It can be blocked, yes, but this appears to be a fairly major jinx, the equivalent of a lot of capital equipment. Hogwarts is known to be anti-Apparation jinxed, as is Azkaban, but I don’t recall any other places where it’s mentioned. (Ministry of Magic, perhaps; implied by the workers there commuting in a fairly standard fashion instead of just Apparating from their homes.) It’s not clear that it can be installed on an average wizard’s home. Anyway, you’d think it would prevent inward, but not outward, Apparation by default; you don’t want to be suddenly attacked but you might want to make a quick escape.
Dumbledore captures (in that fanfic by Rowling, that is, not the canon) some Death Eaters by preventing their Apparation, but he has to duel them first, so he might as well have cast AK.
All that aside, she’s an experienced combat wizard with a few seconds to spare. If she can’t Apparate, she still has the option og grabbing Harry, blowing a hole in the wall, and running. “Accio Broomstick”, anyone? Or whatever flight spell Voldemort uses to go up the stairs without footsteps.
Come to think of it, why were they hiding in an apparently average home without special defenses, and relying on mere secrecy? Put them in Hogwarts, with its layers upon layers of magical fortifications. Draco states that Hogwarts is an impregnable fortress, and presumably Voldemort thinks so too since he doesn’t attack Dumbledore there and end the war at a stroke.
This has come up before in the tvtropes discussion thread, but personally I operate on the assumption that apparating in a combat situation is simply beyond the skills of most wizards. It requires deliberation, which is probably hard to muster when someone is firing death beams at you, and if you tried it you’d probably get splinched. It’s probably doable for really exceptional wizards, like Voldemort or Dumbledore, but not for your average auror, let alone the average joe wizard.
Highly tactically useful feats that are extremely difficult to perform would be one major reason why some wizards can be so much more dangerous in a fight than others when wizards far from the top of the scale are capable of firing death beams.
As opposed to what happens when she sits about in a panic? “Accio Broomstick” is another helpful tactical option, here. Anyway, if he can fly, why can’t she?
In canon, Voldemort’s unassisted-flight spell was unique to him (until he taught it to Snape). He invented it, and it was considered rather impressive, and unprecedented.
I can’t think of any particular reason that wouldn’t work, unless Voldemort or the Death Eaters in general have some way of stopping them prior to the attack. Maybe the anti-disapparition jinx (which is an area of effect spell rather than a targeted one according to the Potter wiki) also affects portkeys? Or perhaps there’s another spell. The Death Eaters might simply jinx their targets’ houses before attacking.
If there weren’t some way of preventing people from using them, I’d think having a portkey in the house in a readily accessible place, to teleport out of harm’s way, would be standard response for anyone at particular risk in the war. Given that this apparently didn’t stop the Death Eaters, I assume that it’s preventable.
I think canon suggests you’re either part of the Floo network or you’re not, meaning that if you were part of it, the Death Eaters could use it to get in, just as you could use it to get out.
Before the war, certainly. And even during, while Dumbledore was alive, Hogwarts was well enough protected that it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea for the Death Eaters to try and get in by Floo, even assuming that they could.
The Potter Wiki says that the Floo Network is governed by the Floo Network Authority at the Ministry of Magic, which probably keeps tabs on who’s connected where, so being connected to the Floo Network may be incompatible with trying to keep your location strictly secret.
I was basically quoting Quirrell from his first DDA lesson. He says that he’s teaching defense against wizards because they can keep you from being able to run. From this I drew the conclusion that wizards can keep you from being able to run, and this is a problem you might have to worry about in practice, even when facing wizards less powerful than Voldemort.
If, as an adult wizard, you find yourself incapable of using the Killing Curse, then you can simply Apparate away! Likewise if you are facing the second most perfect killing machine, a Dementor. You just Apparate away!”
“Unless, of course,” Professor Quirrell said, his voice now lower and harder, “you are under the influence of an anti-Apparition jinx.
This does not immediately imply that the anti-Apparation jinx is something that can be cast quickly, or under combat conditions. Most spells seem to require line of sight; if Voldemort has to be able to see you to jinx you, he might as well cast AK. The only times we actually see anti-Apparation in action, it is applied to places—Hogwarts, Ministry of Magic, Azkaban—not individuals.
I’m confused- you suggest Anti-Apparation spells are difficult to use because they probably require line-of-sight, then in the very next sentence acknowledge that we only ever see them as area-effect spells laid on locations. You don’t think it’s likely that all Anti-Apparation spells are area-effect, including the combat-time version that one might find oneself under the influence of while being attacked by Dark Wizards? It seems more reasonable to treat it as a tactical consideration if the jinx denies Apparation in a hundred-yard-radius sphere for five minutes, or something like that.
It seems to me that Potterverse magic comes in two distinct kinds. There are dueling charms that require line-of-sight, and this is what we actually see being cast. And then there are big area-effect magics like the ones affecting Hogwarts, and we don’t really know anything about those—we never see them being cast. But we do see that such things are rare, and mostly old. This suggests to me that there’s no area-effect combat spells, to be laid on in five minutes before you enter the enemy’s house. Rather there are point-and-shoots, and Epic Ritual Magic, possibly lost to modern wizardkind.
Touching Dumbledore’s magic against the Death Eaters, note that he doesn’t use it until they are defeated and presumably unconscious. This seems to indicate that it’s an ordinary point-and-shoot, perhaps even a slow, easily-dodged one that’s useless on an active target. A point-and-shoot anti-Apparation jinx is useless to Voldemort; if he can jinx you that way he might as well use the AK.
It seems to me that Potterverse magic comes in two distinct kinds. There are dueling charms that require line-of-sight, and this is what we actually see being cast. And then there are big area-effect magics like the ones affecting Hogwarts, and we don’t really know anything about those—we never see them being cast. But we do see that such things are rare, and mostly old. This suggests to me that there’s no area-effect combat spells, to be laid on in five minutes before you enter the enemy’s house. Rather there are point-and-shoots, and Epic Ritual Magic, possibly lost to modern wizardkind.
The original canon didn’t really have the Lost Golden Age elements of MoR. We don’t see a lot of area-affecting spells actually being cast, but we do have stuff like Fred and George turning part of Hogwarts castle into a swamp, in a manner such that Professor Umbridge couldn’t turn it back. In the original canon, it seems more like spells of this sort simply require some know how and competence that might be beyond the average coasted-through-school-and-forgot-everything-they-didn’t-need wizard, but isn’t beyond clever and mischievous upper year students.
I think the reason this kind of magic appears so little on screen is that Rowling simply couldn’t be arsed to come up with rules for how her magic worked beyond the “point and say words” type, so she mostly kept anything with more complicated mechanics offstage.
If we’re talking about canon, I want to point out that they cast an Anti-Disapparation jinx over Hogsmeade in Deathly Hallows, when it was perfectly possible to apparate before. So at the very least we know the ability to cast it on an area isn’t lost to wizardkind.
And to address the more general idea, you may well want to cast a Muffliato or Repello Muggletum over someone’s house before you break in, to avoid attracting attention.
note that he doesn’t use it until they are defeated and presumably unconscious. This seems to indicate that it’s an ordinary point-and-shoot
Or it may also indicate it takes ten seconds to cast.
IIRC, in book 5 of canon, after the battle in the ministry, Dumbledore tells Fudge that the captured Death Eaters are in the Department of Mysteries, and that he has “bound them with an Anti-Disapparition jinx”. This implies that this jinx is at the very least one that is capable of being cast easily and quickly enough to be a viable way to stop captured prisoners from escaping. (Although not necessarily under combat conditions.)
Rowling-canon strongly implies that Dumbledore was the reason Voldemort didn’t attack Hogwarts; that is, Dumbledore’s presence at Hogwarts protected the castle, and not the other way around. Hogwarts fell very soon after Dumbledore’s death. However, while Dumbledore may have prevented Voldemort from outright capturing Hogwarts, in the same way he stopped Voldemort from outright capturing the Ministry, he proved unable to prevent Voldemort and friends from repeatedly sneaking into the castle, and he doesn’t have the time to personally guard the Potters 24⁄7.
It may not be a world without the Fidelius Charm; Lupin implies that the betrayal of a secret keeper was still what did them in. It may simply be that the charm may Never Be Mentioned Again, because if it’s allowed to function as more than a one-time plot device, it breaks the story, so we’re just going to have to shove it in the corner and pretend it’s not there anymore.
Apparation can be blocked. That’s what makes Dark Wizards more dangerous than any other monster you might fight—you can’t just Apparate away.
It can be blocked, yes, but this appears to be a fairly major jinx, the equivalent of a lot of capital equipment. Hogwarts is known to be anti-Apparation jinxed, as is Azkaban, but I don’t recall any other places where it’s mentioned. (Ministry of Magic, perhaps; implied by the workers there commuting in a fairly standard fashion instead of just Apparating from their homes.) It’s not clear that it can be installed on an average wizard’s home. Anyway, you’d think it would prevent inward, but not outward, Apparation by default; you don’t want to be suddenly attacked but you might want to make a quick escape.
Dumbledore captures (in that fanfic by Rowling, that is, not the canon) some Death Eaters by preventing their Apparation, but he has to duel them first, so he might as well have cast AK.
All that aside, she’s an experienced combat wizard with a few seconds to spare. If she can’t Apparate, she still has the option og grabbing Harry, blowing a hole in the wall, and running. “Accio Broomstick”, anyone? Or whatever flight spell Voldemort uses to go up the stairs without footsteps.
Come to think of it, why were they hiding in an apparently average home without special defenses, and relying on mere secrecy? Put them in Hogwarts, with its layers upon layers of magical fortifications. Draco states that Hogwarts is an impregnable fortress, and presumably Voldemort thinks so too since he doesn’t attack Dumbledore there and end the war at a stroke.
This has come up before in the tvtropes discussion thread, but personally I operate on the assumption that apparating in a combat situation is simply beyond the skills of most wizards. It requires deliberation, which is probably hard to muster when someone is firing death beams at you, and if you tried it you’d probably get splinched. It’s probably doable for really exceptional wizards, like Voldemort or Dumbledore, but not for your average auror, let alone the average joe wizard.
Highly tactically useful feats that are extremely difficult to perform would be one major reason why some wizards can be so much more dangerous in a fight than others when wizards far from the top of the scale are capable of firing death beams.
Ok, that’s a good point. So what about blowing a hole in the wall and fleeing into the night?
I assume that he’d catch her if she tried. He can fly.
As opposed to what happens when she sits about in a panic? “Accio Broomstick” is another helpful tactical option, here. Anyway, if he can fly, why can’t she?
In canon, Voldemort’s unassisted-flight spell was unique to him (until he taught it to Snape). He invented it, and it was considered rather impressive, and unprecedented.
Port keys? Those seem an obvious precaution in a wizarding war.
I can’t think of any particular reason that wouldn’t work, unless Voldemort or the Death Eaters in general have some way of stopping them prior to the attack. Maybe the anti-disapparition jinx (which is an area of effect spell rather than a targeted one according to the Potter wiki) also affects portkeys? Or perhaps there’s another spell. The Death Eaters might simply jinx their targets’ houses before attacking.
If there weren’t some way of preventing people from using them, I’d think having a portkey in the house in a readily accessible place, to teleport out of harm’s way, would be standard response for anyone at particular risk in the war. Given that this apparently didn’t stop the Death Eaters, I assume that it’s preventable.
Given how poorly the war was going for the OotF I wouldn’t be surprised if by that point they were suffering from a shortage of safe houses.
There’s also the Floo.
I think canon suggests you’re either part of the Floo network or you’re not, meaning that if you were part of it, the Death Eaters could use it to get in, just as you could use it to get out.
The offices of Dumbledore and Snape and presumably the other Professors have Floo links.
Before the war, certainly. And even during, while Dumbledore was alive, Hogwarts was well enough protected that it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea for the Death Eaters to try and get in by Floo, even assuming that they could.
The Potter Wiki says that the Floo Network is governed by the Floo Network Authority at the Ministry of Magic, which probably keeps tabs on who’s connected where, so being connected to the Floo Network may be incompatible with trying to keep your location strictly secret.
I was basically quoting Quirrell from his first DDA lesson. He says that he’s teaching defense against wizards because they can keep you from being able to run. From this I drew the conclusion that wizards can keep you from being able to run, and this is a problem you might have to worry about in practice, even when facing wizards less powerful than Voldemort.
Mmm. He says
This does not immediately imply that the anti-Apparation jinx is something that can be cast quickly, or under combat conditions. Most spells seem to require line of sight; if Voldemort has to be able to see you to jinx you, he might as well cast AK. The only times we actually see anti-Apparation in action, it is applied to places—Hogwarts, Ministry of Magic, Azkaban—not individuals.
I’m confused- you suggest Anti-Apparation spells are difficult to use because they probably require line-of-sight, then in the very next sentence acknowledge that we only ever see them as area-effect spells laid on locations. You don’t think it’s likely that all Anti-Apparation spells are area-effect, including the combat-time version that one might find oneself under the influence of while being attacked by Dark Wizards? It seems more reasonable to treat it as a tactical consideration if the jinx denies Apparation in a hundred-yard-radius sphere for five minutes, or something like that.
It seems to me that Potterverse magic comes in two distinct kinds. There are dueling charms that require line-of-sight, and this is what we actually see being cast. And then there are big area-effect magics like the ones affecting Hogwarts, and we don’t really know anything about those—we never see them being cast. But we do see that such things are rare, and mostly old. This suggests to me that there’s no area-effect combat spells, to be laid on in five minutes before you enter the enemy’s house. Rather there are point-and-shoots, and Epic Ritual Magic, possibly lost to modern wizardkind.
Touching Dumbledore’s magic against the Death Eaters, note that he doesn’t use it until they are defeated and presumably unconscious. This seems to indicate that it’s an ordinary point-and-shoot, perhaps even a slow, easily-dodged one that’s useless on an active target. A point-and-shoot anti-Apparation jinx is useless to Voldemort; if he can jinx you that way he might as well use the AK.
The original canon didn’t really have the Lost Golden Age elements of MoR. We don’t see a lot of area-affecting spells actually being cast, but we do have stuff like Fred and George turning part of Hogwarts castle into a swamp, in a manner such that Professor Umbridge couldn’t turn it back. In the original canon, it seems more like spells of this sort simply require some know how and competence that might be beyond the average coasted-through-school-and-forgot-everything-they-didn’t-need wizard, but isn’t beyond clever and mischievous upper year students.
I think the reason this kind of magic appears so little on screen is that Rowling simply couldn’t be arsed to come up with rules for how her magic worked beyond the “point and say words” type, so she mostly kept anything with more complicated mechanics offstage.
Such as canon!Harry Potter.
If we’re talking about canon, I want to point out that they cast an Anti-Disapparation jinx over Hogsmeade in Deathly Hallows, when it was perfectly possible to apparate before. So at the very least we know the ability to cast it on an area isn’t lost to wizardkind.
And to address the more general idea, you may well want to cast a Muffliato or Repello Muggletum over someone’s house before you break in, to avoid attracting attention.
Or it may also indicate it takes ten seconds to cast.
IIRC, in book 5 of canon, after the battle in the ministry, Dumbledore tells Fudge that the captured Death Eaters are in the Department of Mysteries, and that he has “bound them with an Anti-Disapparition jinx”. This implies that this jinx is at the very least one that is capable of being cast easily and quickly enough to be a viable way to stop captured prisoners from escaping. (Although not necessarily under combat conditions.)
“that fanfic by Rowling”? Heh.
Rowling-canon strongly implies that Dumbledore was the reason Voldemort didn’t attack Hogwarts; that is, Dumbledore’s presence at Hogwarts protected the castle, and not the other way around. Hogwarts fell very soon after Dumbledore’s death. However, while Dumbledore may have prevented Voldemort from outright capturing Hogwarts, in the same way he stopped Voldemort from outright capturing the Ministry, he proved unable to prevent Voldemort and friends from repeatedly sneaking into the castle, and he doesn’t have the time to personally guard the Potters 24⁄7.
The last paragraph makes a good point. In a world without the Fidelius, why wouldn’t they be at Hogwarts? Hmm.
It may not be a world without the Fidelius Charm; Lupin implies that the betrayal of a secret keeper was still what did them in. It may simply be that the charm may Never Be Mentioned Again, because if it’s allowed to function as more than a one-time plot device, it breaks the story, so we’re just going to have to shove it in the corner and pretend it’s not there anymore.