======An Overview of Magical Flight======
=====Introduction=====
Flight is a primary method of travel and a popular form of recreation in the [[wizarding world]]. While Apparating is faster for long distances, various forms of magical flight offer unique advantages and are accessible to a wider range of witches and wizards, including those underage. The ability to fly is achieved through several means, most commonly with enchanted objects like [[broomstick]]s, but also by riding magical creatures or, in exceptionally rare cases, through unsupported, personal flight. Due to the [[International Statute of Secrecy]], most forms of magical flight are regulated by the [[Ministry of Magic]] to avoid detection by [[Muggle]]s.
=====Methods of Flight=====
The wizarding community has developed and utilized numerous ways to achieve flight over the centuries. These methods vary in speed, comfort, legality, and the skill required to use them.
====Broomsticks====
[[Broomstick]]s are the most prevalent and iconic mode of magical transportation. They are essentially wooden brooms enchanted for flight, with various models offering different levels of speed, handling, and comfort.
  * **Use in Transportation:** [[Broomstick]]s are a common sight in the skies of wizarding communities like [[Hogsmeade]] and are used for everyday travel by adult witches and wizards. They are relatively discreet and can be carried easily.
  * **Use in Sport:** Flight on a [[broomstick]] is central to the wizarding sport of [[Quidditch]], which requires immense skill and agility in the air.
  * **Learning:** Students at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] receive their first flying lessons during their first year under the supervision of an instructor like [[Madam Hooch]]. Some individuals, such as [[Harry Potter]], demonstrate an immediate and powerful natural talent for flying.
  * **Notable Models:** Famous racing broom models include the [[Cleansweep]] series, the [[Comet]] series, the [[Nimbus]] series (including the [[Nimbus 2000]] and [[Nimbus 2001]]), and the world-class [[Firebolt]].
====Flying Creatures====
Several magical creatures can be tamed and ridden for flight. This method often requires a strong bond of trust and respect between the rider and the creature.
  * **[[Thestral]]s:** These skeletal, bat-winged horses can only be seen by those who have witnessed death. They are intelligent and have an excellent sense of direction. [[Hogwarts]] maintains a herd in the [[Forbidden Forest]], and they were used by members of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] to travel, most notably during the escort of [[Harry Potter]] from [[Number Four, Privet Drive]] and the flight to the [[Ministry of Magic]] in 1996.
  * **[[Hippogriff]]s:** These proud creatures have the front legs, wings, and head of a giant eagle and the body of a horse. [[Harry Potter]] and [[Hermione Granger]] rode the [[Hippogriff]] [[Buckbeak]] to rescue [[Sirius Black]] from [[Hogwarts]] tower. [[Sirius Black]] later used [[Buckbeak]] as his primary mode of transport while on the run.
  * **[[Abraxan]]s:** A breed of giant, winged palomino horses. A team of them was used to pull the enormous, flying carriage of the [[Beauxbatons Academy of Magic]] delegation to [[Hogwarts]] for the [[Triwizard Tournament]].
  * **[[Dragon]]s:** While extremely dangerous and illegal to keep, [[dragon]]s can be flown. [[Harry Potter]], [[Ron Weasley]], and [[Hermione Granger]] famously escaped from the lower vaults of [[Gringotts Wizarding Bank]] on the back of a blind Ukrainian Ironbelly [[dragon]].
====Other Enchanted Objects====
Besides [[broomstick]]s, other objects have been enchanted to fly, though some are restricted by wizarding law.
  * **[[Flying Carpet]]s:** These are a popular mode of travel in other parts of the world, particularly in the East. However, in Britain, they are classified as a [[Muggle]] artifact and are therefore illegal to enchant or use for flight, as confirmed by [[Barty Crouch Sr.]]. This is enforced by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects.
  * **[[Flying Ford Anglia]]:** [[Arthur Weasley]] illegally enchanted a [[Ford Anglia]] car to fly and become invisible. It was used by his sons and [[Harry Potter]] to travel to [[Hogwarts]] in their second year and later became feral in the [[Forbidden Forest]].
  * **[[Sirius Black's Motorbike]]:** A large motorbike originally owned by [[Sirius Black]] and lent to [[Rubeus Hagrid]]. It was enchanted to fly and was later fitted with extra security features by [[Arthur Weasley]], such as the ability to produce a brick wall or a net from its exhaust pipe, for use in the [[Battle of the Seven Potters]].
====Unsupported Flight====
The ability to fly without the aid of a [[broomstick]] or creature is an exceptionally rare and powerful feat of magic. It was long believed to be impossible until [[Lord Voldemort]] mastered the skill.
  * **Known Practitioners:** [[Lord Voldemort]] is the first known wizard to have invented and mastered unsupported flight. He later taught this ability to his most trusted lieutenant, [[Severus Snape]].
  * **Known Uses:** [[Voldemort]] demonstrated this ability multiple times, including during the [[Battle of the Seven Potters]] where he pursued [[Harry Potter]] through the sky, and during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]] where he flew around the castle's battlements. [[Severus Snape]] used it to escape from [[Hogwarts]] after the death of [[Albus Dumbledore]].
=====Regulation and Control=====
The [[Ministry of Magic]], particularly the [[Department of Magical Transportation]], heavily regulates magical flight to uphold the [[International Statute of Secrecy]].
  * **Broomstick Controls:** Underage witches and wizards are generally forbidden from using [[broomstick]]s outside of school grounds. There are also restrictions on how high one can fly to avoid being seen by [[Muggle]]s.
  * **Object Bans:** As noted, items like [[flying carpet]]s are banned in Britain to prevent breaches of secrecy, as they are too easily identifiable as a charmed [[Muggle]] artifact.
  * **Creature Control:** The ownership and breeding of flying creatures like [[dragon]]s and [[Hippogriff]]s are strictly controlled by the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * In the film adaptations, the nature of unsupported flight is visually altered and expanded. Both [[Death Eater]]s and members of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] are depicted as being able to dissolve into trails of black or white smoke to fly. This is a cinematic invention and does not occur in the novels, where only [[Voldemort]] and [[Snape]] can fly without support. (film)
  * On the Pottermore website, J.K. Rowling explained that [[broomstick]]s became the preferred method of flight in Europe because they were portable and easy to conceal, unlike a [[flying carpet]]. The ban on carpets was part of a larger campaign by the [[Ministry of Magic]] to control the charming of [[Muggle]] artifacts. (Pottermore)