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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter casts a spell of wonder on both new and longtime fans, enthralling them and making them yearn for the home that Hogwarts has become. The movies do a great job adapting J.K. Rowling’s books, bringing this tale of magic into everyone’s homes. And it is the wizards and witches populating the Wizarding World who cast a diverse range of spells, some more powerful than others.
Falling into several different categories — including, but not limited to, charms, jinxes, hexes, and curses — spells can become incredible weapons in the hands of skilled wizards. Many are dark in nature and most often used by villains, whereas others are deceptively simple in both usage and outcome. The Harry Potter series includes hundreds of diverse spells, and while not all of them are powerful, some spells are known for their outstanding might.
Accio Is More Powerful Than People Think
Accio might seem like a simple spell, but it’s actually useful and powerful. In fact, Harry managed to overcome the first task of the Triwizard Tournament thanks to Accio. This is a spell that allows the wizard to invoke any object, which is going to fly directly to their hands. Harry, for example, used it to invoke his broom during the task and retrieve the dragon egg. More importantly, Harry used it in the cemetery to summon the Portkey and escape Lord Voldemort.
Most wizards use Accio in pretty quotidian environments, summoning butterbeer, a book, or any object without getting up. However, at certain moments, it can save a wizard’s life or be used to retrieve an important otherwise unreachable object. Having most items in the palm of your hand in seconds is a great asset in everyday life, but also in battle. Harry, for example, used Accio often to get his glasses, which he needed to be able to see.
Alohamora Can Open Most Doors
One of the most basic spells in the Wizarding World, so much so that Hermione could use it in her first years at Hogwarts, Alohomora is outstandingly useful. With Alohomora, wizards and witches can open any lock (as long as it’s not protected by magic), which might get more than one person out of a pickle.
During his adventures, Harry and his friends use the Unlocking Charm a lot. Hermione uses it in her first year to open a door in the castle and escape Mr. Filch and again in the third year to free Sirius Black from Filius Flitwick’s office. Of course, Alohomora is fairly useless in battle, but it’s important to be able to escape or rescue friends as well as to fight enemies.
Tarantallegra Can Be Used to Force Anything With Legs to Dance
As its name suggests, Tarantallegra provokes uncontrollable leg movements in the person it hits. It’s usually a harmless spell meant to be used as a prank. However, it works pretty well during duels because the person will struggle to stand. It’s probably useful to stop a wizard from escaping, for example, as they won’t be able to run away.
Tarantallegra can also be used on inanimate objects, so wizards can make a chair dance. However, under particular circumstances, Tarantallegra has caused great amounts of damage. Zaccaria Innocenti used this spell on Mount Vesuvius and caused the eruption that killed thousands of people. However, it is mostly not that problematic if wizards are careful. Dumbledore used it once to make the suits of armor dance.
Rictusempra Provokes Uncontrollable Laughter, But It’s Not Funny
Rictusempra is a low-level defense charm, usually taught to wizard studies so they can defend themselves. It provokes uncontrollable laughter in the target, and even though that sounds soft, it’s everything but. If a wizard is laughing all the time, they can’t summon spells, making it a very effective way to take someone out of the battle.
What’s more, Rictusempra could be a pretty nasty way of torture. Crucio might generate incredible pain, but laughing for hours might be as terrifying. Considering that Crucio is illegal and Rictusempra isn’t, who knows what kind of horrible things dark wizards have managed with this spell.
Morsmordre Has the Power to Cause Horror
Theoretically speaking, Morsmordre is a useless Harry Potter spell that creates a gigantic image in the sky of Lord Voldemort’s symbol, the Dark Mark. While a moving skull with a snake is terrifying, it actually can’t hurt anyone. However, the power of Morsmordre comes from the fear it inspires in the population.
Throughout Voldemort’s reign of darkness, his Death Eaters would invoke the Dark Mark at locations where they murdered an innocent person. When Harry goes to the Quidditch Tournament, Barty Crouch Jr. invokes the mark, causing great panic and harm to all wizards camping outside the stadium. Even now that Voldemort is dead, it’s likely that seeing the Dark Mark in the sky would create chaos and fear.
Locomotor Mortis Has a Few Important Defense Uses
The Leg-Locker Curse, known by its incantation Locomotor Mortis, keeps the target from being able to move as their legs are bound together. It is a semi-advanced spell that Hogwarts students usually learn in their fifth year, but Draco, Hermione, and Ron already knew how to use it in their first year. It was first seen cast on poor Neville Longbottom during the dueling sessions “moderated” by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Locomotor Mortis is great for keeping other wizards from following, but not from attacking, as their hands are still free. While this spell could buy a couple of very much-needed seconds, it has the disadvantage that it has a well-known counter-curse. In fact, Hermione used it to free Neville when Draco attacked him with Locomotor Mortis. All things considered, however, every other spell on this list is stronger than the Leg-Locker Curse.
Diffindo Creates a Deep Cut Through Its Target
Diffindo, or the Severing Charm, is a spell that’s usually used for cutting any object. However, much like a knife, Diffindo can also be used to slice through a person. Hogwarts teachers warn students to move their wand carefully while using this spell to not end up with an injury. However, in Hogwarts Legacy, the Severing Charm is one of the most powerful spells to use against any evil creature or wizard.
Diffindo is a simple spell that Hogwarts students learn from a very young age and that might aid several inexperienced wizards during a duel. It’s not conventionally used in battle in books, such as spells like Stupefy, Expelliarmus, or the Unforgivable Curses, but it’s still a good attack, and Hogwarts Legacy proves it. The Severing Charm is also pretty useful in getting out of difficult situations when cutting ropes or any binding object.
Impedimenta Can Reduce the Moving Velocity of a Target
The Impediment Jinx was one of the most popular dueling spells, largely because it had no lasting impact on the target. As the word suggests, casting Impedimenta creates an imaginary wall or force that either slows the target down or prevents it from moving altogether. Even the Hogwarts Dueling Club taught its members the use of this spell, so it can be assumed that any magically educated witch or wizard would be capable of casting the Impediment Jinx.
Hermione was the one who taught Harry the Impediment Jinx for the Triwizard Tournament, but he later went on to teach the spell to Dumbledore’s Army. Impedimenta was also used by James Potter against Snape during the flashback bullying session Harry saw in Snape’s memories. This spell is excellent for casual dueling sessions, but it’s not really that useful in a magical battle with real stakes.
Depulso Is Versatile But Doesn’t Cause Much Harm
Depulso is considered the opposite enchantment of Accio, the Summoning Charm. While Accio allows wizards to summon an object, Depulso pushes or “banishes” an object or a person away from the caster. The charm can be used in a duel to push the opponent away, make them fall, and buy the dueler time without seriously harming the other person.
Despite being such a great spell for dueling, it’s rarely seen in battle during the Harry Potter series. The characters learn it in their fourth year at Hogwarts and Neville accidentally sends Professor Flitwick flying across the room. However, Severus Snape does use it against Dolores Umbridge in an alternate reality in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. What’s more, the spell is one of the most important ones in some Harry Potter video games, like Hogwarts Legacy.
Levicorpus Dangles the Opponent Upside Down
The Dangling Jinx is a spell created by Severus Snape during his Hogwarts years. Harry finds him in Snape’s old Potions schoolbooks and decides to try it. The incantation is Levicorpus, although the spell was created for non-verbal uses of magic. It has a simple counter-spell, Liberacorpus, although not many people probably know about it.
The spell keeps the target dangling by one of their feet in the air. While it doesn’t seem like a big deal, it’s a powerful tool in battle that hinders the opponent’s possibility to attack and go after the caster. Funny enough, Hermione also used it once to levitate Harry in Gringotts so he could reach the Hufflepuff Cup Horcrux, so it has many possible uses. Even Lord Voldemort used Levicorpus against Gregorovitch the Wand-Maker.