Skip to main content

harry potter - What 'spell' inflates Aunt Marge?


Clearly the spell which inflates Aunt Marge in book three isn't a standard spoken spell, and is cast wandless. So there is no real 'spell' to speak of. But what is it most like?



enter image description here


Clearly she expands a considerable amount so it may be similar to engorgio, however she also floats far more easily than she should be able to by sheer buoyancy (She'd need to have inflated to about ~80 cubic meters to get any sort of lift, which is roughly 9 foot in diameter!) so there is some sort of lift element to this charm.


What is the closest spell to the effect she feels when she is inflated?



Answer



There are quite a few spells that could be candidates. I'll bold the ones I think are the most likely to be similar to whatever type of magic occurred to cause Aunt Marge to blow up and float away.



  • Anti-gravity mist (incantation unknown) This is a charm which creates an innocent-looking mist which hovers above the ground. A person stepping into this mist immediately finds that up and down have reversed and they are hanging from the ground over the endless sky. Harry encounters this spell in the maze in the Triwizard Tournament. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Banishing Charm (Depulso in Prisoner of Azkaban, the movie; no canon incantation) Sends an object away from the caster; the target object is said to have been Banished. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Cave Inimicum Defensive spell to keep enemies away. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Engorgio Spell that causes a target to swell in size HP Lexicon - Spells


  • Evanesco Makes something vanish (not just become invisible, but go away completely) HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Feather Light (no incantation given) Spell that makes the target object weigh practically nothing. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Hover Charm (no incantation given) Makes an object float in the air. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Levicorpus Dangles the target person upside-down by the ankle in mid-air. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Mobilicorpus Moves a body HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Protean Charm A complex spell that changes the form of something HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Repello Spell that keeps something away from the caster or from a target object that the spell is cast upon. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Revulsion Jinx Forces the target to back off from the caster, letting go of him or her if the target is holding on to the caster. HP Lexicon - Spells

  • Wingardium Leviosa Causes an object to levitate. HP Lexicon - Spells



I would guess that the closest spells Aunt Marge might have felt like are the Feather Light charm, a hover charm, and Wingardium Leviosa.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion