Wasn't it some slash author who invented it to hide male pregnancy? Or so I've learned from DLP once.

 

Probably Cassie Clare then D8

 

I did some idle research a few years back- the earliest reference I found was Echoes in 2003. Of course, I didn't do the research until after I used it as a main point in a story.

 

Wait, so it's actually true? That's the best news I've heard all day.

I heavily dislike fanon-inspired stuff, so now I have a legitimate excuse to laugh at people who use the Notice-Me-Not charm, they're using something invented by a slash/mpreg story.

That's just brilliant! xD

 

Actually, it's not completely fanon. There is an enchantment that is used in Deathly Hallows that

So that's not the same thing as the Muggle repelling charm. Granted, it's an enchantment and not a charm, but going with a "Notice-Me-Not" Charm based on that doesn't seem to be any kind of stretch outside of canon.

 

Maybe so, but still the name Notice-Me-Not is terrible.

 

Looking at context it seems to me that this refers to the combination of the Muffliato and Disillusionment charms. Not a "Notice me not" type spell.

Secondly, enchantments and charms seem to be two words for the same thing.

 

Maybe, but then it can be argued pretty easily that any of those charms can be classified as "Notice-me-Not" charms. More of a category, rather than a specific charm. So it still doesn't make it a stretch to use those types of charms in a story.

Either way, since the name itself doesn't appear in canon, Xandrel's free to hate-on, and that's what's important here.

 

You got to be kidding me. The Notice-me-not was invented in a HP/SS Slash. And with a freaking mpreg!

I normally am fine with some Fanon creations (provided it actually makes sense somehow), but now I will forever hate that charm. It was born from what is arguably the stupidest single creation of FanFics. The next time I see that Charm anywhere, I will tell the author who created it.

 

It can be used by good authors, but it can also become a magical fix-all (or at least, a hide-all) quickly if there aren't limitations placed on it. In other words, like everything else in writing, it depends on what the author does with it.

 

That's true, E. C.

There are fics in which Harry simply uses the charm to hide his scar (reasonable use, since it possibly gets annoying).

But then there are fics in which he uses it to hide from Voldemort just because. :facepalm

 

Wait . . . So Harry drops a Notice-Me-Not on himself and prances on passed Voldemort?

Let's get this straight:Voldemort can't beat a simple charm? Then WHY would Harry even use it, since he has a magical cloak that came from Death Himself?

And this is the reason why I spend almost all my time in fanfiction either writing my own stuff, or re-reading stuff that's stood the test of time.

 

So . . . no thoughts on this?

 

It's hard to say -- there isn't really much evidence.

On the against side, no other character has ever been mentioned to be able to do these things. Also the very fact that it's called Accidental Magic by the Ministry seems to imply the normal case is exactly that: accidental.

The only other character's accidental magic we know about was Neville's, and that was like Harry's: accidental.

 

Neville was also . . . well, not abused, but he certainly didn't have the most nurturing childhood, especially with someone as overbearing as Augusta. I think the only other accidental or pre-Hogwarts magic we see is Ariana's, and she had a few problems too. I think a well-nutured child might be able to reach the level of the other three, which in the end seems not that much more developed. From what we see of Lily, Snape, and Riddle, they didn't exactly seem to be working complex spells and magic, so much as they had figured out that their intense desires and emotions could trigger some effect. Something closer to Harry's bout in PoA, which he takes account of in a way that, while not as developed, still seems more advanced than accidental magic. He knew his magic was responding to his anger and desire to silence Marge, which is only a step away from being able to do it at will.

Snape and Lily's appears the most advanced, but even they don't seem to understand how they do what they do, just that they can. They just took, along with Riddle, the last leap of logic from realizing that something can or will happen in a time of need to realizing something can also be made to happen in a time of focus or desire. So long as it is not actively discouraged (as in Harry's case) or impatiently expected (as in Neville's), it seems like a step most children would be able to take.

 

Taure brought up a good point. Since it was known as "accidental" magic, it's probably not the norm for it to be controlled. I'm also pretty sure that those you mentioned were also thought of as highly talented magic users, so it's not terribly surprising for them to break the mold.


Ok, the issue brought up by the necessity of wands is bugging me, so I want some reasoning as to why JK thought this was a good idea. Why the hell do wizards need a focus on their bodies, but not wielded, to do magic that requires no wand waving or incantations?

(And Merriman, I hope you were kidding. A wand for potions... fucking really?)

 

Accidental magic -- both in its accidental and controlled form -- is, I believe, the most basic and instinctual form of magic. All other forms of magic seem to require tools of one sort or another:

But any tool will do, not just a wand. Wands just happen to be the best. Maybe Riddle, Lily and Snape used some form of tools too? Lily had that flower, after all.

A potion is really just like a spell when you think about it. You have some tools (ingredients in a potion, wand in a spell) but you have to be magical to use them. Apparition is a really quite powerful piece of magic; it would be no surprise that it needs a wand, if that is indeed the case.

We also have evidence that it's possible to cast spells with a wand without actually holding the wand: Harry in OotP.

 

To address you last post, Afrojack, and try not to just hijack the conversation, I'm pretty sure these are exceptional individuals. Tom is, well, the Dark Lord, so he can go against convention. Snape, though a bastard, is pretty damned impressive later in life, so I'm pretty sure he's exempt from being average as well. Lily... we know less about, but I believe she was referred to as talented.

(Also, didn't Snape grow up in a broken family/abusive household? I guess that being around Lily could give him enough incentive to push his magical abilities once he met her, but I wouldn't say he was a happy, nurtured child.)

Anyway, I bring up talent because I think you assume that the controlling of emotions and desires required for spells isn't too difficult. I'm not sure, but I think that the hardest part of the Patronous was remembering a truly happy thought, not something more complex, and it's referred to as a highly advanced spell. Perhaps emotional manipulation for doing magic is fairly difficult and beyond a normal child.

 

Hmm. Riddle did have a penchant for stealing and being emotionally invested in certain objects at a young age, and Snape would have and did know about magic already.

I don't, I was just wondering if maybe it's not as difficult or rare as we tend to think it is.

 

But Taure, if the ingredients in the potion are the tool for that kind of 'spell', why is the wand even involved? I may be just looking at this the wrong way, but I'm moderately confused.

Ah, my mistake then. But I still stand by what I said about the Patronous Charm. Since everyone seems impressed that Harry can do it, I believe that using emotions for magic (also required for the powerful Cruciatus Curse) is quite difficult, so it'd be pretty rare for children to intentionally channel their emotionally driven magic.