How do you picture magic working in your head when reading Harry Potter?

For example, in the dueling club in second year.

Two people, lets say 10 meters apart on a raised stage as shown in the movies.

1) One person throws a Stupify. Is it a ball of red light leaving one wand in a straight line to hit the other person, able to be blocked or dodged? How fast does it travel? Throwing a tennis ball at someone from 10 meters, most people can dodge it, but if its traveling at the speed of a profession baseball pitcher, most people wouldnt stand a chance at dodging, if its bullet speed, then how can you dodge or block them?

2) Tranfiguration, one person tries transfigure the other person into a Ferrit like Madeye did to Malfoy. How is this shown? A flash of light, a ball of light that hits someone and tranforms them? How is it blocked? How fast is it?

3) Does magic travel in a straight line from wand to target? If so thats some damn good aim they have. Hold a laser pointer in your hand and try to hold the dot steady on a point 10 meters away, its porbably going to be bouncing all around a area larger than a person, and trying to have it hit someone after you have just been swishing and flicking is even harder.

So if it is straight, which is how most people seem to handle it since people dodge around them all the time, then magic duel really have to be done with in a few meters. If thats the case, then magic spells must travel really slow to give a chance to throw up a shield or dodge them.


Basically, how do you visualize magic working?

 

I've always visualized it as fast paced ranged physical fighting. If you're not concentrating you will not be able to react; if you are you still need to be adept in order to counter and avoid.

Giving any real thought to the logical side of its efficiency will be counterproductive in my opinion; because I'll invariably end up with the thought that whilst a wand might be nifty for a lot of things - If I want to kill something, just give me a rifle.

On the topic of transfiguration I've always thought of it as establishing a magical connection to the object which you later manipulate - countering it in a combat situation would be less of actually countering the magic and more about severing the connection.

The difference with aiming is that whilst you probably very rarely aims a laser pointer; they do it every single day of their lives.

 

I don't think you aim it like a laser pointer - this would be impossible with wand movements. I believe you have to "decide" where your spell should hit - the better you are, the more accurate you are.

 

It would be more like aiming a torch light than a laser pointer in my opinion. I imagine stunners as something like a bolt of lightning coming from a wand. It would have been a lot easier to dodge if it were like an orb of light.

 

I definitely don't picture it like streams of foam coming out of the last movie's wands.

I picture it like lightning bolts - short, bright flashes with a clearly visible, but irregular path, travelling with the speed of light. In a way like a lightning bolt the spell is trying to find its target on its own, and it depends on the focus of the caster, how exactly you do have to point at your target to hit it. That said - I think the wand movement should end with pointing at the target.

I always saw the Charms lesson, where the children got taught 'Wingardium Leviosa' as one to learn how to hit a target and then how to keep it under control.

Of course dodging it isn't possible once a spell is cast - but as long as the incantation and / or the wand movement isn't complete you can roll out of its way.

 

I've always envisioned dueling to work along the lines of a cross between what Dark Minion said and the more common fanon interpretation. It would be fast pace and dodging would be difficult, but not beyond some one who is a professional. The same could be said for accuracy. The magic seeks out a target to an extent, but you've got to have good aim to begin with for it to find the target you want it to. You can't be off more than by more than an inch at most. I don't envision straight bolts, but rather a sort of warped, lightning bolt style thing going on, so the dueler has to know the spell and how they cast it to know their aim.

I prefer skill being a factor in dueling, as knowing a bunch of fancy spells but never practicing them seems quiet dull when it come to making a proficient duelist.

 

I disagree with the entirety of Minion's post. Magic isn't light, it's magic. Except for the Lumos Charm, which is light and magic. How fast a spell travels is specifically dependent on the spell itself, and is variable.

There is some aim required, for sure, but you also have to ask yourself how thick is a spell? Is it infinitesimally small, or a foot thick? If targeting is all based on intent, and the spell traveled at light speed, you'd never be able to dodge any spell (not that dodging helps in most cases anyways). It's easier to move your wand than to move your whole body, but nothing is faster than light. If a guy casts a lightning bolt at you, you're going to have to be skilled enough to recognize the spell in mid-cast, and cast your counter before he finishes it, and most spells don't take that long to cast, just a second or two. And once you take into account silent casting, it becomes a very difficult thing.

I think the stunning spell, for example, travels in a straight line from the wand, and after the incantation, you jab at your target to aim. Obviously, spells like that only work from relatively short distance. I doubt there's going to be some guy sniping people from 1000 yards using a 6 foot long wand. Personally, I think most spells only have a certain effective range, which is partially determined by power, partially by intent, partially by skill. It's not like you can fire a blasting hex and expect it to travel for 20 miles in a straight line. Honestly, the best, reasonable range you can be accurate with a wand and still expect to get a hit is probably like thirty yards if they're not moving.

 

I always pictured incantations and what not as not really having dodge time. By the time the incantation is complete, the spell has hit where the user has aimed, if you screw up the incantation or wand movement, the spell fizzles out. I feel that it makes duels more intense and places a greater focus on counter-curses, shields, legilimency/occlumency and alacrity. It would turn higher level duels into a much greater skill-game. Probably doesn't have much canon basis, but my headcanon makes it neat to me.

 

I prefer not to think too much about the actual mechanics of the spells, as it very quickly ends up in game breaking situations. Let's say ambushing someone with silently cast spell: if it's instantaneous, James Potter would have captured every Death Eater and killed Voldemort using his invisibility cloak. And wouldn't have broken sweat doing so.

Mostly I like to think it as Star Wars blasters: fast and good enough for an evil empire to adopt as their weapon of choice, but slow enough to parry back with a light saber. And skill level is pretty much the same: a skilled wizard can be so accurate, only imperial storm troopers can get close... So rule of cool.

 

Wait . . . so you're saying that Dark wizards will cast, cast, cast, but never hit their target until it's absolutely necessary for the target to confess her love in the middle of a battle? Hmm.

 

I've always pictured it as multi colored laser lights. Like how scifi guns shoot out red lasers and such. So yeah basically like magical laser bullets unless the author says its a ball or gives another description to the contrary.