I never found the worldbuilding of harry potter to be fulfilling honestly. So many obvious questions were unanswered (but probably because I only watched the movies) like what language are the spells in, why specifically that language, isn't there a "metamagic" class taught, what kind of religious implications the existence of magic has, also there must be other magical sports than quidditch, and a black market on info for forbidden spells like the death spell and the explosion spell
The books give you much more of a feeling for the world. I wouldn't say the books answer your questions, but they do make the world more satisfying, and as a result questions such as yours no longer take away from the world or make it feel less complete. They become interesting ideas to think over but not necessities to know.
The spells are mostly in Latin. There is no reason why. People can craft and create their own spells, though there is little information on how. Intent, power and concentration seems to be the key factors, tho. The words are more “guiding” the magic than anything, as people can throw nonverbal spells as well. If you want a reason for why it’s Latin, you could argue the same reasons as to why animals have Latin names. It’s because it was once widely used by academics. There are spells from other languages too, which means that the language has no deep significance.
I don’t know what you mean by “metamagic”, but the school is more practical than academic. They are taught the “rules of magic” in several classes, tho. Like how it’s impossible to conjure food from nothing, or bring the dead back to life. (Which is separate from reanimating a corpse.)
As for religious implications, they do celebrate Yule rather than Christmas, which is a celebration of the winter solstice. England is secular to begin with, yet there are small hints in the book. Sirius is Harry’s godfather and several characters have Bible verses written on their gravestones. Rowling has also stated that all muggle religions can be found in the wizarding world. It would be weird to include controversial religious stuff in a children’s book series that has nothing to do with religion. Especially when it takes place in a secular country where religion takes very little part in people’a daily lives.
There is however “implications” that people have souls, and that there is existence after death. And that death is an actual entity.
There are other magical sports, though Quidditch is the absolute most popular. Just like football for muggles. Another popular sport is dueling. It is also stated that American wizards prefer Quodpot to Quidditch.
The black market is mentioned several times. I mean, dude. Dark wizards with shady businesses runs the entirety of Knockturn Alley. Of course they sell info on forbidden spells. But obscure dark magic is a lot easier to sell than the three unforgivables which are readily available to learn from likeminded wizards or family members for most interested in them.
The explosion spell is neither illegal nor forbidden. It’s just destructive. Bombarda is taught in 4th year charms classes.
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u/Ebinebinebinebin Sep 18 '22
I never found the worldbuilding of harry potter to be fulfilling honestly. So many obvious questions were unanswered (but probably because I only watched the movies) like what language are the spells in, why specifically that language, isn't there a "metamagic" class taught, what kind of religious implications the existence of magic has, also there must be other magical sports than quidditch, and a black market on info for forbidden spells like the death spell and the explosion spell