Spells notes

How a spell works

Casting takes three things together: the right words, the right wand movement, and a clear idea of what you want.

• Say the incantation clearly. A slip of the tongue can change the result.
• Each spell has its own wand movement.
• Your mind has to be on the result. A distracted cast fizzles or goes wrong.

“Words, wand, will.”

Teaching tip: Have students name the three parts aloud before every new spell. When a cast fails, ask which part went wrong.

Charms, jinxes, hexes and curses

Spells are grouped by what they do and by how much harm they mean.

• A charm adds or changes a property: making something float, glow or lock.
• A jinx is a minor nuisance, meant to annoy.
• A hex is nastier and can hurt.
• A curse is the worst kind, meant to do real damage.

Teaching tip: Read out a list of spells and have the class sort them into the four kinds. Expect arguments about the ones in the middle.

Wand movements and saying it right

Getting the movement and the pronunciation exactly right is most of what beginners practise.

• Stress the right part of the word.
• Make the movement smooth. Jabbing does not make a spell stronger.
• Practise slowly first, then speed up.

Teaching tip: Drill the movement without wands first, then the word without the movement, then both. Three slow tries beat ten rushed ones.

Transfiguration basics

Transfiguration changes one thing into another. It is exact, difficult magic, and beginners start small.

• The bigger or more complicated the change, the harder it is.
• A half-finished change is common: a teacup with a tail.
• Living things are the hardest of all to change.

Teaching tip: Start with something small, such as a match into a needle. Have students describe how far their attempt got.

Incendio

The Fire-Making Spell. It sends out flame to light a fire or a candle.

• Aim carefully, and never cast it near parchment or robes.
• Used for lighting fires, lamps and cauldron burners.
• Fire spreads. Know how you will put it out before you cast.

Teaching tip: Teach it at a fireplace or a candle, never towards a person. Make a student name what is behind their target before they cast.

Aguamenti

The Water-Making Spell. It produces a jet of clean water from the wand tip.

• Used to fill a goblet, water plants or put out a small fire.
• How hard you concentrate decides whether you get a trickle or a jet.
• It is taught to older students.

Teaching tip: Pair it with Incendio in one lesson. One student lights, the other puts out, then they swap.

Diffindo

The Severing Charm. It cuts or tears what it is aimed at.

• Used to cut rope, cloth and stems.
• It needs a steady hand, since a wobble cuts the wrong thing.
• It is never to be aimed at a person in class.

Teaching tip: Set a precision task, such as cutting a rope at a marked point. Reward a clean cut over a fast one.

Depulso

The Banishing Charm. It pushes the target away from you, the opposite of the Summoning Charm.

• Used to send objects across a room.
• In a duel it knocks an opponent back without injuring them.
• The force depends on how hard you concentrate.

Teaching tip: Set up a row of cushions and have students push one without moving its neighbours. It teaches aim and control.

Also on: Dueling

Descendo

A spell that makes its target move downward.

• Used to bring something down from a height.
• Cast on something already in the air, it sends it to the ground.
• Mind what is underneath.

Teaching tip: Have students lower a floating object slowly and stop it just above the desk. Slamming it down loses the point.

Also on: Dueling

Revelio

The Revealing Charm. It shows things that are hidden or disguised nearby.

• Used to find concealed objects, doors and writing.
• It only shows what is close by.
• Strong concealment can resist it.

Teaching tip: Hide three things in the classroom description before the lesson. Each student who casts it well finds one.

Arresto Momentum

A spell that slows down a moving object or person.

• Most useful for slowing a fall.
• In a duel it slows an opponent for a moment.
• It slows things. It does not stop them dead.

Teaching tip: Use it in a flying or falling scene. The caster decides how much they slow the fall, and the faller describes the landing.

Also on: Dueling, Flying

Levioso

In some tellings, a quick levitation spell that lifts an object or an opponent off the ground for a few moments.

• It is faster and rougher than the Levitation Charm taught to first-years.
• In a duel it leaves an opponent floating and unable to shield.
• The effect wears off quickly.

