Do we actually know what Alchemy can do in the HP world?

And can you actually learn divination instead of just being born with the "inner eye" because there is a class dedicated to it so there must be something more about it if the teacher wasn´t a fraud. And for that matter is there a mention of anyone able to look consciously in the future in the series?

Besides what are the centaurs doing are they just fooling humans by saying looking at the stars because they somehow are actually able to predict vague stuff and does someone know what firenze taught in fifth year was there anything useful about it can´t remember

 

As far as we know, it only deals with trying to create the Philosopher's Stone.

As far as we know, no, you cannot. I suspect this is why Dumbledore wanted to end Divination at Hogwarts.

We have never seen anything like that in canon.

 

According to Pottermore, Alchemy is sometimes taught in Hogwarts. Egyptian alchemy was mentioned in passing in bk 7. Canon never explains what alchemy is, but there is evidentially more to it than creating the stone. The wiki claims that information is available in Pottermore here, but that requires logging in and stuff.

 

I have an account, not a problem:

 

I love JKR.

Hey guys here's this interesting sounding archaic form of magic.

What? No you can't learn more about it.

 

Sounds like a job for fanfiction.

 

Is the spell Morsmordre only able to conjure the dark mark, or is it some kind of illusion spell that a Death Eater can use to conjure the dark mark or any other symbol they may desire?

 

Going by canon alone we can safely assume that it is a spell to be used exclusively for conjuring the Dark Mark.

 

Yeah, considering what the incantation breaks down into, it would seem to exclusively be used for conjuring the Dark Mark.

Just at a glance it looks like the words for "eat/bite" and "death." Sounds like a spell custom made for death eaters, right?

Then again, it's also only a letter or two from meaning "eat shit."

 

Do the unforgiveables require specific emotions to cast? I know Bellatrix claims the cruciatus does, but Harry and co. were throwing the unforgiveables around like candy in book seven. Plus, Bellatrix isn't exactly a reliable source, and Beedle the Bard (Babbity Rabbity) implies the cruciatus doesn't require emotion. Then again, there's got to be a reason why spells like the cruciatus are unforgivable, and spells like fiendfire aren't.

 

I don't think Bellatrix claims that Cruciatus requires emotion. All she says is that you have to want to cast them, or to cause pain. There's no mention of emotions.

It's later clarified by Harry in DH where he says

I'm not sure if the same applies to AK though, but I am assuming it does.

 

It's an issue that comes up regularly, and might even be in this thread already.

Fake-edit: There's some discussion of it in the posts following this, with Taure saying:

I don't doubt there's a more complete explanation somewhere earlier in this or the previous thread, but I'm not inclined to find it.

 

What was the Riddle family exactly? They were obviously rich and all, but were they some form of lords or anything?

 

I went back to read the first chapter of GoF.

Rich by normal people standards, certainly. Pretty sure there was no peerage involved though. Upper class, almost certainly from old money but they're referred to as 'Mr. and Mrs. Riddle', and not because they were popular or liked. In this situation I feel that the villagers would refer to them by title if they had them.

Not very rich. Rich enough to be idle but I wouldn't even say they were especially significant land-owners. The Riddle House was small enough to be bought for 'tax reasons' which again suggests it's not a grand lordly palace or anything close.

Big house, but not massive, probably worth ~£1,000,000 in today's money or thereabouts.

 

Worth noting also that having a landed title and being rich are not at all coupled. It's true that some nobility are very rich (Duke of Westminster owns half of central London), but for most, they were far surpassed by businesspeople in wealth in the 18th-19th centuries.

 

I'm asking because I'm developing a Plot Bunny where Tom Riddle Jr. is raised in the Riddle household. Like all my Plot Bunnies, it will never be written. But I like to try developing them while I'm still interested in them.

 

How good is Harry at transfiguration by the time the series ends?

How complicated are his best transfigurations? Can he conjure stuff?

 

The story of my life -_^

 

Tell me about it. I've read some of your Bunnies that don't even make it to the threads.

BTW, what do we know about the Riddles at all, besides the fact they were rich and Tom Sr. was a dick?

 

Not all that great. I'd say he was competent but nowhere close to what guys like Brian and Mcgonagall can do.

My memory of the last book is always spotty but I think he conjured up stuff during the camping trip.