Como os retratos aparecem
J.K..Rowling explicou que os retratos normalmente apareciam de uma maneira mágica:
Q: All the paintings we have seen at Hogwarts are of dead people. They seem to be living through their portraits. How is this so? If there was a painting of Harry’s parents, would he be able to obtain advice from them?
JKR: That is a very good question. They are all of dead people; they are not as fully realised as ghosts, as you have probably noticed. The place where you see them really talk is in Dumbledore’s office, primarily; the idea is that the previous headmasters and headmistresses leave behind a faint imprint of themselves. They leave their aura, almost, in the office and they can give some counsel to the present occupant, but it is not like being a ghost. They repeat catchphrases, almost. The portrait of Sirius’ mother is not a very 3D personality; she is not very fully realised. She repeats catchphrases that she had when she was alive. If Harry had a portrait of his parents it would not help him a great deal. If he could meet them as ghosts, that would be a much more meaningful interaction, but as Nick explained at the end of Phoenix—I am straying into dangerous territory, but I think you probably know what he explained—there are some people who would not come back as ghosts because they are unafraid, or less afraid, of death.
- JK Rowling no Edinburgh Book Festival, 15 de agosto de 2004 .
Sua explicação posterior sobre o retrato de Snape não foi tão detalhada:
Laura Trego: Was the absence of snapes portrait in the headmasters office in the last scene innocent or deliberate
J.K. Rowling: It was deliberate. Snape had effectively abandoned his post before dying, so he had not merited inclusion in these august circles.
J.K. Rowling: However, I like to think that Harry would be instrumental in ensuring that Snape's portrait would appear there in due course.
- J.K. Rowling e o Chat ao vivo, Bloomsbury.com, 30 de julho de 2007 (2h00 às 16h00 BST) .
Minha teoria é que um bruxo poderoso provavelmente poderia ter reforçado as impressões que Snape deixou para trás, prendendo-as a um retrato desenhado à mão ou criando magicamente o desenho. Eles também poderiam criar e animar o retrato artificialmente, usando a mesma técnica mágica que a Professora McGonagall no primeiro livro (quando ela tranfigura figuras de xadrez mágicas para torná-las vivas).Vários retratos
Pelo menos em dois casos, os retratos apareceram em dois lugares:
- Professor Phineas Nigellus Black: O escritório do diretor de Hogwarts e o Largo Grimmauld.
- Professor Dilys Derwent: O escritório do diretor de Hogwarts e o hospital de St. Mungo.
Podemos notar que todos esses edifícios são magicamente poderosos e ambas as pessoas estavam strongmente ligadas a esses lugares.
Outras instâncias de seus retratos podem existir em algum lugar, mas não sabemos com certeza. A Professora Dilys Derwent também poderia ter uma antiga mansão com seu retrato, quem sabe.
Tenho certeza de que todos os retratos aparecem "automaticamente" e estão ligados magicamente, sem necessidade de realizar um encantamento manualmente.
Como funciona
Pode haver dois ou mais retratos, mas a pessoa é única. Quando se move para outro retrato, desaparece do atual.
Obviamente, a pessoa ficaria igual se você a pegasse em qualquer um dos retratos.
Visitando vizinhos
Além da capacidade de se mover entre seus próprios retratos, eles podem passar para os retratos vizinhos, pelo menos em Hogwarts & no Ministério da Magia. Logo após o incidente com Arthur Weasley:
But Dumbledore stood up, so quickly it made Harry jump, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling. 'Everard?' he said sharply. 'And you too, Dilys!' [...] 'Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people -'
Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighbouring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts) neither reappeared.
E no Ministério:
He doesn’t look good, he’s covered in blood, I ran along to Elfrida Cragg’s portrait to get a good view as they left. --Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, chapter 22