List of spells in Harry Potter
|
|
In the magical world of the Harry Potter series of fictional novels, many spells are used by the characters. Usually a wand is used for casting spells, although some may be performed without a wand.
This list is currently incomplete.
Spells
Spells in the series seem to be enacted mostly by speaking a few words, typically in a modified form of Latin, and gesturing with a wand. Certain wizards can perform some of them without speaking the incantation. Certain spells are also known as charms, curses, hexes, and jinxes.
External link: Harry Potter Lexicon of Spells (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/magic/spells.html)
Accio
This spell can attract an object to the caster. The necessary incantation is "Accio" which is usually supplemented by the spell's target (for example, to summon a broom, one usually needs to say "Accio broom"). The wizard also needs to concentrate hard on the object he is trying to Summon. Knowing the general location of the object is essential, also. "Accio" (from "accire") is Latin and means "I call/summon". First seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The opposite of the Summoning Charm is the Banishing Charm (incantation unknown) which is supposed to repel an object away from the caster.
Alohomora
This spell is used to open a locked door or window. Pointing a wand at a door and saying "Alohomora" will unlock the door. This spell can also open doors which have been magically sealed with the Colloportus spell. Doors can be magically sealed with sufficiently advanced spells so that Alohomora cannot open them, such as the door in the flying key room in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Aparecium
This spell makes invisible ink and perhaps invisible items in general appear. First used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Hermione tried to make something appear in Tom Riddle's diary. From Latin appareo, which means "I appear."
Avis
Makes birds fly out of the wand of the spellcaster. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Mr. Ollivander to test Viktor Krum's wand. "Avis" is a Latin noun (nominative, feminine, singular of the third declension) meaning "bird".
Cheering Charm
Incantation unknown. Causes the person whom the spell was cast upon to become happy and contented, though heavy-handedness with the spell may cause the person to break into an uncontrollable laughing fit. Invented by Felix Summerbee (1447-1508). First seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Colloportus
This spell can magically lock a door, preventing it from being opened for a presumably limited amount of time. It is easily countered by Alohomora, however. The word is a combination of "colligere" (Latin for "bind together") and "portus" (Latin for "door"). Used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione needs to seal a door in the Department of Mysteries against some Death Eaters.
Confundus Charm
The Confundus Charm is a confusion spell. The word is derived from the Latin "confundere", to perplex. [1] (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/magic/spells_c.html) First seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Professor Snape suggests that Harry and Hermione have been "Confunded" so that they will believe Sirius Black's claim to innocence.
Deletrius
Gets rid of spell echoes caused by Priori Incantatem. First seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Amos Diggory gets rid of the echo of the Dark Mark from Harry's wand.
Densaugeo
Makes the victim's teeth grow rapidly. Introduced in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Draco Malfoy attacked Hermione outside of the Potions classroom. "Dens" is a Latin noun (nominative, singular, masculine of the third declension) and means "a tooth". "Augeo" is a Latin verb (first person, active indicative of the second conjugation) and means "I grow" (from the infinitive "augere" which means "to grow").
Diffindo
Rips something apart. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry urgently wants to talk to Cedric Diggory and casts this spell to rip his bag, thus delaying him for class.
Dissendium
Causes the humpbacked witch hiding the secret passage to Honeydukes to open up. First seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Engorgio
Makes something grow larger. Seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Professor Moody casts it on a spider to enhance a demonstration of the effects of an Unforgivable Curse.
Ennervate
The counterspell to the Stunning Spell. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Amos Diggory uses it to wake up Winky.
Expecto Patronum
This spell conjures a Patronus, a silvery phantom shape, usually that of an animal, which is the embodiment of the positive thoughts of the caster. A Patronus will drive away Dementors and Lethifolds. Harry conjures a stag as his Patronus, while Hermione Granger conjures an otter and Cho Chang a swan. In order for the spell to work, the person must concentrate on a happy memory, which is especially difficult in the presence of a Dementor. Literally translated "expecto patronum", which is Latin, means "I expect a guardian"
- See also Patronus Charm.
Expelliarmus
This spell is used to disarm another wizard, typically by causing the victim's wand to fly out of reach. As demonstrated in the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, simultaneous use of this spell by multiple people on a single wizard can be powerful enough to knock back the wizard himself. First seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Snape disarms Lockhart in the Duelling Club.
Evanesco
Makes something vanish. Used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Snape makes Harry's Draught of Peace disappear from his cauldron.
Featherweight Charm
Makes something lightweight. Harry contemplates using this in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to lighten his trunk so he can carry it by broom to Hogwarts. Before he uses it, however, he accidentally summons the Knight Bus.
Ferula
Creates a splint. Used by Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to bind Ron's leg in the Shrieking Shack.
The Fidelius Charm
This complex charm enables secret information to be hidden within a single living soul of someone known as a Secret-Keeper. The information is then irretrievable until and unless the Secret-Keeper chooses to reveal it; not even those who have the secret revealed to them can reveal it to others. It originates from the Latin word "fidelis", which means "faithful" or "trusting".
So far, there have been only two uses of the Fidelius Charm in the Harry Potter series. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it is explained that when Harry was an infant, he and his parents, Lily and James, were hidden from Lord Voldemort by this charm. They initially selected Sirius Black to be their Secret-Keeper, but Black recommended that they choose Peter Pettigrew instead. When they did, Pettigrew betrayed them to Voldemort. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the charm is used to hide the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix; Albus Dumbledore is the Secret-keeper, and is apparently able to use a letter to reveal the information. This implies that a direct, personal act is not required to bring a new person into the secret.
Finite Incantatum
Stops the effects of spells. Snape uses it in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to restore order in the Duelling Club.
Flagrate
With this spell, the caster's wand can leave firey marks usually in the shape of an "X". Used by Hermione in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the Ministry of Magic.
Furnunculus
Makes boils appear on the victim. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry and Draco Malfoy get in a fight and Harry hits Gregory Goyle accidentally.
Impedimenta
This hex makes something slow down momentarily. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry is practising for the third task.
Impervius
Makes something repel water. Used by Hermione in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Harry's glasses and also by the Gryffindor Quidditch team in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Incarcerous
Ties someone or something up with ropes. Seen in the Harry Potter Trading Card Game. This incantation is not seen in the books, but a similar spell (with no incantation given) is used to tie up Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Incendio
Makes a fire. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Arthur Weasley to create a fire for Floo powder. In the video game based on the first book, this spell is used to temporarily stun dangerous plants.
Legilimens
Spell that enables the caster to read the thoughts of the target by bringing forward images into the caster's mind's eye. It does not always work in the manner intended, to quote Severus Snape, "The mind is a complex, many-layered thing...at least, most minds are." Used by Snape in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Locomotor Mortis
The leg locker curse. Malfoy uses this on Neville in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "Mortis" is Latin for "death"; the spell is intended to mean "death of motion", but "locomotor" is not a Latin word.
Locomotor
The target of the spell, which is named after "Locomotor", rises in the air and can be moved around by the wizard. Tonks uses it in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to move Harry's trunks.
Lumos
This spell creates a narrow beam of light that shines from the wand's tip, like a torch. In fact the Latin word "lumen" means "light". Different versions of this spell used in the movie are Lumos Solarum and Lumos Maxima.
Mobiliarbus
This spell can move trees. The incantation is formed by the Latin "mobilis", meaning mobile, and "arbor", for tree.
Mobilicorpus
Levitates bodies. Sirius Black uses it on Snape in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It seems that Mobiliarbus and Mobilicorpus are variations of the same basic spell, since they share the "Mobili" root.
Morsmordre
This spell conjures the Dark Mark. It was apparently invented by Lord Voldemort.
Nox
This spell turns off the light which is activated by the Lumos spell. Nox is Latin and means "Night".
Obliviate
This spell is used to bury or perhaps alter the victim's memories of an event. The person who wants to modify someone's memory points his or her wand at the victim and utters the incantation "Obliviate". "Oblivisci" is Latin for "forget". The spell is most often used against Muggles who have seen something of the wizarding world. The Ministry of Magic employees assigned to modifying the memories of Muggles are called Obliviators. The charm can be broken by powerful magic, as Lord Voldemort was able to torture Bertha Jorkins into remembering details that Barty Crouch had forced her to forget using the charm. First used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Professor Lockhart in an attempt to wipe Harry and Ron's memories in the Chamber of Secrets.
