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"Your mother can’t produce food out of thin air, no one can. Food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfigura[tion]... It’s impossible to make good food out of nothing! You can Summon it if you know where it is, you can transform it, you can increase the quantity if you’ve already got some..."
— The exceptions to Gamp's Law[src]

Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration was a magical law which dictated the rules of Transfiguration.[1]

Description[]

There were five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law, however Elton Elderberry claimed there were actually six exceptions to the law.[2]

One of the five Principal Exceptions was food, which meant that it could not be created from nothing. Pre-existing food could be summoned or teleported from another location, as long as one knew the approximate location and was fairly sure the food would still be there. Pre-existing food could also be enlarged, or even multiplied. However, food could not be "made from thin air".[1]

In addition, while "good food" could not be conjured, consumable things such as sauces,[3] wine,[4] and potable water[5] could be, as they were not particularly nutritious substances. Furthermore, creatures could be conjured, such as snakes[6][7] and birds,[8][9] but whether or not they may be used in cooking to create edible or nourishing food is unknown.

The other four Principal Exceptions are unknown. Although, it could be reasonably inferred that Gamp's Law related in some way to Conjuration, the branch of transfiguration involving the creation of physical matter out of thin air. It could also be inferred that the other four exceptions were other categories of substances which could not be created from nothing.[1]

Although many things appeared impossible to conjure, there was legislation in the wizarding world about what could and could not be conjured.[10]

History[]

How Gamp's Law was formulated was not exactly known.

In September 1997, after Ron commented that his mother could make good food out of thin air, Hermione stated that this was impossible, as food is one of the five Principal Exceptions to this law, but this only irritated Ron, who wanted her to "speak English", but was not satisfied by her explanation.[1]

On 1 May, 1998, after Neville Longbottom noted that the one thing that the Room of Requirement did not seem to be able to provide was food, Ron commented that food was one of the five Principal Exceptions to this law, to "general astonishment".[11]

Behind the scenes[]

  • Gamp's Law is apparently named after the person who discovered it. Known Gamps include Hesper Gamp and Ulick Gamp, but it is equally plausible that the discoverer was another, unknown relative of theirs.
  • According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may or may not be possible to turn a random animal into a human. 

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 15 (The Goblin's Revenge)
  2. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 47 (The Circle and the Crown)
  3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 5 (Weasley's Wizard Wheezes)
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 (The Weighing of the Wands)
  5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 26 (The Cave)
  6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 11 (The Duelling Club)
  7. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Chapter 12 (Working with Snape) - Transfiguration Lesson "Serpensortia"
  8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 14 (Felix Felicis)
  9. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 9 (Artefact Check) - Transfiguration Lesson "Avis"
  10. AccioQuote! Interview
  11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 29 (The Lost Diadem)
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