So this is an AU idea that's been bubbling in my mind, which is all oriented around the idea of making magical ability a lot more specialised. We see an extent of this in canon (Lockhart's specialism in Obliviation, for example) but this takes it to an extreme. There would be no wizards in this universe like canon Dumbledore and Voldemort who were god-level in all areas of magic.

The magic system would be like this:

1. Every character would have a specialism in a broad branch of wand magic.

(This specialism is significant - the absolute maximum level a wizard can hope to achieve in an area of magic that is not their specialism is similar to canon Hermione - competence but no special flair or particularly impressive power. Achieving this level in your non-specialism would take a lot of talent, and hard work.)

2. Every character has a sub-specialism, within their specialist field.

3. Within their sub-specialism, every wizard has a signature spell which they find comes naturally to them and they find they can use extremely powerfully relative to their other spells, with great variation.

4. All wizards have a single magical ability unrelated to their ability to work magic in general. This ability may need practice and training to refine beyond its most basic use.

Of course wizards will still vary greatly in ability with their specialism and non-specialism depending on the usual factors. And of course you still have other areas of magic like Potions which are unrelated to wand magic.

I think this is a fun universe to play around in. So, what do you think?

What would be the specialisms, sub-specialisms and signature spells of the HP characters?

What unique abilities can you think of, to go with point #4?

How would a magic system like this tweak the social dynamics of the Potterverse?

Some ideas for particular characters:

Harry Potter
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Protection Charms
Signature spell: Shield Charm
Ability: Parselmouth (from scarcrux), unaided flight

Albus Dumbledore
Specialism: Transfiguration
Sub-specialism: Elemental Transfiguration
Signature spell: Fire conjuration
Ability: Ability to sense magical traces

Lord Voldemort
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Mind magic
Signature spell: Legilimency
Ability: Parselmouth

 

So it'd kind of be a narrower version of a MMO? A caster who specializes in one branch of magic which then begets the need to have multiple wizards working together to combine strengths and exploit enemy casters' weaknesses. It's a neat idea in relation to HP.

 

I was kinda going to do something like this in my Big-Damn-Fanfic, though that was a deliberate specialisation. Could be interesting, though I feel it'd require a lot of imagination from the author, since it cuts down on the variety.

 

Yeah. It also positions Voldemort firmly as a political revolutionary who needs allies rather than an almighty martial warlock. His specialism in the Dark Arts relating to the mind - including the Imperius curse - would firmly position him as a kind of dangerous shadowy figure.

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Also, here's a fun one:

Daphne Greengrass
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Weather magic
Signature spell: Freezing Charm
Ability: Ability to breathe underwater



... incidentally, I also had a separate idea which in my mind occupied the same universe as this idea, in which there is a species, like the Veela, only where Veela are creatures of fire, these are creatures of ice. Perhaps native to Northern Europe - Svalbard island in Norway, for example. Daphne would be like Fleur... and so you see, she really is the Ice Queen.

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This universe would also go a long way to explaining the existence of a wizarding economy. Specialisation leads to exchange.

 

It would also lead to not-so-uncommon extremes. People who got very lucky (people with very profitable specialisations for example) and people who got really unlucky (people with shitty and/or useless specialisations).

For that matter, how rare would each specialisation be?

 

I imagine Charms as the most common by a long way... mostly because it's the broadest field of magic with a lot of sub-disciplines. This commonality of charms would also contribute to Transfiguration's reputation for difficulty. Dark Arts I imagine as somewhere between Charms and Transfiguration in spread.

You could have other, much rarer and somewhat obscure, fields of magic like alchemy popping up once in a blue moon.

Some more ideas... notice some similarities between Harry and his parents.

Harry Potter
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Protection Charms
Signature spell: Shield Charm
Ability: Parselmouth (from scarcrux), natural flyer

Lily Evans
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Protection Charms
Signature spell: Fidelius Charm
Ability: Potions intuition

James Potter
Specialism: Transfiguration
Sub-specialism: Human transfiguration
Signature spell: Animagus
Ability: Natural flyer

Albus Dumbledore
Specialism: Transfiguration
Sub-specialism: Elemental Transfiguration
Signature spell: Fire conjuration
Ability: Ability to sense magical traces

Lord Voldemort
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Mind magic
Signature spell: Possession
Ability: Parselmouth

Minerva McGonagall
Specialism: Transfiguration
Sub-specialism: Animal transfiguration
Signature spell: Animagus
Ability: Strong constitution

Filius Flitwick
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Movement Charms
Signature spell: Levitation
Ability: Fast reflexes

Ron Weasley
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Blasting spells
Signature spell: Reductor Curse
Ability: Confidence-based power-boost

Hermione Granger
Specialism: Transfiguration
Sub-specialism: Conjuration
Signature spell: Bird conjuration
Ability: Speed reading

Ginny Weasley
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Hexes
Signature spell: Bat-Bogey Hex
Ability: Natural flyer

Neville Longbottom
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Jinxes
Signature spell: Body-bind
Ability: Greenthumb

Luna Lovegood
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Sense charms
Signature spell: Vision modification
Ability: Affinity with animals

Draco Malfoy
Specialism: Charms
Sub-specialism: Object modification
Signature spell: Repair Charm
Ability: Perfect hair

Severus Snape
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Mind magic
Signature spell: Occlumency
Ability: Potions intuition

Bellatrix Lestrange
Specialism: Dark Arts
Sub-specialism: Curses
Signature spell: Cruciatus
Ability: Resistance to mental manipulation

 

This reminds me of X-Men. I approve.

Lol'd hard at Draco.

 

I really like this bit of trolling. But with some creativity it may be useful in some way.

 

and... /10char

 

So they are somewhat inheritable?

I would imagine richer families trying to find muggleborns, who I suppose are wildcards, with lucrative or interesting abilities to breed with. Besides blood purism, there might possibly appear some kind of meritocratic faction. Collectors like Slughorn, but arranging marriages rather than favours.

 

Worm, is that you?

 

It's more like Dresden Files than it is Worm to be honest.

 

Meh, I could take her.

 

Then she summons fifteen angry Hawks to constantly dive-bomb you, your wand, your hands, your genitals, your eyes. They come at you at different times, from different angles at speeds of over 100mph. Sometimes four at a time. By the time you react to those ones, they're already flying away, and the next wave is on you.

And that's not even including whatever Magical birds may be out there. Feel like fighting a few Gryffins, do you? How about seventy angry ravens? Swarm fighters are nasty. Because you don't just fight them. You fight them and all their pets. If they have other skills they become dangerous indeed.

I dunno, that sounds pretty frightening to me, at least in more open, out doors areas. She'd be more limited in closed areas. But she's got other forms of Transmutation and Conjuration to help her there. Not the strongest offering, but formidable.

Personally, Taure. Harry seems boring. The rest are interesting in their own ways (minus trolling/sillyness). But Harry seems highly limited.

 

He then decides to protect the shit out of your lungs, shielding them internally and leaving you to suffocate in agony.

 

Some of you seemed to have missed the point that they aren't limited to those specific spells, it's just what they're best at. It's more specialization, not just specific abilities. Those come under, well, abilities.

As I understand it, Harry would still be able to cast Charms really well, and is capable of transfiguration and Dark Arts on some level (well, as long as he's decently talented). He's just super good at protection spells, specifically the Shield charm.

So basically he's the same as canon, really good at the Shield charm and good enough at other charms that it combined with his reflexes and natural ability make him really good at dueling, but doesn't use much else. Might even be better than canon by a significant margin if the focus causes him to learn and create more protective spells.

This idea seems to change Voldemort and Dumbledore more than it does Harry. It shifts the balance massively. Neither of them would be particularly terrifying to a wizard whose specializations focus more on dueling (like say Harry). They'd more be political leaders of their specific factions than individual juggernauts.

 

Oh god damn it. Now "The one he feared" will never be completed.

 

I got bored of worm just after the timeskip. No thanks.