The following podcast contains audio extracted from videos on the Harry Potter Theory YouTube channel.

Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we'll be discussing exactly how the genetics of witches and wizards work, with a focus on where the heck squibs come from.

If you're a fan of Harry Potter and the works of fantasy fiction in general, you've likely

asked yourself the question, where does magic come from?

In some universes, it would seem that magic can be acquired or learned, but in others,

like the wizarding world of Harry Potter, magic is explained as more of a natural

talent or gift that a person is born with.

But how exactly does that magic get passed down from generation to generation?

Why is it that some muggles end up with magical abilities while other children born into

wizarding families are unable to perform even the simplest

of spells.

I think in order to answer these questions, we must first establish where magic itself comes

from in Harry Potter.

The prevailing theory, which has been bolstered by various interviews with J.K. Rowling,

is that magical abilities in the world of Harry Potter are genetic.

This means that a witch or wizard is born with a gene that allows them to perform magic.

It's in their very DNA.

For if it was not, wouldn't Muggles be able to learn it?

By contrast, squibs and muggles are lacking that same gene and are unable to do magic.

This leaves us with a few different

biological categories, at least in my mind. There are pure blood witches and wizards whose ancestors

have all been magical. Presumably they have the magic gene from both their mother's side,

...