Spells From Harry Potter

DUEL WITH THE EXPELLIARMUS SPELL

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DUEL WITH THE EXPELLIARMUS SPELL

The Expelliarmus spell is a commonly used Harry Potter Spell in duelling. Harry always advocated for a fair duel. So, he used this “Expelliarmus spell”. His goal was to simply his opponents. He never wanted to harm or attack them.

EXPELLIARMUS SPELL

Expelliarmus

“I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it’s pretty basic but I’ve found it really useful.” “Oh please…I don’t think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?” “I’ve used it against him…It saved my life last June.”

– Harry Potter and Zacharias Smith, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

The Best Wands To Duel With and Cast the Expelliarmus Spell

When it comes to duelling, the ideal Harry Potter wand to fight with is the Aspen wands. They also fully project the power of the expelliarmus spell. The Duelling Club called Silver Spears in the 18th C. used aspen wands exclusively.

Red oak and rowan wands are also considered ideal for duelling. Sorcerers feared yew wands in duels, as they got associated with curses and evil magic.

 

Dumbledore v/s Voldemort and the Expelliarmus Spell

Albus Dumbledore was considered by many ‘the greatest wizard of modern times’. Not only did he defeat Gellert Grindelwald in an epic duel, but Dumbledore was the only one that Voldemort found frightening.

In Order of the Phoenix, we see a duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort. It is one of the most spectacular showcasing of magic across the whole of the Harry Potter series.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Voldemort raised his wand, another jet of green light came out and streaked towards Professor Dumbledore. However, Professor Dumbledore was quick enough to disappear from his spot and then reappear behind Voldemort.

Dumbledore waved his wand towards the fountain as he rejected the Killing Curse with an “Expelliarmus!” and then the other statues came to life.

 

The Poetic Case of the Expelliarmus Spell

It is interesting that the Expelliarmus spell would defeat the most feared Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. That too, just six years after the Duelling Club.

The colours of the spells in the final duel were red and green.

You see, Harry’s eyes are green. While Voldemort’s eyes have the colour red (in the books). These colours are the house colours of each other. Stunning spells have red colour, while the Killing Curse emits a green light. Therefore, when Harry’s and Voldemort’s spells meet, it creates golden flames.

Harry challenged Voldemort not to kill anyone else on the 2nd of May 1998. He stared into the Dark Lord’s eyes, green into the red- justice, challenging the evil to end it for once and for all.

A green glow burst from Voldemort’s wand, indicating he had chanted the Killing Curse. As it headed towards Harry at lightning speed, Harry, too, cast his spell. “Expelliarmus”, he said. A red light emitted from Harry’s wand.

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Expelliarmus!”

Voldemort died as his Death curse rebounded on him. The Elder wand did not agree to obey him. For he was not the real owner of the wand. It was Draco Malfoy’s wand. So, when he uttered the Killing Curse, it killed him instantly instead of Harry. Harry always stood by his signature spell, the Expelliarmus spell. He maintained a fair and dignified duel.

 

Standing Against the Dark Arts with the Expelliarmus Spell

Harry Potter may have been ridiculed regarding his over usage of the Expelliarmus spell. Even Lupin warned him about it, saying that the Death Eaters knew it was his signature move and, therefore, it could leave him exposed in front of them. Some may see this as being naive and a sense of security that one feels doing something that they are used to and confident in.

Harry was very confident about casting this spell because he had mastered it. However, there is a moral issue that actually drives Harry to stick to the Expelliarmus spell.

Whenever Harry confronts a challenge, he trusts the Expelliarmus spell. Even in the face of death in the final showdown against Lord Voldemort in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, Harry trusted this spell blindly. This simple spell defeated the Dark Lord. It ended the Second Wizarding War.

When Voldemort charged at Harry with the Elder wand and yelled the Killing Curse, Harry at the same time cast the Expelliarmus spell, and Voldemort’s curse rebounded and hit him. He fell dead on the floor. The Elder wand refused to obey him, as the true master was Draco Malfoy. Interestingly, Draco had used the Expelliarmus spell to disarm Professor Dumbledore, who won the allegiance of the wand after defeating Grindelwald at the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.

