Wizarding Abilities

[vatsan17]

Is it possible for Wizarding Ablities within a person to show up late? For example, a kid does not show signs of having abilities to perform magic even when he is 11.

[Elf]

Originally Jo was going to have a character attend Hogwarts late in life. However she didn't say if it was Hagrid (allowed to finish after he was expelled) or a new character who didn't show signs of magic until later.

Since name for Hogwarts are written at birth I would be inclined to believe that she intended Hagrid to finish his studies. You may have a muggleborn or someone who thought that they were a squib be surprised to receive the letter though.

[Tim the Enchanter]

Is it possible for Wizarding Ablities within a person to show up late? For example, a kid does not show signs of having abilities to perform magic even when he is 11.

Neville Longbottom displayed magic so late that his uncles feared he was a Squib. Nothing in canon says exactly how long it took Neville to finally show some sign of magic, but it is possible that it might have been a couple of years after the customary seven years. Perhaps as a result of this lateness, Neville was a rather mediocre wizard for many years.

I think that it is possible for somebody to not show any magic until eleven, but the magic would probably be very weak, otherwise it would have appeared earlier.

Tim the Enchanter

[vatsan17]

I see, so the late maturing of magical abilities is possible even in pure blood families.

[OliveOil_Med]

Also, keep in mind, that Hogwarts has that magical quill that records every magical birth in Britain and Ireland. Whether a child is a 'late bloomer' or not, there will be a recording of their birth and they will receive a letter none the less. The authority of the quill is held above any proof a family might have as to whether or not their child is a wizard.

That being said, it would be quite impossible for someone to begin attending Hogwarts AFTER they had turned eleven just because they hadn't yet shown any signs of having magic.

[expelliarmus17]

Originally Jo was going to have a character attend Hogwarts late in life. However she didn't say if it was Hagrid (allowed to finish after he was expelled) or a new character who didn't show signs of magic until later.

I thought she was originally planning this, but decided against it. She says so in an interview in 2007.

Neville was mostly exaggerating his lack of magical ability, in my opinion. I imagine that Crabbe and Goyle couldn't have done much better than Neville in classes.

[vatsan17]

That being said, it would be quite impossible for someone to begin attending Hogwarts AFTER they had turned eleven just because they hadn't yet shown any signs of having magic.

why is that?? Actually this is what I was looking for. Suppose a guy in my story does not show any signs of magic at the age of 11, he will not receive his Hogwarts letter.

[OliveOil_Med]

I don't see how this is possible. You see, the school sends off their acceptance letters based on what the quill says. I believe it is under the system of one is a wizard or one is not, there is no 'kind of'. Magic is something internal; think of it as a disease that lies dormant until you finally start showing symptoms (probablly not the best analogy, but it fits). You have always had the disease, and a doctor could probably tell you that you have it, but you just haven't shown any symptoms yet.

As to what J.K. said in her interview, if she was talking about Hagrid or someone else who was expelled but later found innocent, that I would understand. Hagrid began attending Hogwarts when he was eleven, but he was expelled in his third year after being framed by Tom Riddle for unleashing the monster that killed Moaning Myrtle.

But once there was actual proof that he was innocent, Dumbledore, unconventional as he is, might have seen fit to allow Hagrid to return to Hogwarts in some form or another to finish his schooling. That might have actually made for a rather hilarious plot point if Hagrid became a student again right alongside the Trio.

But, yes, the Quill is very much a part of canon and I see very little way of getting around it. In fact, having a character not find out their a wizard until their teens or older is a plot point in a lot of Mary Sue fics, so I generally don't recommend it just on that principle, unless you have a very, VERY strong explaination for it.

But I don't believe that being a 'late bloomer' would work for writing with the confinds of canon.

[vatsan17]

Thanks everyone. =D You guys helped a lot.

I will try looking into it.

[AidaLuthien]

The Quill reports all magical births in Britain and Ireland, but not the rest of the world.

If the person in question was not born in Britain or Ireland and is Muggle born and moved to Britain or Ireland, then you could have problems maybe. We don't know how other schools find Muggle born students and if someone moved then something could have slipped through the cracks. Maybe.

A more interesting example would be space colonies. I doubt wizards would keep up with that kind of thing, and a wizard or witch who was born in a space colony would have... no contact with earth whatsoever. No country would think to look for that person, no Quill could record their birth. I really doubt that any magic of that sort would extend to space colonies, even if they were orbiting earth.

Unless you think magic is tied to the earth and this planet itself, the Muggle-born in space's magic would still manifest itself eventually though.

... ok, this is probably not what you were looking for, but it's some food for thought.

Also: WIZARDS IN SPACE.

... that is all.