“Why do some magical spaces seem so dusty, dirty and full of cobwebs?”

I should be working on my writing.  Procrastination has set in. This is merely done for the fun of it.  I enjoy Ms. Rowling's imaginitive writing, but I get these questions in my head and want to answer them (writing practice and mental exercise is my excuse).  So to get the formalities out of the way: Disclaimer: All Harry Potter names, characters, places, incidents et al. herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and her legal licensees, including but not limited to Bloomsbury/Scholastic, etc. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made.

 

Muggle-born Orientation Lecture (MOLe) #13, 

presented by Prof. Amelia Tillywig, answering the question, 

“Why do some magical spaces seem so dusty, dirty and full of cobwebs?”

Professor Tillywig: “One of the first things that many of you will notice is that the world of magical folk is a bit dusty.  It isn’t because magical folk are particularly dirty or unclean; we’re just all very careful.  The wizarding world has dangers never seen in the other world –the most mundane object can be imbued with a magic spell or charm and become dangerous if treated without caution or respect.  Well what does this have to do with the dust and cobwebs found in many places in the magical world, you may ask?  I can easily answer that for you.

As I was wizard-born, I can tell you that we are told from a very early age to keep our hands in our pockets when we went to the house of a wizard or witch.  To go around touching strange objects in a strange magical environment can get you hurt very badly or even kill you.  My cousin Bartimelous was killed when he picked up a charmed pair of secateurs in the shed of an old witch – it cut him up like he was an old hedge.  He had neither the ability to control it nor the power.  As they say in the Muggle world, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’.  Because we have been trained not to touch or interact with things we don’t know, you’d never see a magical being going into the house of a dead magical person to have a clear out.  We’ll just let the dust collect and leave most of the objects alone.  No one wants to be the victim of contagious magic.

That is one of the biggest problems in the magical world –contagious magic. Contagious magic is when objects are still linked to a witch or wizard or still imbued with a charm with the potential to suddenly become magically active.  This is a problem especially if a spell or charm has not been carried out to fruition.  A needle can be charmed to, say, repair a tear in a robe, but the magical person might walk away before the act is accomplished.  That needle might retain the charm and end up poking someone in the eye or sewing up his or her mouth. [The professor makes a sewing motion across her mouth, and then pretends to try to speak.  She throws her hands into the air with feigned exasperation, then continues.]  Always be sure to carry your spells and charms to fruition or nullify them. As the saying goes, ‘if you can’t carry it out, then put it out. Nullify, nullify, nullify.’

Even when things are not purposely imbued with magic, natural objects can still have magical effects.  For example, feathers are powerful objects used in the magical world for many purposes.  The quill itself that you are holding is an important magical tool.  Feathers have been used in magic for thousands of years because of their magical potential.  To rub a feather duster across an assortment of objects could be a very dangerous act.  Let me demonstrate; [The professor walks to her desk and positions a small clay pot of ivy near the edge.  She picks up her wand and turns the pot of ivy into a pot of ‘poison ivy’.  The spines on the tip of the leaves strike against the pot making tiny pinging sounds.  The enchanted vine twists and turns, occasionally striking at nearby objects like an angry serpent.  The professor picks up a quill and moves the tip toward the ‘poison ivy’ which strikes at it.]  As you see the charmed ivy is very dangerous as this simple quill can be. [She reaches into a nearby drawer and pulls out a polished ball of quartz]  As you may or may not know, quartz is also a powerful natural object often used in charms, spells and rituals.  The combination of feather and quartz can produce an intriguing elementary charm. Watch. [She sets the orb onto the desk and rolls it toward the potted plant.  It hits the clay pot, with a sharp tap.  The ‘poison ivy’ coils then strikes out at the quartz.  The professor reaches in with the quill and rubs it across the polished surface of the quartz.  Immediately, the ‘poison ivy’ reverts back to a pot of ordinary harmless ivy. The professor stops rubbing the quill against the quartz and the charmed ivy then returns to its venomous state.  The professor rests against the edge of her desk and crosses her arms.  The tip of the quill brushes against her nose and she lets out a small sneeze.  She regains her composure.]  Rubbing a feather, quill or not, over a polished quartz can temporarily create a nullifying magical effect – it, of course, only lasts seconds and can only be done once with each feather.  Imagine the effect if that is done near a binding spell keeping a dangerous enchanted object at bay.  Imagine if it was done near a magical lock keeping something dangerous imprisoned.  It is a very weak piece of magic but the potential is there.

What I’m saying is that it is the magical potential of objects that prevent magical folks to approach unknown objects with caution and respect.  You wouldn’t find many witches or witches that would randomly pick up an object and wipe it with a cleaning cloth or polish it with a chamois.  No magical folk would walk into an unknown room and begin to dust everything with a feather duster.  I hope you will conduct yourself accordingly.

It must also be noted, however, that some magical spaces are kept very clean for security reasons.  Magical powders and dustings can easily be disguised as ordinary house dust.  Spiders, as well as other small creatures, might be employed as ‘bugging devices’.  Cleanliness is simply a security measure.  Aurors will go into a space that needs to be secured and they will inventory every object.  They will also disintegrate every dust particle and cobweb.  They will use enchantments to repel small creatures and dirt.  It is a long and intense charm session that most magical folk wouldn’t want to conduct.