Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re looking at how headmasters portraits at Hogwarts work. Specifically, we’ll be taking a look at how exactly these paintings are able to give advice since the people portrayed in them are dead, and whether or not a subject’s abilities while alive impacts how intelligent their portrait is in death.

First off, it’s important to note before we get going on the actual portraits, that these paintings are entirely different from the magical photographs that appear throughout the Harry Potter series. As you’ve likely noticed in the novels and films, unlike the Hogwarts portraits, photographs in the wizarding world can be of witches and wizards who are either dead or alive – it does not matter. They are also unable to speak to the living. They simply move in a sort of loop, waving or smiling at the person who took the picture, as we see Harry’s parents do in the few pictures of them that he finds. So, while, yes, Wizarding World photographs are technically enchanted, they’re not nearly as interactive as the painted portraits you’ll find at Hogwarts and other important establishments. Here’s why…

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