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"Is this all real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
The topic of this article is of a real-life subject that has been mentioned "in-universe" in a canon source. The Harry Potter Wiki is written from the perspective that all information presented in canon is true (e.g., Hogwarts really existed), and, as such, details contained in this article may differ from real world facts. |

- Harry Potter: "He can read minds?"
- Severus Snape: "You have no subtlety, Potter. You do not understand fine distinctions. Only Muggles talk of 'mind-reading'. The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter ... or at least, most minds are ..."
- — Severus Snape explains "mind-reading" to Harry Potter[src]
Mind-reading was the magical ability to perceive the thoughts or feelings of others through extrasensory means. According to Severus Snape, this term was used only by Muggles and was a notably inaccurate description of Legilimency (as there are far broader possibilities for this ability).[1] Nonetheless, the magical art of Legilimency could achieve mind-reading, as could the mental connection that was shared by Voldemort and Harry Potter,[1] which resulted from a piece of Voldemort's soul that lodged inside of Harry's body.[2]
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Mentioned only)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay (Mentioned only)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (Mentioned only)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (Mentioned only)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24 (Occlumency)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 35 (King's Cross)
Legilimency · Occlumency |
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Legilimency Spell |
Legilimens |
Albus Dumbledore · Queenie Goldstein · Jacob's sibling · Jacob · Lord Voldemort · Constance Pickering · Harry Potter (Indirectly) · Pumpkin Johnny · Salazar Slytherin · Severus Snape · Sorting Hat · The Hogwarts Diary · Unidentified vampire · Wampus cats (Tim) |
Occlumens |
Maxwell Barnett · Bartemius Crouch Junior · Albus Dumbledore · Franciscus Fieldwake · Gellert Grindelwald · Bellatrix Lestrange · Lord Voldemort · Draco Malfoy · Patricia Rakepick · Kazuhiro Shiratori · Horace Slughorn · Severus Snape |
Books on Legilimency and Occlumency |
Guide to Advanced Occlumency · Living With Legilimens: Choose Your Minds Wisely · Protection Charm Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Counter Legilimency |
See also |
The American Society of Legilimens · Crown of Mneme · Dai Ryusaki's mind-enhancing potion · Legilimency potion · Mind-reading · Vibe · Vision |