Teaching tip: Pair it with a pushing spell in a practice duel: one lifts, the partner writes how they land. Keep the lift short.

Also on: Dueling

Glacius

In some tellings, a freezing spell that coats its target in ice.

• It chills water or freezes a target in place for a moment.
• A frozen opponent cannot dodge what comes next.
• The ice melts quickly.

Teaching tip: Ask students what else it could be used for besides duelling: cooling a potion, crossing a puddle, keeping food fresh.

Also on: Dueling

Flipendo

In some tellings, the Knockback Jinx. It knocks the target backwards or flips it over.

• It is a jinx, meant to push and not to injure.
• Often one of the first duelling spells a student learns.
• It can also flip small objects and switches.

Teaching tip: Good for a first practice duel. It knocks a partner back without harm, so students can concentrate on taking turns.

Also on: Dueling

Confringo

The Blasting Curse. It makes the target explode in flames.

• It is a curse, and far too dangerous for classroom duels.
• It destroys what it hits and can start fires.
• Students learn to recognise it and to get out of its way.

Teaching tip: Teach it as a spell you learn about, not one you cast in class. Ask what could go wrong in a crowded room.

Bombarda

In some tellings, a spell that causes a small explosion, used to break open sealed doors and walls.

• It is loud and destructive.
• It is no good for anything delicate.
• Using it inside the castle would mean serious trouble.

Teaching tip: Use it for a story problem: a sealed door and a reason not to blow it up. Students suggest safer ways through.

Finite Incantatem

The general counter-spell. It ends the effects of spells that are still working.

• Used to stop a jinx, a charm that has gone wrong, or a duel that has got out of hand.
• It works best on simple spells.
• Teachers use it to clear up after practice.

“Finite Incantatem!”

Teaching tip: Cast a harmless spell on a prop, then have students end it. It teaches that tidying up is part of casting.

Also on: Dueling

Colloportus

The Locking Spell. It seals a door so that it cannot be opened by hand.

• It is the opposite of the Unlocking Charm.
• The door shuts with a squelching sound.
• It will not hold against a determined witch or wizard.

Teaching tip: Teach it with the Unlocking Charm. One student locks, the next unlocks, down the row.

Scourgify

The Scouring Charm. It cleans dirt and mess off an object or a surface.

• Used for cauldrons, desks and robes.
• It is a household spell that most families use daily.
• It cleans. It will not mend what is broken.

Teaching tip: Make it the end-of-class routine after Potions or Herbology. Whoever made the mess casts it.

Silencio

The Silencing Charm. It makes the target go quiet.

• Taught to older students, and usually practised on animals such as frogs and ravens.
• It needs a sharp jab of the wand.
• Silencing another student without leave is against the rules.

Teaching tip: Practise on a noisy prop, not on a classmate, unless the class has agreed to it first.

Impedimenta

The Impediment Jinx. It slows the target down or stops them in their tracks for a short time.

• Useful for holding someone off while you get away or follow up.
• The effect lasts only a few moments.
• It works on creatures as well as people.

Teaching tip: Use it to teach timing. A student who slows their partner must use that moment for one clear follow-up.

Also on: Dueling

Rictusempra

The Tickling Charm. It makes the target laugh helplessly.

• It is harmless, and a favourite in first duels.
• Someone laughing that hard cannot cast straight.
• It wears off on its own.

Teaching tip: A safe, funny spell for nervous beginners. Let the target play it up, and stop the moment they ask.

Episkey

A healing spell for small injuries, such as a split lip or a bruised nose.

• The injury goes hot, then cold, as it mends.
• It is not for serious wounds, which need a trained healer.
• Students should not practise healing on each other without a teacher.

Teaching tip: After a practice duel, have a student mend a classmate's pretend scrape. Anything worse goes to the hospital wing.

Engorgio and Reducio

The Engorgement Charm makes something bigger. The Shrinking Charm makes it smaller, or undoes the first.