Orchideous
Makes a bouquet of flowers appear out of the wand. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Mr. Olivander testing Fleur Delacour's wand.
Petrificus Totalus
This spell is used to temporarily make the victim be frozen in a position much like a soldier at attention, and usually the person falls down. "Petrificus" comes from the Latin word "petra", meaning "stone"; "totalus" comes from the Latin word "tota", meaning "whole, full". First used in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by Malfoy, who was playing a prank on Neville.
"Point Me"
The Four-Point Spell causes the caster's wand tip to point to the north cardinal point. This handy navigation spell was said by Harry during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Portus
The spell which turns an object into a Portkey, a device which transports the toucher to a desired destination. Used by Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Priori Incantato
Makes a shadowy image of the effect of the last spell cast by a wand emerge from its tip. This is called an echo of the spell. The nature of the echo depends on the original spell; the echo of a conjuring spell, for example, is the object conjured, while the echo of an Avada Kedavra curse is its victim.
When two wands that share the same magical core are forced to engage in battle, a more powerful reverse spell effect called Priori Incantatem takes place. In this case, one of the wands will be forced by the other to gradually regurgitate shadows of all the spells it has cast, in reverse chronological order.
Protean Charm
Causes copies of an object to be remotely affected by changes made to the original. First used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione puts this charm on a number of fake Galleons. Instead of the serial number around the edge of the coin, the time and date of the next D.A. (Dumbledore's Army) meeting appears as it is subject to change. It is used to avoid drawing attention and to warn people without them having to meet and look suspicious, avoiding Professor Umbridge's suspicions. So that people know that the date has changed the coin becomes hot, alerting the owner to look at the Galleon. The Protean Charm is a NEWT standard charm according to Terry Boot, who is incredulous that Hermione can perform it already.
The charm's name comes from Proteus, a shape-shifting god in Greek mythology.
Hermione later tells Harry that she based the idea on Voldemort making the Dark Marks of his Death Eaters become warm, telling them that they must come to him. Hermione jokes that she thought it better to use coins rather than their members' skin.
Protego
The Shield Charm's effect is self-explanatory. Causes minor jinxes to rebound upon the attacker. Used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Harry against Snape's Legilimens spell, which enabled Harry to read Snape's mind for a moment.
Quietus
Makes a magically magnified voice return to normal. Used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Ludo Bagman.
Reducio
Makes something smaller. Moody uses it in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Countercharm to Engorgio.
Reducto
The Reductor Curse can blast solid objects out of the way. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry remarks that thanks to the D.A. (Dumbledore's Army), Parvati Patil had produced such a good Reductor Curse that she manages to turn a table into dust.
Relashio
Used against Grindylows. Above ground it ejects sparks from the wand; below water it ejects boiling water from the wand. First used by Harry in the second task of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Reparo
This spell fixes broken objects. Seen in most books, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Rictusempra
Tickling Charm. Harry uses on Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the duelling club. In the Chamber of Secrets movie, Harry used this spell to fling Malfoy through the air and in the game Rictusempra is used to stun people or animals.
Riddikulus
Spell used when fighting a Boggart, it forces it to take the appearance of what the spellcaster is thinking as amusing so that the laughter will weaken it. First seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
This is a Latin-based incantation. The word "riddiculus" is a Latin noun (nominative, singular, masculine) and means "exciting laughter" or simply "laughter". Its is pronounced with a hard "c".
Scourgify
Used to clean something. Used by Ginny in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to clean up Stinksap in the Hogwarts Express.
Serpensortia
Conjures a serpent from the spellcaster's wand. Used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Malfoy.
Silencio
Makes something silent. First used by Hermione in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Sonorus
Magnifies the spellcaster's voice. Ludo Bagman uses this in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to commentate at events without needing a megaphone.
Stupefy
The Stunning Charm. It puts the victim in an unconscious state. Described in the novels as a beam of red light. Countered by Enervate.
