Portkeys are magical items used for transportation in Harry Potter. They are regulated by the Department of Magical Transport and usually disguised as discarded items. Unauthorized creation is severe. Portkeys can transport one or many wizards at a predetermined time. They feel like being swung around and are inconvenient. They are used to transport large groups and underage wizards, and Albus Dumbledore creates unauthorized ones.
A portkey is a magical item in the Harry Potter novels that is used as a means of transportation. When a wizard’s bare skin contacts a portkey, he or she will be transported to a predetermined location. Since creating a portkey is advanced magic and unauthorized portkeys could cause serious problems, they are regulated by the Department of Magical Transport. The sentence to create an unauthorized portkey is never addressed in the novels, but various characters in the books suggest that it could be quite severe.
Usually, simple items that could be mistaken for trash or discarded items, such as old shoes, are used for portkeys. The wizard uses the portus spell to transform the item into a portkey, which can be used in two ways. In one case, the first person to touch the portkey will be transported. In another, the portkey will be set to activate at a particular time, which may be moments from the moment of creation, or at any time in the future. This type of portkey can be used to transport several wizards at once, because everyone can grab it and wait for the appointed time to arrive.
According to the descriptions of portkey travel in the Harry Potter novels, using a portkey feels like being hooked and swung around until the wizard lets go at the final destination. Seasoned wizards familiar with portkey travel seem able to land in a dignified manner, while others are sent scurrying away. Like other methods of wizarding travel, the use of a portkey seems rather inconvenient and is unlikely to be used as a common choice, especially since portkeys can only be made by authorized persons.
The most widespread use of portkeys in the Harry Potter novels is in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where they are used to transport large groups of witches and wizards to the Quidditch World Cup. In this case, portkeys make for a convenient and organized means of transportation, as they can be set to trigger at different times, staggering arrivals and avoiding a deluge of wizards all arriving at the same time. Portkeys are also useful for underage witches and wizards, because they require no magical action on the part of the user. At several points, Albus Dumbledore also makes an unauthorized portkey, at one point right in front of the Minister for Magic.
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