Can a wizard/witch do nonverbal, wandless, spells?

Question

We know that Hogwarts students learn how to do nonverbal spells in the 6th year. From which point they are expected to use magic nonverbally from there on out.

We also know that some wizards can do wandless magic, such as Hermione with the Confundus Charm at the Quidditch trials.

Both of these variants come with warnings that:

Wandless magic [...] could be volatile and was often difficult to perform - Wandless Magic

and

Performing spells non-verbally is very difficult and requires a good deal of practise - Nonverbal Spell

So my question is, is there any instance of a wizard/witch casting spells/charms/hexes/jinxs both nonverbally and without a wand? And if not, is this explicitly stated to be impossible?

As a note, I mean intentional magic. The random loosing of snakes on 11th birthdays does not count.

This is not a duplicate of these other questions since none of those answer if a spell can be performed BOTH nonverbally AND without a wand at the same time.

For the second time, this is not a dup of Are there any spells that a wizard/witch can cast without a wand in the Harry Potter universe? because that question deals with wandless and nonverbal separately.

This question is different from the one mentioned by @Mykewlname — Bernard the Bear, May 25 '17 at 15:19
The question was changed from when i originally made my comment. — Mykewlname, May 25 '17 at 15:33
Not sure why this was re-opened. It's a dupe. To quote from my answer to the other question "many spells are cast simply by pointing the finger or through hand gestures." This can also be closed as a dupe of the question about Quirrel doing wandless non-verbal spells — ibid, May 25 '17 at 18:43
@Himarm - wth? That exact dup-hammer was already reopened. It's not a dup because that question deals with wandless spells and nonverbal SEPARATELY. I know they can be cast separately. I'm asking if a wizard can cast a nonverbal spell without a wand. — amflare, May 25 '17 at 19:06
@amflare half of the spells in the first answer used as examples were cast nonverbally and wandlessly, hence answering your question. Harry frees the snake non-verbally and wandlessly. — Himarm, May 25 '17 at 19:09
@Himarm - And that fact is not stated, thus not answering the question for anyone not as verse in potterlore as you. — amflare, May 25 '17 at 19:11

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

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Yes

Apparation is one often used example, depending on whether a wand is required, or not.

Since you specify "magic" broadly rather than "spells", Legilimency and Occlumency are also candidates, since they utilize magic, and can both be done wandlessly and non-verbally.

There are certainly other examples, but the above should be enough to prove that it is indeed possible.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

Community

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answered May 25 '17 at 14:55

Mwr247

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Just an FYI, I'm going to edit my question to specify spells/charms/hexes/jinxs since that's what I meant. Thank you though. – amflare May 25 '17 at 15:10

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered May 25 '17 at 18:13

Certainly; we see Harry's mother do two examples in a flashback.

“Lily, don’t do it!” shrieked the elder of the two. But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.
...

“But I’m fine,” said Lily, still giggling. “Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do.” Petunia glanced around. The playground was deserted apart from themselves and, though the girls did not know it, Snape. Lily had picked up a fallen flower from the bush behind which Snape lurked. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster.

In both cases, there is neither wand, nor invocation (unless the shout of laughter counts), and Lily is Pre-Hogwarts age, so it's unlikely that she is using known spells. But, in both cases, the result is clearly Lily's intent; it appears that magic may sometimes be triggered by concentration/will/desire alone; accidental magic seems to be a subset of this.

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered May 25 '17 at 15:12

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The sacrifice of Harry's mom Lily is one of the first non-verbal, wandless magic in the book. Animagus also use noverbal, wandless magic. Flying a broom is also non-verbal, wandless magic. The whole branch of Potion making is nonverbal and mostly wandless magic. Divination is also wandless, and nonverbal.

answered May 25 '17 at 15:12

Bernard the Bear

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Isn't the broom bewitched to fly? Couldn't a muggle fly one? – isanae May 25 '17 at 18:07
In Harry's first year, even wizards had trouble flying a broom. Many of the students failed to even get the broom to simply move, let alone fly. It takes magic to fly a broom. – Bernard the Bear May 29 '17 at 19:58
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@isanae Per Twitter:
Wands and brooms (and flying cars) are tools that channel magic. Thus the same way that Muggles cannot use wands to perform magic, they wouldn't be able to use brooms to fly.

Also of note is that squibs apparently can not ride brooms themselves.

"On the appointed day, his big brother Hamish took him to Hogwarts on the back of his broomstick, hoping against desperate hope that Angus would be allowed to stay once they got there, or that the school might be able to tease some magic out of him." Scottish Rugby By J.K. Rowling - Pottermore
– Bernard the Bear May 29 '17 at 20:00

Can a wizard/witch do nonverbal, wandless, spells?

3 Answers3

Yes

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