Most wizards looked no different from Muggles, although some wizards bear unusual physical characteristics. In addition, seeing as James Potter's parents had him "late in life,” witches likely have significantly longer childbearing years than Muggle women. Wizard life expectancy in Britain reached an average 137¾ years in the mid- 1990s, according to the Ministry of Divine Health, although the oldest wizard on record reached the age of 755 in late 1991 wizards in general have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles, usually living two or three times as long as their non magical counterparts, some living even longer than that depending on circumstances. Life span See also: List of oldest wizards ĭespite their science and living conditions being almost Medieval, wizards were, ironically, probably healthier than Muggles, presumably due to their inherent magic protecting them from most mundane illnesses. However, they could struggle to repair any damage caused by magical means such as the Memory Charm and Unforgivable Curses. Wizards had the power to cure 'mundane' illnesses and injuries, and contact with non-magical creatures that Muggles could not. It was, for example, possible to hide certain magic from Muggles via Muggle-Repelling Charms, which naturally would have no effect on wizards. Wizards also by nature could not be fooled by certain types of magic or magical barriers. As such, wizards would react differently to the effects of contact with a magical creature, such as being attacked by a Murtlap. The physiology of wizards was subtly different from that of non-wizards. However one inherited their magic made no difference whatsoever - a pure-blood's, half-blood's, and Muggle-born's abilities and physiologies were indistinguishable. The magical gene resurfaced many years later in a Muggle-born descendant when that branch of the wizarding family had usually lost all traces of its wizarding legacy.
Muggle-born wizards and witches were distantly descended from a Squib who had married into a Muggle family. Half-bloods were mainly born of one wizard and one Muggle or Muggle-born parent. However, many believed a pure-blood family tree should have no Muggle ancestors despite the fact that every family tree had at least one Muggle ancestor by the 1990s. Pure-bloods were born of two wizarding parents and at the very least, four wizarding grandparents. Wizards and witches are classified by blood status. Magical ability was an inherited trait usually passed from parent to child. The trio (left to right): Ron Weasley: pure-blood Harry Potter: half-blood Hermione Granger: Muggle-born If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out." - Ron Weasley discussing blood purity " Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. A few highly advanced wizards could do controlled magical feats without a wand, such as Albus Dumbledore, who demonstrated the ability at the close of Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Lord Voldemort, who once demonstrated this ability during the Battle of the Seven Potters in 1997. To perform controlled magic, almost all wizards/witches needed to use a wand, although the advanced skill of wandless magic may have been mastered in later life. In childhood, wizards and witches may have exhibited random bursts of magic, called accidental magic, which were honed and controlled as they progress to maturity.
However, if it was the first, then some Muggle-borns may not have been the descendants of Squibs (as was most often theorised) but entirely new wizards, like the very first members of wizardkind. Whether, in ancient times, some humans randomly discovered they had magic, or there was some sort of ritual or potion or pact, their origins remained a mystery. 5.1.3 Parselmouths (and other animal communication).