Tarantallegra
Makes victim's legs dance uncontrollably (possibly the tarantella dance). Malfoy uses it in the duelling club in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A Death Eater also places the spell upon Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Waddiwasi
Used by Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to expel a wad of gum from the key hole Peeves put it in.
Wingardium Leviosa
This spell levitates objects. First seen in Professor Flitwick's class, when the first years practise the spell with feathers. "Wingardium" is a combination of the English word "wing" and the Latin word "arduus" (meaning "steep") and "leviosa", which contains the Latin word "levare" (meaning "ease, lift, pick up").
Non-canon spells
Spells that appear only in the films, video games or other media besides the books are not considered canon.
Bombarda
Hermione used this spell in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie to blow up a lock and free Sirius from the Dark Tower.
Carpe Retractum
Spell used in the Prisoner of Azkaban video game to activate switches, pull ropes, and various other things.
Draconifors
Spell used in the Prisoner of Azkaban video game to transfigure a statue of a dragon into a living dragon.
- See also Lapifors.
Flipendo
An extremely common spell in the first two Harry Potter video games used to knock objects a short distance, make something fall or to stun creatures.
Glacius
Spell used in the Prisoner of Azkaban video game to freeze water and Amazonian salamanders.
Immobulus
This spell is used to freeze an object in place. This spell is used by Hermione in the movie version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to stop the pixies in Professor Lockhart's Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and by Remus Lupin in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to freeze the Whomping Willow. "Immobilis" means "immobile" in Latin.
Lapifors
Spell used in the Prisoner of Azkaban video game to transfigure a statue of a rabbit into a living rabbit.
- See also Draconifors.
The Unforgivable Curses
Use of these curses on a fellow human could land one a life sentence in Azkaban.
Imperius Curse
The Imperius Curse starts with the incantation "Imperio" and gives the wizard complete control over his victim. The experience of being controlled by this curse is described as a complete, wonderful release from any sense of responsibility or worry over one's actions, at the price of one's free will. It is possible for the victim to fight the curse, however; the series' protagonist, Harry Potter, is shown to be better than average in shaking this curse off. "Imperare" is Latin for "order" or "command".
Cruciatus Curse
Associated with the incantation "Crucio", the Cruciatus Curse inflicts intense physical pain upon the victim. "Crucio" (Latin) means "I torture/crucify", originating from "crux" (genitive "crucis"), which means "cross". (In medical Latin in the names of the cruciate ligaments in the knee, "cruciatus" means "arranged in cross shape".)
Several Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange (and presumably Barty Crouch Jr.), used this curse on Neville Longbottom's parents in an attempt to get information on Voldemort's whereabouts after his killing curse rebounded on him. They received no such information and were sent to Azkaban for their crimes, but the extensive torture drove Neville's parents insane.
Harry Potter himself attempted to use the curse on Bellatrix Lestrange during a climactic fight at the Ministry of Magic, but it did not have much effect — Lestrange reveals that the person performing the curse must genuinely desire to inflict pain, and that the "righteous anger" Harry was feeling at the time was insufficient. This may or may not be actually true, seeing that Lestrange had nothing to gain from informing Harry and that Harry hadn't had any opportunity to practise the curse (so he may not have applied it to maximum effectiveness). In any case, no one but Lestrange saw him attempt to use it, and he has not suffered consequences as a result.
Avada Kedavra
The Killing Curse, when performed properly, kills its victim instantaneously. When this curse is performed, a green light is emitted from the source wand. Avada Kedavra leaves no marks on the victim's body that might indicate a cause of death. The curse cannot ordinarily be blocked or countered, but it does require a certain amount of magical force behind it for it to work—merely saying the incantation is not enough. Arch-villain Lord Voldemort used this curse to dispose of his enemies, including Harry Potter's parents. The only known survivor of the curse is Harry himself.
According to J.K. Rowling, the phrase Avada kedavra "is an ancient spell in Aramaic, and it is the original of abracadabra, which means 'let the thing be destroyed.' Originally, it was used to cure illness and the 'thing' was the illness, but I decided to make it the 'thing' as in the person standing in front of me." The word "kedavra," probably coincidentally, is similar to the word "cadaver," meaning "corpse."