 1981, Severus Snape's love of Lily Evans pushed him to join the Order of the Phoenix, even though he hated her husband. In that same year, Lily's love for her son Harry protected him against Lord Voldemort. He became the only known person to survive the Killing Curse because of the power of her loving sacrifice.

Love in Harry Potter's lifetime
In 1992, Harry Potter used love to defeat Professor Quirinus Quirrell.

In 1993, the love of his sister, Ginny, caused Ron Weasley to head down to the Chamber of Secrets to rescue her.

In 1994, the love of his godfather enabled Harry to rescue him from the Dementor's Kiss, with the help of Hermione Granger.

In 1995, Harry managed to escape Lord Voldemort when his loved ones came to him through Priori Incantatem.

In 1996, his love for Sirius again helped him, when his grief over his godfather's death pushed Voldemort out of his mind. In that same year, Dumbledore ignored Harry, thinking that this would prevent Voldemort from using the connection with Harry Potter to gain insight into his own mind, because Voldemort would sense he cared "too much" about Harry and would be eager to use their relationship to gain access to Dumbledore's mind and knowledge of the activities of the Order of the Phoenix.

In 1997, Harry's love for Professor Albus Dumbledore pushed him to attack Severus Snape with one of his own spells. In that same year, Draco Malfoy's love for his family pushed him to attempt to kill Dumbledore, even though he really didn't want to. Fleur Delacour asserted her love for Bill Weasley even after he was horrible scarred in battle by Fenrir Greyback.

Their love for Harry motivated Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to accompany him on the Horcrux hunt, leaving their families and risking their lives.

"...Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."

- Albus Dumbledore

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy's love for their son motivated them to look for him instead of fighting. In the end, Harry's love finally destroyed Lord Voldemort once and for all.

Love and Magic
Love has a profound effect on magic. Lily Evans' love for her son made her willing to die for him, and because of that sacrifice, Harry was protected from the most powerful Dark magic of all — the Killing Curse. Love is the only protection against the lure and power of the Dark Arts, which are fueled by hateful emotions. Harry failed to learn Occlumency in order to block his connection to Lord Voldemort's mind, but he managed to block the link when he focused on his feelings for his loved ones, such as when he felt grief over his godfather's death and when he was frantic with worry about Hermione Granger when she was being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Hermione was screaming again: The sound went through Harry like physical pain. Barely conscious of the fierce prickling of his scar, he too started to run around the cellar, feeling the walls for he hardly knew what, knowing in his heart that it was useless.... He felt Voldemort’s fury, but as Hermione screamed again he shut it out, returning to the cellar and the horror of his own present."

- Harry Potter cutting off his connection to Voldemort

Love can also affect other types of magic, notably the Patronus Charm. Harry's Patronus is the same as the Patronus and Animagus form of his father, a stag. James's wife had a doe Patronus to match her husband's, and Severus Snape's mimicked hers because of his love for her. Nymphadora Tonks's Patronus changed to a werewolf when she fell in love with Remus Lupin.

Love potions, like Amortentia and Entrancing Enchantments, are meant to create love, but they cannot; nothing can reproduce love. Instead, they produce an intense infatuation. When a person smells Amortentia, they will smell things that remind them of what and who they love.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows