Spells, Charms and Curses

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~O~

Obliteration Charm

“Obliterate” means to wipe out, leaving no trace.

This was used by Hermione to wipe out tracks in the snow. It may be able to remove other marks as well.

Obliviate

"Oblivio" is Latin for "forgetfulness".

The Memory Charm. This spell erases sections of the memory of the victim as chosen by the spell caster. It can wipe out the entire memory if the caster so chooses. The Memory Charm deprives victims of essential knowledge, giving them amnesia-like symptoms that may be incurable.

Occlumency

From the Latin "occlude," meaning "to close, shut up, close off."

This is the defense of the mind against external attack. Occlumency is the only way to protect one's mind from someone using Legilimency.

Orchideous

Named after the orchid, a type of flower. Creates flowers from the caster’s wand.

Oppugno

Latin for "to attack". Causes something to attack a target chosen by the spell caster. Hermiones used it to cause a small flock of conjured birds to attack Ron, and so it has been confirmed that it works on living creatures. It may work on objects as well.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~P~

Permanent Sticking Charm

Charm used to attach one thing to another. Permanently.

Pepper Breath Hex

Harry found this spell in "Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed" when he was researching ways to fight a dragon during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. The effect is unknown, but presumably gives the target person or creature hot or fiery breath. Harry decided not to use it against the dragon, as it would just increase its firepower.

Peskipiksi Pesternomi

Used by Lockhart to attempt to get rid of Cornish Pixies. It had no effect, probably due to the fact that he’d just made it up.

Petrificus Totalus

An adaptation of “totally petrify”. Renders the victim temporarily unable to move.

Placement Charm

Used to remotely position an object. Presumably similar to object moving spells such as Locomotor, except that the Placement Charm allows for accurate positioning of the target object.

Point Me

The Four-Point Spell. This spell causes the spell caster's wand to act as a compass. By holding the wand in open palm and saying the incantation ("Point Me"), the wand automatically points North.

Portus

"Porta" is Latin for "gate".

This spell is used to turn an object into a Portkey. Portkeys are used to transport people from one location to another almost instantly. A Portkey requires direct physical contact in order for it to work properly. The use of Portkeys is closely monitored by the Office of Magical Transportation.

Possession

This involves magically inhabiting or taking over the body of another person or creature. Whilst Voldemort was hiding out in the forests of Albania, he took to possessing small creatures – mainly snakes – to give himself a temporary physical form. He is also in the habit of possessing Nagini, and possessed Harry during the battle at the Department of Mysteries as well. Harry suffered extreme pain during possession, but this is likely to be due to his own unique links with Voldemort, as Nagini showed no signs of pain when she was possessed.

Prior Incantato

From the Latin "priori prius," meaning "former, prior" and an adaptation of the English word "incantation."

The Reverse Spell Effect. When cast, this spell causes a wand to create an echo or ghostly image of the last spells it performed in reverse chronological order. A similar effect is known to occur when two wands sharing a magical core taken from the same animal (not just another animal from the same species) engage in battle. Brother wands cannot fight each other. Instead, the wands lock together, connected by magical energy. One of the wands will eventually force the other into a Reverse Spell Effect, which when it happens in this manner, is referred to as Priori Incantatem.

Protean Charm

A spell which links the appearance of several items. When one item is changed, the others change in the same way.

Protego

Latin for “protect”.

The Shield Charm. This creates a magical shield to deflect minor to moderate spells and jinxes cast by others. It is not advanced magic, as Harry managed to cast a very effective Shield Charm against Severus Snape whilst practicing Occlumency during his fifth year, but none-the-less a large number of adult witches and wizards are not proficient at it. The Weasley twins have taken advantage of this situation by marketing a range of Shield clothing which carries the charm and repels magic as though the wearer had cast it themselves.

Pus Hex

This spell was cast by Morfin Gaunt on Bob Ogden, when he went to visit the Gaunts as a representative of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad in connection with Morfin's attack on Tom Riddle Snr around 1925. It caused his nose to erupt into a cascade of pus, which could only be stopped through magical means.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~Q~

Quietus

Adaptation of "quiet".

This spell negates the effects of the Sonorus Spell, making a magically magnified voice return to its normal state.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~R~

Reducio

Adaptation of “reduce”.

This spell causes an object shrink. It also negates the effects of the Engorgio Spell, returning any magically enlarged item back to its original size..

Reducto

This spell is used to blast solid object into pieces. It does not work on anything that is not solid.

