Water

• Type: Natural Element, Potion Ingredient, Magical Barrier, Creature Habitat

Water in the Wizarding World is physically identical to its Muggle counterpart: a clear, odorless, and tasteless liquid. It is a fundamental substance found throughout the world in rivers, lakes, oceans, and as rain. Its significance, however, is amplified by its many magical properties and applications.

Water is a versatile and crucial element in magic, serving as a key ingredient, a powerful barrier, and a medium for spells.

• As a Potion Ingredient: Water is one of the most common and fundamental ingredients in Potions. It often serves as the base liquid into which other ingredients are added.
  • It is a known ingredient in the Polyjuice Potion, used to suspend ingredients like Fluxweed and Knotgrass.
  • The Draught of Living Death also begins with an infusion in water.
  • An Ageing Potion that Fred and George Weasley use to try and cross the Age Line is described as containing a few drops of water.
• In Spellcasting:
  • The Aguamenti Charm is a Transfiguration spell that conjures a jet of clean, drinkable water from the tip of the caster's wand. It was used by Fleur Delacour to extinguish her skirt in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament and by Harry Potter to attempt to give Albus Dumbledore a drink in the Horcrux cave and to douse Hagrid's Hut when it was set on fire.
  • Water can be enchanted to serve as a formidable defence. In the Lestrange Vault, enchanted water was part of a curse where any object touched would multiply and become searing hot, including the Goblet of Hufflepuff.
• As a Magical Barrier: Large bodies of water are frequently used as magical boundaries or to conceal dangers.
  • The Great Lake on the grounds of Hogwarts serves as a major geographical and magical barrier. It contains an entire colony of Merpeople and other magical creatures, and its depths were the setting for the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
  • The Underground Lake in the Horcrux Cave: Lord Voldemort protected the locket Horcrux with a vast, dark lake filled with Inferi. The water itself was part of the protection, as the potion in the basin could not be touched or vanished, forcing the intruder to drink it, which in turn would drive them to seek water from the lake, awakening the Inferi.
  • The Sea around Azkaban: The prison is situated on an island in the middle of the cold North Sea, making escape incredibly difficult even without the presence of Dementors.
• As a Creature Habitat: Water is the natural environment for a wide variety of magical creatures.
  • The Great Lake at Hogwarts is home to a Giant Squid, Grindylows, and Merpeople.
  • Kappas, malevolent Japanese water demons, were studied in Remus Lupin's third-year Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
  • The Loch Ness Monster is noted to be a Kelpie, the world's largest.

Water plays a critical role in several significant events in wizarding history and the life of Harry Potter.

1. 1993: Harry Potter first learns about water-dwelling creatures like Grindylows and Kappas in his Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.
2. 1995: The Second Task of the revived Triwizard Tournament requires the champions to breathe underwater for an hour in the Great Lake to rescue a “hostage”. Harry Potter uses Gillyweed, Cedric Diggory uses a Bubble-Head Charm, Fleur Delacour uses a partial transfiguration, and Viktor Krum uses a partial Transfiguration to accomplish this. The task highlights the dangers and wonders of magical bodies of water.
3. 1997: Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter travel to a hidden sea cave to retrieve one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. They must cross an underground lake filled with Inferi, and Dumbledore is forced to drink a potion that causes immense pain and thirst. Harry's attempt to conjure water for him with `Aguamenti` is what ultimately rouses the Inferi from the depths, leading to a desperate battle.
4. 1998: During the break-in at Gringotts, the trio encounters the treasure in the Lestrange Vault, which is protected by the Geminio and Flagrante curses. When they touch the treasure, it multiplies endlessly and glows red-hot, creating a life-threatening hazard.

Throughout the series, water functions as a powerful symbol with a dual nature. It represents mystery, depth, and the unknown, as seen in the Great Lake and the dark water of the Horcrux cave. It is also a source of life and purification, used in Potions and conjured by the `Aguamenti` Charm for drinking or dousing fires. Water serves as a setting for major trials (Second Task), a component of complex Dark Magic (Inferi lake), and a fundamental tool for everyday wizardry, underscoring its essential place in both the magical and mundane worlds.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, actor Daniel Radcliffe underwent extensive dive training to film the underwater sequences for the Second Task. He spent over 41 hours underwater in a large, specially constructed tank during filming. (film)