Where did the wards come from?
I've been wondering for a while now - where did all the wards come from?
In HP fanfic, one sees a lot of wards. They're preferably used as defences for larger areas, buildings etc. No. 4 Privet Drive and Hogwarts have been protected by wards in many a fic, in early and widespread ones like After the End (where they're turn up for the first time in Ch. 8) and Jedi Boadicea's Memories of Tomorrow... to mention but two. It seems reasonable enough that there would be some kind of magical protection to keep enemies from entering but letting friends through without having to hide the place altogether. It wouldn't be very practical to have a whole village under the Fidelius Charm or made Unplottable. It also makes sense that the strength of these defences would depend on the one casting the spell and that they could be broken by force, both current ideas in fanfic.
Yet, is there any canon evidence at all? When we hear anything about the defensive measures keeping Harry safe at Privet Drive, it's only in the general terms of 'protection', which both Dumbledore and Voldemort use. At Hogwarts, we know there are "Muggle-Repelling Charms" and "many ancient spells and charms to ensure the bodily and mental safety" of its residents and Sirius' father "put every safety measure known to wizardkind" on Grimmauld Place, so there must be a multitude of such charms. Unless I've forgotten some significant passage, though, they're never specifically referred to as wards. So, where did the concept of wards come from? Has it wandered over from some other fandom? Or did we come up with this all on our own?
In HP fanfic, one sees a lot of wards. They're preferably used as defences for larger areas, buildings etc. No. 4 Privet Drive and Hogwarts have been protected by wards in many a fic, in early and widespread ones like After the End (where they're turn up for the first time in Ch. 8) and Jedi Boadicea's Memories of Tomorrow... to mention but two. It seems reasonable enough that there would be some kind of magical protection to keep enemies from entering but letting friends through without having to hide the place altogether. It wouldn't be very practical to have a whole village under the Fidelius Charm or made Unplottable. It also makes sense that the strength of these defences would depend on the one casting the spell and that they could be broken by force, both current ideas in fanfic.
Yet, is there any canon evidence at all? When we hear anything about the defensive measures keeping Harry safe at Privet Drive, it's only in the general terms of 'protection', which both Dumbledore and Voldemort use. At Hogwarts, we know there are "Muggle-Repelling Charms" and "many ancient spells and charms to ensure the bodily and mental safety" of its residents and Sirius' father "put every safety measure known to wizardkind" on Grimmauld Place, so there must be a multitude of such charms. Unless I've forgotten some significant passage, though, they're never specifically referred to as wards. So, where did the concept of wards come from? Has it wandered over from some other fandom? Or did we come up with this all on our own?