Refilling Charm

Causes a container to refill with whatever liquid it was originally holding. Harry cast this on Slughorn's wine bottles when he was getting drunk with Hagrid after Aragog's funeral.

Relashio

This spell creates heat from the end of the wand. Normally sparks burst from the wand tip as a result of this spell, but if the wand is underwater, the spell produces jets of boiling water instead. When cast with enough vigour, this spell can be powerful to knock somebody off their feet if it is cast at them.

Rennervate

This may be a spell that revives an unconscious person. The incantation is, however, curiously close to the known spell Ennervate which has similar effects, and so when Harry attempted to cast this on Professor Dumbledore in the Horcrux Cave, he may simply have been mis-casting Ennervate in the heat of the moment.

Reparo

Latin for “to restore”. Mends the target object.

Repelling Spell

Repels an object.Repelling Spells were used during early Quidditch matches to prevent the Snidget leaving the playing area.

Restoring Spell

Used to make someone in their animagus state return to their normal form. Sirius and Remus used this spell against Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack to make him revert to human form. The spell creates two flashes of bright light, after which the target animagus is transformed, with the effect looking like a speeded-up animation.

Revelaspell

Invented by Scarpin, this is used to identify the ingredients of a potion.

Rictusempra

From the Latin "rideo risi risum," meaning "to laugh at, laugh."

The Tickling Charm. Causes uncontrollable laughter in the victim.

Riddikulus

Adaptation of "ridiculous".

Causes an item, creature or person to take on a humorous appearance of the spell caster's choosing. Particularly useful against Boggarts, who are destroyed by laughter.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~S~

Scourgify

From the English word "scour", meaning "to clean".

Used to clean an item. This spell was used by Tonks to clean Hedwig’s cage when she help Harry pack before going to Grimmauld Place. James Potter also used it on Snape when he was bullying him.

Scouring Charm

Probably the same spell as Scourgify, although this is never stated explicitly. Hermione tried to teach this charm to Neville to clean his fingernails with, after Snape made him disembowel a barrelful of horned toads in detention.

Sectumsempra

From the Latin "sectio", which means "to cut", and "semper", which means "always". Causes deep wounds to be immediately cut into the victim, as though they were being slashed with an invisible sword. Harry used it against Malfoy, not knowing what it did and was shocked at its effect. He used it again against the Inferi in the Horcrux cave, with little effect. This spell was invented by Severus Snape whilst he was a student at Hogwarts.

Serpensortia

From “serpent”, a snake.

Creates a snake from the caster’s wand.

Severing Charm

Cuts one thing from another. This is usually intended for use on items, but does work on living matter as well, as it is known that Crups living in Muggle-inhabited neighbourhoods are required to have their forked tails removed with a Severing Charm. If used on humans, this charm would provide a handy means for Dark Wizards to kill people, creating a powerful alternative to Avada Kedavra and has the advantage of not being Unforgiveable.

Shock Spell

A medicinal spell which treats the patient for shock.

A witch who wrote in to The Quibber following Harry's interview suggested he try a course of Shock Spells in order to restore his sanity.

Side-Along-Apparition

"Appareo" is Latin for "appear" or "to become visible".

When Apparating, it is possible for a qualified wizard to Apparate someone else as part of the process in addition to themselves. This technique is known as Side-Along-Apparition. The passenger being carried must grip tightly on to the Apparator in order to ensure that they are transported correctly.

Silencio

From “silent”.

This charm forces any person, creature, or object it is cast upon to fall silent, unable to make any audible noise.

Slug Curse

Causes the victim to burp slugs.

Sonorus

Latin for “loud”.

Projects the voice of the spell caster, making it very loud.

Spark Charm

Causes sparks to be emitted from the end of the caster’s wand. This may be the same spell as Relashio.

Specialis Revelio

"Specialis" is Latin for "special", and "revelo" is Latin for "to unveil". Causes an item to reveal anything that has been hidden by magical means. Hermione used it to make sure there was nothing untoward hidden in the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making.

Stealth Censoring Spell

Rather like a Secrecy Sensor, this spell detects illicit behaviour and alerts the caster. Professor Umbridge had cast this spell on her office door when Harry broke in to contact Sirius using her fireplace.

Stinging Hex

Produces a painful red welt on the victim’s body.

Stretching Jinx

Causes something to stretch. Molly Weasley thought Harry and Ron looked like they'd had Stretching Jinxes placed on them due to their rapid increase in height. Therefore the Jinx may work on organic matter as well as objects, but Molly may have just been flippant.

Stupefy

"Stupefy" means "to dull the senses".

