Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. When a young witch or wizard has no understanding of magic, they rely entirely on the way that it’s taught to them. They copy sounds. They mimic gestures, and they perform rituals they barely understand. 

At Hogwarts, students mostly imitate what their professors demonstrate, and long before that, in magical homes, young witches and wizards often pick up bits of magic just by watching their parents.

And by doing these things, they learn the shape of magic, but not the rules beneath it. They don’t know why a wand must move a certain way, or why emotion matters just as much as language. They’re taught how to do magic, but it’s rarely explained why it works.

But here’s the thing about magic: it’s wildly unpredictable. It isn’t patient with mistakes, and it certainly doesn’t forgive misunderstandings. 

Which means that sometimes, when the spell isn’t quite right- it doesn’t just NOT WORK- it actively pushes back.

And when magic pushes back, there are consequences.

Of course, not every spell fits this criteria. Some spells will just fizzle out or do nothing at all. But the focus of today’s video will be on the spells that DO push back- sometimes with DIRE..Even HORRIFIC consequences.

Let’s dive into it.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices