Welcome to the world of wizards and witchcraft! J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ embarks us upon the fictional escapade of Harry Potter, the only survivor of the unforgivable death curse, “Avada Kedavra”, from the greatest Wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. Left with just a lightning scar, the Dark Lord failed in his vicious spell and succumbed to his destruction against Harry. The revival of Voldemort, and how the boy who lived, referred to as the ‘Chosen One’, along with the wizard’s fights to save the world of muggles and the wizarding world from the death eaters and the Dark Lord himself, underlines the plot for this rip-roaring tale of mystical adventure.
As J.K. Rowling takes us upon this enchanting narrative, we come across the rivetting characters chanting some bewitching spells that are powerful enough to have drastic impacts upon the person it is inflicted on. They might not be as dangerous as the three Unforgivable curses, namely, Avada Kedavra, Crucio, and Imperio, however, they do need to be taken seriously. Let us learn more about the 10 most powerful spells in the wizarding world that can match the Unforgivable Curses in power.
Related: How Did Harry Potter Survive The Killing Curse In ‘Deathly Hallows’?
10) Expulso/Confringo
“Expulso!’ Swallowed the Death Eater, and the table behind which Harry was standing blew up: the force of the explosion slammed him into the wall and he felt his wand leave his hand as the cloak slipped off him.”
This is one of the most devastating spells, with immense power to produce an explosion once inflicted on a person. It has enough power to cause temporary damage to deep scars. Confrigo on the hand, has the same bombarding effect, however with “maximum destruction”, and according to some fan theories it is believed that this spell was the reason for the death of Fred Weasley, during the Battle of Hogwarts, in the film ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘.
9) Molly Weasley’s Curse
“Bellatrix‘s gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: for the tiniest of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.“
This curse remained unnamed by the author, but this remains one of the most fearsome spells. This curse established Molly as a strong and fierce witch who was successful in avenging the death of her son, Fred Weasley.
8) Apparition
A magical transportation to one’s destination without traversing the space in between. This spell follows the three principles of D’s: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. The one casting this transportation needs to be completely determined about the destination. The slightest deviation can make the caster leave body parts behind, making it a life-threatening spell.
7) Diffindo
“With the Severing Charm, cutting or tearing objects is a simple matter of wand control. The spell can be quite precise in skilled hands, and the Severing Charm is widely used in a variety of wizarding trades. Useful as it is, this charm should be practised with caution, as a careless swipe of the wand can cause injury.”
Also known as the ‘Severing Charm’, which can precisely slice an object to pieces and needs delicate handling as it can end up killing the person it is cast on or can lead to serious injury, it was used by Hermione to free Ron from the ropes during the battle in the Luchino Caffe. Later, we did see Hermoine being emotionally driven, ending up cutting off Ron too, making a place for itself on the list.
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6) Legilimency
Legilimency is a spell that can magically navigate through one’s memories and can easily penetrate their deepest emotions and can thereby try to manipulate their feelings and emotions and can force them to relieve even their darkest memories. We came across this spell during the volume ‘Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix‘, where Severus Snape tried to make Harry learn the art of Occlumency, using which he could shield his mind from the invasion and influence of Lord Voldemort, who is believed to have interconnected thoughts with Harry Potter. Although not listed as an unforgivable curse, Legilimens seem like a taboo in the wizarding world.
5) Obliviate
A spell that can erase all your memory, with no traces, and is a permanent one. Yes, you read it correctly. In the second book, Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets‘, Professor Lockheart reveals that he stole the achievements of many powerful wizards by erasing their memories, and tried to do the same with Harry and Ron, in a quest to escape from the Chamber of Secrets. However, it fortunately backfired, and he became a victim of his own vicious spell.
4) Fiendfyre
“It was not normal fire; Crabbe had used a curse of which Harry did not know: As they turned a corner the flames chased them as though they were alive, sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts: Flaming serpents, chimaeras, and dragons rose and fell and rose again, and the detritus of centuries on which they were feeding was thrown up in the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno.”
When a spell is exerted by a Death eater, we all know how massive its impact will be. This charm is as deadly as it sounds and can burn and destroy numberless enemies, all at once, by a large wave of fire. Well, now you know why it charts up high on the list.
3) Sectumsempra
“Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backwards and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand. Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.”
A vicious curse, a curse that can cause severe haemorrhaging, with numerous strokes over the victim’s body is said to be one of the darkest spells to have been cast. It was invented by Severus Snape, who was referred to as ‘Half-Blood Prince’. In the fifth volume, Harry unknowingly cast the spell on Malfoy and if Snape hadn’t come and discovered the curse and healed him, Malfoy could have had one of the most excruciating deaths.
2) Reducto
Reducto was one of the most powerful spells, which could easily crush everything – from solid objects to humans – into a fine mist or a pile of ashes. This spell was used by Harry Porter during the third task for the Triwizard Tournament in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.’ Later he imparted this spell with the Dumbledore Army in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix‘, where we saw Ginny Weasley emerge as the strongest witch, and a powerful user of the spell to defy the death eaters, miraculously.
1) Unbreakable Vow
A magical contract bounded by spells cast by a third party vouches for you to fulfil your promise, failure of which will leave you dead. During ‘Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince‘ Severus Snape made an unbreakable vow to Narcissa Malfoy in the presence of Bellatrix who sealed this spell to protect Draco and fulfil his delegated task to kill Albus Dumbledore, in case Draco falters.
In the entire series, we saw numerous instances where Severes protected Draco Malfoy, and ended up killing Dumbledore, but the shocking fact was that Dumbledore voluntarily asked Snape for this mercy kill.
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