 

Expelliarmus at The Duelling Club

The then Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor started a  Duelling Club at Hogwarts with the permission of Headmaster Dumbledore. He did it, assessing that dark times would befall Hogwarts eventually. Professor Lockhart taught the students the formalities of duelling like bowing, holding the wand in a certain way and wielding it in the attack.

When Harry found himself in front of Voldemort in the graveyard, he got attacked by him. Voldemort used the Imperius Curse on him to force him to bow. Harry later used the Expelliarmus spell to distract Voldemort. The Expelliarmus spell always saved Harry every time he was in a near-death situation.

 

Expelliarmus Spell: The Simpler, the Better

Not all spells in the magical world are as grand or, in some cases, horrifying as the Unforgivable Curses or as mystic as the Patronus Charm. Something as simple as the Expelliarmus spell is equally exhilarating and quite powerful.

 

The Winner of Duelling Competition Who Used the Expelliarmus Spell

Alberta Toothill was the winner of the All-England Wizarding Duelling Competition of 1430. She disarmed Samson Wiblin with a Blasting Charm. Elizabeth Smudgling won the title of Supreme Dueller in a famous Dartmoor contest in 1379. She used a spell that she made. Some speculate it was the Expelliarmus spell. Some say she invented it.

THE IMPERIO SPELL – A Sinister Spell to control your Enemies

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Imperio Spell

One of the Unforgivable Curses, the Imperio Spell was probably the most sinister of them all. Apart from killing or torturing a person with magic, the worst thing one could do was to manipulate them into committing heinous crimes.

The sole purpose of the Imperio spell was to manipulate and control wizards and Muggles alike. The spell caused complete hypnosis and the person affected lost all sense of judgment and morality, the very defining feature of humanity.

“One of the three Unforgivable Curses, it allows the caster to control another’s actions.“

-About the Imperius Curse

 

Origin and Meaning of the Imperio Spell

The Imperio spell derives its name from the Latin word “imperious” which means “commanding, mighty and/or powerful”.

Another root word for this spell is “imperative”, whose verb form acts as a command function. The Imperius Curse, most certainly, achieves this thing.

Dark wizards and witches created the Imperius Curse sometime during the Middle Ages. The main purpose of the spell is to coerce and brainwash others into slavery or to do other illegal deeds.

 

Known History of the Uses of the  Imperio Spell

As the Wizard’s Council became the Ministry of Magic, tighter restrictions started governing the use of Dark Magic. They declared the Imperius Curse to be dark magic along with Crucio and Avada Kedavra, and called the trio “the Unforgivable Curses”.  The use of this curse was punishable with life imprisonment in Azkaban. The only exception was if the cursor had done so under the influence and control of the curse itself.

 

Imperio Spell Before and After the First Wizarding War

This was one of the major loopholes in wizarding law. Many dark wizards and witches exploited it to reduce their sentence when they were facing prison, especially after the First Wizarding War.

Along with the Cruciatus Curse, the Imperio spell‘s main purpose is to torture various Secret Keepers. The effect is not profound as the Keeper will only reveal the secret on their own will.

During the First Wizarding War, Barty Crouch Sr. was in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Barty Crouch Sr. legalized the Unforgivable Curses for the Aurors to use in the battle against Grindelwald. He did it so that the Aurors could win the war. The war ended with the status quo.

 

Imperio Spell Before and During the Second Wizarding War

After the Second Wizarding War, many Death Eaters and Dark wizards like Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, and others claimed that they served Lord Voldemort under the influence of this curse. They did it to avoid maximum punishment and imprisonment for their war crimes. While some of their claims were accepted, the Ministry deployed personnel to determine the veracity of the claim- whether they were telling the truth or lying to escape punishment.