• Too much growth can make an object burst.
• Each charm is the counter to the other.
• They are not to be used on living creatures in class.

Teaching tip: Cast them as a pair on one object, growing it and then bringing it back. A student who overshoots has to fix it.

The Disillusionment Charm

A charm that makes a person or thing take on the colour and pattern of whatever is behind it.

• It feels like something cold trickling down your back.
• It hides you well when you keep still, and less well when you move.
• It is advanced magic, beyond most students.

Teaching tip: Remind students it is not true invisibility. A watchful character may still spot movement, and the watcher decides.

Casting spells in roleplay

Write the cast and what you are aiming for, then let the target or the professor say what happens.

• Show the three parts: the words, the movement, the focus.
• Let spells fail sometimes. A fizzled charm is good roleplay.
• Match your character's year. A first-year should not be casting advanced magic.

Teaching tip: Praise posts that show effort and leave the result open. Step in when someone writes the effect on another player's character.

Also on: RP Tips

When a spell goes wrong

Miscast spells fizzle, do something unexpected, or bounce back on the caster.

• Stop and tell the teacher. Do not try to fix it with another spell.
• Most classroom mishaps are harmless: smoke, sparks, a singed eyebrow.
• A cracked or borrowed wand makes backfires far more likely.

Teaching tip: Keep a short list of harmless mishaps to hand, so a failed cast gets a funny result and not a dull one.

Lumos and Nox

Lumos lights the tip of your wand. Nox puts it out.

Teaching tip: First spell warm-up. Practice the pair in a dim classroom scene so students learn that a spell has a start and a stop.

Wingardium Leviosa

The Levitation Charm. Makes objects float.

• Wand movement: swish and flick.
• Say it clearly.

Teaching tip: Practice clear speech and the wand motion. Students narrate each step, then try an object of a different weight and note what changes.

Alohomora

The Unlocking Charm. Opens locked doors and windows.

Teaching tip: Ask what lock-opening spells mean for rules: when is it fine to use one, and when would a sensible student ask permission first?

Accio

The Summoning Charm. Brings an object flying to you.

• Name the object and concentrate on it.

Teaching tip: Drill precision: students must name the object clearly. A vague summons gets a funny result that the professor describes.

Reparo

The Mending Charm. Repairs broken objects.

Teaching tip: After a pretend breakage, students repair it and say aloud what they are fixing. Add a rule: honest reporting comes before the fix.

Expelliarmus

The Disarming Charm. Knocks the wand out of an opponent's hand.

Teaching tip: Set up a controlled duelling drill with clear rules: bow first, one spell per turn, narrate results, stop on the professor's signal.

Also on: Dueling

Protego

The Shield Charm. Blocks or turns back minor spells.

Teaching tip: Pair it with Expelliarmus in a drill. Partners alternate attack and defense, and the defender narrates how the shield held.

Also on: Dueling

Stupefy

The Stunning Spell. Knocks the target out with a jet of red light.

Teaching tip: Teach consequences, not just the spell. Ask how a good duelist keeps it controlled and checks on a stunned partner afterward.

Also on: Dueling

Petrificus Totalus

The Full Body-Bind. Makes the target go stiff as a board.

Teaching tip: Use a freeze scene. Agree in advance how long a frozen character stays frozen, so nobody's turn is stuck.

Also on: Dueling

Expecto Patronum

The Patronus Charm. Creates a silver guardian that drives off Dementors.

• Powered by a strong happy memory.
• A full Patronus takes the form of an animal.

Teaching tip: Have students describe a happy memory in one sentence and the animal form it might take. Keep memories low-stakes and optional.

Unforgivable Curses

Three curses that are illegal to use on another person: one controls, one tortures, one kills.

• Using any of them can mean a life sentence in Azkaban.
• Students learn about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts, they do not cast them.

Teaching tip: Discussion only, no casting in scenes. Ask why a society makes some magic illegal, and what the school teaches about spotting and reporting it.