Flight

"Point me!"
This article is about magical flight in general. You may be looking for the Hogwarts subject.

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Flying is one of the primary methods of magical transportation, along with Floo powder, Portkey and Apparition. It involves a person or persons using a magical object bewitched with a Flying Spell to journey through the air to another location. Magical objects used for this purposes are Broomsticks and Flying carpets.

Description

Broomstick

Compared to other methods, Flying is the slowest method of transportation available. However, some bewitched objects can fly much faster than others and it is the most common method of transportation, as witches and wizards who cannot or do not want to Apparate or use Floo powder use it. Flying itself is a class taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by Madam Hooch, for first year students.

Flying is also used in magical sporting events, such as the popular game of Quidditch.

Unsupported flight

Main article: Unsupported flight

In defiance of magical law (that states that a wizard can only fly using a vehicle, which itself can only have a flying charm), the most infamous Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort somehow discovered a way to fly without any form of magical vehicle (though some form of magical assistance is certainly required to do this). This was witnessed in battle with Order of the Phoenix operatives in 1997, and by Harry Potter during his connection with Voldemort's mind. This method can be duplicated, as Voldemort taught his (supposedly) most loyal Death Eater Severus Snape how to fly the same way.

Animagi

Animagi who possesses the forms of animals capable of flight can enjoy the sensation. However, animagi themselves are rare, let alone ones who possesses forms capable of flying (since the species are predetermined by the animagi's traits).^[1] Known animagi whose forms are capable of flight are Falco Aesalon (falcon), Cliodna (seabird), Morgan le Fay (bird) and Rita Skeeter (beetle).

Behind the scenes

In the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Quirrell, most likely by learning the skill from Voldemort, flies clear across a chamber towards Harry during their encounter for the Philosopher's Stone.
When Hagrid is asked how he arrived to pick up Harry from the Dursleys in the first book he states that he "flew" (due to his motorbike being enchanted), he later stated in the seventh book that brooms and Thestrals cannot take his weight.
In the films, as early as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort's Death Eaters appear to be able to effectively fly by partially disapparating.
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the members of the Order of the Phoenix seemed to fly, their body partially becomes smoke and they leave a smoke trail behind them, and whilst Death Eaters' trail was black, theirs was white.It should be noted that in the beginning of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Death Eaters flew in London and severed a bridge's wires while they were flying around it. This instance is therefore contradictory to the laws that wizards can only fly using a vehicle.
In the films, Dementors can fly freely without physical support. This is in contrast to their novel counterparts, who glide, rather than fly.

Appearances

Notes and references

↑ Quidditch Through the Ages

[Q-1] Quidditch Through the Ages

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