It may also derive from the Latin "stupefactus," meaning "stunned." This spell produces a bolt of red light and stuns whoever it is cast upon, knocking the victim unconscious. A single Stunning Spell is not strong enough to do any lasting damage to a victim, but multiple stunners cast on one target can cause serious harm, as was done to Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The spell "Ennervate" can undo the effects of the Stunning Spell and bring victims back to consciousness.

Substantive Charm

Effect unknown. Seamus revised this spell for his Charms OWL exam.

Switching Spells

These are a class of spells which change items from one thing into another. This is the major branch of Transfiguration. It is not clear whether there are a number of related spells for different types of switching or whether it is all done with a single spell, as no details of this are given.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~T~

Talon-Clipping Charm

Harry found this charm in a book about dragon care when he was researching ways to defeat a dragon for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. He decided it wouldn’t help him much.

Tarantallegra

The Tarantella is a fast Italian dance. Causes the victim’s legs to dance uncontrollably.

Tergeo

Latin for "to wipe, scour or clean". Spell used to clean something. It may be restricted to cleaning liquids; otherwise it would be no different from Scourgify. Hermione used it to clean the blood from Harry's face after his nose had been broken.

Thief's Curse

Effect unknown. Dumbledore ordered that every copy of Quidditch Through the Ages sold to Muggles was enchanted with this curse to prevent them reading it without buying it.

Toenail Growth

Charm Causes the victim's toenails to grow alarmingly fast.

Tongue-Tying

Curse Effect unknown, but probably something to do with tongues.

Covered by Professor Vindictus Viridian in his book on curses and counter-curses.

Transforming Spells

A close relative of Switching Spells, this class of charm is used to change living creatures (as opposed to items) from one thing into another. This is the other major branch of Transfiguration. It is not clear whether there are a number of related spells for different types of transformation.

Transmogrifian Torture

Lockhart thought that this had been used to kill Mrs Norris when she was found frozen rigid in 1992.

It hadn't of course - perhaps because no such curse actually exists. IN fact, Mrs Norris was not dead at all and had been petrified by a basilisk.

Trip Jinx

Causes the victim to trip over.

Twitchy Ears Curse

Makes the ears of the victim twitch uncontrollably. Harry suffered a bad case of Twitchy Ears after a particularly rigorous DADA lesson on hex deflection from Moody/Crouch.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~U~

Unbreakable Charm

Makes an item unbreakable.

Unbreakable Vow

This spell creates a magical treaty between two people. The two participating parties must link their right hands in order for the spell to be cast. A third person, known as the Bonder, is also required to witness the pact and magically seal it. The tip of the Bonder's wand must be placed on the linked hands, and the terms of the treaty are made. As this is done, flame issues from the wand and winds itself around the hands of the participants. At this point the Unbreakable Vow is made, and if the terms of it are broken by one of the participants, they will die. It is likely that no other spell can counteract the effects of the Vow once it is made.

Unplottable Charm

Used to make a location unplottable. This is a security measure effective against both Muggles and wizards/witches, which is used to make it impossible to plot the charmed building or location on a map.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~V~

Vanishing Spell

See "Evanesco".

Volarte Ascendele

Propels objects into the air.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~W~

Waddiwasi

Causes an item to fly at high speed where the spell caster wants it to. This is likely to be a single variant of a general XXXXX-wasi spell which can be cast on any item. The XXXXX in this case was chewing gum, which is the “waddi” part.

Wandless Magic

Traditionally, magic requires a wand to be used, although this is not always the case. There are frequent examples of wandless magic throughout the books, and so it seems reasonable to assume that whilst the wand is a useful (and often vital) channel for magical power, gifted wizards can successfully cast spells without it when necessary. The more advanced the magic, the more difficult it is to cast without a wand, however, and there have been no examples of advanced spells being cast wandlessly. Severus Snape used a wandless Accio to summon the ropes that he'd just used to tie up Remus Lupin to his hand in the Shrieking Shack in Prisoner of Azkaban, whilst Harry's early life was littered with wandless magic such as his removal of the glass in the reptile house at the zoo. In addition to this, house-elves never use a wand for their magic.

Wingardium Leviosa

Taken in part from the Latin root "levo," meaning "to raise, lift up."

This spell causes an object to levitate. Once levitating, the object can be manipulated in midair by the spell caster.

Wound Healing Spell

Heals wounds and causes the skin to knit back together. Professor Snape used this charm on Draco Malfoy after Harry had attacked him using Sectumsempra.

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~X~

• None

[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~Y~

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[Kyleigh Kissinger]

~Z~

• None