Incarcerous Spell

"Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged."

- Description

The Incarcerous Spell (Incarcerous) is a spell that conjures thick ropes or thin cords from "thin air" that can be used to bind the person or creature the caster is pointing his or her wand at.

Nature
Since this spell is Conjuration an advanced form and branch of Transfiguration, it's therefore some of the most complex magic taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is N.E.W.T.-level feat, since most conjuration spells are taught at N.E.W.T.-level.

Known uses
"Incarcerous!" A few of them stumbled, one or two of them bound in ropes, but those climbing onto the rock behind them merely stepped over or on the fallen bodies."

- Harry Potter conjures ropes against attacking Inferi

Known practitioners

 * Quirinus Quirrell
 * Severus Snape
 * Remus Lupin
 * Peter Pettigrew
 * Albus Dumbledore
 * Harry Potter
 * Antonin Dolohov
 * Dolores Umbridge

Etymology
The incantation "incarcerous" most likely derives from the Latin word "incarcerus", meaning "to jail" or "to imprison".


 * "Incarcerus" is also the Danish translation of "Incarcerous".

Behind the scenes

 * In the books, the ropes simply wrap themselves around the centaur's arms and chest; in the film, they also encase his throat, slowly strangling him and forcing him to the ground.
 * In the film adaption of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows:Part 1, a Snatcher is seen casting this spell on Ron Weasley who is bound in chains, of course it could have been a similar spell such as "Incarcereta" but it seems most likely that it was Incarcerous.
 * Also in the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 2, while fighting their way down to the boathouse, Harry is seen casting this spell where a great flash of orange light escapes his wand and a Death Eater that was trying to lunge at him was instantly bound in chains, again it is unclear if this was Incarcerous or a different capturing-type spell.
 * An etymologically and functionally related spell is Incarcifors, which transforms objects into prisons to restrict a person's movement.
 * Based on conjecture, it is likely that Relashio or Emancipare could act as counter-spells to Incarcerous. The Revulsion Jinx would be able to release a person from the binding ropes of Incarcerous, while the incantation for Emancipare is derived from Latin for "set free", suggesting its ability to release a person from any form of incarceration.
 * Based on the text files from the PC version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Incarcerous may have been intended to have a different effect from how it acts in the final game. In the released version of the game, Incarcerous is one of the "joke spells" used only to temporarily incapacitate minifigures. The text files of the game, however, call it "the Indy whip tie" [sic], presumably meaning the spell was originally meant to act similarly to Indiana Jones's whip from the LEGO Indiana Jones games.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Notes and references
Incarcerous Incarcerem Incarcerous Инкарцеро