======Crystal======
=====General Information=====
  * **Type:** Magical Material; [[Divination]] Tool; Container
  * **Primary Uses:** Scrying, Storing [[Memories]], Storing [[Potions]]
  * **Notable Forms:** [[Crystal Ball]], Crystal Phial, Crystal Goblet
=====Description and Magical Properties=====
Crystal is a transparent mineral highly valued in the wizarding world for its purity and its ability to channel or remain inert to potent [[magic]]. Its primary magical application is in the art of crystal-gazing, a branch of [[Divination]], where it is used as a medium to see into the future or gain insight into distant events. The clarity of the crystal is believed to be essential for focusing the Seer's Inner Eye.
Beyond [[Divination]], crystal is prized for its non-reactive and durable nature, making it the ideal material for crafting high-quality containers for sensitive or powerful magical substances. These include [[memories]] extracted for use in a [[Pensieve]] and rare or volatile [[potions]] that might be corrupted by lesser materials. Its use implies value, purity, and magical significance.
=====Known Forms and Uses in the Wizarding World=====
Crystals appear in several distinct forms and contexts throughout the magical world, serving both practical and environmental purposes.
====Crystal Balls in Divination====
The most famous use of crystal is in the form of a [[Crystal Ball]] for scrying.
  * In [[Divination]] classes at [[Hogwarts]], students are taught by [[Professor Trelawney]] to "unfog" their Inner Eye and perceive images within a crystal ball.
  * The balls are described as perfectly clear glass-like spheres. Professor Trelawney's classroom contains numerous large crystal balls, each resting on a brass or wooden stand.
  * Most students, such as [[Harry Potter]] and [[Ron Weasley]], have great difficulty seeing anything other than "swirling white fog." During a third-year exam, Harry sees a shape he believes to be a stag, which Professor Trelawney interprets as the [[Grim]].
  * [[Hermione Granger]] considered crystal-gazing to be "a very woolly discipline" and ultimately dropped the subject.
====Crystal Phials as Containers====
High-quality crystal is used to create phials for storing magical substances that require preservation in a pure, uncorrupted state.
  * **Memories:** [[Albus Dumbledore]] stored his own and others' [[memories]] in meticulously labelled crystal phials before viewing them in the [[Pensieve]]. These included his first meeting with a young [[Tom Riddle]] and [[Horace Slughorn]]'s altered memory about [[Horcruxes]].
  * **Potions:** Extremely valuable or powerful potions are often stored in crystal containers. When [[Harry Potter]] won a small bottle of [[Felix Felicis]] from Professor Slughorn, it was described as being contained in a "tiny glass cork-stoppered bottle" that looked like a crystal phial. [[Veritaserum]], a powerful truth potion, is also kept in such containers.
====The Crystal Goblet====
In the sea cave where [[Lord Voldemort]] hid the locket [[Horcrux]], a crystal goblet was present as part of the [[curse]]'s protection mechanism.
  * The goblet rested on the edge of a stone basin containing the potion that concealed [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]].
  * It was the only object capable of scooping the emerald-green potion from the basin.
  * After being used, the goblet would magically refill itself from the basin, forcing any prospective thief to drink the entire enchanted liquid to reach the [[Horcrux]].
====Crystalline Environments and Objects====
The term "crystal" is also used to describe magical environments and objects of great beauty or power.
  * **The Horcrux Cave:** The ceiling of the cave containing the locket was described as being studded with crystals, which cast a faint, eerie greenish light over the underground lake.
  * **Department of Mysteries:** In the [[Time Room]], a large crystal bell jar housed a hummingbird that was trapped in a temporal loop, constantly hatching, flying, and reverting to an egg. A "glittering crystal cabinet" in the same room contained the Ministry's entire stock of [[Time-Turner]]s.
  * **Yule Ball Decorations:** During the [[Triwizard Tournament]], the [[Great Hall]] was decorated for the [[Yule Ball]] with walls covered in sparkling silver frost and a ceiling of icicles, giving the entire chamber a magical, crystalline appearance.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, the cave containing the locket [[Horcrux]] is depicted with massive, jagged crystal structures rising from the floor and ceiling, a far more dramatic representation than the book's description of a crystal-studded ceiling. (film)
  * The real-world practice of crystal-gazing, also known as scrying, has existed for centuries and is the clear inspiration for its use in Professor Trelawney's [[Divination]] class.