J.K. Rowling: Muggle-borns will have a witch or wizard somewhere on their family tree, in some cases many, many generations back. The gene re-surfaces in some unexpected places.

http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0730-bloomsbury-chat.html

https://www.butajape.com/comic/young-adult-protagonist/

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[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

IRL you can get good at many things with determination and practice, but you're only going to be great at those things with determination, practice, and innate talent.

With that aside, many kids dream not simply of becoming extraordinary but of being extraordinary all along. Is this fantasy really the same sort of idea as adult theories of racial or ethnic superiority? I don't think it is, although perhaps maybe discouraging it is still the better approach.