| Animagus | a wizard who can transfigure into an animal at will. The animal is fixed in the process of becoming an Animagus. |
| Apparate | to teleport between two places by magic |
| Azkaban | the island prison for wizards guarded by dementors. |
| Beauxbatons Academy | Southern European school for wizards. Madame Olympe Maxime, Headmistress. |
| Charm | magic that involves an incantation and a wand |
| Curse | a severe Hex |
| Durmstrang Institute | Northeastern European school for wizards. Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster. [cf. Sturm und drang - storm and stress - 18th century German literary movement] |
| Mirror of Erised | a magical mirror that shows any one looking into it their deepest desire. |
| Floo Powder | a powder that has been Charmed to enable people to move from one fireplace to another that are both on the designated magic network |
| Foe-Glass | a magical mirror that shows any enemies that are near it, seeing through walls and disguises. |
| Goblet of Fire | enchanted wooden cup that selects champions for the Triwizard Tournament |
| Gubraithian Fire | a Charm that causes an object to burn with an everlasting fire |
| Healer | a wizard trained in healing magical and mundane injuries or diseases with magic |
| Hex | a negative Charm involving an incantation and a wand |
| Howler | a magical red letter that reproduces the voice of the sender at extremely high volume and bursts into flame |
| Invisibility Cloak | a light-weight, silvery hooded cloak that will hide a person wearing it from view. It woven from the hair of the Demiguise. Dementors and a few devices can see through the disguise. |
| Jinx | generally the same as Hex, but includes objects that have a negative Charm placed on them |
| Legilimency | the ability to extract emotions and memories from another person's mind. It normally requires eye contact. |
| Marauder's Map | a detailed map of Hogwarts that shows all of the passages and tracks all of the people on the Hogwarts' grounds |
| Metamorphmagus | a wizard born with the ability to change their appearance at will |
| Mudblood | derogatory - a wizard with Muggle parents |
| Muggle | a person with no connection to the world of magic |
| Mugwump | "great man" [Massachusetts Algonquin word] |
| N.E.W.T. | Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test [A-Level] final examination for advanced courses |
| Occlumency | the discipline that is used to shield one's mind against intrusion from Legilimency |
| O.W.L. | Ordinary Wizarding Level [O-Level] final examination for standard courses |
| Parselmouth | a wizard who can talk to snakes |
| Pensieve | enchanted stone basin used for storing and sorting memories |
| Philosopher's Stone | magical device created by the alchemist Nicolas Flamel that transmuted base metals to gold and is required in the preparation of the Elixer of Life |
| Portkey | any object that has been Charmed enabling one or more people to teleport to a particular destination |
| Put-Outer | a magical device designed to turn Muggle lighting on and off remotely |
| Priori Incantatem | a rare effect that results when two wands with the same core are forced to battle each other. The effect is the same as the Prior Incantato Charm. |
| Revealer | a magical device designed to reveal hidden writing |
| Sneakoscope | a magical device designed to warn of deception or nearby enemies |
| Sorcerer's Stone | see Philosopher's Stone |
| Sorting Hat | the hat of founder Godric Gyffindor that has been Charmed to decide which of the four houses is proper for the new students at Hogwarts |
| Spellotape | Wizards' sellotape/scotch tape |
| Splinch | a failed attempt at apparating that results in the body being split between the starting point and the destination |
| Squib | derogatory - the child of wizards with no magical talent |
| Time-Turner | a magical amulet shaped like an hourglass that permits the wearer to travel back in time one hour at a turn |
| Transfiguration | transforming an object into something else by magic |
| Triwizard Tournament | a quinquennial magical competition among champions selected from the students at Beauxbatons Academy, Durmstrang Institute, and Hogwarts School |
| Wizengemot | High Court of British witches and wizards [cf. witenagemot - early Anglo-Saxon national council] |
| Bezoar | stone from a goat's stomach, protection against most poisons |
| Boil Removal Potion | a concoction of boiled horned slugs, dried nettles, crushed snake fangs, and porcupine quills that heals skin eruptions |
| Elixer of Life | the ultimate potion designed to cure all illnesses and injuries and postpone death. The preparation requires the Philosopher's Stone. |
| Draught of the Living Death | powdered asphodel in an infusion of wormwood inducing a coma |
| Essence of Murtlap | a solution of strained pickled murtlap tentacles that reduces pain and promotes healing for small injuries and cuts |
| Draught of Peace | a solution of powdered moonstone and hellbore that reduces anxiety |
| Pepperup Potion | cold/flu remedy |
| Polyjuice Potion | a complex mixture involving adding shredded boomslang skin and powdered bicorn horn to a decoction of lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass. The final ingredient is a bit of the individual you wish to become. The potion turns you into another individual for an hour. |
| Restorative Draught | a mandrake-based potion for overcoming deep comas |
| Shrinking Solution | a mixture of daisy roots, shrivelfig, catapillars, and leech juice that causes growth regression in living things |
| Skele-Gro Potion | regrows missing bones |
| Veraserum | the most powerful truth drug available. Brewing is tied to the lunar cycle. |
| Wit Sharpening Potion | a concoction of crushed scarabs, minced ginger roots, and armadillo bile used to increase ability to concentrate |
| Wolfsbane Potion | enables a werewolf to maintain control during a full moon. Essentially a decoction of wolfsbane (monkshood/aconite) that has been diluted and controlled to target the wolf tendencies, rather than simply killing the werewolf. |
| Accio | summons an object |
| Alohomora | unlocks doors and windows |
| Avis | produces small birds |
| Colloportus | locks doors and windows |
| Densaugeo | causes swelling |
| Diffindo | severing Charm |
| Engorgio | enlarges an object |
| Ennervate | counters Stupefy |
| Evanesco | general purpose vanishing spell |
| Expecto patronum | produces an animal-shaped silver patronus that chases away dementors |
| Expelliarmus | disarms |
| Ferula | binds a wound |
| Finito Incantatem | nullifies many Charms |
| Flagrate | places a glowing mark on an object |
| Furnunculus | causes boils |
| Incarcerous | binds a person or animal with ropes |
| Impedimenta | slows or obstructs a person or animal |
| Impervius | repels water |
| Legilimens | initiates Legilimency |
| Locomotor | levitates and moves inanimate objects |
| Locomotor Mortis | Leg-Locker, binds the legs together |
| Lumos | turns wand into a light source |
| Mobilicorpus | gives control over body of unconscious person |
| Morsmordre | causes the Dark Mark to appear |
| Nox | counters Lumos |
| Obliviate | erases memory |
| Orchideous | produces flowers |
| Petrificus Totalus | causes a person's body to become rigid |
| Point me | causes a free swinging wand to point North |
| Portus | creates a Portkey |
| Prior Incantato | forces second wand to reveal its last action |
| Protego | deflects Charms, a shield |
| Quietus | counters Sonorus |
| Reducio | counters Engorgio |
| Reducto | blasts objects |
| Relashio | shoots sparks |
| Reparo | repairs broken objects |
| Rictusemper | tickles |
| Riddikulus | destroys boggarts |
| Scourgify | cleans |
| Serpensortia | causes a snake to appear |
| Silencio | mutes voices |
| Sonorus | amplifies the voice |
| Stupefy | stuns people and animals |
| Tarantallegra | forces dancing |
| Waddiwasi | removes gum wads |
| Wingardium Leviosa | levitates an object |
| Unforgivable Curses |
| Imperius Curse | Imperio | gives control of a person's mind |
| Cruciatus Curse | Crucio | subjects a person to extreme pain |
| Killing Curse | Avada Kedavra | kills |
Anyone who uses one of these three curses is subject to a penalty of life imprisonment at Azkaban.
| Notes |
Using Charms requires the proper words, a functioning wand, and the proper mental state. If the words are not pronounced properly, if the wand doesn't function properly, or if the mental image isn't clear, the best one can hope for is that nothing will happen. More often than not something unpredictable, and usually unpleasant, will take place.
The ability to achieve the proper mental state is the mark of a wizard or witch. Magic can be achieved without a wand or words, and this is how wizards are discovered among Muggle families. Magic will manifest itself in reaction to stress, but it is uncontrolled and may be dangerous to the individual or bystanders.
The words and wands give a user of magic the fine control needed to accomplish the proper magic at the appropriate time. The words help to strengthen the mental image of the desired end, and the wand is the conduit for the flow of magic.
This interaction is the reason care should be taken in the selection of a wand. The wand must be attuned to the mind of the user to produce the most efficient use of magic.
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