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Harry didn't do magic, why does the ministry think he did?


In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Dobby uses the Hover charm, Harry is warned that he isn't supposed to do magic outside school.


However, it was Dobby who did the magic.


Don't they know who exactly does magic? What if some grown-up wizard came to Hermione's family and did magic in the presence of the muggles, would they immediately suspect Hermione and send her an owl?


Besides that, Harry could have gone to court against the ministry and presented his wand so they would check to know that his last spell wasn't the Hover charm. As far as I know it is possible and he wouldn't be guilty.



Yet, in the 2nd or 3rd movie Harry does the Lumos charm under his blanket, isn't that disallowed too?


So, my thought is that the ministry has problems with spotting magic and the rest.


I'm asking why they thought Harry did it and why they sent him a warning when they should have done an inquiry first and therefore would know that it indeed wasn't Harry who cast the spell.



Answer



In the books, things are made a lot clearer (Even if not fully clear).


The ministry apparently can NOT identify who actually did the magic, just that magic happened around an underage wizard. In case of muggleborns, there are no possible other sources around. In case of wizardborns, the ministry trusts parents to make sure there is no underage-magic going on.



"Dobby,” growled Harry; this injustice still rankled. “So if you’re underage and you do magic inside an adult witch or wizard’s house, the Ministry won’t know?”
“They will certainly be unable to tell who performed the magic,” said Dumbledore, smiling slightly at the look of great indignation on Harry’s face. “They rely on witch and wizard parents to enforce their offspring’s obedience while within their walls.”
(Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).




Harry reading under the "Lumos"-light was a movie-only addition! The movies are notorious for adding inconsistencies like that. The nature of the homework they get over the holidays seems to be more along the lines of "write an essay" and "read that book", so no magic would be necessary.


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