The Portrayal of Flight Why is the ability to fly without a broom so identified with evil in this? In book canon, I think only Voldemort can fly without a broom. It's not because he uses dark magic; it's because he's the most powerful wizard in the world. This business where Dolores Umbridge can do it because she's full of dark magic didn't make sense.

Only explanation I can think of is that flying is a simple special effect to pull off at a live performance of the play.