Spells - A

Accio (Summoning Charm)

Pronunciation: Various suggestions have been made, including:

['ɑkkio] (AK-ee-o) - classical Latin (film, video game)
['ɑksio] (AK-see-o) - (audio book)
['æsio] (AH-see-o) - (Scholastic) English

Description: This charm summons an object to the caster, potentially over a significant distance.[2]
Seen/Mentioned: First mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when it was briefly used by Molly Weasley on the Weasley twins to confiscate their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' products from their pockets, before they left for the Quidditch World Cup. Later on in the same book, Harry summons his broom to complete the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament.[GF Ch.20] Near the end of the book, Harry summons a Portkey he can't reach to escape from the Battle in the Graveyard. Also seen in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows to try to summon Horcruxes, and Harry even tries to summon a falling Rubeus Hagrid.
Suggested Etymology: The Latin word accio means "I call" or "I summon".[3]In the Hungarian translation, the spell is called "Invito", possibly from the word "to invite".

Aguamenti (Aguamenti Charm)

Pronunciation: AH-gwa-MEN-tee (IPA: /a.gwə.'mɛn.ti/)
Description: Produces a jet of water from the caster's wand.
Seen/Mentioned: First named in Half-Blood Prince, when Harry is being taught how to perform this specific charm in professor Flitwick's class. Later Harry casts this spell in an attempt to create water for Dumbledore to drink after taking Voldemort's potion[HBP Ch.26]and then to douse Hagrid's hut after it is set on fire later.[HBP Ch.28] Then in Deathly Hallows, Hermione Granger uses it to put out Mundungus' searing eyebrows after Harry accidentally set them on fire.[DH Ch.11] Later on, Harry uses it in a failed attempt to douse Vincent Crabbe's Fiendfyre curse in the Room of Requirement.[DH Ch.31]
Suggested Etymology: The Latin word aqua which has morphed into modern languages like Portuguese as água which means "water", combined with a form of the Latin verb mentio which means to "speak, mention, or proclaim".

Alohomora

Pronunciation: ah-LOH-huh-MOR-ah (IPA: /ə'lo.həˌmo.ɹə/)

Description: Used to open and unlock doors,[5] but doors may be bewitched so that this spell has no effect.
Seen/Mentioned: Used throughout the series, first use by Hermione in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Later unsuccessfully cast by Ron, on the door from the room with the winged keys in Hogwarts.[PS Ch.16] Loses use gradually in the series as the characters discover more and more doors, chests etc. with counter-charms on them (e.g. The doors into Professor Snape's and Professor Umbridge's offices are mentioned as being Alohomora-proof.)
Etymology: From the West African Sidiki dialect used in geomancy meaning: Friendly to thieves as stated by J.K. Rowling in testimony during the WB and JKR vs. RDR Books

Anapneo

Pronunciation: ah-NAP-nee-oh (IPA: /ə.'næp.ni.əʊ/)

Description: Clears the target's airway, if blocked.
Seen/Mentioned: Shown in Half-Blood Prince, Horace Slughorn casts this spell on Marcus Belby when the latter begins to choke.[HBP Ch.7]
Suggested Etymology: The Greek word anapneo which means "to draw breath or to revive"

Aparecium

Pronunciation: AH-par-EE-see-um (IPA: /æ.pə'ɹi.si.ʌm/)

Description: This spell makes invisible ink appear.
Seen/Mentioned: First seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Hermione tries to make hidden writing appear in Tom Marvolo Riddle's diary.[CS Ch.13]
Notes: See also Specialis Revelio.
Suggested Etymology: The Latin word appareo which means "to become visible or to appear".

Avada Kedavra (Killing Curse)

Pronunciation: ah-VAH-dah kuh-DAHV-rah (IPA: /ə.'væ.də kə.'dæv.ɹə/)

Description: causes a bright green flash and a rushing noise; the curse causes instant death to the victim. There is no known counter-curse or blocking spell (with the exception of the curse striking another spell midflight, negating both), although the caster can be interrupted, the victim can dodge the green jet, hide behind solid objects (which burst into flame when hit by it), or, if the casting wizard is not sufficiently competent, the curse may be completely ineffective as described by Barty Crouch Jr (acting as Alastor Moody) in Goblet of Fire. Harry twice countered this spell by casting Expelliarmus. It is one of the three Unforgivable Curses; the use of this spell on another human being renders a life sentence in Azkaban.
The magical conditions have also been documented to defeat the curse, even on a direct hit:

* Harry Potter was given magical protection against Lord Voldemort's use of the curse, when his mother sacrificed herself to save him.
* Harry is saved by the twin cores effect between his wand and Voldemort's during a duel, as well as during a battle. During this battle, Harry's phoenix feather wand snaps the wand Voldemort borrowed from one of his servants, Lucius Malfoy. The reason for this is unknown. Dumbledore believes this feat to be due to the unique connections and relationships between the two duellists, which are complex and are "realms of magic hitherto unknown".
* In Deathly Hallows, Harry is saved twice. The first time because when Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby, a piece of Voldemort's soul flaked off and was trapped within Harry himself (giving Harry a connection to, and many of the powers of, Voldemort). When the killing curse hit Harry in the Forbidden Forest, it killed the piece of Voldemort's soul trapped in Harry, and sent Harry to a nether region where Voldemort's use of Harry's blood gave Harry a lifeline back to the world of the living, should he choose to use it, and he decided to return to life. The second time, Harry was able to deflect the curse back at Voldemort (who died from it) because of a special condition involving the Elder Wand. This had been 'won' by Draco when he disarmed Dumbledore of his wand, but none understood this at the time, and Draco did not use the Elder Wand. Harry had won Draco's wand in a life-or-death duel, thereby proving to the Elder Wand that Harry should be the wand's true master. Therefore, when Harry used Draco's wand to cast Expelliarmus against Voldemort's killing curse, the killing curse rebounded on Voldemort leaving Harry unharmed.

Seen/Mentioned: First said (not by name) at the beginning of the first book when Harry arrives to the Dursley's home. First seen in Goblet of Fire against Muggle Frank Bryce, and in every book following.
Suggested Etymology: During an audience interview at the Edinburgh Book Festival (15 April 2004) Rowling said: "Does anyone know where avada kedavra came from? It is an ancient spell in Aramaic, and it is the original of abracadabra, which means 'let the thing be destroyed.' Originally, it was used to cure illness and the 'thing' was the illness, but I decided to make it the 'thing' as in the person standing in front of me. I take a lot of liberties with things like that. I twist them round and make them mine."

Avis

Pronunciation: AH-vis (IPA: /a'vɪs/)

Description: This charm creates a flock of birds that pour forth from the caster's wand. When coupled with Oppugno, it can be used offensively.
Seen/Mentioned: Shown in Goblet of Fire, cast by Mr Ollivander to test Viktor Krum's wand.[GF Ch.18] In Half-blood Prince, it is cast by Hermione, followed by Oppugno which causes the birds to attack Ron Weasley.[HBP Ch.14]
Suggested Etymology: The Latin word avis which means, "bird"

Azkaban

Location : The North Sea

Owner : Ministry of Magic

Affiliation : British Ministry of Magic

Permanent residents : Dementors (until late 1997) and convicted wizard criminals

First appearance : Chamber of Secrets (first mentioned)

Order of the Phoenix film (actually seen).

Azkaban, is the fictional wizard prison in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling. Wizards who violate the laws of the British wizarding world are sent there. Only one other such prison, Nurmengard, is known to exist. By the start of the series, Azkaban is guarded by the Dementors, working under the British Ministry of Magic. Generally, only very severe crimes are punished with a term in Azkaban. Many of the prisoners were supporters of Voldemort, though some misunderstandings have resulted in others' imprisonment. Hagrid, for example, was sent there in Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts because of a crime he did not commit.

According to Half-Blood Prince, Azkaban is located "in the middle of the North Sea".

Azkaban has a reputation of evil and fear throughout the series. The large presence of Dementors renders the inmates incapable of happiness and forces them to relive their worst memories, as they become gradually helpless and often severely insane. According to Sirius, many inmates simply stop eating and eventually die of starvation. As Dementors are extremely difficult even to injure - the only spell effective against them is the Patronus Charm - Azkaban was long considered impossible to escape, until Sirius escaped (although Barty Crouch Jr had previously broken out with the help of his parents); however, Dumbledore claimed he could break out of Azkaban if he wished to do so.

