Dark Mark -
defensive charge -
Defensive Charm -
Deletrius -
Defodio -
Densaugeo -
Deprimo -
Descendo -
Diffindo -
Disapparate -
Disarming Charm -
Disillusionment Charm -
Dissendium -
door-opening spell -
Drought Charm -
Duro
See MORSMORDRE and PROTEAN CHARM.
no incantation needed; automatic response
A charge like that of electricity runs through the body of a wizard with this automatic defensive spell.
When Vernon Dursley tried to hold Harry around the neck, he felt a sudden charge like electricity running through Harry and he had to drop him. This appears to have been an automatic defensive response on Harry's part, since there is no indication that he intentionally cast a spell (OP1).
Dumbledore used a similar spell to make Umbridge let go of Marietta, whom she was shaking violently. This may be a different form of the spell, however, since Dumbledore used his wand to perform it (OP27).
incantation unknown
Aside from the fact that it is a spell to defend the caster, little is known about the actual effects produced by this spell.
Fulbert the Fearful died in 1097 when the Defensive Charm he cast to protect himself backfired (fw20).
The Magical Law Enforcement Squad gives newly-hired Hit-Witches and Hit-Wizards training in the latest defensive charms (DP).
Deletrius (deh-LEE-tree-us)
spell name unknown
"deleterius" L. destroy, eradicate
Erases the ghost images of spells revealed by Priori Incantato. Possibly can be used to remove other spell effects as well.
Amos Diggory used this to erase the ghost image of the Dark Mark he had caused to be emitted from Harry's wand (GF9).
Defodio (deh-FO-dee-oh)
"gouging spell"
"defodio" L. dig down, hollow out
Digs through or hollows out the target.
Cast by Hermione (who was then joined by Harry and Ron) to help the dragon enlarge the passageway (DH26).
Densaugeo
(den-sah-OO-gi-oh)
"dens" L. tooth + "augeo" L. grow
Causes the victim's teeth to enlarge grotesquely.
Hermione was hit by this spell from the wand of Draco Malfoy. Draco and Harry had begun fighting in the corridor, but the curses missed and hit Hermione and Goyle (GF18)
Deprimo (de-PREE-moh)
spell name unknown
Etymology uncertain, but perhaps related to "primer", Eng. something used to ignite an explosive charge
Blasts a hole through the target object.
Hermione used this spell to blast a hole through the sitting room floor of the Lovegoods' house (DH21).
Descendo (deh-SEN-doe)
"descendo" L. descend, come down
Causes something to descend or lower itself.
Ron used this spell to lower the ceiling hatch and ladder leading to the Burrow's attic (DH6).
Crabbe cast this spell on a fifty-foot high pile of junk in the Room of Requirement, to make it fall over (DH31).
Diffindo (dih-FIN-doe)
"Severing Charm" (?)
"diffindo" L. cleave, open
Spell that cuts something open.
Harry used this spell on Cedric's book bag to slow him down so Harry could tell him about the dragons (GF9).
Harry cast this in an attempt to sever the tentacles of thought that the attacking brain wrapped around Ron during the battle of the Department of Mysteries (OP35).
Harry used this spell to slice the cover off his own brand-new copy of Advanced Potion-Making (tapping the cover while saying the spell). He then repeated the spell for the copy of the book he had borrowed from the Potions dungeon's supply of spare textbooks (HBP11).
Hermione used this spell to cut Ron free of the magical ropes (DH9).
Harry used this spell to try to cut Mrs. Cattermole free of the chained chair, but it didn't work (DH13).
Harry used this spell to break the ice on the pool containing the sword of Gryffindor in the Forest of Dean (DH19).
Disapparate (dis-AP-a-rate)
incantation unknown
"dis-" opposite of, from L. "apart" + "appareo" L. to appear
Apparition (see), as seen from the place a wizard is leaving.
Daedalus Diggle says that he, Hestia Jones, and the Dursleys will be driving for about 10 minutes before Disapparating to the safe location picked out for the Dursleys (DH3).
Mundungus panicked and Disapparated when Voldemort came at him (DH5).
Hermione recommended Disapparating and heading for the countryside from Tottenham Court Road (DH9).
See EXPELLIARMUS.
incantation unknown
"disillusion" Eng. to lose faith
A charm which hides the true, magical nature of something.
Hippogriffs and winged horses may be kept by wizards as long as they perform a Disillusionment Charm on them regularly so that Muggles won't notice anything strange about them (FB).
Mad-Eye Moody cast a Disillusionment Charm on Harry to protect him during the trip from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place ("I'm going to Disillusion you..."). To Harry, it felt as though someone had broken an egg on his head, like a flood of cold running down over him. When under the Charm, his body took on the appearance of whatever was behind him. He felt like a human chameleon. When Moody removed the Charm, it felt like trickling of warmth instead of cold (OP3, OP4).
The thirteen witches and wizards who came to collect Harry from number four, Privet Drive for the last time used Disillusionment Charms (DH4).
Hermione used Disillusionment Charms as part of the protective enchantments used to hide the camp she shared with Harry and Ron during the hunt for the Horcruxes (DH15).
Hermione suggested using a Disillusionment Charm when planning the visit to Godric's Hollow (DH16).
One of the ways to create an Invisibility Cloak is to imbue a travelling cloak with a Disillusionment Charm (DH21).
Albus Dumbledore did not need an Invisibility Cloak because he could perform a Disillusionment Charm that was powerful enough to make him effectively invisible without one (DH22).
Voldemort cast a Disillusionment Charm to conceal himself from anyone watching from Hogwarts Castle when he arrived to rob Albus Dumbledore's tomb; the Disillusionment Charm worked so well that even he could not see himself (DH24).
Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Draco Malfoy used a Disillusionment Charm to hide in the corridor outside the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts, which is how they happened to sneak in when Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived to search for the diadem of Ravenclaw (DH31).
Dissendium (dis-EN-dee-um)
spell name unknown
uncertain: "dissocio" L. to sever or divide? Possibly similar in sound to "descend."
Comments from Amanda in email:
"Dissocio" in its verb form means "to part" or
"to separate". The word "en" can mean both
"here!" and "look!" Dium, of course, refers to the
sun and normally translates as "day" or "today" but I
have seen it used as a command to mean "now." So together
dissendium could mean "part/separate here, now!"
Opens the secret door in the statue of the hump-backed witch.
Harry learnt this word from the Marauder's Map. It is said aloud while the statue is tapped with the caster's wand (PA10)
no incantation used
Sends a jet of sparks out of the wand, opening the target door.
Lupin used this spell to open the door of the staff room wardrobe, which contained a Boggart his class was to confront (PA7).
Harry's bedroom door opened by itself when the Advance Guard came to take him to number twelve, Grimmauld Place (OP3).
cf. ALOHOMORA
incantation unknown
Dries up water.
Harry briefly considered this as a method of getting to the bottom of the lake, but realized he couldn't dry up that much water with it (GF26v)
Duro (DUR-oh)
"duro" L. to harden, solidify
Turns the target object to stone.
Hermione cast this on a tapestry that two pursuing Death Eaters were about to hit (DH32)
