An interesting little point I noticed on a copy of the Daily Prophet front page I got given for my birthday, is that the header section has a number of different types for magic or being magicked, some of which are common in fanon but others which I don't think I've seen feature very often, if at all.

The list is:

• Bewitch
• Beguile
• Spellbind
• Conjure
• Enchant
• Divinate
• Ensorcel
• Hex

Some of these have obvious interpretations. But how do you think the terms would be used? Ensorcel and Spellbind, for example, I could see meaning either "an object subject to a charm" or a person whose mind has been affected by magic - but those interpretations would very similar to the, to me, fairly obvious interpretations of things like Enchant and Beguile.

Any thoughts?

 

Hard to say. So many of them are synonyms. I could see 'ensorcel' and 'spellbind' being used for things like the imperius and other mind-control magic. 'Divinate' is odd. If someone used scrying as a form of divination, why not just say that they 'divined the answer?' Maybe the magical world is just weird and uses divinating rods instead of divining rods.

I have a feeling the writer just broke out the thesaurus to make things sound more sensational, but it would be a fun job to have. Did they include your name in one of the articles?

 

No, its not a personalised thing. Just a poster version of one of the front pages from the films. You can see the terms I mention in the first post, in the top left and right of the header.

 

There's at least some difference in the terminology - In PS, V. Viridian has a book with the tagline "Curses and Counter-Curses - Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more."

I can see it almost going like protected names - it's only ensorcelating if the spell was designed by the Cornish, otherwise it's just sparkling bedazzlement. But whilst the specific terms would perhaps have exceedingly exact meanings, they'd also blend over time - all charms used to enforce behaviour would become known as 'Oathes', after the most famous example; but you might also use a generic term (stealing from the other thread), and say you were "wixing up the house", rather than providing specifics.

I'd consider that there might be a difference between legally speaking, and anything else. So, when offensively casting something -

Curses - Long-term magical effects, tending to be fire-and-forget. The spell keeps going until the spell is countered.

Hex - Long term effect, but requires concentration. So causing someone to be suspended by their ankles, but only until you look away/do something else

Jinx - One time effect, but can have long term consequences. Causing boils to erupt on someone, or stunning them. Again, fire-and-forget

This would put transfiguration as a 'Curse', and so the punishment would also be severe. But maiming someone would be a Jinx - regrowing arms, or sewing up wounds doesn't seem to be a major problem.


But in common parlance, a curse is a 'strong magical attack'. So cutting someone's arm with a hedge-trimming spell would be referred to as being 'cursed', even though it's not actually anything more magical than if someone had done it with an axe.

Much like assault (threat of force) and battery (use of force) in UK Law (although I'm not a lawyer, not your lawyer, and definitely willing to be corrected) are specific legal terms, but if you were attacked you would maybe phrase it as 'assaulted'.




There's probably also differences in the terms used to describe how it happens - taking some terms from your example:

• Bewitch
• Beguile

I'd say that bewitching someone would be casting the spell on them - using a spell that's vaguely equivalent to 'friendship' on them. On the other hand, beguiling would be casting spells on yourself - either a 'trust me' aura, or a 'transfiguration of +2 charisma', or even a 'straighten out my broken nose'.

But that would be more due to 'bewitching' someone being linked more with enchanting someone, and specifically something I've heard used as a targetted thing; whereas beguiling I've tended to link more with AoE.

 

I do love the idea of spells having Protected Designation of Origins...thats so wonderfully ridiculous that it fits the setting perfectly.

 

Mind posting pics of what the Prophet looks like?

 

Its just the front page that I've got as a poster, as I showed in the post above. I don't think they sell full editions, presumably for the film sets they only came up with the front pages.