Performing any of the Unforgivable Curses on a human is punishable by an automatic life sentence in Azkaban, although several characters throughout the series have performed the curses and not been punished accordingly. Other crimes which merit imprisonment here include assaulting the Ministry (for example, the Death Eaters detained in Order of the Phoenix), being an unregistered Animagus[HP5] and impersonating an Inferius.[HP6]

In Order of the Phoenix, ten of Voldemort's most dangerous and loyal followers escape, including Bellatrix. Dumbledore was always vocal in declaring that it was a mistake to guard Voldemort's greatest supporters with Dementors, who have the most to gain if Voldemort returned to power. He is proven right as the Dementors leave their posts at Azkaban and join ranks with Voldemort. The prison is still in use, but greatly weakened by the revolt of its wardens. Presumably, Aurors are the only ones who stand between the convicts and their freedom. By the start of Deathly Hallows, there had been another mass breakout from Azkaban, and several Death Eaters escaped.

Following Voldemort's ultimate demise, Kingsley Shacklebolt sees to the end of use of Dementors at Azkaban, their use having always been a mark of the underlying corruption of the Ministry.

Dementors

The Dementors are soulless creatures considered to be among the foulest beasts on Earth. They are soul-sucking fiends who guard the wizard prison, Azkaban, until after the fall of Voldemort. In the books, Dementors appear to have a generally human shape, approximately ten feet (3.05 meters) in height, but covered in dark, hooded cloaks that reveal only grey, decayed hands. The wraith-like creatures have no eyes, and there is a large hole where the mouth should be. According to the author, they grow like fungi in the darkest, dankest places, creating a dense, chilly fog. They appear to possess a few traits of magic, notably, their ability to glide (fly, in the film adaptations) unsupported in either world. A Dementor's gender is never hinted, but is heavily implied that they are genderless. The Dementor's intelligence is also seldom hinted, but they are presumed sentient as they have been seen leading revolts and know how to use their abilities. A Dementor's social life is debatable, as they are seen in large groups, in groups of two or three, or alone, they tend to choose one victim as their own or will share a victim. They almost work together, which implies that they are technically solitary. Dementors are invisible to Muggles, but affect them in the same way. While at least one Squib in the series has claimed to see a Dementor, Rowling has stated that this was a lie and she noticed it because of the effect it had on her.[ Rowling has likened the effect of a Dementor to the human ailment known as depression, which the author has herself experienced.[ She describes it as "that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad." Being blind, Dementors sense and feed on the positive emotions, happiness and good memories of human beings to move around, forcing them to relive their worst memories. The very presence of a Dementor makes the surrounding atmosphere grow cold and dark, and the effects are cumulative with the number of Dementors present. Despite their attachment to human emotion, Dementors seem to have difficulty distinguishing one human from another, as demonstrated by Barty Crouch Jr's escape from Azkaban, wherein they could detect no emotional/mental difference between the younger Crouch and his mother. In addition to feeding on positive emotions, Dementors can perform the Dementor's Kiss, where the Dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's and sucks out the person's soul. The victim is left as an empty shell, incapable of thought and with no possibility of recovery. It is believed that existing after a Dementor's Kiss is worse than death. The Ministry of Magic occasionally uses this as a punishment, such as on Barty Crouch, Jr. One way to shield oneself from Dementors is to use the Patronus Charm to drive them away. Chocolate is an effective first aid to mild cases of contact. Harry Potter first encountered Dementors during his third year of school, when they were sent to guard Hogwarts against Sirius Black, who had recently escaped Azkaban Prison. Harry, whenever he got near one, was forced to relive his worst memory: hearing the last moments of his parents' lives before they were murdered by Lord Voldemort, which begins with Harry hearing his mother screaming. To overcome the Dementors, Harry asked Remus Lupin for assistance. Lupin taught Harry the Patronus Charm, albeit with some difficulty. Harry's encounter with Dementors in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was in an alley near his home on Privet Drive, when he and his cousin Dudley Dursley were ambushed by two Dementors sent secretly and illegally by Dolores Umbridge. At the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Dementors of Azkaban stage a mass revolt against their employers to join Lord Voldemort, as he can provide them with more humans to feast upon. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the Ministry, under the control of Voldemort, used Dementors to punish those who were Muggle born for no other reason than because Voldemort hated Muggles and Muggle-borns. The Dementors also took part on Voldemort's side during the Battle of Hogwarts. After the appointment of Kingsley Shacklebolt to the position of Minister, Dementors are removed from Azkaban. Rowling said that after Voldemort's demise, Dementors will never be used by the Ministry of Magic again and the Ministry will contain them by limiting their numbers.

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