During the 1994–1995 school year at Hogwarts, Professor Moody, who was Barty Crouch Jr., demonstrated the use of all the three Unforgivable Curses. He demonstrated them on a spider as using them on humans has been illegal since 1717. In disguise, he did his demonstration of the Unforgivable Curses to the fourth-year students. Spiders were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the curse. It was, however, against the rules of the Ministry. Many students were under Crouch’s command except for Harry who was able to resist it completely and shake it off.

Voldemort legalized the Unforgivable Curses as soon as he took over the Ministry. Amycus Carrow taught it as a curriculum at Hogwarts. He said every wizard and witch could use it as and when they desired. When the Ministry was under Voldemort, the curse became a part of the curriculum at Hogwarts. Amycus Carrow taught it at the Dark Arts class when he was the Professor of Dark Arts under the tutelage of Lord Voldemort.

 

Legal Status of the Imperio Spell after the Second Wizarding War

After the death of Voldemort and imprisonment of all the Death Eaters, the curse was once again declared illegal and forbidden. The Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt passed the law. Many people who were under the influence of the curse during the war slowly started to come out of the trance.

The Imperius Curse controlled the wizards to the point they had no sense of right or wrong. Even the most powerful sorcerer could not break free from its control. The Ministry additionally declared that the use of this curse on any human would be punishable by a life sentence without parole in the prison for magical criminals, Azkaban.

 

Nature of the Imperio Spell

The ones subjected to this spell did not have any unpleasant experience per se. It was the opposite, to say the least. The victim finds themselves in a calm position, quite akin to the hypnosis of some sort. The victim will completely be under the control of the caster. They will do anything that the caster desires. This may include heinous crimes like murder, political corruption, and even suicide. In the case of Harry, the curse was not as strong as it should have been.

 

Defense against the Imperio Spell

Unlike the other Unforgivable curses, the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse, a person can fight against the Imperio spell. Resisting the Imperius curse demanded a great amount of strength of will and character. This is what makes this Unforgivable curse unique. Wizards like Harry Potter, Barty Crouch Snr., Barty Crouch Jr. learned how to resist it. In Crouch Sr.’s case, it caused permanent psychological damage.  Trying to resist the curse was akin to Occulumency. Both required a lot of willpower.

 

Known Practitioners of Imperio Spell

Corvus Lestrange used the curse on Laurena Kama making her leave her husband and child to marry him and eventually bear Leta Lestrange.

Barty Crouch Sr. had used this curse on his son when the latter was under house arrest before 1994. Barty Crouch Jr. used it on many people- Alastor Moody to impersonate him, Harry, who resisted the curse, Neville Longbottom and Lavender Brown. He used it on Viktor Krum, who under the spell’s influence, attacked Cedric Diggory with the Cruciatus Curse.

Lord Voldemort used it on Harry at the Battle of the Little Hangleton graveyard.

Lucius Malfoy used the curse to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries.

Harry used it on the goblin Bogrod who worked at the Gringotts Bank. He did so to get past the Lestrange vault in 1998.

Imperio Spell was banned once again after the Second Wizarding War. Many wizards and witches made sure that no one used the Unforgivable Curses again. The ones who used it were subjected to punishment and imprisonment.

The ordeals of the Second war and the lives lost goes on to show that all of the tragedies and casualties are not worth in the quest for possessing absolute power. After the Second Wizarding War, under Kingsley Shacklebolt’s Ministry, no one used the Imperio spell ever again.

STUPEFY HARRY POTTER! A Spell To Stun Your Enemies

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Stupefy Harry Potter

Stupefy Harry Potter, labeled as a defense charm, is one of the most commonly used jinxes or charms in the Harry Potter novels and books. All one needs to do is chant the spell with or without the name of the person they want to stun.

True, Neville did Stun Padma Patil rather than Dean, at whom he had been aiming, but it was a much closer miss than usual, and everybody else had made enormous progress.”

— Dumbledore’s Army learning the Stunning Spell in December 1995

–Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

Origin and Meaning of Stupefy Harry Potter

The word ‘stupefy’ comes from the Middle French word ‘stupéfier’. Another possible root word may be from the Latin word ‘stupefaciō’. It means to ‘strike dumb’ or ‘stun with amazement’. The third root of origin might be the English word ‘stupor’, which means ‘a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility’.

The stunning spell is hard to master. As one needs to learn how to stun the opponent properly without causing maximum damage, only practice and skilled recitation and masterful wielding of the wand can assure a perfect cast of the Stunning Spell.

Nature and Appearance of Stupefy Harry Potter

If the spell is correctly cast, a jet of red light will emit from the caster’s wand.

When the light hits the opponent squarely on their chest, it will knock them out for quite a particular amount of time.

Depending on the accuracy of the caster and where the spell hits the opponent, the opponent may be unconscious anywhere from a few minutes to hours on end.

 

Counter Spell to Stupefy Harry Potter

The counterspell for the Stupefy Spell or the Stunning Charm is known as Enervate charm. The Enervate charm when cast wakes a person up from their stupefied state. However, unlike the Stupefy spell, the Enervate charm has limited uses.

 

Effect of the Stupefy Harry Potter

The Spell stuns a person completely. It makes the person unconscious. They do not often remember what happened prior to them being struck if they become completely unconscious in certain cases. The spell, being a jinx for obvious reasons, can incapacitate someone without actually killing them. The spell can quickly end a wizarding duel.

 

Defense against Stupefy Harry Potter

One can defend oneself from this Spell by deflecting it. Another solution lies with the Reviving Spell, which can counteract the Stupefy spell. However, this will wear over time. The Shield Charm can deflect the Stupefy or Stunning spell.

 

How to Resist Stupefy Harry Potter

This spell does not work on magical creatures like dragons, trolls, giants, half-giants, and acromantulas. Therefore, Rubeus Hagrid was not affected by this spell.

In 1996, the Ministry of Magic employees carried out the task to remove Hagrid from the Hogwarts grounds, but in vain. They could not do so with the spell.

One can also bewitch objects with this spell. The bewitching makes the objects volatilely reactive to ‘Stupefy’. Fred and George Weasley used the spell to bewitch their fireworks. The fireworks exploded when the spell hit them in the middle of the O.W.L.S. examinations in the fifth year.

 

Chances of Surviving Stupefy Harry Potter

Anyone hit by this spell will survive. The spell will incapacitate and immobilize the targeted person temporarily. However, it is neither fatal nor harmful. It causes no long-lasting effect.

 

Stupefy Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

The spell is heavily featured in the fifth book of the Harry Potter series. The spell, in the book, yields both good and bad results. Harry and his friends and confidants in the Dumbledore’s Army (D.A.) practice and learn the spell. They believe the spell will help them defend themselves and also fight against Lord Voldemort and his Dark Forces and Death Eaters.

They took it upon themselves to learn the spell amongst various others after Professor Dolores Umbridge refused to teach them any kind of defensive spell or magic.

Stupefy in the book is seriously used for the first time on Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Head of the Gryffindor House, when she tries saving Hagrid, the Gamekeeper, and the Professor for Care for Magical Creatures, whom Umbridge along with her Inquisitorial Squad intended to deport from Hogwarts forever.

 

Known Practitioners of Stupefy Harry Potter

All known wizards at one point or on several occasions have had used the Stunning Spell. From Dark wizards like Gellert Grindelwald, Leta Lestrange, Tom Riddle Jr., Bartemius Crouch Junior to even the students- Harry, Ron and Hermione, and Molly Weasley and Tonks, all the members of the Order of the Phoenix and of course the Weasley twins as well.

 

Successful Uses of Stupefy Harry Potter

Gellert Grindelwald used it on Mykew Gregorovitch to steal the Elder wand in the 1990s.

Tom Riddle Junior used it non verbally in the Gaunt Shack in the summer of 1943 to kill his father.

Harry learned the spell and eventually used it to save Ron Weasley at the Third Task in the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry also used it on several Death Eaters during the Battle of the Seven Potters. He attacked Lucius Malfoy and Fenrir Greyback with this spell during the skirmish at the Malfoy Manor. He also used it at Gringotts Bank while escaping from there.

Cedric Diggory used it to stun an Acromantula in the maze section during the Triwizard Tournament.

Albus Dumbledore used it on Barty Crouch Junior, who was in Alastor Moody’s disguise as he tried to attack Harry.

Hermoine Granger used it on Mafalda Hopkirk when the Trio infiltrated the Ministry of Magic.

 

Unsuccessful Uses of Stupefy Harry Potter

Bellatrix Lestrange and an unknown Death Eater in 1996 attacked Harry with this spell in the Department of Mysteries. However, their efforts were futile.

Hermione was unsuccessful in stunning Draco in the skirmish of the Room of Requirement.

Now you know what you have to do to stun your opponent, even if the opponent is Harry Potter himself.  Just raise your wand and say, “Stupefy Harry Potter!”.

Summon The Wizard In You With The Accio Spell

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Accio Spell

The Accio Spell or Summoning Charm makes the object fly towards the caster. The caster must know the location of the object they are trying to summon and picture it clearly. It is one of the oldest spells in the wizarding world.

“And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling towards him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in mid-air beside him, waiting for him to mount.“

—The Firebolt, under the influence of this spell, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

The etymology of the Accio spell

The word ‘accio’ comes from the Latin verb “accerso” which means “to summon or fetch”. Rowling restyled the spelling to be “accio” and the pronunciation to create the incantation for this summoning charm.

 

Accio Spell: History

The spell was notably used by the Accionites and their leader, Gideon Flatworthy, according to a witch and author, Miranda Goshawk.

In wizard folklore, “The Wizarding and the Hopping Pot” from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the son of the pot’s original owner summoned a lost donkey that belonged to one of his fellow villagers.

 

Glimpses of the Accio Spell at Hogwarts

Fourth years learn this spell in the Charms class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is revised again in a student’s fifth year in preparation for O.W.L.s.  This spell features in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 by Miranda Goshawk, a celebrated author specializing in the Charms curriculum.

Being the Charms teacher, it would be Professor Flitwick, who would have taught the students the spell in 1991. However, in the case of Harry, Hermione taught him the spell to prepare him for the Triwizard Tournament’s first task. Harry had to summon his broom to escape from the Hungarian Horntail after he stole her egg.

 

Effects of Accio Spell

One can cast this spell verbally or nonverbally, depending on the skill and aptitude of the wizard or witch casting it. The sorcerer shall do a nice wrist movement while casting the spell. More preferably, a ‘swish and flick’ movement that makes the spell’s power more effective.

The casting charm will work exclusively on non-living objects. Furthermore, the objects have to be of a particular size. The Accio spell won’t work on objects of a visibly bigger scale, for instance, buildings and living things.

It is harder to summon objects that are really far away from the caster. The spell is more effective at a short-range distance. However, if the caster can picture and visualize the object clearly, then the distance does not matter.

Wizards should be able to summon anything with ease as long as they can clearly picture the target objects. The charm requires complete awareness and a certain mental exertion of what object/s the wizard is summoning and where it is, and where they want it to end up landing.

 

Known Uses of the Accio Spell

Accio Spell in The Triwizard Tournament

One had to retrieve a golden egg guarded by the Hungarian Horntail in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament. The Hungarian Horntail had the egg within her clutch amongst her other eggs.

On the advice of Professor Moody (who was actually Baty Crouch Jr. In the Professor’s disguise), Harry used the Summoning Charm to bring his Firebolt broom close to him in order to escape from the ferocious dragon. The spell was one of the key reasons he completed his first task with roaring success.

 

Little Hangleton graveyard

As the Battle of Little Hangleton was going on, Harry and Voldemort’s wands briefly touched each other. It occurred as both the wands had “twin cores”.

It caused the echoes of the people Voldemort had killed to appear as apparitions. Lily and James Potter, Cedric and Frank Bryce, and Bertha Jorkins appeared and told Harry to break the connection while they held the Dark Lord at bay momentarily. It allowed Harry to escape.

On breaking the connection, and with the apparitions distracting Voldemort, Harry summoned the Triwizard Cup with the Accio spell. He was also able to get a hold of the dead body of Cedric Diggory. Thus, Harry escaped from the Little Hangleton Graveyard and Lord Voldemort.

In the sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry uses the Accio spell to retrieve his wand after Draco puts him in a Body-bind Curse. They were aboard the Hogwarts Express, and Harry was spying on Draco. Harry later used this spell to summon Gryffindor’s sword from the lake but failed. In Hogsmeade, he also used it to summon a few of Madam Rosmerta’s brooms to fly to Hogwarts.

Also, the trio used the spell in the seventh year at Hogwarts when they were hunting Horcruxes. The Trio wielded the spell many several times to summon objects that were Horcruxes. They tried to summon the legendary Sword of Gryffindor. However, the charm proved unresponsive, and they failed.

 

Counter Spell of the Accio Spell

The counter spell of the Accio spell or the Summoning Charm is the anti-theft charm. Sorcerers used the anti-theft charm to prevent something from being summoned by anyone but the rightful owner of the targeted object. It was mostly done for security purposes. Merchants sell their merchandise in the modern wizarding world with the anti-theft spell already enchanted on them.

 

Boundless Legacy of the Accio Spell

The Accio spell has helped Harry on various occasions. In a few, it has saved his life. The spell is harmless but extremely useful. It is one of the most used Harry Potter spells in the books. With the power it bestows upon its caster, the spell can summon anything and everything the caster desires.

The Accio spell makes life and tasks easier for the wizards daily as objects fly towards them, and they can get anything they want without having to lift a finger.

Cruciatus Curse – the Unforgivable Curse To Torture Your Enemies

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The Cruciatus Curse

The Cruciatus Curse originated during the Middle Ages. After the reformation of the Wizard’s Council into the Ministry of Magic, rigid regulations banned the use of this spell. The Ministry declared the Cruciatus Curse unforgivable in the year 1717. The use of this curse was punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban without parole.

 

“Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was… white-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain; he was screaming more loudly than he’d ever screamed in his life — “

-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

Effect of the Cruciatus Curse

The Cruciatus Curse causes immense pain when used on someone. The person will experience an intense sensation. It will make the person wish for unconsciousness and even death. The person who used this spell needed to be soulless and had a deep desire to cause harm.

For instance, Bellatrix Lestrange was extremely sadistic. She lacked conscience and did not follow the rules of a fair duel. She used the curse with daunting potency as she seemingly had an affinity to it.

Lestrange tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse. She tortured them for information regarding the whereabouts of the Dark Lord to restore him to power.

The pain may cause permanent damage to memory and mental health if used on a person for a long time, and it happened with Longbottoms. They spent the rest of their lives at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. They could not bear the trauma the spell subjected them to.

The Ministry declared the Cruciatus Curse as unforgivable because of its harmful and long-lasting damage. It was the tool of sadistic pleasure for many dark wizards. The curse remained in effect in Azkaban for the dangerous magical criminals.

 

Legal Status of the Cruciatus Curse

The Cruciatus Curse was one of the three curses pronounced by the Ministry of Magic to be “Dark Magic”, along with the Killing and Imperius Curses. The Cruciatus Curse was a popular instrument of torture for the vilest of the dark wizards. The Ministry additionally declared that the use of this curse on any human would be punishable by a life sentence without parole in Azkaban.

 

Nature of the Cruciatus Curse

The Cruciatus Curse caused immense pain, as Harry himself described it. Lord Voldemort had tortured Harry with the curse in the battle at Little Hangleton graveyard. Harry described the pain as a feeling worse than “one thousand white-hot knives, boring into the skin”. It is beyond the imagination of what anyone can ever imagine.

The sensation of the curse is intense. It causes the person to lose consciousness. Under the effect of this curse, one only wishes for death to escape the unspeakable and searing pain.

The spell could also attack  Secret Keepers to inflict pain and suffering on them. It did not guarantee the fact that they might reveal the truth, though.

If the Cruciatus Curse hit an inanimate object, it would cause the object to shatter.

 

Cruciatus Curse: Performance

To perform this spell successfully, the wizard or witch has to possess a deep desire to cause immense pain to their victim.

 

Effects of the Cruciatus Curse

The spell causes great mental and physical torture. It may even bend and twitch one’s limbs. The curse causes sounds of agony to ring out, declaring the torturous pain.

 

Defense against the Cruciatus Curse

The Cruciatus Curse is a difficult spell to defend oneself from. Still, there are options to evade it. One can dodge the spell if they hide behind a solid object. Strong-willed wizards can resist the pain for a long time. Harry was able to do so when Voldemort attacked him with the curse in the Little Hangleton graveyard.

A second way to avoid the spell was to interrupt the caster before they finished chanting it. Harry attacked Snape with this spell in Legilimency class. Snape dodged the spell as he saw it coming.

 

Known History of Uses of the Cruciatus Curse

During the First Wizarding War, Barty Crouch Sr. was in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Barty Crouch Sr. was charged with violence. He legalized the Unforgivable Curses for the Aurors to use.

Barty Crouch Jr., under the disguise of Alastor Moody, had shown the curse to the students in their fourth year. He demonstrated the use of all the three Unforgivable Curses. He demonstrated them on a spider as using them on humans has been illegal since 1717.

Voldemort legalized the Unforgivable Curses as soon as he took over the Ministry. Amycus Carrow taught it as a curriculum at Hogwarts.

Harry was furious with Bellatrix Lestrange for murdering his godfather, Sirius Black, in 1996. He attacked her with this curse to make her suffer a brief moment of pain. He justified his use of the curse in “righteous anger”.

 

Harry almost used it on Snape in their Legilimency class. The latter taught him how not to let the Dark Lord infiltrate his mind in that class.

Harry used this spell more effectively in 1998 on Amycus Carrow, a Death Eater. Carrow had spit on Professor McGonagall’s face which angered Harry. Harry attacked Amycus in a rage with the sole purpose of causing him pain. The spell inflicted on Amycus caused him excruciating and prolonged pain.

On the other hand, the Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, used the spell quite liberally, without any conscience on anyone. It seemed like she had an affinity for the Cruciatus Curse.

 

Bellatrix Lestrange tortured Luna Lovegood with the Cruciatus Curse at the Malfoy Manor, where Luna was for months.

After the Snatchers captured Hermoine, they brought her to the Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix then proceeded to torture her and even engraved the word “Mudblood” on her arm.

Amycus Carrow had also used this spell on Ginny Weasley at the Second Wizarding War at Hogwarts.

D.A. members Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finch used the spell on Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle to punish them for their disobedience.

 

 

Stupefy! – A complete guide to the Stunning Spell from Harry Potter

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Stupefy Spell

The Stupefy Spell, commonly known as the Stunning Spell, was a charm that wizards used to stun their target. It is one of the most commonly occurring and used Harry Potter spells. This charm was mostly used in duels.

“…Harry felt himself positively swelling with pride as he watched them all. True, Neville did Stun Padma Patil rather than Dean, at whom he had been aiming, but it was a much closer miss than usual, and everybody else had made enormous progress.”

— Dumbledore’s Army learning the Stunning Spell in December 1995

Stupefy Spell: Origin and Meaning

The word “Stupefy” comes from the Latin word “stupere” which means “to be stunned”. In the books, it is described as a jet of red light that totally immobilizes the person on whom it is used, leaving them literally stunned. The etymology comes from two Latin derivations- “stupefacio” to make senseless and “stupeo” which means “stunned”.

 

Appearance and Effect of Stupefy Spell

When correctly cast, there is usually one main color that appears- red. The spell also has two or three smaller red spirals swirling in and out and around the main cast which makes it more powerful.

The Stupefy Spell can be used as a counter curse to many attacking spells like the Killing Curse. The spell is mainly used to render the target unconscious without causing any serious and lasting damage. The spell’s main use was for creatures like trolls, dragons and half-giants. However, if an ordinary person is attacked by this spell, it may result in injury. It is also used to halt moving objects. It could also be used in a duel and is not too harmless. It will effectively end the duel without causing any lasting damage.

 

How to defend oneself against Stupefy Spell?

The Stunning spell can be reversed. The Stunning spell’s effects can be countered by the Reviving Spell. But it wears away on their own with time as well. The Reviving spell creates a shielding charm that protects the person from the attack and the subsequent shock and suffering of the Stunning spell. Another method of avoiding the spell was to deflect it with a Shield Charm.

 

Uses of Stupefy Spell

The Stupefy Spell has been used on various occasions in Hogwarts, and some of the uses had left a lasting impression on the reader’s mind.

 

Successful Uses of Stupefy Spell

The stunning spell is commonly used in the fifth book of the series that bore both good and bad results. Gellert Grindelwald used the Stupefy spell to stun Mykew Gregorovitch to steal the Elder Wand. Harry and his friends at the D.A. (Dumbledore’s Army) learnt the spell as they were training to fight Voldemort and his Death Eater followers. They took it upon themselves to learn how to defend because Professor Umbridge refused to teach them how to do so. Harry led the D.A., teaching everyone how to defend themselves using this spell.

The spell was used seriously for the first time by Professor McGonagall, the Head of the Gryffindor House. She was trying to save Hagrid, Hogwarts Gamekeeper and Professor for the Care of Magical Creatures from being taken away by Umbridge along with Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad.

Harry first learnt to use this spell in the third task in the Triwizard Tournament. The Death Eaters attacked the convoy that was helping Harry escape during the Battle of the Seven Potters. He also used Stupefy on Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy during the skirmish in the Malfoy Manor, and Gringotts Goblins while trying to escape after robbing the bank.

 

Luna Lovegood had also used the spell to help Harry. She used it in the Ravenclaw Tower, where she was searching for information on Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem to help Harry destroy the Horcrux, just moments before the Battle of Hogwarts.

 

It is possible to bewitch objects to be resistant to the spell. Fred Weasley and George Weasley bewitched their shop’s fireworks to explode when they were hit by the Stunning Spell. They did this during their last year at Hogwarts in an attempt to go out in style in true Weasley twin fashion. This was done with the sole purpose of making Umbridge taste her own medicine of meddling in Hogwarts administration on behalf of the Ministry of Magic.

 

Unsuccessful Uses of Stupefy Spell

Professor Dolores Umbridge had failed to stop fireworks that were enchanted by the Stunning spell by the Weasley twins. Instead of freezing, they started to explode mid-air. It was so impactful that it blasted a hole in a painting in the Great Hall in the fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Bellatrix Lestrange tried to hit Harry in the Hall of Prophecy during the battle of the Department of Mysteries. However, her spell was reflected by Lucius Malfoy’s spell, bouncing off and destroying various prophecies on the shelves.

Harry Potter tried stunning Severus Snape when the latter was trying to flee Hogwarts after killing Albus Dumbledore. However, he was unsuccessful as Snape escaped the stun of the spell.

Xenophilius Lovegood has also used the stunning spell to defend himself from Death Eaters. As the Death Eaters approached his house, he hit his Erumpent horn with the spell, causing a massive explosion.

 

Frequent Practitioners

Some of the known practitioners of this spell are quite famous wizards and witches. A few of them even fought at the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Dark wizards like Gellert Grindelwald, Leta Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange, even the Dark Lord himself when he was a student called Tom Riddle, Cedric Diggory, Amos Diggory, Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape and many more. The Golden Trio also has used the spell on various occasions.

 

The Stupefy Spell is one of the strongest spells

In terms of impact and damage, the stupefy spell is one of the strongest. Thus, it is a great defense mechanism. The Stupefy Spell has always lived up to its name and protected those who wielded it in desperate need.

Mischief Managed.